Lumix GH7 is misunderstood, why?

This video turned into a discussion instead of a review after using it since day of release, trying to dive into why so few are talking about it half a year later. What happened and who is the GH7 for?

There are many great mirrorless videocameras and most of them will do for most jobs nowdays, whatever floats the boat, but if you really want to pick things appart I think there are points to be made with the Lumix GH7 and it's target audience and who it's advantageous for, compromising using a MFT sensor.
And maybe answer why there is so little content about it on youtube compared to other cameras.

*Another pro to the GH7 I didn’t mention in this video is the Pixel by Pixel function, which allows to have an additional zoom by using a smaller area of the sensor while maintaining 4k resolution. I calculated it to give an approximate 17mm zoom.

I do not advice anyone to go into a warzone.

If Lumix is here, things I’d add to the GH7,
1) Dual native ISO
2) Mini XLR input with internal 32 bit float
3 Internal Braw

Gear used in this video:
- Panasonic Lumix GH7
- Metabones Ultra 0.71x Speedbooster EF-MFT with 4.10 update
- Sigma 24-105mm (at about 50mm zoom, caused some seeking in this scene as you'll notice)
- Freewell V.2 Hybrid VND/CPL filter
- Freewell Snowmist filter
- Lexar CFExpress Type B Silver Pro 512 Gigabytes

_______

Affiliate links:

Dehancer:
Get 10% off Dehancer with promocode: VDBFILM

Artlist:
Get 2 months of free subscription from Artlist when signing up for one year:

Audiio:
Get 70% off your first year with Audiio:

________

Say hi ! 👋

[CurrenSheldon]

Agreed that this is the ultimate travel/adventure camera, especially when paired with a speedbooster, the f1.7 zooms, or a couple of fast primes. The incredible IBIS means no gimbal. 32-bit float and 4-channel audio means no recorder. Incredible codecs. etc. Great video!

[jonathancwu]

A key quote for me was "you pay for a bunch of functionality." I filmed in Burma with the a7S III which worked for the most part, but I've been looking at the GH7 to address shortcomings like so-so IBIS and lack of a tiltable screen. Thanks for the video. I watched the documentary as well.

[ryszardzokowski]

Respect for courage and motiviation to do this documentries like that. There is possible to see this documentary somewhere?

[markus-wcv]

Great video, so nice to watch a camera review in this style with someone who use it on actual projects! And what a crazy project then, big respect man! Looking forward to watch the doc when it’s published 💯

I am an EVA-1 user with the GH5 as a b-cam for branded content, extreme sports (surfing skating etc) and corporate stuff. Looking to upgrade the GH5 to the GH7 and this got me leening more in to it :)

[RockWILK]

Wow. Be safe out there. Valuable information. Thanks for sharing.

[FluidSurfing]

Loved your focus and how you understand filming

[codythep]

Bro! You should make this exact video again and tell that story on the front end.

The red light mode is an extremely unique usecase that I have not heard of before and no other consumer level cameras have this feature that I know of.

Even just mentioning that you will tell a story about it earlier on would likely help with retention.
But that was the most riveting part of this video by far. Not telling stories of war for clicks but an unsung feature of a camera that is applicable even in times of war. Crazy!

[keiaso]

Thank you for the info! please be safe.respect from japan.

[kaba-k]

I've been a long time user of micro 4/3, but I've already succumbed to the lure of FF. However, I agree with what you say about the advantages and perhaps the focus Panasonic's marketing should focus on. And much respect for what and where you shoot!

[AllThingsFilm]

Great video. I'm running with the S5ii, a fantastic camera. I shot a feature film with the GH5, so I am a big fan of Panasonic LUMIX cameras.
That being said, I have a lot of respect for what you are doing by capturing a real world conflict. Be safe. And know that what you're doing is a great service by capturing what will be important on a historical level.

[iamakkkshay]

One more thing, with smaller sensors you get wider dof even at fast aperture values. Also couple of Lumix Leica zoom lenses cover entire focal length range of 4 full frame zoom lenses.

[ニコルソン-bs]

I bought this camera and I'm incredibly happy with it thought,
should I buy arri logc3 for further updates?

[marin_real_estate_photography]

Thanks for the video. Good point about the GH7 being an "outdoor" run and gun camera. If only the GH7 recorded either BRAW recording internally, or if Panasonic developed their own RAW codec (similar to how Nikon has N-RAW internally in their Z6III, which can be editied in DaVinci Resolve), that would have made it a must have for me. Also, thanks so much for doing the documentary in Ukraine.

[mashudali]

Its a mad camera, I opted for the S5iix, but I knew it was for lightweight run and gun doc makers. Will defo add this to my team as I want to make stuff you're making. Lumix, marketing is all about differentiation, primary message could have been for the doc/wildlife/news shooters, pitching against camcorder users and then the secondary message could have been the usual content creators etc... That flippy screen is wild...

[Zeidify]

Nice video, it should be marketed differently towards various target audiences.

For the most part I agree & just bought the camera, but I think it is good for conferences, sports, & wildlife as well because of the 2x crop factor reach.

For those that are wondering about shallow DOF, that’s usually not that important in tele shooting, f4, 5.6, or even more stopped down is what is commonly used for those situations.

*interesting red light situation

[PublicHerald]

Great comments! We're also adding the GH7 to our camera lineup mainly for documentary use in the field. The GH LUMIX series has always been reliable, faster and easier for us in documentary work and we've produced three features with their cameras with very few issues. Where can we see the Ukraine film you're working on?

[robinbaldrian]

Exactly my viewpoint. As a solo doc maker myself, I came from a Canon C200. Sold it and bought (after long hours of research and comparison) a GH7. For verité and direct cinema style filmmaking, the GH7 fits perfectly. And I never really liked that super shallow DOF anyways... and still even without a speedbooster you could get that look. Bought a 25mm 1.4 lens for the GH7 which would be 50mm 2.8 equivalent on Full Frame. Wide open, more than enough background seperation if needed. Think about all those legendary docs back in the day that were shot on 16mm film - they even had less "image surface" than we have now on micro four thirds sensors. I love the GH7, the IBIS is insane. The weight and size is perfect if you are always on the run. And finally Lumix has uppened their autofocus game, this autofocus is very much usable. Thank you for the video, it was a great watch, let me know when the documentary is out that you made, I would love to see it! All the best to you bro.

[rovingearth]

I was listening to you but immediately tuned out after you said this isn’t for narrative filmmaking. You can absolutely make a narrative film with the GH7. It’s just like any other camera that’s considered capable.

[sdhute]

Any lens recommendations for documentary / interviewing ? I have a s5ii which a little large. Looking at getting back to something smaller back into m43. Might just get the Panasonic 10-25 ?? Good choice ?

[NorthBorneoLights]

I know you use the Sigma 18-35mm with the speedbooster, but I'm interested do you use native mount glass too? And which ones?