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GH3 rumors topic
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  • @mpgxsvcd

    You want to compare camera DR based on JPEG with dynamic enhancers appliead, right?

  • @danyyyel

    Some people are claiming that based on the DXO results the DR of the GH2 is not as bad as it sounds. However, looking at the Dpreview results you can clearly see that the GH2 is actually the worst camera they have ever tested for Dynamic Range.

    Now it is only about a stop behind the best cameras in DR without any DR expansion applied. However, once those other cameras apply their DR tools then they really start to pull away by many stops. This is because Dpreview could not get the IDynamic feature of the GH2 to trigger with their setup.

    It is very hard to get IDynamic to work. However, it might close that gap a little if you get it to engage.

    All I hope for is that the GH3 can at least beat the likes of the fixed lens compact cameras like the Sony RX-100 and the Canon S100. If it can equal the OMD then I will be satisfied. I do hope they fix the I.Dynamic mode as well. You should be able to turn it on or off in different levels or have it on Auto instead of it turning itself on or off all the time.

    Play with the comparison tool in the link below and you will see how bad the GH2 is for DR especially once you factor in the other cameras DR modes that actually work most of the time.

    http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sony-cybershot-dsc-rx100/11

  • @vitaliy_kiselev I know, I expressed myself the wrong way. I pasted that link for the comments :)

  • It says the GH3 screen is OLED tho not LCD, which is a large step up an is still 200line's more rez then GH2 screen.

  • @LongJohnSilver I'm not surprised it's the same specs, it's from the same source 43rumors.

    The resolution of the back LCD screen doesn't sound right to me, considering the G5 has a 920K one. I wish they would put a larger square sensor in it, so you can do full image circle 1:1 ratio shots as well as portrait shots without having to rotate the camera

  • @LongJohnSilver

    It is not another rumor, it is plain C&P.

  • So we got another rumour confirming the same specs:

    http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/9/5/3292505/panasonic-gh3-micro-four-thirds-spec-sheet-leaked

    given that here we all have a shirt written "prisoners of one faith" just look at comments of the average Joe out there...

  • @stonebat What I meant is that the perceive thought the Panasonic is far behind the others of tech for DR is not the case. It is simply that they have put some contrasty picture profile for video. If they wanted tomorrow they could send a firmware update with a log profile in the gh2 that would put it in the 11 stop range because the sensor and raw pipeline is capable of it.

  • My first point was about the gh2 as being generally poor in DR. That is only in case of jpeg. What the dxomark result tells us that it is only half a stop lower than the Canon 5d mark3. The problem is that Panasonic profile crushes part of that DR before outputting it video. So it is not farfetched to think that after 2 years of research and development they could increase the DR by at least half a stop to reach 5dmark3 and 1 to 1.5 stop to be more in the Sony exmor type of camera. More so that they did not increase the megapixel. So should they decide to put some flat log profile that would preserve a lot of the DR and we would get a very good DR video camera.

    In the case of DXOmark the usable DR applies to every camera. So if you think the gh2 usable DR is lower for the gh2, then it will be the same in the same measure for the other camera. If someone think that the usable DR of the gh2 is 1 or 2 stop lower, then it will be the same case for 5d3 or D800. They have a methodological system in place to calculate clipping point, noise level at a normalise size of 8 megapixel.

    For me the concept of usable DR is a a bit absurd. The concept is that you should be able to boost the shadows or bring the highlight to unnatural level. When I shoot a scene, I don't expect the deepest shadows to come to middle gray. I mean if there is an actor there and I want to see him, either I light him or try decrease the highlight level so that I can with exposure put the shadows higher.

  • @itimjim +1

    @danyyyel In-camera recorded movie frames have worse image quality than low quality jpeg (the smallest size jpeg option). DXOMark tests RAW photo.

  • @danyyyel Even though it's rated at 11.4 stop, I don't find that it is 'usable' in those stops. Personally I find usable detail in the AVCHD GH2 to be around the 8 stop mark, and if I want a superior image I need that to be within a 6-7 stop window. RAW for stills is much better.

    From what I've seen from BMC, it looks like it's able to compact a lot of it's usable DR into the ProRes codec, which is really great.

  • @lolodigital There are a lot of internet myth floting about the gh2 dynamic range. People should look at the gh2 raw DR from dxomark or sensorgen to see that the gh2 is about 11.4 stop. Only about half a stop from the Canon 5d mark 3. So if Panasonic wanted to put a 11.4 stop DR camera today they could by releasing a log flat profile in the gh2. So I think that with a little development the last 2 years with no increase in Pixel, the 12 stop and more could easily be achieved at least in photo Raw. Now with a flat picture profile most of this DR could be available in video.

  • For me the threshold is 12 stop of DR. At this level, you can do a lot of things and you should question your ability as a photographer/cinematographer if you can't use it well. That is know where to place your actors pertaining to the sun/source of light, back lighting, contrast range from inside to outside like open windows a la zacuto test etc.

    At 14 stop, you have excellence, I would call it human vision. Think about how you see the world, where you nearly don't care about exposure, where there is detail nearly everywhere, from the shadow to the highlight. There might be some clipping but it is with a very gentle roll-off and once you try to put everything inside it gets a bit the HDR fake look.

    This is from my experience with the 12 stop rated Nikon D300/D700 and the 14.5 stop D800.

  • Panasonic sold the HVX200 as a "wide dynamic range" camcorder... the result was a poor 8-9 stops DR... If this feature have to be a "stunning" one, we would have had more than just a "wide dynamic range" rumor, but numbers, real numbers like 13 stops DR or more... Wait and see.

  • @danyyyel I agree, if that is their workflow they are mistaken. Poor sound and poor lighting is a recipe for disaster.

    The GH3 will be a great camera. But as a colorist I was really bummed having worked with the BMD raw footage, to have to go back to the limitations of the GH2 footage. It just made me wish for a flatter image with more color depth out of my GH2 which I love. Or at least the option to have something similar in the GH3.

  • @shian I stand by what I say. I am a pro photographer that has work in raw for the last 7 years, I have started from the Nikon d70 to what we could call one of the finest ever RAW camera with a D800. True, that I haven't work with Raw in video, but from my experience working with digital file (more than fifteen years in advertising), I say that a 10 bit 422 log prores file will be enough for 95% of work.

    I am starting to see again on BMC site people that are going to do the same error again and again. They will extend there budget to shoot RAW and pair it with some cheap sound recorder/microphone and no light just too succumb to the fab of RAW. If this gh3 is what it is strongly rumored, someone with a gh3 and 3 arri type freshnel or some kino type light, a mixpre-d and recorder with some good mic will be much better off.

  • I wonder; is the level of price gh2 after gh3?

  • @shian I'm actually jealous of people who worked with 35mm. I'm 23 but I've worked with and hired people older than me who have grown up with 35mm and it's a whole new world in production with the way they work. One of the big things is getting it spot on perfect in camera because they were used to waiting a day for dailies and film cost a lot. No room for error one bit.

  • Sorry for offending you, dude. I respect your work, man. I wasn't calling anyone out specifically. If the shoe doesn't fit, don't wear it (or better yet ignore me). Only meant to ruffle the feathers of those whom the shoe fits.

  • Wrote a post about the rumored specs of the GH3 for my buddy. http://thenewcinematographers.com/?p=876

  • If it can do 48p, I'd hope we can gave an HDR feature like RED and Magic Lantern. Also, wondering if wifi and apps will allow a true wireless follow focus. That would be cheap to implement and a really cool demo feature.

  • IMO this is a great sign from Panasonic. They learned from the customers what they needed to do and then they went and made the product people wanted. The fact that they took the GH3 in this direction rather than save these features for an AF200 or something tells me that they are in fact capable of change and adapting to the market rather than ignoring them and doing only what they want to do. A PRO GH is a wonderful thing IMO.

    If we look at many of the things we listed on wish lists many of those things are rumored to be in this camera and if these things are true then I will surely be a continued happy customer. How can anyone find fault with this kind of camera at what I would assume will be a sub $2,000.00 price point? I can't wait to see what the changes in image quality are going to be. If they improved the DR and highlight handling, then i'm gonna be a happy camper. For me the toughest thing is dealing with highlights. I'm also hoping they give us a 4:2:2 color so we can have a bit more smoothness. All the other stuff is just icing on the cake for my needs.

  • Gee, thanks for the slam, @Shian , it's appreciated. Perhaps I should change my name to Mr. Mediocre because I want a sensible compromise from the output of a Prosumer camera. I've been working in the VFX industry for 16 years now. I've used & graded R3D files, Alexa files, Dalsa files, and film-scanned Cineon files on After Effects, Nuke, and Fusion. I've also seen the file sizes these files produce. R3D files are compressed so they take up less space and therefore use less storage. But even they are relatively large (mostly due to their 4K/5K resolution).

    If you're a pro, none of this probably matters. Pros have deeper pockets than the rest of us and make $$$ from the equipment they invest in. However, I'd say the GH market is prosumer at best. Sure there are some pros using GH2s, but compared to the other cameras out there the pros use, the GH market is drop in the bucket. Use whatever you like. I'm just saying there is nothing easy about RAW (except grading, of course), and I stand by it. Nearly all of the TV shows that are shooting on Alexa do so using ProRes output, not RAW. They do so because it's more efficient for them. There's nothing mediocre about that.

  • Coming from a 35mm background, EVERYTHING is easier than the old 35mm workflow. This generation has become spoiled. Never had to edit on a reel to reel, splice and glue film, calculate the precise number of frames to perform perfect dissolves by hand, edit a work print to create a final negative, and then color time.

    To those of us who have experienced (however brief) the old way of doing things, everything about digital is a breeze, and we don't mind if it takes a little extra effort... because it's worth it.

    And the storage and high-end system knock is bullshit. 10 years ago, I was working with 4k film scans using lo-res proxies on a dual Pentium III 800 system with half a GB of ram, and software that was nowhere near as intuitive as what we have today. R3D is raw, and I've been editing and grading it on external FW800 drives on my Macbook Pro. Where there's a will, there's a way. But I don't envy those who want things to be easier. Chances are, you're in the express lane to mediocrity.

    Nothing worthwhile is ever easy.

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