Two New Video Cameras – one disguised as a still camera

The parade of camera introductions continues with video-centric models from Panasonic and Canon. Panasonic’s new baby is the GH7, the latest in their Micro 4/3 GH line that has been delighting videographers since 2009. At any given time, the current GH camera will have most video features that ANY other camera offers. The GH series has introduced quite a few new video features to the market over the years and has been second or third with many others. Their combination of features has always been appealing, and the small sensor has kept the price down ($2199), considering the level of video chops.

Highlights of the GH7:

• Full video features of the GH6, plus the new phase detect AF from the more stills-oriented G9 II. The AF should be much better than any previous GH camera – the G9 II is very good.

• Real-time LUT (similar to film simulations, but customizable in a smartphone app).

• Internal ProRes RAW recording (a first for Panasonic, although not a market first – Nikon Z8 and Z9 already do internal ProRes).

• 32-bit float audio. This is a first for in-camera audio recording, although it requires an external audio interface (that is more expensive than some recorders that capture 32-bit float audio). The advantage of having in-camera recording is that you don’t have to sync the audio afterwards. The advantage of 32-bit float recording is that it will capture both the quietest and the loudest sounds you might encounter without clipping. It’s like the dynamic range of audio. Speaking of dynamic range…

• Dual output gain sensor for enhanced dynamic range (also in the GH6 and G9 II – but the system in the GH7 is enhanced and works at low ISO. One of the major disadvantages of Micro 4/3 has always been very limited dynamic range. At ISOs where the dual output gain kicks in, the dual output gain Panasonics have rivaled good APS-C cameras. With dual output gain starting at base ISO, the GH7 may rival APS-C even from base ISO.

• Superb image stabilization has long been a Micro 4/3 advantage, and the GH7 claims 7.5 stops.

A diagram of how the fan works – cleverly, the weather sealing is intact.

• Fan-cooled for very long video recording times. According to Panasonic, it should rarely overheat – only outdoors in very hot weather in a couple of the most demanding modes. The GH7 is one of only a few cameras to combine fan cooling with weather sealing. The fan is outside the weather seal, blowing across a heat sink.

The two questions:

That big CFExpress card is fast enough for the considerable bandwidth of the GH7’s best ProRes RAW video modes. It will also record to an external SSD.

Why has Panasonic not moved to a stacked sensor in the GH line? There is no camera that could use it more, and many of the most video-oriented APS-C and full-frame cameras are using stacked sensors.

  The GH7’s sensor is one of the fastest non-stacked sensors in production, but stacked sensors are faster still, and the most important use for a very fast sensor is video. This is the most video-oriented hybrid camera on the market, and it is expensive for its sensor size – a perfect application for a stacked sensor.

The GH7’s interfaces. Full-size HDMI is nice, but these are basically standard still-camera interfaces. You do get pro audio if you add the optional interface.

Why does the GH7 still look like a still camera?

The GH line have increasingly become dedicated video cameras with a convenience stills function. There is no reason to use a $2200 Micro 4/3 camera that is larger and heavier than many full-frame cameras for stills unless you have it in your bag primarily for video.

 With a video camera THIS capable and a vestigial stills function, why not change the form factor? Many video uses would benefit from a “cube” form factor, or a rotatable side handle, or multiple ¼” 20 attachment points for accessories. While the GH series have always been among the best-handling “still-type” body designs for video (the GH7 uses essentially the same body as the GH6, and will handle just as well) there are advantages to a true video body.

Canon’s Cinema EOS C400

The Cinema EOS C500 from the front.

The Canon Cinema EOS C400 is the next step towards a true dedicated video camera from something like a Panasonic GH7. It is also a considerably higher-end camera, with a full-frame stacked sensor instead of a non-stacked Micro 4/3 design. At $8000, it is aimed squarely at professional video users.

Even though it has a sensor that would work very well as a still camera, the Cinema EOS C400 does not appear to have an easy to use still shutter release. It DOES have a stop-motion mode, so it is possible to trigger a frame at a time, but Canon does not appear to have given though to using it as a “convenience” still camera. It is obviously not a camera anyone would buy as a “mostly still” camera, but would it make sense to have a still shutter release so it can do double duty while out making movies?

Ways to rig your C400 – with a full-on broadcast lens on support rods.

Unlike the GH7, which looks like a still camera, the Cinema EOS C400 is a boxy camera with multiple accessory attachment points. It has such pro-video features as power connections for servo zoom lenses. Unlike some cinema cameras, it has excellent autofocus and a rotatable grip that make it easier to handle for “run and gun” cinematography. 

The major ergonomic issue with the C400 is that it is unclear how to put a viewfinder on it. It comes with a 3.5” touchscreen on a very flexible mount (cinema camera screen mounts can put any flexible screen on a still camera to shame).  It does NOT come with a viewfinder in addition. Canon makes several accessory viewfinders for the Cinema EOS line (and there are third-party options as well), but the initial information doesn’t make it clear what will mount to the C400 and how it will interface.  Since it has both HDMI and HD-SDI as well as a variety of physical attachment points, a viewfinder WILL mount somehow, and there should be multiple options at a variety of price points.  The options are just not yet clear.

The other interesting omission is that the Cinema EOS C400 lacks in-body image stabilization. Very few “video body” cameras with interchangeable lenses have in-body stabilization (the only one I know of is the Sony Burano, although there may be others), and I have always wondered why. The Canon and Sony models DO support lens-based stabilization, and a stabilized RF zoom lens would be a great run and gun pair with the C400. 

Ways to rig your C400 – run and gun with a RF-mount zoom lens. Full AF and image stabilization

Like many cinema cameras, the Canon Cinema EOS C400 has excellent lens flexibility. Its native mount is Canon RF, but Canon makes a first-party adapter for PL cinema lenses. Used with RF lenses, it can offer excellent autofocus and lens-based stabilization for the “one-person band” cinematographer. Attach a PL adapter and it accepts the finest lenses Hollywood has to offer, becoming a “full-rig” cinema package light enough to fit on booms, gimbals and even (large) drones. Many cinema cameras that accept highly electronic still camera lenses don’t support all the features of the lens. Autofocus may be limited, image stabilization may not work, etc. Since the C400 is a Canon camera and a part of the EOS line, RF mount lenses should work exactly as they do on any other Canon.

 Ways to rig your C400 – with a Hollywood-style cine lens.

The Camera I’ve Wondered About:

Why have so few cameras been made that split the difference between the Panasonic GH7 and the Canon Cinema EOS C400?  Blackmagic has some that might qualify, but they don’t have in-body image stabilization, they only partially support lens-based stabilization, and they don’t have full phase-detect AF, which both the GH7 and the C400 do. Panasonic themselves have tinkered with the idea with the BGH1, but that was specialized for gimbal and drone mounting. It had neither a viewfinder nor a screen in its default configuration.

Might somebody make a “video-style” camera with a rotatable grip and more rigging points than a GH7, but with a viewfinder and image stabilization? It would be a video camera first and foremost but be a capable still camera when called upon (like any GH-series camera).  It could have a Canon RF mount, a Sony FE mount, a Micro 4/3 mount or an L-mount – a few months ago, I wouldn’t have considered a Nikon Z-mount, but Nikon just bought RED… The feature set of a Panasonic GH7 is about right, with the only real addition being a stacked sensor (if possible). It wouldn’t need the full set of inputs and outputs of a full-on cinema camera like the C400 – the GH7 can add most of those with accessories, and that’s fine. I’d love to see it from Canon, Nikon, Sony or Panasonic, so it inherits the conveniences of their still cameras – if it’s from a smaller company like Blackmagic, AF and image stabilization might not work as well.

The idea of this camera is for a video-first imagemaker who is moving up from a typical mirrorless camera. They want better audio support, a video-optimized form factor and some additional accessories, but they aren’t working on a big production, so they don’t need ALL the interfaces of something like a C400. They want to be able to take it out of the box, throw a lens on it and go, but they also want good ways of adding mics, shoulder-mounting the camera or using a gimbal.

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