Press Release: Panasonic Announces 4K Mirrorless DMC-GH4

[Ronald Jackson]

Isn't the inherent crop factor compared with a "full chip 35mm camera" 2.3X at 4K in the GH4 as opposed to 2X in 1080 50p in a GH3 ? On the GH4 it is still 2X in 1080p.

ETC provides an extra 2.4X in both cameras, but only at 1080 25p in the GH3. Reading the specs it seems that ETC is only available at 1080p in the GH4, 25p (or 50p?) (I'm talking in PAL terms but similar basis applies to "NTSC").

I use the 80-400 Nikkor, latest model, on my GH3s and it produces decent images in ETC albeit non-ETC 50p a mite better.

Same lens on my XLH1 and EX3 via a nanoFlash about the same but with the extra crop.

No comparison in terms of portability and ease of use where the GH3 wins. I also use a SWIT focussing monitor with peaking (on all three cameras) and could not return to solely viewfinder focussing (Nikkor manual focus of course).

Am still waiting for my GH4, along with others in the UK, otherwise I'd do a full test/comparison.

Ron

[Ronald Jackson]

I should have added that I use a nanoFlash with both the XLH1 and EX3, otherwise the GH3 would win easily on image quality.

I should also have added that I use a Novoflex Nikkor/MFT adapter on the GH3, which provides manual aperture control, and that my ND fader filter is hopeless on the GH3/Nikkor in ETC mode.

I therefore used fixed 4X or 8X ND filters with the precaution that they are by B&W, so not cheap.

Ron

[Bryce Comer]

Very interesting thanks Ron.

[Kent Karlsson]

2 Clips from a coming travel video from sweden, small islands in the Botnian gulf.
Heartwarming to see how the male really make sure the chick swallows the fish.

Stunning 4K image quality from this cam.
#1 clip 4K downscaled
#2 clip extra tele (ETC), 1080 50p

Lumix 100-300mm f 8 , focusing by pointing at the lcd screen , very handy.
very slight sharpening/Unsharp mask applied and added contrast in post. Cinelike D picture style, master pedestal +4

GH4 @ wildlife on Vimeo

[Ronald Jackson]

Lovely Slavonian Grebes. Horned in N America I think, and used to be "Eared" over here.

Footage looks better, sharper with better colour rendition than off a GH3. Pity Vimeo don't do 4K, which YouTube do. I can't get a full 4K picture with this iMac but can get a "2K" pic via the 2560x1440 screen resolution.

Ron

ps I should have my own GH4 by the weekend

[Ronald Jackson]

Am I correct in saying that there is no ETC in 4K mode?


Ron

[Willard Hill]

That is correct-no ETC in 4k.

[Buba Kastorski]

i just got that little miracle, can't believe the quality it produces in both 4K modes, properly exposed side by side with Epic's 5K files hard to tell where is what, but i don't use 4k monitor though;
didn't have a chance yet to test DR but i think it'll be very close;
i was very disappointed with GH3, and i am very pleasantly surprised with GH4, love this camera!

[Noa Put]

If you take the added resolution out of the picture, in what ways has the gh3 disappointed you compared to the gh4?

[Kyle Hawthorne]

Dave Dugdale (learningdslrvideo.com) announced yesterday he will be getting rid of all his Canon gear in favor of the GH4 and comparable glass.

Very surprising news for a "big" name in the industry who has historically been an avid Canon supporter.

[Noa Put]

I shot with the gh4 2 days ago and after filling up two 32 gb cards the camera did lock up once at the end of the evening and I had to remove and reinsert the battery to make it shut down and start up again properly. This seems to be a problem that has been reported by more users so something is going on.

[Mark Wilson]

Which memory cards were you using?

[Ronald Jackson]

No problems with my GH4 so far. I shoot(wildlife) in short series of clips, plenty of record/pause (via a cable remote control) , moving subjects. A clip longer than 60 seconds would be unusual.

I am using Transcend Class 3 64gb cards.


Ron

ps well pleased with the "4" as I was with my "3s"

[Bryce Comer]

Hi Ron,
How do you find the GH4 compared to the EX-3 for quality of footage? I downloaded a few GH4 clips & put them up against my EX-3 & was surprised to see little if any difference. I have to think maybe i was doing something wrong in the rendering process or something. I don't want to take anything away from the EX-3, as the picture from it is really very, very good.
Bryce

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

Which memory cards were you using?

I was using sandisc extreme 45mbs class 10 cards, I have seen reports about users using faster cards with the same issue. In total I shot 1 hour and 45 minutes of footage with a total of about 200 clips of which one was a continuous 30 minute record. No issue whatsoever untill that one moment in the evening.