[155] [355] Panasonic GH5 Kit

Table of Contents

Quick Links

• How to reset GH5 settings
• Panasonic GH5 User Manual

Equipment Overview

• What equipment can I check out from the IMC?
• What all comes in a Panasonic GH5 Kit?
• Tripod Information

Setting Up

• Basic Setting Recommendations
• Primary Camera Controls
• Powering on GH5
• Formatting your SD card
• Common SD card issues

GH5 Functions

• White Balance
• Aperture
• Shutter Speed
• ISO
• Video Format

Guides & Focus Assist

• Compositional Guides (Rule of Thirds)
• Exposure Peaking (Zebra Stripes)
• Focus Peaking (Blue Outlines)
• How to use Focus Assist

Lenses

• Basic Lens Care
• How to change a lens (optional)

Audio

• Microphone & Boom Pole
• Headphone Volume
• Audio Troubleshooting

Returning Procedure

• How to Properly Wrap a Cable
• Repacking the Camera Kit
• Steps of returning equipment

Uploading Footage

• Return Procedure
• Footage Ingest Procedure

Equipment

1. Panasonic GH5 Kit
2. Boom Pole
3. Sachtler ACE Tripod
4. Panasonic GH5 Battery
5. SD Card (64GB)

Panasonic GH5 Camera Kit

1. Panasonic GH5 Camera
2. Lumix 14-42mm Zoom Lens
3. Body Cap
4. Manfrotto Tripod Plate
5. AT875R Microphone
6. Sony Headphones
7. Panasonic GH5 Charger & Cable
8. Lumix XLR Adapter
9. 25ft XLR Cable
10. 15ft XLR Cable
11. USB-C to USB-A Cable
12. White Card

Tripod Information

For information on the Sachtler Ace Tripod, visit its help documentation page.

Basic Setting Recommendations

Each GH5 camera is reformatted at check-out to reflect the below settings. Students should adjust settings depending on their filming needs. 

• Format: Students are advised to record in MOV, unless directed otherwise.
• Quality: C4K, 8bit, 100M, 24p
• Frame Rate: 23.98p
• Shutter Speed: 50 (or 1/50)
• Aperture: 9.0 
• ISO: 800 
• WB: Students should manually set their white balance to the light at the time of filming. 

TIP: In general, beginner students are advised to properly expose images by changing the aperture, rather than the ISO and shutter speed. 

Primary camera controls/buttons

1. Shutter speed - Index finger dial
2. ISO - 'ISO' + Thumb dial
3. White balance - 'WB' button + any dial
4. Aperture - Thumb dial
5. Shutter/ record button (photo/video)
6. Manual vs Auto Focus
7. Menu/ Settings Button
8. Display - different display settings 
9. Fn2 - Guideline Display
10. Fn3 - Histogram/ Waveform
11. Fn4 - Zebra Stripes
12. Fn5 - Tranfer to Eye View
13. Playback Button

Powering on GH5

1. Insert battery in compartment on bottom of camera body.
   
2. Insert SD card into port on grip side of camera body (slide back door to reveal ports).
   
3. Rotate top mode dial to desired mode (manual movie mode (video) or manual mode (photo))
4. Turn power switch (located adjacent to mode dial) to ON.
   

Formatting SD Card

1. Select Menu/Set button (in center of menu dial).
   
2. Navigate to wrench icon menu set (not C Wrench).
3. Scroll down with menu dial to select Format.
   
4. Select the SD card slot you wish to format.
5. Select Yes when prompted to delete data from card.

Common SD Card Issues

1. When the SD card is set to "write lock" (the gray lock is in the bottom position), the SD card will not be usable (camera will provide corresponding alert).

   
2. To fix this, set the gray lock to the upwards position.
   
3. If no SD card is inserted into the camera, it will prompt with corresponding alert.
   

White Balancing with a Card

1. Select WB button.
   
2. Use any dial to navigate to the first custom white balance setting.
   
3. Click up on the menu dial.
   
4. Fill frame with white card (make sure the light hitting the white card is the primary light source).
   
5. Select MENU/SET button.
   

Adjusting Aperture

1. Turn the thumb dial to adjust aperture (the larger the number, the darker the image).
2. The value on the LCD display screen will turn yellow with the new value you have assigned it.
   

Adjusting ISO

1. Press the "ISO" button on top of the camera.
2. The camera will provide a series of values to choose from.
   
   • Use the thumb dial to scroll through the options.
   • It is good practice to start at 800 ISO and adjust from there based on the amount of light on set. 
     • It is rare that ISO dips below 200 or above 3200. Keep in mind that very low or very high ISO's tend to introduce a lot of grain to final images that cannot be removed. 

Adjusting Shutter Speed

1. Turn the thumb dial to adjust shutter speed (the larger the number, the darker the image).
2. When adjusting shutter speed, the value on the LCD display screen will turn yellow with the new value you have assigned it.
   

How to choose the correct video format

• The proper video record format is C4K, 8bit, 100M, 24p.
  • This should almost never need to be adjusted, but if your video format settings do not match those above, it is necessary to change them in the menu.
  • To do this, press the MENU/SET button
  • Navigate to the record menu (looks like a 35mm camera, the one without the 'M'
  • Scroll to the setting entitled 'Rec Quality'.
  • Choose C4K, 8bit, 100M, 24p.

Compositional Guides (Rule of Thirds)

• Compositional guides, such as third lines, can help when framing a shot.
• To toggle different compositional guide styles, press the Fn4 button and choose the desired pattern.
• The leveling guide will display on the LCD screen by default (a green line indicates the camera is level, a yellow line indicates how far off the camera is from a level position, & Fn2 button toggles this display on and off).

Exposure Peaking (Zebra Stripes)

• Exposure peaking will be set to On by default.
• Gray stripes will appear around the parts of the frame that are overexposed, which you can use to achieve proper exposure.
• If this setting gets turned off for some reason, you can turn it back on in the menu (press the MENU/SET button, navigate to the C wrench icon menu, select 'Monitor/Display', select 'Zebra Pattern', select 'Zebra 1'.

Focus Peaking

• Focus peaking will be set to ON by default
• Blue lines will appear around the parts of the frame that are in focus, which you can use to achieve proper focus on your subject.
• If this setting gets turned off for some reason, you can turn it back on in the menu (press the MENU/SET button, navigate to the C wrench icon menu, select 'Monitor/Display', select 'Peaking' and set to 'ON'.

Focus Assist

• Anytime you adjust focus, a window will appear on the LCD screen providing a zoomed-in view of the center of the frame to help more accurately establish focus.
  • This feature is called "Focus Assist."
  • The window will disappear a few seconds after you stop adjusting the focal ring
  • To get it to disappear immediately, press the MENU/Set button.
    • Note: If focus assist doesn't appear, double check that you have the camera in manual focus mode (MF).

Basic Lens Care

• Lenses are a very valuable part of the camera.
• Do NOT touch lens glass.
• NEVER change a lens with the camera on.
• If camera is not in immediate use, lens cap should remain on.
• Routine cleaning (performed by IMC) and proper lens care on set are essential.

Changing a lens (optional)

1. TURN CAMERA OFF
2. Lens caps should be on both mounted and replacement lens.
3. Have replacement lens in hand or nearby.
4. Press hold lens lock button (located to right of lens on front of camera body).
   
5. Grab mounted lens by base (not by shade, focal ring, or zoom ring).
   
6. Rotate lens counterclockwise to remove from body.
7. Quickly and carefully remove back lens cap from replacement lens and screw onto back of lens just removed.
   
8. Set removed lens safely aside/in case, pick up replacement lens (now without back lens cap).
   
9. Align red dot on replacement lens with red dot on camera body lens mount.
   
10. Gently press lens into mount and turn clockwise until locked (should hear a click)

Setting Up Audio

1. Screw boom pole into threaded hole on bottom of microphone pistol grip.
   
2. Connect XLR female end into microphone.
   
3. Connect XLR male end into Panasonic XLR audio adapter (attached to top of camera body).
   
   • The XLR adapter ports are very sticky and require a bit of physical force to properly connect the XLR cord to the adapter.

   • 

   • Always brace the adapter and camera with your free hand to not tip over the tripod or put unnecessary stress on the XLR adapter's hotshoe connection to the camera body.
4. Ensure settings are correct (see photo).

1. Plug in headphones into camera body (if you are not hearing audio through headphones, ensure they are plugged into the correct port).
   
2. Extend boom pole to desired length (unscrew the desired segment lock (counterclockwise), extend segment, lock back off (clockwise)).
   
3. Wrap boom cord around pole twice/three times.

Adjusting Headphone Volume

• Headphone volume is different than audio gain.
• To adjust headphone volume, press the MENU/SET button.
• Next, navigate to the wrench menu (not C wrench).
• Scroll through the wrench menu to find 'Headphone Volume.
• Select it and adjust level to desired value (10 is a good place to start).

Audio Troubleshooting

• Audio Input for the GH5 should ALWAYS be 'Input 1/1' and XLR adapters should ALWAYS be plugged into 'Input 1'.
  • XRL adapters plugged into Input 2 on Input 1/1 will be defeated and there will be no readings of audio. Do not use these settings.
  • When switched to Input 1/2 the camera is reading for two microphones and will only read audio to one channel (left for input 1, right for input 2). Do not use these settings.

• Audio adjustments can only be made to the Input 1 side of the reader. 
• Adjust headphone volume BEFORE audio gain. 
• If audio levels are not properly displayed, natvigate the menu to the camera icon (not "camera"M). Turn 'Mic Level Disp.' on.

How to Properly Wrap a Cable

1. Hold female end of cable in left hand.
   
2. Loop cable over itself first.
   
3. Next, loop cable under itself.
   
4. Alternate performing steps 2-3 until cable is completely wrapped.
5. Always let the cable go where it wants to go. Do whichever kind of loop requires less bending of the cable, even if it means doing two under or over loops in a row.
   
6. Secure wrapped cable with Velcro tie.
   

For a more detailed tutorial on how to over-under, check out this video tutorial: 

Repacking the Camera Kit

• Please make sure to pack the camera kit exactly how it was upon checkout.
• Please pack the camera ON ITS SIDE, with the audio adapter in the smaller outlet of the bag and the body in the larger outlet.
• This is very important for the long-term safety of the equipment.
• See photo for proper kit storage.

Equipment Return Procedure

1. Please bring all items back to the IMC on-time (according to the booking you made on Connect2).
2. You will be asked to set up your tripod all the way (extend each leg), while the Media Assistant at the desk checks over your camera kit.
3. Once your tripod and camera have been checked over, you will have the chance to upload the footage on your SD card.
   • You do NOT need a computer reservation for this. You can use the IMC Ingest Rooms (located around the far corner of the IMC front desk).

GH5 On-Set Instructions