I'll buy a Panasonic GH2...
Yes, that's the plan. And here is the reason why this post is in the Action! forum.
I currently own a Canon 60D and I love it - both for shooting video and taking pictures. And when I put the amazing Magic Lantern Firmware hack on it, it got even better: http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified
Four things I love most about the Magic Lantern hack:
1) it adds volume meters to my LCD while I am shooting
2) it gives me a great "always-on" spot-meter in the center of the picture
3) it allows me to put a big "not-recording" sign on my LCD when the camera is not recording (very handy!)
4) it allows me to automatically bring up a magnification window for focussing WHILE recording!
But the list of great features goes on and on (including a built-in intervalometer for taking time-lapse pictures....)
Here's why I want to add a GH2 as a second camera for my video work:
1) There is a great hack for it now too that increases the video resolution dramatically. Philip Bloom did a test: http://philipbloom.net/2012/01/06/christmas-shootout/ - impressive
2) it has fast autofocus WHILE SHOOTING VIDEO! (that's something all of the other HDSLR's are lacking)
3) it's THE FUTURE: small, mirror-less, interchangeable lenses
4) it has far fewer problems with moiré and anti-aliasing than Canon DSLR's
The downside: most micro 4/3 lenses are not fast (except for the great 20mm pancake lens), and the GH2 is not
the queen of video low light performance.
But in today's world, there's not one camera that is perfect for all occasions. Since the GH2 is quite affordable, why not add it to my arsenal for those occasions when I want a small but flexible camera that has autofocus while shooting high resolution video.
Does anyone have any experience with this camera?
--- Markus ---
I currently own a Canon 60D and I love it - both for shooting video and taking pictures. And when I put the amazing Magic Lantern Firmware hack on it, it got even better: http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Unified
Four things I love most about the Magic Lantern hack:
1) it adds volume meters to my LCD while I am shooting
2) it gives me a great "always-on" spot-meter in the center of the picture
3) it allows me to put a big "not-recording" sign on my LCD when the camera is not recording (very handy!)
4) it allows me to automatically bring up a magnification window for focussing WHILE recording!
But the list of great features goes on and on (including a built-in intervalometer for taking time-lapse pictures....)
Here's why I want to add a GH2 as a second camera for my video work:
1) There is a great hack for it now too that increases the video resolution dramatically. Philip Bloom did a test: http://philipbloom.net/2012/01/06/christmas-shootout/ - impressive
2) it has fast autofocus WHILE SHOOTING VIDEO! (that's something all of the other HDSLR's are lacking)
3) it's THE FUTURE: small, mirror-less, interchangeable lenses
4) it has far fewer problems with moiré and anti-aliasing than Canon DSLR's
The downside: most micro 4/3 lenses are not fast (except for the great 20mm pancake lens), and the GH2 is not
the queen of video low light performance.
But in today's world, there's not one camera that is perfect for all occasions. Since the GH2 is quite affordable, why not add it to my arsenal for those occasions when I want a small but flexible camera that has autofocus while shooting high resolution video.
Does anyone have any experience with this camera?
--- Markus ---
0
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Again, I don't have one yet, so I have not been able to try it myself, but this hacker not only increased the GH2's bitrate but also added "film modes": http://nofilmschool.com/2011/12/panasonic-gh2-patches-film-modes-eoshd/
Markus
I wonder why Philip Bloom didn't use them, but instead used "Nostalgia". It looked limiting. But the resolution test made the GH2 look fantastic.
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Good question. Philip Bloom however has stated many times on his blog that he does like the GH2 quite a bit, even without any hacks.
Here's another interesting site, with yet another link and instructions for a hack:
The Panasonic GH2 Guide for Filmmakers
GH2 vs. Scarlet RED:
http://www.eoshd.com/content/6946/gh2-split-screen-versus-red-scarlet
Here's what they have to say:
What the GH2 offers straight off the card, especially with the hack, is fantastic. It is far better than what you get with the moire ridden line skipping footage from other DSLRs. It is definitely the closest you can get to the Canon C300, RED Scarlet or Sony FS100 with a camera costing less than $5,000. Substantially less!
The level of detail and noise grain is very fine on the GH2, approaching the C300 (from which I have seen original MXF files shot at ISO 20,000). Just be aware that on the C300, the actual ISO level is 6400 at 20K, so although it is very clean for ISO 6400 it is not any more sensitive than the GH2 would be at ISO 6400. I’ve been doing some low light shooting with the GH2 this week in Berlin at ISO 6400 and it really does have a similar noise pattern to the C300 in most areas of the image – not all, but most.
I guess this is the Berlin footage he's talking about. Quite impressive:
<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/26611738?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
ETC (Extra Tele Converter) for shooting video. A feature that is rightfully thought of as gimmicky by photographers, but the way it can be used on the GH2 for video is quite amazing.
Here's Michael Reichmann's review:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/panasonic_gh2_11_mode_revealed.shtml
The one thing that's speaking against the GH2 is the lack of fast native lenses for the micro four third format.
Now, DSLR-video-die-hards like Philip Bloom will tell you that's not a problem since you can mount almost any lens with an (inexpensive) adapter.
The only draw-back: you lose autofocus. Most DSLR video people focus manually anyway, so this shouldn't be a huge issue for many.
Cosina (Voigtländer) even released the impressive Nocton 25mm (=50mm) f/0.95 exclusive for the micro four third format - with manual focus only!
Obviously this is geared primarily towards the video crowd.
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/voigtlander_f095_25mm_micro_43_nocton.shtml
I do however find autofocus a big help under certain video circumstances.
So I was quite excited to learn about Panasonic's plans to release two fast constant aperture zooms by the end of this year.
This is good news indeed.
http://www.mu-43.com/f92/upcoming-panasonic-x-zoom-lenses-constant-f2-8-a-20280/
Have you had a chance to use the built in (hacked) intervalometer yet?
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No, I just bought the camera. So stay tuned....
So I bought the camera and I have to say, the video capabilities are simply amazing. I am blown away.
There are so many different patches/hacks/settings out there, it's a little overwhelming at first, but
Vitaliy Kiselev's (the hacker who creates the tool that allows us to create these amazing patches)
has a great website with all the info - one just has to read through the forum postings.
Here's a collection of all the best patches in one place:
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/953/gh2-patch-vault-most-popular-patches-in-one-place/p1
I did a brief high ISO / low light test yesterday with a very popular patch called Quantum 100.
Amazing quality. There is some noise, but it's so fine grained due to the high bit rate,
it looks like film grain. Incredible for an $ 800 camera...
Here's a full 1080p screen shot of a low light scene and a 200% magnification of the same image with a
center crop.
The sharpness and the level of detail of this (hacked) camera at this high ISO setting did take me by surprise.
No post processing, no grading, no corrections, these images are straight out of the camera.
Thanks for all this good intel.
What lens is this?
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The Panasonic Pancake 20mm f1.7 - looks very nice actually.
Good luck with testing yours. I had a problem with mine applying the very first patched firmware.
There is a simple fix. Just let me know if this happens to you too and I'd be happy to send you instructions.
--- Markus ---
It all fits in a fanny sack, including a intervalometer I just received from B&H.
1 - hacked GH2 Body
3 - lenses: 7 - 14mm, 14 - 140mm, 20mm F1.7
1 - Vello Wireless shutter boss remote switch
3 - batteries
1 - charger
2 - 32gig cards
I understand the still image quality is not equal to the Canon 7d or 1Ds M3, but...... I will be using this for time lapses and video.
In my testing against the 7D I believe the high ISO is not quite as good as the 7D even with the Hack you recommended, but it is sufficiently close, and having the ability to even use 12,000ISO for vid is great!
The main diff between the footage is the sharpness. I have always been disappointed in the sharpness of the vid off any of the 5d or 7d Canon bodies. I understand there are many things in post to actually make the footage appear the way I wish it could look. Even after spending quite a bit of time in FCX, I still have not the skills to do to vid what I can do to stills in post. Therefore, the footage from the GH2 is a step closer right out of the camera.
The icing on the cake is that it utilizes SD cards which slip right into my MacBookAir, no slow USB card readers
Even though nothing previews the native Panasonic files FCX converts them upon import,
Thanks again!
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If you're after maximum possible picture quality - the Quantum v9b hack by Driftwood is the holy grail right now among detail fetishists. Even though it is impressive, I don't think those gigantic file sizes and the need for that one super expensive Sandisk card really justify the outcome. The "little" brother - the Quantum 100 by Driftwood is as good IMHO and a lot less demanding.
And I agree, sharpness (but without the banding and aliasing issues of the Canon DSLR's) is the one really big advantage of the GH2.
As far as video noise is concerned, there will be good software out there which you'll be able to use in FCP X. Red Giant Software is working on a new version of Denoiser (I do like their old FCP 7 version quite a bit.) It should be out soon.
There is also http://www.neatvideo.com/overview.html, but it doesn't work in FCP X yet. But it works in Motion 5 and After Effects.
As far as AVCHD files and FCP X are concerned - FCP X can work with them natively. As long as your Mac is up to the task, you don't have to convert them. All you need to do is uncheck the "create optimized media" option when importing. All FCP X does is take the H.264 core of the MTS file and rewrap it into an MOV file. It's still the same H.264 core. No transcoding takes place. If you're importing as optimized media, you're ending up with ProRes 422 files. Now, if you're working with very high bitrate AVCHD patches, converting to ProRes when importing into FCP X might actually result in smaller files.
(Here's one more FCP X tip: I'd turn off background rendering. It speeds up things quite a bit - especially on a MacBook Air with limited RAM capabilities.)
One last interesting bit of news about the GH2 patches - I am sure you know that we're only days away from getting a new version of PTool with updated patches that use the new GH2 1.1 firmware with all its improvements (including better autofocus in video mode). This should be great!
Marc - one more thing. If can figure out how that whole time lapse video thing works with the GH2 - I haven't been able to. I tried the time buster 1.1 patch, but they lost me when they explained the whole thing about which frames to take out with what piece of Windows software...
Are you simply planning on shooting high quality video which you'll speed up in FCP X? One cool thing about the GH2 however is the fact that when you use manual focus, you can at the same time move the shutter speed down to 1/2 second. The Canon's won't go beyond 1/30.
On a different note - you also said you couldn't preview your AVCHD files from your card in FCP X. Did you maybe use a very high bitrate patch? If you are able to play back the videos in your camera, FCP X should let you preview from your SD card.
-- Markus --
I too was mystified about how the TL patch worked, so I just purchased an external intervalameter from Vello. Whats I like about it is that its also a remote trigger. Today, I'll see what its range is. Also, they sell separate cables for different cameras, I bought the Canon cable so now I have a back up for my other cameras. It's not as well built as the Canon but at only half the price with a remote trigger it's a "no brainer"
I am using the Quantum 100 by driftwood patch. What I have noticed is that occasionally the files play back on the camera? The best way I have been able to preview the files on my MBA is through the "import from camera" in FCX. This brings up a screen of thumbs for import. Its simply and fast enough to for now.
Good advice regarding converting the native files, but I have a feeling the MBA may lag.
I don't believe the converted 422 files loose much quality?
I hope to do some side by sides with the 7D 5D and GH2 just so I can become familiar with the characteristics for my own personal familiarity. I have a feeling the different bodies can create interesting effects that can be helpful, in addition to the lenses of course.
You are right about the anti aliasing, wow how that sucks with the Canons! Seems Panasonic has some long learned mojo that has helped them in the vid department.
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Marc, you're right, the MBA might not be fully up to the task when it comes to handling AVCHD/H.264 natively in FCP X. The biggest stumbling block of any MBA is its limited amount of possible RAM (4 GB). I found that FCP X runs adequatly well with 8 GB of RAM, but it still did slow down way to often for my taste. When I upgraded my MBP to 16 GB of RAM, that's when FPC X really took off. - And I still keep background rendering off ;-)
And no, converting AVCHD/H.264 to ProRes 422 comes with zero loss in quality.
--- Markus ---
Hey all GH2 owners!
The new PTool Software v3.64d is out, which will allow us to patch the latest Firmware 1.1.
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2317/ptool-v3.64d-topic/p1
and some popular patches - such as Driftwood's Quantum 100 - have already been updated to take advantage of this new version:
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/953/gh2-settings-vault-most-popular-settings-in-one-place#Item_30
More are to follow. Enjoy!
Now we need a Technicolor Cinastyle profile for the GH2.
As I was reviewing the clips and comparing with the Canon 7D I now see what a difference the picture style makes.
I also utilized the slow shutter speed at 1/8 sec, which made for some interesting looking vid
What I found most amazing was the sharpness of all the lenses but especially the 7 - 14mm. Even the corners were intact.
Another feature that I am thrilled with is the interaction with the manual focus through the touch screen. From the moment you turn the dial the image enlarges to preview focus. This is a super way to cut to the chase, I found this very helpful.
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A "Technicolor Cinestyle" for the GH2 would be nice, but it's unlikely that it's ever going to happen. Vitaliy - the genius behind all hacks - has been looking into it according to his own worlds, but he said it's very complex. In the meantime, we have to work with what's built into the firmware. Most filmmakers seem to be happy with either
SMOOTH -2 -2 -2 0 or
for more shadow detail
NOSTALGIC -2 -2 -2 0
By the way, focus speed seems to be faster now with the new firmware.
And I agree with the sharpness. Impressive for lenses that are so small and relatively inexpensive - compared to the "Canon big guns". But I think as long as you're using Panasonic lenses on a Panasonic body, the GH2 seems to be performing a lot of lens corrections in camera on the fly - even in film mode. I guess that's really the most impressive part of this - stills are one thing, but doing these corrections 24 or 30 times per second... Not bad.
--- Markus ---
Marc (or any other GH2 user out there - are there any other GH2 users on dgrin?)
First a new patch recommendation: here's a brand new Driftwood patch - Quantum X v2
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2364/driftwood-quantum-x-v2-rocket/p1
for the new PTools 3.64D http://www.gh1-hack.info/wiki/PToolSoftware
and the 1.1 firmware.
People are raving about it as the "best of the best" and it supposedly works on Sandisc 30mb/s cards.
Patches aside, I have one GH2 operational question that you (Marc, or anyone with a GH2) might be able to answer.
Since you also own the special "HD" Panasonic 14-140mm zoom -
did you get continuous autofocus to work in creative movie mode?
I know, most people are using manual focus, but automatic autofocus can be nice in some cases.
I have not been able to activate it. It works amazingly well in totally automatic iA mode when shooting video,
but as soon as I switch to creative movie mode I can't get it autofocus without me pressing down the shutter release button
(and I do have "continuous autofocus" enabled in the crative movie mode menu). Maybe you have more luck than I do.
Thanks,
Markus
I asked Panasonic and they told me that in the creative movie mode menu two things have to be set:
A) "continuous autofocus" to "on"
And then on the focus mode dial on the camera,
AFS switches to autofocus activated by the half-pressed shutter button,
AFC to fully automatic / conintuous and
AFM to manual - as it should.
Works really well now and I think it can be quite useful in certain situations.
I have been using manual focus thus far but will try your discoveries. What has completely blown me away is how well this camera does Time-lapses.
NO as in "0" flicker
My first attempt, I noticed flicker over the course of a sunrise. Camera settings were Aperture priority with evaluative metering and fixed ISO with manual focus. What I noticed in more detailed view through LR was that the only flicker was from the change in white balance during the time the clouds turned pink.
I then went out last night and shot a sunset with a manual white balance set, and voila, No flicker and very very accurate metering straight into the sun. I will post the TL here once rendered.
I must admit that this camera produces great still images for the $ and size. My gripe is only because I am so used to working with Pro DSLRs which operate at a descent speed. Everything on the GH2 is small and slow compared.
BTW, have not read anywhere if more than 1 patch can be loaded at a time?
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Thank you so much for the update, Marc.
Please do share one of your GH2 time-lapses. Despite all my posts about those patches, I haven't really had a whole lot of time to spend with it. I have a shoot coming up this Sunday - day one of a short documentary - I am very much looking forward to that.
My 13-year-old daughter was the first one to use it to shoot a short movie for a school project - I did not put any hack on it and set it to full iA for her. It's way more important to worry about story flow, composition of shots and performance, than wrestling with technical issues to get the last bit of quality out of the camera. In the end, if an audience connects with a movie emotionally, it doesn't even matter if a shot is out of focus or not, as long as the shot means something. - But that aside, I was blown away how great this camera performed even on iA. Well, I guess they don't call it "intelligent Automatic" for nothing... Way beyond any point-and-shoot. (I am starting to sound like a Panasonic sales rep...)
And you're right - one patch only at a time. What you can do is put a different patch on a second SD card and load that in the field (if you have a full spare battery as well).
Looking foward to seeing a few sample shots and time-lapse videos!
Markus
"Driftwood" is one of the best creators of specialized patches for the GH2. He's just updated one - Quantum X Rocket RC (which is a variable bitrate patch) - and released a brand new one - Quantum X Orion (which is a constant high bitrate patch).
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/2364/driftwood-quantum-x-settings-new-v3-rocket-orion-launched-today/p1
Here's a little side by side I briefly did in my backyard today - a simple resolution test between my Canon 60D and my new GH2. It's shocking how badly the Canon fares in that department.
Canon 60D: 17-55mm 2.8 / Tiffen IR ND 1.2, 1/50, f 5.6, ISO 160, CineStyle, 1080p 24fps
GH2: 14-140mm Panasonic HD lens, Tiffen IR ND 1.2, 1/50, f 5.6, ISO 160 Smooth (-2, -2, -2, 0), 1080p 24fps - the GH2 was using a very end patch called "Quantum X Rocket v3"
Below are the screengrabs. The sky in the 60D image looks shockingly bad...
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The first scene has the flicker caused by the Auto white balance, and then only occurs while the clouds turn pink. I used manual focus, Aperture priority and average metering.
The vid scenes were all shot with the Quantum X patch
The last scene/TL of the pier was shot with all same settings as the first but I set my WB to 5500K.
I also applied a poor mans dolly move
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The total absense of flickering without any post processing is fantastic. (Is that due to the fact that we're not dealing with an actual mirror here?) And the live-action scene looks as crisp as your timelapse shots. What ISO did you use with the sunset QuantumX shot? It's looks very clean.
I did a brief ISO noise test (lense cap on, boosted mids to the extreme in FCP later to make noise visible) and the result was shocking: ISO 320 was the worst - looks like a bug in the system
Clean ones were: 160, 200, 400, 640, 800, 1250
Screengrabs are crops at 100%, here's a little taste: