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The Official Panasonic GH3 Owners' Thread

post #1 of 77
9/14/12 at 2:36am
Thread Starter 
Here is Panasonic's promo video for the GH3, which won't be officially announced until Monday, September 17th:
Hat tip to 4/3 rumors: http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-first-image-of-the-new-panasonic-gh3/

Camera looks really good - new ruggedized, weahersealed body; 1080/50 or 60p; 72mbps bit rate - lets hope the headphone jack and uncompressed HDMI out are not just rumors. And that it keeps the GH2's unlimited video clip length and near moire-free images. If this camera is everything we think it is, and the price is below $2000, the 1080/30p Nikon D800 ($3000 and subject to moire) and Canon 5D Mark III ($3500 with no uncompressed HDMI out) have serious competition in the video department. So does the Sony A99 ($2800 with a likely 30 minute clip length limit).

Looking around to see what I need to sell to make room for a new camera smile.gif

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Edited by brunerww - 9/14/12 at 4:58pm
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post #2 of 77
9/14/12 at 4:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by brunerww View Post

Here is Panasonic's promo video for the GH3, which won't be officially announced until Monday, September 17th:Hat tip to 4/3 rumors: http://www.43rumors.com/ft5-first-image-of-the-new-panasonic-gh3/
Camera looks really good - new ruggedized, weahersealed body; 1080/50 or 60p; 72mbps bit rate - lets hope the headphone jack and uncompressed HDMI out are not just rumors. And that it keeps the GH2's unlimited video clip length and near moire-free images. If this camera is everything we think it is, and the price is below $2000, the 1080/30p Nikon D800 ($3000 and subject to moire) and Canon 5D Mark III ($3500 with no uncompressed HDMI out) have serious competition in the video department. So does the Sony A99 ($2800 with a likely 30 minute clip length limit).
Looking around to see what I need to sell to make room for a new camera smile.gif
Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

They really need to try to bring it below $1,500. BlackMagic has a true cinema camera shooting 2.5 K 12-Bit RAW with a huge 13 stops of dynamic range, 10-bit 1080p ProRes and DNxHD at very high bitrates for $2,995 with $1,600 in free software. Besides the 5D Mark III and D800 let's not forget that Nikon announced the full frame D600 at $2,100. The GH3 really needs to come in somewhere around $1,500 or less, IMO, unless their dynamic range and features for video end up even better than I expect. . I'm really hoping the Dynamic range is on par with Nikon's and Sony's at least since they are claiming a wide dynamic range sensor (one of the GH2's weaknesses), but with the ability to use custom picture styles/gamma curves. Let's also not forget the Sony Nex-5N with an APS-C sized sensor that shoots Auto HDR stills, has high dynamic range video (not BMCC level, but higher than the GH2 or Canon's) & great low light video, as well as 60p for a mere $598.
Edited by MTyson - 9/14/12 at 2:24pm
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post #3 of 77
9/14/12 at 11:39am
For sure it would be a bit awkward to price this too high because of the D600. I'd say Panasonic should be bold and price the body for no more than $1,000.

On the other hand, I do wonder if Panasonic have sorted out their supply issues. Both the GH1 and GH2 have been very hard to buy initially since the stock especially in the US was severely lacking. I wouldn't be surprised if Panasonic have lost a lot of sales because of that.
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post #4 of 77
9/14/12 at 4:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulo Teixeira View Post

For sure it would be a bit awkward to price this too high because of the D600. I'd say Panasonic should be bold and price the body for no more than $1,000.
On the other hand, I do wonder if Panasonic have sorted out their supply issues. Both the GH1 and GH2 have been very hard to buy initially since the stock especially in the US was severely lacking. I wouldn't be surprised if Panasonic have lost a lot of sales because of that.

Also, forgot about the Sony Nex-5R and Nex-6. Those have they hybrid phase/contrast auto focus. I believe with 99 points. Plus, the world's first camera to allow for camera apps. Higher ISO than the Nex-5N. Low light should be great. Under $800 with an 18-55mm lens.
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post #5 of 77
9/14/12 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
MT - They look like really nice cameras, but I certainly hope the new BIONZ processor in the NEX-5R and NEX-6 have solved the NEX-5's moire challenges:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aa4sM2diq0

Somehow, the Panasonic Venus and Canon DIGIC V+ engines have found a way to deal with downsampling, while the Sony BIONZ has not.

I have personal experience with both GH and NEX cameras, and I like them both - but I can't deal with moire, overheating, or a 30 minute clip length limit.

I'll stick with GH cameras for video until Sony, Canon or Nikon come up with a hybrid still/video camera that doesn't shut down while I'm trying to record an event.

But to each his or her own - if a person doesn't mind the clip length limit and a little moire, the NEXs are fine video-capable cameras.


Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Edited by brunerww - 9/14/12 at 8:04pm
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post #6 of 77
9/15/12 at 12:16pm
Philip Bloom DP'd Short Film shot with the Panasonic GH3. He said he really loved the greatly improved low light of this camera.

http://vimeo.com/49420579
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post #7 of 77
9/15/12 at 1:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTyson View Post

Philip Bloom DP'd Short Film shot with the Panasonic GH3. He said he really loved the greatly improved low light of this camera.
http://vimeo.com/49420579

Great video , makes me thinking betweent the GH3, D600 or D800 which one should I buy.
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post #8 of 77
9/15/12 at 7:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by slimoli View Post

Great video , makes me thinking betweent the GH3, D600 or D800 which one should I buy.

In the process of making the same decision, I thought it would be useful to put together this little decision matrix:

D800: $3000 - pros: headphone jack, clean HDMI out, weathersealed magnesium alloy body, 1080/30p, full frame - cons: moire, 20 minute continuous video limit, 3.5mm amateur mic input only

D600: $2100 - pros: headphone jack, clean HDMI out, weathersealed magnesium alloy body,1080/30p, full frame - cons: moire (if it's anything like the D800), 20 minute continuous video limit, 3.5mm amateur mic input only

GH3: $1299 - pros: headphone jack (rumored), clean HDMI out (rumored), XLR mic inputs with accessory (rumored), weathersealed magnesium alloy body (leaked in Panasonic video), 1080/60p (leaked in video), essentially unlimited continuous video (likely carried over from GH2), minimal moire (likely carried over from the GH2) - cons: not FF

Adding the $2800 Sony A99 to the mix - yes, it shoots 1080/60p and has XLR mic inputs with an accessory, but Sony has imposed a worldwide 30 minute clip length limit on it - and may or may not have solved their moire problem.

Unless someone really, really wants a full frame camera and super shallow depth of field, the choice looks pretty clear based on the likely price, the existing capabilities of the GH2, and the leaked/rumored specs - but we'll see on Monday!

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Edited by brunerww - 12/7/12 at 8:48am
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post #9 of 77
9/15/12 at 10:25pm
The prices you mentioned for the DSLRs full-frame are body only. I believe the GH3 will be much less than 2K for the body. I am much more concerned about the lenses price and the whole package. With Nikon you have to expend almost 10K to cover 14 to 200 mm with the best glasses. With the GH3 you can buy great lenses and the body for less the half this budget, including very fast primes.

I am also convinced that XLR or not, you cannot record decent audio with any of those cameras. I am looking at separate recorders to use with the DSLR. , like the Zoom H4N.
Edited by slimoli - 9/15/12 at 10:30pm
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post #10 of 77
9/16/12 at 5:51am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by slimoli View Post

The prices you mentioned for the DSLRs full-frame are body only. I believe the GH3 will be much less than 2K for the body. I am much more concerned about the lenses price and the whole package. With Nikon you have to expend almost 10K to cover 14 to 200 mm with the best glasses. With the GH3 you can buy great lenses and the body for less the half this budget, including very fast primes.
I am also convinced that XLR or not, you cannot record decent audio with any of those cameras. I am looking at separate recorders to use with the DSLR. , like the Zoom H4N.

Just saw that the GH3 is available for pre-order at Samy's for $1300. That ought to make the decision a little easier smile.gif

The Samy's page also confirms a lot of the specs (nothing about audio, though). I find two things especially interesting:

1) Battery is 1860mah (instead of the GH2's pitiful 1200mah). That's the good news. The bad news is that the GH1, GH2 and GH3 have three different sets of batteries mad.gif

2) Samy's says "Weatherproofing: no" - while the video above says "Dust and Splash Proof Magnesium Alloy Body". I guess Samy's sets a pretty high bar for calling a camera "Weatherproof". After searching the Samy's site, I saw that the Magnesium alloy 5D MkIII, D800 and A99 were rated the same way. Only the Pentax K30 was rated as "weatherproof".

I am personally going to wait to see on the audio. I already have a Tascam DR-40 to make up for the GH2's audio shortcomings, but hope to retire it if the GH3 has full manual audio, metering, the XLR input accessory and decent frequency response.

Bill
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post #11 of 77
9/17/12 at 12:50am
How will the GH3 benefit me,all my GH2 edited footage goes on BLU RAY,the GH3 may have 50/60P but that is is not BD compatable !
The GH2 can take good footage but the worst thing is the fact it still had moire/aliasing,how some say it does not baffles me,Not as bad as canon DSLRs i know, But to get moire aliasing free GH2 footage a tripod or good brace and panning kept to minimum is required for me anyway,24p is worst ,i use 25P HBR pal which is better but for the least moire aliasing its 1080i but then resolution is lost,the body erganomics may well be better on the GH3 but the overriding gain would have to no moire aliasing.
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post #12 of 77
9/17/12 at 1:59pm
GH3 was announced and there is no reaction here. Strange.

I would like to understand a little better the diference between the GH2 and GH3 as far as aspect ratio goes. I know people are complaining about it (or the lack of it) on other forums.
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post #13 of 77
9/17/12 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by flintyplus View Post

How will the GH3 benefit me,all my GH2 edited footage goes on BLU RAY,the GH3 may have 50/60P but that is is not BD compatable !
The GH2 can take good footage but the worst thing is the fact it still had moire/aliasing,how some say it does not baffles me,Not as bad as canon DSLRs i know, But to get moire aliasing free GH2 footage a tripod or good brace and panning kept to minimum is required for me anyway,24p is worst ,i use 25P HBR pal which is better but for the least moire aliasing its 1080i but then resolution is lost,the body erganomics may well be better on the GH3 but the overriding gain would have to no moire aliasing.

Better dynamic range (ie; more cinema like. Cameras like Red, Arri, Film, Black Magic are more cinema like because of their ability to capture a very wide dynamic range. One of the biggest flaws of the Gh2 was it's mediocre dynamic range capabilitiy), higher bitrate (If your GH2 is not hacked). 60p is majorly useful for slow motion. That's why a lot of filmmakers want it.
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post #14 of 77
9/17/12 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTyson View Post

Better dynamic range (ie; more cinema like. Cameras like Red, Arri, Film, Black Magic are more cinema like because of their ability to capture a very wide dynamic range. One of the biggest flaws of the Gh2 was it's mediocre dynamic range capabilitiy), higher bitrate (If your GH2 is not hacked). 60p is majorly useful for slow motion. That's why a lot of filmmakers want it.

And flinty - you'll still be able to output to Blu-Ray - the GH3 shoots 24p, 30p and 60p in NTSC regions and 24p, 25p and 50p in PAL regions (see full official specs here).

Cheers,

Bill
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post #15 of 77
9/17/12 at 5:32pm
I'm almost in the same boat. My hacked GH2 gets the job done and I don't need another body like I did in the past but 1080 60p plus all the other enhancements that comes with it, is putting me on the edge. If you spend too long to decide, you never know if the same situation that happened with the GH1 and GH2 will happen to the GH3 meaning, it took a very long time for most people to get it who decided to buy it immediately after it got released in the stores. This is exactly the reason pre-orders on Amazon are very high. Some people are very nervous about how the supply will be especially if your buying in the US. If within a week or 2, Maybe if I get a big gig in which I see that the GH3 would be useful for it, then I'll probably get it. I do also want to see actual test results against the Gh2 in all areas but again, I worry about pre-ordering too late.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/photo/3017941/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_p_1_2_last
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post #16 of 77
9/18/12 at 2:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTyson View Post

Better dynamic range (ie; more cinema like. Cameras like Red, Arri, Film, Black Magic are more cinema like because of their ability to capture a very wide dynamic range. One of the biggest flaws of the Gh2 was it's mediocre dynamic range capabilitiy), higher bitrate (If your GH2 is not hacked). 60p is majorly useful for slow motion. That's why a lot of filmmakers want it.

Well i am one who cant see much difference in hacked and standard updated GH2 footage,and the problems they can cause have put me off.Plus i have seen some great comparisons between bog standard GH2s and pro cams back before hacks came .

Brunerww yes true there will be frame rates for BD but i have them now,obviously the main gain is weather sealing plus quite a few improvements that i can live without for now , but will the moire be gone its what i dislike most with my GH2,footage like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mlN5qgBJxg that was not filmed with a tripod or brace and has it badly.
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post #17 of 77
9/18/12 at 2:54am
http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-panasonic-lumix-dmc-gh3-black-digital-camera-body/p1532809 heck of a price for the body only over here,can someone tell me if the 25P on the GH3 is BD compatable like the GH2s which is in a wrapper.
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post #18 of 77
9/18/12 at 1:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by flintyplus View Post

http://www.wexphotographic.com/buy-panasonic-lumix-dmc-gh3-black-digital-camera-body/p1532809 heck of a price for the body only over here,can someone tell me if the 25P on the GH3 is BD compatable like the GH2s which is in a wrapper.

flinty - the 25p from the GH3 is native and should be Blu Ray compatible. That WEX price is pretty high - I would wait until you can pre-order from Amazon UK.

Bill
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post #19 of 77
9/18/12 at 1:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by flintyplus View Post

Well i am one who cant see much difference in hacked and standard updated GH2 footage,and the problems they can cause have put me off.Plus i have seen some great comparisons between bog standard GH2s and pro cams back before hacks came .
Brunerww yes true there will be frame rates for BD but i have them now,obviously the main gain is weather sealing plus quite a few improvements that i can live without for now , but will the moire be gone its what i dislike most with my GH2,footage like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mlN5qgBJxg that was not filmed with a tripod or brace and has it badly.

Higher bit rate may not show a huge difference visually to someone, butt he less compression the better one can grade it in post and push the image to get the desired look. Dynamic range and low light are my primary concerns though. They are saying they have a new low-pass filter that pretty much eliminates moire. It's advertised on Panasonic's site. They seem pretty proud of it.

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/gh3/still_image_quality.html

"Newly Designed Low-Pass Filter

New technology has also been applied to the low-pass filter on the surface of the Live MOS Sensor. The new filter optimizes the conventionally conflicting effects of increasing resolution while suppressing moire. The unwanted data that leads to moire and false color is effectively eliminated while maintaining high resolution."
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post #20 of 77
9/18/12 at 10:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MTyson View Post

Higher bit rate may not show a huge difference visually to someone, butt he less compression the better one can grade it in post and push the image to get the desired look. Dynamic range and low light are my primary concerns though. They are saying they have a new low-pass filter that pretty much eliminates moire. It's advertised on Panasonic's site. They seem pretty proud of it.
http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/gh3/still_image_quality.html
"Newly Designed Low-Pass Filter
New technology has also been applied to the low-pass filter on the surface of the Live MOS Sensor. The new filter optimizes the conventionally conflicting effects of increasing resolution while suppressing moire. The unwanted data that leads to moire and false color is effectively eliminated while maintaining high resolution."

Suppressed, I'll buy. Eliminated? I don't think so.
From Andrew Reid's hands on with the camera (with version 0.4 of the firmware):
"There’s very minor moire and aliasing present in this early hardware. Whilst the GH2 rendered sloping horizontals and fine patterns extremely cleanly with no shimmering, the GH3 I used had a touch of aliasing and in some cases even a bit of moire on a stripy shirt viewed from a distance. VERY minor, but like the OM-D E-M5 it was there, at this early stage. Hopefully this will be fixed for the final hardware / software revision in November but it is a very minor thing and I feel the benefits of the better all-round sensor outweigh this drawback. This issue however for now goes top of my list of things to fix along with the introduction of peaking. Even if a stronger OLPF / AA filter is needed and it softens stills at 1:1, I’d like to see that done."

And see the window at the top left of the frame at 0:47 into Emmanuel Pampuri's GH3 test video with version 0.3 firmware:
https://vimeo.com/49558910

Hopefully, Panasonic will continue working this issue until the firmware is locked down in v1.0, but this is a whole lot less moire than you'll get from Canon, Nikon or Sony. And I have even seen it from the BMCC. I've still pre-ordered the camera.smile.gif

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
Edited by brunerww - 9/18/12 at 11:25pm
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post #21 of 77
9/18/12 at 11:23pm
Thread Starter 
New video from Emmanuel Pampuri. Basses lumieres (low light) with the preproduction Panasonic GH3. ISO 1600/3200 with fast lenses. A "FS-100 like" performance.

https://vimeo.com/49696913

Those who (like me) can't wait to get their hands on this camera can pre-order for $1299 at Amazon or $1299.99 at Adorama.

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

EDIT: truthfully, this is not a lot better than the best the hacked GH2 can do with fast lenses:

https://vimeo.com/46120330
Edited by brunerww - 9/19/12 at 1:14pm
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post #22 of 77
9/19/12 at 12:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by brunerww View Post

flinty - the 25p from the GH3 is native and should be Blu Ray compatible. That WEX price is pretty high - I would wait until you can pre-order from Amazon UK.
Bill[/q

Strange i was always under the impression normal 25Pand 50P was not BD compatable unlike 24P 720P and 1080i
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post #23 of 77
9/19/12 at 6:02am
Thread Starter 
CORRECTION and apologies - in PAL areas, the Blu Ray compatible GH3 resolutions/frame rates are 720/50p (MOV), 1080/24p (MOV) and 1080/24p (AVCHD)

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc and http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/gh3/specifications.html
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post #24 of 77
12/4/12 at 11:42pm
I am interested in the GH3, as I have shot with the GH2 and I tried out the NEX-7 for a few weeks but I didn't like the way it handled. Great pictures, excellent video, I shoot mostly with Nikon for stills and have done some video, but I would love to find a "Holy Grail" if there is a camera that does both well. Right now I am shooting with the new Olympus OM-D with very good results on both ends. Great on trips because of it's small size but the GH3 looks like the camera that I could be very happy with for a long time. Any recommendations on a decent lens combo that will do both stills and video to start off with?

Olympus OM-D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2Mv6j88vPA

Panasonic GH3
A very good review from Canada:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIJTfu9Kpqk <<<<< Moves his head too much though during the review. LOL wink.gif
Edited by Garman - 12/4/12 at 11:52pm
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post #25 of 77
12/5/12 at 4:36am
Thread Starter 
Hi Garman - My GH3 just arrived last night - Outdoors, I plan to use it with the 14-140 video-optimized lens that came with my GH2. I love this lens' fast, silent autofocus. For indoor and low light shooting, I have a couple of great wider aperture classic 4/3 lenses I've been using on the GH2 with the MA-1 adapter: a used Olympus f/2.8-3.5 11-22 and a used Sigma f/2.8 18-50. The new Panasonic 12-35 and 35-100 constant f/2.8 lenses look great, but they are darned expensive.

We are starting to see very impressive still and video results from this camera. I can't wait to unbox it and start shooting!

Cheers and best of the holy days to you,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution
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post #26 of 77
12/5/12 at 6:35pm
Bill,

Thanks for the heads up! I wish they had a lens kit with this puppy. I am about ready to take the plunge and sell/trade in my Nikon Gear for this puppy. I just want it before Christmas, just having a hard time finding a place that has them in stock or lens. It's hard to change Cameras if you have money invested into Glass, not many people switch from Canon to Nikon or Nikon to Panasonic too often but after seeing some of those
sample still shots and video from that link, I don't think I could go wrong.
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post #27 of 77
12/5/12 at 6:43pm
I am also selling all my Nikon gear and buying the GH3. Samples I have seen look absolutely wonderful I am also selling my Sony HXR-NX30 on Ebay this week, lovely camcorder but the "all in one" package with the GH3 made my mind.
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post #28 of 77
12/5/12 at 7:05pm
I am tempted to trade my Nikon D7000 in on the GH3, the whole pixel popping and mega sensor sales BS gets a tad tiring. If the Engineers can get it right you don't need a 24 megapixel camera or a 36megapixel camera if they can get the right glass optics etc.. It can make a huge difference. Hell the Olympus OM-D I am shooting with takes almost as good pictures as my Nikon D7000. I don't need 10 different cameras so I am considering it as well. My D7000 will fetch about $1200 with all the Lens I have along with some accessories, just not sure if I am upgrading with it comes to still shots, but I know it is a huge upgrade for doing video! wink.gif

brunerww:

Yeah, a tad expensive is right the 12-35 is $1200 bucks! Ouch, just as much as the camera but boy does it take some beautiful shots!!!!!!

http://eriknaso.com/gear-talk/lumix-12-35-g-x-vario-f2-8-ois-lens-review/
Edited by Garman - 12/5/12 at 9:30pm
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post #29 of 77
12/6/12 at 1:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by brunerww View Post

CORRECTION and apologies - in PAL areas, the Blu Ray compatible GH3 resolutions/frame rates are 720/50p (MOV), 1080/24p (MOV) and 1080/24p (AVCHD)
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc and http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/gh3/specifications.html

Thanks for all the info,but it is as i feared with a GH3 BDs are a no go except in 720 or 24P,neither which i like,with my GH2 i can just put the card in my BD player HD recorder and download the files and watch them to give me an idea of what the editing will be needed.72mbps is a lot but watching footage from my GH2 on my large screen HD TVs the resolution and sharpness are fantastic,better than from HD TV broadcasts.
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post #30 of 77
12/6/12 at 1:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by flintyplus View Post

Thanks for all the info,but it is as i feared with a GH3 BDs are a no go except in 720 or 24P,neither which i like,with my GH2 i can just put the card in my BD player HD recorder and download the files and watch them to give me an idea of what the editing will be needed.72mbps is a lot but watching footage from my GH2 on my large screen HD TVs the resolution and sharpness are fantastic,better than from HD TV broadcasts.


As an edit to the previous post,viewing and capturing the 25/50P files to the recorders hard drive could be still possible as i dont know if the hard drive is limited like Blu Ray discs.
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