SONY A7 III V PANASONIC GH5S
HANDLING AND MENUS Sony has taken a big leap forward with its Mark III versions of its A7 series, with a much bigger Rec button to trigger video recording instead of the tiny button that could be accidentally turned on and off in everyday handling. The camera now allows back-button focus using the dedicated AF-ON button, and there’s a thumb-operated AF Multiselector toggle allows you to quickly move the AF point. It’s powered by a lithium battery, and has two USB connections, one standard USB-2 and one fast USB-C. So it’s good for stills photo tethering via USB-C, downloading cards or charging from a laptop. There are twin card slots but only one is for the faster UHS-II cards, which is a shame. And if you set the camera to record in NTSC to take advantage of its higher frame rate, but are in a PAL area, every time you turn on the camera you get a warning message. You have to half-touch the shutter button to get rid of it. It’s annoying and will cause you to miss shots. The viewfinder is not the latest, super-fast version
of its big-brother A9 or A7R III and although it refreshes quickly, it’s not cutting edge. It’s areas like this where Sony has cut corners to use an expensive sensor but make the camera more affordable. And there are the menus; very complicated and lengthy even if you’re an experienced Sony user. There’s a My Menu tab, but you can’t set everything here. And you can’t use the touchscreen for all functions. Many prefer to disable it. Another annoying glitch is that you can only change audio levels in movie mode, which is a simplistic mode that doesn’t give ultimate quality as compared to shooting everything in normal manual mode. The Panasonic’s menu system is relatively easy to follow and its My Menu tab lets you group together all your most-used functions. But it shows how Panasonic has studied what working filmmakers need the most from a small camera and delivered a product that is just right. The electronic viewfinder is the same 3680k-dot OLED panel as the GH5, as is the rear touchscreen that is intuitive to use. The GH5’s focus point joystick remains and works well, letting you change AF points with your eye to the camera which is great for stills. While Sony’s screen tilts, the Pana’s articulates sideways which is somuch better for using on a gimbal. Winner: Panasonic, thanks to its simple menus and articulating touchscreen
GH5S
A7 III
ABOVE Sony has vastly improved its button functionality, but Panasonic’s controls ooze quality.
BUILD QUALITY The Panasonic is built to be tough, with a magnesium alloy body that’s splash proof, dust proof and freeze proof down to -10̊ . Compared to the GH5, the top plate has been redesigned with a big red Rec button. Like the standard GH5, there are separate buttons for ISO and white-balance, while the shutter speed and aperture are altered by two dials. It’s intuitive to use and simple. The Sony may not have the old-school dials like the Panasonic, but it’s also built rugged as it’s based on the professional A9 sports camera. It’s also sealed against the elements, and has well-sealed caps over its various sockets. But dirt can get into the buttons, as proved by testing at our dirt bike shoots.
LEFT The Sony has a complicated, difficult to follow menu system even for those who have used Sony before, while the Panasonic's is much more user- friendly.
GH5S
“Two 4K cameras, launched withinafewweeksofeachother, costing roughly the same”
Winner: Panasonic, as those metal controls ooze toughness
A7 III
87
AUTUMN 2018 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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