A Wedding Filmmaker's Review Of The Panasonic GH5

The Panasonic GH5 has amazing specs, but is it the best camera for wedding filmmaking? And how does the GH5 compare to the Sony A7Sii?
In this review video, I will answer those two questions! As well as tell you:
😲A feature of this camera that will make you throw away your monopod
💡How the camera handles lowlight, and how it compares to the A7Sii at higher ISOs.
📱Your new iPhone shoots 4K at 60fps, is it any better on the GH5?
👍An awesome GH5 capability that guarantees you’ll never deal with flickering or banding from cheap lights again.
🔟What is 10-bit color, and why is it so amazing on the GH5?
🤔I answer the question, “Will I switch from the A7Sii to the GH5?”

And you’ll also see tons of gorgeous wedding footage from the coast of Portugal!

00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Gorgeous wedding footage begins!
02:18 - Build Quality of the GH5
03:53 - Why In Body Image Stabilization will make you want to throw away your monopod!
05:21 - GH5 Menus and why they don’t suck.
06:43 - Custom Buttons (the GH5 has more than you think)
08:03 - No zoom lens? No problem, with this amazing feature.
09:38 - A lesser known ability that will save you MAJOR frustration at weddings!
11:31 - How to switch framerates, resolution, and settings in less than a second.
12:51 - One of my biggest GH5 frustrations (that will probably bother you too)
16:01 - Battery Life - Is it as good as everyone says?
17:52 - Framerate & Resolution aka THE GOOD STUFF!
19:39 - 10-Bit Color and why it’s a big deal.
21:59 - V-Log: A flat picture that gets really pretty when color graded.
23:50 - Dual SD Card Slots (so excited about these!)
28:10 - Let’s talk about the GH5’s 2x sensor crop and why it’s controversial.
34:25 - Autofocus performance
35:31 - The biggest con of the GH5: Lowlight performance
36:57- ISO tests (turn on 4K so you can see the noise properly)
38:54 - Examples of the A7Sii’s lowlight capabilities
44:00 - Conclusion: Is the GH5 any good?
44:48 - Where does the GH5 beat the A7Sii?
45:45 - Where does the A7Sii beat the GH5? - Side by side ISO comparison between the GH5 and A7Sii
46:21 - Am I going to sell my A7Sii and buy a GH5?
47:02 - Should you buy the GH5 or the A7Sii?
48:35 - A really cool giveaway for you!

Music licensing sites I recommend:

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[whoismatt]

Also, this video is pretty long, so here’s a table of contents if you wanna skip around:
00:00 - Intro
01:13 - Gorgeous wedding footage begins!
02:18 - Build Quality of the GH5
03:53 - Why In Body Image Stabilization will make you want to throw away your monopod!
05:21 - GH5 Menus and why they don’t suck.
06:43 - Custom Buttons (the GH5 has more than you think)
08:03 - No zoom lens? No problem, with this amazing feature.
09:38 - A lesser known ability that will save you MAJOR frustration at weddings!
11:31 - How to switch framerates, resolution, and settings in less than a second.
12:51 - One of my biggest GH5 frustrations (that will probably bother you too)
16:01 - Battery Life - Is it as good as everyone says?
17:52 - Framerate & Resolution aka THE GOOD STUFF!
19:39 - 10-Bit Color and why it’s a big deal.
21:59 - V-Log: A flat picture that gets really pretty when color graded.
23:50 - Dual SD Card Slots (so excited about these!)
28:10 - Let’s talk about the GH5’s 2x sensor crop and why it’s controversial.
34:25 - Autofocus performance
35:31 - The biggest con of the GH5: Lowlight performance
36:57- ISO tests (turn on 4K so you can see the noise properly)
38:54 - Examples of the A7Sii’s lowlight capabilities
44:00 - Conclusion: Is the GH5 any good?
44:48 - Where does the GH5 beat the A7Sii?
45:45 - Where does the A7Sii beat the GH5? - Side by side ISO comparison between the GH5 and A7Sii
46:21 - Am I going to sell my A7Sii and buy a GH5?
47:02 - Should you buy the GH5 or the A7Sii?
48:35 - A really cool giveaway for you!

Thank you for watching!

[Theroastingchicken]

I watched the entirety of this video and actually remembered things- you are a lifesaver and God bless you keeping everything so compact and concise

[ChrisGachema]

I paused the video at 10:00, went on Amazon, ordered the camera and watched the rest of it! Still no regrets!

[nathanieldrew]

Wow you made this fun to watch with your wonderful personality and great editing (and spectacular b-roll). Thank you so much!

[matrixxhunter]

Great review! you answered a lot of questions I had about the gh5. One note about crop factors, you have to multiply the f-stop by the crop factor, just like the focal length. For example a f2 becomes a f4. The panasonic 12-35 f 2.8 acts like a 24-70 f 5.6 . this is why the speed booster "in my opinion" is necessary accessory for mft cameras used for video production.

[SoundOfTheShutter]

Matt, this is seriously the best review for GH5 I've seen in all of youtube. You've literally answered every possible question I've had on the GH5. Wonderful video man! love your work!

[thesearchforserotonin]

dude I absolutely LOVE my GH5! I've had it for about 3 months now and feel like I have only scratched the surface. Such an amazing work horse! I film wedding sin 4k and put out my final render at 1080 with no problem! I agree on the low light issue. This is not that great in low light. I was filming a wedding a couple of weeks ago and was at ISO 3200 and there was way too much noise. I ended up dropping down to 1080 at 24fps so I could use slower shutter speed (1/50) just to be able to bring the ISO back down to 800/1600

[rikihifi]

FINALLY, THE BEST REVIEW OF THE GH5 ON YOUTUBE! Thanks Matt! White & Revery have good stuff too.

[stephaniebusing]

I watched to whole video and I usually give up on reviews this long. Worth it, all the way through!

[MasekFilip]

god, a 50minut review...you're the new philip bloom mate

[PeterMKent]

Hi Matt, great video at 14:00 you should know that you can set one of the custom buttons to save your current settings. I put this function on the trash button and learned to hit it whenever i hit the off switch, annoying I know but there is a decent work around.

You can also setup sleep mode to save battery life and I highly recommend a speedbooster with 1.8 sigma zooms or 1.4 primes, most native mft glass is useless for receptions.

[westy]

Just wanted to say I've watched at least 40+ GH5 reviews and this is the one that pushed me over the edge to purchase. Thanks so much mate.

[BryGuy]

By far the best review of the GH5 I've seen on YouTube. Thanks for taking the time!

[theTechNotice]

29:14 Is that a huuge hair on Matt's FF sensor and a spart of dust?
BTW how often do you clean your sensors if you do? :)

[healyeoin]

That was a fair review I think Matt! I think if someone likes/needs high ISO for their wedding films then the GH5 isn't the right choice and the a7S is probably the only choice. I feel some a7S shooters go way too high on their ISO just because they can, to the point that dark scenes don't look dark any more and loose the mood. I don't stress on ISO anymore, even though I shoot 90% GH5 now. If a couple really want to get married in darkness, then their wedding film from me will portray that. Of course I'll advise to try and get some lights in there, but if they want it dark, they'll get it dark. ISO 1600 with fast glass and some lights covers every wedding we shoot now. For the batteries, what I've found is shooting 4K60 will literally halve the battery life. 4K24 is much easier on the power, and you should get about 2 hours on a single battery. I also think the amount your asking the IBIS to work impacts also, so if you're handheld v monopod/tripod mounted, you're draining fastest too. Well done, some amount work goes into a 50min review and you knew a lot about the GH5 quirks having only shot with it once! Fair play.

[MattKendallPhotoVideo]

What are some recommended lenses for this camera in low light for wedding receptions? Knowing it’s a crop sensor, I know the aperture will be affected. Wanted to use canon 24-70mm or canon 16-35mm

[SteveMichalak]

Best review of the GH5 I've seen. Coming from yourself as a Sony user you were totally unbiased. Gave credit where credit was due and grilled it for its flaws. I'll be upgrading from the G85 sometime in 2018 and will definitely go with the GH5.

Also Matt you can leave the camera on and set the it to "sleep" at its shortest interval and when your ready to shoot again just press the shutter half way down and it comes back on with the same settings, while preserving battery life. You can on the G85 anyways, so I'm assuming the GH5 is capable of that as well.

[WillJCarman]

@7:47 You say you use fn1 to be punch in whilst recording for focus checking. I've just bought a GH5 (on the latest firmware) and cannot use any of the fn buttons whilst recording, apart from fn4 which I've set to Zebras. I've set fn3 to be my punch in for focus (AF Mode/MF), fn1 to be tele converter, fn2 to be quick menu and fn6 to be stabiliser; cannot access any of them whilst recording. Is this normal for everyone else?

[IannisMaragakis]

Probably the best "comparison" I've seen. And fanboy-proof. Very nicely done!
I find camera debates rather ridiculous . Cameras are just tools. How you tell a painter to use this brush over another?
Every camera has its own character and every artist should choose based on his unique workflow and preference.
In this case I'd buy both so I could have more options.
Thank you for your time and precious info.

[videocreation]

Great review, just purchased one and love it in 2022, still a great camera