Panasonic GH5 Mark II
A minor upgrade with unique live-streaming talents.
The Panasonic GH5 II’s predecessor, the original GH5, was a landmark camera for video makers. It offered gorgeous 4K footage quality, a wide variety of shooting options and good handling, as well as valuable features like in-body image stabilisation and dual SD card slots. It was also a solid stills camera, with decent all-round imaging performance, despite its small Micro Four Thirds sensor.
Build and handling
The GH5 Mark II is nigh-on indistinguishable from its predecessor: it has the same dust-proof, splash-proof and freeze-proof magnesium alloy body with the same 138.5 x 98.1 x 87.4mm dimensions, and at 727g (including battery and memory card) weighs just 2g more.
To be fair to Panasonic, this is one area where change didn’t feel required. The quasi-DSLR shape of the camera fits well in your hands, and all the main controls (including the large red video stop/start button) are situated within easy reach of your fingers or thumbs.
As with the original GH5, there’s a full-size HDMI output (able to transport a C4K 4:2:2 10-bit video feed to an external recorder, should the internal 4:2:0 recording not meet your needs), mic and headphone jacks, a dedicated remote, two SD card slots and a USB Type-C port. The USB connection on the GH5 Mark II is a level above its predecessor’s though, capable of recharging the battery and supplying power; it’s a really useful upgrade, particularly given the live-streaming feature.
The touchscreen size has been slightly reduced, from 3.2-inch to 3-inch, but gets slight bumps to its brightness and resolution that we think make up for this. It keeps the extremely flexible tilt-and-swivel design, allowing it to flip around the side to face fully forward – essential for vlogging and live-streaming, really.
Live streaming
Wireless live streaming might not seem like a huge craze yet, but Panasonic has made it a big promotional point of the GH5 II’s launch. At the time of writing, it’s the only high-quality mirrorless camera with built-in wireless live
streaming, so vloggers and other content creators should take note.
The camera’s live streaming setup uses the standard RTMP/ RTMPS protocol, which means it can be used on a variety of platforms. For those who want to get started with a minimum of fuss, YouTube and Facebook streaming comes built in: download the
Lumix Sync app for your phone or tablet, go through the simple steps to get your device paired with the GH5 II, then log into your Facebook or YouTube account and you’re basically there.
Streaming quality is limited to a maximum of 1080p/60fps, but will automatically adapt to its connection. Our Facebook stream downgraded the resolution to 720p, for instance – but the connection remained solid, running with a 15-second or so delay.
Autofocus
The GH5 II’s autofocus setup has been largely retained from the GH5, albeit with the addition of head, body and animal recognition (the original only had eye recognition).
Our testing suggests this AI-based detection approach is generally successful: human faces, heads and bodies are quickly picked up, but while a seagull got the attention of the autofocus our own sitting cat seemed to fox it slightly.
The AF setup uses Panasonic’s own DFD (Depth From Defocus) system rather than the hybrid contrast and phase detection setup favored by the likes of Sony, Canon and Nikon. DFD uses an AI-based algorithm in tandem with contrast detection, and we’d say it’s not quite as reliable as its hybrid rivals when it comes to nailing a fast, perfect focus every time. Is it likely to hinder your photography or filmmaking too much? No, we suspect not.
Performance
In terms of stills shooting speed, the GH5 II is about average – at least if you’re talking about shooting full-resolution images. It can manage a brisk 12fps with manual focus and live view turned off, or an acceptable 9fps with autofocus engaged.
Dial down the resolution, however, and it becomes something of a speed demon. The 6K Photo mode offers up to 30fps bursts, and in 4K Photo it goes as fast as 60fps. The downside, of course, is a drop in pixels: in 6K mode your images will be 18MP in size; in 4K, they’re 8MP. Also, these shots are actually frames taken from MP4 videos rather than traditional stills, so you can’t shoot them in raw.
Due to the small physical size of the GH5 II’s Micro Four Thirds sensor, it’s not the greatest stills performer if you’re looking for superb low light performance or ultra-detailed landscape images. An APS-C, full-frame or medium format camera can easily outperform it in these areas.
That being said, it can hold its own pretty well in most situations. The performance of its 5-axis in-body image stabilisation system has been slightly improved over that of the
GH5 (Panasonic claims it can now offer the equivalent of 6.5 stops of compensation) and that helps a lot with low light photography, as does the large extended ISO range of 100 to 25600.
Like the GH5 and GH5S before it, the GH5 II is packed to the gills with video shooting options. For starters, you can choose to record video in either MOV or MP4 formats, with either H.264 or H.265 compression. Video shooters actually get a fair few new options here, particularly where frame rates are concerned. You can now record 4:2:0 10-bit C4K and 4K video at 60/50fps and anamorphic 4:2:0 10-bit clips at 50fps. It’s also possible to record internal 4:2:0 10-bit video while simultaneously outputting 4:2:2 10-bit video via HDMI for external recording.
If you’re looking for a well-built, lightweight mirrorless camera with excellent handling, a fantastic range of video shooting options and solid stills performance, the GH5 Mark II his well worth a look.
Sam Kieldsen