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GH2 Skateboarding Impressions
  • StifflaStiffla

    As I often read, that some potential GH2 buyers are wondering whether the camera is a good choice to shoot skateboarding or other extreme sports or not, here is my first try to get some good shots with my GH2. I have to say, the handling was quite easy and I am really looking forward to shoot some more. Only shot in in MF mode.

    I used one of driftwoods patches out of the Timebuster 1.3 for timelapse. Videoframerates are at ~30Mbit/s 720p, and to me it looks really nice in the original file. Maybe you like it and you can give me some critics. Cheers

  • 13 Replies sorted by
  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    I think that's quite a good first effort with the GH2. My main comment would be more about the editing than the shooting, and that would be to try vary the shots more and not have so many from similar angles in a row (and to emphasize the dramatic angles more). It definitely looks a lot better than the GoPro video you posted earlier (and I'm glad to see the absence of serious barrel distortion).

    It's been years since I shot skate videos (which I mainly did in miniDV vs. Digital 8 days) but I would emphasize the following.

    • The further beneath your subject you can get, the more impressive they look (as long as you can still see what you need to).

    • Use as wide a lens as you can without introducing a lot of barrel distortion.

    • A 3/4 angle always looks more impressive than straight from the front or side.

  • thepalaliasthepalalias

    You may want to experiment with the newest Driftwood Quantum X 720P patches to see if you like them even better but it's hard to say since I don't know which specific Driftwood patch you used here.

    What lens (or lenses) did you use?

    Oh and if you haven't yet, have fun experimenting with really quick shutter speeds to create different looks (especially if you find yourself using a lot of that Twixtor/MVTools/other pixel motion slow-motion effect).

  • StifflaStiffla

    Thx for the feedback :)

    Unfortunately, you are right with the angle, but we only filmed for one hour so i tried to get the most out of it. I used the 14-140mm lens and I have just ordered the 20mm pancake...maybe I will get some better shots then. I think it was the Quantum X (v2), but i will try something different next time for sure!

    Shutter speed was quick, because I wanted to use twixtor, but i couldn't get rid of warping effects

  • bechoubechou

    Nice start Stiffla. Will say like thepalialas about angles and editing. You definitely should try the new Quantum X range from Driftwood. I used my GH2 to shot surfing mates and i really appreciate the Orion v4b which gave me the best results. I have to give a try to "Cluster" too.

    Try the 720p modes with these 2 patches ;)

  • artiswarartiswar

    GH2 works great for skateboarding.

  • StifflaStiffla

    @bechou I am going to test them, definitely! What do you guys say, is it the best to stick with 720p? Of course the video looks much smoother and its better for slow mo, but do you think the quality loss compared to 1080p is dramatic?

  • bechoubechou

    thanks to the work of vitality/driftwood, 720p is enough for your job. But you still can use the 1080p for the lifestyle shots

  • badhussarbadhussar

    @artiswar. Nice footage dude, what zoom lens you using? Digging it. My tamron 17-50 cannot go that smooth.

  • RamboRambo

    The best thing about 720 mode for this type of footage is less jello than 1080. You can throw the camera around more. I shoot ocean footage from a Jetski so the demands are similar to yours. Twixtor works best with a plain background like the blue sky or a flat non textured wall, snow etc. Don't forget the 20mm pancake has no OIS like the 14 - 140, so you will need to rig for stability.

  • artiswarartiswar

    @badhussar

    Thanks! it's the 14-140. First lens and still my favorite.

  • StifflaStiffla

    the 14-140 is really good, wouldn't like to miss it!

  • jclmediajclmedia

    what patches are you guys using? i got a gh2 and i want a good over all High bitrate for 24H and good bitrate for 720P

  • StifflaStiffla

    For this footage i used the timebuster 1.3 patch, but I'm not sure what the settings are for 720p....but i will take a look! Check out the Orion patches as well, they look really good

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