The Panasonic GH5 is one of the most versatile cameras money can buy. With the right accessories it can be turned into a filmmakers best friend, or the photographers perfect partner.
This list features some of the best essential accessories for the Panasonic GH5 and GH5s.
There still are not a lot of accessories out there yet, so this will be a page I’ll update intermittently.
Panasonic GH5 – Amazon / Adorama / BHphoto
Panasonic GH5 Filmmaking Kit – Adorama / BHphoto
Panasonic GH5 Essentials
The essentials include memory cards, screen protectors and batteries.
Best Screen Protectors For The Panasonic GH5 / GH5s
I’ve owned a lot of different cameras and like to try out different screen protectors often. My go to are the Expert Shield, they have a great warranty and an awesome customer service incase you mess up.
But I’ve also started to like those hard glass protectors and have been buying those more and more lately.
Still waiting on more options to become available. Sometimes these screen protectors have issues working with touch screens, so more testing has to be done. If you need one ASAP try the Anti-Glare, they are nice.
- Expert Shield Anti-Glare – Amazon – These seems to reduce screen quality slightly.
- Phantom Glass LCD Screen Protector – BHphoto
Best Batteries For The Panasonic GH5 / GH5s
You should always have a few Panasonic batteries as the brand made batteries usually are designed the best. However, some third-party companies also make some nice batteries at a fraction of the cost. However, I recommend never using third-party battery chargers. They’ve given me, and many other people issues with various cameras. – Not saying they can’t work, but they add risk.
Battery Charger
- Panasonic DMW-BTC10 Battery Charger – Amazon
Battery Grips
- Panasonic DMW-BGGH5 Battery Grip – BHphoto
Best Memory Cards For The Panasonic GH5 / GH5s
I did a complete memory card test with all the most popular brands. It seems the camera has a UHS-I bottle neck of around 35MB/s and a UHS-II bottleneck of around 75-80MB/s. So UHS-II cards are the way to go.
I also discovered the camera I was using was having issues with Lexar cards. Mainly, they would not work as UHS-II cards. It could be that the camera needs a firmware update, or they simply are not compatible with GH5 hardware.
See the Best Memory Cards For The Panasonic GH5
See the Best Memory Cards for The Panasonic GH5s
Panasonic GH5 / GH5s Lenses
I’ve keeping an updated list of all the micro four thirds lenses you can buy, but to honest, I’m a little behind. There are so many lens manufacturers on the scene now.
But don’t let that discourage you, there are a ton of lenses still on this list and I’ll be updating it again very soon and it’s still probably the best list out there.
Panasonic GH5 Video Accessories
A lot has changed in the last few years in the video accessory scene and there are a lot of amazing video accessories available for the Gh5. I don’t want to get too deep in all that there is, since cinematography gear is endless. But I do want to share some of the most popular gear.
Software / Firmware
If you want the V-Log L to widen the dynamic range of your video then the code can be found here.
- V-Log L Function Activation Code – BHphoto
LED Lights
There are a ton of great power lights out there that can cost a lot of money, but sometimes all you need is something simple.
Here are a few smaller lights that are must have accessories in my opinion.
Neewer 160 LED Light
I own one of these and use it for everything even photography or emergency lights when camping.
Neewer Lux360
The smaller version these also make great little catchlights.
L Shaped Flash Bracket
These are handy to mount a few lights too and to keep them directly off the camera.
GH5 Shoulder Rigs
The sky is the limit when it comes to how you want to mount your camera. Here are a few nice shoulder rigs. There are other options but they can get pretty heavy.
Gh5 Camera Cages
- Came-TV GH5 Cage – BHPhoto
- Came-TV GH5 Studio Rig – BHphoto
- Varavon Zeiss Camera Cage – BHphoto
- Wooden Camera Cage – BHphoto
Audio Accessories
Microphone Adapter
Panasonic DMW-XLR1 XLR Microphone Adapter
Connects to the GH5 hotshoe and provides 2 XLR inputs as well as manual controls.
Microphones 3.5mm Jack Cable
Some of these come with different accessories for different shooting conditions. I personally own an old school Sennheiser shotgun but have a few friends with Rhodes.
- Panasonic DMW-MS2 – BHphoto
- Rhodes Video Mic Compact – BHphoto
- Rhodes Video Mic Pro – Bhphoto
- Rhodes Video Mic Go Lightweight – BHphoto
- Rhodes VideoMic Go Shotgun – BHphoto
- Rhodes VideoMic with Suspension – BHphoto
- Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun – BHphoto
Rechargeable Batteries
To power all your accessories I recommend getting rechargeable batteries.
I’ve been using Eneloop batteries for years and they have saved me so much money.
Panasonic Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries
Powerex Charger
I also have the PowerEx charger which gives you a lot more control over how you charge your batteries, allowing you to gain more life out of your batteries. It works great with the Panasonic Eneloop batteries.
- Powerex MH-C900 Charger-Analyzer – Amazon
Cleaning Gear
You don’t need a lot of cleaning accessories but there are a few essentials.
Air Blasters
You won’t go on a film or photography set without seeing one of these.
- Rocket Air Various Sizes – Amazon
Sensor Brush
The Panasonic GH5 has a sensor that moves around so you need to be very careful cleaning it with a brush. Use this only if the air blaster isn’t working.
You can get the 1.3x sensor brush working, you just have to brush vertical instead of horizontal.
Sensor Brush – Amazon
Cleaning Cloths
It’s always good to have too many of these. Eventually they get dirty and oily and stop doing their jobs. I treat them like socks and am always buying new ones.
- 6-Pack Micro Fiber Cleaning Cloths – Amazon
Must Have Accessories | Conclusions
There are a lot of accessories still in development and a lot more on the way. I’ll update this article as I hear of new stuff.
2 comments
This actually a very bad practice to clean sensor with brushes (made and marketed for cleaning sensor), since the fluid and the brushes are leaving lots of traces. The right practice is optic paper with optic fluid and tongs to hold the paper, together with air bomb / under pressure.
You shouldn’t use fluids with the brush. I’ve only listed the “dry” method here so people don’t get themselves in trouble with the “wet” method. For using the wet method I like to use those sensor swabs with the Eclipse solution, that’s worked very well for me. The E-Wipes are nice too but are harder to use on a micro four thirds sensor.