Panasonic LUMIX GH5 for underwater video

Yes, C-AF for those shots. For mantas and sharks, due to the low-contrast backgrounds, I used AFL. Tried to keep at f 5.6 or above. Honestly, I don't think there's any problem with AF on this cam - if you're trying to shoot a grey subject against a blue-grey background with loads of particles in the water then it will hunt, but that's obvious. Most of the time it was just fine. I really do wish that Nauticam would do a focus ring for the PZ 14-42 lens though, since zoom can already be controlled electronically ( I have one of the fn buttons assigned)

Matt

Yes, C-AF for those shots. For mantas and sharks, due to the low-contrast backgrounds, I used AFL. Tried to keep at f 5.6 or above. Honestly, I don't think there's any problem with AF on this cam - if you're trying to shoot a grey subject against a blue-grey background with loads of particles in the water then it will hunt, but that's obvious. Most of the time it was just fine. I really do wish that Nauticam would do a focus ring for the PZ 14-42 lens though, since zoom can already be controlled electronically ( I have one of the fn buttons assigned)

Matt

Thanks for the shots Mat!

For this kind of shots what do you people think? Is it better to go with a higher frame rate and a 8 bit file or go for 30fps and 10bit?

Also if someone can help me understand how the AFL works on the GH5... Do you have to keep the button pushed in order for focus to stay lock or is it push on (lock) push off (unlock)?

I was thinking the same for the 14-42 PZ but Nauticam doesnt make one. Maybe if we were more than one asking for it? Its not that hard for them to make it.

"AFL hold" is buried in one of the menus somewhere. Switch it to "on" and you're good to go. Point at something a couple of metres away, e.g., press AFL once, and that's it. No need to re-focus between shots, unless you want to.

Before I went on the trip, I thought that I would be using 1080, 50fps 10-bit. However, the advantage of 10-bit seems to be above all in "extreme" grading. I couldn't see any difference on any of the (not very modern) screens in my house. 4k gives you the advantage of being able to zoom in a little at least in post, and provided your shutter speed is twice the frame rate, i.e. 180 degrees, then the slo mo from slowing down 50 fps is really useful. Things like shots that just lasted 2-3 seconds in real time can be made to stand out a bit more. If you want to go to less than 42% slo mo however, then you have to use 1080. I just put these different options in my custom pre-sets, so it's easy to switch. Variable frame rate is only available with manual focus of course....

One bizarre problem I had was that the camera completely froze at the start of a dive. I had just pressed AFL. Nothing I could do underwater would unfreeze it, including turning it off, pressing any of the buttons, etc. Only after the dive when I could take the battery out and re-insert it did the camera work again. I noticed that there were loads of "this video file cannot be played" on the card in the slot I'd been using. I realised that after a few days' use and transferring my shots every day to the hard drive, the card would probably need re-formatting. It seemed to do the trick, and the problem didn't occur again.

Matt

Here is some test footage i got with the GH5 nothing great as i was just trying to learn the camera.

Shot with the 14-42 PZ and WWL-1. 2xKeldan 4x lights

Standard profile without any alteration in the parameters. 4k 30fps 10bit 150mbps. Manual exposure. Auto focus

Manual white balance on the lights

Slight adjustments in Davinci 14 but nothing crazy. The 10bit footage though has lots of room for playing around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC-Am7Gxj2Y

And another one from a recent dive on a small wreck.

Depth is between 36 and 40 meters. Vis was around 10 meters but with lots of suspended particles.

4K 10bit 422 150mbs 24fps, Pic profile standard without alterations, ISO up to 800, Auto focus, manual exposure 180d shutter (mostly).

14-42 PZ with WWL-1. 2x keldan 4x and 2x sea life sea dragon 2500lm.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eeIaPjYnzY&feature=youtu.be

EDIT

the video is rendered at 24fps the footage was shot at 30fps

I actually prefer to shoot in 30p (29.97p if you want to be precise) and agreed on the 180d rule and a deep DoF (5.6f is my default position).

One of the things I've picked up recently, is to set your timeline, project (whatever its called in your NLE) to 23.98p and put the 29.97p footage on that, and set it so it doesn't do any 3:2 pulldown, that way you get a 80% slowdown, which is barely noticeable to the viewer, yet you get a smoother (and longer) clips, which removes some of micro judders etc

AF-Lock [ON] is great, as it works while shooting too.

And another one from a recent dive on a small wreck.

Depth is between 36 and 40 meters. Vis was around 10 meters but with lots of suspended particles.

4K 10bit 422 150mbs 24fps, Pic profile standard without alterations, ISO up to 800, Auto focus, manual exposure 180d shutter (mostly).

14-42 PZ with WWL-1. 2x keldan 4x and 2x sea life sea dragon 2500lm

Thank you for sharing. How do you position the 4 lights?

Thank you for sharing. How do you position the 4 lights?

I have just started experimenting with 4 lights so my experience is really limited and don't even know if i am using them the right way. I actually searched online for guidelines but was not able to find something.

Anyway i am using the two Keldans mounted on long arms at the handles ball mounts and the two sea dragons mounted directly (no arms) at the left and right tripod ball mounts of the Nauticam GH5 housing. I was having the sea dragons positioned parallel to the housing. Next time i ll try to mount them on short arms and position them lower that then housing. That might work better for wide angle shots away from the bottom. Of course there is no recipe covering all scenes and only with experience might get somewhere meaningful.

Any advice would be highly appreciated with someone having more experience in using 4 lights

I have just started experimenting with 4 lights so my experience is really limited and don't even know if i am using them the right way. I actually searched online for guidelines but was not able to find something.

Anyway i am using the two Keldans mounted on long arms at the handles ball mounts and the two sea dragons mounted directly (no arms) at the left and right tripod ball mounts of the Nauticam GH5 housing. I was having the sea dragons positioned parallel to the housing. Next time i ll try to mount them on short arms and position them lower that then housing. That might work better for wide angle shots away from the bottom. Of course there is no recipe covering all scenes and only with experience might get somewhere meaningful.

Any advice would be highly appreciated with someone having more experience in using 4 lights

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have no experience with 4 lights and I hope somebody with experience adds value to the discussion.

Is the purpose of 4 lights to have a wider beam for wide angle coverage or is it get rid of shadows (usually) casted by 2 lights?

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have no experience with 4 lights and I hope somebody with experience adds value to the discussion.

Is the purpose of 4 lights to have a wider beam for wide angle coverage or is it get rid of shadows (usually) casted by 2 lights?

I know Behind the mask uses 4 Keldans and I've seen a photo of their setup but I can't seem to find it now, my recollection is that they used a short arm attached with a triple clamp into 2 new short arms spread out where the lights would attach.

Hope that makes sense.

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This one?

Thank you for your prompt reply. I have no experience with 4 lights and I hope somebody with experience adds value to the discussion.

Is the purpose of 4 lights to have a wider beam for wide angle coverage or is it get rid of shadows (usually) casted by 2 lights?

To be honest i dont know yet just experimenting. I have the 2 sea dragons left from when i was using them with my go pro and i thought to put them into use.

The keldans cover 110 degrees in water each and the WWL1 at 28mm equivalent gives 130 degrees field of view so the two keldans alone should cover that. Or not? My idea for using 4 lights that way is that may be they give more flexibility on lighting a scene.

Most probably i am just making it hard for my self

I have no idea but my guess is to have extra power pretty much. To "outshine" the sun for example.

I know Behind the mask uses 4 Keldans and I've seen a photo of their setup but I can't seem to find it now, my recollection is that they used a short arm attached with a triple clamp into 2 new short arms spread out where the lights would attach.

Hope that makes sense.

 

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I remember reading somewhere long ago that adding two more lights wont give you more "light"instead they give you better coverage.

Dont know if that is correct though. I recently saw the Gates GT14 and they have two LED emitters that look the same as those of my Keldan. The Keldan i use is advertised for 7000 lm (one LED emitter) and the GT14 with two emitters are 14000 lm. Go figure...

This one?

That is seriously lots of light!!!

IMHO That setup is for a very specific task. Like enlightening a big animal in blue shallow water in sunlight or similar.

I would never use that setup for a plain wa shot.

Shadows are your best friend not your enemy.

I would give extra light to my buddy asking him to light everything from above. You get a dramatic effect like 3D with increased DOF.

If no buddy is avail then place all your lights as close as possible and move to enlight from above emulating sunlight.

I have just started experimenting with 4 lights so my experience is really limited and don't even know if i am using them the right way. I actually searched online for guidelines but was not able to find something.

Anyway i am using the two Keldans mounted on long arms at the handles ball mounts and the two sea dragons mounted directly (no arms) at the left and right tripod ball mounts of the Nauticam GH5 housing. I was having the sea dragons positioned parallel to the housing. Next time i ll try to mount them on short arms and position them lower that then housing. That might work better for wide angle shots away from the bottom. Of course there is no recipe covering all scenes and only with experience might get somewhere meaningful

I see some JJ GUE configured there hence teamwork should not be a problem.

Try to experiment giving a couple of lights to your buddy...

Better 2x12.000 than 4x7.000...

Very nice discussion maybe a mod could split the lighting discussion in to a new thread so the GH5 thread remains clean and the same time readers interested in video lighting can find the information easier.

IMHO That setup is for a very specific task. Like enlightening a big animal in blue shallow water in sunlight or similar.

I would never use that setup for a plain wa shot.

Shadows are your best friend not your enemy.

I would give extra light to my buddy asking him to light everything from above. You get a dramatic effect like 3D with increased DOF.

If no buddy is avail then place all your lights as close as possible and move to enlight from above emulating sunlight.

Great post Davide! Thank you so much!

Trying to be again in topic hereafter a GH5 video in really low light. in the comments section the guy wrote he used ISO 3200 and neatvideo due to very bad noise.

Unfortunately I cannot download the original file to evaluate Vimeo compression.