The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4: The Unofficial Quintessential Guide

Chapter 1: Getting Started

Introduction

The Panasonic GH4 is a professional tool for taking high-quality photographs and movies. It is an update of the GH3 camera and features an improved autofocus mechanism, which makes it one of the fastest focusing mirrorless cameras. Additionally, the user has the option to dispense with the mechanical shutter and make it a stealthy picture-taking machine, working silently to record discreet images. For recording movies, it provides a major improvement in resolution: one frame consists of 4096 × 2160 pixels. This is regarded as 4K resolution, which has twice the pixel array of an HD video. These movies can be saved to the camera’s internal memory card, making the GH4 one of the most compact high-resolution video machines.

In spite of its advanced capabilities, the camera is still affordable for the enthusiast, being one of the least expensive ways of obtaining 4K videos with an interchangeable-lens camera. Although some may feel its 16-megapixel sensor limits its capabilities for still photography, you should remember that when an image from this sensor is printed at 240 dots-per-inch it will be a sharp 19.2 × 14.4 print. For most still photographers this is more than adequate. This camera should be regarded as one of the most versatile tools for a working photographer.

Together, these attributes give the camera unprecedented versatility for photo-journalism and can provide the professional with a working tool for recording high-resolution, still photographs, or run and gun video recordings. Because of this flexibility, the camera’s menu is exceedingly complex. The menu commands may seem indecipherable at first, especially for the owner who has worked in still photography, but as you work with the camera, the commands, their organization, and their usefulness becomes apparent. In addition, the camera has numerous components (buttons, dials, and levers) that enable the user to apply camera settings without having to navigate through the menu. Figures 1-1a–d show the Panasonic GH4 components from all angles.

Figure 1-1a: Front of the Panasonic GH4 camera

Figure 1-1b: Back of the Panasonic GH4 camera

Figure 1-1c: Top of the Panasonic GH4 camera

Figure 1-1d: Bottom of the Panasonic GH4 camera

Using this Book

It is possible to take quality videos or still photographs without knowing all of the intricacies of the camera. In fact, we recommend you start shooting quickly and begin reviewing your results. The first photographs will most likely be technically good; however, as you gain experience and expertise, your photos will improve both technically and artistically. The key point here is to use the camera and study your pictures and movies to determine how you can improve. For this reason, in chapter 1 we provide enough information for you to treat the camera as a point-and-shoot tool and start recording images immediately. The two controls you have to know are the ON/OFF switch and the mode dial (figure 1-2). When you turn the mode dial to Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, the camera takes care of all of the options for exposure and focusing.

Figure 1-2: The top of the GH4 showing ON/OFF switch and iA mode

Setting up your New Panasonic GH4 Camera

The following are the contents of the Panasonic GH4 box.

• Camera body

• Cover for lens mount*

• Hot shoe cover*

• Eyecup*

• Flash synchronization cover*

• Cover for the battery grip connector*

• Cover for the interface unit connector*

• Shoulder strap

• Battery

• Battery charger

• USB connection cable

• Software DVD

• Operating instruction manual

*Items come attached to the camera.

After you inventory your equipment, you should charge the battery. Panasonic sends the battery only partially charged, and while it may have enough power to turn on your camera and take a few pictures, doing so might deplete it of all of its charge. This can damage the battery so it will no longer hold a full charge.

The charging unit comes with a cable for plugging it into the wall socket. The battery has an arrow on the top and can be loaded in the charging unit only one way. When properly inserted, the battery clicks into position and the charger’s LED bulb glows green. A steady green glow indicates all is well; when charging is complete the LED extinguishes. According to Panasonic, it takes 3.5 hours to restore a completely depleted battery to its full capacity. Usually, recharging times are not this long because users tend to charge a battery that is only partially depleted.

Lenses

The Panasonic GH4 camera is sold without a lens. If you are in the market for a useful working optic, there are three zoom lenses with focal lengths that would serve most photographers. These are often described as normal zooms, and their focal lengths generally range between 12mm and 45mm. Although you can buy excellent single-focal-length lenses, these will not be as versatile in terms of providing varying angles of view.

One lens we highly recommend is the 12–35mm f/2.8. This is a premium optic and is weatherproofed so that you can shoot in inclement conditions. Superior optical and mechanical quality is expensive, but the cost of the lens (nearly $1,000) will be worthwhile if you are a professional or avid enthusiast. It is a working tool that will last a lifetime.

We will discuss our reasons for recommending this lens in chapter 10, Lenses and Other Accessories. For now, it is sufficient to note that this is our preferred normal focal length zoom lens.

There are less expensive normal zoom lenses that you may want to consider if funds are limited. Table 1-1 lists their optical characteristics and price. As you can see, prices for these lenses vary and one could justifiably question whether the most expensive lens is necessary. Basically, if you are starting out you can save money by purchasing less expensive optics. Compared to the premium lenses there is always some sacrifice in optical and mechanical features that either renders the lens more inconvenient to operate or sacrifices its ability to work in low-light situations. This does not mean that sharpness and contrast will be inferior to its more expensive counterparts. What you will sacrifice is the ability to operate under low light, the ability to rapidly focus, and the capability of working under inclement conditions. For example, the most expensive 12–35mm, f/2.8 normal zoom lens is the only model that is weather-sealed.

Table 1-1: List of the normal zoom lenses for the GH4

However, you may decide you prefer some features of the less-expensive lenses. They may be lighter in weight and this can be important to the travel photographer. Also, the 14–140mm has a huge 10x zoom range, and for a photographer who wishes to avoid carrying extra lenses, this might be the optic of choice.

Panasonic lenses are sold with caps to cover the front lens element and shield the rear lens element. The former has two spring-loaded tabs that you press when mounting or removing the cap. When pressed, these tabs retract a small ridged bar that engages the inner threads of the lens barrel. For the rear of the lens, there is a cover with a fitting that mimics the lens mount of the camera. You attach this accessory by covering the rear of the lens and twisting it slightly to lock it in place. On some of the inexpensive lenses, the rear cover is held into place by friction. If this is the case, we recommend you replace it with a bayonet mount cover that will not slip off easily. If the cap falls off, the rear lens or the electrical contacts on the mount will be exposed and could be damaged.

The camera body comes with a cover for its lens mount. It is a plastic disk with a male bayonet mount and is removed by turning it counterclockwise and lifting it off the lens opening. The lens is attached to the camera body by aligning a red bump at the base of the lens to a red dot on the camera body (figure 1-3). When these two are lined up, insert the lens into the camera body and turn the lens clockwise to seat it properly. You will hear and feel a distinctive click when this is accomplished. The sound is caused by the rise and insertion of the spring-loaded lock pin into a groove at the rear of the lens. Press the lens release button (figure 1-3) to retract the pin and unlock the lens.

When attaching your lens, we recommend that you do not press down on the lens release button because this retracts the lock pin and deprives you of any confirmation when the lens is mounted properly. A failure to properly align the electrical contacts between the lens and the camera will make them inoperable. Worse, the lens may not be secure and could fall off and be damaged.

Figure 1-3: The front of the camera showing the red index spot for aligning the lens and the lens-release button

Memory Cards

The camera will need a Secure Digital (SD) memory card, which is about the size of a postage stamp. SD cards come in many varieties with various memory capacities and data transfer speeds. To determine which card to use, you will need to determine how many pictures or how long a movie you wish to capture. The card’s ability to rapidly take in data is critical if you wish to record the highest quality movie. Do not be too concerned with the designations SD, SDHC, or SDXC, which refer to the card’s potential maximum memory capacity. Your GH4 camera can handle all of these memory cards. Your one problem may be your computer. Before purchasing an SDXC-type card, which has a potential capacity of 2 terabytes (TB), make sure your computer can format the card to its full capacity.

Depending on the speed of data transfer, memory cards are categorized into classes (2, 4, 6, 8, 10); the higher the class number, the faster the card can receive and record data. Classes 2–10 are appropriate for taking still photographs, and class 4 cards are suitable for recording lower quality videos. To record the highest quality videos, you will have to purchase cards rated faster than class 10. These cards use a new bus (contacts for the card and camera) and are rated as UHS (Ultra High Speed). To record the highest quality videos (4K), you will need a UHS card that has a speed class rating of 3. If you are willing to sacrifice on video quality and restrict yourself to still photography, you can use an SD card with a class 4 rating. This will record the lowest quality movies; however, this is not as bad as it sounds. You will be recording HD movies, which project nicely on a large-screen television. For personal home movies, this may be sufficient. However, if you intend to do video editing and use the camera professionally, you will need the UHS cards. The highest-rated UHS cards are expensive. At the time of writing, we found that a 16 GB SanDisk Extreme Pro card (UHS-3) costs $40. In contrast, a SanDisk Class 4 card of the same capacity costs $9.95.

After the files are downloaded, you can erase the images on the card by using the camera’s Format command. We will describe how to navigate and use the menus later in this chapter.

Battery and Battery Charger

As mentioned previously, the battery that comes with the camera will be partially charged when you open the box. It is important to charge the battery completely before using it. Rechargeable lithium batteries will last longer if they are only partially discharged and then recharged fully. If you attempt to bypass this step, you will find that the camera may start up and you may even be able to take some pictures; however, the power can be exhausted rapidly, shutting down the camera. Draining the battery of power can damage it so that it cannot be recharged to its maximum capacity.

This is a good reason to have more than one battery: you can replace the partially depleted one with a fully charged one and continue shooting with no down time. When you buy a spare, we recommend purchasing Panasonic batteries. Using uncertified batteries from third-party manufacturers will void your warranty if your camera is damaged by their use. For the active photographer, it’s not a question of if you will need to buy a spare battery; it’s a question of when. These batteries do not have an infinite lifespan. Generally, with heavy use, a battery’s capacity to hold a full charge will decrease and it will have to be replaced in about three years.

Assembling the Camera

Make sure you have the camera turned off before you insert or remove the battery, memory card, or lens. The battery and memory card occupy different compartments in the camera. The battery chamber is on the bottom right side of the camera. When you invert the camera, you will see the cover with a lever for opening the compartment (figure 1-4). A small arrow on the battery’s case serves as a guide for proper insertion. You will hear a solid click when the battery is properly seated. The battery and its chamber are designed to ensure the proper alignment of their electrical contacts. You can now close the battery cover and lock the compartment with its lever. To remove the battery, open the compartment to expose a small tab. Push the tab to the side to free the battery, and it will pop up for easy removal.

The memory card slot is on the right side of the camera and can be opened even if the camera is mounted on a tripod. Open the hinged door with a push of your finger toward the rear of the camera to expose the slot for the memory card. Insert the memory card with the metallic contacts going in first. The contact bars should be facing the front of the camera. The SD card will lock into position with a click. The card can only be loaded in one direction. Do not force the card—it should slide into its slot without difficulty.

Figure 1-4: Bottom of camera showing the lever for unlocking the battery compartment

If the memory card is missing, defective, or its contacts are dirty, a NO CARD message will be displayed on the monitor screen when you turn on the camera. If this occurs, turn the camera off, and if the memory card is in the camera, remove it by gently pressing down on its top. This will release a lock allowing easy retrieval of the card. Check the card’s gold-colored contacts. If there is dirt, brush it off and reinsert the card. When you turn on the camera, the NO CARD message should not be displayed. If you see it, the card may be defective and will have to be replaced.

Using the Camera

After you have assembled your camera, you are ready to turn it on. The ON/OFF power switch is on the top-right side of the camera, beneath the mode dial. Move the lever so the indicator matches up with the ON option and a green LED to the right of the mode dial lights up.

Even if you have no experience with digital photography, you can use your camera immediately and start taking pictures that are well exposed. Simply turn the mode dial on top of the camera until the white camera symbol with the white letters iA is opposite the index mark (figure 1-5). If the mode dial does not rotate, check the mode dial lock button in its center. When this button is depressed it prevents the mode dial from rotating. If this is the case, press on the lock button to free the mode dial. With iA mode the camera will take properly exposed and focused still photographs when the shutter button is pressed and HD videos when the movie button is pressed.

Figure 1-5: The top of camera showing the mode dial and the mode dial lock button

That is all there is to it. Admittedly, you will not be able to fully exploit the features of this camera, but the results will be technically excellent. As you use the camera and read the later chapters in this book, you will be able to push the camera to its limits.

Dual View System

The Panasonic GH4 can be used with its rear monitor screen much like a camera phone. However, a major advantage of this instrument is its electronic viewfinder (EVF), which allows you to put your eye close to an eyepiece and brace the camera body against your face (figure 1-6). The EVF gives you a magnified view of the scene you are photographing. It appears sharper and larger than the view on the monitor screen. This is unsurprising because the EVF has over two million dots for displaying your image. In contrast, the monitor has only one million dots.

Figure 1-6: The back of camera showing the viewfinder, Fn5/LVF button, and diopter adjustment dial

The EVF is the preferred finder when working under bright daylight conditions. In this situation the ambient light overwhelms the view on the rear monitor screen. Even when you adjust the monitor for maximum brightness, it can be impossible to read the menu or frame the scene. Ironically, the EVF is also convenient in a darkened auditorium where you shouldn’t disturb the audience or the performers with the light from the monitor screen. Perhaps most importantly, having the camera pressed up against your face helps steady the camera, ensuring a sharper photograph.

The EVF and monitor screen work as a team to minimize battery drain. Both are never on at the same time. When you first use your camera, you will find it automatically chooses which display to turn on. When your eye approaches the eyepiece, the EVF is turned on and the monitor is turned off. When you pull your eye away from the EVF it is turned off and the monitor screen is turned on. The only thing to watch out for is inadvertently pressing the Fn5 (LVF) button (figure 1-6), which can turn off the automatic switching feature. This button toggles the displays in the following manner:

1.Default: The camera automatically switches between EVF and monitor screen.

2.Press Fn5 button once: Turns on EVF and does not allow the turning on of the monitor.

3.Press Fn5 button a second time: Turns on the monitor but does not permit the turning on of the EVF.

4.Press Fn5 button a third time: Returns to the default setting of automatically switching between the EVF and the monitor.

This button is useful for those conditions when the automatic switching fails. For example, Panasonic reports some users have eyeglasses that prevent turning on the EVF. Although we have not experienced this problem, if such a situation arises, press the Fn5 button to turn on the EVF directly. There are situations when you don’t want the EVF to come on, such as when recording a movie. You can press the Fn5 button a second time to turn on the monitor only.

Using the Monitor Screen

The monitor screen is used when the camera is away from your body—a situation that arises frequently when taking video. It allows you to compose the subject and make adjustments to the exposure with the touch screen. It is also convenient to use this display when the camera is mounted on a tripod or copy stand. If you are changing options in the menu, it is helpful to be able to view both the monitor screen and the camera at the same time.

When your view of a subject is blocked, you can take advantage of the monitor‘s tilting feature. For example, if you are in the middle of a crowd and want to photograph someone at its periphery, you can hold the camera over your head and tilt the monitor screen downward. This way, you can look up and view the screen in order to aim your camera at the subject.

Using the EVF

The electronic viewfinder display provides greater precision for framing your subject because it provides a high contrast, highly magnified, sharp view. This is essential if you need to focus manually.

The EVF is a small monitor where the image is enlarged with a focusable magnifier. To use the viewfinder, you first need to focus this magnifier precisely to your eye. This is done with the diopter adjustment dial located to the right of the EVF window (figure 1-6). While looking through the eyepiece, rotate the dial until the scene’s fine details are crisply rendered and the borders of the lettering are razor sharp. If you wear eyeglasses with either progressive or bifocal lenses, make sure they always lie over the same point on the eyepiece. If you share your camera with others, they may need to change the viewfinder’s focus to work for their eyes.

The eyecup around the viewfinder covers much of the diopter adjustment dial, leaving only its rim exposed and making it difficult to rotate. Although the eyecup can be removed easily (it slides up off the camera body), we recommend you leave it on even if you wear eyeglasses. The eyecup is made of a soft, flexible material that protects eyeglass lenses. Removing the eyecup leaves a hard plastic rim that can scratch the polycarbonate plastic used in eyeglasses.

Learning the Menus

When you first turn on your new Panasonic GH4, you will be prompted to set the camera’s time and date and the area where you live. These items appear immediately on the display screen. The monitor screen will provide plenty of prompts for setting these values so you don’t have to read the camera-supplied user guide.

Additionally, you can change these settings at any time by using the camera’s menu system. Since you’ve likely already set the time and date and are familiar with this operation, we will show you how to do this by using the menus.

We suggest that you do not try to memorize all the commands at once. This will be a frustrating exercise and will not result in mastering the use of your camera. Instead, learn the commands gradually. We will guide you through this process and highlight the commands that we regard as the most important. Appendix A will list all the commands and appendix B will list which commands are available in each of the shooting modes. Within the book we will discuss the most important principles of using the features and menu commands.

Press the MENU/SET button (figure 1-7a) on the back of the camera to enter the camera’s menu structure (figure 1-7b). The main menu has icons arranged vertically along the left side of the screen. The icons for iA and Creative Control Mode are invisible unless the mode dial is set to the iA or Creative Control Mode respectively.

Figure 1-7a: The MENU/SET button on the back of the camera

Figure 1-7b: The camera’s menu when mode dial is set to iA

In computer jargon, these menu icons are directories. You can think of them as folders that contain a multitude of commands. The menu icons resemble the following: a still camera (Rec), a camcorder (Motion Picture), a wrench next to the letter C (Custom), a wrench (Setup), and finally an arrow button (Playback). At the bottom of this vertical scale at the left-hand corner there is a return icon.

Table 1-2 lists the main menu groups, their names, and a description of each main menu’s function. However, the grouping of the commands within the main menu is imprecise and a command may not be in the menu group you would expect. For example, the control for sensor sensitivity is found in the Rec menu, and adjusting this command affects both still photographs and movies. We had expected the sensitivity setting to be found in two menu groups: one in the Rec menu for still photography and another in the Motion Picture menu for taking movies. In part, the idiosyncratic grouping of commands reflects the large number of commands and the fact that some commands are used for both still photographs and movies.

Table 1-2: The icons for the major folders of the menu system

If you are looking at the rear monitor display, you can touch the screen to select a main menu, command, or option. The actual menu commands or options displayed vary with the setting of the camera’s mode dial. There are up and down arrowheads on the right of the screen. Touching them will scroll up or down in the list of commands. Between the up and down arrowheads, there are numbers, such as 2/7 (figure 1-8). The 2 indicates the page within the menu that you are currently viewing and 7 indicates the total number of pages in the menu. Pagination is necessary because there are many more commands than can fit within the five commands-per-page limit. You can also press the DISP. button to navigate through the menu; each press of the button moves the menu down by one full page.

Figure 1-8: Menu screen with the Metering Mode command selected

When a folder is selected it becomes colored. If the right cursor button is pressed, a command in the folder is highlighted in yellow. Figure 1-8 shows the Rec menu icon in red, and the Metering Mode command is highlighted in yellow. You can select a command by touching it with the tip of your finger and it will be ready to accept your choice of options. If you need to go to another page, simply touch the up or down arrowhead icon. It is so easy and efficient to use the touch screen that you might wonder why Panasonic provided the buttons on the camera body for navigating, selecting, and changing commands or options.

It turns out there are situations when the touch screen is unavailable or inconvenient to use. For example, when shooting in low light, you may not want the light from the display to disturb the subject. In this case, you can turn off the monitor screen and use the menu system by looking through the electronic viewfinder eyepiece and pressing the buttons on the back of the camera. You can adjust all of your settings with this technique. Another situation in which it’s difficult to use the touch screen is when you’re shooting in cold weather wearing gloves. Gloves prevent precise selection on the screen by touch.

Navigational Buttons and Dials

There are eight buttons and dials that serve as shortcuts for selecting menu commands. Table 1-3 lists the buttons and dials along with their actions.

Table 1-3: List of navigational controls on the camera

Menu Command Structure Navigation

We have devised a shorthand way to represent the steps you must take