Panasonic GH4
Last week I got my hands on the new Panasonic GH4. I must admit that when I first heard about the GH4 and, more to the point, saw those photos of the DMW-YAGH interface (which seemed to have all the visual appeal of a Steve Jobs memorial statue) I was underwhelmed. However, getting up close and personal with them and seeing what they can achieve, has changed my mind and left me feeling excited about this camera’s possibilities. Perhaps the most important point to report is that the DMW-YAGH is much smaller, lighter and less obtrusive than those photos would suggest. Consequently, the diminutive GH4, with the DMW-YAGH attached, is comfortable to handhold and the duo will be fine on pretty much any tripod, rig, or stabiliser.
Also worthy of mention is the GH4’s 2,360K-dot OLED viewfinder, which may very well be the first electronic viewfinder I’ve used that I actually like. The touch screen autofocus seems to work well too.
Whilst waiting to get my hands on the Panasonic GH4, I watched some 4K wildlife footage on a 65cm Panasonic monitor, that was so outstandingly sharp, I assumed it had been shot on a RED. Well guess what? It was actually shot with a Panasonic GH4, which, on the face of it, seems to allay my concerns about the camera’s 100Mbps bit rate.
I must stress that this was only a brief hands on. Panasonic have said they will provide me with a GH4 to test properly and I shall reserve judgement until I do so, but so far, my initial impressions are positive. Panasonic have thrown down the gauntlet with the GH4 and the pressure will now be on Canon and Sony to respond.
Incidentally, I’m reliably informed that anyone waiting for the a successor to the Panasonic AG-AF101 should stop waiting, as the Panasonic GH4 is it!
Comodo Orbit
When the Movi was announced, last year, it caused a tidal wave of interest that resulted in a 3-axis gimbal land grab. Since then there have been so many announcements of new stabilizers that, like many, I became over saturated and stopped caring…then I heard that multi-award-winning Dutch film director, Leonard Retel Helmrich, had teamed up with Bowens to produce a mechanical 3-axis stabiliser for just under £1000 ($1500).
I could not make it to Leonard’s demo, but I did meet him on Bowens’ Limelite/Comodo stand and we had a very interesting conversation about cinematography and camera movements. I also spent some time playing with the Comodo Orbit, with which I was impressed. Using it was completely intuitive and I found myself doing pans, tilts and miscellaneous moves in moments, without any learning curve. Being a two handed mechanical solution, which, by definition, does not require motors or batteries (and thus avoids the weight they add) it was extremely comfortable to hold. In fact I held one, with a Nikon D800 (and prime lens) attached, for a good fifteen minutes without any discomfort. Admittedly I did not attempt to balance the Comodo Orbit, but doing so seems like child’s play in comparison to balancing a Steadicam, Glidecam (and, I suspect, many of the electronic gimbals I have seen).
Despite its relatively low price tag, the Comodo Orbit is designed to work with pretty much any size of camera from a handycam to a RED, so it’s a great shame it wasn’t released a year ago, as it would have been ideal for the promo I shot on RED featuring Kim Wilde. I have written at length about the challenges that we faced with that video, many of which the Comodo Orbit could have overcome.
Of course, like any piece of equipment, it does have some limitations, but given what it can do, its ease of use and its price point, I expect the Comodo Orbit will be a massive success and look forward to testing one properly, on a real project, soon.
© 2014, Paul D. All rights reserved.
