PANASONIC GH5S
S ony may have got the A7S, but Panasonic has smashed it out of the park with the impressive new GH5S aimed squarely at filmmakers, with no compromises. It may only have a sensor that’s roughly a quarter the size of full frame and with only 10.2 megapixels, but the new Panasonic GH5S is far from just another mirrorless camera that pays lip-service to filmmaking. Like Sony’s full-frame A7S II, its video performance is paramount and the low pixel count makes for larger pixels, which handle noise better and makes for less rolling shutter. Panasonic now has a definite split in its range of G-series cameras. Its 20fps G9 is for the photographer who focuses mainly on stills but who sometimes shoots video; the GH5 for users who put equal weighting to stills and moving images; and the GH5S for filmmakers who may want to occasionally shoot stills. While the G9 and GH5 share the same 20-megapixel sensor, the GH5S is based on the recent GH5 but now comes with an obvious red video record button on the top plate and uses an all-new high- sensitivity Live MOS sensor. This reaches a new high for Panasonic of 51,200 ISO which can be expanded to 204,800. There’s also Panasonic’s Dual Native ISO technology as used in its far larger and more pricey Varicam and EVA1 cinema cameras. This system reads the chip in two different ways and each has a different native ISO: one setting has a lower native ISO of 400 for maximum dynamic range and the other is at higher 2500 ISO, but aimed at minimising noise. For multi-camera shooting, there is a timecode in/out port. While the GH5 was the first mirrorless camera to offer 4K video recording at 60fps, the GH5S goes a step further by offering it in the larger cinema 4K format, thanks to a slightly larger sensor. This larger sensor also affects the angle of view, although only a bit. The GH5S now records 14-bit Raw stills files instead of the 12-bit files of the GH5. For video, the footage is processed to an internal 4:2:2 10-bit signal at a ball rolling by offering a video-focused version of its mirrorless camera in the
SPECIFICATIONS Price: 2175/$2498 body only Sensor: 10.2-megapixel Micro Four Thirds CMOS sensor, 17.3x13.0mm, ‘Multi Aspect’ CMOS sensor with dual gain design Recording format: MOV: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. MP4: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC, H.265/ HEVC, AVCHD File sizes: 4096x2160: 60p @150Mpbs in 4:2:0 8-bit; 30p @100Mpbs in 4:2:0 8-bit and 150Mbps in 4:2:2 10-bit; 24p @400Mbps in 4:2:2 10-bit and 150Mbps in 4:2:2 10-bit. 3840x2160: 30/ 24p@400Mbps 4:2:2 10-bit; 60/30/24p @150Mpbs 4:2:2 10-bit, 30/25/24@100Mbps 4:2:0 8-bit HD: 60/50/25/24 @200/100Mbps 4:2:2 10-bit; 60/50/30/25/24@100Mbps 4:2:0 8-bit Stills: 14- or 12-bit Raw and Jpeg, 12fps Fast and slow frame rates: 1080p 2-240fps Recordingmedia: Dual SD/ SDHC/SDXC slots Audio input: Mic input jack, built-inmic ISO: Auto, 160-51,200 (expandable to 80-204,800). Native@400, 2500 Image stabilisation: None Screen: 3.2in OLED articulating touch screen, 1,620k dots Shutter speed: 1-1/16,000sec Autofocus: Contrast AF Videomodes: Manual, programAE, aperture-priority, shutter-priority Picture styles: V-LogL, Hybrid Log Gamma and LUT picture display Dimensions (WxHxD): 138.5x98.1x87.4mm/ 5.45x3.86x3.44in Weight: 600g/1.46lb
ABOVE The LCD screen flips out and tilts so is ideal for use on gimbals. It’s a touchscreen, too.
very high 400Mbps in cinema 4K 30p/25p/24p, for strong colour reproduction. At 60fps in cinema 4K, it’s 8-bit footage recorded internally or at 10-bit if you record the signal via an external recorder (sadly, it can’t output Raw video files). The GH5S comes with V-Log video profile to maximise dynamic range, which comes pre-installed on the camera. There is also no maximum time limit for recording in HD or 4K and the camera is capable of recording in Hybrid Log Gamma mode for instant High Dynamic Range moviemaking. For action, the camera is blazing fast as it can record 10x slow motion at 240fps in 1080p HD, overtaking the 180fps GH5 as the speed king of mirrorless cameras (although this does crop the image at over 200fps). There’s 14-bit Raw still capture up to 11fps for best-quality stills, too, which are relatively good in low light despite the small sensor size. One new feature that’s of use to both stills and moving image shooters is what Panasonic calls the multi-aspect sensor. It’s marginally bigger than the standard GH5 sensor, so you can get the same angle of view in 4:3, 17:9, 16:9 and 3:2 aspect ratios. The Panasonic is tough, with a magnesium body that’s splashproof, dustproof and freezeproof down to -10 degrees, as well as dual SD memory card slots. The top plate has been “Panasonic now has a split in its range of G-series cameras”
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SPRING 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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