Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

I had quite an interesting idea after watching a few 'first look at the Panasonic GH5' videos on youtube. Now that the GH5 allows you to take 18 megapixel photos out of 4K video footage. A one man videographer can actually provide digital photos along with their edited wedding film.

All those key moments can be saved as 18 megapixel high resolution photos and then put through Photoshop or whatever.

And i'm fairly confident it will be good enough for the majority of couples out there. Especially budget conscious bride/grooms. As a videographer you can just focus on capturing the event like you normally do but when you go through all that 4K footage you can save images out of them.

Exciting times for camera men ...

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Hi James,

Interesting that you've come to that conclusion as I have been doing precisely that with my pair of FZ1000s for the last couple of years.

If I am doing a joint video and photography package, I take a Canon DSLR and lenses for the majority of the photography, but during the ceremony, particularly in Church ceremonies, I have often been requested not to take stills, so I simply lift stills from 4K footage to fill the gaps. It has also been useful to lift casual stills of bits of the day when taking a conventional still might have been more noticeable. I have couples that have made wall canvases out of stills from 4K which look very sharp. I also never tell couples which stills have been taken from video because if a picture works it doesn't matter to them.

I frequently use the Panny as a stills camera alongside the DSLR to save swapping lenses as the quality stands up very well. The G5 would certainly be up to the job.

Using 4K footage for stills is a great addition for cameramen, but using normal video filming techniques for photographs doesn't work well as the photographic work involves building a relationship with your subjects and setting details for each pose in ways that you don't for video. It's a great way of getting extra casual shots, or the occasional thing that may have been missed. It's also good for things like speeches stills, where they are just for interest pics and will never be framed to hang on the wall.

Roger

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Do you need to do this in camera to extract 18mp photos?

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

I don't agree. No matter the technology there will always be a need for a professional photographer. The most important photos are the formals if you aren't skilled in posing people it won't matter how many mega pixels the camera has. It's one thing to pull a few good stills from your video it's another to provide a professional wedding album.

I first started out as photographer so on occasion for friends and family I've done a mixture of the two. It really comes down to your skill and you'll end up missing shots that normally a photographer would get. There are situations you need a flash/strobe/reflector etc.

Whether someone on the low end might hire you for both? This scenario has existed for a long time but I wouldn't expect those type of people to pay you more to do both otherwise they would have hired a photographer in the first place. And these are the same type of people who have their cousin film their wedding using his iPhone because it's good enough.

Btw I'm sure there are photographers who are thinking they could easily shoot video too. It cuts both ways.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

I shoot video solo but have a photographer too. Instead of extracting photos from the 4K video I have the main cam on a tripod with all the audio gear too and then a second cam for shooting cutaways where needed. All I do is shoot a few cutaways, then switch the camera to P mode and shoot some stills, then back to video again. This way I keep my 20 mp stills and I get the shots that my photographer doesn't have to worry about. This gives us some extra shots that she maybe doesn't get from my vantage point but I still don't think I would rely on extracting stills from the video as my main source. the way you frame a still is completely different to the way to frame a video ... that why when I'm not shooting cutaways I'm shooting the odd still shot to help out my photographer and I approach the task totally differently to if I was shooting the same scene with video.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

It's not the first time a couple asks me if how they can get a frame out of my HD mp4's, I"ll just show them how to do this in vlc mediaplayer.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Hi Noa

Watch this video from 6minutes onwards.


It's actually 6K photos that we are 'screenshotting' ... so the quality is really good.

And in regards to what others said about photographers posing the family etc. Ufcourse. There will always be a need for a professional photographer. All i'm saying is budget conscious couples can now pay me a little extra and I can screenshot photos out of my footage for them. It's just another way to charge a bit more now without really changing your work methods.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

That looks like a very timeconsuming task selecting your photos in camera, no? That would mean checking each and every clip and then select the right frame from that clip. That must take ages before you have gone through all your videoclips.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Is that photo/video bit a different mode than usual video shooting?

I also want to know how its low light compares to something like a 5d Mark iii.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

The crux is how much do you get paid for a budget wedding video and how much to do both? I've had clients say we can pay you $-- to cover an event can you give a mixture of video and photography. Generally their expectation is they will pay the same as just video because you are splitting your time between the two. If you're not careful instead of doing a great job on one you do a mediocre on both.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Providing photography and video is perfectly feasible if you are competent and confident in both, however as Peter, Chris and myself both pointed out, they are totally different skill sets. You also need to be able to work both swiftly and efficiently which means having the right balance of equipment to do that.

Chris mentioned switching between video and stills and again if you are competent at both (which Chris is) then there are plenty of times in a full wedding day when switching between the two is perfectly practical. There are other times though when switching is not possible, and using a second stills camera when it isn't possible to switch, or when flash, etc is required is essential.

When I take a joint package booking, it costs less than our separate photo or video packages added together, simply because we will already be there, so the extra time required is for the photo processing and editing. Many couples book us because they couldn't afford both a videographer and photographer separately and it is always the video that gets dropped in those cases. Offering the joint package has enabled couples to afford both and given us bookings that we would previously have lost. We always ask the couples to look properly at our work before they book and I am happy to say that many book our photography only packages when they don't want a video. The other thing to remember is that aswell as the quality of your work and the cost, it's also very much about whether they like you or not. With the joint package, getting on well with them often swings the deal irrespective of cost.

Roger

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

I offer video stills as a bonus feature on my packages; something couples can pay for. It can be quite popular especially in light of some Photographers work. However it is not labelled by me as Photography and whilst the images are 4K and stand up well on screen and print, the fact is I was not framing or creating them with Photography in mind. As others have said Video and Photography are 2 different disciplines. I have done both for Corporate but not for Wedding. I'm not that interested in Photography frankly.

The only issue is if the client expects you to do both to the standard as if you were tackling each individually. As Roger said, managing client expectations is key here. When I tackle both Marryoke and the Wedding Video, it can on some Weddings lead to either or both being compromised slightly. Especially if there's a tight schedule. Hopefully those who do ask for 1 person to handle both are not going to give you pages of notes or expect you to deliver cinematic Wedding Videos. Its targeting a range of customers who want good coverage of both. Couples who want the sort of coverage that demands 2-3 Photographers and 2 Videographers are not likely to consider this type of service.

I'm intrigued by the 6K Photo function of the GH5, but as often my requests for video stills comes weeks after the Wedding, I can't see how much an advantage it is for me. If I could do it on my PC in post, yeah, very useful, but from what I see, it doesn't work like that.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

The problem with video frame grabs, in my opinion, is that every frame is 1/50 or 1/60 of a second shutter speed, which is a little too slow for handheld work. That is, unless you use a faster shutter speed, but then you'll have strobing video footage.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

I often use 1/50 or 1/60 of a second on my DSLRs, when the subject matter is suitable. It's totally dependent on the circumstances. I agree that in many situations it would not be right, which is why frame grabbing is only ever going to be practical for certain types of shots and will never replace a dedicated stills camera for serious photography.

Roger

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

There seems to be an influx of these type of threads and posts surrounding the GH5. When I get this camera I will become Superman, it will redefine video as we know it today and all other camera manufacturers will go out of business, etc. Look it's a nice upgrade, enjoy it but let's not get carried away.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

I agree some GH5 posts have veered towards things like 'is this going to kill Sony' (as if) - see the News Section GH5 thread where it has become a tiresome 'How will Sony respond thread'.

That said, this threads speculation on grabbing 18 mega pixel stills from the GH5 6K function is hardly a case of being carried away. Its merely speculating on a new feature that Panasonic are themselves advertising. In considering how effective this feature is, I see nothing but balanced arguments, with many, myself included unsure if this feature would be very useful in practise.

Besides its more than just a nice upgrade. We're not talking Sony 6300 to 6500 jump in features here. So some excitement is hardly unreasonable. For me having a dual card slot, 4:2:2 10 bit colour and 50p 4K are significant upgrades that will be very useful to me in my work. 6K photo function perhaps not so much. Still time will tell when I get mine.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Well said Steve.

As a Sony fan boy myself. I'm quite excited to use the GH5.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

It's not camera shake that's the problem as often the camera will be on a tripod or monopod. The problem is motion blur from movement of the subjects. Grabbing stills from video is nothing new. When I was shooting with a C300 it was possible to take really good stills off the timeline. Canon even promoted various of their Cinema Cameras as having this capability but it's never really been possible to just shoot video & expect to automatically grab the sort of photos that a stills photographer would obtain.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Steve I'd agree that this thread isn't as egregious as the other thread.

I think there always has been a tendency for people looking to purchase a solution without understanding the fundamentals of a given situation. How many times have we heard "What shotgun mic should I buy to film a subject that is 10 ft away?" Generally speaking people seem to buy into marketing info before the camera has ever been released. The manufacturer is trying to attract as many types of users so they are going to say you can do all these great things.

I'm not trying to be overly critical. I'm just a little wary of hype that surrounds these releases.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

I hear what you say, but looking forward to buying a new camera is one of life's pleasures. I'm looking forward to owning the GH5 and more importantly using it and seeing if these features meet up to expectations. Given the GH4's 4K did not disappoint nor did the GX80's IBIS and the G80's subsequent improvements, I think I have reason to be optimistic at least.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

Waiting for some posts from people who actually get to use a GH5.

Until then?


Ron

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

... you can always ignore them. :)

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

You might need to close your eyes for a month or more since the camera is back ordered and we will continue our speculations for the foreseeable future.

But I don't think there is any mystery surrounding the camera. If you like the GH4 and find value in the new features its a pretty straight forward decision.

Re: Providing both photos & video with the Panasonic GH5
 

As far as 'killing' Sony, they supposedly have the A9 rumored. We'll see.

As for offering photos, someone mentioned monitoring shutter speeed, which you can't offer stills at 1/60. Secondly traditional posing & family side (guy/girl/guy/girl, brother/sister/brother etc) plus arranging & gathering them (cousins outside smoking a cigarette) etc. Also, it sounds great but keep in mind days when it rains, and you're at a loss for where to shoot inside.

Secondly, I'll merge this with another thread elsewhere about 'livestreaming' to FB or whereever. Some couples might not see much need to pay alot more for these services ("All you have to do is export a still frame to a jpeg. It's just clicking a few buttons' plus 'I can livestream to FB on my phone, it isn't that hard'. Suddenly we can take on all these added responsibilities in addition to what we currently do, for possibly very little more.