Whenever a new camera has come out there are always plenty of reports and videos about how to set it up for general shooting. Eventually someone comes along and offers suggestions on optimizing for wildlife, and I have always benefited from them. Since I am an early adopter of the GH6, I figured it's my turn.

There is a lot to wade through, and like any new camera, the choices you have to make are daunting and time-consuming. There is so much, that I simply made it an article in my blog, Birds Unwrapped https://birdsunwrapped.blogspot.com/2022/. You will see what I found to be useful and worthless in shooting video of birds. There is a link to the User Manual, and page references where various functions are discussed. I also outlined the ways to get to various functions in the camera menu.

Spoiler Alert: The autofocus is not as bad as the pundits would have you believe.

I hope you find this useful, as I have in the past from others.

That's a lot of work to put together, but don't see a link to any videos that show your settings and techniques in action.

Hi Doug,

I didn't put any links to videos. My purpose was to ease the task of setting up the camera for fellow shooters. That's all. I didn't think showing videos would really add anything of value and would have tripled (at least), the time to prepare the work. If I had intended to extol the camera, or offer entertainment value, videos would have been important, but I assumed that anyone interested in my information already had bought the camera, and would enjoy seeing what it could do by their own hands, not mine. That said, I feel that this is the most versatile and fun to use camera I have owned since the old Canon and Sony camcorders of the 2010 days. It certainly gives the best image quality I have ever obtained in video.

Hi Steve, obviously it is entirely your decision whether to post video samples or not. But I think that offering specific advice regarding best settings or techniques is useless without showing the results you were able to achieve using that advice. I haven't used a GH6 but I do own and S1H and several other cameras and I read several things in your blog that I completely disagree with. But if you were to show some proof of your results, then maybe I'd give more credence to them and perhaps even change my ways. But without some examples that we can judge, your advice is not worth much. Show your work. Just my 2 cents.

I read several things in your blog that I completely disagree with. But if you were to show some proof of your results, then maybe I'd give more credence to them and perhaps even change my ways. But without some examples that we can judge, your advice is not worth much. Show your work.

It would be a interesting to know which several things you completely disagree with and tell how you would do it differently but also back it up with some examples for us to judge, otherwise your opinion is also not worth much. I think many wildlife shooters would value your feedback.

Hi Doug,
I find your critique a bit hard to swallow and mostly way off-base. You have the right to your opinion, and, as I made clear in the piece, these are settings I PREFER, and may not work for you. This is not a test, and it is not something I intend to profit from. I have no interest in getting you to change your ways. I don't have to PROVE anything. If I can't outline the steps to applying various settings in a camera without being slammed for it (and by someone who doesn't even own the camera), I am very sorry. It sure will be the last time I try.

Okay, lots of opinions with no examples to back it up. Check.
Rather than being so defensive, why don't you take a step back and finish the blog by adding some video to back up your advice. Would that be so hard? You must have tons of test footage and great examples of the settings in action already in the can, so just put it together.

I have considered your comments and see the value in them. It is the "standard" to add video and show on the screen, what is being done, and the results thereof. You do this for a living, and I'm certain you are very good at it. I saw your loon video from last year. Impressive. What I did took over a week. What you propose would be good for several more weeks, as I am an amateur, not set up for a "HowTo" type of video. Trying to figure out what parts of it you find erroneous and correct them (as I thought everything was pretty accurate) would take even more work. I have neither the time, nor any incentive to undertake the job. So I have taken down the whole thing. Pretend it never happened. The lesson I have learned from this is a common one in today's fast-moving technological world: Stay in your own lane.

I have considered your comments and see the value in them.

The only thing Doug has accomplished is that you took your carefully prepared article down. While he wants you to invest the time to provide him the visual proof that your findings are credible he obviously doesn't want to spend any time explaining what he didn't agree with, this at least could have led to a interesting educational discussion.

I would put the article back up on your blog as it clearly was written with a passion for what you love doing and I"m certain there will be people who will find the content valuable.

I agree with Nao. It is your blog. You can do what you want. It is up to other people to decide what they think of it. Doug clearly has issues that he is not prepared to elaborate on. So people can take their view of that too until he explains himself.

And I totally agree with Noa and Ron (above).

If Steve decides to post some actual footage, then I would be happy to critique his advice and the results his advice has provided. If he is not willing to do that, I feel no obligation waste my time dissecting what he has written. It is one thing to write something, it is a whole other thing to show the results and actually prove that his advice and techniques can provide great results. And if shooting better video is not the point of the blog in the first place, then what is?

Perhaps you'd like to read about my advice and tips on heart surgery or sculpting marble into a human statue? I'm sure you'd take my advice because I took the time to write it, right? There's no need to actually show you that I know what I'm talking about, right?

If that doesn't satisfy the trolls and wannabes who talk a big game with their frequent posts(not you Steve), but never actually show any work to back up their big talk, I couldn't care less.

I have considered your comments and see the value in them. It is the "standard" to add video and show on the screen, what is being done, and the results thereof. You do this for a living, and I'm certain you are very good at it. I saw your loon video from last year. Impressive. What I did took over a week. What you propose would be good for several more weeks, as I am an amateur, not set up for a "HowTo" type of video. Trying to figure out what parts of it you find erroneous and correct them (as I thought everything was pretty accurate) would take even more work. I have neither the time, nor any incentive to undertake the job. So I have taken down the whole thing. Pretend it never happened. The lesson I have learned from this is a common one in today's fast-moving technological world: Stay in your own lane.

Steve, with all due respect, whether you are professional or not is irrelvent. Pleny of professionals suck at shooting video, and some amateurs are really talented. We have no idea where you call on that spectrum because you haven't posted any of your work with the blog, That is absolutely essential if your goal is to help others.. Now, if YOU don't feel that you have video worth yof posting, then doesn't that call into question the validity of your advice? Do you really feel condident in your recommended settings and techniques if they haven't led you to shoot video you'd be proud to show? I would argue that a blog with unsubstantiated advice can actually do more harm than good to your fellow camera owners if your advice is flawed, and I know that is not your intent.

Maybe the time you spent writing your blog might have been better spent learning from other people who have already blazed this territory and have shared their advice and have work to back it up. Even if you can't find exactly what you want for the GH6, beleve me, 90% of this stuff applies qually to the GH5, S1H, and many cameras from other manufacturers. Like I said, I don't have a GH6 but I'm smart enought to know that it cannot be that much different (operationally) than its predecessors.

Doug , no one is criticizing your work. Your video work is very good, always. However if you choose to criticize someone the onus is on you, not the other person to justify themselves. That is the way the internet works. Anyone has the opportunity to say what they want without justifying. One only has to look at what politicians say to see that. You may not like it but that is the way it is now. It is up to the person receiving the information to decide if it is good or bad information. I am sure you also know that any video shown is questionable too.

If you question something Steve said then say what you mean or you are just as guilty of not providing information.

Maybe the time you spent writing your blog might have been better spent learning from other people who have already blazed this territory and have shared their advice and have work to back it up.

Why not, throw in some insults along the way while you are at it, you enjoy that when someone doesn't agree with you, don't you? :) It's funny how easily you are triggered when things don't go your way, if you feel the need to react to this, pls do but just that you know, I also couldn't care less.

Anyways Steve, if you are reading this, just put your article back up since I"m sure I am not the only one who found it an interesting read since I own several m4/3 and full frame Panasonic camera's. You could also share your findings in some wildlife facebook groups but just be warned there are also trolls present but don't let that stop you from sharing your experience.

Doug , no one is criticizing your work. Your video work is very good, always. However if you choose to criticize someone the onus is on you, not the other person to justify themselves. That is the way the internet works. Anyone has the opportunity to say what they want without justifying. One only has to look at what politicians say to see that. You may not like it but that is the way it is now. It is up to the person receiving the information to decide if it is good or bad information. I am sure you also know that any video shown is questionable too.

If you question something Steve said then say what you mean or you are just as guilty of not providing information.

Ron, I never thought anyone was criticizing my work. And for the record, I criticized Steve's blog for not providing any demonstration footage to illustrate the advice he's giving. I did not criticize his video because there is no vidoe to see. For all I know, his video would win am Academy Award next year. I don't know because he didn't show anything, therefore there is no reason for me to provide more information than that. I won't waste my time going point by point through the blog when no footage has been posted to show the results he gets when following his own advice.

That's a lot of work to put together, but don't see a link to any videos that show your settings and techniques in action.

Just for the record, this was my first post on the thread. What's wrong with it?

It was actually a civil discussion between Steve and I until the resident troll decided to jump in to a conversation that had nothing to do with him, and in typical troll fashion, added absolutely nothing to the topic at hand except to stir up trouble. Feels like there's a yappy little dog at my heels with any post I make.

Lol, just for the record, what's wrong with this comment:

Maybe the time you spent writing your blog might have been better spent learning from other people who have already blazed this territory and have shared their advice and have work to back it up.

Don't cherry-pick your "nice comments" to make it look you didn't derail this discussion.

And for the record, I criticized Steve's blog for not providing any demonstration footage to illustrate the advice he's giving.

No you didn’t, you criticized him for having “several things” in his blog you didn’t agree with, what those “things” where you refuse to explain but yet you expect him to prove every single point he makes in his lengthy article with a video, that’s a bit different to how you try to phrase it now, isn’t it?

What could have been an interesting discussion has been turned into something that is all about you. Steve made it clear from the start:
I didn't put any links to videos. My purpose was to ease the task of setting up the camera for fellow shooters. That's all.

and there the discussion should have ended but no, not for Doug, Doug needs proof before he can give his blessing. Because Doug didn’t get what he wanted he belittles, ridicules and insults, something he often does when anyone questions his motives. If you are not able to have a adult discussion then just move on next time because with your attitude you are just scaring people away from this forum.

Lol, just for the record, what's wrong with this comment:


Don't cherry-pick your "nice comments" to make it look you didn't derail this discussion.



No you didn’t, you criticized him for having “several things” in his blog you didn’t agree with, what those “things” where you refuse to explain but yet you expect him to prove every single point he makes in his lengthy article with a video, that’s a bit different to how you try to phrase it now, isn’t it?

What could have been an interesting discussion has been turned into something that is all about you. Steve made it clear from the start:


and there the discussion should have ended but no, not for Doug, Doug needs proof before he can give his blessing. Because Doug didn’t get what he wanted he belittles, ridicules and insults, something he often does when anyone questions his motives. If you are not able to have a adult discussion then just move on next time because with your attitude you are just scaring people away from this forum.



Nice post, troll. At least we found one thing you're good at -- throwing aorund personal insults and attacks on other people's character. The last bastion of someone with nothing meaningful to say. I'm happy to have a professional discussion/debate with Steve about his recommended settings and techniques for Panasonic mirrorless cameras . . . if he chooses to repost his original blog and add some samples of his work to show those settings in action. Until that time, I'm done with this thread.

Time to end all this. Sorry for the trouble.

At least we found one thing you're good at -- throwing aorund personal insults and attacks

Feels like there's a yappy little dog at my heels with any post I make.

Funny, I thought this was an insult when you referred to me as a yappy little dog...

Steve, I noticed you did respond and showcasing some of your work but I didn't manage to read the entire reply as you took it down again, as you now say it's indeed best to put this to an end as there is nothing more to gain. You don't have to prove anything like you said before and you certainly don't have to show any wildlife films just to prove that you know what you are talking about in the article you wrote. I still would encourage you to leave the post up on your blog as it does have much value and share it on other platforms like facebook.

I"m also done with this thread though I have a feeling there will be someone who always wants to have the last word. :)