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Motion qualities of Panasonic GH1,2,3,4 series
  • BlackoutBlackout

    Greetings all, long time no see or rather.. type.

    I got burnt out for a while and am thinking of getting back into things.

    I have a GH1h, GH2h, GH3.... and honestly the GH3 had motion characteristics I didn't like compared to the GH1 which was the most filmic and the GH2 hacked which was the most detailed sharpest of the bunch.

    I still look back on my Saturday with the the dogs and can't believe the GH1 shot that.

    (watch in 1080p HD full screen)

    Now it's a bitch to mix these cameras cause the all look different but I have pulled it off. I have used the GH3 least of all.

    Is there any point now to go to the GH4 for the supposed 4K (downsampled) editing... or has the time of the dslr faded and should I be looking at something new. I have the 14-140 stock lens (sharp as hell but needs light, the pancake, and to 40-100 panny (which I hate with the more cropped GH3)

    Ideas? alternatives? Suicide?

    • Blackout
  • 5 Replies sorted by
  • joetheprojoethepro

    If you dont like the GH3 then you probably wont like the GH4. Save up for an FS7 and rejoice with the angels singing glorious songs of SLOG 10 bit 422 and raw.

  • aldolegaaldolega

    I would think that going with something with a global shutter and intraframe compression would give you the most pleasing motion. So... a BMPC4K, or Digital Bolex... or I think some of the older Sony cinema cams had CCD (thus global) sensors... F3? F35? Something like that.

  • stucameraman1stucameraman1

    Depends how deep your pockets are!!! i have a hacked GH2 and before i bought a GH4 i looked high and low for my next camera...reading reviews watching loads of Philip Bloom video reviews and NOT the generic video reviews as the thing i like most about philip is if a camera has an important flaw or fault he will mention it. i liked the RAW video that i tasted with the Magic Lantern Canon Hack But i got peeed off with the annoying MOIRE pattern caused by canons awful sensor down scaling for video! I wanted a camera with a good codec to speed up my workflow, and be easy on hardisk space and MUST have advanced video options + 1080p Slowmo . The GH4 was the solution for me and in the near future i can afford an external recorder to take advantage of that 10Bit video output as there is not many cameras that can do that for under £10k. I do like the Black Magic cameras but for me they have a very limited video functions, no flip out screen, and you need to spend more money to make them work on a short film shoot or live event. So if you never shoot or dont plan to shoot slowmo, dont mind spending more money on very fast SDcards, dont plan shooting LONG out door events and have simple basic shooting settings then any black magic camera will do. Good luck with your choice, and the Progressive 24p/25p mode on GH2 and GH4 look the same. The GH4 4k to 1080p workflow results in the best 1080p ive seen. here are some results ive squeezed out of my Hacked GH2 and GH4 (4k to 1080p)

    Philip Bloom

  • BurnetRhoadesBurnetRhoades

    I can only guess what you might not have liked, OP, about the GH3 compared to its predecessors but I'm right there with you. That Sony chip is more clinical looking than the GH1/GH2. The GH4 I like even less. Its color is totally electronic looking and its highlights tend to lack rolloff which ruins any expanded DR it might have compared to the GH2, for me.

    If I were to buy another DSLR it would be for stills only. There's loads of better choices now, finally, for shooting a moving image.

  • QuickHitRecordQuickHitRecord

    I think you're talking about motion cadence. Some people see it, and others seem not to. My best attempt at explaining it is 24P that somehow looks like 30P. To be clear, it has nothing to do with image quality.

    I never owned a GH1 but I think that the cadence on the GH2 looked really good. The next two cameras, not so much. In the prosumer range, BlackMagics, Magic Lantern raw cameras (at least the 5D3 and 50D), and the Digital Bolex all look "right" to my eye in this regard.

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