We have been following Australian director/cinematographer Paul Leeming’s progress in creating, refining and updating his Leeming LUT One unified, corrective Look Up Table aka LUT system for popular mirrorless and DSLR hybrid cameras and camcorders ever since we launched the ‘Untitled’ project.
Leeming LUT One began as an effort to transform the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4’s ‘Cine-D’ aka Cinelike D video picture profile into the most accurate, most realistic rendering possible and has expanded to encompass a range of cameras including those made by Canon, DJI, GoPro, JVC, Sony and more, with support for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K and Fujifilm X-T3 and others coming in the near future.
Mr Leeming continues to refine Leeming LUT One with version 801 for Panasonic being the most accurate yet, setting a new industry benchmark for realistic colour rendering for video footage shot with the Cinelike D, V-LogL and HLG profiles for editing in Rec. 709 movie projects.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 with Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 Power OIS and Panasonic DMW-GGH3 battery grip. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 professional rangefinder-style camera with Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 Aspheric Power OIS lens. Note the tilting EVF, turning the GX8 into a waist-level viewfinder camera on command, enabling discrete waist-level shooting as on long-gone classics like Rolleiflex’s normal, wide and telephoto lens-equipped twin lens reflex aka TLR cameras, for example. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 with Panasonic DMW-BGGH5 Battery Grip and Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Aspheric Power OIS zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
Panasonic DC-GH5S with DMW-BGGH5 battery grip and Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Aspheric Power OIS zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.
Recently I put Leeming LUT One 801 to the test with Cinelike D footage from my Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 camera, the one that goes with me almost everywhere everyday, and the results were, as usual, impressive.
Better yet, correcting footage with Leeming LUT One then adding film simulation or creative looks LUTs produces rich grading with a lush and easy-to-grade tonal range.
Many independent moviemakers shoot video for the same project on several cameras including within multi-camera interview set-ups, and Leeming LUT One is invaluable in reducing time in the colour grading suite matching footage from all those different cameras, especially when exposed according to the principles of ETTR aka expose-to-the-right.
In all the following examples, I graded quickly and minimally to simulate the look and feel of the subject at the moment I shot it, to be as realistic as video permits.
Skin tones in mixed available light with Leeming LUT One 801 and LookLabs’ Digital Film Stock Fujifilm Eterna 500T
Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
LookLabs’ Digital Film Stock Fujifilm Eterna 500T LUT added to Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Slight curve applied to LookLabs’ Digital Film Stock Fujifilm Eterna 500T LUT added to Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Reds, greens and blue in strong sunlight with Leeming LUT One 801 and Leeming LUT Quickies v8 Basic Balanced v8 Lighter
Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Basic Balanced v8 Lighter from LeemingLUT Quickies v8 added to Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Slight curve on Basic Balanced v8 Lighter from LeemingLUT Quickies v8 added to Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Greys and greens in weak sunlight on cold, windy day with Leeming LUT One 801 and LookLabs Digital Film Stock Kodak 5218
Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
LookLabs Digital Film Stock Kodak 5218 film simulation LUT added to Leeming LUT One 801 applied to Cinelike D video footage straight out of Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8.
Links
Leeming LUT Pro – “Leeming LUT Pro™ is the world’s first unified, corrective Look Up Table ( LUT ) system for supported cameras, designed to maximise dynamic range, fix skin tones, remove unwanted colour casts and provide an accurate Rec709 starting point for further creative colour grading.”
LookLabs – Digital Film Stock aka DFS – “DFS instantly gives you the natural look of film and the most flexible set of LUTs on the market. The DFS bundle includes 19 LUTs that perfectly emulate the most popular Kodak and Fuji film stocks. DFS comes in both REC.709 and LOG video formats and all SpeedLooks camera patches work with today’s most popular digital cinema and mirrorless cameras. DFS even makes your Android videos look like film!”
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Clicking on the links below and purchasing through them or our affiliate accounts at B&H Photo Video, SmallRig or Think Tank Photo helps us continue our work for ‘Untitled’.
Paul Leeming of Leeming LUT One and Visceral Psyche Films is like a dog with a bone that he just will not let go insofar as improving and updating Leeming LUT One, “the world’s first unified, corrective Look Up Table (LUT) system for supported cameras, designed to maximise dynamic range, fix skin tones, remove unwanted colour casts and provide an accurate Rec709 starting point for further creative colour grading.”
Paul Leeming of Leeming LUT One and Visceral Psyche Films in V-Log L footage made with Panasonic Lumix GH5 then processed with Leeming LUT One for Panasonic cameras, version 503 beta.
Mr Leeming has just shared an early version 503 beta for Panasonic V-Log L with me and, after applying it to some V-Log L footage of my own, it is clear that he has worked out how obtain even better, even more realistic colour and tonal rendering than before.
The more accurate and true-to-life the starting point obtained by applying Leeming LUT One before adding creative aka looks LUTs and other colour grading controls in your non-linear editing suite or colour grading software of choice, the richer and more satisfying the final result.
While this first version 503 beta is only for Panasonic V-Log L footage, Leeming LUT One version 503 for Panasonic cameras will be released for Cinelike D, HLG and V-Log L.
If version 503 has you as excited as I am, please do not put off purchasing it until later this year as version 502 is already streets ahead of any other camera LUT that I have tried out so far and purchasers of 502 now will receive 503 when it is finalized.
Leeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L 503 beta, footage by Paul Leeming
Leeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L 502 compared to 503 beta
Leeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L version 502Leeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L version 503 betaLeeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L version 503 beta plus Leeming LUT Quickie Basic Brighter v2
Leeming LUT One 503 beta as a base for creative LUTs
Leeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L version 503 beta plus Leeming LUT Quickie Basic Brighter v2 plus LookLabs Digital Film Stock Fuji 64DLeeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L version 503 beta plus Leeming LUT Quickie Basic Brighter v2 plus LookLabs Digital Film Stock Fuji Reala 500DLeeming LUT One for Panasonic V-Log L version 503 beta plus Leeming LUT Quickie Basic Brighter v2 plus LookLabs Digital Film Stock Kodak 5245
Sneak Peek, Leeming LUT One 601 for Panasonic, Cinelike D
Leeming LUT One 601 for Panasonic Cinelike D, from 8-bit 4:2:0 4K UHD video shot on Lumix GX8 with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 lens, LUT plus other minimal grading applied.
Clicking on these affiliate links helps us continue our work for ‘Untitled: Stories of Creativity, Innovation, Success’.
Angelbird 64GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC Memory Card – B&H
Angelbird 128GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC Memory Card – B&H
Angelbird 256GB Match Pack for the Panasonic EVA1 – B&H – special promotional packaging of two Angelbird 128GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC memory cards that are just as usable in other cameras than the AU-EVA1 that also have UHS-II SD card slots.
“… Whether you’re new to shooting and delivering in HDR, or have been practicing for a while, the Panasonic GH5S with V-Log L enabled provides a fantastic starting point for an all-HDR10 workflow. From monitoring what you’re shooting in HDR10 to delivering your content through the color grading process, the LUTs and workflow we’ve created will accelerate your ability to leverage HDR10 on nearly any size budget…”
The Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S Super 16/M43 hybrid video camera.
Links
Production and equipment rental company Mystery Box, LLC has published a number of articles about aspects of shooting and post-producing HDR video that are useful reading for those needing to dig deep into how to get the best out of it all.
Mystery Box – HDR Video Part 1: What is HDR Video? – “HDR video is as much of a revolution and leap forward as the jump from analog standard definition, to digital 4K.” – Excellent 5-part series on working with HDR video.
Mystery Box – Protecting Your Digital Ass(ets) Part 1: Checksums & Digital Errors Debunked – “This is the first part of a three part series on protecting your digital assets. In this part we’re going to explore the whys and the hows of checksumming: How did checksumming become common practice? What does checksumming actually do? and Why isn’t it needed?”
Mystery Box – Studio Grading in HDR on the SmallHD P3X and Atomos Sumo 19 – “…we’ve seen an explosion of HDR capable televisions and HDR capable production monitors, which has led us to question: can we recommend any of these for grading in the studio?”
Help support ‘Untitled’
Austrian manufacturer Angelbird makes more affordable V90 SDXC cards than Panasonic’s own alternative and they are reportedly just as reliable.
Clicking on these affiliate links helps us continue our work for ‘Untitled: Stories of Creativity, Innovation, Success’.
Angelbird 64GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC Memory Card – B&H
Angelbird 128GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC Memory Card – B&H
Angelbird 256GB Match Pack for the Panasonic EVA1 – B&H – special promotional packaging of two Angelbird 128GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC memory cards that are just as usable in other cameras than the AU-EVA1 that also have UHS-II SD card slots.
Angelbird Atomos Master Caddy 4K RAW (500GB) – B&H
Australian cinematographer/director Paul Leeming has issued the version 502 update to his unified corrective LUT (Look Up Table) system Leeming LUT One for the Panasonic Lumix GH5 and its three major video picture profiles, HLG, V-Log L and Cinelike D.
Australian director/cinematographer Paul Leeming of Leeming LUT One fame with his Panasonic Lumix GH4 rigged for shooting feature films.
The Leeming LUT One system was developed in order to help cinematographers obtain the best image quality from their cameras by providing custom settings and LUTs to maximize dynamic range while minimizing noise and other artefacts such as banding and YUV chroma smearing.
Mr Leeming advises cinematographers to adhere to the expose-to-the-right aka ETTR principle, which he demonstrates in his website.
Still frame of Paul Leeming, shot on Panasonic Lumix GH5 in HLG HDR mode then processed in Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Studio 14 using Leeming LUT One for Panasonic HLG version 501.
He has produced Leeming LUT One custom settings and LUTs for cameras including those made by Canon, DJI, GoPro, JVC, Panasonic, Sony with potential support for cameras made by Fujifilm, Digital Bolex and Samsung should there be sufficient demand.
Panasonic Lumix GH5 HLG Footage and Leeming LUT One for HLG, Before and After
Still frames from GH5 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 HLG footage exposed using ETTR, the ‘Leeming LUT One – Panasonic HLG v502.cube’ applied followed by ‘Leeming LUT Quickie – Basic Balanced v2.cube’ from ‘Leeming LUT Quickies 1 version 2’.
Mr Leeming will be updating his free ‘Leeming LUT Quickies’ collection soon to reflect the improvements made to the most recent version of Leeming LUT One for Panasonic cameras.
Our recent weather has been heavily hit by the effects of extreme climate change and global warming, and we have experienced few pristine Sydney summer days with their classic cobalt skies for some time now.
With many skies almost becoming high ultra-violet light boxes, the excellent highlight roll-off of the HLG profile in the GH5 is becoming even more important, and Leeming LUT One for HLG does a great job of maintaining the original look and feel of a scene while preserving realistic colour and especially skin colour.
Initial grading as in these still frames provides a good starting point that can be further enhanced with some of the many creative aka looks LUTs or analog film simulation being made available by a range of LUTs makers.
Panasonic drew back the curtains today at CES 2018 in Las Vegas on one of the most controversial cameras of the last twelve months, one the existence of which has been hotly debated and even more hotly denied by potential buyers right up to the moment Panasonic’s curtain-puller really started itching to pull the strings to revealed the company’s available darkness cinematic video-shooting genius, the Lumix DC-GH5S, to all the world.
Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S camera with DMW-BGG5 battery grip and Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-60mm f/2.8-4.0 Aspheric zoom lens.
As we have been preoccupied with serious health matters here at ‘Untitled’, we will be doing some catching up with our research into and coverage of the Panasonic Lumix GH5S over the next several days, but for now here are some lists of links to articles, press releases and videos about the camera and its pros and cons.
We will be adding further material as it appears and will add our own commentary as appropriate.
FYI, “unstable” refers to the GH5S’ controversial lack of in-body image stabilization aka IBIS and “genius” relates to the GH5S’ apparent low-light video capabilities.
Fully-articulated LCD monitor of Panasonic’s Lumix DC-GH5S can be folded to protect the glass, an excellent feature when shooting in the field in difficult and dirty conditions.
Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S
Flipping the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S’ fully-articulated LCD monitor and rotating it is crucial when shooting in tight spaces.
The Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S’ touch screen enables operating and focusing when unable to have the EVF to your eye. It can be positioned off to the left and tilted two ways when you can be directly behind the camera.
Apologies to my many female readers for the very real impression given by the links below that new product releases and trade shows like CES are “boys’ clubs” aka “sausage fests” aka “sausage parties”just like the movie and television industries themselves.
That is the reality of media production in all its forms worldwide as well as the usual situation for female brand ambassadors, moviemakers, product reviewers and members of the press both traditional and digital.
I have heard that there are signs things are changing but those days cannot come fast enough.
Meanwhile many thanks to Panasonic Australia and its press relations consultants and staff members for all their kind assistance with assets for use in these articles.
Digital Trends – Panasonic Lumix GH5S hands-on review – “…if video is your thing, we expect the GH5S may be the best sub-$3,000 camera out there, and it even gives more expensive cameras a serious run for their money.”
cinema5D – The Man Behind the Panasonic GH5S – “An interview with Yosuke Yamane-san – the head of imaging at Panasonic and a key person behind the newly announced Panasonic GH5S – about the new camera and beyond.”
finalcutproes – Interview with Panasonic’s adviser Uematsu-san about LUMIX GH5s – “Recently we had the opportunity and pleasure to chat with M. Uematsu-san, who for many years has been working at Panasonic and who today retired is still an advisor in of the LUMIX digital camera line….”
Austrian manufacturer Angelbird makes more affordable V90 SDXC cards than Panasonic’s own alternative and they are reportedly just as reliable.
Clicking on these affiliate links and purchasing through them helps us continue our work for ‘Untitled: Stories of Creativity, Innovation, Success’.
Angelbird 64GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC Memory Card – B&H
Angelbird 128GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC Memory Card – B&H
Angelbird 256GB Match Pack for the Panasonic EVA1 – B&H – special promotional packaging of two Angelbird 128GB AV Pro UHS-II SDXC memory cards that are just as usable in other cameras than the AU-EVA1 that also have UHS-II SD card slots.
Angelbird Atomos Master Caddy 4K RAW (500GB) – B&H
I took a much-needed break from fulltime caring to travel into the city of Sydney CBD for a walkabout with the Panasonic Lumix GH5, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Probreakthrough standard zoom lens, Breakthrough Photography X4 ND and X4 UV filters and Guerrilla G-Cup for GH5 replacing the GH5’s provided eyecup, all carried in Cosyspeed’s excellent Camslinger Streetomatic Plus camera bag in black faux leather.
Panasonic Lumix GH5 with Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro zoom lens with Breakthrough Photography X4 UV filter, and Guerrilla G-Cup for GH5 attached instead of the GH5’s supplied eyecup. I usually attach Peak Design Clutch and Cuff camera straps to my cameras.
The day was dark and gloomy with prevailing light far from my favourite for putting hardware and software to the test.
My intention was to shoot HLG HDR (hybrid log-gamma high dynamic range) footage for sharing as SDR (standard dynamic range) as below after applying the latest iteration of Paul Leeming’s Leeming LUT One camera settings, camera LUT and custom LUT for the Panasonic GH5 HLG.
The latest version of Leeming LUT One for Panasonic cameras was 501 at the time but that has since been replaced with version 502, offering some refinements for a current limitation in Apple’s otherwise excellent Final Cut Pro X non-linear editing suite.
I also applied a small selection of analog film simulation LUTs from LookLabs’ Digital Film Stock (DFS) 3D LUT collection to some of the footage to enhance the look and feel of the scene depicted.
Header image concept and hack by Carmel D. Morris. Photograph of Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 with Guerrilla G-Cup for GH5 shot as 3-bracket HDR image then processed in Skylum Aurora HDR 2018 followed by Skylum Luminar 2018.
Help support ‘Untitled’
Clicking on these affiliate links and purchasing through them helps us continue our work for ‘Untitled: Stories of Creativity, Innovation, Success’.
COSYSPEED CAMSLINGER Streetomatic Plus Camera Bag – B&H
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO Lens – B&H
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 PRO Lens – B&H
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 PRO Lens – B&H
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.2 PRO Lens – B&H
Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera – B&H
I was lucky enough to try out the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 recently and quickly came to the conclusion that it really is the top-quality Super 16/Micro Four Thirds documentary video and stills photography camera that I have been hoping for.
Looks like a previous reviewer forgot to re-attach the GH5’s rubber eyepiece.
Sadly, the loan period expired before Panasonic released its feature-packed firmware version 2.0 so I have yet to experience all that the GH5 can do now, firsthand, so no HLG HDR or ALL-Intra for me for the time being.
Top of the wishlist
The GH5 and associated accessories have been living at the top of my video camera hardware wishlist for some time, but purchasing must be put off until our self-financing effort via land subdivision and sale is finally finished sometime early next year, after getting through the multiple gauntlets of high-priced consultants, three levels of bureaucracy, recalcitrant tradesmen and the inevitable cost overruns tying up all our savings until completion.
Seercam’s Cube GH5 cage with Classic Handle Plus and Extension Kit is terrific for bigger rigs on or off tripod or stripped down to cage alone for smaller and more mobile assignments. Seercam is currently working on a battery pack, seen at right behind and below the microphone. As a fan of Panasonic’s battery packs, I look forward to Seercam’s coming cage-savvy battery solution.
When I do get my own GH5, one thing is certain – I will be adding a battery grip and XLR adapterand I am hoping that Olympus will have released its M.Zuiko Pro 17mm ultra-fast prime lens by then along with the 42mm and perhaps a 12mm or 14mm focal length.
Although I do love my Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro zoom lens for stills and video, I always feel safer supplementing it with a fast prime to account for available darkness situations and find a moderate wide-angle more versatile than a so-called normal focal length of 25mm in Micro Four Thirds.
I am hoping Olympus’ excellent pro-quality M.Zuiko Pro lens range will achieve a full complement of well-spaced fast primes and zooms by early to mid-2018.
Although I own and use several non-M.Zuiko Pro Olympus and Panasonic lenses and find their lack of manual clutch focus annoying, their focus-by-wire challenging but workable enough via back focus button, I am far more comfortable with lenses I can manually focus fast with repeatable and predictable results.
Stills made with the GH5
The Panasonic Lumix GH5 is a fine stills camera made more so with the absence of an anti-aliasing filter to combat moiré.
I am adding photographs here as I reprocess them in the latest versions of some raw processors and image editors.
Most have been done in DxO Optics Pro Elite as that is the very first raw processor I ever used and remains my reference for all camera types other than Fujifilm.
DxO products are built on a codebase that supports only Bayer sensors, not non-Bayer sensors such as Fujifilm’s X-Trans.
Video still frames shot with V-Log L, processed with Leeming LUT One for V-Log L 501 rc2
Leeming LUT One is being updated to version 501 to get even better results from GH5 V-Log L footage at the moment and will be released soon along with LUTs for Cinelike D and HLG HDR.
In the meantime, here is a gallery of GH5 V-Log L video still frames minimally graded with Leeming LUT One version 501 RC 2 with the occasional addition of a second LUT from Paul Leeming’s free Leeming LUT Quickies 1 version2 set.
I found that the combination of V-Log L plus Leeming LUT One with the GH5’s in-body stabilization is a powerful one, granting me the confidence in knowing I am able to shoot almost anything anywhere.
As a result using the GH5 was, quite simply, fun.
Of course neither IBIS nor V-Log are the answers to every shooting situation and there are times when I will want to carry a monopod, a tripod or one of the new generation of gimbals like the Zhiyun Crane 2.
Video still frames shot on GX8 with Cinelike D, processed with Leeming LUT One for Cinelike D 501 rc2
I was so taken with the GH5’s V-Log capability that I quite forgot to shoot enough Cinelike D footage, but here is some footage from my GX8 by way of comparison.
According to professional documentary cinematographers like Rick Young of Movie Machine, the GX8’s sensor is not dissimilar to the one in the GH5 and produces similar results to the point where they use both cameras on the same projects.
I don’t think I am going to have any problems editing footage from the GH5 and GX8 together in the same project when using the appropriate Leeming LUT One for each.
Panasonic GX8, 4K 8-bit 4:2:0, Leeming LUT One for Cinelike D 501 rc2
Panasonic GX8, 4K 8-bit 4:2:0, Leeming LUT One for Cinelike D 501 rc2
Panasonic GX8, 1080p 8-bit 4:2:0, Leeming LUT One for Cinelike D 501 rc2
Panasonic GX8, 1080p 8-bit 4:2:0, Leeming LUT One for Cinelike D 501 rc2
Panasonic GX8, 1080p 8-bit 4:2:0, Leeming LUT One for Cinelike D 501 rc2
GH5 first impressions
Straight out of the box and in its shopworn state, as it were, the GH5 impressed me with a solidity and ease of handling well beyond that of the GH4 and even the GX8.
The GH5 packs so much more processing power in than its GH4 predecessor and GX8 sibling, and that extra hardware has to go somewhere so a slightly bigger and heavier body it is.
The GH5’s hardware ergonomics has advanced beyond that of the GH4 and Panasonic has done so with great balance and a solid feel in the hand.
Some reviewers have complained about its size and weight but, as always, I prefer small cameras to be a little weightier for better balance and achieve that by adding battery grips, cages and other accessories as appropriate.
Other users may differ but I prefer a little extra weight due to permanent injuries received on the job some years ago as it helps with my own sense of balance and ability to move.
There were, as always, annoyances with the GH5 but they were minor and have now been accounted for in Panasonic’s GH5 version 2.0 firmware release.
Foremost was the positioning of the Display button in precisely the worst location possible, with one solution being adding a Sugru collar around it and the other, courtesy of firmware version 2.0, switching the button off via a menu item.
The other annoyances were so minor that they have escaped me now, sorry.
While the GH4 and GX8 retain their places in my heart for advancing the small camera moviemaking promise that Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II waggled so prominently about, the GH5 gives me the best of those two Lumix stablemates along with other fine qualities from more recent Panasonic releases, the G7 and the GX80/85.
I have not had the pleasure of trying either of those two latter cameras, but there are clear similarities between the GX8’s sensor and the GH5’s, something I deduced when applying Leeming LUT One for the GH5 to footage from the GX8.
The GH5 and its siblings show that the self-funded independent moviemaking road ahead belongs to mirrorless hybrid cameras, with an array of professional-quality features DSLR-users can only dream of and that may never come to DSLRs of either traditional major brand.
Pro-quality video features
Foremost of these features is the GH5’s ability to shoot 4K UHD and 4K DCI video in 10-bit 4:2:2 with the V-Log L flat logarithmic photo style, the closest thing to raw that can be achieved in a non-raw video camera.
The first thing I did when the GH5 review loaner arrived was to install indie documentary moviemaker Griffin Hammond’s GH5 camera settings file, but after comparing his Natural-based custom photo style with others offered by the GH5, it was clear that V-Log L was what I really wanted.
I had passed on V-Log L for the GH4 after downloading and trial-grading 8-bit 4:2:0 log footage that early purchasers were sharing.
Macro colour blocking and other strange behaviours indicated Panasonic was reaching too far with too little colour depth and that 10-bit 4:2:2 was the way to go.
Then there was the unfortunate still-current issue of the way in which Panasonic sells the V-Log L licence.
Sending a slip of paper in a cardboard box packed with synthetic filler around the planet so one can complete the transaction online before throwing box, filler and little bit of paper away – sheesh.
Sorry but time to wake up and smell the coffee of global environmental responsibility, Panasonic.
Getting the best out of non-log footage prior to the GH5
Paul Leeming’s GH5 rig in 8Sinn cage and Scorpio handle, rod riser, Shoot35 follow focus, and Manfrotto Xume magnetic filter attachment system on vintage Zeiss Contax prime lens.
Instead of Natural or any other Rec. 709 photo style, I chose a Leeming-customized Cinelike D photo style for my GH4 and GX8, and have been happy with the results even though they both only shoot in 8-bit 4:2:0.
Then and now, 4K 8-bit 4:2:0 flat footage shot at 400 ISO satisfies a fair percentage of my short movie shooting needs.
Paul Leeming’s Leeming LUT One for the GH4 brought the best tone and colour rendering I had achieved in small camera video by combining Mr Leeming’s custom Cinelike D settings with his Leeming LUT One for the GH4 applied to my footage in Final Cut Pro X, Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve or, even, Adobe Photoshop’s Motion workspace for short video projects.
Paul Leeming testing Panasonic Lumix GX8, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, Samsung NX1 and Digital Bolex D16 cameras for versions of Leeming LUT One for each.
I have achieved good results on the GX8 with the GH4 and now more recently using the GH5 version of his Cinelike D LUT to the point where I am happily combining Cinelike D and V-Log L footage from all three cameras into the same movie project.
Mr Leeming tells me he will be updating some of his LUTs after having completed work on several feature film projects to approach the results he has obtained with the V-Log L photo style version of his LUT for the GH5.
Work is in progress right now on that and he will be releasing recommended camera settings for all Panasonic cameras along with two Leeming LUT One versions that will work for all off them, for Cinelike D and V-Log L.
Versatility and 15 photo styles options
I set the GH5 loaner up with Mr Leeming’s Cinelike D and V-Log L photo style customizations, but shot most of my video on V-Log L and have been very happy with the results and the one to two stops extra dynamic range that it bestows.
The GH5’s 10-bit 4:2:2 V-Log L and ISO range from a base of 400 up to 1600 or 3200 depending on how prepared one is to apply de-noising in post-production gives me the confidence to take on pretty much any subject or common lighting situation.
Panasonic has gone to town with photo styles on the GH5.
As well as four custom settings slots, eleven readymade customizable styles are available when shooting video and one has a choice of nine when shooting stills.
The Panasonic Lumix GH5’s 15 Photo Styles:
Standard
Vivid
Natural
Monochrome
L.Monochrome
Scenery
Portrait
Custom1
Custom2
Custom3
Custom4
Cinelike D
Cinelike V
Like709 – video-only
V-Log L – video-only
The new ability to shoot JPEGs in Cinelike D or Cinelike V is an interesting one. I bought my GX8 as a backup video camera as well as production stills camera, and the addition of both customizable options to the GH5’s stills photo styles list improves its usefulness as a production stills camera, alongside of its 6K and 4K Photo capabilities.
Shoot Cinelike D or Cinelike V JPEG stills for fast, easy integration into the video edit without raw processing or painstaking colour matching.
If the video has been shot in Cinelike D customized for Leeming LUT One, create a matching customized Cinelike D for your JPEGs, hand them over to the production company then archive your raw files for post-processing later.
For years I relied on two Leica M4-P rangefinder cameras and a set of Summicron lenses for documentary, magazine and newspaper photography assignments and personal projects, along with cameras in other formats.
Movie production stills photographers traditionally rely on DSLRs encased in blimps, an unwieldy and costly solution to the need for shooting silently when the cinema cameras are running.
However, the production stills photographers of my early acquaintance carried Leica M rangefinder cameras that they used in between takes, not while movie film was rolling.
Although I did not enter my colleagues’ esteemed ranks working on feature films, I took on the occasional small production stills assignment and relied on my Leicas, 120-format rangefinder cameras and 4”x5” sheet film cameras, all mirrorless and close to silent when shooting.
Now, I might choose from an array of mirrorless cameras each with the native ability to shoot silently via their electronic shutter options with my current personal preference being rangefinder and rangefinder-style cameras in Micro Four Thirds and APS-C sensor sizes.
Sensors, sizes and camera shapes
In the long lead up to the arrival of the GH5, some documentary moviemakers of my acquaintance added a GX8 to their tool kit and raved about how good its video is and speculated that the GH5’s sensor may have similar qualities.
Their guesses were close to the mark especially in both cameras’ megapixel ratings. 20MP has become the new mirrorless base standard, and picky clients have even fewer reasons to demand their photographers shoot only with so-called “full format” or “full frame” cameras.
Until I invest in a second Fujifilm X-Pro2 rangefinder camera or more likely the coming OVF-less X-E3 for second-camera duties on documentary stills projects, I carry my 20MP GX8 alongside my 24MP X-Pro2.
Despite its lack of an OVF, the GX8 handles in a similar way to the rangefinder camera especially in allowing me to shoot with both eyes wide open and brain displaying wider and narrower images side-by-side.
Better yet, the GX8’s unique tilting EVF allows me to shoot as if using a waist-level viewfinder camera like the sadly discontinued Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex cameras.
Full articulation and HDR bracketing
The GH5 and other DSLR-style cameras do not, or at least they do so with some difficulty.
I was not a dedicated SLR photographer during the analog era, preferring rangefinders and the sheet film cameras with which I learned photography in art school.
However, I find that DSLR-style cameras like the GH5 and GH4 are my best option for two forms of photography for which I once relied on sheet film and roll film technical cameras – architecture and product photography.
The key feature tipping me over into relying on both cameras for both types of subject of matter is their fully articulated monitor.
The one or two-way tilting monitors on Sony’s and Fujifilm’s cameras do not come close in utility value. If a monitor is to move at all, please, give me full and not partial articulation.
I often shoot HDR architectural exteriors in our famous Australian laser beam sunlight that makes squinting into an EVF a challenge.
A fully articulated monitor can be tilted and swung away from the camera body and shaded or shielded with a hood.
It allows me to hold the camera high or low without the old news photographer’s Hail Mary guess at what the camera is actually seeing.
Product photography in my cramped little kitchen-cum-studio is next to impossible without a fully articulated monitor allowing me to set up and make a shot while standing off at left or right of the camera and Panasonic has my eternal gratitude for this.
Much of my product photography is shot in HDR these days, a habit I took up when I discovered my GH4 allows up to 7 bracketed exposures.
I stayed away from High Dynamic Range photography for years when HDR appeared to be all about hyper-surrealism and the extreme exaggeration of colour and tones.
All that changed with Macphun’s Aurora HDR 2017 and now Aurora HDR 2018 used in combination with Macphun’s Luminar raw processor-cum-image editor, allowing me to produce architectural and product shots that look and feel more realistic than single-shot photography permits.
Recently I have found myself shooting 5 to 7 brackets at 2/3 to 1 stop apart, combining them in Aurora then exporting them to Luminar for export to JPEG after the most minimal of tweaks.
The Leica zoom lens’ optical qualities are a pleasant reminder of my beloved Leica M-System prime lenses and its 12mm to 60mm is a more versatile improvement on its Lumix sister’s shorter 12mm to 35mm focal range.
The rationale for kit zooms is that they should provide enough focal lengths to cover most stills or video situations that one might encounter.
The Leica zoom is a promising solution for photography given the GH5’s ability to leverage the lens’ Optical Image Stabilization with the camera’s In-Body Image Stabilization via its Dual IS capability.
Its low effective maximum aperture of f/4.0 at the long end is more of a problem for documentary video where shooting in unpredictable lighting is common despite the increasing availability of small, portable LED lights.
While carrying the GH5 plus Leica zoom throughout the day within a range of lighting conditions, I often found myself yearning for a faster maximum aperture or a longer maximum focal length as well as a more usable manual focussing system than focus-by-wire.
I would love to see Panasonic’s optical engineers take a leaf out of the Olympus lens design book.
The manual clutch focus feature in Olympus’ ever-growing M.Zuiko Pro prime and zoom lens range tipped the balance for me in buying two Olympus zoom lenses and I have more on my wishlist.
Ditto the Olympus M.Zuiko Pro f/2.8 zoom lens maximum aperture and f/1.2 prime lens maximum aperture.
Many times even f/2.8 can be a stop or two too little and having one or two f/1.2 prime lenses in one’s video camera kit proves to be a wise investment.
If f/2.8 or f/1.2 and upper ISOs of 1600 or 3200 are not enough then time to consider carrying a Rotolight Neo 1 or Neo 2 to supplement that available darkness with some beautiful available light.
Enough for now?
I had intended this article to be much more in-depth when commencing writing, but being at the end of the review loaner queue tends to steal one’s thunder after so many brand ambassadors and early adopters have already published such excellent videos and articles.
What, I often wonder, would I have to add that is new and interesting to an already mature conversation?
I have removed the video still frames and photographs used to illustrate the first version of this article as software and LUT makers have now added or improved GH5 support to their products or that support will be be coming real soon now.
Header image concept and hack by Carmel D. Morris. Product shots made as single shots or HDR brackets on Panasonic Lumix GX8 or GH4 with Lumix G 25mm f/1.7 Aspheric lens then processed with Macphun Aurora HDR 2018.
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“We have a guest post today from Cinematographer Daniel Peters, who shares with us his experiences using the new GH5 Firmware upgrade allowing 6K Anamorphic filming along with using the anamorphic lenses from SLR Magic….”
Australian cinematographer/director Paul Leeming is about to issue the latest update to his unified corrective LUT (Look Up Table) system for a range of popular hybrid mirrorless and DSLR cameras and camcorders, Leeming LUT One, with first camera to receive the version 501 update for V-Log L and Cinelike D being the Panasonic Lumix GH5.
The Leeming LUT One system was developed in order to help cinematographers obtain the best image quality from their cameras by providing custom settings and LUTs to maximize dynamic range while minimizing noise and other artefacts such as banding and YUV chroma smearing.
Mr Leeming has produced Leeming LUT One custom settings and LUTs for cameras including those made by Canon, DJI, GoPro, JVC, Panasonic, Sony with potential support for cameras made by Digital Bolex and Samsung should there be enough demand.
Selected still-frames from GH5 V-Log L footage
The GH5’s 10-bit 4:2:2 colour and V-Log L really come into their own when shooting long dynamic range subjects and especially those containing whites as below. The GH5’s expose-to-the-right enabling exposure zebras are also an asset in setting optimum exposure and one that Fujifilm, for instance, can learn from.
More GH5 V-Log L still frames processed with Leeming LUT One version 501
Mr Leeming has not notified us of when to expect the version 501 Leeming LUT One update for the Panasonic Lumix GH5 but we will report here at ‘Untitled’ when it becomes available.
“Filmmaker Daniel Peters directed and self-shot this short film using just the Lumix GH5, 25mm F1.7 lens, and the XLR1 audio adapter. If you’re an aspiring filmmaker, Daniel really shows in this piece that you can get out there and create some great content with limited gear and crew….”
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