Panasonic GH5 II _ Does this update break the mould?
£1,499/$1,699 An upgrade to a film-making favourite
The Lumix GH5 II is a new version of the GH5, a camera that was ahead of its time when it was launched in 2017. The GH5 was the vanguard of a new generation of hybrid stills/video cameras; its 4K 60p recording capability was stellar then, and remains pretty impressive now.
So the GH5 II has a tough act to follow, and inevitably there will be those who feel that Panasonic hasn’t gone far enough – to be fair, the original GH5 didn’t leave it much room! Not only that, but the upcoming GH6, still in development, is likely to be the new flagship powerhouse in the Lumix G range.
What Panasonic has produced with the GH5 II is a camera that keeps the GH5 concept fresh and current. There’s probably not enough here to tempt a GH5 owner into upgrading, but any new buyers looking for a powerful 4K hybrid camera without the cost and weight of a full-frame system may just have found the ideal candidate.
The Micro Four Thirds sensor used by Panasonic’s Lumix G cameras doesn’t usually get a lot of respect from the full-frame crowd, but it has a lot going for it. The 20.3MP sensor has more than enough resolution for oversampled 4K video and enough for most kinds of stills photography. In addition, it means smaller cameras (admittedly, not here), smaller and lighter lenses, and a lower price point.
Key features
Key features of the Lumix GH5 II include its 20.3MP Micro Four Thirds sensor, its 12fps/9fps continuous shooting capability and big buffer capacity, its updated and more powerful in-body image
stabilisation and – in particular – its enhanced video capabilities.
The sensor is essentially the same one that Panasonic has been using across its Lumix G camera range for some time now, although here it’s matched up with a new, faster Venus processing engine, which brings new and enhanced video modes and contributes towards this camera’s burst-shooting abilities, with an enhanced burst depth of over 108 raw files or more than 999 JPEGs.
20 megapixels is enough for many kinds of stills photography, and when that’s combined with the GH5 II’s 4K 60p video capability, pre-installed V-Log L profile, support for C4K, VFR (Variable Frame Rates), 10-bit internal recording and more, it’s a serious video tool, too. This is a properly powerful hybrid camera for photographers and film-makers who need both stills and video in the same camera and probably in the same shoot.
Panasonic says its newly updated in-body stabilisation system now offers up to 6.5 stops of shake compensation, and this works alongside in-lens stabilisation, where available, and electronic stabilisation for smoothing out handheld video footage.
Another major addition in this camera is support for wireless streaming via Panasonic’s Lumix Sync mobile app, where the previous GH5 only supported
USB streaming via a PC and Panasonic’s own streaming software.
Comparisons with the previous GH5 are inevitable, especially since that camera has gained a strong reputation amongst film-makers. Many of the GH5 II’s improvements are subtle and involved – mostly those associated with video frame rates, bit depths and formats. The Lumix GH5 II’s headline specs – 4K video at up to 60p – are not unusual by today’s standards, but they don’t tell the whole story.
Build and handling
The GH5 II is pretty big for a Micro Four Thirds camera. It’s as big as a mid-range DSLR, and bigger than some full-frame mirrorless
“What Panasonic has produced is a camera that keeps the GH5 concept fresh”
cameras, notably Panasonic’s own Lumix S5. This size makes the GH5 II easy to get a good grip on, and it feels a natural fit with mid-sized lenses, like the Leica 12-60mm we tested it with.
First impressions are that the body feels a tad plasticky for such a high-end camera, but the magnesium alloy construction and weatherproofing say otherwise. It’s not as hard-edged as many rival mirrorless cameras, and does feel a little more comfortable in the hand.
The rear screen is a vari-angle type. Panasonic says it has improved its luminosity and colour rendition for outdoor use – though the new screen is a 3-inch display, while the one on the GH5 is a 3.2-inch screen. On a video camera, where you may not be right up close when you’re filming, we’d rather have a bigger screen.
The menu system is excellent, and a model of clarity both in its organisation and its appearance – the menu text is big and easy to read. There is an awful lot of video permutations to get your head around, however, and some features are unavailable unless you’ve selected something else first: for example, VFR mode needs the MOV format, which is set in another menu. The interface might be very clear, but you’ll still need to spend some time working out where the options are and what they do.
Performance
The GH5 II is hard to fault for stills photography. The 20MP Micro Four Thirds sensor does place its own limits on the resolution and the high ISO performance, but our lab tests repeatedly show that, small as they are, these MFT sensors hold their own well against larger APS-C sensors.
The 6.5-stop in-body stabilisation system in this camera is extremely impressive. The more you push your luck with slow shutter speeds, the more you risk some unsharpness, but we captured sharp images with 0.5 and 1 sec exposures that we wouldn’t attempt with other cameras.
The GH5 II’s stabilisation doesn’t make tripods redundant – tripods do much more than prevent camera shake – but it does make it possible
to shoot in what look like impossible conditions, or to use lower ISO settings that don’t push the MFT sensor quite so hard in low light.
The video performance is no less impressive. The GH5 II handles focus shifts smoothly and silently, and you can dip into the camera settings if you’re not happy with the focus speed. You may want to experiment while shooting with the automatic face/ body/animal/eye AF modes and more rapidly moving subjects – or you can use a single focus point and tap the screen (softly!) while filming to select a different AF point for quick and dirty ‘pull focus’ effects.
Opinions about Panasonic’s DFD AF system are highly polarised, however, perhaps because it depends so much on your style of shooting. If you rely heavily on face/body/eye EF, you might find the GH5 II better than the original GH5, but still not in the same league as rival cameras with phase AF. If you focus manually or like to select your own AF point, however – and you can do this while filming – you might wonder why everyone’s complaining.
The stabilisation for static handheld shots verges on the uncanny. If you switch everything on, including lens IS (where available), the camera IBIS, and the optional E-Stabilization and Boost IS (these come with a slight crop factor), the live view is so rock-solid that you want to check you’re not in playback mode by mistake.
Run and gun video or handheld camera pans are not so easy for the IBIS – basically, in-camera stabilisers don’t have the range of movement needed. They’re great for smoothing out ‘jitters’, but they can’t replace a gimbal – and the Lumix GH5 II has done nothing to change our minds on this point.