Does the Panasonic GH7 Dominate for Video Production?

The Panasonic GH7 is a professional video tool with features that no other camera with this form factor offers.Watch to find out our first impressions of this new Micro Four Thirds camera for photography and video.
Video Footage By Drew Crawford: drewcrawford.ca/about
BMX Competition Footage Captured at an AAS event: albertaactionsports.ca
Shout out to:
House of Wheels: houseofwheels.ca
Instagram:
Dave Paul: @tcstvdave
Evelyn Drake: @tcstvev
Main: @thecamerastore

[@AlBergstein]

I am so glad to see that Panasonic is continuing to bring out incredible cameras in the micro 4/3 world. For those of us who have invested in their systems over the years this is just wonderful news. This is phenomenal.

[@colinthomas2525]

They are the best. I’m getting a gh7 for sure and a shii whenever that comes out.

[@williamburkholder769]

I'm an ex-pro, retired enthusiast. I will have to retire my GH4 now, FINALLY. This answers nearly all the complaints many of us had with the GH6 and all previous GH cameras. Micro 4/3 has been given new life with the OM-1 Mark II, G9 Mark II, and GH7. Lumix REALLY gets video and the hybrid camera concept. Finally, it's all in one body.

[@rasmus_mattsson]

Drew is an amazing compliment to the show with not only great knowledge but also very interesting to listen to. A great addition! The GH7 like most LUMIX products looks amazing! Switched from m43 to L-mount a while ago and last year to Fuji but always feel a little urge to come back to LUMIX. They offer so much and such great things and features in their cameras that no one else does. As a photographer I really miss the super soft shutter release option from the LUMIX cameras (the one where you can set the shutter to release at half press). That’s just one of the many things they offer that no one else does.

[@solarion33]

from what I gathered the recording formats limitations when an SSD is connected is due to powering issue which can be mitigated by using the new dummy battery by Panasonic that has a usb-c connection.

[@PossumReviews]

B&H says the internal 5.8K open gate recording is limited to 4:2:0 10-bit in long GOP H.265, but it also says you can record RAW externally via HDMI in 5.8K open gate. None of the reviews I've seen elaborate on external recording, so I don't know if this is true. Can you confirm this? And if it is true, what recorders are compatible with this functionality?

[@colinthomas2525]

I would love to know too

[@MartinSmatana]

Hello, amazing review - thank you for that! Can I ask which type of lens was attached to GH7 while talking? Was it the same lens as skateboarding sequences were shot on? Thank yoou!

[@frankinblackpool]

The only fly in the ointment of the new GH7 are the GH6 and G9m2. And if I did not have both cameras then the new GH7 would have been a perfect scoop. But as it is, the GH7 has nothing really significant to bring to the table which the GH6 or G9m2 has to offer. The GH6 should have been delayed until Panasonic cracked the Phased Detection Auto Focus issue. If somebody has a GH5 then this camera is a No-Brainer, to buy ASAP.

[@benderocks788]

What's the low-light performance / quality of the GH7 vs GH6 and GH5?

[@kayodeolaosebikan7462]

Great camera, great review! I always notice one thing on my GH5 and I can still see it on almost all Panasonic m4/3 released after GH5, these cameras have hard time in handling bright white cloths in the frame, they are usually blown out, see the white cap in the frame

[@williamburkholder769]

That's user error in most cases. If the scene brightness range is 13.4 stops or less, you can capture it with the G9 II or GH7. It does require V-Log or a raw video format.

[@razfilmstv]

I have the G9II. I will probably not use Pro Res Raw. But if Lumix will offer the $500 extra trade in like they did on the G9II I might get the GH7

[@errantseed]

i actually prefer smaller sensors like MFT or aps-c for narrative filmaking... so i'm really intrigued by the GH7... just curious about the talking head portions of this video though (like 2:00, 2:18) what did you film those with? was it the GH7?

[@drewcrawford7812]

Yes. The entire episode was filmed on GH7

[@artistjoh]

Does the new XLR unit work on previous GH's, such as GH5 II? Obviously it would not give the 32bit audio, but does it give normal audio like the version 1 XLR? Also, is the GH7 battery the exact same one as the GH5 II?

[@GrenlandUnderVann]

Battery is the same, Panasonic BLK22. As for the audio adapter the marketing material says it's only for the GH7.

[@artistjoh]

@@GrenlandUnderVann In that case, does the older one work on the GH7? It is not logical to have XLR units that is limited to just one of the cameras. I wonder though, does the new unit get listed as GH7 only because it is only on the GH7 that it gives the full 32 bit, but might function in a more limited 24 bit on a different camera, or does it simply not pass any audio through at all? I suspect this might need some on-the-ground testing. Maybe the physical connection to the camera is incompatible. Maybe there is a software incompatibility. I would love to try it out, because I don't trust corporate information. Sometimes they say things just to increase sales.

[@markschneider1396]

The GH7 is crazy, but very heavy and huge. The G9 II looks like a bargain for people like me, I hope they update the firmware to get the new subject detection and Leica monochrome options.

[@albyzonta]

complimenti

[@alexsystems2001]

So at 6:58 you recorded that on the GH7?

[@drewcrawford7812]

Yup. Whole episode was shot on Gh7

[@chrisw443]

100 mp hi res photos? Pre burst? I mean... I dont understand what else you would want in a photo camera thats also the best video camera, possibly ever. If your grumpy about larger sensors, put a speedbooster on.

[@colinthomas2525]

Agreed

[@brohanson]

did they add autofocus in 240 or 300 FPS HD video?

[@GrenlandUnderVann]

300 fps, nope.

[@ItsJFox]

Do you like the GH7 or FX3 for high quality video podcasts?

[@drewcrawford7812]

Both. Its gonna come down to budget and what color space/codec your shooting in more than anything. You can get almost 2 GH7's for 1 FX3, so from a budget stand point alone its very competitive.

[@bobk4438]

Will it replace the Pentax K1 for video?

[@williamburkholder769]

Yes! And it would probably replace it for stills as well. There may be reasons to keep your K1 for stills, but for most still photos, the GH7 could suffice. For video, there is no comparison. The GH7 is light years ahead of that 8-year-old Pentax. It is a professional tool that will find a home on many TV and movie sets as a 'B' camera, especially in high risk situations where high quality in a compact camera is required, but the loss of a $2200 USD body would seem insignificant in comparison to losing a Red or Arri.

[@bobk4438]

@@williamburkholder769 I was being sarcastic.

[@williamburkholder769]

@@bobk4438 Well, I hoped so, but there are some folks with K1s in a forum I am on who would have been serious! Without facial expressions, vocal inflections, and body language, prose is sometimes hard to decipher other than literally.

[@benderocks788]

On the GH7, can you record on both and at the same time, on the SD and the CF Express card??? The GH5 offered to record on both SD card slots at the same time, which is a layer of safety should one of the 2 SD cards fail. I think the GH6 was not offering this SD/CF Express dual recording...

[@mirogor5333]

Why do you think you can't use GH6? I have a GH6 - you can record on both cards at the same time, but only if the Mbit speed is acceptable for the slower card. I record everything up to 400Mbit (v60 card) on two slots at the same time on GH6. In GH5, the maximum bitrate is 400Mbit, so two SD cards worked fine. This cannot be done here because there is only one CFexpress and it allows you to record at the camera's maximum speed (1.9Gbit), which no SD card can achieve - hence it is not possible to record on both cards at the same time, from a speed of 800Mbit. But as long as I don't exceed 400Mbit, I record everything simultaneously on both cards (CFexpress + V60). It is also possible to record simultaneously on both cards using the v90 card (up to 600Mbit).

[@benderocks788]

@@mirogor5333 Thanks for the info. It made sense to me that higher Mbit speed could not be handled by the SD card due to its limit. I was thinking that anything else in the Mbit speed range of the SD card could be recorded on both cards (CF EX & SD) at the same time, but someone else on YT said that it was not possible, hence my question here. I always record everything on both SD cards on my GH5, and would like to continue doing so on any future camera. Thanks again for sharing.

[@ChadWork1]

03:00 Massive ProRes files don't choke your computer. They work better. Highly compressed files can choke your computer though.

[@lfcfanatic]

It will be even better if this camera has Blackmagic's compressed raw options. Prores raw sounds good but it's not likely going to be the used that much because of the file sizes.

[@williamburkholder769]

It can record BRAW to an external recorder, same as the GH6.

[@lfcfanatic]

@@williamburkholder769 More bulk, another battery. another cable to worry about, no thanks. But hey, I'm nitpicking for what is already a great camera.

[@michaelkupfer3723]

Ok so if you are doing cinematic stuff and have a GH6: - the improved AF probably won't do much because you are shooting with MF anyways - 32 Bit Float is a gimmick (because why would you ever turn the audio gain up so high that it would peak? (And you are probably not recording audio on your camera anyway) - ProRes MIGHT be cool to try out (but could you see the difference to GH6' Prores modes?) - Apparently the streaking is gone on the GH7.

[@drewcrawford7812]

I would argue the 32bit float for scratch audio and guerilla shoots or BTS since you don't need to worry about peaking in any situation. Otherwise your more or less right. Useable autofocus is handy for some situations, but proxy recording are the big ones for me. Proxy editing for high bit rate files is SO handy for anyone who can't build out a 2-3k editing rig and need to deliver 4k files.

[@michaelkupfer3723]

@@drewcrawford7812 Hmm. 24 Bit has enough headroom so you can set the gain level low and safe and simply adjust (or boost) it in post. In other words: is there really an epidemic of filmmakers out there that had problems with setting audio gain? Also, the whole 32 Bit thing, that's not a camera feature but an additional (way too expensive) device that you have to buy. And I bet they could make 32 Bit float possible on the GH6 as well via a firmware update. But they choose not to because they want to sell more units of the GH7. The Proxy thing sounds pretty interesting, but only if my editing software could actually work with that. How is the worklflow, you import the proxies, color grade, edit with proxies, and then simply replace the proxy files for the "real" ones?

[@drewcrawford7812]

@@michaelkupfer3723 pretty much yah. I recommend grading with the full res files for accuracy, but it's easy enough to drop them in and batch edit or just grade individual clips. I typically use proxies files for prores or raw but few mates use them with h.265 4k files as well. Longer work flow and ingest but worth it if your comp can't handle native 4k files.

[@michaelkupfer3723]

@@drewcrawford7812 My comp can do (1080p) proxies for 4K or bigger files, but yeah, that would definitely be a time-saver. Thing is I just bought the GH6 like a year ago (already own a GH5s as well), don't know if it's worth it really to upgrade :-(

[@kennethgooswit3697]

We want i nternal recording of BRAW, leave Prores for the mac fanatics

[@martysender5539]

No UFO detection mode? Pass

[@robertLuxama]

I will stay in M43land and marry the Lumix GH7, and we will have some beautiful babies with beautiful 5.7k Prores Raw eyes that speak so many languages ​​including 32-bit float sounds.

[@oleggritsev]

Two time trying to use Panasonic. No sucess. Bad focus. And it have little color distortion reproduction. Sorry no more luck!

[@bngr_bngr]

This camera must be a loss leader. No way Panasonic is making a net profit on the sales of these cameras.

[@morcjul]

What makes you think that? MFT is very popular for video

[@musadays8083]

I actually thought it was a full frame 😴

[@TheCameraStoreTV]

The Panasonic S5 II and S5 IIX cover many of the same features if you need a full frame sensor. But, this has some video advantages that the full-frame cameras don't offer.

[@mipmipmipmipmip]

​@@TheCameraStoreTV might end up in a possible S1H successor. Still, m43 has advantages.

[@donnas8408]

This better than Sony mirrorless video cameras? Will it take a Sony G Master lens?

[@TheCameraStoreTV]

It depends on what features you need for video work. Sony absolutely has some great video options. We love using the FX3 for our 4K 60p work. But, the GH7 can record Apple Pro Res Raw internally, it can also capture oversampled 4K/120P, and has the 32-bit float audio option. It's pretty stacked with video features! It can't take Sony G Master lenses. But there are some sweet Leica-designed G-series lenses available for this mount.

[@artistjoh]

The flange distance is slightly longer for E-mount, so in theory it should be possible for someone to make a Sony to MFT adapter, but it is almost certainly not a realistic option since you would lose all electronic functions that Sony lenses rely on to work. So while possible in theory, barely, in the real world it would be nearly useless to do, so ultimately, it is a no on that one. However, why use big and heavy Sony lenses, when MFT lenses are smaller and lighter, and have all the features you need?