Panasonic GH4 User Review Part 2 EVF

GH4, 100-300mm lens, hand held

 

Problems reported with the GH3  

The feature of the GH3 which has drawn most criticism is  the EVF.  This is  prone to a "smearing" appearance towards the edges of the frame if the eye is not held exactly centered and/or the diopter adjustment is a bit off. In addition there have been  various minor complaints about color balance. My GH3 is in for repairs right now in fact for fine superficial scuffing and loss of clarity on the surface of the viewfinder eyepiece caused by normal cleaning. There have been reports on user forums about this. Apparently the glass is too soft or has not been hard coated.  In addition the preview/review image in the GH3 EVF is not really sharp, making accurate focus determination before or after capture a bit more difficult than it needs to be.

From the earliest days of  EVF technology, refresh rate and blackout time have been  impediments to widespread acceptance of the EVF as an alternative to the established optical viewfinder (OVF). The blackout time is a particular problem when shooting in Burst mode, using AF Continuous when following a moving subject as in sport/action/birds in flight etc. 

But EVF's are improving with each new model and the one in the GH4 is no exception. 

The GH4

* Externally the eyepiece lens of the GH4 looks the same as that of the GH3 so I hope they got the surface hardness right this time round.

The EVF can be set to DSLR style view with camera data on a black strip beneath the preview (my choice) or monitor style with camera data superimposed over the preview image. Brightness, contrast and color balance are all adjustable. The EVF can be configured to look exactly the same as the monitor so the segue from one to the other is seamless.

EVF<>Monitor  switching can be triggered by the eyepiece proximity sensor, a button or by folding the monitor in/out. The system is highly versatile and can be configured to suit the individual user.

EVF refresh rate, mysteriously referred to as Live View Mode in the Setup Menu can be set to 30 or 60 fps.  The higher speed is said to provide smoother panning but I found little difference between the two settings in practice. On that subject the EVF pans smoothly in good light, becoming jerky in very low light. It remains perfectly usable however even when ISO 25600 is required, providing a clear well defined preview image. In these conditions you would see hardly anything through the OVF of a mid range DSLR. I was photographing junior indoor basketball a few days ago in rather dull light requiring ISO 10000. The EVF remained sharp and clear with smooth panning even on fast action.

* I am pleased to report the smearing problem has gone.

* Overall the EVF is excellent even at default adjustment settings.  I have set the contrast down one notch to improve highlight/shadow detail and calm down a bit of slightly over exuberant color saturation.  I also lifted brightness one step which suits my eyes.

With my right eye looking through the viewfinder and my left eye looking at the same scene simultaneously, both views look extremely similar. Via the EVF color saturation and accuracy are very good and the preview has a very natural appearance. The direct eye view reveals a bit more highlight and shadow detail in scenes with high subject brightness range but apart from that the EVF provides a very natural looking preview.

* Some reviewers have praised other cameras (for instance the Fuji X-E1)  for providing a more magnified EVF view as if that were a self evident benefit. However the very large view cannot be taken in all at once so there are advantages to the slightly smaller but still plenty large enough approach taken by Panasonic.

* EVF sharpness is clearly improved, making evaluation of image sharpness/focus accuracy easier even with peaking switched off.

* Fortunately the GH4 does have focus peaking which on my initial tests appears to work very well.  I have it set to the "High" position for greater accuracy.

* In burst mode and AF continuous, EVF blackout time is noticeably less, making it considerably easier to follow a moving subject and keep it in frame. I do not have a way to accurately measure the amount but my subjective impression is this:

I guesstimate a good  DSLR  as having about  20%  blackout when shooting continuously. That is, the user spends about 20% of the total capture time looking at a black viewfinder. Again subjectively I guesstimate the blackout time for the GH3 in Burst M Mode to be about 60%. This is so high it makes birds in flight or other unpredictably moving subjects very difficult to hold in the frame.

I put the blackout time for the GH4 at about 30-40% in Burst Mode M at 6 (RAW) to 7 (JPG) frames per second.  This is still significant but subjectively is a big improvement over the GH3. It makes the operator's task of keeping the subject in frame substantially easier.

Summary  Apart from the rubber eyecup which I think they haven't quite got right yet all the problems and issues with the GH3 EVF have been fixed or markedly improved in the GH4.  The overall improvement is so great that in my first few days of use the EVF has "disappeared" in the sense that I am not aware of it's intervention between myself and the subject.  And that is how it should be.