Panasonic has been really quiet on when the new Lumix GH4 would be formally released to the public, and for what price point. Boasting 4K video at 24p, videographers everywhere hope to see this little mirrorless system be the next workhorse in the budget videography world. Good news came late tonight, as B&H finally decided to give us a price, and a link for preorder on this exciting new camera.
Priced at $1699 (a price they wouldn't even tell us off the record at WPPI last week), the GH4 is finally expected to start shipping by the end of April for consumers everywhere. Although, paired with the Interface Unit, you're able to shave a few hundred dollars off of the systems price at $3,299.99 (The fancy little Interface Unit is sold separately at $2,000). Whether or not this mirrorless system will be the next greatest for those looking to make high production video without breaking the bank is unsure, but we do know one thing - people are really excited about this newest installment to the GH series.
You can preorder the Panasonic Lumix GH4 at B&H Photo here.
Great price...i just can't get over how big and ugly that interface unit is lol...i mean, it's awesome, and i'm sure the performance will be great...it's just incredibly odd looking....
is there a less expensive 4K solution at 60/fps?
Never said it wasn't a good option or good value....just said it's ugly.
99.9% of people don't care. Although there will always be that small number of people who somehow try to use their gear as some sort of fashion statement.
Maybe i was being too nice when i said it was ugly....what i meant to say, was "what the heck was the designer thinking when they built this? You're telling me they couldn't design an interface closer to the same size as a normal battery grip, (minus needing space for a battery), instead of something that is in no way even CLOSE to proportionate in size to the camera?....my concern is that the "interface" adds so much size vertically to the setup, that you may now have trouble getting the thing to mount on a set of rails properly, getting a follow focus to match, putting the camera on a glidecam and keeping the center of gravity low, etc, etc......that's what i MEANT to say...but yeah, it's still ugly. A phantom cam is more sexy that that, and it's just a rectangular box.
What they should have done is design it to start giving the entire package a more ENG shape to give it better video handling.
...Which would have pushed the price into the prosumer price range of $4K+. By using the GH3 form, they are able to deliver a m4/3 4K at $1,7000.
I am still not sold on the interface adapter for myself, but I could see it being handy for larger productions with a full crew, where size and weight is not an issue.
Oh I wasn't referring to the camera, I was referring to that adapter. They should have shaped it so as to give the combo more of an ENG feel.
This is the least expensive large sensor camera that shoots 4K at 24/30 fps.
For 4K 60 fps ( and higher fps ), I think the Sony FS-700 with the 4K upgrade and an external 4K recorder is the least expensive route, which starts around $13,000+
Well, medium-sized sensor.
In the video world (unlike stills), a 4/3 sensor is considered to be large. Not too long ago a large video sensor was a 2/3 inches.
Where are you seeing 4k @ 60/fps?
i replied to the wrong comment, but was wondering where the commentator above was going to get a better frame rate for less on 4K. This camera is 24/fps
cant get over 24fps blahhhhhh
24 and 30 fps in Ultra HD mode (3840 x 2160)
24 fps in Digital Cine mode (4096 x 2160)
My mistake.... I ment to say I can't get over 24fps and 30fps... wake me up when they hit 60 or 120 frame rates.......
4K at 60+ fps for less than $10K is probably a of couple of years away.
Only in my dreams....... lol
Plus, the interface is $2000!
Only if you want to record 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 with an external 4K recorder, otherwise you can shoot 4K 8-bit 4:2:0 with an internal memory card.
Correction. I have confirmed from two sources (B&H tech support over the phone) & Hot Rod Cameras via ( http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?320815-Secret-Appearance-of-the...) 10-Bit 4:2:2 4k uncompressed output is possible from the body's mini hdmi port. This would mean the YAGH interface is a broadcasting box for SDI switch boards and XLR audio recording. Again.. the YAGH interface is not needed for 4k 10-bit 4:2:2 uncompressed :)
Yeah, I've heard this too, but then I've also read about the camera automatically down-rezzing the video output for the HDMI port, but B&H and Hot Rod should know what they are talking about.
I've also heard rumors of lower cost 4K recorders being revealed at NAB this year from companies like Atmos.
Very exciting stuff! We have our camera on preorder and I will be personally attending NAB so I will have my eyes peeled for a 4k external recorder. Buzz is a 4k recorder coming from our favorite company starting with the letter "A". I'm willing to bet the model will be called the Shogun? ;) If all this is true however, this would mean we could achieve 10bit 4k aerial with our s800 evo.. very exciting times indeed!
More info from the GH4 manual...
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/uploads/FileUpload/6b/b368626b72480c1...
Yeah Ive seen this as well, very ambiguous. I think the auto down convert is a feature that is reserved for recorders not capable of 4k recording; meaning the camera detects the recorder and then determines if it can achieve 4k recording and then the if statement is applied. This is very similar to the Odyssey 7q, but it is the opposite.. if the camera is not outputting the proper signal selected on the Odyssey.. instead of down converting it wont record at all. We will just have to wait and see, but I think it would be a safer purchase to hold off on the YAGH and go ahead and purchase your 4k recorder.. see if it works... and then if not purchase the YAGH.
Does anyone else think the release of this is weird? Just before all the NAB announcements. I am certainly going to wait and see what else is announced.
Nope. Panasonic and other companies have done this before. They want a lot of buzz when NAB arrives in a month, and the GH4 will be in the stores by the end of April.
Two grand for the interface unit?