Zenmuse GH4 Owners thread

[scotth]

Will placing a ND filter on the Olympus 12mm lens / GH4 /GH3 screw up the balance on the GH4 gimbal

I run a B+W ND, which weighs 19g. With my GH3 I am able to slide the camera aft in the mount enough (it doesn't go very much) to balance it. The GH4 seems more nose heavy and with that filter it hangs slightly nose low but it doesn't seem to bother it. There are others that have posted how to loosen the set screws in the gimbal to achieve a good balance, especially as needed when the gimbal is out of whack right out of the box (like everything else DJI). I wouldn't hesitate to do this but haven't had to. BTW it's absurd to think you can shoot without an ND.. can't believe they tell you not to. But then again, they also say to run in shutter priority.. which is also absurd unless you like the iris stepping effect. I run manual mostly.

 

[kuau]

Scott, thanks for the info. Do you use a variable ND or fixed? I assume you shoot your GH3 at base ISO 200 and you are using the Olympus 12mm lens which again I assume you do not go over F8.

 

[scotth]

I have a .9 (3 stop) that I use most of the time, and a 1.8 (6 stop) occasionally. A variable ND sounds good, but I don't have any experience with them and have read that they can cause issues.

I leave the ISO at 200 but someone told me that the GH4 looks better at 400. Have not verified that. And yes, stuck with the 12mm per DJI. The sweet spot on that lens seems to be around f/4.0-5.6 but I'll run it more closed if needed, to keep it close to 180º shutter. If the lighting is all over the place, I will go aperture priority and live with the shutter changes. Pisses me off that Panasonic does not have an auto ISO feature when in manual.

Also keep in mind that when shooting 4K with the 12mm, the crop factor is around 2.3 so you're shooting with about a 28mm equivalent. I'm not an expert with the GH3/4. My background is with large broadcast rigs, but I'm learning.

 

[kuau]

Thanks Scott

 

[Quinton]

Pisses me off that Panasonic does not have an auto ISO feature when in manual.

It does?
You just need to be in "M" mode and not "M" Movie mode, you can still do video and pictures in manual mode with auto ISO.

 

[scotth]

It does?
You just need to be in "M" mode and not "M" Movie mode, you can still do video and pictures in manual mode with auto ISO.

Well as I said i'm not an expert with the GH3, but I did spend hours pouring through camera forums and this was maybe the number one complaint. I'll revisit.

 

[Quinton]

Well as I said i'm not an expert with the GH3, but I did spend hours pouring through camera forums and this was maybe the number one complaint. I'll revisit.

Ah I am using the GH4, maybe it is not possible in GH3, I do not know as I have never used one.

 

[scotth]

Still I'm keen to see it done with the 4. So.. you're running in M mode on the dial, and Auto ISO is available? What about remote start/stop? Does it take a still or start video.. or is that a menu option as well? Thx.

 

[Quinton]

Still I'm keen to see it done with the 4. So.. you're running in M mode on the dial, and Auto ISO is available? What about remote start/stop? Does it take a still or start video.. or is that a menu option as well? Thx.

Yes, however you can not have auto ISO in 4k, as you have to be in the "M" movie option for that.
I have mine set up on a Movi M5 however not a Zen, and I have full control of taking pictures (16:9 only if HDMI is plugged in)
Start/stop video, also I can zoom in/out with the panasonic power zoom lenses all with the gentles remote camera controller.

You can be in 4K and have movie mode set with auto ISO and shutter priority 1/50

 

[scotth]

Thanks for the tip on the Gentles.. was not aware of them.

 

[Quinton]

Thanks for the tip on the Gentles.. was not aware of them.

NP, you want the 151 version for the GH4, they are on vacation from the 10th to the 19th.
http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentwire/panajk.htm

 

[scotth]

NP, you want the 151 version for the GH4, they are on vacation from the 10th to the 19th.
http://www.gentles.ltd.uk/gentwire/panajk.htm

Great thanks.

 

[Jumpy07]

Anyone else having issues with the shutter cable not working.. or being intermittant on the Zenmuse HD Gh4 Gimbal?

Seen an post be Tahoe Ed elsewhere that suggests its a known problem ?

 

[xahhax]

I think somebody mentioned this earlier but I just can't believe what I am seeing. The top of the gimbal touches both the mode and drive select drives which of course screws up the initializing (and completely scratched the dials on the GH4). Is this something that can be tuned? What did I miss?
HELP!!

 

[xahhax]

I think somebody mentioned this earlier but I just can't believe what I am seeing. The top of the gimbal touches both the mode and drive select drives which of course screws up the initializing (and completely scratched the dials on the GH4). Is this something that can be tuned? What did I miss?
HELP!!

 

[scotth]

I think somebody mentioned this earlier but I just can't believe what I am seeing. The top of the gimbal touches both the mode and drive select drives which of course screws up the initializing (and completely scratched the dials on the GH4). Is this something that can be tuned? What did I miss?
HELP!!

You mean like this guy? http://youtu.be/_X_ENU8d-rA

Somewhere else I ran across a procedure for loosening the set screws and re-balancing the whole thing. Not DJI approved of course but your alternative is to send it back and wait four weeks for another one I guess, which will probably also have some kind of issue.

 

[xahhax]

Hey thanks! I will try that. I find unbelievable this type of issues for such an expensive item...

 

[Tahoe Ed]

Hey thanks! I will try that. I find unbelievable this type of issues for such an expensive item...

I am sorry that you are experiencing this. It appears that DJI switched vendors and there is some calibration issues on some of the gimbals. As was stated, you have two choices to correct this.

 

[Jumpy07]

Someone mentioned on the other forum... that the GH4 Shutter issues on the Zenmuse were down to the Aux 1 channel.. which is not used on the GH4.. it was said that this channel was used on the BMCC gimbal.. but not the GH4.. due to bug in firmware on GH4 you need to ensure this channel value is set to off in the Assistant.. .. or shutter will not work.. if slider is in grey are, or activated then shutter on GH4 will not work ..

Haven tried I myself yet... so cant confirm..

 

[BirdsEyeCamera]

Been having a bit of issues with my GH4 actually.... I get a weird shake from left to right mid-flight. Everything will be working perfect then it has a few hard snaps that are induced by the motors. It snaps back to the initial position but it has burned a few shots. Will get a youtube video up to show specifically what I'm talking about.

MY GH3 (not4) gimbal does the EXACT same thing….a few minutes into flight (in limit mode) the camera will snap forward and center for no reason…ruined a few of my shots too :/

IF ANYONE KNOWS WHY THIS IS…BETTER YET... HOW TO FIX ……PLEASE CHIME IN! Thank you SO much

I cannot afford to give DJI my gimbal for 4 months (to be fixed)!!!!