Panasonic Lumix GH5 II
Digital Hybrid Still/Video Camera
FOR A CAMERA to truly qualify as being “hybrid” it has to be as capable as a tool for photography and it is for videography, both applications equally well served with their respective functions and specifications. The original Lumix GH5 really set the standard here, with the GH5S being considered more videoorientated although it is also a very competent stills camera.
The upgrades to the GH5 II could also said to be more “video orientated”, but they’re essentially aimed at keeping the camera competitive, but there are also improvements that benefit the photographer, thus taking the ‘hybrid-ness’ collectively up a notch or two.
At the platform level, the Micro Four Thirds sensor size ticks a lot of boxes for both photographers and video-makers alike, translating into a more compact camera and some handy ‘free’ telephoto power courtesy of the 1.97x focal length magnification factor. The GH5 II is still a bit on the bulky side for an M43 camera, but in the light of what we’ve been seeing in full frame, the Mark II model really isn’t all that much of a handful… in fact, it’s well sized for both handheld shooting or using in a video rig. The original’s ergonomics were exemplary, so they’re largely unchanged on the updated camera, but the user interface (essentially the same as that of the Lumix S bodies) is much improved – it’s better designed and more logical in its implementation, further enhancing the operational efficiencies.
A later generation processor also enhances the Mark II camera’s functionality; driving improvements to the image quality, AF system and, of course, the video capabilities. Additionally, the in-body image stabilisation now gives up to 6.5 stops of correction for video shake, and a bigger buffer memory greatly extends the burst lengths with continuous shooting. The key update to the AF – still Panasonic’s contrast-detection based depth-from-defocus system but now operating at 480fps – is AIbased ‘deep learning’, so the subject detection for humans now identifies faces, eyes, heads and bodies, while that for animals can recognise dogs, cats and birds. On the video side, the bigticket items are 10-bit 4:2:0 colour 4K recording internally at 50/60p with no cropping or restrictive recording time limits, 10-bit 4:2:2 colour externally and simultaneously, All-Intra compression with 4K at 24/25/30 fps (giving a bit rate of 400 Mbps) and V-Log/ V-LogL already installed rather than an extra cost.
It all adds up to a camera that’s designed to just get on with the job and do it well… both comfortably and efficiently. Compared to some of its direct competitors, the GH5 II is much more practical in terms of what most users will realistically need in the here and now… and for some time to come too. But it isn’t all hard-nosed pragmatism, there’s a touch of magic about it too that will undoubtedly help it soon enjoy the same cult status as its predecessor.