Searching for a new camera companion

kolinko

hi everybody!

I've been following various posts for some days regarding research for a new camera for my video works after having used the canon sx200 for several years to shoot video. For my last work (degree show video at art school) I borrowed a gh1 and I quite liked it, but only due to the existence of this enormous lively community which enriches video life to such a high degree! thanks for that girls and guys!! For the work with the hacked (using mostly 100Mbps Max Latitude Settings V2) gh1 I bought myself two voigtlander noctron prime lenses, one 42.5mm (equiv. 85mm) and one 17.5mm (equiv. 35mm) which I quite enjoyed. I also used a photo tripod, one LED extra light and the great sound device t702 with a great 20 yrs old neumann mic from my school. I search for a camera that works well with these two micro4/3 prime lenses.

I now think about getting either the nx500, gh2/3/4(?), nx1, maximum 1000 EUR. But then I still want to have a lot of extra equipment like for sound, tripod, monitoring and so on. By the way is it possible to use a Mac-Book Air as a live monitor with any of these? I have absolutely no experience and I feel a little bit overwhelmed with all that extra research/equipment, trying to figure out everything here at the forum. Getting a lot of extra gear slowly is wanted, I want to grow up using more and more specific equipment for monitoring, recording sound, follow focus...

For my approach to video/cinema I never worked for money (except for one apprenticeship) so far, my personal projects are non-funded projects and I do operate everything myself (sound, video, editing, even standing in front of the camera) so far. I’d like to shoot either still or handheld mostly, considering the possibility to buy a rig or something similar one day. I’m not so much the studio and big team guy until now...

Since I'm so unsure about what I need maybe I should for the start just go for the gh1 body only costing me 240EUR?

The fact that panasonic goes to three years of guarantee (gh3/4) sounds tempting to me as well. I guess I'm too unsure/experimental and too easy to manipulate.

Thanks in advance! kolinko

kolinko

I really like these two pages, although they might be a bit old, but basically things are still quite similar up to today. Or is there anything to add?

Vitaliy_Kiselev

It is so old, need remake.

I will be moving all remaining gh1-hack pages to PV wiki soon and will try to update it, as almost all models can be replaced by much better one and much more text must be added.

kolinko

Thanks Vitaly at that point, hanging out around here feels almost like an online school (and more) to me!

kolinko

The offers I found on ebay:

SAMSUNG NX1 Body Solo Corpo Smart Camera EUR 1.149,00 http://www.ebay.de/itm/161805108465?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 schwarz Kamera in OVP wie NEU! (*1247806) EUR 1.069,00 http://www.ebay.de/itm/361377908383?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Panasonic Lumix GH3 Gehäuse/Body only Demo-Vitrinenstück SOFORT EUR 649,00 http://www.ebay.de/itm/381370404606?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Panasonic Lumix GH1 Body only EUR 245,00 http://www.ebay.de/itm/151787668772?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

kolinko

what's the best option for low light hand camera run and gun with astonishing quality if using the voigtlander noktron prime lense for example?

kolinko

now there's gx8 and with it's video stabilization it seems to be much more interesting for the case I want to shoot handheld. I thought until now that compact cameras like the gx8 are better for studio use (in comparence to gh4)? Or not give so much about 4k and take olympus e m5 II camera?

brudney

Have a look at Oly e-m10 II - pretty much the same video capabilities as e-m5 II for cheaper.

RRRR

I love the gh2 still. Fantastic camera for the money. If you can find one, second hand with some accessories you will most certainly be making a good deal. Stabilization will only get you so far (it works well to counter some shakiness, but not all), you need some kind of rig to shoot steady handheld footage. The cheap DIY way is to just use your tripod as a shoulder rig. It works, but is not the best solution. For really good handheld you need to have 3 points of contact with the camera and so, you might want to check out some of the plethora of rigs out there.

jeanspillane

The GH2 is great, but considering the lenses you already have, I would go for a GH4. Even if you don't need 4k for your work, features like peaking and zebras are of huge, huge use.

That being said, GH2s can be found quite cheap and have probably bottomed out in price, whereas the GH4 will only get cheaper.

I would stay away from the Olympus cameras for video - stabilization is interesting, but there are far too many drawbacks. If you need EXCELLENT stabilization on a Panasonic camera, consider picking up the old four-thirds Panasonic-Leica 14-50 2.8-3.5. It is a great albeit frustrating (focus breathing, horrible AF, mediocre build quality - but sharp and steady) lens. The plus side of all the negatives is that you can find them pretty cheap.

I don't have any experience with the Samsung cameras other than playing with an NX1 a little, but people seem to love them. Considering your lenses I would stick with MFT. If you do go Samsung, make sure that you are OK with H.265 compression.

Never forget: the best stabilization is a tripod.

CFreak

My thoughts for you. Listed in order of importance IMHO:

If the camera doesn't have peaking you'll need to use an external monitor.
If it doesn't have a mic input jack you'll need something like a Zoom H1 mounted in the hot shoe & a way to sync it in post.
If the camera doesn't have a headphone jack you may still want to use a Zoom H1 or similar and monitor your audio through it.
Zebras are nice to have, but the flashing over exposure warning and histogram of the GH1 & GH 2 was enough for me.

That being said, I'd consider any of the cameras with peaking. Listed by release date: G6 (weaker peaking function than the rest, I recall) GX7 GH4 G7

and then see if one of these has the audio function you want. Mic input and maybe a headphone jack (Gh4 has both). Hopefully it'll fit your budget.

These are all Panasonic cams and can shoot 24p. I would not buy a camera that cannot shoot 24p or 25p depending where you live.

RRRR

For me peaking has rarely been really useful (not accurate enough, though enhanced sharpness like on bmc cameras works pretty well IMO) but each to his own! I think what is most important and I forgot to mention above: before buying anything, look at a lot of footage from each and every camera. If you like the look and feel of the image from the camera, you are far more likely to be happy with it for a longer time.

kolinko

Thanks for your replies! So even if the gh2 is a very strong camera I decided for the gh4 with 12-35mm kit lens for 2,032.53 EUR = 2,288.27 USD

Any experiences with the Panasonic DMW-MS2 Stereo Shotgun Microphone?

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