720p hdmi out monitoring while recording?

@Alex

Good to know about the 12-35mm. Where did you get your GH3 from?

@Alex Yep, the 12-35mm is working very well with the GH3.

720p50 Test (and in ALL-I tests) of Sequence Parameter Sets of GH2 versus GH3 for full range.

The GH3 displays;-

if (video_signal_type_present_flag) {
      video_format                             = 5
      video_full_range_flag                    = 1 (true)
      colour_description_present_flag          = 1 (true)
      if (colour_description_present_flag) {
        colour_primaries                       = 1
        transfer_characteristics               = 1
        matrix_coefficients                    = 1

The GH2 as we know is n/a (not applicable) ie not using full range flag.

All things are looking defintely better according to my comparable tests (which incidentally Im still doing). Though some of my GH2 intra settings run the GH3 very close in terms of encoding. The 8x8 adaptive transform is effeciently providing excellent results.

I think the GH3 isnt a giant leap, but a natural step in the right direction.

720p50 All Intra Test:

Here's a quick test shot of a GH2 (left) utilising the GH3 matrix and bitrates against the real GH3 (on the right). The GH3 with its adaptive 8x8 transform shows QP range is tighter, transform percentage and larger mb/picture size overall. But the GH2 hack does very well. :-)

Notice the GH3 colour difference (both are using 14-140mm lens, 0,0,0,0, 50 shutter, f4.5, Std profile. lit room WB, the GH2 edited to one of my Intra 720p settings)

Edit: Actually Elecard handles mts files different to Quicktime .mov files. Here's the same pics in Quicktime on the Mac - Left is MTS wrapped to Quicktime without re-sample versus GH3 raw .mov on right. Full Range probs probably.

@Aria Still experimenting with pic profiles to see what is the flatest.

@driftwood, you label the GH3 as "I think the GH3 isnt a giant leap, but a natural step in the right direction."

Do you really think panasonic will give us a "giant leap" though? Yes it is hard to compete with blackmagic on the cinema market at that price range, but if they market a more compressed camcorder that has similar image quality, there is a niche for that.

So honestly, i think this is the best we will see out of a GHx line, due to panasonic not wanting to step on the toes of its "pro video" division. Or, at least, not without a major price increase.

@driftwwod, thx for your test. For me, as far as detail is concerned for 720p gh3 here is a slight winner ! I did some PP, that is my conclusion, I don t know yours. Some alias there both side on par. We knew gh2 in 720p is not so good...

We are now longing for a test in 1080p :-)

My eyes tell me the GH3 has higher color accuracy, as the GH2 definitely shows a slight tint toward green. In my experience the greenish tint tends to get worse at higher ISOs. Detail is definitely superior on the GH3, though I suppose this is only important to me should Panasonic decide to release 120fps 720P in a future firmware upgrade. I do not plan to shoot at 720P-60 after waiting over 2 years to get 1080P-60 :)

Have a look at the number tag bottom of the tiger. 1465 (zoom in). Much clearer in the GH3 compared to the GH2 in both picture sets.

@driftwood

your test showing the Creative Controls is very good to perceive the difference among them.

It seems the GH3 Natural picture profile combined with the High Dynamic creative control will deliver the best dynamic range.

It would be great to see a comparison between GH3 in this mode and GH2 in Smooth, both cameras showing a sunlight image with blue sky, clouds and a deep shadow in the frame like under a tree, or if its raining, an artificial light image indoors with highlights and shadows in the frame.

This way DR answer will be solved.

@driftwood

That is why what Panasonic has done with the GH3 is so special. You couldn't shoot a wedding or live event with a GH2 and those settings. With the GH3 it is guaranteed to work even with a simple class 10 card. Have you seen any write failures yet? Even a stock GH2 would have write failures on occasion with slower cards.

GH2: HD Video Extreme 20mbps Sandisk (10 sec duration before stop), Extreme Pro 45MB/s 32Gb card - lasted forever) ditto 64Gb 95MB/s. The picture was recorded with the 45MB/s.

GH3: 64Gb 95MB/s card. No problems.

I'll experiment with slower cards on GH3 soon.