Panasonic GH4 4K video (future LTT cam?)

[hawaiims]

Panny's been making fantastic m4/3 cameras that take amazing stills despite having a micro 4/3 sensor and they've always taken absolutely amazing videos at a price that is simply unbeatable.

 

I think that the LTT team should definitely buy one of these GH4 cameras considering the unbeatable price (it's nearly FS700 4k firmware price haha) and the amazing video quality as well as the still quality (for still shots in thumbnails etc)

 

Now that the Panasonic GH4 is coming out with 4k video, something that is usually found on 10000$ cameras like the Canon 1-D C instead of a 1600$ camera like the GH4, I thought I would like to share some examples of 4k video from this truly amazing value (by the way the GH4 comes with a mic input like other video oriented DSLRs out there)

 

Here are some sample shots of 4k video downscaled to 1080p (because vimeo doesn't support 4k yet) 

 

This first shot is absolutely amazing. You can see that the moire that is usually pertinent on DSLRs is nonexistent (try to look at the guy's hat) and the level of detail is incredible with no visible artifacting. The boke also makes the shots look great, but what's incredible is that this shot was UNGRADED and UNTOUCHED

There was just an applied Cine D profile that is built into the camera.

Lens used was a Panasonic 35-100mm

 

 

 

Second shot this time of the city of Berlin was graded in adobe premiere. The dynamic range here is absolutely superb.

 

 

I am absolutely in awe at this camera. The 4 year old GH2 still takes amazing shots and this GH4 seems to rival a camera such as a 30000$ red Epic in terms of pure image quality. 

 

Are you guys as excited about this camera as I am? I'm still a broke student so I don't have the money to buy it but after doing hours and hours of research on great all around cameras for both video and still shooting, I decided to get a GH2 which despite being almost 4 years old still takes amazing shots that have that great film look to them.

 

Here's an example of a video filmed with the GH2 with hacked firmware (very easy to put hacked firmware on there) and cats!

 

 

Oh and of course I forgot to mention the new Sony A7 mirorless camera which also shoots in 4k but from my research the GH4 seems a lot more suited towards videographers and it seems to get better results as well despite the smaller m4/3 sensor as opposed to the APS-C sensor on the A7

[madscientist56]

Cool, can't wait to watch 4k Linus on my 1080p monitor with my 20 megabit internet

[helping]

holy crap that looks amaze.

[Chriz6097]

Really nice camera but I think we all know which camera Linus wants to get. *cough* Blackmagic URSA *cough*

[hawaiims]

Cool, can't wait to watch 4k Linus on my 1080p monitor with my 20 megabit internet

I know you're being sarcastic but online video sites aren't uncompressed and it's totally possible to watch 4k on a 20 megabit connection without waiting for it to buffer. 

 

Also, 4k looks better than a 1080p video even on a 1080p monitor (I looked at those videos on a 1080p monitor too). I won't go into the details as to why but it is. If you checked out the videos that I posted in the original post you would clearly be able to tell the difference. 

[hawaiims]

Really nice camera but I think we all know which camera Linus wants to get. *cough* Blackmagic URSA *cough*

The URSA will probably cost upwards of 20k$ while the Panny costs 1700$. Quite a large difference.

 

And honestly the URSA seems way overkill for Linus even though he makes commercial nowadays. 

The URSA is more oriented towards hollywood filmmakers, not some indie guy on youtube. 

 

And as far as the 4k video quality, I find the GH4 to rival 10000$ + cameras like the Canon 1-D C and the Red Epic. 

[Chriz6097]

The URSA will probably cost upwards of 20k$ while the Panny costs 1700$. Quite a large difference.

 

And honestly the URSA seems way overkill for Linus even though he makes commercial nowadays. 

The URSA is more oriented towards hollywood filmmakers, not some indie guy on youtube. 

 

And as far as the 4k video quality, I find the GH4 to rival 10000$ + cameras like the Canon 1-D C and the Red Epic. 

But, he did sort of fan-girl about it on the WAN show. Also its not the "video quality" that Linus cares about but the usability of the camera. As for the $20k price, on the WAN show he linked to an article saying $6k which sounds a lot more like black magic. http://www.cinema5d.com/news/?p=24761

[Blade of Grass]

Yeah it's good, but you really cannot compare the GH4 to their professional level camera. 

 

Here's the FS700 with the beta 4k firmware, it looks VERY good, specifically for a camera with beta firmware.

 

 

Not knocking the GH4, but you really cannot compare it to professional grade cameras.

 

Also, I wholeheartedly disagree with it being comparable to the Red Epic

 

 

Huge difference, in favor of the Red.

 

EDIT: Thought I'd add another Red Epic video

 

[Chriz6097]

Not knocking the GH4, but you really cannot compare it to professional grade cameras.

Also, I disagree with it being comparable to the Red Epic

Agreed, its not really fair to compare a (basically) dumbed down professional camera in a DSLR against a fully modular camera like the RED Epic. Its not the video that makes the camera but how useful it will be towards your production. In a scenario like Linus's a more filmic look with the upgradeability is a selling feature.

[hawaiims]

Yeah it's good, but you really cannot compare the GH4 to their professional level camera. 

 

Not knocking the GH4, but you really cannot compare it to professional grade cameras.

 

Also, I disagree with it being comparable to the Red Epic

 

 

 

Huge difference, in favor of the Red.

well Phillip bloom himself is out there testing the GH4 right now so we'll see what he has to say. He already said that he preferred it to the Sony A7R (which also films in 4k) 

 

Of course you can't compare the GH4 in terms of features for filmmakers to a professional camera like the red epic. Nevertheless it is simply astounding that a 1700$ camera like the GH4 can put up a fight against cameras that cost 800% as much. 

 

Oh and the gh4 footage that I posted is also in beta firmware (they're from pre production models) so I would expect some things to be fixed as well just like the FS700. 

[Puppet]

The URSA will probably cost upwards of 20k$ while the Panny costs 1700$. Quite a large difference.

 

And honestly the URSA seems way overkill for Linus even though he makes commercial nowadays. 

The URSA is more oriented towards hollywood filmmakers, not some indie guy on youtube. 

 

And as far as the 4k video quality, I find the GH4 to rival 10000$ + cameras like the Canon 1-D C and the Red Epic. 

 

The URSA is ~$6k. http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursa (Scroll to bottom)... Incredibly competitively priced.

 

I don't think the GH4 is that great, but it's priced accordingly, at the end of the day it's a DSLR with a video function, no professional connectivity and lenses are a bit tedious with the mount and sensor size.

 

It doesn't even compare to the 1dc (500mbps bit rate) and definitely not any RED camera.

 

The URSA is the closest to RED going by the specs, it doesn't have any interesting framerates, but it shoots RAW. Neither cost $100k, so your pricing seems a little off too.

 

If Linus should get any other camera it should be the URSA imo, providing it lives up to it's specs.

[Coconut Money Affiliates]

On the WAN show, @LinusTech said that thier FS700 IS getting the firmware update and that they will be using it for 4K. 

[hawaiims]

On the WAN show, @LinusTech said that thier FS700 IS getting the firmware update and that they will be using it for 4K. 

yes and the firmware upgrade alone costs something like 1000$. The FS700 was a terrific value back when it was released. 

 

The URSA is ~$6k. http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagicursa (Scroll to bottom)... Incredibly competitively priced.

 

I don't think the GH4 is that great, but it's priced accordingly, at the end of the day it's a DSLR with a video function, no professional connectivity and lenses are a bit tedious with the mount and sensor size.

 

It doesn't even compare to the 1dc (500mbps bit rate) and definitely not any RED camera.

 

The URSA is the closest to RED going by the specs, it doesn't have any interesting framerates, but it shoots RAW. Neither cost $100k, so your pricing seems a little off too.

 

If Linus should get any other camera it should be the URSA imo, providing it lives up to it's specs.

The GH4 can shoot at a bitrate of 200mbps as well. Again, let's not forget that it's a 1700$ camera. And it has some redeeming features such as 96p at full HD and you can choose the exact variable framerate you want.

 

Not that it matters too much because of the horrible compression youtube adds to videos

 

Also, don't give me that bs about how it can't use professional equipment. You can easily add an external recorder for example on the GH4 because it can output 4k through the HDMI port. 

[Puppet]

yes and the firmware upgrade alone costs something like 1000$. The FS700 was a terrific value back when it was released. 

 

The GH4 can shoot at a bitrate of 200mbps as well. Again, let's not forget that it's a 1700$ camera. And it has some redeeming features such as 96p at full HD and you can choose the exact variable framerate you want.

 

Not that it matters too much because of the horrible compression youtube adds to videos

 

Also, don't give me that bs about how it can't use professional equipment. You can easily add an external recorder for example on the GH4 because it can output 4k through the HDMI port. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to knock it, it's a great camera for what it is.

 

Using it in a professional environment is a very important point, far from BS... But okay you add an external recorder (Have you checked the prices on external 4k recorders?). 

 

Here's one: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/857190-REG/AJA_KI_PRO_QUAD_Ki_Pro_Quad.html

 

Atamos are apparently releasing the 'Shogun' which is 4k capable and slightly more reasonably priced (rumored to be around $2k)

 

Add to that SSDs, not going to be cheap either.

 

Audio is going to cost too, it would have to be external and is going to be pricey as well if you want decent connectivity like XLR input. Then there's also all the hassle of syncing it up every time. 

 

You could quite easily put more than $6k into this trying to get it up to a professional daily use level and even then it's still not quite there. Why not just get the URSA?

 

Have a look at the specs, it's by far the best price to performance video camera going right now. The GH4 is a great camera for a hobbyist or low income film maker but at the end of the day if you are getting paid to make content the URSA is by far a better option, not only for your clients/consumers but also for yourself. After a year of solid use I'm pretty sure that mini HDMI connector would be on it's last legs, you really do need professional grade connectivity for heavy use, there is a reason the URSA comes with 12G SDI, XLR etc.

[elecxonica]

 After a year of solid use I'm pretty sure that mini HDMI connector would be on it's last legs, you really do need professional grade connectivity for heavy use, there is a reason the URSA comes with 12G SDI, XLR etc.

The GH4 does have those connections on it though avalible for it though - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1028548-REG/panasonic_lumix_dmc_gh4_mirrorless_micro.html

[Puppet]

The GH4 does have those connections on it though avalible for it though - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1028548-REG/panasonic_lumix_dmc_gh4_mirrorless_micro.html

 

Again it pushes the price up into the URSA territory, it's not going to improve your audio and it's only 3G SDI so only supports up to 30fps 4k.

[MrSuperb]

Panny's been making fantastic m4/3 cameras that take amazing stills despite having a micro 4/3 sensor and they've always taken absolutely amazing videos at a price that is simply unbeatable.

 

I think that the LTT team should definitely buy one of these GH4 cameras considering the unbeatable price (it's nearly FS700 4k firmware price haha) and the amazing video quality as well as the still quality (for still shots in thumbnails etc)

 

Now that the Panasonic GH4 is coming out with 4k video, something that is usually found on 10000$ cameras like the Canon 1-D C instead of a 1600$ camera like the GH4, I thought I would like to share some examples of 4k video from this truly amazing value (by the way the GH4 comes with a mic input like other video oriented DSLRs out there)

 ...

Keep in mind, that those Cooke lenses they used are about $8k each

Nevertheless you save a lot of money, because you will those great movie lenses as well on your Canon, Sony, etc.

[Sokar80]

I test Panasonic GH4 - Sony AX100 and last year black magic cinema camera

 

But like Sony moor and owner of Sony RX100 for two years all point go to Sony

 

So i selling my ass and do meny questionable thing to get money buy Sony AX100 and now looking for video what i shot Finnish car show i love my Sony AX100

 

But one video tell more than books of words so click that link > American car show 2014 4K Ultra HD

[MrSuperb]

I test Panasonic GH4 - Sony AX100 and last year black magic cinema camera

 

But like Sony moor and owner of Sony RX100 for two years all point go to Sony

 

So i selling my ass and do meny questionable thing to get money buy Sony AX100 and now looking for video what i shot Finnish car show i love my Sony AX100

 

But one video tell more than books of words so click that link > American car show 2014 4K Ultra HD

 

yeah .... I have my doubts, that you actually got an early review sample of the GH4 ....

 

Also your video looks like it was shot with a mobile phone ....

[Sokar80]

MrSuperb yours mobile phone can record that 4K quality i wand to buy it

 

Samsung S5 and Samsung Galaxy Note 3 can 4k but video it not near what Sony ax100 doo

 

i dont get or have early review sample Panasonic GH4

 

Like i write i say tested not owned

 

In Finland Panasonic had litle show where i tested in my own memory card

 

Yes is it perfect test but

 

Using Canon 5D mark ii and mark iii i wand video camera not a DSLR what can record video