how to FIX G7/G85 auto-focus! June 2018
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- čas přidán 28. 05. 2018
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if you own the panasonic Lumix g85 or its little brother, the g7, and you're getting really annoyed by the auto-focus, I feel you.
Thankfully, I found a great trick into completely fixing the issue! - Jak na to + styl
I just bought my LUMIX G7 weeks ago, for a good price, and I looked up tutorials on how to set up the 4K. I tried recording in both 4K and 1080p, then I noticed how, as you've said, painfully out of focus the 4K footage.
In comparison, the 1080p (24 fps) footage hardly needed to adjust and it was already in focus. That was so satisfying to see!
Thank you so much for this video!
Thanks for the tips man! I have a GX85 with the kit lens and a 25mm f1.7 and it made a huge difference. For me shooting at 4k its definitely still usable.
I agree 100%! I found this on my own and just want to confirm that yes as you can see the auto focus is much faster when using 1080p.
The focussing is now way faster thx!
it still did often not focus me but the background, what I found helpful here: set auto focus mode to FACE DETECTION
Works like a charm
Great review! Thanks for the tips on the AF- sending some sub love from Toronto Canada 🇨🇦
If you're less of a vlogger and more of a professional or contractor, using manual focus is probably going to be your bread and butter anyways...
with a gimbal? can i use a gimbal and focus automaticly?
and using some green tape for marks and a stand in!
@@marcelk6905 If you can override Panny's IBIS then you can try a Fuji X-T3 for not much more money. I think auto-focus is better, but still short of Sony's technology. Or you could go Sony if you value the increased auto-focus over the increase picture/video quality of the Fuji. Ha ha -- All IMHO, of course.
This helped a TON! Thanks, dude. This camera is now usable with these settings. i was sticking to manual till now as it was absolutely horrific at focusing by itself. I do use 4K a lot, but thankfully it's pretty much all on tripod with fixed subjects so that's not an issue.
No problem bro! I’m glad I helped ! 👍🏼💪🏼🙏
Hey! Great video. I was very excited when I clicked it, thinking it might actually also help me, but as you talked I found out I'm already using all the settings you recommend hahahaha, I couldn't believe it. Such a bummer. But great video nonetheless!
You mentioned that getting a better lens would help. the problem. Is there anything you'd recommend?
Bruh! This video just saved me over $1000 😂💯💯
Thank you man, I’ve had this camera for 3 years & you’ve cracked the code😌
Yes, I discovered this not long after I purchased the camera. I suppose it should come at no surprise, given 4K was relatively new when this camera first appeared in 2015. Leica lenses do offer some improvements, but can still have speed issues up close.
1080p 60 is superb on this camera and can render beautifully, even with up scaling to 4K in DaVinci if you so wish. Filming at a higher frame rate just provides more scope for the final edit to look very professional and will seamlessly hold between edits of actual 4K footage for those single focus point shots.
Great video! Really informative. What would you recommend if they object was moving? E.g Bride walking down the aisle?
Thanks for great job testing the G7! It’s extremely useful for me, as I’m considering getting a DSLR for photography (primarily) and video recording. It would be nice if you would show some more of the handling and the settings of the camera, and your impressions of how well it ’sits in your hand’. Can you show some still photos under different light conditions and different aperture settings? Again, thanks for sharing and keep up the good work!
lighthouse66 will do! I have much more videos coming up about this camera! I just need a little more time to get used to it because its my first DLSR of its type :) but so far, my impressions are really good!! Best bang for the buck :) stay tuned!
Thank you so much. Really helped me a lot!!
Awesome! AF is very important especially on a gimbal and when lowlight (open aperture)
omg thank you so much for this!! I film makeup videos in my studio and used this camera for the first time and couldnt figure out why the focus was so so horrible!!!
I just got a G7 for vlogging today. I've been getting pretty good results shooting in 4K at 23.976 fps with the dial set to AFF/AFS and Face/Eye Detection. Once in a while it may hunt a little bit. But, for the most part, the AF with Face/Eye Detection it's been pretty consistent. I heard the same thing from another video. But, since my vlogs will mostly be uploaded as HD, I will probably switch to HD. Which will probably give me the more reliable AF you demonstrated.
Is the auto focus still reliable?
thnx dude, I was about to just toss this camera because the autofocus was just horrendous. now I understand it's because I was shooting in 4k 🤦♂️
you just saved my life... thanks for these tips
This was extremely helpful thanks so much bro
No problem bro! Lol
Hey man. This is my first time watching your vids, and I have the G7 as well. The autofocus was driving me crazy! Thanks to your tip, I will just stick to 1080p from now on until I get a better camera. What do you recommend as a replacement though? I have noticed that you are currently using the Sony Alpha a6400. As a fellow CZcamsr, it was interesting to see how you have progressed throughout the years. Good for you man. Subscribed 👍
All the best,
Adam
TY you actually saved my life
Thank you Mark, very useful! Quick question, any way to completely disable autofocus on the G7? A way for the camera to focus on the entire scene like old cameras used to (in the past I used a cheap low res Flip Ultra camera with no autofocus capability but excellent focus on entire scene). To give you more context, I film myself playing drums, the camera focuses on my face, but as soon as I hit a cymbal, the camera focuses on the moving cymbal, then goes back to my face, pretty annoying, I just want the entire scene with no particular subject focused. Thank you again!👍👍
Great share and thx for that dude. But I've got to half press shutter button and how am I gonna do that if I wanna record a video?
Awesome info..keep up the great work, great tips man!
Thanks man! 🙏🙏
Excellent video. Thank you very much for putting this together. I have been frustrated with the auto-focusing problems. My cheaper basic video camera focuses automatically great 99% of the time. But my Panasonic Lumix DMC G7 has trouble focusing 10-15% of the time. I copied the settings you set out in this video such as switching to the 49 Area and to the center spot metering. I'll see if that makes the difference now. Thanks again for a great video identifying a problem G7 users have and finding a possible solution. I subscribed.
Did it work?
Wow, thanks for the demonstration. I am convinced that this is the reason it is $500. Great camera, but the 4k is just biting more than it can chew I guess.
Yeah it’s a great camera for the money FOR SURE! Just not quite perfect.
Although if autofocus doesn’t matter to people then it can handle 4K with no problem :)
thanks dude! you just helped me out.
Wow..... you save me..... you just fix my camera's !!!!!!!! crazy autofocus!!!!TT thank you sooooooo much TT
Thank you, Mark. I have been experimenting for weeks and weeks with different auto-focusing techniques on my Lumix G85. I almost decided that I have to go back to my Canon 5D Mark IV (and a lens with IS) for my travel. (Yes, Canon's dual-pixel autofocus is unbeatable, but crazy heavy for my travel-light holiday trips). I guess it's no big deal if I can only shoot 1080p with the G85.
No problem man! Let me know how it works :) 🙏
Ciye yang keberatan 😁
Is the auto focus still usable/reliable?
Thank you so much!! I was given this camera and I don't really know what any of the settings mean, but this fixed the issue it really was so frustrating! Trying to take pictures of birds 🥴 can't wait to go out and try now
Great video!! Huge difference
Hi there - Kiana again.....I have a Lumix g7 - which replacement batteries/brands would you recommend? I'd love to travel with a few extras. Thanks.
i love you so mach, This is the answer that I am looking for, nice to meet you !
Dude i love you! Thank you so much
Thanks for the info I wonder if setting it on manual the way you did with auto will it work better? 🤔🧐🧐 try it if you still have the G7 Lumix let me know .hope to hear from you.or do you have any other solution since the last video
Hi Mark,
your video is really nice: tomorrow night I'll try your settings, because in my channel I'm starting to make video reviews and the problem I have is that when I set and press rec, then I have to move in front of the camera and the video is not in focus at the end: I tried to pilot the Lumix via wifi with the App,
but the button on the mobile phone that starts the Rec does not allow first to focus (half a click to understand) and then a whole click to make start the video, so at a distance of about 2 meters I can't see if I'm in focus or not (always when I'm in front of the camera with the screen turned),
do you have a suggestion to solve this problem?
Thanks, Alberto
I've given a try with Lumix G6 and it works. Thanks. With kit lens AF was much better also with 25 1.7 (but that lens is bad with focusing).
Can't thank you enough, we were about to give up on this camera!!
Glad it helped! :)
What lens were you using? I shoot 4k at 24 fps and it's not so bad
Hi! How to get realtime view of exposer in g85 screen? thanks
Thanks for the video, as I have this camera sitting in my shopping cart, as I watch reviews. Most of the reviews are good, but the AF is a common complaint. I'm wondering, is the AF an issue for both video and when taking pictures?? Or, was your video specifically for shooting video?? Are there any "sweet spots" for taking pictures when it comes to the AF issues? Or, will the settings you mentioned help with taking pictures too?
The Af issues are only for video. I have never experienced any AF issues with photography :) to get the best AF in photography just use One Spot as the AF setting
Excellent tip. 👍 I still will use 4k for what I do primarily which is real estate video.
I can not get the G80 to auto focus in the movie setting, only in iauto which is annoying me
What kind of lens used in your lumix to recorded this vlog, guys?
It's much slower to get there but seems smoother? Doesn't shoot past focus and then back again. Will give this a go, interesting how 1080/4k makes such a difference to the focusing though. Thanks for the tip 👍
I have Sony A5100, nice autofocus, good performance. I can’t handle its LCD screen in bright weather, almost no stabilization, controls not really good. What do you think, will it be worth to switch to G85?
Hi Marks very good review and an interesting point.
I'm literally getting crazy with this camera :) My problem is, for instance, I'm filming somebody in the streets, face closes up, autofocus on, if anybody or anything like a car moves behind the main object the focus starts automatically focusing in the second object .. that is really bad..
I will try your configuration....
BTW I'm your new friend in Warsaw. Keep the good work! Cheers
Just picked up the G85! So far so good. Wut up Bk42!
Hello, Having the same problem, did you see better autofocus perfomance with this configurtion?
Yes I did but. I'm having better luck with it being in afs/aff as opposed to afc. I just posted a video with that setup. peace from Colorado!
Hey! Colorado! I wanna move there soon. How good is Fort Collins? Is it a nice place to live?
I live in Colorado springs and it it super nice. Ft collins is a few hours up north. I have done a lot of vlogs in some of Colorado tourist spots. Here in Colorado you can have 3 seasons in one day. Keep in touch my friend!
Thanks man, still in 2020
But if im not in hurry to get fast af then i can have 4k? Its mote that its holding the focus. Thats my problem startas or drop the focus.. Great video love it
Are you using AVCHD or MP4 I have a lumix G7 and mine does not do that
1 area to me is the best auto focus mode while shooting in 4k. I use two g85's when I record my church's evening service. I do have two fast primes though. The Panasonic 42.5 f1.7 and the Olypus 45.f1.8.
I need to start a youtube channel dealt with the tech stuffs.
The videos will be shooted in the studio with the well-equipped lights.
Is Lumix g7 will do the job better?
i have only 600$ budget with me.
(tech stuffs - pcb, boards etc)
Being the framerate the double from 4k 30 to 1080p 60 it should take the double of time
Thanks bro!
Great info...I've entered your settings, but somehow, I've got my camera set to where it will only focus when I half-push the shutter button. Can ANYBODY tell me how to fix that??? I'm sure I set it that way somewhere along the way...
The G85 will only do continuous autofocus when its recording, or if you have "Quick Autofocus" on and that only works when hand-held. "Quick Autofocus" is activated by the motion sensor going still so if you are on a tripod it won't work.
Can you share your settings?
I think you need to back up a little bit with the 4K shot for it to be 'fair'. 4K zooms in a little further so its naturally harder for it to hunt for focus.
I'm thinking about replacing or supplementing my OM-D E-M1 (original) with this. I know the G85 has better video, but how about continuous autofocus for stills? Will I be taking a step back for that? I'm thinking about birds in flight, etc. Maybe I just need to have two cameras, one for each purpose. One thing to keep in mind is that most of my glass is from Olympus...including the 12-40mm and 40-150mm f2.8 PRO lenses. Or should I just save up a bit more and get an OM-D E-M1 Mark II?
Thoughts?
I would stay far away from Panasonic if you want good continuous af.
The best continuous af would either be canon or Sony’s new update along with their new camera a6400.
thanks for the effort and the sharing. was this vid shot on the 14-42mm g7 kit lens? thumbs up.
Yep! The kit lens :) thanks for watching! 🙏
Thats really good test. I'm going to give it a test myself now.
I use aff and tracking ... works great 4K 24... I have G 85.. I think it depends what you’re filming .. adjust settings accordingly...
I have a G7 it's been 3 years now and I didn't have too much trouble with auto focus until after a few tumbles with my camera ( I film and ride skateboards ) . I'm going to be upgrading to G85 then G9 hopefully this helps.
Chill out brother.. It will pass eventually. 😊
G9 is sweet little cam
Good stuff! What lens is this, and waht f/stop?
Great well done :)
Good job man. I brought a G7 but returned it and upgraded to the G85 for 4k vlogging and love it. I myself just use center point as well and seem to manage with a bit of finagling lol.
Awesome! G85 is a great camera for sure!
Tomorrow I’m getting the GH5 in, and will be doing more videos on that as well. I’ll be comparing it to the G7. Let’s dope GH5 version 2.3 fixed the autofocus so I won’t have to do the 179 degree “hack” 😅
What made you switch to the G85? The G7 and G85 are very much the the same camera. Just curious
Noel E if you check out my channel. I did a few VLOGs with the G7 and enjoyed my time with it. The main reasons I upgraded was that the G85 had slightly better low light performance, autofocus, weather sealing and IBIS. All of those upgrades came an increase of about $400 which was manageable for me. It was always my intention to buy the G85 because I was deciding between that and the Sony 6300/6500. The only reason I brought a G7 was for to try it out for the 30 days and then return it while I was saving up for the G85.
G85 has better video quality :)
Is the G85 better at autofocus in 4K?
Great info
Thanks, Nicole!
Thank you so much :)
Anytime! :) thanks for stopping by :)
A very dramatic difference. I'm going to give that a try on my GX85, thank you.
No problem man! Glad the video helped you :)
Mark, I think my 20mm 1.7 Pancake lens will be the litmus test. Out of all my lens, that thing hunts, shuffle dances, moon walks - does everything other than focus quickly. Will try the 1080P and the focus settings. One question, you might know. In taking video at 1080p, then sending to CZcams, is there a noticeable difference than if I shoot in 4K, then send it straight to CZcams?
Man. If you only knew how hard I laughed at your comment 🤣moon walks. Hahaha.
But, to answer your question, shooting in 1080 P is not bad at all. Especially if you add a little bit of sharpness in post.
Honestly, I would rather have reliable auto focus,, than to shoot 4K.
But, if you want the best of both worlds, I would try to sell your lens, and get the Olympus 12 to 40. That way, you can record in 4K, and have good auto focus.
The 20mm 1.7 has the worst auto focus in the Panasonic family 😅. Just for future reference, do not go with Panasonic lenses for auto focus.
But if you really enjoy your lens, shooting in 1080 P won’t be a problem, especially if you do some very minor editing
Pretty creative alternatives, Mark, thank you. I'm going to scope out the Oly. And I appreciate the confirmation on what I have been experiencing with the 20. I look at that lens in my gear bag, and I'm thinking, "there goes the neighborhood."
Thank you!
No problem man! Thanks for watching :)
The G7 can shoot 4k at 24 fps, right? Is the slow AF at 4k as pronounced in that mode?
Did it work?
The focusing issues makes me think the M50 is the way to go, I'd like stabilisation but reliable quick focus is more important...
Thanks 👍👍👍
Do your ISO and shutter speeds make a difference? Do you have them fixed or auto adjust?
Doesn't really matter in terms of autofocus
@@MarksTech Interesting. I watched another video where a guy was saying it did make a difference. The different ISOs affected his contrast and therefore affected the contrast based autofocus of the G85.
Thanks
i've been using this camera for a long time and primarily i bought it for video BUT today i am only using it for photography cause autofucus is really bad for anything else... I wish i tested this camera more before i got it. Sony A7 iii or GH5 for video.
very nice home dude
To everyone passing there to get the best out of the G7 : updating the camera firmware and the lense firmware also made its performance noticeable better (plus add a few functions).
Hi, I know it was 2 years ago... but maybe you could tell me how to update the firmware? many thanks!
Nice tip
Thanks bro!
Marks Tech you're welcome
What lens are you using. My kit lens doesnt look like that
It's not really a fix it's more like realization of limitations of this camera. Well spotted btw. One needs to be aware when shooting 4k whether this would be a problem in certain shots.
Wow I can't wait to get this damn camera!!!!!
YO BRO HOW YOU LIKE ED 40-150MM IF YOU USED BEFOR...
Never used that one before :)
👍
Can I also set it that there's everything focused?
Normally no.
This camera (and no other mirrorless) has infinity focus. But during the day if you increase your aperture. (Increase the number) then everything will be focus. But your Image will be dark.
@@MarksTech but can't I just turn up the exposure if it's dark?
Won’t help by much. Your shutter rate will have to go down to compensate for the lowlight. But then your movements will look weird and off
@@MarksTech is this limitated by the hardware or the software?
Hardware
My problem is that the background shifts in and out of focus. My face seems fine but this is a distraction. Can anyone help me? Panasonic said facial recognition should help but it seems like I need to be really close to the camera for it to work. They also said just use manual, which is useless advice. How am I supposed to focus on me in front of the camera from behind the camera?
Get the Panasonic App called "Image App". It allows your phone to take control of the camera. Set your camera to manual, turn on the App, connect to your phone, it uses WiFi from the camera, tap the [AF] indicator (or the phone screen, can't remember which) and it will focus. That is the only way I know of, of getting around this issue for a one-man operation.
And its not got to do with 4k specific focus speeds? That's what it looks like, it's not hunting, its slowly focusing.
If you’re not shooting 4K, I’d probably prefer the a5000!
For regular non selfie vlogging shooting, can't you just use point and touch focus and it won't be too bad?
Hey Jess! Yeah you could do that, but you will be doing a whole-lot or touching and poking around. I’ve tried that and I noticed I spend more of my focus on poking the screen than the actual recording lol
I was sold on the G85 and really didn't see the AF as an issue, but I've been looking at the RX1000 IV and the G7 Xii and those are looking more tempting, though no microphone jack :( any recommendations? , just want an internal stabilizer. it'll be for some cinematic shots + travel video mostly
honestly, in my personal opinion, sound quality is far more important than video quality. You could have the best quality of video in the world, but if all you hear is wind and noise, it will greatly decrease the quality of the actual video.
I was also looking at the g7xii, and the RX100m5, but the lack of a microphone jack is a total killer. especially since the RX100M6 is over 1,000!!
point and shoots are automatically out of the equation for me. they're great for what they are, but nothing professional.
for the money that the Sony costs, you can easily pick up a G85. it has great internal stabilization + the ability to change lenses :) If you do go that route, and pick up the G85, i would highly recommend picking up the olympus lenses. they speed up the AF alot better than the Panasonic lenses (go figure).
at the moment im using the Olympus Pro 12-40 and its crystal clear!
thank you so much for the help!! :) one last question, I got the Feiyu G6 for my gopro, but am within the return period for a few more days and the Feiyu G6 Plus came out that can accommodate mirrorless cameras. The reason I'm thinking of other options than G85 is because G85 on a gimbal, I think would be too heavy and cumbersome for travel (maybe I'm wrong) and G7xii and rx1000IV this is lighter and smaller, so for travel I don't need good sound there is usually music over it, just not gopro hero 5 quality, and if I do any inside the house vlogging I could use a separate external mic and do it in post, not ideal but works.
Just wanted your thoughts on this, I keep changing my mind. Mainly using this for cinematic travel videos + maybe some vlog (inside, outside), stabilization is key. Or if there is another one I didn't think about?
No problem! Questions are good!
If you have music over your videos, or have external recording, that could work fine :)
But don’t get the Rx100m6 because, honestly, for the price, it’s not really worth it. Many big youtubers agree as-well. It’s just too expensive for the lack of features.
The canon would be the better option!
It doesn’t record 4k, but the price is more than half cheaper than the Sony! It’s really a double-edged sword. There are pros and cons to every camera on the market.
If you have the cash to blow, Sony is good.
But if you want similar performance, you can’t go wrong with the canon!
For external recording, I’d recommend the Rode SmartLav. It’s cheap, and plugs in right into your phone. Then all you gotta do is sync up the audio track and you’re all done :)
Maybe also add the 180Shutter Angle technique.
Im not sure the G7 has the angle shutters :(
Not available on the g7
There is video here in YT that made the trick compensating the shutter angle with shutter speed. You had to make some math, but it seemed actually to work. Here is the link if you want to try it: czcams.com/video/bPDX643bVaQ/video.html
Gustavo A. Mendoza only for gh5. I have the g7 and no such thing exist
Jorge Martinez actually the link I posted shows using the shutter speed to force the shutter angle. The girl that made the video did it with a G7. I have a G85 and I can't do that. But, to be honest I don't have troubles with autofocus since the last year's update.
The latest firmware fixed 4k AF.
We shoot everything in 1080p
I wouldn't do only 1080p with this cam. Shooting 4k gives you 100mbps 1080p is only 28 so much better quality with 4k. Autofocus isn't bad with this camera, I don't have these autofocus problems with 4k. Make sure you got the latest firmware. If you want the best autofocus and don't mind 1080p get a canon SL2 or 80d.
Do you also haven't these autofocus issues with on the go vlogging? Thinking about buying the G85 because the stabilisation is just mind blowing but the autofocus gives me some doubts.
has AF been fixed in a latest firmware? because I've seen a lot of reviews in 2018 still nothing seems fixed from Lumix, just people playing with settings
honestly the 1080p is fine on the g7, however if you're shooting 4k it's probably ideal to use manual focus. i use 4k on my g7 for shooting films to get the highest quality possible, and use manual focus, but for videos that are longer, need more card space or need the better autofocus, the 1080p is honestly fine
4K is four times fullHD, so going from 1080/28mbits to 4K/100Mbits it's comparable in terms of quality. Seems better because usually you downscale almost the video while watching it, expecially on youtube, but you get additional crop while recording also. If you watch 1080p video on 1080p monitor and 4k recorded video on 4k monitor they're similar to me in terms of overall quality (without pixel peeping) :)
I have G7, upgrading to G80 because of sales atm and ibis for manual lenses.
Jess Design it seems better, still not great but not as slow as in the video.
Whoa! Siberian Husky eyes!
My camera does 0 auto focus even at 1080 at 60fps I fuxking hate this thing especially when you use a gimbal.
You are wrong - a majority of vloggers and even beginners know to shoot in 4k and downsize to 1080p so they can retain the higher bitrate and change any angles without loosing compromising quality. I really hope Panasonic can fix this concern somehow through firmware updates.
Check the upload bitrates on CZcams. Not the actual camera. It doesn’t matter if your camera records 400mpbs 4K. When you upload 4K to CZcams, it’s at 45-55mbps. 1080p is 8-10mbps depending on frame-rate. So shooting in 4K and downsampling to 1080p does nothing because you’re still uploading @ CZcams’s bitrate, not the cameras/editing software. Vloggers are much better off recording & uploading in 4K natively.
If your theory is correct, 720p 30, should also be fast. I don't have a G7 or G85 to try it,but if you could try it and let me know, that would be helpful.
I'm about to sell mine, it has served me well but i never want another micro 4/3 again
I don’t blame you! It’s a great camera but the Sony/canon fill framed line is great overall especially for lowlight. But the main reason I’m sticking to 4/3rds is cause of the smaller design/smaller lenses and the flip out screen and 4k60 on GH5 😅
@@MarksTech sorry mate, but lumix G7 low light is much better than the newer canon mirrorless (canon 50). Check this out czcams.com/video/TCJwRXdLRPY/video.html
The best way to have the best autofocus working 100% every time is with a combination of wireless manually shutter device. You will always have the perfect focus! every time! Everything else will fail.
But a lot of smartphones can do 4k and auto focus is fine. It's disappointing.