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Open Gate Changes Everything — so much MORE than 16:9!!

Photo Moment - July 05, 2022

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What is Open Gate, and why should you care? In this video, learn about Open Gate mode on the LUMIX GH6, and why if you delver content both in 16:9 and 9:16, then you should DEFINITELY be shooting in Open Gate!

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UPDATE: The LUMIX S1 also has Open Gate, in the form of (for larger-than-4K), there's "6K" 5952*3968 (3:2) 24p as well as a "5.4K" 5376*3584 (3:2) 30p modes! Both are 4:2:0.

What do you think; are you intrigued to start shooting in Open Gate? With the GH6 firmware 2.0 released on July 5 2022, you can even do 4:3 5.8K RAW with the Ninja V+!
🤦‍♂
@PhotoJoseph So is the same on the S5? I it seen it has 4:3 anamorphic mode with a apsc crop.
Great video, as always! One correction: GH5 II shot anamorphic 6k, not 5k.
Well, sort of. I don't recall what I said in the video but here are the two cameras — the GH6 shoots 5760x4320 in what's called "5.8K" mode, which is an accurate name when looking at the source width (5760 = 5.8K). The GH5II shoots 4992x3744 in "6K-A" mode. I don't recall now if the "6K" is a diagonal measurement (probably, since the diagonal is 6240) or if it's a measurement of what it'll be once it's stretched (even a 1.33x anamorphic stretch will result in over 6,600 pixels wide), so that name is more a marketing term. Since the mode is no longer meant to be used only for anamorphic, the name changed to reflect a more realistic use (and what we're used to seeing… "4K" = 4096 wide, not diagonal) https://pulse.ly/usz7chbns3
I think you can do it in S5II too...great video!
This will really help my work when I have to crop for vertical! Thank you!
Great to hear!
I hope they can update at least 48p for the full sensor open gate.I think they can do it. It is just if Panasonic want to or not.
Open Gate is such a weird term. It's literally 4:3 and I was choosing that anyway for that purpose before I even knew what Open Gate was...
It’s an old industry name referring to film days.
You're the man! I was so confused with the cropping of open gate footage. Thank you
great detailed review.. BEST!
Thanks!!
I'm not against what u suggest, open gate is important, great video! But when u use 1.33x anamorphic adapter and put it vertical on 16:9, it's 4:3, put it horizontal on 16:9, it's 2.4:1, especially when it's on full frame 16:9, the high sensitivity in low light and the background blur will be much better than it's on M43 sensor... Since I started to use full frame sensor, I feel like I can never go back, I really like the design of GH series, but every time I think about I will lose 75% high sensitivity and blur on m43 sensor, I just give it up... So this Open Gate Thing actually can't help GH series or S35 sensor that much, I'm now using 1.33x adapter on full frame 16:9 to make vlog and put it on my Instagram, it looks bigger than 16:9 on Instagram and feels like Alexa LF, that vibe and character just blow my mind
Oh and I used to like Vazen 28mm anamorphic lens because it's 1.8x, then I found that the image circle of Vazen 28mm is actually a standard S35, which means the best fit for it is S5 series because S5 series have a S35 4:3 mode, it can get the edge character of Vazen 28mm to make the anamorphic character stronger, but GH series can't get there, just the middle M43 part which is clean weak and boring... SONY also has sensor crop mode to read the sensor with 1.52x crop, bigger than S5 4:3 mode because it's 16:9, the left and right are black circle but at least it can get the whole image circle and character of Vazen 28mm... so M43 sensor is actually kinda meaningless in this era
While I love the extra options in terms of being able to recrop - I HATE the increased popularity of vertical video formats recently and I wish we'd just stick to 16:9. vertical framing is terrible
I have to admit vertical has grown on me. Or maybe I just got tired of being called a boomer 😅
doesn't it support 2560x1920 's resolution? it's also a 4:3 asptio and what i'm using on my iphone and my video work.
I don’t believe so. That’s an unusual resolution.
how are you not famous yet? this channel is stunning
Aw man I really appreciate that. Thank you.
Excellent Breakdown🔥🔥🔥
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
So glad I meet you at CineGear, and learned about this!! 🙌🏾
Awesome man, great meeting you too — thanks for stopping by!!
Can you do this with the BS1H as well?
Yes! I have the full specs of the camera replicated here https://photojoseph.com/bs1h and you'll see the 6K and 5.4K modes
@PhotoJoseph Thank you so much! I greatly appreciate your information and your work.
Thank you for this demo, but I use FCPX and I cannot follow along. When creating a 4k timeline , mismatched resolutions on Da Vinci does not show up under FCP. What am I doing wrong ? Thank you
I haven’t used FCP in a while but I am quite sure you can make a custom timeline at any size. If you’re talking about the vertical resolution then there should be presets for that.
Why not to shoot verticaly https://youtu.be/8JK3fRkGQDA
Awesome stuff here, Joseph!

It makes me sad knowing that Sony will most likely never update their cameras to include Open Gate. If they ever provide the option, they will most likely introduce it in newer models and will forget about their older ones.
Do you know any external monitors , that fit the size of the open gate?
still prefer to shoot in a vertical shoot on my gimbal for instagram videos so that I get the most resolution and not a crop version.
Extremely helpful video. Just added a LUMIX S5ii to our Sony bodies. Can you do something showing workflow with both 3:2 and 16:9 files?
is there a true 24fps?
Yes, the GH6 can do 24.00
One thing we can only hope is that vertical video will go eventually go away!!!
We can also hope that Scarlet Johansen comes knocking at my door. And come to think of it… that's far more likely to happen. Sorry Lonnie… vertical video is here to stay!
@PhotoJoseph LOL! It is really hard to watch and hard to record with a real camera as shown! It came originally from stupid cell phones. That option should never have been available. Anyone that likes it is lying. Thank you Joseph for your great knowledge and videos!!
How do you get these (or any camera) to shoot true 30 instead of that decimal crap?
It’s not sped up; that’s the problem. When you map 23.98 into 29.97 or vice-versus every once in a while and extra frame needs to be made or skipped. 29.97 to 30.00 would have the same problem but not as often.
@PhotoJoseph You're right, I totally brain-farted on that. I'm so used to thinking in terms of conforming one to the other.

Theoretically speaking, if you conformed 29.97 to 30.00 instead of just putting it in, it would basically be no different aside from working lacking any errors, right? I mean, it would be sped up, technically speaking, but unlike even 24 to 25, it would be ENTIRELY imperceptible.
@Drunken Hamster correct
@PhotoJoseph Thanks, I appreciate your time. Though if you don't mind too much, I'd ask one more thing: Could I send you an example of smooth 24fps vs jittery 24fps tomorrow so you can tell me what's wrong with the jittery one? I'll be sure to pull both examples from filmmaker-type channels in order to make sure shutter speed is ruled out.
sure. Again tell me when you post the link in another comment
anyway you need to compose your shoot in the in the middle of the frame, i think if you think in compose in a classic 16:9 way even using open gate nos sure you will get nice results por 9:16 then
Not at all. Compose in 4:3 with room around your subject and place the subject wherever it makes sense for the shot, then crop accordingly for side or tall. Balanced negative space is everything.
Weeping sigma fp owner here 😓
Thanks for the input! I shoot with Fuji xh2s, and I think we have open gate mode, only in 6k (the ratio is called 3:2)

Then there is 4k Dci and Uhd

Do you shoot all the time in open gate, just in case? the files aren't super big? Or is this mostly depending on the mbps?
Exactly — the file size is dependent on mbps. What format I shoot depends on a lot of things. I’m on my way to shoot a day of BTS on a short film; I’ll shoot open gate there on the S5II. Maximum flexibility, but not maximum quality. But it’s a vlog basically, so that’s OK. Shooting somewhere where I have the time to set up the shot, I’ll shoot 4K and maximize quality. Shooting talking head of myself for longer dialogs, I’ll shoot 6K ProRes or even RAW if available, so I have best of both, but that requires external recorder. I change what I shoot constantly to suite the situation.
@PhotoJoseph Why is open gate lower quality than 4k ? I thought the resolution of the Open gate is higher. Let say that I reframe a 6k shot in 4k, shouldn't it be at least the same quality if not higher ?
@TheMusiclover68 “Quality” is a big word. What do you mean by that? Resolution is only one factor. Bitrate (100mbps, 150, 400, 800), color space (4:2:0 or 4:2:2), compression (Long GOP or All-I), codec (H264, H265, ProRes) all factor in.
@PhotoJoseph  @photojoseph  In the previous answer, you said that in controled situation and to get the best quality you would shoot in 4k rather than open gate.

But since you mention those other factors, I always wonder what would be the difference' let's say, between a uhd video in 100 mbps and a fhd video in 400 mbps. would the fhd catch up the 4k because of the mbps?

In terms of codec, I shoot everything at the moment in h265 4.2.2 10 bits

When I get a cf express, I will shoot apple pro res for the editing capacities, + I read that, since it is less compressed, you get more out of it than with h265
in a controlled situation I will capture to ProRes because it's the file with the most data. If I know I only need 4K and I don't have to punch in in post, then I will shoot 4K. No need to shoot 6K. And ProRes H265 is better because it's more data, and much less compressed. H265 though is a fantastic codec and if you have hardware that decodes it natively (like an M1/M2 Mac), then editing it is easy. If not, then your computer will struggle to edit it natively. When you're thinking about quality, just remember that what bitrate is. It's Mbps. Megabit per second. If you have 400 Megabits per second, and are shooting 1920*1080 24 fps vs 3840*2160 60fps, you can easily do the math to realized the 24p gets more data per frame, and the UHD has a lot more pixels to fit in that same data rate.
Thank you Joseph, helps a lot!
Glad to hear it!
Does open gate work in 1920p ?
open gate is higher than that. If you shot open gate at only 1080p that'd kind of defeat the purpose.
@PhotoJoseph i think the first purpose is to have more room in the vertical. 90% of people deliver in full hd with this kind of camera. 4,or 5 k is for gick. Almost Nobody watch 4k content.
@Leroy Grégory that is simply incorrect. 4K deliverable is normal. Netflix will only accept 4K, so for the “almost nobody” watching Netflix, that’s all 4K. You can’t buy an HD TV without really trying hard. Even most phones are over HD resolution now. So 4K is completely normal now.
@PhotoJoseph nerflix production are not using those small camera. Doesnt matter about the screen quality. 90% of people watch there video on a phone bellow 1080p.
Hi Joseph, why did you leave out the Open gate specs of the GH5s and at specs that not even the GH6 can meet? The GH5s does 3328x2496, at 29.97 but here comes the important part... at 4:2:2, 10-bit (12-bit ProRes RAW on the way more affordable Ninja V if that is your thing), and 400Mbps (vs 4:2:0 and 200Mbps of the GH6)... and it can do this direct to a V90 SD card. I shot near everything on my GH5s at 4:3 so it is very important to me. So short of spending money on the GH6 and a Ninja V+ (crazy money in Canada for the level of improvement), I don't see my use case as being able to justify the GH6 at all... and I really wanted to! Superb video as always, love your channel! :)
Thanks Jerry. Deliberately excluded because the open gate isn’t > than 3840 wide, so a 4K delivery would require scaling up.
True! Thank-you. :)
Actually even the G7 has this :)), just tried it. - put the camera in 4K more from the left dial and set the 4k PHOTO mode to S/S (in camera menu) Now, select manual mode on (not video mode.) and press the shutter ! 4:3 aspect ratio video! cool!
Awesome. I think on the G7 there’s no audio and it defaults to a higher shutter speed for photo purposes, right?
@PhotoJoseph It's with audio. 😁
@Popa Adrian sweet!!
You are such a great narrator. Thank you for the work you do creating this content you have just earned a subscriber!
I very much appreciate that! Welcome to the channel 😊
This is one of the greatest features of the GH6 👍 Thanks for that informative video…
Thanks! I’ve got a brand new video expanding on this topic dropping in the next 24 hours… make sure you’re subbed!
@PhotoJoseph great, looking forward to it 👍
I wish open gate wasn't limited to 200mbits in 5.7k for recording internally but supporting RAW recording in open gate too without having to buy an external recorder
There’s patent law blocking cameras from recording raw internally.
Let's all suggest this at FiLMiC Pro to be added in a future release. The iPhone sensor also has an aspect ratio of 4:3 so this would give us 4032 x 3024 pixels to work with. MAVIS App already has it.
Thank you for such videos. My question is regarding the highest quality you can squeeze out of the GH6.
Without worrying about space and file size, what do you think is the best way to benefit and get the highest quality out of the sensor? My end goal would be 16:9 aspect ratio.

1st option I have is
Prores 5.7k in 30fps

2nd opinion is
Prores C4K 60 which gives you about 800mbps

3rd option is shooting in open gate 5.7K 30fps like you are encouraging and then squeeze it into 16:9 ration. Only thing with this is you can only shoot open gate in Mov or mp3, no options for open gate in prores internally. Also, knowing I only get 4.2.0 HQ in open gate vs 4.2.2 HQ without open gate.

Which brings me to my question. Without worrying about codec, formats and file size, which one of the 3 different options do you think will give me the best video quality and best color?
I shoot in Vlog and, I do not intend to do slow motions really. I am just looking for the best video color. What's your recommendation? Just want the best gh6 can give you recording internally.

Thank you so much
@Trail Ambience ProRes
@PhotoJoseph they are actually both in Prores. On is just 4k with more frames 60fps. And the other is 5.7k but with less frames 30fps. But both are in prores.

With 4k 60fps I have more frames every second which might mean better Images maybe?

Or record 5.7K 30fps and compress it to 4k in post with hope it will get me a better image maybe?

Sorry I'm asking alot 🙂
@Trail Ambience ah, right. Look at it this way. Think about the words. XX mbps means megabit PER SECOND. 60 fps vs 30 fps is the same mbps. What does that tell you?
@PhotoJoseph that means if mbps is the same, then 5.7k 30fps is going to be better than C4K 60fps, right?
@Trail Ambience yes — although to be 100% honest I may be misleading you. Ok work with me here… 30p vs 60p is half the frame count so double the data per frame. However I’m realizing that the 5.7k image is 17.3 million pixels while the C4K image is 8.8M. That’s over 2x the pixels so it becomes really close. Personally I’d shoot 5.7 over C4K if you don’t need the 60p, because I’d rather have the room to punch in. I don’t have the camera in front of me, but do some tests and check the actual data rate in the captured files. (Make sure you test the same image; ProRes is a variable codec and will change depending on the content). So shoot something like a waterfall or waving trees where you have lots of motion. At the end of the day though I think it’d be virtually impossible to tell the difference, so again, the 5.7K image gives you the option to punch in which is invaluable to me!
I just shoot and watch 4:3... Even my DVDs are Fullscreen 🤣🤣🤣
Haha it’s a way!
Everybody eat Rendang ❤
Well, thanks. I have s5 so i shoot at 3:2 6k photo mode that shoots at a resolution that is 5k x 3k ish. I adjust shutter speed to 100 or less to get a video blurr.
But i render in the same aspect ratio as i am bored of 16x9 , plus the fact thst i have to loose so much area.
It works for me.
This is the guy John wick would go to if he was a photographer.
Haha I love it
Kind of funny how 4:3 is a “feature” these days but 16:9 was a “feature” 20 years ago.
Haha totally. Slightly higher resolution now though 😉
Excellent video. Is this available on the G9?
That's just clean! Got the gh6 in April (super dope camera). Never considered the reason to shoot open gate. This is a game changer brother!
Awesome, thanks! Yeah it’s definitely a cool feature
Amazing feature and a very informative and excellently made video (my only regret is that I didn't see your video sooner). I have both GH6 and GH5II. I see you use a Desview R6 monitor, but you only touched that briefly. I can't find from their products if any of their models will show the 4:3 aspect ratio, or just the 16:9 crop. I'm looking for a monitor that will show the full frame of the open gate 4:3. Any thoughts/brands/experiences?
Any monitor should work. The camera is outputting video to match the capabilities of the monitor (HD or UHD) and will pillarbox the output so you’re getting a 4:3 image.
@PhotoJoseph Thanks. This was most helpful as this open a world of possibilities. Learning new things for my Panasonics everyday. Just got a Tilta Float arm, and your other SmallRig review was also very helpful. Monitor next. Thanks one more.
@Arnfinn Nilsen awesome! You’re gonna love my next video 😉
There's no reason Sony can't release a firmware update that would provide open gate for the Sony A7S3.... No reason. Hardware can absolutely handle the processing. Even if they limited it to HDMI raw output only... With no internal write. It's annoying as hell they don't do this.
Although I still don't understand what this does on my gh5, but all I want is good low light performance. U seem like u know alot with all those lenses and cameras so could u tell me like the best low light lens?
If I’m not mistaken, doesn’t the G9 shoot open gate in 6k photo mode? You can choose 4:3 or 3:4, but it’s at 5.1k higher than the GH5.

Am I missing something here?

Great video BTW☺️
Hey there thanks for this video it is really insightful, appreciate it! I have a question as a GH5m2 owner. If I shoot open gate in 4k and crop in post am I losing quality as opposed to just shooting in 4k with the regular 16:9 aspect ratio? Does Panasonic do any enhancing when cropping in 16:9 that is missed when going open gate? Or am I just doing in post what the GH5m2 does for me when selecting a 16:9 aspect ratio. Thanks!
And the BGH1
Nice set up ill bet costs more than my daily driver lol ill be happy with a old small aps-c 18m prickles camera sony or so.to me recording in 4k+ for all but large nature shots is unnecessary just a head ache .so 1080p would be my go to
Sounds like you have a solution!
@PhotoJoseph i do like the way you went into all that about camera stuff its like way on the upper end but just like in audio, electronics or circuity it`s needed to under stand better the basics.may be i am just a bit of a crazy nerd .but.good show God bless
Hehe it’s fun to be a crazy nerd ☺️
Can't you talk any faster?
I could, but then even more people would leave snarky comments
This was awesome and I learned something new...Thank you Joseph.
That’s what I love to hear!
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