Most Cameras are obsolete or soon will be

GH4 with 14-140mm lens

 

July 2014

I read today  on Thom Hogan's dslrbodies website a report of Canon's latest quarterly results for camera sales. Interchangeable Lens Cameras (ILC) are down 19% year on year and Compacts down 38% year on year.

At the same time I noted a high level of interest on the dpreview website for the Panasonic FZ1000,  a new "all in one" superzoom camera.

What does this tell us ?  Two obvious things, I think. 

First regular compact cameras are being replaced by smart phones, en masse.

Second,  customers are increasingly opting not to buy a new ILC.

I have been using  ILCs for almost 50 years. I find the least appealing feature of  the interchangeable lens camera is precisely that which defines it, namely the requirement to change lenses if a wide range of focal lengths is required. I am not alone.

I understand industry data indicates the majority of ILC buyers mount a kit zoom or superzoom lens to their ILC and leave it there permanently.

The message is: (almost) everybody hates changing lenses and most camera users avoid doing so. Even professional photographers will carry two bodies, one with a standard zoom lens mounted, the other with a tele zoom lens, so as to avoid having to change lenses.

Aspheric lens elements Recent developments in technology have made highly accurate aspheric elements available in mass produced lenses for consumer products. Those same aspheric elements allow lenses to be made which have a longer focal length range and more compact dimensions at a lower price point than was possible in the pre-aspheric era.

Rise of the superzoom,  "all in one" camera. This type of camera has been around for several years but has until now not managed to challenge ILC hegemony of the  quality camera market. Indeed this camera type has for years been referred to as a "bridge", presumably meaning a bridge between compact and ILC types.

Until very recently most superzoom cameras used very small sensors with a diagonal of about 7.7mm. but the latest ones including the Sony RX10 and Panasonic FZ1000 use the larger 15.9mm sensor providing much better picture quality.  They are able to do this because of the benefits offered by lenses containing multiple aspheric elements.

These new superzoom cameras are starting to make ILCs  look irrelevant. They are less bulky and less expensive than an ILC with superzoom lens mounted.  I would say right now the picture quality of the RX10 and FZ1000 is good enough for most photographers most of the time and that most users are probably wasting their money on larger/more expensive ILC kits.

Better zoom lenses.   For many years after I started using cameras there was no such thing as a zoom lens for the mass market. There were a few zooms available for motion picture use but these were huge and cost as much as a house.  Now we have budget consumer zooms producing picture quality every bit as good as that of fixed focal length lenses. The argument for fixed focal length lenses is becoming weaker all the time.

Improved performance of small imaging sensors   The imaging performance of small sensors is increasing every year. My first digital SLR was a Canon EOS 20D. This has a DXO Mark RAW performance score of 62. When I look back at my photos made with this camera I never think that they are in some way deficient.  The camera's technical capability was perfectly adequate to make a good photo in almost any circumstance. The current Sony RX10 with a considerably smaller sensor has a DXO Mark score of 69.

So to the extent that DXO Mark scores are a valid guide to real world performance, we see a strong improvement in performance over time, such that the performance  of large sensors a few years ago is now matched or exceeded by current generation smaller sensors.

Smaller sensorspermit the use of smaller lenses and allow the use of zooms with increased focal length range.

Multi asphericelements permit the use of smaller lenses, with increased focal length range.

DSLR - vs- MILC  A few years ago I thought that the DSLR as a camera type would be overtaken by the Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens type (MILC). I still think the MILC will become more popular than the DSLR but I now think they will both be overtaken by the fixed zoom lens type.

In fact, I think that apart from special purpose items such as the waterproof/shockproof  type almost the entire camera/lens lineup of the major manufacturers could be replaced by just 6 products.  Here they are:

1.  Advanced Compact  This has a 15.9mm (so called "one inch") or 21.5mm ("four thirds") sensor, a compact handle, built in EVF,  and a zoom lens which covers wide to normal diagonal angle of view, say 85 degrees to 24 degrees. This corresponds to a focal length of 23-100mm on a full frame (sensor diagonal 43mm) camera.

This camera would suit the enthusiast/expert or even professional user who wants more performance and  better ergonomics than a smartphone can offer but still maintain compact   dimensions.

2. Superzoom, all in one camera   This already exists in the form of the Panasonic FZ1000 with 15.9mm sensor. If a smaller sensor was used, say about 10mm diagonal, an even greater zoom range could be used, covering very wide to super telephoto.

This would suit the beginner/enthusiast/expert who wants one camera which can do just about everything with good picture quality. It is ideal for holiday/travel use.

Now we come to four products which I think can replace all the DSLRs, MILCs and all their interchangeable lenses.  Really. All of them. 

These are full featured  cameras each with built in zoom lens of high quality. Each has a fully articulated monitor, built in EVF in a hump, built in flash, full anatomical handle and thumb support and a full suite of controls for the enthusiast/expert user. They would have a sensor in the size range of 15.9mm ("one inch") to 21.5mm ("four thirds") diagonal.

In my conception there are two focal length ranges, wide/normal and long/very long.

There are two specification levels:

The first is for the amateur/enthusiast emphasizing compact dimensions of body and lens.

The second is for the expert/professional user, with an emphasis on higher performance, larger battery and buffer, higher burst speeds and wider lens apertures. Size, mass, performance and price are greater.

3. Amateur/enthusiast, wide/normal  This has a diagonal angle of view in the range 90 degrees (wide) to 20 degrees (long). This is equivalent to about 22-120mm on a full frame camera or 11-60mm on a micro four thirds camera. The package is compact yet well specified. The lens has an aperture of about f3.5-5.6. The angle of view range is suitable for most photographs made by most users.

4. Amateur/enthusiast, long/very long  This has a diagonal angle of view of about 21 degrees to 4.1 degrees, equivalent to about 130-600mm on a full frame camera or 65-300mm on a micro four thirds camera. The angle of view range is suitable for many types of sport/action/wildlife/bird photography. The lens aperture range is about f3.5-5.6.

5. Expert/professional, wide/normal  This has the same diagonal angle of view as #3 above. The body is larger with a bigger handle holding a larger battery. There is a larger buffer, faster burst performance and more highly specified user interface with three dials. The lens has a wider aperture of about f2-2.8.

6. Expert/professional, long/very long  The lens focal length has an extended range with a diagonal angle of view of 21 - 3.5 degrees, equivalent to 130-800mm in full frame or 65-400mm in micro four thirds. The body has the same features as that of #5 above with a high specification and performance capability, especially for sport/action. The lens has a wider aperture than that in #4, in the range f2.8-5.6.

That's it. Six products. That's all.

What about ultrawide lens capability ?  No problem, just mount a converter.

What about specialty lenses  Such as tilt/shift ?  I used large format cameras then 35mm cameras with tilt shift lenses for many years. But since the advent of Photoshop I regard the tilt shifts as obsolete.

What about single focal length lenses ?  In my view, they are not required. Their limitations exceed their benefits in my view.

That's it really,  I think that great changes are coming to  the  market for new cameras.

I think that the number of different makes, models and manufacturers will fall steeply to a much lower level than that which prevails now. 

I think that ILCs will be overtaken by cameras with built in zoom lenses which will better serve the majority of buyers' requirements.

If users can have the main advantage of  an ILC  (choice of different focal lengths) without having to change lenses and  without losing picture quality, I would say it is game over for the ILC.  

We shall see.

 

Setting up the GH4, Part 4, Switching Setups

Picture Gardens,  Broome, Western Australia

One of the advantages  of a highly configurable camera like the GH4 is that it can be quickly transformed from a deliberative low light landscape recorder into a high speed sport/action shooter. The challenge is to make the switch from one setup to the next with the least number of actions and a high degree of reliability, so that one does not forget some vital setting in the heat of the moment.

Every photographer will have his or her favourite subject types and therefore different requirements for camera setups.

In this post I provide by way of example the way I set up my GH4 for the capture scenarios which I usually encounter. These are General hand held photography, Hand held sport/action, Tripod-good light and Tripod low light.

The most efficient way to switch the camera from settings optimal for one circumstance to those which best suit a different circumstance is to use the Custom Modes.

The GH4 also has hard, labelled controls for OIS (on lenses with an OIS switch on the barrel), Drive Mode (dial) and Focus Mode (lever).  These cannot be included in a Custom Mode, but everything else can.

The procedure for setting a Custom Mode is described on Page 321 of the Manual. It is quite straightforward. You do need to be careful that every Menu, Q Menu and Button is set exactly as you want it before committing to a Custom Mode AND just before capture, remember to set the Drive Mode and Focus Mode to the positions required for the new circumstance.

Lumix GH4 Custom Mode Settings (Example)

		Standard Hand--held General photography	C-1 Hand-held Sport/action	C-2 Tripod Good Light SS < 1 sec	C-3-1 Tripod Low Light SS > 1 sec
Labelled Hard Controls	Main Mode Dial	A	S>C1 SS-- 1/1600	A>C2 Apert--f5.6	A>C3 Apert--f5.6
	Drive Mode Dial	Single	Burst	Timer 2 sec	Single
	Focus Mode lever	AFS	AFC	AFS	AFS
	Lens OIS lever	On	On	Off	Off
Top Buttons	WB	Auto	Auto	Auto	Auto
	ISO	Auto	Auto	200	200
	Exp.Comp	Nil	Nil	Nil	Nil
Q Menu/Fn2	OIS	OIS-Normal	OIS-Normal	OIS-Off	OIS-Off
Fn buttons	Fn1	RAW	RAW or JPG	RAW	RAW
	Fn3/AF Mode	1-Area	1-Area	1-Area	1-Area
	Fn4/Level	Off	Off	On	On
	Fn5/E-Shutter	On	Off	On	Off
Rec Menu	Shutter Delay 4s	Off	Off	Off	On

 The table above  summarises essential details of the Custom Menus which I have set for the GH4.  This stuff is inclined to be a strain on the brain at first but once mastered enables very streamlined use of the camera.  I have this printed out as a small card which lives in my camera bag to remind me of the settings.

Setting up the GH4, Q Menu and Fn buttons

GH4, 14-140mm

 

The Menus of the GH4  and many other modern cameras are like a supermarket. You walk along the aisles and see a multitude of items. Some are of no interest to you but are desired by others with different preferences and practices. You can pick items from the shelves and relocate them to a more readily accessible place, such as the pantry in your kitchen,  where they are available for immediate use.

The GH4 can be considered to function similarly. The main menus are the supermarket. You can take items from the supermarket and duplicate them in the Q Menu or the Function buttons. The items remain functional in the main menus, by the way,  and can be adjusted in either location.

There are 35 items which can be allocated to the Q Menu and 55 which can be allocated to a Fn button. At first sight the decision making process might appear almost impossible. However there is a logical process which you can utilise to make the job manageable.

Newcomers to the GH4 can simply leave the Q Menu and Fn buttons at their default settings, go forth and make photos without further ado. The camera will work just fine.

There are 4 phases of camera use,

Setup, which is what we are doing right now. That is, making various menu selections which we do not expect to alter when out and about with the camera. Setup items can stay in the main menu system.

Prepare Phase  is the period of a minute or few just before a photo session. In this phase we reconfigure the camera for a new set of circumstances. It might be switching from general hand held photography to sport/action or to low light/tripod. You get the idea.

Items for adjustment in this phase can be conveniently allocated to the Q Menu. You will notice on Page 315/6 of the Manual that items which can be allocated to the Q menu are from the Rec, Motion Picture and Custom menus. There are no items from the Playback or Setup menus.

I suggest you go through the list of items for the Q menu and highlight those which you think might be useful in Prepare Phase of use.  Your selections will almost certainly change with experience.

The Q Menu can accept 15 items 5 of which can be seen at any time. Lateral scrolling is required if there are more than 5. 

You need to set the Q Menu item in the Custom Menu to Custom.

Exit the Custom Menu then press the Fn2/Q Menu button to enter the Q Menu. The process for setting up custom Q Menu items is well described on Page 315 of the Manual.

Each individual will have his or her own idea about which items to include. For the record I have Burst Rate, Self Timer, HDR, Stabiliser, Silent Mode, Auto Bracket, Peaking and Flash Adjust.

Capture Phase  Refers to the process of making pictures.  Many adjustments might be required in this phase, all of them quickly,  while looking through the viewfinder and without having to change grip with either hand.  

The Function buttons are a suitable place for adjustments required in Capture Phase.

Some of these adjustments have already been assigned to hard controls which cannot be changed. These are the Drive Mode dial, Focus Mode lever,  WB, ISO and +/- buttons and the Video Start button.

I suggest you look through the list on Page 318 of the Manual and think about which items you might like to adjust in Capture Phase.  Each individual will have a different idea about this. That is the point of a camera like the GH4, everybody gets to design their own personalised user interface.

There are 5 hard Fn buttons and, if the touch screen is active 5 more soft buttons.

For the record, my allocations are:

Fn1, Picture Quality

Fn2, Q Menu

Fn3, Autofocus Mode

Fn4, Level Gauge

Fn5, E-Shutter

I don't  use the touch screen.

The 4th phase of use is Review which is not particularly relevant to Q Menu or Fn button task allocations.

Notwithstanding the long list of tasks which can be allocated to the Q Menu or Function buttons there are still two which I use which require a trip to the main menus. These are Format (last on the Setup Menu list) and Shutter Delay which is on page 4/7 of the Rec Menu.  If I know I will be doing long exposure tripod work later in the evening I go into the Rec Menu, scroll down to highlight the Shutter Delay tab then exit by pressing Fn4.  This camera has Menu Resume which means that when I do want to access Shutter Delay I just need to press the Menu/Set button once and the menu system will open at the Shutter Delay tab.

Next,  some thoughts about setup switching for different subject scenarios.

 

 

 

Setting Up the GH4, Part 3 Rec Menu

 

Perth Western Australia. GH4, 14-140mm, light tripod, Shutter Delay.

Note that  many items from the Rec menu can usefully be assigned to the Q Menu or a Fn button for quick access without having to enter the Main Menu.

Photo Style  This applies to JPG images. Adjustments here will not affect RAW files. There are, as usual with a recent Panasonic camera many options.

You can select Standard, Vivid, Natural, Monochrome, etc. The list is on Page 140 of the Manual. OR

You can adjust each image characteristic separately. These are Contrast, Sharpness, Noise Reduction, Saturation and Hue.

My practice when shooting JPGs which I sometimes do especially for sport/action using Burst Mode is to stay with either the default which is Standard, or Natural which is very similar.

Aspect Ratio  The GH1 and GH2 (and some other Panasonic cameras) had a multi aspect ratio sensor which was larger than standard size so the image could be configured to 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 each with the same diagonal angle of view and closely similar pixel count.

Unfortunately current model M43 sensors lack this feature. The native aspect ratio is 4:3, anything else is just a crop. So I always use 4:3 and crop later in Photoshop as required.

Picture Size, Quality  Picture Size refers to the number of pixels used at the point of capture. Quality refers to the level of file compression applied.

If the Quality setting (just below Picture Size) is RAW or RAW + JPG then Picture Size is set at 16 Mpx. If the Quality setting is one of the JPGs, Picture Size can be set to 16, 8 or 4 Mpx. 

You are paying a lot of money for this camera so I see little point in recording at anything less than 16 Mpx and RAW or best quality JPG.

AFS/AFF  The Focus mode lever around the AF/AE Lock button has space for only 3 positions but there are 4 Focus Modes. So you have to decide whether to assign AFS or AFF to the first position. AFS is straightforward AF single. AFF is one of those "helpful" settings which works like AFS for still subjects but if subject movement is detected transforms itself into a version of AFC. Supposedly. However when I read complaints about focus problems on Panasonic user forums they often involve the AFF setting.

So I select AFS here. That puts me not the camera in charge of deciding which Focus Mode I will use.

Metering Mode  There are three options, Multiple, Center Weighted or Spot. The easiest to use and the most reliable in a wide variety of situations is Multiple, which can be regarded as an advanced form of centerweighted.   Some pro photographers prefer centerweighted possibly as a result of long familiarity. Some beginners and enthusiasts get themselves in a mess trying to use Spot.

I use Multiple. It's not perfect and exposure compensation is sometimes required but it delivers a good result most of the time.

Burst Rate  This refers to the number of frames per second which can be recorded, subject to the buffer filling. The option set in the menu here will be applied when the Drive Mode Dial top left on the camera is set to the continuous position (second position). See Page 113 of the Menu.

SH  Super High, 40 fps. JPG only, no live view, AF on the first frame only.  E-Shutter. This is a check your golf swing setting except the club handle will distort severely due to the rolling shutter effect of the E-Shutter.

H  High, with AFS, 12 fps, focus on the first frame only, no live view on each frame. The mechanical shutter is enabled. This could be useful to record action at a fixed location with the framing and focus pre set. Tennis swing ?

H with AFC  gives 7 fps but still no live view on each frame so I see little point to this setting.

M  Medium, also gives 7 fps although this is lens dependent. The 12-35, 35-100 and 14-140mm lenses do and the 100-300mm lens does not give the full 7fps. The benefit of M is that you get live view and AF on every frame. This is the most useful setting for sport/action/wildlife/bird etc photos.  I set M.

L  Low gives 2 fps also with AF and live view on every frame and would be very useful for slow action.

Auto Bracket  See Page 116 of the Manual.  The setting you make here will be implemented when the Drive Mode Dial is moved to  AEB  (third position) There are 3 submenus.

* Single/Burst settings. Single means you have to activate the shutter for each exposure of the sequence separately. Burst means you hold down the shutter button or cable release button while all the exposures are made.

* Step.  You get lots of choice, from 3 shots at 1/3 step intervals to 7 shots at 1 step intervals.

I use 5 shots at 1 step intervals but if it was available I would use 3 shots at 2 stop intervals.

* Sequence. You get -/0/+, which makes the most sense to me, or 0/-/+ if desired.

And Still  there is no facility to combine Timer Delay with AEB. Come on Panasonic, it's just another  position on the Drive Mode Dial. If this was available it would remove the present requirement to use a wired remote or smartphone to trigger the shutter release.

Self Timer  Page 118 of the Manual. The setting made here will be implemented when the Drive Mode Dial is set to Timer (4th position). There are three options

* 10 seconds, 1 shot

* 10 seconds, 3 shots

* 2 Seconds 1 shot

The 10 second settings are generally used so the photographer can join the tour group photo. The 2 second setting is used to prevent camera shake on a tripod without having to use a remote trigger of some kind.

Time Lapse/Animation  Page 120-124 of the Manual. After making settings in the menu here the time lapse function is accessed on the Drive mode dial (last position). The description in the manual is quite lengthy so I won't try to summarise it here.

In this menu the submenu options are Mode (Time Lapse Shot or Stop Motion Animation), Start Time, Shooting Interval and Image Count.

I don't have useful experience with this feature and there have been several complaints about it on user forums, possibly because it's implementation is quite complex. I have not yet succeeded in making it work properly.

Now we come to a list of  enhancement functions applicable to JPG images: I am not quite sure what these are doing on a pro standard camera but I guess they form part of Panasonic's determination to include absolutely every conceivable option in the GH4.  I find these "helpful" features confusing and exhausting so I don't  use them routinely but have tried them all in the process of learning about the camera.  

There is some confusion, in my mind anyway, about the requirement for JPG capture with these functions. Some, such as iHDR and HDR are only selectable if capture  quality is set to JPG. Others like iDynamic and iResolution can be selected if RAW quality is set but only work properly with JPGs. Some can be set in the PASM Modes others only in iA Mode.

Highlight/Shadow  Page 142 in the Manual. This reprises a function which first appeared on Olympus M43 cameras a couple of years ago. You can apply correction to the highlight and shadow portions of the JPG tone curve pre capture.  You can save up to 3 presets for future use.

This might be useful if you are confronted with a subject having very low or high contrast. Note the effect is represented in the on screen playback image but this is a JPG. A RAW image file will not be affected. 

i Dynamic  Page 144, is another JPG image correction feature which has the effect of increasing dynamic range (highlight and shadow detail). On my tests this feature actually works. The camera basically underexposes the scene then lifts shadow tones to compensate. The result is better effective DR than standard JPG images. The cost is increased shadow noise.  You can select between Auto, High, Standard Low and Off.

i Resolution also on Page 144, is yet another JPG function which in this case tries to improve resolution by performing some kind of electronic manipulation affecting some parts of the frame in a different way from other parts. Or something like that. I have tried it with several Panasonic cameras and remain unconvinced of the benefits.   As usual there is a list of options from which to select.

iHandheld Night Shot  Page 72, JPG only, iA Mode only. I am a bit old fashioned and still believe that a tripod is the answer for night work, however for those times when no tripod is available this might be worth a try. The camera is supposed to detect that night has fallen and will shoot a burst of handheld frames which are combined in camera.

iHDR  iA only, JPG only. The camera detects a scene with high brightness range, quickly makes a burst of shots at different exposures and combines them in camera. I tried this, it works. I have no idea how one decides when to use iHDR and when to use iDynamic.

HDR  This is different from iHDR. This one can be used in the PASM modes but is still JPG only. It combines 3 pictures with different levels of exposure into a single output photo with high DR.  You get to select the exposure interval (Auto, 1, 2 or 3 stops) and whether to apply auto align or not.  On my limited testing this feature actually works and produces decent results. I should try it more often and have moved it up to the Q Menu for that purpose. There have been some occasions which I have encountered recently which could have benefited from this feature.

Multi Exposure  Maybe one day I will figure out how to make this feature work properly but today it is not to be. I have played around with this using the GH3 and GH4 and never managed to understand how it works or is intended to work. I read the instructions on Page 168 of the Manual but the events which are supposed to happen do not.

This helicopter has perfectly straight rotor blades. This is how they are rendered by E Shutter.

 

 

Electronic ShutterWhile the previous seven features may be of uncertain usefulness most of the time, now we come to one which is front and central essential to effective operation of Panasonic M43 cameras. All of these cameras to date (except the GM1 which has electronic first curtain) have a mechanical shutter with 4 phase (close/open/close/open) action. This causes Shutter Shock with some lenses at some focal lengths and some shutter speeds. This shock leads to blurring with double imaging. The ultimate cure for this pesky problem is the yet to materialise global shutter. But until that day the options are electronic first curtain and fully electronic shutter.

The GH4 does not offer electronic first curtain for reasons unknown to me but it does have E Shutter. I regard this as Essential  for all general photography with certain lenses such as the very popular 14-140mm Mk2.

As a general rule I use E-Shutter with all general handheld photography particularly in the shutter speed range 1/20 - 1/200 sec. For moving subjects/sport/action I use the  mechanical shutter (to prevent distortion of moving objects) and a shutter speed of 1/400 sec or faster.

For shutter speeds slower than 1 second I use Shutter Delay as described below.

E Shutter should be allocated to a Fn button for ready access.

Shutter Delay  E Shutter has several limitations one of which is that it cannot be used for exposures longer than 1 second, I know not why. So for night tripod work some other means of minimising the effects of shutter shock is required.

Shutter Delay to the rescue. When On this closes the shutter when the shutter release button is pressed,  then delays opening the shutter for the exposure. It appears most of the shock effect comes from the first shutter closure so delaying the first opening controls most shock problems especially with exposure longer than 2 seconds.

For night tripod work I set 4 seconds delay to allow shake both from pressing the shutter release button and the first shutter closure to settle. Results are satisfactory as shown in the photo of Perth Western Australia at night at the top of this post. This was made on a very light tripod (0.95 Kg) with no cable release.

Unfortunately Shutter Delay cannot be assigned to the Q menu. I am hopeful that this is just an oversight which could be rectified with a firmware update.

Flash  Note, flash does not work with E-Shutter, so if your flash menu is greyed out in the Rec Menu, deselect E-Shutter.

Panasonic has some very sophisticated flash functions including wireless off camera operation with some Panasonic units allowing commander control by the inbuilt unit.

For the inbuilt unit the options are Firing Mode, Flash Mode, Flash Synchro, Flash Adjust, Auto Exposure Comp, Manual Flash Adjust, Wireless, Wireless Channel.

See Page 183 for all the details.

I mostly use flash to fill shadows with backlit subjects. For this I set Firing Mode TTL, Flash Mode Forced On, Flash Synchro 1st, Flash Adjust -1 EV, Red Eye Removal Off.

ISO Limit Set  In the GH3 You can set ISO with one dial and ISO Limit Set with the other dial, both on the same screen after pressing the ISO button.  But for some reason unknown to me the GH4 is different. You can only access ISO Limit Set via the Rec Menu.  So I just set the limit at 25600 and leave it.

ISO Increments  The camera automatically provides 1/3 step increments for aperture and shutter speed so there is no need for 1/3 stop increments of ISO as well. I just set 1 EV.

Extended ISO  This allows an ISO of less than 200 to be set. With Extended ISO 100 can be set.  I am not clear why this is offered as an extension. I have read opinion that dynamic range may be less at ISO 100 than 200.

Long Shtr Noise Reduction  Page 146. This works by creating a blank exposure the same duration as the initial exposure, during which noise is identified and reduced. My experiments with this show that the shutter speed and ISO level which trigger the NR function vary and are calculated by the camera. I switch it On.

Shading Comp  This works with RAW files and reduces darkening which often appears in frame corners. The temptation would be to leave it On all the time but it could potentially slow frame rates in Burst Mode with AFC, due to the extra processing required. My tests did not indicate any such slowing but that could be to some extent lens dependent.

I generally leave it Off just in case.

Ex. Tele Conv. and Digital Zoom  are both JPG only digital zoom features.

I prefer Ex.Tele Conv. for still photos because it allows normal display and operation of the active AF area. Options are Zoom, Tele Conv and Off.  With Tele Conv option,  if the Picture size is set to 8Mpx image enlargement is 1.4x linear. If Picture Size is set to 4 Mpx image enlargement is 2x linear.

Video users appear to prefer Digital Zoom. This records in 16 mpx picture size but the active AF area is not adjustable.

My tests show that  cropped RAW (converted to JPG),  Ex. Tele Conv and Digital Zoom each give virtually identical results when displayed at the same final output image size.

Panasonic's claim that Ex.Tele Conv increases tele effect without degradation of image quality has to be qualified with the question 'compared to what ' ?

Color Space   Always set this to Adobe RGB. I see no point using sRGB if  the larger Adobe color space is available.

StabiliserSeveral lenses lack an OIS switch on the lens barrel so their stabiliser has to be controlled via a menu. This is one for the Q Menu or a Fn button.

Face Recog  This is spooky stuff. Beyond face detect we have face recognition. Presumably you would activate this feature if you think the camera will do a better job of recognising a particular person than you will. There is a long explanation of the procedure starting on Page 173. It seems you can delete the faces of  presumably undesirable persons from your group photos.  Amazing, yes. Useful ??

Profile Setup  allows you to record the names and birthdays of your babies and pets on images.  Wow !!

And on that slightly bizarre note this post about the Rec Menu ends.  At least nobody can accuse Panasonic of holding back features.

Next: Q Menu and Fn buttons 

 

 

 

Setting up the GH4, Part 2, Custom Menu

Horizontal Waterfall, Kimberley Coast, Australia. GH4 + 14-140mm, helicopter.

 

The Custom Menu  hosts a long list of items which don't obviously belong in the Rec or Setup Menus.

Cust.Set.Mem  This is the place to assign a group of settings to a Custom Mode. The procedure is quite straightforward. First ensure that ALL Menu, Q menu, WB, ISO, +/- buttons  and Fn button settings are as you want them for the intended use and that the Main Mode Dial is where you want it. Set your preferred aperture if using A Mode or shutter speed if using S Mode, or both is using M Mode. Then simply follow the screen prompts to allocate all those settings to one of the Custom Modes. Once in a Custom Mode you can change all settings as usual. They will revert to the saved settings when you switch to a different mode than back to the original one.

I actually find this feature more useful on Panasonic's intermediate models such as the G6 which does not have direct hard control access to Drive Mode and Focus Mode. Neither of these Modes can be included in a Custom Mode on the GH4 as they are accessed via labelled hard controls. In addition OIS setting on lenses with an OIS switch on the lens barrel cannot be included in a Custom Mode.

Silent Mode  This is very useful especially for environments which demand quiet camera operation. This switches E-Shutter On and all beeps Off. Note that there are still physical functions which are not silent. These are

* Aperture mechanism which is quite audible even with my poor hearing 2 meters from the  camera in some lenses such as the 12-35mm f2.8 when stopped down.

* OIS mechanism and focus mechanism both of which are audible with one's ear on or very close to the lens.

AF/AE Lock  This sets the function of the AF/AE Lock button. Individual preferences vary. The GH4 gives you plenty of choice, between AE lock, AF lock or both. I set the 4th (bottom) option, AF ON. This operates like back button focus on a pro style DSLR. In AFS it starts and locks focus. In AFC it commences and continues AFC. Note that on the GH4 setting the back button to AF On still enables AF with half press of the shutter button. So you can initiate AF either way without having to change settings.

AF/AE Lock HoldThis determines how the lock hold function operates. With this function Off, AF or AE is locked while the AF/AE Lock button is held down. With the function On, AF or AE is locked with a single short press of the button.

AF/AE Lock Hold is inactive if AF-ON is set for the function of the AF/AE Lock button.

Shutter AF  This determines whether half press of the shutter button will initiate AF or not. If you want to fully separate autofocus from autoexposure, set AF/AE Lock to AF ON and Shutter AF to Off.

I leave it On so I can initiate AF with either the shutter button or back button.

Half Press Release  If set to On the shutter will fire with half press of the shutter release button. I am not quite sure of the purpose of this feature. Maybe it is intended to produce a super speedy shutter response. I always leave it Off as having the shutter fire on half press would confuse me no end. When time permits I like to half press, confirm focus has been achieved then full press.

Quick AF  has AF working continuously prior to capture even when AFS is set on the Focus Mode lever. Presumably this is intended to speed up proceedings but it does use more power than standard AF. I leave it Off.

Eye Sensor AF  This is another feature designed to speed up proceedings. AF is activated by bringing the eye to the viewfinder eyepiece. It works just fine but I leave it Off just because I prefer to have a bit more control over the camera's behaviour.

Pinpoint AF Time  When you use Pinpoint AF the camera automatically magnifies a small section of the image at and around the focus point so you can see exactly what is in focus. The magnified frame within a frame appears for a  time. Options are Long, Mid and Short. Mid gives about one second which suits me well enough. It gives me an opportunity to check focus without slowing down the capture flow too much.

AF Assist Lamp  Low light AF sensitivity on the GH4 is so great that I hardly ever use it. The camera will focus (slowly) without the lamp in light so low you can hardly see. The lamp does speed up AF acquisition in very low light and could be useful if flash will be the light source for capture.

Direct Focus Area  With this On, the active AF area is highlighted and starts to move immediately when any part of the Control Dial is pressed. If  Direct Focus Area  is  Off  it is necessary to press another button (which one depends on Fn button function allocations)  to activate the AF area prior to moving it with the Control dial.

I always set Direct Focus Area On. The camera has clearly been designed to operate this way with no other functions allocated to the Cursor Buttons (4 way controller).  This allows the user to change AF area position and size very quickly. Recenter  AF area with the Disp button.

Focus/Release Priority  This option may be particularly relevant to AFC/continuous Drive. If Release Priority is set the camera will take the shot even if it thinks exact focus has not been achieved. If Focus Priority is set the camera will try to confirm focus before activating the shutter.  Since I have no interest in out of focus shots I always set Focus Priority.

AF+MF  When On this allows focus to be adjusted manually (with focus assist if set) after autofocus has operated (half press the shutter button or AF/AE Lock button and hold). When combined with Peaking this allows very fine tune of focus. I always set it On.

MF Assist   This zooms into the frame when manual focus is operating. It can be set to activate by turning the focus ring on the lens, pressing the Fn3 button , both or Off. The amount of zoom can be controlled with the front and rear dials. I set MF Assist to operate when the focus ring is turned as that seems the natural thing to do.

MF guide  When On this brings up a horizontal analogue distance indicator in the lower part of the frame. This could assist with turning the focus ring the correct way. Unfortunately no specific focus distance is indicated, just a flower symbol on the right and a mountain symbol on the left.

Peaking  At last peaking comes to Panasonic's top camera. On the GH4 it is well implemented with  numerous options. There are two Detect Levels, High and Low and three colors at each detect level. Page 111 of the Manual has the details. The High setting is described as being more precise than the Low setting.   I have it at High and Light Blue which seems to work well.

Some people are sceptical  about peaking but if well implemented as is the case with the GH4 I find it effective and useful.

Histogram  This is a real time pre capture histogram, presumably representing the JPG which the camera would produce from the scene presented to it at the current settings. When this feature became available on digital cameras a few years ago I dutifully put it on the screen. But now I leave it Off. It uses up a big chunk of the image preview area, it distracts me from making the shot and the GH4 (and all current and past Panasonic cameras in my experience) gets the exposure right pretty much every time. So for those  fussy users who want to expose to the right and want to use Exposure Compensation a lot the real time histogram may be of some use.

Guide Line Now here is a more useful feature. You get 4 options, 2x2, Double diagonal, 1x1 and Off. I use 1x1 which presents one vertical and one horizontal line both of which can be placed anywhere. I run both of them through the frame center. In that position the vertical one is very useful for ensuring the camera is held level particularly with architectural subjects.

Center Marker  This is a new feature for the GH4. It's a minor addition but I have it On to help locating the frame center.

Highlight  This for some reason unknown to me is in the Custom Menu but refers to behaviour in Playback. If a part of the picture has blown out highlights those areas will flash black and white (a.k.a. "blinkies"). I find this useful so I leave it On. Note that with RAW capture useful detail can often be retrieved from blinking overexposed areas.

Zebra Pattern  This is like a preview version of blinkies with several options for use. The details are on Page 210 of the Manual. You can have right leaning or left leaning zebra pattern and set the brightness (as a percentage) to be displayed as a zebra pattern. I have to confess I am still experimenting with zebras. I find them quite distracting so am inclined to switch them Off. However they do provide a pre capture indication of highlight overexposure which is more user friendly than the histogram. I am currently trialling a level of 100% which seems to set a reasonable balance between sensitivity and distraction.

Monochrome Live view  If you want to see what the world looks like in monochrome this is the place. I leave it off and forgot the feature existed until I trawled through the Menus for this post. It could be a useful feature however for the photographer anticipating monochrome for final output.

Constant Preview  This one is very useful. When On, the live view image becomes lighter or darker as Exposure Compensation is changed or as Aperture and/or Shutter speed are altered in Manual Mode. This is beneficial when photographing in ambient light. But when photographing with flash it may be best to switch this feature Off so you can see the subject properly in preview.

Expo.Meter  This is a large display of the aperture and shutter speed combinations which would result in correct exposure,  spread out across the lower part of the preview screen.  It is only visible with some Display options (cycled with the Disp button). Panasonic cameras have had this feature as an option  for several years. I find it a complete distraction from the capture process and  always switch it off.

LVF Disp. Style and Monitor Disp. Style  You can set the EVF  (called LVF in Panasonica land) and Monitor to either "SLR" style with key camera data beneath the preview image on a black background strip or "Monitor" style which provides a larger preview image but the key camera data is overlaid on the lower part of the image. I set both to "SLR" style which makes the camera data much more consistently easy to read. This means I can be aware of the shutter speed, aperture and ISO is use at all times while in Capture Phase of use.

Monitor Info. Disp  When the Disp. button is pressed repeatedly the monitor display changes in data content. One of the display screens (not available on the EVF)  has no preview image, just  camera data info. This is not a live control panel, the data cannot be changed from this screen. I never use it but I can see that it provides a quick reference guide to many current settings. If set to Off, the screen does not display.

Rec. Area The angle of view and aspect ratio for still photo may differ from that used for motion picture. This sets one or the other.

Video-Priority Display  This appears to be self explanatory.

Auto Review  When On,  Auto Review automatically plays back the photo last captured. It can be set to Hold or 5-1 seconds or, of course Off.

A submenu is Playback Operation Priority. When On, this allows review functions to operate during Auto Review.

I always switch Auto Review Off. I will review photos at a time of my choosing, which is never immediately post capture.

Fn button Set and Q Menu will be covered in a later  post.

Dial Set  There are three submenus

1. In Manual Exposure Mode, the dials can be allocated as Aperture (Front) Shutter Speed (Rear) or the reverse.  Select the one which you find most comfortable, possibly in line with previous experience with another camera.

2. Rotation direction can be as per default or the reverse. Beware messing with this, changes can be confusing.

3. Exposure Compensation can be assigned to either dial directly.  This operates in P, A, and S Modes. It may be tempting to use this feature however I have tried it and found an unacceptable frequency of unintentional +/- activation as a result. It is safer if slightly slower to confine initiation of +/- to the +/- hard button behind the front dial.

Video Button  If like me you have no use for video switch the video button Off. Unfortunately it cannot be otherwise assigned.

Power Zoom Lens  This function is only available when a PZ lens is fitted.

Lens W/O Focus Ring  Panasonic does currently supply a lens without focus ring for the GM1. It will work on other M43 cameras including the GH4 although the big body/small lens combination might be an odd match. Anyway the instructions for focussing become accessible if such a lens is mounted.

Eye Sensor  There are 2 submenus. The first is Sensitivity. Some users have complained that Panasonic EVF proximity sensors are a bit too sensitive. I set Low.

The second submenu selects operation of  LVF (EVF)/Monitor switching. The options are LVF/Mon. Auto, LVF and Mon(itor).

Note that if the LVF/Fn5 button has been allocated a function other than LVF/Monitor switching (I use it to select E-Shutter /Mecha shutter)   then it is not available for LVF/Monitor switching. In this case you may want to set LVF/Mon. Auto so the proximity sensor automatically switches to the EVF when you look in it.

Why might you want manual LVF/Monitor switching ? When the camera is held at waist level with the fully articulated monitor swung out to one side, you want to hold the camera close in to the body for stability. But if the proximity sensor is active this switches the monitor off, so you have to hold the camera out about 20cm from the body which is less stable.

There is another way to get around this problem and it makes the proximity sensor redundant.  Set the LVF/Monitor Switch submenu to Mon(itor). Now the Monitor is always active if it is visible. However  if you close the monitor facing in to the camera this will automatically activate the EVF. Simple.  I usually set up the GH4 this way as I generally turn the monitor inwards for protection when using the EVF.

I discovered this when using the FZ200 which has no proximity sensor. Many people who criticised the camera for it's lack of proximity sensor did not realise that switching is automatic, it just requires the monitor to be turned inward.

Touch Settings  There are 4 submenus, Touch Screen, Touch Tab, Touch AF and Touch Pad AF. The details are on page 314 of the Manual.  If Touch Screen is Off the other submenu items are disabled.

Some users like touch screens and complain about cameras which are not so fitted. The problem with a touch screen is that it requires the user to look at the screen not at the subject and not through the viewfinder. It is thus a distraction from the capture process.

Some users have reported a positive experience with Touch Pad AF. This allows the active focus area to be moved  around the frame by touch even when looking through the EVF. There are two versions, Exact and Offset. I have tried both and found either to be an awkward, clumsy, difficult to control  alternative to Direct Focus Area using the cursor buttons (Control Dial).

But, give it a go.

Touch screen operation could be viable with the camera on tripod, when you don't have to hold it and will probably use the monitor for viewing.

I note in passing that most pro level cameras do not offer touch screen operation presumably because pro photographers do not want it.

Touch Scroll This switches the speed for forwarding or rewinding pictures continuously. Page 314 of the Manual.

Menu Guide  This is something of a mystery item, with a confusing name.  It displays the selection screen for the Creative Control Mode. So if you set Creative Control Mode on the Main Mode Dial and the screen does not display the items described on Page 77 of the Manual it is because this item buried in the Custom Menu is set to Off. Go figure.

Shoot W/O Lens  Set this to On so the camera can operate without a lens mounted if required. I use it to observe operation of the 4 phase mechanical shutter.

Next post  Recording Menu.