Best budget hacked G/GH/GF-series camera?

Skittles95

Hi, I'm on very tight budget with desire to buy two cameras, one more professional for me (video product reviews, artistic filmmaking) and one more compact for my little sister (learning to shoot good stills, some video also). We will use FD prime lenses with manual aperture rings on adapter.

I have about 280$ for my camera and 180$ for sisters camera. We're talking about cam bodies only.

There are so many good budget Panasonic cameras with hacks, that I'm confused. Used hacked GH1 seems the best option for me (am I right?), but I'm struggling with decision between hacked GF1 (manual video control, worse IQ) and hacked GF3 (auto video controls, but with manual lenses and better IQ) for my sis. Any suggestions that will help making decision?

Thanks in advance :)

yskunto

A used GH1 seems not a bad option for you.

GF1 may be not so good option if your sister wants a camera viewfinder and a touch screen. You could consider a hackable G2 for this purpose. Please note that not all G2 is hackable. The latest batch of hackable G2 has a third and fourth digit serial number 0J - produced on October 2010.

The G2 is might also not suitable if your sister wants a camera which able to record full HD. In this case, you might want a GF2 for your sister. However, your sister may be wanted a camera which have full HD and a viewfinder. Well, it makes you end up pondering more money for a hacked GH2.

You then jealous because abilities of your sister GH2 compared to your GH1 which is not able to give clean HDMI out during video taking and unstable in 24p mode. You end up dump your GH1 for another GH2.

You then see a video in Vimeo confirming how clean a video that is coming from GH4 so you dump up your GH2. One day you find yourself in hardly low light condition which make even your new GH4 struggle. You read a review and you know now that Sony A7S is the king of low light video.

You dump your GH4 and then buy a Sony A7S, but then suddenly you are asking yourself if you need all these upgrade rather than stay with your humble GH1/GH2 that you previously had.

matt_gh2

Think GH2 goes for $300-350 on ebay. That's my recommendation for your cam. Not sure what I'd get on a lower budget.

Skittles95

@matt_gh2 I live in Poland, where GH2 is out of my budget. Importing it from US will kill me with taxes and shipping payment. Poland is weird country, where not all used electronic product are equally available. For example, in the lower, 180$ budget I can buy currently used GF1, new GF3 (but no GF2) and used G3. For 280$ budget I can afford used GH1, used Canon 550D/T2i (but i already decided on M43 format, as it's more suitable for video), GX1 or G5.

@yskunto You pretty much summed up chaos of my mind with this case. But you're not exactly helping :D. The compact factor is important for my sister, as he is 12 years old and bigger camera will more likely end up dropped down and destroyed, even by mistake. I heard that making stills without viewfinder is doable and not so frustrating at all.

GF3 has great FullHD IQ with video, but no manual controls. GF1 has only some experimental fullHD upscale thingy hack, but with manual control of iso (the rest even with auto could be blocked and aperture or focus could be adjusted on manual rings of FD lenses). So, If we will use prime FD lenses only, is there really need for manual video mode for my sister? Sacrifcing newer body (GF3) for manual video controls (GF1) is really necessary? + I don't know anything about G2 IQ and hacked functions in comparsion with GF series.

Even my choice is not for sure, as I really want some versatile body for about 1-2 years of learning to shoot artistic videos with prime lenses, play with bokeh and other stuff. And also shooting video reviews of tech products, as that's my job currently (Now I'm shooting those with crappy Toshiba Camileo). I would like to achieve cinematic look with taken footage (ofc with CC in Premiere) and have good results in low-light situations.

yskunto

@Skittles95 Sorry to messed it up and not to help. Hahaha..

So this is for real suggestion now! With your budget constraint then a used GH1 is the best option. If you could add more money, then it is best to get a GH2. In Netherlands, a used GH2 body worth around 250 Euro. Buying a GH2 will save your money from the need to upgrade in a near future.

For your sister, I think a used GF1 or GF2 is good. I do not think about GF3 because it does not have a hotshoe. I just sold my GF2 yesterday for 125 Euro including the lens. That is cheap right! A hotshoe is important if your sister would like to "explore off camera light" photography and if later she want a viewfinder accessories.

Good luck!

Skittles95

@yskunto thanks for pointing out lack of hotshoe in GF3, in fact it is important :)

So for sis it's between manual video 720p GF1 and auto GF2 1080p. Is it really that important to have manual iso control or maybe GF2 CPU is kinda intelligent at that matter? Because as I said the rest will be manually controlled on FD lens druing video shoots.

My case is solved. GH1 from Poland or GH2 if i find those used for 250 euro price tag with shipping included in Europe. Thanks! :)

yskunto

@Skittles95 if it is a camera for learning videography then GF1 is great! It is a cadet camera because it has the manual control ISO, shutter speed, and aperture for learning video shooting.

If you want a great quality full HD in reasonable price for your sister, then GF2 is a great option. Your sister only loss manual control on ISO and some degree of shutter speed option. GF2 auto iso is good enough. It will not trouble your sister video shooting. Shutter speed can be locked into 1/50, 1/60, 1/100, and 1/120 so your sister still has aperture control if she use manual lenses or lenses with physical aperture ring.

Skittles95

@yskunto Ok, all problems solved. The final choice is up to my sister :). Thank you very much for your help! :D

matt_gh2

@Skittles95 I think I remember someone saying something about GH1 having noise issues/problems in low light when going above ISO 400. Not sure what the general consensus is, so maybe do some research on this site.

AlbertZ

I still use my old hacked GH1 for quick projects, and I think that the price/quality ratio of this little 5 years-old cam is very high. I've screened a pair of shorts films last year on the big screen and I was really impressed with the results. However, the low light issue is no doubt a problem. If you are shooting in low light or in interior with no available light, I highly recommend to use fast lenses or to get a gh2...however fast lenses costs more than the cam itself, it is a beginner's dilemma. If you want to buy a gh1, let me recommend you to get a cheap RJ speedbooster: paired with 28mm and 35mm you will have two usable focal length 35eq, a 50 eq and your gh1 will appreciate the extra speed, indeed.

Skittles95

As I'm still struggling between GH1 and more pro GH2 for now i will stick with sisters gf2 and for part of my budget I will buy more lenses and RJ focal reducer. It will help us get into m43 photo/video world and when I earn more money i will probably end up with GH2, which as you all say is enough for copule of years. All lenses, RJ and accessories will be compatible with GH2, so I could then jump into more pro footage without much more to buy :)

yskunto

You and your sister can start from a single GF2. For the best reliability, I recommend Cake 2.3 hack setting and modified it a bit by adding audio setting from Pasadena Pulse audio hack setting. Cake 2.3 will save your money from the need to buy the expensive Sandisk Extreme card. If you plan to buy a GH1, then please remember that 32GB is the maximum capacity that a GH1 could handle reliably.

You can use your mobile phone as an external audio recorder. Install iRig Recorder free in your mobile phone for audio recorder. Sinc it later in a post. You are now set off! Unless you want to stick to Canon FD lenses only, I recommend the RJ Canon EF/EF-S to m43 adapter. By using an appropriate adapter, this adapter will allow you to use any lenses with Canon EF/EF-S, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, m42, Tamron Adaptall mount.

Aria

I can say that i've gotten very good results with my GH1, RJ Speedbooster Nikon (vers. 1) and a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8. This combo gives me a pretty decent little Zoom range but more importantly it helps with low light. In addition I use a Minolta 50mm f1.4 for extremely low light. Neither lens cost a lot.

AlbertZ

@Aria very interesting combo the tamron + RJ speed booster! can you post some result? :)

IronFilm

GH1 goes for about $200ish and less, if you're patient. GX1 goes for about $150ish and less, if you're patient.

I vote for GH1 for yourself and GX1 for your sister. You can't get better than GH1 unless you spend more to get a Panasonic GH2 or Sony A5100.

GX1 for yours sister as it is cheaper and is a more modern camera, though lacks the EVF and flip out screen of the GH1 (of which I regard at least one, preferably both, of these features to be essential in a main camera).

Absolutely make sure you can find in your budget (either now, or in the near future) to get a RJ Lens Turbo.

The only big thing I don't like about my Panasonic GH1 is the lack of live HDMI out. Couple of minor things I don't like about it is the lack of focus punch in during recording or focus peaking (but the GH2 doesn't have that either, you'd need to get the G6 or newer), and lacks ETC mode (though that only matters if you want to play around with more C mount lenses).

Low light with the GH1 isn't as great as with more modern cameras such as the Sony A5100, but the low light ability is not the biggest concern about the GH1 that I have (I've listed them already above). Pair the GH1 with a fast prime and a focal reducer and low light shouldn't be a problem in most cases, especially if use lights as well (and a denoiser too). I've found the GH1 to ultimately even be nicer in low light than a 5Dmk2 is.

All in all, I find the GH1 to be an absolutely amazing camera for its price, don't regret in the slightest getting it :-) And I still regularly use it even now! (heck, as I speak I'm offloading onto my PC some recent footage I shot recently with my GH1)

Skittles95

As for now I'm close to having 60$ GF2 body deal, so I will get GF2 for sis and experiment with RJ lens turbo and some fast prime lenses. There will be more budget for me soon, so probably I will end up with GH2 because of hdmi features and ETC.

Which Lens Turbo should I acquire? I would like to have ability to attach both FD and M42 lenses, so is there possibility to attach M42 to FD adapter on M43 to M42 RJ lens turbo?

brudney

get RJ FD->m43 and a cheap, chinese m42->FD off ebay ($10) you'll be able to attach to ur RJ.

Skittles95

GF2 Arrived and I've already collected set of 3 lenses: -Sigma UC Zoom 70-210mm 1:4-5.6 (FD) -Sigma UC Zoom 28-70mm 1:3.5-4.5 (FD) -Helios 58mm f/2 (m42)

With set of adapters it all work flawlessly. Stills have awesome IQ, Video also but I'm struggling with SD card speed (30mbps is too slow for Cluster v6)

Thanks for all advices! :)

As for me I'm struggling with GH1 vs GH2 vs G3 cameras. With my budget, which is now 400$ I could afford only GH2 Body (Ebay about 340$ second hand from Japan + 30$ shipping) or GH1 Body (200$ with shipping) and still have about 200$ for lenses, tripod and stuff.

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/5796/-gh1-vs-gh2-vs-gh3-vs-gh4.-better-looking-sensor

^This thread made me thinking about what i would like to achieve with my cam, and maybe GH2 is better in terms of low-light ISO and bitrate with hacks and patches but in fact, GH1 footage is kinda more "cinematic".

Also, I'm constantly increasing my income, so maybe the better idea is to buy GH1, play with it for about year or less and buy GH2 - then i will have two cams for events and weddings.

Only thing the GH1 is lacking and it's important for me - ETC mode. I really would like to use C-mount lenses like 4mm or 8mm Focal Length to achieve some wide shots with lots of light. Is there some kind of physical teleconverter to overcome GH1 limitations? Like reversed Speedbooster :P.

brudney

Forget about both ETC and cmount lenses- on GH2 ETC's horribly noisy above iso320, pretty much unusable and c-mount lenses are usually crap (with few exceptions) unless you're ok with paying ridiculously inflated prices for decent old cine glass. I went that route and regret wasting time and money for that stuff- that's my experience, maybe others were more fortunate:)

Skittles95

I'm leaning towards GH1 but I'm looking for cheap way to go wide. Is there any? C-mount is one option, but as @brudney said it's very risky because of crappy quality of lenses. 12mm (effective 24mm on m43 sensor) with f/2 would be enough.

brudney

the widest and cheapest you'll get is probably panny 14 f2.5. legacy wides aren't very cheap and the quality leaves a lot to be desired, but you can try hunting for Canon FD 17 f4 or 20 f2.8

Skittles95

@brudney OMG 250$ for this little 14 f2.5 sucker :P I know, it's small amount of $$$ in relation to top notch lenses, but is there cheaper way? :D maybe sth more than 14mm but cheaper :P

brudney

sorry, I dont think you'll find anything cheaper and that wide. also, you could get it for under $200 off ebay some time ago. if not, you'll prolly get it for $150 used (or less). other than that maybe olympus 17 f2.8, though the price will be pretty much the same.

Skittles95

K, understood. What about 1" c mount lenses which covers almost full m43 sensor? It's hard to find one, but they are cheaper and have dreamy look that i would like to achieve in some of my projects :). Are there any recomendations?

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