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Taking Pictures with GH2.. need some advice shooting properly
  • 178 Replies sorted by
  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    I'm starting like my GH2's Photo side of things and want to thank many people on here for jogging my negative thinking and giving me valuable advice. My main problems was not realising that my camera was set wrong. I had the NR set to +2 Sharpness at -2 contrast -2 & colour at -2. Switching off the NR made the biggest difference. I have also stopped using anything above ISO 1600. I have learned that what works with video is entirely different with photos. I have learned that I'm also limited in scope using JPEGS but want to experiment more. The GH2 definitely isn't a JPEG quality camera but will give ok results. For higher quality RAW is a must. I will be using Raw files only on this camera. The GH2 can!!! shoot stills, Thanks you.... I'm still using JPEGS and want see how far I can push the JPEGS on this camera before moving on to RAW. I've got a small grin on my face & told my partner that I'm going to beat her Canon Rebel In the RAW competition LOL

    GH2 14-42mm F8 ISO 160 MF, Smooth 0, +1, 0, NR -1.JPG
    1834 x 872 - 801K
    GH2 ISO 1600 F3.5 40th sec MF,.JPG
    866 x 956 - 425K
    1st Post with shadow alteration.JPG
    1062 x 1080 - 532K
    2nd with post sharpening.JPG
    1062 x 1080 - 697K
  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    Thanks rNeil

  • John_FarragutJohn_Farragut

    @T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS Yes, you have adopted a great attitude! Keep experimenting. And things are looking much better.

    I had an EOS M for a short while to borrow, which is like a 650D. It doesn't have the option to set the color temperature in Kelvin like the Panasonic. Each camera has its shortcomings.

    I won't be upgrading my camera for a while. I even regret selling my GF1. And that thing could only shoot ISO 800 at most. But that thing felt good and the output was good. Honestly, I liked it more than my GH2 for photography, and I don't really know why. I do know that if I sell my GH2, I will regret it too. With a bit of LightRoom, I can go by. Software and a good lens can make up for some of the shortcomings.

  • JOFOJOFO

    Solid lens could make wonders :) I'm very happy with my choice of 25mm PanaLeica and 60mm Sigma lenses.. Since I've bought them, I use Pannys kit lenses very rarely. I'm still tempted by Voight 17.5mm but it's out of my actual budget so maybe I rather get some solid Canon lens..

  • rNeilrNeil

    @T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    Vast improvement there ... starting to look pretty good ... that new lens would work well too. And yea, getting over to raw would only improve things a bit further ...

  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    Voigtlander is my next purchase. I intended to purchase this lens for video, but know it will really benefit my stills too. Thanks again rNeil, John Farragut & JOFO

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    @T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    Do you still have any of your old Nikkor lenses?

    Older manual lenses adapt very easily to the gh2 with an obvious reduction in the field of view due to the smaller sensor size. For portrait work I love my cheap Nikon series E 50mm f1.8 on the gh2.

    I kind of like the gh2's jpegs straight out of the camera in the different black and white modes. I'll shoot jpeg+raw which gives me the b&w jpegs and a full color raw file to work with.

  • John_FarragutJohn_Farragut

    @jpbturbo I do RAW + JPEG for the B&W too! Works wonderful with high ISO. And if I want to do something special, I have the RAW. But for every day personal images, I don't like to tweak.

  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    This sight has given me the confidence and belief in taking photos with my gh2. I will get a GH4 as my 2nd camera body. Was going to get a canon rebel which I still think is a great camera (I like it's shallower depth of field and higher sensitivity to light). A Panasonic GH2 & GH4 video quality, Photo Quality, with Vitally Keslev, Nick Driftwood, the members of this sight and my positive thinking back, the sky's the limit. They say one learns from mistakes. I have definitely learned from mine and should adopt a better approach to solving any problem I have in the future. I still have hacking to learn for the video and still using the V1.0 firmware that came with the camera. I haven't got my old Nikkor lenses anymore, sold them years ago. What is the best software for editing RAW files? I've only got the PHOTOfunSTUDIO 6.0 BD Edition & SILKYPIX Developer Studio 4.1 SE which came with the camera. What I love about this GH2 is it shoots JPEG & RAW Simultaneously & Incredible quality video. JOFO uses the 60mm Sigma lenses & I've read some very positive reviews on their lens quality. I like the sound of tweaking Those RAW files and Higher bit rate Codecs from Vitally Keslev & Nick Driftwood. I got a huge grin on my face and am cuddling my GH2 LOL

    I Focused on the tree on my right. Notice the sharpness of that tree F8.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 870K
    THE GH2 is Incredible For stills This is a JPEG WOW!.JPG
    1920 x 1080 - 935K
  • rNeilrNeil

    @T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS ...

    Oh, you get that Voigtlander I'll be envious ... that's one nice piece of glass for these cams. And yea, some of the older Nikkors are wondrous on a GH3 ... I've got the 85mm 1.8 "D" which is often available for USD$100 or so in decent shape, FOV on an MFT cam same as 170mm on an FX 35mm. Used with an inexpensive adapter that allows for wide-open focusing and stopping down for shooting ... beautiful images, and the above mentioned 50mm is also a joy.

    What I'd really love is to pick up say the 17.5mm Nokton ... seen some wondrous things from it, and it's a perfect FOV for "standard" video shooting. Budget ... sigh ...

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    Here is shot I took this fall in raw with the nikon 50mm on the Gh2.

    This is unfortunately after it has been uploaded to facebook and re-downloaded so it is actually softer and much more compressed than the original.

    977230_602976050470_1722619938_o.jpg
    2048 x 1366 - 162K
  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    jpbturbo That RAW photo is incredible. It looks like 3D and so 3 dimentional, what a photo and you say it has been compressed... Which Nikon Lens did you use? Was it the Nikkor or Nikon lens?

  • JOFOJOFO

    jpbturbo: even overcompressed it looks amazing with lots of details.. T2iRebel: here is my quick test shot to show you small amount of potential that is hidden in RAWs. I shoot this a minute ago. Same shot left is JPEG stright from camera and right is RAW converted. No color or saturation adjustments done, just some highlight/shadow tweaks and denoise as it was shot in low light @ ISO3200. PanaLeica 25mm F1.4 used here.

    ISO3200-F1_4-JPEG_From_Camera.JPG
    2400 x 1600 - 895K
    ISO3200-F1_4-RAW_Converted.jpg
    2400 x 1600 - 817K
  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    I'm getting the Voigtlander lens in May both the 17.5mm and the 25mm F/0.95 I will look at the Nikon & Nikkor lenses too Thanks for the info

  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    Incredible images. The RAW really kicks. I have really learned something here. What software do I need to convert raw? Thanks for sharing your experience

  • JOFOJOFO

    I'm using PhotoShop in combination with ACR (Adobe Camera RAW). I think similar can by done with Lightroom too..

  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    I have to purchase some software for RAW thanks for the info. I'm blown away by your pics

  • JOFOJOFO

    I'm glad to help you a little.. I've got very usefull info here, not mentioning VK hack and some great patches by Nick Driftwood and other guys in here.. Enjoy your GH2 (and maybe GH4 later). It's great camera for what it costs.

  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    I'm Really starting to enjoy the GH2 now I know I've got quality photo capability as well. Thanks again

  • rNeilrNeil

    Adobe's Lightroom as mentioned by jofo is actually quite easy to use compared to how complex many people think it is. They've really laid out a pattern of workflow through the modules that is pretty easy to get, after you get down the idea that it is built around. And it is VERY useful in many ways, not just for image manipulation.

    As it is BOTH an image modifier/processing program AND a database for your images, it has a couple things you need to know when starting. Put your images onto a decent folder structure (best on a drive other than the one you have programs/system files on) and then from within Lr "Import" your files ... it lets you show them the folders they are in, add metadata to the group of files, and then "shows" them in the "Library" module. You can do some quick modifications to them their individually or in groups, or take individuals or groups into the "develop" module, and do far more intensive work.

    It's great for adding group and specific-image metadata information for finding & sorting now or later, for doing that finding/sorting, and of course for culling & rating images to choose what ones you really want to work on.

    And ... a nifty thing? It never modifies your original image files ... it always keeps a record of what you've "done" to each image, and ... when you want a copy or "export" of it for other use, you output that image with the changes you've made applied to it ... way cool.

    And it's designed to be able to upload to Smugmug & Flickr and such things, make books, all sorts of things most of which we never use in the studio. You can do a lot of nifty retouching things, without needing Photoshop for most images.

  • T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIST2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    Thanks for the info. I'm on the net now looking at Lightroom 5 is this the same?

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    @T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    That shot above was made with a Nikon Series E 50mm f1.8. I think I paid about $40 USD on ebay for it.

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    Rather than blow up Vitaliy's bandwidth with the full file I've attached a 1:1 crop from the original file.

    If the lens is capable of detail then the camera can capture it.

    teresa-nose.jpg
    800 x 600 - 340K
  • matt_gh2matt_gh2

    @jpturbo Shot posted at 6:03 looks great. You're getting great stills off GH2 - well done.

  • rNeilrNeil

    @T2iRebelvsGH2LOUIS

    Yea, "5" is the current Lr version. Nifty program.

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