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Cinematography

B&H Review: Micro Four Thirds Lenses that add Cinematic Imagery to your GH4

Lumix GH4 with three lenses

Many of you have asked me to do tests on micro four thirds lenses, so I am holding to my promise to listen and deliver. HERE WE GO! First up are the Panasonic Leica lenses.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights
Part 1: Panasonic Leica glass paired with the Panasonic GH4 sensor

 

I do want to first thank B&H Photo and Video for their incredible help and support with this post and lens test, as well as upcoming tests that we are finishing. Without their help in providing the equipment for this test, I wouldn’t be able to do this and deliver the education that I promise to all of you. It is incredibly important to me that people know who along the way helps all of us in this journey together!!! So thank you so much to B&H.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Shane dials in the lighting right before cameras roll on the lens test

Experimentation and finding the right glass for your story

I have done many lens tests and have talked about the lens selection really being the soul of your film from a cinematography point of view. When I go into any project, I try to test as many lenses as I can to find the one that I feel will be the right soul of the film. On The Greatest Game Ever Played, I tested Cooke S4’s, Panavision Primos and Panavision Zeiss Ultra Speeds (or as they are now known as the Legacy primes).



Cooke S4
Panavision
Panavision

The old look of the Zeiss Ultra Speeds is what was selected on Greatest Game. On Fathers and Daughters, I tested Leica Summilux C’s and Cooke S4’s. Based on the test, the Cooke S4’s were selected. I know that these tests are expensive and take crucial time. A precision, an attention to detail, has to be done so that you extrapolate the very best and most accurate data. We tested the Olympus M.Zukio Digital MFT and the Voigtlander Nokton. We are going to be testing more four thirds lenses, as there are newer lenses that have come out since we did this lens test. I will double back and get on those lenses too!

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Panasonic GH4 with a Panasonic Leica 25mm

What says cinematic in a lens

I have been asked this question many times. I think you have to determine this for yourself, but I will offer my advice and comments so that you can see what revs my engine in the four thirds lens area.

I have been very critical of the camera that we tested with these lenses, but I try to be as camera agnostic as possible and need to show you multiple tools to use in delivering your vision.

The GH4 is our camera of choice because what came out of the box did not live up to my expectations. Trying different glass on the camera was my next thought process rather than going into speed booster and the like. We shot in the Cinema-D picture profile.

Lens Test Rules of Engagement

We will be on the GH4 camera the whole time. We will shoot three different focal lengths on all three lens types as well at four different f-stops. We will color grade at f11 and let the color, contrast and sharpness change as the f-stop drops. Remember, we are looking for the breaking point.

Behind-the-scenes of the Lens Test

Optimum Range of your glass

I want to show you the optimum range to harness the power of your glass. Let’s discuss this a bit. Optimum range: What does this mean? Every lens has an optimum f-stop where it produces the sharpest, most even field of view, and good contrast f-stop. Most are around a f-stop of 5.6. On Greatest Game, I shot the Ultra Speeds at a 2.0 all the time, whether it was day or night.

You have the rules. Now let’s test these babies.

1. GH4 with Panasonic Leica Glass

The first test that I want to show you is the glass that is meant to go with the camera, Panasonics’ glass along with their sensor. I have discussed how many camera manufacturers pair their sensor with glass that complements it. The Canon sensor is completely engineered to go with their glass, to the point that their sensor is challenged with latitude. Only 12 stops, where other cameras are toting 13, 14 and 15 stops of latitude. Canon turned to their lens department to help in this process. When using the Canon C500 with Cooke S4’s and Canon Cinema Zooms, I was able to expose for the background perfectly, under exposing my subject. The Canon lenses gave me about another stop of exposure latitude on the model’s face. The Cooke did not. This was revealed in a previous Shane’s Inner Circle post. If it was released before you became a member, you can purchase it in the Shane’s Store area on the website.

Here are the focal lengths for the Panasonics: 15mm, 25mm, 42.5mm

Wide Focal Length: 15mm

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Panasonic Leica 15mm

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights
Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

My first reaction to this wide lens is good definition at this f-stop, but it is f11. HA HA.This lens and f-stop delivers very accurate color, and skin tones look pretty good. Field is eve. No focus vignette around the edges, but we will get to the meaning of this in a bit.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

This, again, delivers a very sharp image, great definition and color depth but notice the contrast shift. This will start to be even more apparent as the f-stops drop.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Now we are getting in the sweet spot of this glass. The desaturation of the skin and colors is not bad. I feel this makes it more cinematic in nature. I also feel its contrast range is very nice, opening up the shadow areas. It also takes that hyper-sharp feel out of her skin. Any imperfections are minimized. Her features are not as sharp. The whole image is not as sharp, which is a good thing. The bokeh is round, which is nice as well.

If I did have to shoot with this lens on this camera, I would probably shoot this in the f2.5 area, trying to keep my depth of field as shallow as possible.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Here is where the lens falls apart, not in a good way. Her face has lost all sharpness and definition. The contrast is mush. Nothing snaps. It just feels blah, no life and the loss of color information doesn’t help either. As we dive deeper into the medium and tight focal lengths, it will become even more apparent.

“It is not always the best to shoot wide open on a lens just because you can.”

Medium Focal Length: 25mm

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

The f11 has all the color and sharpness that I have come to expect from this camera. Even field with the glass nice contrast.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

The f5.6 exhibits all the traits of the f11 but with a little lower contrast level, which slightly de-saturates the color and skin tones.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Now we are getting to the sweet spot of this glass at the medium focal length. The Panasonic glass starts to exhibit my idea of a cinematic look right here. Contrast range is very nice as well. Opens up the shadows and softens the skin so that the slight imperfections are not revealed.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

But now look at f1.4. The lens again completely falls apart. You noticed in the wide, but wow, in the medium, it is really noticeable. Contrast to mush times ten. HA HA!!! Not shooting this glass wide open unless the story drives me to do the POV of what a drunk or drugged person would see. HA HA!!!!

Tight Focal Length: 42.5mm

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

At the f11, we see all the color definition and evenness in the field of focus. Good skin tones.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

At an f5.6, the decrease in color saturation is immediately apparent with this focal length, which is caused by the contrast decreasing. Skin has de-saturated a bit as well but not a bad thing.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

Again, I feel that this is the sweet spot of this glass. F2.5 to f2.0 would be my range of making the lens fail, but its failure really makes the GH4 and this lens feel cinematic and beautiful.

Panasonic Leica Cinematography filmmaker film movies tv shooting DP lights

But now look at f1.2. The lens again completely falls apart. You noticed in the wide, and the medium but the close-up mushes out. I feel like I am shooting through Rosco Half Soft Frost diffusion. HA HA.

Next week, we move on to Part 2 with Voigtlander Nokton glass and how these lenses really take the Panasonic Lumix GH4 to new heights.

Shooting Location: Revolution Cinema Rentals

The Voigtlander is coming up next!

The Voigtlander is coming up next!

 

January 22, 2015/by Shane Hurlbut, ASC
Tags: Camera, Canon, canon c500, Canon lenses, Cinematography, Depth of field, diffusion, Digital single-lens reflex camera, Education, F-number, Focal length, HP, lens test, Lenses, Micro Four Thirds Lenses, Optics, Panasonic, Panasonic Leica, Photographic lens, Photography, Rosco, Shane’s Inner Circle
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https://www.filmmakersacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/image001-1.jpg 576 1024 Shane Hurlbut, ASC https://www.filmmakersacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Filmmakers-Academy-Filmmaking-Courses.svg Shane Hurlbut, ASC2015-01-22 12:13:592022-08-05 18:02:31B&H Review: Micro Four Thirds Lenses that add Cinematic Imagery to your GH4
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22 replies
  1. S. Edward Eastep
    S. Edward Eastep says:
    January 22, 2015 at 1:27 PM

    Glad to see that you’re checking out the Voigtlanders too. I’ve had a lot of fun using them and love the images much more than Panasonic glass. Interested in also seeing how these Veydra primes perform, when they come out.

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/665053329/veydra-m4-3-cinema-lenses-for-gh4-and-bmpcc

  2. Ignacio
    Ignacio says:
    January 22, 2015 at 5:33 PM

    Could you try the SLR Magic lenses? The 25mm is supposed to be on par with the Voigtlander. Thanks, Shane!

    • Andrew Reid
      Andrew Reid says:
      December 5, 2015 at 5:19 AM

      Would love to see a review of the SLR Magic 10mm T2.1, it’s incredibly cinematic.

      • Shane
        Shane says:
        December 14, 2015 at 9:29 PM

        We will try to fit those in. Thanks for the suggestion.

  3. kev
    kev says:
    January 23, 2015 at 2:40 AM

    how about checking Olympus offerings: 12mm 2.0, 17mm 1.8, 25mm 1.8, 45mm 1.8, 75mm 1.8

  4. Dave Dugdale
    Dave Dugdale says:
    January 23, 2015 at 7:44 AM

    Shane, I had to download the file (42.5mm) and watch it many times to see what you are talking about. I don’t have your eye so I can’t see any difference between f5.6 and f2.5, but I can tell that f1.2 is soft compared to the other two in the center of the frame. Thanks for doing this.

  5. Sam McQ
    Sam McQ says:
    January 23, 2015 at 3:01 PM

    Hi Shane,

    Thank for for testing these lenses and camera. I do like the voightlander lenses. They’re almost too sharp at f/4 and f/5.6 on Sony A7s. Can you please share your camera settings for this shoot? Or what camera settings would you recommend for this camera?

    Thanks

  6. Mike Healey
    Mike Healey says:
    January 26, 2015 at 5:53 AM

    Would love to get your take on the new dedicated M4/3 mini cinema primes available from Veydra… Look very promising!

    • Shane
      Shane says:
      January 26, 2015 at 10:42 AM

      Hi Mike,
      We are planning on taking a look at these soon. They look like a promising set of glass for the M4/3 platform.

  7. Admir
    Admir says:
    January 26, 2015 at 1:08 PM

    Hi Shane!

    As always big thanks for the time you take to educate and share your knowledge.

    I was wondering since you are using the GH4 for some test, could you share your thoughts about what scene file settings to use in order to get the most cinematic image? If anyone can squeeze every inch of pontential out of a DSLR its you! :)

    • Shane
      Shane says:
      February 5, 2015 at 6:50 PM

      We shot with the Cine-D profile. The Cine-V was too saturated for me. I’ve seen and read a lot of people jumping around the two profiles, but the Cine-D profile gave a more pleasing look to the skin tones.

  8. Anand
    Anand says:
    January 26, 2015 at 2:16 PM

    Great post and information as always Shane

  9. Astromann
    Astromann says:
    January 27, 2015 at 5:42 PM

    Thanks for doing this, its very interesting, and some great lens information from the master.
    Personally I have owned the GH4 a long time, and am only now getting the settings programmed in that I like.
    One of the biggest problems people have with the GH4 (incl James Miller, P Bloom and Andrew Reid and others)
    is the tenancy to go for Cine-D and then -5 everything setting, this is not a good place to start and many people are now stating that as well.
    So because of the fact that Shane had not really had time to properly set this camera up or learn it…I didn’t agree with his intial findings, although I wish it had global shutter.
    There is a very interesting link here on skin tones…I tried his settings and was impressed how they looked, especially at lower ISO’s.
    http://www.supertone.dk/#!GH4-Optimal-Film-Setting-works-in-stills-too/c24o4/8E18836A-F271-4A14-AF0D-C575B9D5F4B6
    Thanks again Shane for these tests…great work
    Cheers
    Astro

  10. Ritchie
    Ritchie says:
    January 29, 2015 at 4:02 AM

    If you also Test the SLR Magic lenses that would be great :-)

  11. Suvro Ray
    Suvro Ray says:
    February 2, 2015 at 6:40 AM

    Thanks for all your posts Mr.Hurlbut, you have been a great inspiration to every rising filmmakers out there,each and every post that you make is like a master class, I just wanted to ask one question that I will be shooting a short film soon and wanted to know that is the video output quality of both Canon 7D and Canon 550D same? I heard that the Canon550D is like a baby brother to the 7D except 7D has an extra advantage for external live view monitoring at 1080p while shooting I guess,but I will not be using any kind of external monitor so are there any special reason to use the canon 7D? or the 550D will do the job,will wait for your reply thank you. :-)

  12. VanWeddings
    VanWeddings says:
    February 8, 2015 at 2:49 AM

    Very nice test. Was not aware that contrast changed this much between f11 and f5.6. Now that I think of it, don’t think I’ve ever shot people at f11. Just learned something new today, thanks!

  13. Theodoros Papageorgiou
    Theodoros Papageorgiou says:
    April 16, 2015 at 5:11 AM

    Thanks for the very informative review! I’m in the process of learning about lens options for the GH4 and your lens test is very useful!

    • Shane
      Shane says:
      April 23, 2015 at 12:22 PM

      Glad that this post was able to help.

  14. Kai Liu
    Kai Liu says:
    July 19, 2016 at 3:27 PM

    I would like to have all native lens for a system. The issue I find with adapt lens to different system is that when shooting back lit, the performance get worse. decrease contrast, more flare. So ideally I would like to use native lens.

  15. Vivien
    Vivien says:
    December 10, 2016 at 6:24 AM

    Aw, this was an incredibly good post. Spending somke time and actual effort to create
    a good article? but what can I say? I hesitate a whole lot and never manage to get nearly anything done.

  16. Jesse Griffith
    Jesse Griffith says:
    January 11, 2017 at 7:10 PM

    This review is the gold standard and should be a required read for anyone who purchased a gh4 (or 5). Thanks for putting this work in. Now, I may have to sell sell my Metabones EF Speedbooster for the downpayment on those lenses. But I think I may wait for your Veydra review before I decide. I wait with baited breath.

  17. matt
    matt says:
    February 4, 2017 at 12:58 AM

    everyone brags about primes and shoot at their lowest focal point lol glad i found this now i know better.

Comments are closed.

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