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WHY THE GH5 COULD BE THE BEST CAMERA FOR FILMMAKERS

2017, THE YEAR FOR FILMMAKERS

Last week Panasonic released the specs + a pre order link for the GH5 that ships in last march. It's the new camera in the GH line that will replace its very popular predecessor the GH4. I shot on the GH4 for over a year and it still stands as my favorite camera on the market. (Yes, I own a RED Epic and the GH4 and is still my favorite camera). This camera offers a whole new set of features that makes it an UPGRADE from the previous camera. Panasonic has been killing it with these camera. The GH2,GH3,GH4,GH5 are all huge upgrades from each other. Unlike Canon who just adds a few autofocus points and sells their new product as an "upgrade". Panasonic is actually listening to filmmakers and for $2K this could be the best camera for filmmakers for this year.

THE SPECS

No, this camera isn't shooting 8K like the new RED weapon (which 99.9% of shooters don't need) but it offers things that cameras twice the price of it don't even come close to it. This is side by side specs of the GH4 vs GH5.

GH4

GH5

Just with one upgrade you can now shoot 4K slow motion and super slow motion at 180FPS. These specs are VERY close to what the RED Epic can do. Which is crazy because it is almost 8 times the price of this camera. 

This new camera also offers something I've never thought about but could be a game changer, in camera stabilization and lens stabilization. Sony offered camera stabilization which basically means if you are shooting handheld and move the camera and get a jitter it will compensate for your movements and smooth it out. The GH5 offers Body + Lens stabilization. This means it will turn any of your lenses into an IS lens. Which means almost all of that handheld shake will be gone when shooting at 50mm+. I'm really excited to see what the Sigma 50mm-100mm 1.8 does with this because that could be a game changer for how "run and gun" videos are made.

My favorite thing about the GH4 was the 96fps feature. My buddy Sam did a video showing off this feature and you'll see quick why it's so good. Check that out here.

The GH5 now offers 180fps, which is almost double what the GH4 offered. I'm a sucker for slow motion and this spec alone sold me on the camera. Neumann Films has a prototype of the GH5 and made a video of the 180fps feature here.

Enough said, this camera is BADASS.

RUMORS + COMPETITION

Right now the only real competitor of the GH5 is the A7S2. The only thing beating out the GH5 about the A7S 2 is its full frame sensor + low light performance. So the A7S 2 shoots 120fps at 1080p and is insane at low light. Why the GH5? Well the GH5 offers things the A7S doesn't even compete with. Variable frame rates,pro video tools (Recording at 4:2:2 10 bit,standard hdmi,dual sd card slots. All of this in my mind is better then just having a great low light camera. I think ALOT of people have gotten used to not lighting at all while owning the A7S and I'm guilty of this to when I owned it. Filmmakers have 2 jobs. Compose a shot and light an amazing shot. This camera has spoiled a lot of people into thinking lighting doesn't matter since it's so good at low light. What I loved about the GH4 was that you HAD to light and the image you got was better then the A7S pumped up to 65,000 ISO. The alexa mini and red epic are really only usable up to 1,000 ISO. If you get in your head that no lights +  high iso is the way you shoot you are going to fail when working with higher end cameras. Lighting is EVERYTHING

While writing this my homie Danny hit me and told about the rumored 6K video mode firmware update coming in the summer. If this is true, this will be almost identical specs to the RED Epic Dragon which is CRAZY that this camera only costs $2K. Panasonic is killing it right now and I don't know if anyone can top the specs of this. This truly will be the best camera of the year if everything comes out like it's supposed to.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Since the camera is still in the prototype phase and only few have used it, it's a little early for an actual judgement until it ships to the masses and is put through its paces. Panasonic has never disappointed so I doubt anything will be wrong with this camera. I will definitely be picking one up when it drops and if you are an aspiring filmmaker or need to upgrade this is your camera. It's got everything you need and thats hard these days with camera companies cutting corners to preserve their more high end cameras. Panasonic made this with filmmakers in mind and they have KILLED it. I can't wait to get my hands on it.