• Subscription Options:

    Subscribe via LinkedInSubscribe via FlickrSubscribe via YouTubeSubscribe via Pinterest

GH4 Firmware Update

Panasonic has released a firmware update for the GH4. The improvement is: 1. Improved the reliability of video recording performance. It was issued today, 2014/07/01.

Also the lustrous Leica G 42.5mm f1.2 Nocticron got an update as well. The lens is know as to Panasonic as the H-NS043. The improvements are: 1. Improved the motion picture quality under high sensitivity in use with GH4.

For those of you who have a Lumix GM1 there is an update as well. The improvements are: 1. Connection problem with Apple iOS devices via Wi-Fi is fixed.

The update can be found here: http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/index.html

The GH4 does a Parade

Framegrab from 1080p

Framegrab from 1080p

Here is the 2014 Sequim 119th Irrigation Festival Parade in all it's glory shot in AVCHD 1080/60p. With the limitations of YouTube the video was reduced to 480p at 30 frames a second. YouTube does not do 60p. I reduced the video to 480p because the parade video is 105 minutes to keep the file size down. The lens used is the New Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.6 O.I.S.

Doing long form video on the Panasonic Lumix GH4 is wonderful.
Number one: Unlimited Recording. There is no limitation on how long you can record, unlike most other HDSLR's. The bigger the SD card the longer you can record. The camera does not stop till you stop the camera.
Number two: No Overheating. The GH4 does not overheat and shut down, period. That was a problem with other cameras that I have used.
Number three: Long Battery Runtime. The camera battery lasts a long time. I have had one battery cover an entire opera, symphony concert or musical.
Number four: Buit-In Viewfinder. The viewfinder works while shooting video. In sunlight, in shade, in the dark, does not matter.
Number five: Adjustable LCD. The rear OLED LCD is adjustable. It can be viewed from any position.
Number six: Bright LCD. The OLED LCD is bright enough to be seen in daylight without a hood. Wonderful while working on a tripod.
Number seven: Audio Level Display: The audio levels display on the screen and stay on screen as long as you are recording video. On the GH3 display the audio levels went off after a short time.
Number eight: Focus Peaking. Being able to manually focus on the fly with the LCD and viewfinder is great when the subject is constantly changing.
Number nine: Zebra Bars. Being able to see what will wash out in exposure is very helpful. They can be set to 80% or 100%.
Number ten: Low Rolling Shutter. 1080 60p has the lowest rolling shutter on the GH4. A noticeable difference. 4k has the most rolling shutter.

The Panasonic Lumix GH4 replaces a video camera.

GH4 4K Fireworks

24.00HzTook the new GH4 to the 119th Sequim Irrigation Festival Fireworks. I thought it would be good to use the Cinema 24p at 4K on the camera. That's right, the camera records at 24 frames per second just like a film motion picture camera. None of this 24.976 stuff to NTSC. Just set the camera to 24.00Hz (CINEMA) in the Setup menu under System Frequency and the camera will only record 24p. Now we really have a motion picture camera.

This is the first 4K test with the new camera that I am publishing. I recorded the footage at 100mbps IPB on to a HoodMan RawSteel 32gig Class 10 U1 SDHC card with no problems. On a 32 gig card the camera estimates that you have about 40minutes of record time.

There will a an article soon explaining the differences in the 4K modes in the GH4. We are in a new exciting world with the GH4.