4 Reasons Why I Recommend Panasonic Cameras For Filming
I don't hide the fact that I've become a huge Panasonic fan this year and for good reason. They do everything I want plus give me some lovely bonus features. As a photographer I find the cameras smaller, lighter and more fun than my previous digital SLR camera, and they're rammed with extra features to make photography more enjoyable. This video highlights the key benefits I discovered for photography but in this post I want to focus simply on the key benefits I've discovered for filming.
I'm talking specifically about the Panasonic Lumix G7 and the newer Panasonic Lumix G80/85 (also reviewed along side each other here) and while they may seem expensive to you at $600+ and $250 for the lens I assure you they’re the cheapest option on the market that I know of without making compromises.
So here's what I love about them:
#1 The Remote App
These cameras both give you the ability to record remotely via the free Panasonic Image App.
This is massive but as I cover it on video in this blog post I’m not going to repeat everything here… but literally, this feature alone … is revolutionary!
No more running back behind your camera to see if you’re in focus or needing someone to hit record for you, everything can be done from the app on your phone. Awesome.
#2 Live Streaming Capability
This one is going to be huge!
If you want to record a Facebook Live through your computer or host a Webinar, what options do you have? Your webcam or phone right?… Wrong!
With this camera I can buy an additional device and trick my computer into thinking my camera is a webcam. Then if I record audio via the camera too they sync between video and audio will be as close as a standard webcam. NO-ONE is doing live video like this without pro studios costing $20k to set up!
Even if you don’t want to get into this just yet it’s well worth considering when you buy else you may find yourself needing to upgrade in a year.
#3 Video is in their DNA
Panasonic are the leading brand in ‘video capable cameras’.
While it used to be the Canon 5D that was being used to record TV series and short films, it’s now the Panasonic GH4 and more recently GH5 that everyone accepts is the benchmark camera. The hugely successful ‘Grand Tour’ series on Amazon Prime, and Top Gear before that use GH4's and GH5's for all their car scenes (read here). And although that's the $2000 big brother, these younger siblings benefit from much of the same technology.
#4 External Mic Inputs
As I said in my second point, you need to record audio through the camera for live work and the inbuilt mics are no good for this. Plus, although my preference is to record audio separately for my main videos, there are plenty of times when it’s easier and perfectly acceptable to record into the camera.
So there they are. Features that you won't find on a cheaper camera that make these my ideal cameras.
As with all my work, I'm not on any commission, I don't have reason to recommend one manufacturer over another but I want to help you and take away the stress of decision making so trust me, I've done the hard work for you so you can simply get set up and get on with the filming and start raising your profile with some awesome videos!
