GH6: your impressions/comparisons, realworld changes

What are your impressions of the various new IQ techniques and tech? (DR, 100mpx etc)

How does it compare with the X-H2S, S5, OM1 and predecessors?

Specific realworld differences, synergies & general observations from hobbyists, videographers, professionals who have used the GH6.  Thanks!

Strangefinder wrote:

What are your impressions of the various new IQ techniques and tech? (DR, 100mpx etc)

How does it compare with the X-H2S, S5, OM1 and predecessors?

Specific realworld differences, synergies & general observations from hobbyists, videographers, professionals who have used the GH6. Thanks!

In case you haven't seen it, the recent X-H2S initial review by DPR includes a "How it compares" section that pits it against the GH6, OM-1 and A74.

Fujifilm X-H2S initial review: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Gnine wrote:

Pete_W wrote:

Strangefinder wrote:

What are your impressions of the various new IQ techniques and tech? (DR, 100mpx etc)

How does it compare with the X-H2S, S5, OM1 and predecessors?

Specific realworld differences, synergies & general observations from hobbyists, videographers, professionals who have used the GH6. Thanks!

In case you haven't seen it, the recent X-H2S initial review by DPR includes a "How it compares" section that pits it against the GH6, OM-1 and A74.

Fujifilm X-H2S initial review: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

I actually watched that, & the video of Jordan was terrible. The camera was focused on the tree/branches/leaves in the background. What's going on there? I'm only watching it on my little 10" Chromebook screen, and it's very noticable

Yes, I felt the same. In some sections when Chris was just standing while he talked but moving his head and arms, the focus was not locked on well at all. They generally use the GH6 and S1R to make most of their videos which I think says a lot about Panasonic's capability.

Pete_W wrote:

Yes, I felt the same. In some sections when Chris was just standing while he talked but moving his head and arms, the focus was not locked on well at all. They generally use the GH6 and S1R to make most of their videos which I think says a lot about Panasonic's capability.

They actually filmed it with the Fuji X-H2S as they mention at the beginning of the Video.

Gnine wrote:

Strangefinder wrote:

What are your impressions of the various new IQ techniques and tech? (DR, 100mpx etc)

How does it compare with the X-H2S, S5, OM1 and predecessors?

Specific realworld differences, synergies & general observations from hobbyists, videographers, professionals who have used the GH6. Thanks!

It seems to nearly be despised here, you'll have more luck here I think. People that actually own and use them seem rather impressed

https://www.mu-43.com/threads/gh6-as-a-photography-stills-tool.114471/

I think a lot of it is down to the GH6 being perceived as mainly a video orientated device. I notice that most threads with a video aspect involved don't get much feedback.

In another thread I was involved in recently I happened to be looking at B&H bestseller lists and the GH6 was the highest placed m43 camera { they include pre-ordered stuff so even if supply is poor OM-1/ Z9 etc the numbers are still recorded. Not a universal sales data point obviously but it is the largest camera store in the world with a huge online presence

Mirrorless Cameras | B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)

Hi Strangefinder,

I own and use the GH6

So I mostly shoot videos and I got to say I am very very happy with the results. Especially 4K 120p and even FHD 240 look so great. Lowlight capabilitys are superb for a m43 camera (video).

Latitude of the GH6 is fantastic for this type of camera (on the same level with the Sony A7siii "labtest CineD"). Even dynamic range comes very close to full frame cameras.

Stabilisation and prores are awesome too

I tried the highres handheld 100mpx mode for stills and its awesome. If your subject isn´t moving too fast it can still compensate for some movement. Normal pictures also look nice.

I cannot say anything about autofocus cause I´m mainly using manual lenses (meike, kamlan) or some vintage m42 lenses with an adapter.

I cannot compare it to the other cameras that you mentioned, sorry.

Handling is fun and easy. You can customize every little button to your shooting style.

Dirk

I've been shooting with the gh6 for a few months.  It replaced a S5. A few random thoughts:

• I much prefer the size and handling of the S5.
• Obviously, the FF IQ and dynamic range are going to be better technically.  In decent light & ISO up to about 2500, I think the gh6 image has a better look aesthetically, esp video.  
• I'd planned to use my a7iv more when shooting stills, but haven't stuck to that in practice.  I just enjoy the gh6 and I'm getting stills as good as other m43 cameras I've owned (all Panasonics).  I'm doing less color processing than ever because it's so good as shot.  A7iv only comes out when there is going to be challenging lighting, higher ISOs.
• AF: I only use s-af for stills and the gh6 is perfectly capable there, even compared to the Sony.  I occasionally use c-af in video and perceive a noticeable improvement over the S5.  
• I had high expectations for HHHR, but now look at it as a novelty feature.  Maybe I'm shakier than others, but rate of success just getting a complete capture is maybe 5%.  The quality isn't any better than a standard shot, sometimes worse if pixel peeping.  It is nice for the occasional shot where you want lots of flexibility with cropping for different compositions.
• One of the deciding factors in replacing the S5 was the 4k 120 video.  I've not been disappointed. 
• I like that the gh6 has oversampled 10 bit 422 60p.  This is my everyday shooting mode.  The cropped 60p on the S5 was pretty great too, but I was less inclined to use it as my default mode.

Hobbyist here, and I have little use for video.  I purchased the GH6 mainly for stills while fully aware of its primarily video nature.  Having tested it to my satisfaction and comparing it to my G9's I do have some conclusions.  In all honesty, I am in the process of selling it now that my curiosity has been served but not because I was unhappy with it but because I fully expect a G9 replacement that will be a better fit for my needs.  My take:

Size and weight didn't bother me.  It is a bit clunky with that fan housing pushing the screen out but the grip feels good and is handy with my long lenses.

The combination flip up or articulating screen was wonderful in itself.

25MP does offer more detail than the G9's 20MP but not remarkably so.  I think colors were modestly improved over the G9.

All the video options required a more comprehensive menu system.  I think Pany did well with that, but then I have always liked Panasonic menus and did not notice a huge learning curve over the G9 menus.  Of course the video options were mostly Greek to me and so disregarded.  It wasn't hard to do.

I thought HHHR worked very well.  Since I don't print I don't require the huge files so I shrunk most of the test images down to 25MP from 100.  The resultant images had more detail and a bit less noise than the normal image taken at the same time.  I found it worth the effort.

I would definitely disregard DPR's advice to not shoot low light stills below 800ISO.  What I found in my own testing was that you could shoot a low light scene at -2ev using 50-800ISO, recover that 2ev in post and the resultant image was cleaner than that produced by the G9 under the same parameters.  50 ISO is very usable and clean.  What you should not do between 50-800 ISO is attempt to lift shadows more than 2ev.  Noise rises dramatically at that point.  Raising shadows more than 2ev in my own shooting would be a rare occurrence so this limit never affected me beyond testing.

The Gh6 is even more customizable than the G9 which was a surprise.  Only a couple of buttons cannot be reassigned.  The joystick is better placed and works better.  The on/off switch is awkward compared to the G9's, at least for me.  I tend to carry in my right hand and like the G9 where I can switch on as I raise the camera to my eye.  Not as easy to do with the new placement on the GH6.

The GH6 is missing the AF Point Scope which I use often on the G9.

The AFS, AFC and Manual selections are reversed from the G9's, with Manual on top and AFS on the bottom.  Not sure why this is but it was annoying.  Played loose with my muscle memory.

I did not notice a huge improvement in AF speed.

There are a few other things that I don't recall at the moment.  All in all, I liked the GH6 but I do hope for a G9 replacement.

I have the GH6 and find to be a very capable stills camera in addition to great video. For stills I particularly like the stabilization and the hand-held HR modes. This is great for extreme telephoto use, like safari.  For video I like the fact that there are no gotchas like all the competing cameras seems to have. For example, the field of view does not suddenly become cropped when you select a particular video mode, and you can pretty much stay in 10-bit for everything.  And of course, the most important thing is the excellent stabilization that approaches high-end cell phone cameras-- no more jerky videos when shooting without a tripod.

In my case I have a whole collection of Sony FE lenses from my previous use of A7rII and A99II cameras. These lenses are worth $15,000 or more to replace in a different system. I have been reading about the supposed excellent PDAF in the newest Sony cameras, so I was looking at possibly buying one of these bodies to replace my A7rII and A99II. I looked at A7rIV, A7IV, A9, A9II and was disappointed by the "gotchas" that reviewers found, especially the lack of useable stabilization. Only the A1 at $6000 looked like it might compete with GH6 in some areas. But for $6000 I think I agree with Jordan and would take a closer look at Nikon Z9 which seems the only camera that seemingly competes with GH6 at present. But then I would have to spend a small fortune to begin acquiring Nikon lenses. Ditto for the newest Canon cameras.

So, I have decided to stay with my Panasonic GH6 for another couple of years to see if anything new develops that would justify a change.

DiZu wrote:

Pete_W wrote:

Yes, I felt the same. In some sections when Chris was just standing while he talked but moving his head and arms, the focus was not locked on well at all. They generally use the GH6 and S1R to make most of their videos which I think says a lot about Panasonic's capability.

They actually filmed it with the Fuji X-H2S as they mention at the beginning of the Video.

Yes, I know that. My comments about the fuzzy focus were about the X-H2S.

My second comment above was that they usually use the GH6 or S1R for most videos (i.e. not this particular one).

Gnine wrote:

Pete_W wrote:

DiZu wrote:

Pete_W wrote:

Yes, I felt the same. In some sections when Chris was just standing while he talked but moving his head and arms, the focus was not locked on well at all. They generally use the GH6 and S1R to make most of their videos which I think says a lot about Panasonic's capability.

They actually filmed it with the Fuji X-H2S as they mention at the beginning of the Video.

Yes, I know that. My comments about the fuzzy focus were about the X-H2S.

My second comment above was that they usually use the GH6 or S1R for most videos (i.e. not this particular one).

But DFD. Lol.

Yep!