The Panasonic Lumix GH5s was one of the best video cameras of its age - and one of our top recommendations for filmmakers and film students. It was launched six years ago, so there are lots of more recent mirrorless cameras to rival the GH5s's capabilities nowadays. But we have just spotted that Amazon has reduced the price on this iconic camera to its best-ever price - to just £803.30, which is under half its recommended retail price!
For our money, this is a great deal, despite its age for anyone who wants to shoot high-quality 4K footage without spending a fortune. The Panasonic GH5s is able to shoot 4K video at 50p/60p in both ordinary video aspect ratio and the slightly wider Cinema 4K format, the GH5s also offers unlimited on-board video recording (compared to many cameras that have a frustrating 30-minute limit).
With a 10.2MP sensor, dual native ISO, twin card slots, and a vari-angle LCD touchscreen, the Panasonic GH5s would a welcome addition to any videographer's kitbag. Plus, its 660g weight makes this small camera pleasingly weighty in the hand without being overly heavy - and can be used with a wide range of affordable Micro Four Thirds lenses.
With die-cast magnesium alloy front and rear frames and a rugged construction, the GH5s is protected against dust, splashes of water and temperatures down to -10ºC.
The Panasonic GH5s also records at higher quality levels for color depth and compression than most cameras. This is because it records video at 10bits rather than 8bits, which amounts to four times the color data. This results in smoother gradations of tone and less risk of unsightly banding.
Panasonic's V-logL mode is included as standard on the GH5s, which means that you can capture 'flat' video with high dynamic range. This will give you plenty of flexibility when it comes time to grade your video later.
And although the camera was launched in 2018, significant new features have been added since via firmware updates. These improvements include the ability to shoot and play vertical video for social channels, faster movement, face and eye detection for its autofocus, and 12-bit RAW video data output over HDMI.
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