Should I buy a GH5 now or wait for the GH6?

Teagan wrote on 3/6/2021, 1:50 PM

Hi, I am sort of in the need of another camera if I'm to do HDR work. Right now I only have one HDR camera (Panasonic AG-CX350) and my B cam (Sony AX53) is not HDR, and I don't really want to mix HDR and SDR for HDR work. I want to stick with Panasonic and the GH5 is looking pretty good right now. The only problem is that the GH6 is on the way and will probably be here by the end of the year, which was hinted at in the CP+ show in Japan a couple days ago. The pricing on the GH5 is really really nice at the moment but the GH6 will probably offer way more things I'd want like RAW, to use with my Ninja V. It might be a little more expensive but that will probably be worth it.

Here's my dilemma: The GH5 would be great and would even become my A camera since I won't be able to zoom as good as the CX350's 20x+ optical zoom, so I'd switch to the GH5 for the static wide shot and use the cx350 for zooming, which I use every time for my work. The problem is that the auto focus won't be as good as the CX350's phase detect, as the GH5 uses depth from defocus and is notorious for pulsing in the background, and that is demonstrated on youtube videos I have seen. I could sort of deal with that as it's not noticeable unless you look for it. The other things I sort of have a problem with on the GH5 is use of only H.264 in almost everything except the 72Mb/s HLG h.265 option or the 6K anamorphic 200Mb/s h.265 option but with a spherical lens, but I'm sure you lose stabilization and some other things doing that using the whole sensor. H.264 would be fine for me but I'd rather have HEVC/h.265 as that is basically twice the quality at the same bit rate. The GH6 will most definitely have HEVC options galore. On the CX350 I always use HEVC 150Mb/s when using 4K UHD at 23.976. If I use 60p I use 200Mb/s, which also works good on my SD V30 cards.

So what I'm looking for in the GH5 and GH6 is 4K UHD 10 bit HLG or Log with rec. 2020 coverage (V-Log L on the CX350 and GH5 is limited to rec 709, V-Gamut would include rec.2020 and would be easier to grade than HLG) that can be recorded internally to 2 SD cards with no recording limit. The GH5 has no recording limit on anything, which is actually quite rare in cameras that are in this price range of around $1200 for the body. The GH6 will most probably have no recording limit as well, except maybe on 8K if they do that thing. The RAW over HDMI that the GH6 will most definitely have would be something I'd use all the time with my Ninja V so that would be something, plus I saw that Vegas is getting support for ProRes Raw some time in the near future, which would be great.

Would you wait for the mystical GH6 or would you buy a new GH5 with the 12-60 lens for around $1900? The rumored pricing for the GH6 is $2000-$2500 for the body alone.

Comments

Reyfox wrote on 3/9/2021, 5:47 AM

I'm one for if it is a "want" and not an immediate "need", I wait. Of course the GH5 is a proven workhorse. And the auto focus, there are things that you can do to minimize the "hunt". I have no need for all the features of the GH5 and need a camera that can take decent stills too, so have a G9. I shoot videos with it and am quite content with them.

The rumor for the GH6 has been around for a long time. I'd wait unless you have the money. I too am waiting to see what it will be like. Panasonic does not disappoint with their M43 cameras, but the S5 is looking quite good. Maybe there will be a S6 in the near future. For me, it's a "want" and not a "need".

RogerS wrote on 3/9/2021, 7:46 PM

It's hard to recommend a camera that doesn't exist. Specs are one thing, usability is another. That said, GH6 should be an improvement as Panasonic has a great track record with each version of the GH series but we'll see. The GH5 works well now.

Micro 4/3 has a good range of lenses. You could also put an adapter on it and use a longer DSLR zoom- I picked up a Canon 70-200 f4 for $400 used and other EF lens bargains. The non-electronic focus ring makes it pleasant to focus manually. I liked the 12-60 kit lens with the G85 when I did an extended rental of it and found it acceptable for photo and video.