Tag Archives: VFR Mode

Panasonic TZ200 does 1080p 120fps!

Panasonic TZ200

Panasonic announced two new cameras this week the ZS200 America / TZ200 Europe  which offers the worlds longest wide to super zoom range in a 1″ sensor form factor with a 24-360mm equivalent F3.3-6.4 lens and the larger sensor 4/3ds 20MP “Same as GH5″ Lumix GX9 which tops out at 60fps 1080p which we will not cover any further. We have a cut off of 120fps for slow-motion cameras.  The ZS200, however, looks to be Panasonic’s answer to the excellent and full-featured RX series of cameras like the RX10 IV and RX100 V.

The main selling point of this camera is the appeal of carrying a 15X zoom in your pocket along with a 1″ sensor which beats most superzoom cameras that use tiny 1/1.8″ or 1/2.5” sensors.  Panasonic is able to do this by extending the lens to almost 3 times the camera’s width footprint including lens ring which looks kind of ridiculous but is effective at contracting enough to fit on a large pocket.   The image below shows only 3/4ths of the extension. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GH5s Slow Motion Quality is Inferior to GH5!

GH5s Slow Motion

As expected based on early comments of the slow motion mode on the GH5s, the camera has pronounced aliasing “seen in this video by Max Yuryev” and softness the higher the frame rate goes. Even at 120p it is less detailed than the standard GH5.  It may be a function of supersampling in the higher megapixel  20MP GH5 vs the 10.2MP GH5s which is creating the new artifacts.

While the GH5s can shoot up to 192fps without cropping the sensor, anything above that up to 240fps it has a slight sensor crop which further decreases quality.  While the VFR mode on the camera is better than most cameras in the price range that attempt the feat, it is of note that the quality instead of increasing or remaining the same as the sister model takes a hit which may kill it as an option for slow motion needs.  We still believe the standard GH5 is the best Lumix option even when compared to the G9 in VFR mode. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GH5 Firmware 2.2 Update for VFR And More!

GH5 Firmware 2.2 Update

Panasonic has released an updated firmware that claims to fix some instability issues while recording video at higher frame rates using VFR. The Firmware Version 2.2 Available here aims to reduce or eliminate instances where the camera could stop recording video or in some instances refuse to record in VFR mode. Some users have reported rare incidents of corrupted files, recording stops and some camera lockups that could be related to the VFR function buffer and write to SD card procedure.  It will be a matter of testing this new firmware to see if it resolves these issues.

In some instances, it was narrowed down to slow SD cards that could not keep up with the data rates necessary or cards that had internal fragmentation that could cause corruption on clips.  Glad to see Panasonic addressing this issue. The camera also adds a new menu item for customizing the function button on the new Leica H-ES200 200mm 2.8 lens to different parameters.  Firmware Link! → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GH5 Firmware 2.0 Has Huge Improvements!

GH5 Firmware 2.0

The just announced Firmware for the Panasonic GH5 offers the promised improvements when the camera was launched like 400Mbps All-I compression for 4k 10 bit recording and or 200MBPS 1080p.  Also promised was near 6k Anamorphic shooting and HDR Ready Log Recording Gamma. All of that is in the firmware but the surprise comes from all the extra improvements that made the way into the 2.0 firmware release.

The new unexpected features range from a full tethering option for Mac or PC with free downloadable software to improved autofocus recording which was one of the weakest features of the camera.  As far as slow motion related improvements it seems the firmware is not making any headway there. The bitrate improvements do not mention the VFR mode. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

Panasonic GH5 Firmware 1.1 Allows 10 Bit 60p 1080!

Panasonic GH5 Firmware 1.1

The Panasonic GH5 ushered the era of 10-bit video recording on a portable prosumer interchangeable lens camera for the first time. Panasonic promised some features which at launch would not make the cut but would be added when firmware was released that would improve the spec sheet.  The new 1.1 version of the Firmware will enable 10bit recording on 1080p 24p, 25p, 29.98, 29.97p, 59.94p & 50p all at 100 Mbps.

While the camera offered 10 Bit recording at 4k from the get go it was not available above 29.97fps which left the 60fps 4k mode out in the cold for the increased color space. The update and all subsequent ones will also do not allow 10 Bit to be used above 30p in 4k so the 60fps UHD spec will remain at 4:2:0 8 Bit color. → Continue Reading Full Post ←

GH5 Slow Motion New Quality Footage!

GH5 Slow Motion

The Panasonic GH5 has been the camera darling of early 2017 for video enthusiasts and the addition of 120fps, 150fps and 180fps full HD was one of the most awaited features for the camera. Earlier footage showed a decrease in image quality when using higher frame rates on the camera and the appearance of moire and aliasing was evident. It was still far better than what the GH4s 96fps mode was able to do.

Recent new footage has re-examined the slow motion VFR mode and while there is a drop in quality the 180fps mode is still usable for many applications due to it retaining a lot of detail compared to other cameras.  The image is loosing quite a lot of resolution in the vertical so it will not be true full HD when you compare with the up to 60fps mode. → Continue Reading Full Post ←