GH5 and GH4 timecode
Hi Ulrich,
I am trying to timecode jam the GH5 (and GH4) with a tentacle sync box via the 3.5mm jack. Do you know if this is possible? If so, what are the settings required? Thank you
AK
I tried the App sync method today and it didn’t work very well. Camera clocks were up to 30 seconds different even after several attempts. Maybe doesn’t work as well as it used to with Android?
Matthew Williams, you’ve spoken like a true amateur not understanding why professionals use real timecode devices rather than the free timecode system that run through an app. Timecode, like any good clock, is a highly accurate time measuring system and to maintain accuracy you should use a device that is temperature controlled and calibrated to a high degree of accuracy. The clock on your phone is neither of these. If you want professional accuracy in your timecode, use professional gear like that from companies like Tentacle Sync, Ambient etc.
Dear Fokke, thanks for that. Yes I have heard the GH5 does have that issue but I do not think the GH4 does. Yes ofcourse if you are on a complex shoot and need TC on various devices this can be an answer. Retransmitting TC audio on radio mics with receievers on all devices is a cheaper way of getting TC into the audio channels of all devices – a lot cheaper than buying dedicated TC hardware for each device.
I wouldn’t trust a GH5 internal timecode generator before i tested it for drift. I worked with it a while ago. It can be tc-jammed using the x flash connector, but we re-jammed it very often to stay sync.
And, syncing the Gh4 and 5 through the app is fine, but it does not align the timecode on an audiorecorder. So, you have to use a Tentacle on at least one camera i suppose.
Tech support have got this badly wrong. The GH4 and GH5 do actually have timecode built in… and its in the menus under TC options – no duh. It records the timecode into the footage so you dont have to mess around with costly tentacle devices and wasting a channel of your audio for a timecode signal. And whats more tentacle are WRONG about jamming the timecodes – locking them all to one time. You can do this FOR FREE with the panasonic mobile phone app. You look under options for GPS and send timecode lock signal there… and each camera you own syncs up to that mobile – in other words the mobile is the MASTER device and your cameras are all SLAVES… exactly like the big boys do it. So I know tentacle are trying to sell you kit… but its kit you dont need. WIth some cameras that dont have TC built in, sure use a tentacle device but Panasonic GH4 Gh5 etc are not those sort of low grade cameras!!!! They have it built in. Here is how to do it:
Hi AK,
like any other DSLR camera GH5 and GH4 are supported by Tentacle Sync. As those cameras do not have a dedicated TC-In connector, you need to use the audio input of the cameras to record the timecode on an audio track.
Just to be correct, you cannot “jam” those cameras. Jamming means: You connect the Timecode for a short period of time to the camera, it will take over the timecode and continues it. But this is not possible with cameras like GH4 and GH5. Here you need to record audio timecode and therefore you need to let the Tentacles connected to camera all the time during shooting.
Hope that helps!