PANASONIC GH5 MARK II
It may be a light refresh of the GH5 but the GH5 II still offers some impressive features for modern content creators
It may be a light refresh of the original, but the GH5 II still offers some impressive features for modern content shooters and videographers
Panasonic’s GH-series of Micro Four Thirds cameras have been popular with keen videographers and are also very capable stills cameras.
The GH5 II upgrades the GH5 and is aimed at photographers, content creators, livestreamers and YouTubers – people serious about their photography and video creation. However, the company has stated that the GH6 is in development and will sit above the GH5 II, aimed at filmmakers who need highend video features in a small camera body.
Although the GH5 II has the same 20.3MP sensor as the GH5, it has a new AR (AntiReflective) coating to reduce flare and ghosting and it’s paired with the Venus Engine 10 processor that’s found in the full-frame Panasonic Lumix S1H. This more powerful processing engine enables the GH5 II to capture 10-bit 4:2:0 C4K (4,096 x 2,160) video at up to 60fps and 200Mbps or 10-bit 4:2:2 4K (3,840 x 2,160) at up to 60fps and 400Mbps. There are also 4K and 6K anamorphic modes and V-Log L is pre-installed so there’s no extra charge for a software upgrade code.
Notably, the GH5 II doesn’t have the ability to shoot RAW video. However, the GH5 II has enhanced live streaming capability and can stream via a wired or wireless connection to a router or a smartphone running Panasonic’s Lumix Sync app. There’s a firmware update promised by the end of the year to enable wired RTP/RTSP streaming.
Panasonic has persisted with a 225-point contrast-detection autofocus (AF) system with its DFD (depth-fromdefocus) technology for the GH5 II, but it gains Head/Body/Animal AF on top of the GH5’s Face/Eye detection. Although phase detection is generally deemed faster, the GH5 II’s AF system is pretty quick and it can be used with fastmoving subjects. The detection system also does a good job of spotting its target, but it also sometimes sees heads or bodies where there aren’t any.
Like the GH5, the
GH5 II can shoot at up to 12fps in single
AF mode and 9fps in continuous AF mode, but its burst depth is much greater at 108+ RAW or RAW and JPEG files or 999+ JPEGs.
Unusually, Panasonic has downsized from a 3.2-inch screen on the GH5 to a 3-inch unit on the GH5 II, but it has increased the resolution from 1,620,000 dots to 1,840,800 dots. A larger screen would be nice, but the GH5 II’s vari-angle monitor gives a good view and it’s not too badly affected by bright sunlight.
The GH5 II’s viewfinder is the same 3.68million-dot electronic finder as is on the GH5. In the default settings it looks slightly brighter and less saturated than both the scene and the final image. In some cases, this led me to dial in an extra 1/3EV negative exposure compensation unnecessarily, so it’s worth adjusting the brightness and saturation of the viewfinder to get a more accurate preview.
The GH5 II’s body is made from magnesium alloy and it feels solid and durable. However, it’s also very big for a Micro Four Thirds camera; there are smaller full-frame mirrorless cameras like the Nikon Z7 II and Z6 II or any of Sony’s A7-series. Some will see that as a plus point as the grip is pretty big and chunky, while others prefer a more compact camera.
Panasonic has been reasonably generous with the number of controls on the GH5
II’s body and as well as a lockable mode dial, there’s a dial to select the drive mode, a switch to select the focusing mode and dedicated buttons to access the white balance,
ISO and Photo Style. Also, most of the buttons are customisable, so they can be set to access the features you use the most often.
There are dual dials for adjusting exposure, but the default setting requires a dedicated button to be pressed before the exposure compensation can be adjusted. This can be changed via the ‘Dial Set’ options in the menu.
On the back of the GH5 II, there’s a rubberised joystick for shifting the AF point around when you’re looking in the viewfinder. This is pleasantly ‘grippy’ and the control is very responsive, but those with small hands may find it a bit of a reach for their thumb.
On the image quality front, the GH5 II delivers the goods with plenty of detail and natural colour. However, the highest sensitivity setting (ISO 25,600) is a stop too far as the JPEGs can look rather splodgy while the RAW files have a coarse texture.