Panasonic GH5 Real World Autofocus and Low Light Test (Kind of)

You can argue that the Panasonic GH5 (Amazon)is a litmus test, telling us at least as much about the people who love it or loathe it as the camera itself.

I might agree with you.

It helps draw a bright line among video shooters, stills shooters and hybrid shooters. Among landscape shooters, sports shooters, and interview shooters. Between those who light and those who don’t. Between event shooters and cine shooters.

Between autofocus folks and manual focus folks.

Speaking of which: you can also argue that the whole “GH5 autofocus sucks/no, that’s your mom” controversy does much the same.

I’d definitely agree with you.

Those kinds of comments don’t really illuminate much other than the temperament of the people who post them (though sometimes the lines are pretty darned clever).

Yet in that noise, there IS some signal: whether you decry some of the recent GH5 autofocus tests as little more than “whack-a-mole” silliness or not (I’m firmly in the camp that it is NOT – I think the work done in particular by Max Yuryev has done much to illustrate basic differences between phase detection and contrast detection AF and identify which type of system is right for which circumstance) it is absolutely a fact that the GH5 does not have the best autofocus out there.

The real question is: “Is the GH5’s autofocus good enough?” Or perhaps: “What are the GH5’s autofocus characteristics that make it good enough or not good enough for you?”

The same kinds of questions apply to the GH5’s low light capabilities.

Since this article is appearing in Luminous Landscape, I thought it would be fun to do a “real world” landscape test of both capabilities in Dutch Amish country, an hour’s drive or so from home. What I didn’t count on was stumbling across an absolutely lovely, “kind-of” real world landscape in Shartlesville, PA called Roadside America that I decided to use instead.

The bottom line? The GH5’s autofocus capabilities are limited and I would not recommend it for tracking, but the capabilities it does have are beautifully cinematic in the right circumstances (and just fine for stills). You have to be aware of the scene’s contrast; composition; and movement of subjects and camera alike. In manual focus or using its software-enabled focus transition, it’s excellent. As for low light? In the world inhabited by lay audiences rather than reviewers and gearheads like us, I think a little TLC in post processing can make even ISO 12,800 eminently usable in a number of scenarios.

But of course, your mileage may vary. Take a look, and draw your own conclusions.

As for me, I bought the GH5 as a complement to my Sony gear, intending to manually focus the GH5 most of the time. So far, it is exactly what I thought it would be: a stellar video-centric hybrid camera with one of the best remote apps, arguably the best combo out there. As for the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 I used in this test? Absolutely killer, and at less than $350, another incredible value.

Hugh Brownstone
August 2017

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