Pro Moviemaker Summer 2018

PANASONIC ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Dedicated tofilmmaking Although still a relative newcomer the Panasonic GH5s is making waves in the business, winning over seasoned filmmakers and recently gaining the accolade of approval for broadcast use in HD

P anasonic’s GH range of cameras has long been a benchmark for hybrid performance. The appeal rose still higher after hacks by, among others, Nick Driftwood – the DriftwoodHack – served to enable the codec on the GH2 to be changed and upgraded, massively improving performance. Now a Panasonic ambassador as well as a highly respected international filmmaker, Nick continues to use the GH series in his work, most recently the GH5s, the camera developed to suit the requirements ofmotion as opposed to being a stills camera that happened to be great at shooting video too. “I regularlymet up with Panasonic, engineers and other ambassadors to suggest improvements to future firmware and cameras,” says Nick, “and the GH5s was developed alongside the GH5. It’s a really great dedicated filmmakingmodel, with a range of bespoke features that makes it particularly well suited for a wide range of applications.”

Nick particularly appreciates the camera’s stunning low-light performance, achieved thanks to Dual Native ISO technology – 400 and 2500 - which offers the advantage of very high sensitivity while keeping noise levels low. Usually, with a conventional single native ISO, noise levels rise when the ISO is increased. However, the newly developed high sensitivity sensor can implement dual circuits able to switch to high sensitivity before gain processing, which leads to suppressed noise in low- light situations. It’s a quality that Nick tapped into for his latest film, Tyger Tyger – illustrating the famous poembyWilliamBlake - filmed in Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, northern India. Along with footage filmed by the light froma campfire there were numerous shots of wildlife, including the park’s most famous inhabitant, the tiger. By necessity these had to be obtained from a distance in low light, but the GH5s proved itself to be well up to the challenge.

ABOVE Nick became well known for his hacks of the GH2, and now uses the GH5S in his filmmaking work and as part of his role as a Panasonic ambassador.

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PRO MOVIEMAKER SUMMER 2018

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