Tagged with gh2 - Personal View Talks

GH2 kit for $699

CRFilms — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:32:07 +0000

It says $999 in the B&H link but when you add to cart it says $699 plus shipping. BUT....at Amazon it's also $699 with possible free shipping. I don't see shipping costs cause I have Amazon Prime, but it does say Prime Eligible. B&H deal until sold out or Dec 17. Amazon doesn't say how long it will be onsale and it has no inventory listing, but it is sold by Amazon, not third party.

I finally bit the bullet and bought one. GH2 envy no more. ^_^

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/736365-REG/Panasonic_DMC_GH2K_K_Lumix_DMC_GH2_Digital_Camera.html

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMC-GH2-Interchangeable-Free-Angle-14-42mm/dp/B0043VE27Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323253861&sr=8-1

Close IT

Tommyboy — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:13:32 +0000

Unopened, unused lens, comes with all accessories.

PM me if interested.

GH2 AVCHD Footage will not import into AVID MC 5

Petee28 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:03:44 +0000

My GH2 is recording at the 44mbs hack and Avid will not accept it. Others say that their .mts files import fine but I recieve a "mpeg not supported" error when trying to import. AMA doesnt work either. If anyone knows of a converter that will transcode .mts to .mov at high bit rates please let me know. Thanks in advance.

gh2 motion blur 1080i PAL

aaron74 — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 22:29:07 +0000

All MTS clips shot in 1080i PAL on hacked gh2 have motion blur.
Need to edit 720 X 576 movs on fcp without motion blur...
Help please, much appreciated.

After hack - buttons acting strange

Blackout — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:15:20 +0000

Well I finally hacked my own GH2 mix and installed it. Looking very nice at a 55high, 42avg, 35low setting for average stuff and a higher 75mbit top for very high detail. Working well with no stops or freezes so far on a new transcend class 10 32 gb card.

Odd thing is though, suddenly my white balance button and and iso button don't work and go to focus set up when I hit them, even though I have everything set to manual... I can change the other hard function buttons but I can't seem to get the white balance button to work as it should (go to white balnce menu) nor the iso hard button. I am having to use the touch screen which I don't care for.

Anyone on how I fix this?

GH2 won't turn on

andycorleone — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:11:01 +0000

Hi, my GH2 won't turn on, any tips trying to do before send it for repair? would be a problem to get waranty because I hacked my? thanks

GH2 versus Arri Alexa and F3 (real world testing)

JDN — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:46:47 +0000

Recently directed a two week block of a nature doc where the gh2 was side by side with an F3 and then an Alexa. Overall, everyone was impressed with how well the gh2 stood up -- so much so I take back what I said about the F3 on another forum. I now believe the hacked gh2 may look better than any camera under $20K, even if those cameras are fitted with external recorders.

In no particular order, here’s some observations for those who are interested:

SPECS:
Sony F3 with RED 17-50mm zoom outputting nanoflash at psf 140mbps I frame
Arrix Alexa with a variety of canon bayonet mount lenses shooting to prores HQ 422
GH2 with kae 3GOP hack with 14, 25 mm (panasonic) and 50mm (FD) primes
All shooting was done at 23.98 with black frost 1/8th and schiender tru polas

GH2 versus F3

OUTDOOR PERFORMANCE
We started off shooting the F3 at 100 mbps long GOP and almost barfed when we reviewed the results in the hotel room that night -- the high bit rate did not take away from the very “video” look, and the sensor had no ability whatsoever to handle blowouts -- the sun had disgusting fringy bands around it (although to be fair, this could have been the lens). Switching to I frame improved the “film” though the gh2 still somehow had better cadence -- our DoP, who is much more experienced than me, commented that he always thought panasonic’s cadence at 24 frames was better than other manufacturers and some of that knowledge could have gone into the gh2.

Much like how the gh2 trumps the canon SLRS in terms of aliasing and moire, it maintained a slight edge over the f3 with nano in these categories as well -- we were shooting a lot in forested areas at the aliased fringing on foliage was less noticeable with the gh2 than with the f3.
Colour Rendition. Although we did not have much time to play with custom colour profiles on the f3, the general impression was that the f3 handled reds better and the gh2 handled greens better. Overall, the F3’s look was much more like the richness you’d get off a 5D, while the gh2 (at -2,-2,0,-2) had a slightly drained film look while still rending beautiful green tones. Obviously, for nature documentary, greens are more important than reds, so once again the Gh2 was the winner.

INDOOR PERFORMANCE
We were unable to test the gh2 and f3 with only available light, but with a controlled lighting setup, the two stacked up very well. We used the f3 to cover wides and mediums and the gh2 with 50 mm fd to cover the headshot. Overall, the cameras were comparable -- they both handled blacks very well, exhibited minimal noise (in both cases, when there was noise, it was quite pleasing) and experienced no aliasing around the edge of the interview subject, even with a back and top light.

The gh2 did show a noticeable red shift in low light -- I had to click the +G up about four spots on the colour balance and go a few 100 K cooler than the F3; even then we will be doing some colour correct to bring down the red a bit.
Overall, for a sit down interview, I’d say the F3 was the winner with more accurate colour rendition, more detail and perhaps a half stop more of latitude. That said, one is a $1200 setup, the other (counting the nanoflash & lens) is nearly a $30,000 setup.

BUILD QUALITY
The placement of the F3’s viewfinder was even more inconvenient than an slrs and as such was rarely used -- forcing us to rely on the f3’s viewfinder, which is actually worse (and less accurate) than the GH2s. As the F3 lacks false colour of a red or an alexa, you’re basically shooting with a histogram and zebras, just like a gh2, so neither has the upper hand.

We were not impressed with the build quality of the f3 -- it felt very plasticky, even more so than the gh2, and we were constantly worried we would break the thing. I could not, in good confidence, rely on it as a A-cam in a situation where I was far away from a gear house; one mistake and I think you’d shut down production. Same goes for the gh2 -- I’m sure its lack of weather sealing will one day cause me grief; thankfully, its low price tag will allow me to keep backups on hand.

SIZE AND PRICE
- With incredible progress of the hack, we often overlook how important the GH2’s form factor is, but I really saw it on this shoot:
One of our DPs, who has done a lot of work in warzones, saw the gh2s and its results and immediately commented, “these are going to be the Leica’s of video.” And I realize I’ve started to use it that way: like the stereotypical war photographic with three or four leica’s and primes around his neck, I just carry around two gh2s (and may get a third) — usually keep the 14mm on one (sometimes mounted on a glidecam hd), and the second one armed with either the 50mm f1.4 leica or a 100 mm f1.4 fd -- you get the visual characteristics of primes without having to stop to change them, and also quickly become a much better shooter.

In a doc setting, it is incredible how much you can get done when you are not tied to a heavy camera and sticks (nor crippled by the 12 minute run time of canon slrs). It was too rainy/windy/sandy at one location to risk the F3 and nano so we just pulled out the gh2s and ended up getting way more coverage than we would have ever got with the f3 (an interesting point on most of the new cameras, F3 included, is that they are not really designed to be shoulder held, so you end up killing 5 minutes to build a rig whenever you go from sticks to hand held).

WINNER: GH2

GH2 versus Arri Alexa
The above comments about the maneuverability of the GH2 apply even moreso comparison to the Alexa -- with lens, it weighs 30 - 35 pounds and can only be operated shoulder mounted with the assistance of a custom built easy rig.

Indoor Performace
The Alexa is absolutely incredible when shooting indoors with natural light only. It is mind-blowingly good -- in many situations we were able to shoot with a single 1x1 light panel as fill/key. The tonality of the colours is breathtaking (especially at 10 bit) but the real secret is the 14 stops of latitude -- whereas normally you’d have to light to keep your subject from disapearing into your background, and your background bright enough to not drop into shadow, with the Arri there is no need to do this. We shot some quick and dirty recon in an old train car and I felt like I was looking at a major motion picture (in the past, you had to spend hours rigging lights so the setting would look like it was naturally lit -- with the arri, you just use natural light).

In situations that are lit, the contrast between the arri and gh2 falls off a little -- we did a dinner where everyone had their own dedo as a key (to simulate light coming off a practical (oil lamp) on the table), with backlight coming from a fire and various practical and fill from a light panel. In this environment, the gh2’s red shift actually sold the oil lamp light very convincingly, and it’s lack of latitude was not a detriment as we were going for a dramatic look (this is not to say that it was better than the arri, however, as the arri files could also be crunched later to achieve a similar effect -- it was just that the lack of latitude as compared to the arri was not detrimental in this situation). I should say, however, there is something about the gh2 cadence that is still impressive -- for part of the shoot, we had the gh2 on a konova slider and the alexa on a microdolly (the standard dolly from an out of focus silhouette to reveal a table full of diners) and I gotta say, in some cases I preferred the cadence of the gh2 but overall the quality, lattitude and 10 bit colour of the alexa was a sight to behold.

OUTDOOR PERFORMACE
In run and gun situations outdoors, the arri showed some of its limits -- you really needed a good dp (which thankfully we had) who could put the sticks in the right place the first time because it just wasn’t the easiest camera to move around. Even moreso than other large cameras I’ve shot with (like the f800, which is about half the weight) the weight of the arri did limit some options and increase setup time. But, given the spectacular colours, it was worth it.

OTHER ISSUES
- The weight, and the fact that it chews through a 32 gig SxS card in 20 minutes, means you’re not running this thing for long without an assistant. We were constantly dumping cards, backing them up and reformating them (and that was with 7 cards). But if you can afford a $80,000 camera body, you can probably afford an assistant.

WINNER: ARRI ALEXA (what’d you expect?). I would say, however, the form factor of the alexa means that any doc shoot will require the highest quality, most maneuverable B camera to go with it, or you’re going to miss out on certainly angles and opportunities -- so far, the gh2 and Alexa seem a pretty good match in that respect, though we won’t really find out until we get them in the edit together).

ONE FINAL NOTE:
My biggest realization from these two weeks of side-by side comparisons (and a week earlier with the f800 as a cam) is that there really is “a gh2 look” -- something about the cadence, rendering of greens, slightly drained colour palate, and ability to handle dramatic lighting (from blacks to blowouts) makes it unique. As people once spoke of a Leica look, I think the more we play with the hacked gh2, the more we’ll realize it has something all its own. I can’t yet put my finger on what that is yet, but I can say that, much like film, there is something about its footage, which when shot right, gives you a real-but-unreal feeling; it is real because it has incredible detail and lack of video give aways (aliasing, moire, fringing/banding etc), yet is is unreal because the cadence contributes to suspension of disbelief, while its love of being at least one stop underexposed (and usually two) naturally leads to more dramatic tonality of colours and shadows than you’d experience with your own eyes).

GH2 - sequence settings in CS5

jard667 — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 10:40:43 +0000

Beginner's questinon - which sequence setting should i use:
HDV 1080p24
or
DSLR 1080p24

Thanks

GF2 as good "B" cam for the GH2?

Shield — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:08:33 +0000

I'm getting geeked out enough taking home movies that I'd love to get a 2nd camera to act as a "B" cam - something so when I edit I have another point of view. My local camera shops have GH2 bodies only, but I don't want to be out another $899 for this.
Out of GH1, GF1, GH2, G3, etc, which one would you recommend that would be the easiest to match footage up with? Being able to record long amounts of time is a plus; my "B" cam could sit on a tripod and get the wider angled shot.
Thanks!
Shawn

Anamorphic lenses/adapters made for dslrs?

fatpig — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 06:17:31 +0000

I was just wondering, if there were any manufacturers out there, making anamorphic adapters just for us prosumers- for hdslr use.
And if not- does anyone know why it is not done?

Im seriously curious, because it seems this would be a great market..

Teaser Music Video shot on a hacked GH2 - " Sons - KJZDKJSS "

RBertoni — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:57:37 +0000

Gear:

Hacked Panasonic GH2 (Driftwood 176 GOP1 patch)
1000w Arri Juniors,
Novoflex MFT-NIK adapter (new version)
Sigma 10-20mm f/4.0-5.6
Nikkor DX 35mm f/1.8
Nikkor af-d 50mm f/1.4
Nikkor af-s 70-200 VR
LCW ND Fader
Custom Gini-Cavision carbon rig
Transcend 16gb sdhc cards
Smoke Machine

Sons - KJZDKJSS
Full music video and short film coming in 2012...

Production: NoVa, November 2011
Shot and directed by Riccardo Bertoni
Edited by Riccardo Bertoni & Marko Zigon

Official Website: sons.si
Official Facebook Page: facebook.com/pages/Sons/16800503029

http://24ur.com/ekskluziv/glasba/kje-je-zdaj-dekle-ki-je-sanjalo-stoje.html (link in slovene)

My blog: riccardobertoni.com
Facebook: facebook.com/bertoniriccardo

© Menart Records & Skupina Sons

GH2 kits now $700 and $1000 at Adorama

balazer — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:57:25 +0000

GH2 kits are now $700 and $1000 after coupon at Adorama. Don't forget 2% cashback from Fatwallet. I just ordered one for my mom. :)

coupon codes: S1442144, S2141401

http://www.43rumors.com/gh2-with-lens-for-795-at-amazon-us-and-cashback-in-germany-reminder-firmware-coming-soon/

GH2 for $795.00 @ B&H with kit lens

TrackZillas — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:17:10 +0000

Guy's just left the B&H Store and got a second GH2 for a low price of $795.00 yes you are reading it right $795.00 click on link below you will see if posted as $999.00 don't worry just add it to your cart and it will magically turn to $795.00 it's magic. It's a new promo take advantage of it guy's take care.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/736365-REG/Panasonic_DMC_GH2K_K_Lumix_DMC_GH2_Digital_Camera.html

Video resolution: GH2 and GF1 compared

mpgxsvcd — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 16:11:55 +0000

Here is a thread on how the GF1 video resolution compares to the GH2.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&message=38912742

Is there any (chance) USB Follow Focus for Panasonic GH2 cameras ?

feha — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:18:29 +0000

I saw the USB follow focus deal.

Looks great, i wonder is there any of this kind for GH2 ?

50mm 1.7 Minolta MD

Alexauwa — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:02:56 +0000

I've just ordered an old Minolta MD 50 1.7 with a Kipon adapter (GH2) on ebay as any footage I have seen just looked phenomenal. Since I am already excited about shooting on the weekend, I was wondering if you could share some recommendation on how to shot like manual setting, etc or even share your experience on that lense!?

I am looking forward to your replies.

Best,
Alex

Mobislider for GH2

GOODEMPIRE — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:53:54 +0000

Just read about this thing. Not sure if I like the idea, but some people may find it interesting

Emergency battery charger replacement for GH2

jimtreats — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:42:21 +0000

Hey folks.

I just started to prepare all my gear for a little shoot tomorrow only to discover that I couldn't find my battery charger!!! I've recently been away on holiday so not sure if i lost it there, or if its just hidden away somewhere. Anyways I just wondered if you guys had any experience with different chargers available. Surely unlike batteries, after market chargers shouldn't be too bad?!

The GH2 is such a rare camera over here that I feel it unlikely that i can find a charger compatible in any of our local camera shops tomorrow (Jacobs and Jessops), as such the best option i've found was this item on amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PicknBuy-PANASONIC-DMW-BLC12-DMW-BLC12E-compatible/dp/B005NWEPGK/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1322177347&sr=1-4

"PicknBuy Charger for PANASONIC DMW-BLC12 DMW-BLC12E DE-A80A battery compatible Digital Camera PANASONIC DMC-GH2 with Car adapter and UK Power cord"

I've brought two as they're fairly cheap and as i'm so desperate I've paid on top of my prime delivery to hopefully guarantee delivery on Saturday, which should be in time for me to charge batteries for use on Sunday.

So, anyone used this brand, or other cheaper chargers.. are they ok? Are there any other DIY improvised charging solutions?

Cheers!

35mm best lens for the GH2

Alexauwa — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 16:33:15 +0000

I film on the 14-140 mm kit lense which handles shot on daylight pretty well. I am know looking for a 35 mm lens which handles night scene well and provides better DOF.

You guys have any recommendations or experience to share?

Looking forward to your reply.

Question: max weight of a lens on a gh2 body

lolo — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 22:55:13 +0000

does anyones knows how much lens weight the gh2 body can handle without risking damage?

Let's show off!

Mads_Junker — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 07:53:11 +0000

Couldn't find a topic where you gather all the videos made out there with the hack. I mean, lets show off!! It is what its all about... right?!

this is a video a made on the day i made the iso hack. Had dinner plans with some very hungry guys... It's heavily graded, but it's show in B&W smooth setting.

"Gule ærter" means "yellow peas" and it's an old school danish dish where you make a soup of yellow peas and you eat it with sausages and pork

enjoy...

now let me see what you got...

Infrared modifications

fatpig — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 17:07:20 +0000

I currently bought a small surveillance camera with 6mm lens, for 15 usd on ebay. i was surprised that it can film in almost complete darkness- and this is done by auto switching into the infrared light spectrum, BUT it does NOT have lights on it. It uses the Infrared spectrum of the normal street and house lights.
Does anyone have thoughts on this and- why this is not available on hdslrs as night shot mode?

WTB: GH2 Body

Shirley — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:30:58 +0000

Hi, I am currently looking to buy a GH2 body. Make me an offer please

iDynamic Range possible to hack?

Matt — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 17:20:55 +0000

Okay, so I've recently been very impressed with the "iDynamic" setting on the GH2, and the results it can achieve. It is a phenomenal feature to have, and is pretty unique out of all the video recording devices out there.

Do you reckon that it might be possible to change the threshold of the iDynamic setting, or perhaps enable some kind of manual settings (an "always on" thing would be sufficient in my book), to give the shooter more control, and stop it from requiring fair underexposure to activate it?

I've attached two pictures that REALLY show what iDynamic is capable of, and how many creative and technical opportunities it opens. Unfortunately, I wanted the interior to be brighter, but when I increased the exposure, iDynamic decided that it didn't have to do its job anymore, and turned off. :\

Lets find out how many GH2's Personal-View has sold!

alcomposer — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 22:24:36 +0000

In light of Panasonic's downturn in revenue, lets cheer them up by posting here how many GH2's have been bought/sold due to the extreme effort of @VK and all of the tireless volunteers and donors here at P-V. (This should be in the 1,000's) Also include GH2's that have been bought due to your salesmanship...

Have a great day/night!

UPDATE: Fantastic response! I am sure there are many many more- and there will always be a domino effect! Lets hope someone at Panasonic realizes the great work and real economic power of P-V!

As I am the first:
+1 GH2

Using 30 min limit as a benefit?

Jon2323 — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:41:55 +0000

Hi Guys,

Might there be a way to manipulate the '30 min limit' to allow for specified recording times? So you could set a timelapse etc and get the camera to record for an hour or so, then stop.

The main reason I ask is because with the latest "driftwood patch" the recording is cutting out at 3:58 (Because of the 4gig limit i've been told) and corrupting the file for Final Cut Pro. So just wondered if we could set the camera to cut out at 3:50 mins, by changing the max record limit, thus not corrupting the file.

Thanks
Jon

pseudo audio monitoring tool for U$1

lolo — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:14:20 +0000

looking for something cheapo to monitor the audio, you can go to your local electronic store and buy this adapter:

of course the av out ain´t live, that´s why is a pseudo,
but during playback, at least with the factory settings it works,
with hacked settings a haven´t tested it, but as Vitaliy said on the ptool that the audio avobe 192kbps will not playback in camera, probably this cheapo workaround ain´t going to work (my battery is running low to test this)
hope it helps someone

Next upgrade

kmarkb_8017 — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:41:52 +0000

I have the hacked G2 with full manual control on video, my only lenses are the 14-42 and an old Pentax SMC 50mm f1.8. My friend is selling me a used GH1 for £300 and i've been saving up to get the GH2, and i was thinking getting the GH1 and get the 20mm f1.7 or wait till i can save up more for the GH2 or stick with my G2 and expand on my lenses? i've been lookin at the samyang 35mm f1.4 aswell, the only thing thats putting me off from the 20mm is the focus by wire. what should i upgrade first?

Recovering DEAD Third-Party GH2 Battery!

fatpig — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:24:35 +0000

Hi folks,

I just wanted to share this:
I got a 1400mah third party gh2 battery off ebay, worked fine but then after an long shoot, eventually died, which is perfectly normal.
Often these batteries dont recharge. so they have to be replaced and are essentially worthless.

I discovered, that these batteries CAN be recharged, but not with the original charger, but with a third-party charger (just take a cheap gh2 charger off ebay) - i suggest this works because they are missing the third connector pin, and this would be some kind of control connector.

PS: If connected to the third party charger for about one second, the official charger also charges the battery again. It's about getting that little bit of power in there, for the original one to charge again. Now i have three working batteries. Yay!

Panasonic GH2 Facebook Rebate...

TrackZillas — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 13:03:35 +0000

Does anybody know if the $700 Panasonic rebate still in effect, cause I'm trying to buy another body.