Panasonic’s GH4 has been a hit with documentary and low-budget indie filmmakers thanks to its small size, internal 4K recording and low cost. But it’s now over two and a half years old, and in today’s world that can be a lifetime for a camera. Fortunately, Panasonic has a replacement coming that looks like it could be as popular as the GH4, not only because it improves on the original capabilities but because it also marks a first step to 6K capture. Panasonic first teased the GH5 in September, but at CES they announced the feature list, along with planned […]
by Michael Murie on Jan 10, 2017Looking back on 2015, while there were few real stand-out innovations, the advances in the world of cameras and gear continued to march relentlessly forward. Cameras This was the year that Panasonic finally shipped their 4K Varicam 35, but for the indie filmmaker it was probably the announcement of the $4,000 Panasonic AG-DVX200 4K camera — which features a Four-Thirds sensor — that was more interesting. Ideal for run-and-gun documentary work, you might think of it as the GH4 with better audio and a good fixed zoom lens. For the narrative filmmaker, or those that want/need a bigger sensor, the […]
by Michael Murie on Dec 30, 2015Today at IBC Sony announced a smaller version of their popular PXW-FS7 4K camera. The PXW-FS5 takes most of the features of the PXW-FS7 and shrinks them into a box that’s less than half the weight and almost one quarter the volume. While it takes away some features — there are fewer recording options, no extension arm or LCD loupe — it does include an interesting new feature; an electronically variable ND filter that lets you select any position between 1/4ND and 1/128ND with 128 steps. Adjustment from one level to another should be fairly smooth, enabling you to adjust […]
by Michael Murie on Sep 11, 2015