Official Panasonic GH2 Thread

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/syste...gh2/index.html

I was going to post this elsewhere but I figured it's best I post it in a thread just for the GH2.

Besides having twice as fact auto focusing especially in the photo mode, improving the banding issues of the GH1 and giving it a higher bit rate and native 24p mode with B frames, there's one thing that makes this camera not only unique against the GH1 but also DSLR's is the HD crop mode that a lot of people are raving about.

It essentially reads off a smaller portion of the chip for video which can give you a 3.9x extension in 720p and a 2.6x extension in 1080 24p and 60i. This should in theory fix the moire problems that these cameras typically have. Not only that but a lot of people was already trying to use C-Mount lenses but if you don't research a lot, you may end up wasting money on a lens that vignettes. This opens up the door to a whole lot more lenses you can put on it. Another benefit is that it significantly increases the zoom range so a lens that can go to 300mm such as the new optically stabilized 100-300 lens, will give you enormous range.


Here are examples of the clarity:

http://vimeo.com/17031789
The native file will convert to the streaming version very soon so it's best to download the file before it's too late.

http://www.vimeo.com/17217169
This guy has a pro account so the file will continue to stay native so you don't have to download right away.

Here's an example of the extended range you'll get if you were using 1080 24p or 60i.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXrH2LkzS0E
Unfortunately the file got converted to 720p and you cannot download it.

It's too bad I don't have the camera yet since Panasonic is taking their time releasing it to the US since I would have been posting some of my own examples. The expected date for the US is in the middle of December although in Canada some people have already gotten theirs early, lucky bastards! Still it's been out previously in places like Japan but in order to prevent units from leaving the country Panasonic decided to do the exact same thing they did last year with the GH1, and that's to only provide a Japanese menu.


It's not easy to keep the excitement all to myself.

Here's a low light video shot with the Nokton lens.
http://vimeo.com/17294099
You really have to download it to see the quality.

http://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/s...24_408918.html
http://translate.google.com/translat...24_408918.html
Includes video files.

That's actually the same lens Philip Bloom is raving about. I would really love to own that lens because it's really remarkable but at the same time, I'd be paying a little more than a TM700! It's bad enough that I'm trying to upgrade my GH1 to the GH2 and get the TM700 at the same time.

Maybe in the future I'll be able to buy it but definitely not now.

I have the 20mm as well that I bought over a year ago when it was still hard to find. At least when comparing the 24p, it'll be easier with the GH2 because to get fully reliable results with a hacked GH1 you have to still shoot in 24p with pull down and if you were to choose native 24p, people are saying it's a bit defective. There's also B frames in the 24p codec of the GH2 so it's not just a case of the bit rate being higher. The 60p on the other hand, I'd say the GH1 wins hand down when there's a lot of lighting but that wont matter to me at all once I get the TM700.

On the topic of buying more stuff, all I can say is sometimes luck comes.

Here's a comparison between a hacked GH1 and GH2.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread...13-perspective)

It seamed like Panasonic had to make the camera not only compete with smiler Canon offerings but their own GH1 since they are fully, fully aware of the hack.

On top of all that, you have a third party lens that seamed to have filled the void for people who want's an ultra fast lens but without the vignetting that you'd get on a C-Mount lens(If their not using the crop mode) and without the telephoto that you get out of a 50mm lens. It's $900.

Here's a review of that lens:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/re...3_nocton.shtml

Interesting development.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread...t=#post2177049

That's what I mentioned long ago because it does look like the advanced conponents of the GH2 might be easily able to handle 1080 60p but it always seam like companies don't want their products to be that good so they can keep on selling the new version. For sure, Panasonic would be extremely stupid if the GH3 doesn't get it with the way technology is heading at the moment.


I actually hope I'm getting the camera before you. I've been wanting it for a while and you just recently went on board. I pre-ordered mine last month since I kept thinking about rather or not I want to upgrade but the twice as fast auto focusing, allegedly better low light capabilities and the crop mode that I was praying the GH1 get ended up tempting me too much for my health. Still, getting the GH2 and possibly the TM700 will definitely help me out with some of the shooting I do. Panasonic better not release the TM750 to the US for $1,000 before Christmas while the TM700 gets priced to $700.

For sure if I did have the spare cash that would also allow me to purchase the Nokton lens, I think I'd rather spend that cash on the new optically stabilized 100-300mm zoom lens and then if I had money left over, I'd get the Nokton. I really do need to win the lottery at the moment. If my collage loans were to disappear, I'd also get the AF100 without thinking about it. College loans can definitely be a huge burden for a lot of people.

I'm not so sure what videos your referring to and I always download them rather than judging from the streaming version.

From everything I've read, if there's not much motion, the GH2 is much sharper and more detailed but when you pan the camera extremely fast or are trying to shoot complicated stuff with a bunch of detail, a hacked GH1 will have slightly less mud. Still, I've head issues when using the GH13's native 24p mode which is why there's a lot of people still using 24p within 60i instead of choosing native 24p. At least I'm glad that with the GH2, their are no 24p issues. It's sort of a toss-up. As far as 720 60p goes, I do think in extreme motion, people will easily notice a bigger difference favoring the GH13 over the GH2. As for night shooting, it looks like the GH2 will be much better.

With all that said, the GH2 have already been hacked to provide English Menus in Japanese units. Will the codec be cracked is anybody's guess but if that were to ever happen, things will explode in every camera forum on the net and the GH2 will continue to be hard to find for a while if Panasonic doesn't fix their supply issue.

At one point Panasonic was selling them directly but they quickly sold out. Unlike Canon for example Panasonic is not used to having high dollar cameras selling like crazy and you'd think they'd be more prepared since the GH1 came out. We all know how hard it was to get the GH1 back then.

I don't intend on using the 1080 60i mode hardly at all but I'm also glad it has it because if I'm on a shoot with a couple of NX5 cameras for example and everything needs to be shot in 1080 60i for broadcast reasons, at least I'll be able to use the GH2 on it for certain shots.

I haven't read up much on how that lens would be on the GH1 but I think for the GH2 Panasonic was only able to do so much to the firmware before they release it. Their priorities were most likely in other places. For sure you might see updates in the coming weeks. It's not really sold in the US yet although if everything works out fine, me and others should be getting the first major US shipment within a few days. It's too bad the next major shipment may not come until after Christmas.

Something I've read in another thread is the possibility of using the zoom extension feature to go from a wide angle to a close-up without zooming. A lot of people will do that when there editing and it always help that your final destination will have lower resolution. Lest say your shooting in 1920x1080 and your final destination is also 1920x1080, zooming into a part of the screen for certain scenes will make the picture look lower res (because it is) compared to the wider shots. This is one of the advantages of using a RED or other cameras that can shoot in a resolution that's higher than 1920x1080.




Here's a another video using the crop mode.

For one thing, the zoom range is similar to a regular camcorder. If I'm at an event with plenty of lighting surrendered by people, it would definitely not be a good idea to change lenses. Besides the fact that there's a risk of particles getting inside, I'd have a chance of missing a very good shot.

It has an extremely good stabilizer and auto focusing is very silent and fast which can be close to the quality you get on a traditional camcorder. With other lenses, the auto focusing is slower and nosier. Just keep in mind that not everybody has the same priories when it comes to lenses. Just because it's not working for one person doesn't mean it wont work for anybody else. I read that sometimes on the forums in which people will try to tell others to stay away from that lens and I really think it's wrong. I'm not saying you should get it either. I'm just saying to think about what your going to shoot and will you benefit from that lens. It's like when I hear people talk about auto focusing verses manual focusing. Ever since I was a teenager, I've been thought how to use manual features on a camera and have become very good at it but even I will say auto focusing can be used in certain situations.

For night shooting, that's when I put the 20mm lens.

That's just like the AF100, it's capable of shooting in 1080 60p although it'll get slowed down to 24p or 30p in the codec. You may still be able to fix that in post by putting it on a 60p time line and speeding up the slow motion footage but I haven't seen anyone done that yet. I guess my rants and screams on the forums for the ability to record 1080 60p straight to the codec at real time speed had no effect at all. At least out of nowhere Sony claims that their new S35 sized NXCAM might have it although we all know Sony quickly put that mock-up together only to somehow slowdown the AF100's momentum a little. It's a long way to go until that's released but I'm still looking forward to it, that's for sure.

Here's a new good GH2 video that's gaining popularity.
If I read what he wrote correctly, most of the scenes were at an ISO of 3,200.
http://vimeo.com/17653031