@Manu4Vendetta - all looks so by video - not as cinematic as the GH2

@Butt @bwhitz did that sensor plus the hacking cabal just get something perfect about 24p cadence?

the GH2 had analog-to-digital conversion directly on the sensor, and the GH3 does it all afterwards.

It is incorrect statement. In GH3 it is all the same :-) And sensor speed is bigger, hence, more sampling, not less.

I don't understand all this talk about the GH3 not being as "filmic" as the GH2. We've seen direct comparison footage that proved that both cameras can look extremely close in terms of image but with the GH3 having better shadow and lowlight handling. Perhaps even a little bit better highlight handling, No Green Tint problem. The only issue seems to be a bit more sensitivity to Moire. Overall IMO if you know what you're doing I can't see why you can't get a similar "filmic" look from the GH3 that you once got from the GH2.

The levels of adjustment are much greater on the GH3 and thus you will see footage that varies much more from user to user than was possible on the GH2 with -2/+2 as the extent of the adjustment levels. It seems now that you can pretty much turn off in camera sharpness, contrast etc. Whereas the GH2 was limiting in how much you could effect that. I think mostly the detail differences are probably due to the GH2 having more Contrast and Sharpness baked in. Whereas many of the GH3 test shots have been -5 across the board.

@ vitaliy

have you had a chance to shoot with the gh3 yet? curious to hear your impressions.

i returned my gh3 and bought a $500 gh2 after running some basic comparison tests. 50mbps gh3 mode vs fm2.2, both transcode to 422hq, then into pp cs5 w/AE for grading. didnt really see anything that different in the files. id have thought that with with increased rate of sampling the results would be much better w/less macroblocking. the hacked gh2 held up better in post. 60p and body style is cool, sure.

There are so many non image improvements in the GH3 that I think it's a clearly better camera. IMO the one major request I had before the GH3 came out was that Pany would give us greater levels of adjustment of the image and they did just that. It's been shown that you can in fact lower the the sharpness more than on the GH2 and not having that baked in Contrast also helps to make the image IMO a bit better. I can see clear improvements in the footage i've seen in the shadows over the GH2. It may not be a HUGE improvement but it was clearly visible and IMO more acceptable.

Then when you add in all the new features, 60p, more buttons and dials etc. I think it's a very nice package. I'm still trying to make up my mind whether to get 2 GH2's or a GH3. The GH2 is an INCREDIBLE bargain. I'm still using my GH1, which I also think is a very good bargain for what it can do. Heck I even considered another GH1 :)

It is great to be able to play back, span, all on a standard sd card, plug in headphones and a normal mic and not get errors.

Ok i will test it on GH3.

Theoreticlly one could use ETC AND digital-zoom (this works on GH2). So you can make Video with many focal-lengths only with the 20mm/1.7.

@Manu4Vendetta clip does look like something shot on a Canon 5dmk3.. (take is as a compliment, no less, I mean shot for less money) yet images do not scream "extra definition", like GH2 used to.. also notice more chroma clipping, on people skin in latest clip.. just an observation, imho.

@driftwood What happens with the street 1'11-1'20? It flickers on my screen quite strong...is it my screen (where I just watched, it was only XGA one), Vimeo compression issue or does it look indeed the same way in the original file? (I mean your test footage with the Boss calling....)

@FilmingArt You have obviously had problems with GH2 hacks. My experience is not the same; I have been using my GH2 hacked since I bought it almost two years ago and I can categorically say most GH2 hacks are stable. Perhaps you are using the more aggressive hacks meant to push the camera to its limits. If you stay with a hack that does not push to the extreme, I find them very stable. You should ask in a thread why you have had bad experience.

Yeah, I've never ever had any problems with hacks. You just gotta know which one to use. Honestly, from what I've see so far, GH3 seems to be a really nice camera. Great build, great lcd, nice codec, etc. My biggest gripe, as a hobbyist and not a m4/3 fanboy, is its price. I just can't justify spending twice/thrice as much for a camera that takes slightly better pictures and outputs similar/worse video than a hacked GH2. No can do. Especially since there's D600 out there for slightly more. I'll wait a couple of months for G6 and then decide.

@driftwood

Excellent, enjoyed that! Mob bosses and Hitlers in bunkers really need to get out to a camera store and check things out, rather than rely on flunkies and generals!