LUMIX GH6 Low Light Test // Makes Me Question the Dynamic Range Boost Mode

[@CUTONTHEACTION]

What I've found so far after a week of testing in various situations, is that dynamic range boost mode gives me another stop or stop and a half on the top of the luminance scale. For your nightime shots, maybe it will allow you to keep more detail and color in lighted walls, for example, but neon signs etc. will still blow when exposing for everything else. Dynamic range boost has been very helpful in keeping detail in skies during daytime; with a color curve that smashes the top 10-15 percent down, I'm able to keep a lot of cloud detail that would otherwise just blow out. I do notice more noise in bushes and trees in the distance (areas of high random detail in the image) at around 30-40 percent, because in the lower part of the luminance range it's using the 2000 ISO circuitry, while the upper part is using the 400 ISO circuitry. For lowest possible noise I go all the way down to ISO 125 (without dynamic range boost of course). ISO 125 is probably less dynamic range than 400 but also less noise. I'm always shooting Vlog, as anything else gets clipped top and bottom. I notice a color change between shooting in ProResHQ vs. MOV so be sure you can color match if you're mixing ProResHQ with high frame rate MOV stuff. I do love the colorimetry overall of this camera, and ProResHQ lets you push and pull the image further. I'm an early adopter of Red (low 500's of the Red One) and have continued with more Red's, but I got a GH5s four years ago as well and love it. The GH6 has much better colorimetry than the GH5s, IMHO. Thanks for posting Caleb!

[@neerajjaswal5991]

This is the video I've been waiting thank you Caleb.

[@CalebHoover]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@neerajjaswal5991]

@@CalebHoover Yes I enjoyed it, thank you Caleb,🙏

[@jdavidmusic]

To me DRBM was designed to capture NORMAL M4/3 shadow info, while increasing detail in the highlights. Which is why the lights in your samples looks sharper/vivid... but there is no discernible diff in the shadows. Making it really nice for well lit scenes... but not really an answer to low light improvement.

[@CalebHoover]

🙌 thanks for the info!

[@amfre]

sounds fair

[@cuttysark7034]

Nice to see content like this. I shoot lowlight with GH5 as a hobby, which is what informs this post. These are my points/impressions. Panasonic did a poor job communicating dynamic range vs noise for the GH5s low and high base ISO options. To this day, there are professional videographers on youtube stating the exact opposite of each other with regard to which setting is best for dynamic range or noise. The extended dynamic range PR with the GH6 has only left me confused. Panasonic need to come out with a clear demonstration video, or we will be left wondering if it’s really all that meaningful. BTW You really need to share shutter angle (if you did I missed it), as its as critical as ISO for understanding where you’re at with low light footage. Assuming your shutter angle was fairly high, 24fps with an F1.7 wide open should be letting plenty of light into your camera in a pretty well-lit urban environment. I’m wondering if you exposed your footage a stop brighter than real life appearance. Some shots the sky is not all that black - but maybe that was just the hour. With the GH5, in very low light, I find in general quality degrades when you go more than about a stop above real life brightness. I’m also wondering if that area you filmed in was really too well lit to benefit from extended ISO. More profound blacks, perhaps emphasised by reducing your exposure, might be a better test. Your footage does not have that ‘silky’ look. It may be due to the low contrast colour profile, slight over exposure, or just noise running at those ISOs (actually at 6400 it was pretty good for that ISO - I find on GH5 sometimes 6400 works way better than you’d think, and other times its poor - but I won’t comment on why). But with an f1.7, should be able to get it silkier one way or another. If going out again I’d collect more shots focussed on the background, and try stopping down to F2 to increase depth of field a little as the blur makes it hard to judge. I noticed there’s no lens flare from internal lens reflections, which is extremely impressive considering all those point source lights and shooting WIDE open at 1.7. Would LOVE to know if its even better than the sigma 18-35 in this regard (which is also very very good). My last point is that I notice the nasty vertical jolts in the walking footage at full speed - just like the GH5. I can never get rid of it, even with IBIS + lens OIS on and careful steps. I like to be on a tripod for low light tests, with some slow pan shots, and couple shots of cars or something moving - just makes reviewing footage easier when there’s no shaking. Full speed footage is vital for review purposes, so glad you had some in your video. Look forward to more low light tests.

[@CalebHoover]

thanks for this!

[@mick_d]

I get cleaner blacks using HLG when shooting in low light with my GH5S @ ISO 2500. Seems to work also with my Gh6. Did a 3 camera shoot indoors without any special lighting and set all ISO's to 2500 and it came out beautiful.

[@tiggerable]

As I have only the GH5 for comparison I'm amazingly impressed by how good the image is, especially regarding the almost lack of noise (again, compared to the GH5). But in regards to the DR Boost mode, I have the same questions. I do see some difference with it on/off but very marginal.

[@CalebHoover]

Totally agree

[@amfre]

@@CalebHoover it sounds that DR boost is more to have more details in some regular or maybe little bit non-regular conditions but it doesnt give you anyting in extreme low-light condition

[@AlanChunkyMunky]

Just got my gh6 a few weeks ago. Really liking it except for managing the noise and it’s something I’m still learning how to expose for as well. Have yet to really take it out for a spin for a night shoot but this video is super helpful!

[@CalebHoover]

definitely see how you like it in low light!

[@dunlux]

@@CalebHoover I'm having alot of noise and grain as well with gh6. I've been able to minimize it but it's still there. I've had so much trouble with this camera. Do you have any tips?

[@Imaginelotus]

@@CalebHoover did you use any noise reduction here? I’ve been running test and have been getting a ton of noise. Specifically chroma noise which is just ugly to see in the shadows

[@lumixographer2185]

Honesty is the best guide for the rest of to learn from! Keep exploring and reporting back👍😀

[@DavidGriffin]

Daylight my guy you got to use the dynamic range boost in daylight to get the benefits at night it's not enough actual dynamic range in most scenes to get the full benefits

[@Romansu]

to clearly see differences when dynamic range boost is enabled, you must use the appropriate container format (HLG, V-log). if you shoot in a different format(SDR) or convert v-log to 709(SDR), then the range shrinks and the difference will no longer be 1 stop, but less!

[@amfre]

I dont get it, he was shooting in vlog but later graded it with some LUT if I understood it correctly

[@spacelord1913]

We need more GH6 videos - GH6 drama is blowing up all over youtube and I can't get enough.

[@alanszeto]

amen!

[@naim_addad]

as far as i understand the drb - it's specifically for the highlights so using it in night shots is like taking an umbrella on a sunny day. very counter intuitive since it sets the base iso to 2000 which makes one think it's ideal for low light scenarios but no, it's for bright days (with a strong nd filter)... kzbin.info/www/bejne/nHfOq6CmjtmhqcU

[@riparianstudios]

Yep. That.

[@Superz3ro]

You realize millions of people all over the world use umbrella’s on a sunny day. They are commonly referred to as parasols… …

[@naim_addad]

@@Superz3ro thanks captain obvious

[@404Basel]

It’s look to me like it wasn’t obvious 🤔

[@naim_addad]

@@404Basel isch jo au nid andersch z erwarte vomne basler

[@digitaldevigner4080]

DRB is not for low light shooting although it can be used. Its not to reduce noise however. Thats not what extra dynamic range does. Extra dynamic range gives you more values above middle gray. So you now have a stop more detail in the specular or highlights. Like you can see in the shots with the garage lights in the background. The lights on the walls are much less blown out when you use DRB. It should have zero impact on middle gray or the shadows however which is why ISO 2000 has the noise one would expect at ISO 2000. Some will be ok with that noise and some will not. But it is not a dual native ISO situation. Its not a second bank of ISO values. Its combining two ISO ranges together to add in that extra stop above middle gray. Kind of like how still photo HDR works by merging together multiple exposures in post. In this case the GH6 is merging together two exposures of video on the fly to gain more dynamic range. In this case one stop. This is also why the DRB is limited in what frame rates it supports. The sensor is merging in two exposures of video at the same time so the frame rate had to be cut in half. It is true shooting a non log format will likely have less noise in low light situations but log isn't just about capturing more dynamic range. Its about having. less baked in image so we can grade it as desired in post. Its about having material shot during the day and at night that we can match the look. As you can see in the garage in the background even at night we can lose specular or highlight values with a lower dynamic range. Noise with log is just something we have to be ok dealign with in post just like it is when shooting raw video.

[@CalebHoover]

thanks for these details! this is making more sense

[@noirceurtte5781]

Does it work for still photo too ?

[@Whatsup_Abroad]

@@noirceurtte5781 The two native iso's work differently in photo mode. Dynamic range boost is always on in photos past iso 800 or so. And it leads to a direct increase in noise performance in low light. Just like shooting video at 2000 plus but without dynamic boost one also has lower noise than the gh5 did.

[@jeremypope-levison721]

I couldn't really see noise. Maybe KZbin compression, maybe not but that looks so clean. Makes me rethink my decision to get it

[@JorgeNunez-vt7nd]

Definitely would love to see other color profiles low light tests. Most people don't shoot in VLOG....and different ISOs would be great too.

[@CalebHoover]

yeah definitely gonna do other profiles

[@DennisSchmitz]

I basically extends highlight dynamic range by 1.5 stops, but also seems to add some more shadow details (chroma at least).

[@StanleyKC]

DENNNNISSSS!!!!!

[@CalebHoover]

thanks dennis! i'm still getting used to that. hopefully i can nail it sometime here soon

[@JeremiahNichol]

Great video. Love your honest takes.

[@CalebHoover]

Thanks for watching!

[@alantuttphotography]

I have a suspicion that doing a straight VLOG to 709 conversion will lose the benefits of dynamic range boost. Maybe it will prove itself when you actually grade the image? In the comparison at 8:20, the main difference I see is in the transition between shadow and light in the garage. You get a bit more detail before it blows out. In other words, your scene may still have too much dynamic range even for the new mode. Otherwise, there's so much motion going on in these samples, it's hard to see any noise at all.

[@CalebHoover]

i'm gonna go back and try grading some of it soon to see how it works

[@pgtips4240]

To me, having done my own tests I recorded in a low light room with a lamp but I really struggled to have everything exposed properly. Aso no matter how low I went with exposure I always got the zebras warning for the light bulb being blown out. The panny is good but it just does not seem to cope with dynamic range, it just hasn't got enough capacity to manage certain scenes. The dynamic boost mode definitely does help a bit but it's still not enough. In your tests I would not be happy with the exposure of the lights but to improve them you would have to under expose so much that you would crush the darks and lose shadow detail. Btw, this is me using vlog with dynamic range boost on. It's a great little camera but I guess you just have to work within its limitations and every camera has it's own set of limitations in some department.

[@RT_Produkcja]

Hey. With DRB you can see the difference when you will try to recover some information like from the overexposed highlights. You have so much more information even its not noticeable at the first look. Try to check it.

[@CalebHoover]

👍👍

[@kennethgooswit9194]

Very nice lady. The quality looks good. With colorgrading it can be made perfect

[@bayercreativeimaging4755]

Caleb, great video, thanks for keeping the GH6 content coming! For us interior real estate shooters can you do a side by side for the DR boost to see how it handles highlight recovery in the windows during daylight? When the sun is out windows are normally a mess but maybe DR boost can help there?

[@CalebHoover]

Great suggestion!

[@REMRODFILMS]

Drb is only good during the day. I would shoot the flat profile at night its awesome!

[@okikiconsulting]

Have you tried the Leica 9mm lens?

[@BlueSatt]

Open gate mode is really something. Great shots!

[@Photovintageguy]

I have an S5 I end up shooting I hlg then converting to Rec709 for low light. Log just isn’t mean for low light.

[@CalebHoover]

yeah i've never used log for low light but i wanted to give it a shot

[@Photovintageguy]

@@CalebHoover here’s one test. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rnqamIGHba-WZ5Y

[@Photovintageguy]

Video about conversion lut kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIKoiH-Iaqmffbc

[@undrsonr5316]

the dual gain (boost) adds a subtle gentle roll off from highlights to midtones... that´s all it really do, plus a minimum 1 stop in the shadows... sounds not too much, but in a bigger screen it adds a lot to the imagem, more cinematic. hard to see in small screens... tue dual gain is what brings "cinematic" to the bmpcc og also... beautiful shots you made! also, I prefer always HLG over vlog, less noise, great dynamnic range.

[@CalebHoover]

i really like hlg as well. havent used it yet on the gh6 thoough

[@ijob98]

So you can basically film everything with DR Boost on and do not need to change the settings?

[@selftravelling]

With light nope because with dynamic boost on the minimun iso is 2000

[@ijob98]

if you use ND Filters this wil be no problem

[@StanleyKC]

@@ijob98 Exactly

[@CalebHoover]

can't use all settings with DR boost like 4K 120

[@RunNGunPhoto]

Great footage Caleb, thanks for sharing! I've heard the dynamic range boost mode doesn't really help in low light conditions, from what I've read. I'm getting a GH6 to try it out for myself!

[@ruff1draft]

When it comes to Panasonic I hope they release a firmware update for the Panasonic S5 where you can get unlimited recording time limit in 4K 10 bit in Super 35mm mode

[@CalebHoover]

hopefully!

[@ruff1draft]

@@CalebHoover Yes indeed. Panasonic need to look at the Sony A74 since they are exactly the same.

[@억투더장]

wow ! What lens did you use?

[@SurfvideofactoryFrance]

Hi. Which ND filter to use in VLOG with DR BOOST on? Thanks.

[@lamasteve6905]

Keep working with it ! In a movie set you would have lights and reflectors up ! White balance is off so these camera's take time to learn ! Two years from now, you will still have more to learn ! Put this camera on a tripod and turn the dials till you get a clear well light picture then move in with hand held shots ! Keep on it !

[@lamasteve6905]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ponRm2Bsq66XhdE

[@chucknorris8704]

I'm quite surprised by how good the low light image looks.

[@heynow2880]

Dynamic boost is not meant for low light. LUMIX themselves even say this. I pushed the low light up to 10,000 ISO with no issues. Almost Sony level on low light.

[@gurugamer8632]

Iso 10,000 on GH6 is grainy and which picture profile you referring to?

[@heynow2880]

@@gurugamer8632 vlog with the boost turned off

[@MANZANOADRIAN]

what lens

[@LucasHJX]

Dynamic range booster mode should be always on… I don’t know why they provide the switch.

[@CalebHoover]

not even an option on 4K 120

[@orange42]

The switch just forces the iso setting, not the DR boost mode. It will always use DR boost at 2000 iso in vlog at 25 or 50p. So only an indirect switch

[@razfilmstv]

what is the white balance?

[@TimeCodeMechanics]

I liked the look. It was yellow, but not ugly.

[@CalebHoover]

gave a pretty good vibe

[@GlobeHackers]

I remember shooting with a Bolex. If you can't get good results with these cameras, it's your fault. Low light can be a creative choice. Low light still light. hehe Perhaps Boost mode is for sunny, high contrast? The clips look great to me. As is it's an engaging look. Print~

[@SeeWhatYouSee]

you can maybe 1 step or half step more when using dynamic boost on then you can raise apeture more still not blow hi lights

[@davidmurray5926]

00:57 Since 2012? The GH5 was only introduced in 2017.

[@aybee5908]

Seems to be clean footage at ISO 6400. Strange redish white-balance in my opinion (Rec 709 Lut?). Dynamic boost just helps in extreme highlight-contrast situations (person against window, person against Sun etc).

[@CorvusWolf]

You need to do a comparison between GH5 log and GH6 log

[@CalebHoover]

🤔 thinking GH6 already won

[@CorvusWolf]

@@CalebHoover do you already try ?

[@CorvusWolf]

@@CalebHoover I didn’t see any video of anyone doing that comparison… just log same lenses and same light… none in KZbin

[@gilhadanimusic7494]

Thanx, It is ugly indeed, such a big deferance with and without the DR booster.

[@filipmichalsaffray441]

Hi Thx for the video and test. I own 3 different MFT,GH5,5s BMPCC4K. Blackmagic got best image because of 12 bit Braw but got lot of grain/noise which is easy to fix with NEAT and image look really fantastic...it is soft but it is what the image I love froma Cinemacamera... Maybe GH6 with Rangeboost got too this kind of noise grain which schould be always traited in post. I always reduce denoise internal to minimum in Pana...and do the denoise after it (except for my BMPCC6K because I love this thin grain noise and it gives the footage some character) So I think GH6 goes maybe the same way it has grain/noise which is easy to fix in post in high iso /low light situation. So it is why they don't need dual iso in GH6 because of it s organic noise... Just my idea theories don't have GH6...but imho even if the GH5s got higher iso and less noise in my case, BMPCC4K got still after denoise and the end of my Color grade pipeline a better image...maybe worth the try with GH6. .and you need to shoot in the highest Codec you have so prores HQ to have nice noise/grain. The grain could be a part of H265 420. as well...just some ideas speculations...y But are you happy with the GH6 is my main question... Yours Fil

[@CalebHoover]

happy with the gh6? 🤔

[@JordanVegBike]

Did you mean GH4 since 2021? GH5 only came out in 2017 :P

[@orange42]

2012 for GH4. I guess people make mistakes... haha

[@candyartstv]

DR boost is noisy in broad daylight! The GH6 is definitely not a low light camera, and neat video is essential.

[@CalebHoover]

yeah not a low light camera is right

[@grupatex8561]

there is definitely more noise when Dynamic Range Boost is turned on, you can see it in the attached image, and I have experienced it myself, it is better to have a clean image than a swollen dirty image with some insignificant detail in bright areas. REGARDS.

[@przybylskipawel]

I bought GH6 because I needed unlimited (unlike G9), no overheat, hi-res recordings (I meant 5.2K in G9 and 5.8K here) with substantially better lowlight noise performance than GH5, but had no budget for Sony A1. Basically I expected high res GH5S with IBIS. And I got it. Kinda. But I really don't get how to use this DR boost to maximize my lowlight noise performance. I cannot find materials that really explain how to achieve it and plethora of contradictory "tests" results showing how this mode either increase the noise or decrease it. I can see that in your scenario it increased the noise a little. I trustfully bought the camera and it seems to do better job than G9, but it does not inspire confidence in regard of low light ISO. I know what to do with GH5S to achieve lowest noise in low light whaen I shoot a concert in a church. I just have to manually engage second native ISO circuit. Here... Not so sure. I recently shot two concerts in artificially moderately lit churches with GH6 at 5.8K 25p, V-log +1EV to Rec.709, ISO 2000, same lens as you but at shutter priority. Noise performance was OK, better than I remembered with G9. Not as good as GH5S, but I need much sharper, much more detailed image as I shot a choir or 50+ people. I used DR boost ON. I don't know if did right, but at a second day the light was interrupted by a setting sun comming from the side thorough stained glass right on the altos faces. I couldn't adjust anything as I sung on that concert. DR allowed me to recover some of the highlights. I don't know how much DR boost helped with that, but I am pretty sure it did. Still, I am not sure how DR works, and when should and shouldn't I use it. I would be much more confident with this camera if someone could explain it in detail including scenarios when this is not a right choice. And if there is no such scenario, how to use this mode properly gived the mixed results presented in youtube.

[@GoTread]

V-log is not the best for low light and the introduction of noise, you are potentially negating the benefits of Dynamic Range Boost Mode. I would try Natural and Cine-D is this same scenario and see if you see a distinctive difference. I haven't had opportunity to run through the full list of settings but in low light it's tough to really nail exposure and that's reallly when V-log shines, when you actually nail the correct exposure. This footage still looks great if you ask me but I bet you can get it even better.

[@CalebHoover]

yeah i'm definitely gonna try it with different profiles

[@kennethgooswit9194]

I.m.o. It does not matter what you do or not do, if i can get a good picture out of low light conditions with good editing, it is ok to me. Why do difficult if it can be easy???

[@boardhouseextra6525]

Use these exact settings and my footage was grainy as hell

[@neaumusic]

its good if you're going to use ISO 1000 or more anyways

[@richarddimery]

DR boost seems like it's just a second native iso mixed with the first, giving you better dynamic range than you would otherwise on the more highly amplified circuit. Its still boosting the analogue gain so is going to introduce more noise. Every other camera loses DR and gets noisier on its second native iso so it's a bit better in that respect. Smash your sigma 18-35 on there and over-expose a stop or so in low light then crush the blacks.

[@Whatsup_Abroad]

Even in the low light the dynamic range and noise performance are pretty impressive. And in photos the dynamic range boost behaves differently (always on after iso 800 with a significant improvement in lowlight noise performance) so it's a workhorse for me

[@raredreamfootage]

I think your night time scene doesn't have enough stops in the highlights to show off the Dynamic Range Boost.

[@celinasalazar8337]

There is no way this is real no noise ?? I am using the sigma 18 35 and it ger some noise. Who knows maybe is the adapter ?

[@michalmeskon.r.s.354]

8:22 target on the black sky fragments compare and you will understand why you using dr boost.... and no gh5s had tragedy low light performance compare to gh6 soo mayb its why they wont made it again. I had better fottage with fast lens in low light with gh5 compare to gh5s

[@dr.ljepava]

V-log is not ideal for low light

[@CalebHoover]

i thought i'd give it a shot

[@orange42]

We all learned that in 2012 on the GH4. HLG is much better with shadows than vlog.

[@millionaire9122]

You are only going to see the gains of the dynamic range boost in scenarios of high dynamic range, not this low light setting.

[@radioKISUMUndogo.Podcast]

The last frame of the empty plate cannot have a smiling face?,the hungry don’t smile….

[@CalebHoover]

🤔

[@dapunkof1975]

She looks like Casey from europhia when she’s married with kids

[@CalebHoover]

😂

[@Interceptor121]

Surprise low light and high dynamic range are not the same thing! And focussed subjects an unknown OMG

[@shuttervividphotography8819]

Auto focus is kinda not good :(

[@User-pq2yn]

Very noisy camera :(

[@ShotByDale]

Next time can you bring a gimbal or put the camera on sticks please. This is hard to watch.

[@elilevi8223]

i have the gh6 and the autofocus is crap at low light panasonic tricked all customers with gh6 when g9 mark 2 got out i sugest for lumix to do recall to the gh6 and let customers to do traid in gh6 to g9 mark 2 i will sell all my lumix camera and join to sony as many israel customer will do its a promise

[@teckno_senpai]

GH5 came out in 2012....? lmao

[@CalebHoover]

😂😂 yeah i realized that's how it came across after posting it. freelance since 2012. gh5 since 2017 😂

[@QuicksilverSG]

The GH6 seems to be optimized for one specific, high-profile use case: Max dynamic range with V-Log in DR Boost mode. This is why the GH6 has V-Log rather than V-Log-L and why it doesn't offer an explicit Dual-ISO feature. Optimizing this GH6 sweet-spot was key to topping the GH5s while precluding direct feature-by-feature comparisons. This chart may provide some insights: interceptor121.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/noisecomparisonvlog.png