WHAT IS A GOOD 4K VIDEO CAMERA?

Ultra High Definition (UHD) or more commonly 4K is gaining prominence as the de-facto video standard these days for vlogging, video sharing, streaming platforms, and televisions. With a 3840 x 2160 pixel array, 4K offers excellent picture quality and when played back on a 4K monitor or a TV like the Panasonic UHD TX series, it makes the visual experience quite immersive.

Panasonic offers a range of Lumix cameras with 4K recording capabilities and a wide array of features. If you're a casual user that makes occasional travel/home movies or vlogs for social media, then you will be happy with the Panasonic Lumix line of digital cameras. In addition to 4K recording, features like tilting LCD screen for taking selfies, Electronic View Finder(EVF), built-in Wi-Fi for sharing videos to social media, optical zoom, compact camera size are some that might appeal to you.

On the other hand, if you're an aspiring filmmaker or a professional videographer advanced feature sets will what matter to you the most. These features include but not limited to data bit rate, low light performance, image stabilisation, variable frame rates, dynamic range, support for external recording devices, Mic inputs and ruggedness of the camera body.

Panasonic's GH series 4K cameras have built quite a reputation in the industry for their remarkable video quality. The Lumix G DMC-GH5 is a feature-packed workhorse with an impressive video specification. The state of the art 20.3 Megapixel MOS sensor along with Venus 10 image processing Engine let you record professional Cinema 4K (4096 x 2160) resolution at 24p with a remarkable 400 Mbps (All-Intra) high bit rate and 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution at 60p/ 400 Mbps (All-Intra) high bit rate. The GH5 allows simultaneous 4:2:2 10-bit internal 4k video recording on the SD card, as well as provide 10-bit RAW feed to an external recorder( like Atomos Shogun Inferno).

The 4:2:2 sampling coupled with the 10-bit colour depth means the GH5 records an incredible amount of colour and tonal information that provides you with a lot of leverage when colour grading the footage in post. High-res audio can definitely up the production value of your video work and the GH5 adds support for XLR microphones with the help of the DMW-XLR1 microphone adapter. The camera supports dual UHS-II high speed SD card slots with no restrictions on the video recording time. In addition, the GH5 also features vector-scope and wave form to monitor luminance and overall exposure levels, 4K HDR video recording mode with Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG), support for custom LUTs, and a high- resolution Anamorphic video mode with 4K 4:2:2 10-bit 24/25/30p video recording at 150 Mbps bitrate. The GH5 with a plethora of video centric features makes it an outstanding video camera. Functions like 6K 30p/4K 60p photo burst mode, post focus, focus stacking also make it a good stills camera.

The Panasonic GH5 comes equipped with a 5-axis sensor based Dual Image Stabilization (I.S) that works in both video and photo modes. This provides incredible stability when recording 4K videos handheld, by eliminating camera shakes. The Dual I.S 2 works on selected lens models with in-built Optical I.S. The advantage of the Dual I.S 2 system is that it provides outstanding stability whilst shooting with telephoto lenses and it compensates for up to 5-stops of slower shutter speed when working in low-light situations.

The GH5 has 3 custom control modes C1,C2 and C3 on the control dial, that allow you to set your mostly used functions. You can customize video quality , frame rate, ISO, shutter angle, aperture etc., This can come extremely handy during run and gun situations.

GH5 allows you to do a focus pull between different points/subjects in a frame. The rack focus is a creative video technique often used by film makers to subtly direct the viewer’s attention to different subjects.This feature can be accessed from the creative movie mode of the GH5. The transition between points can be executed either using the touch enabled LCD screen or the joystick of your Lumix camera. If you’re mostly a one man crew or a student film maker on a budget, this cool feature helps you to seamlessly pull off a rack focus transition without the use of a more expensive focus pull ring setup.

Who doesn’t like those fluid slow motion videos. When done right it can just make your videos stand out from the rest of the crowd. Panasonic GH5 allows you to record incredible 4k footage at 60fps which can be slowed down(2.5x) to 24frames per second or you can go up to 180 frames per second in VFR mode to capture slow motion video in Full HD resolution. The GH5 offers a wide range of frame rates and playback options in VFR mode for achieving dramatic slow/fast motion video effects.

If you are a professional video maker whose workflow doesn’t involve shooting still images, the new Panasonic GH5s could be your next upgrade as a primary video camera. . With a multi-aspect 10.2MP high performance MOS sensor and dual native ISO of 400&2500, the GH5s takes shooting in low-light conditions to a whole new level(upto -5EV). The ISO range can be extended up to 51200 and the camera can record Cinema 4K at 60/50p(All-Intra 400Mbps bit rate). With a multitude of advanced feature sets specific to video making, the GH5s will be definitely worth your investment.

Whether you're a professional cinematographer, indie filmmaker or a enthusiast-level videographer, Panasonic has the range of hybrid cameras that caters to your 4K recording needs and help take your video productions up a couple of notches. So go pick a Lumix camera and start making some stunning 4K videos!