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Should I switch to Gh2?
  • I primarily use a t3i for shooting and only rent lenses. It's hard to escape the plethora of news and discussions on the gh2 and it always has me wondering if I should switch.

    Are there any canon owners here who have switched or decided not to switch? What were your reasons for doing so.

    I primarily shoot commercials, music videos, and web series destined for web.

    Thanks in advance for your time.

  • 38 Replies sorted by
  • @antcuc - Personally, I feel glass is more important than any camera body (at this level anyway) but at this point, you could probably turn a profit by selling your T3i and buying a body (and use said profit on a SanDisk Extreme Card) and be well on your way to much more flexibility in post. The latitude I can pull off the GH2 footage especially in the shadows is incredible, not to mention how well the footage holds up when blown up to cinema screen size.

    So yes, I would switch.

  • @antcuc Yeah I used to have a T2I and sold it to switch over to a GH2, it was great choice.

  • Thanks for your input @artiswar and @deshondixon . Aside from higher bitrate/latitude for play and the obvious sharper detail, are there any other things you like about the gh-2? Any cons you can think of?

    Thanks for you time it's really helping my decision.

    As for glass, I'm renting for now so I can always get the best glass. Im trying to figure put which camera makes better use of that glass in my price range.

  • No not really other than the canon camera's have better LCD screens

  • T2i: Better resale value, Better LCD, More DR when using Technicolor CineStyle, Larger sensor, Benifits of Magic Lantern.

    GH2: Benifits of Vitaliy's hack, Smaller/lighter, Can use a larger variety of lenses.

  • @antuc - you won't like the low light performance or the form factor as much, but you will love the lack of aliasing and moiree, and the increased resolution.

  • @antcuc - Honestly, the biggest con is the perceptual size of the camera, Canon assholes often laugh us off set. Until post, when they wished they had listened. I also respectfully disagree with @Brian202020. If you meter and expose correctly with both cameras, I can push the GH2 worlds beyond the 60D or 600D, especially with a @driftwood hack. @antcuc - Take a look at @shian 's work and you'll see just how much more worth it it is. The latitude might be less evident with the lack of Cinestyle but it's there. And you don't get cheated out of 1080p like Canon's faux-1080

  • @artiswar

    Canon assholes often laugh us off set. I can push the GH2 worlds beyond the 60D or 600D And you don't get cheated out of 1080p like Canon's faux-1080

    I understand your position, but, please be more constructive. Without such extremes.
    I much prefer 600D to the GH2 if later is used to shoot crap. Also many people have big amount of very good Canon glass, and I do not advise to move to Panasonic in this case.

  • Switched from the 60d to a GH2 a few months back. Aside from the increased resolution, it's much nicer on a handheld Glidecam HD1000 (also known as "the back breaker") as it's much lighter. I already have quite a few vintage primes from Nikon & Pentax, so making the switch involved purchasing some adapters.

    The one thing I really miss about the 60d is the focus peaking with Magic Lantern. Other than that, the GH2 has been fantastic. I'm quite happy I made the switch.... I even purchased a second GH2 for multi-camera live concert shooting.

  • @Vitaliy_Kiselev

    Sorry. Fair enough. The bulky form factor, lower resolution and less than desirable macro blocking doesn't lend itself to my style grading. That said, glass dictates body. I started from scratch with my GH2 so I had the luxury of buying adapted LOMOs. @antcuc - if you don't own glass, switch and invest in some Nokton, Lomo, etc.

  • I haven't "switched", per se, but I was shooting on the 5D (did not own one), and bought a GH2 a year ago. Now every time I have to shoot on a Canon, I groan. With the exception of a better selection of auto AI type lenses, I see no advantage to any Canon camera over the GH2. If you are the type shooter who relies heavily on those Auto features, then the GH2 is probably not for you. If you are a full manual guy, like me. The huge selection of lens and mount types, and the sheer data rate and picture quality vaults the hacked GH2 over any camera short of the Scarlet (unless the BMD camera actually turns out to be a game changer) IMO

  • I was a huge canon fan... but the GH2 looked like a great camera, so I picked on up. And once you actually start working with some real 1080p footage... there is just no going back. I cringe whenever I have to watch 7D footage full-screen... but the GH2 is a shear joy. Plus, there just isn't enough bit-rate on the canons for anything. They're just too muddy and soft in the end.

    I also use slo-mo allot and the GH2's 60fps is just worlds better. There's actually a bit more detail than my 7D/5D in their 1080p modes. Plus, it actually looks better than the C300's 720p 60fps material.

    Also, allot of people talk about lenses being more important... but when a cameras resolving power and detail are as bad as the 5D/7D/60D/ect... they really don't make that big of a difference in the end. I laugh when I hear about people talking about using Ziess on their canon's like it's actually going to make a difference. They can't even fully resolve that $100 50mm 1.8 "nifty-fifty" lens...

  • @mrbill No actually I feel the GH2 does much better at low light than my old T2i. I can bump my iso to 5000 on my GH2 and barley see any noise. On my old T2i if I went anywhere past 1000 it looked horrible. I used to have a 50mm f/1.4 on T2i and then moved over to the GH2 and got a 35mm f/2 and the 35mm f/2 did better in low light on my GH2 than the 50mm f/1.4 on my T2i.

  • @antcuc If you can work through the learning curve required to adjust to the GH2 it is definitely worth the switch. Especially since you are not invested in Canon glass.

    I used Canon for a long time and most recently owned a 5D MK2. Going from that to a GH2 is more of a debate because of the full frame censor, still image quality and build.

    When I first pulled the tiny plastic GH2 out of the box I said "I fucked up..." But I got past that, shot some tests, played with it in post and said "Hey, I didn't fuck up!"

  • @matthewcarr Ahahahahaha I swear I said the same thing when I first got the GH2!! I thought it was a piece of trash and thought people lied to me about it until I started shooting with the camera!! It blew my mind away!!

  • @deshondixon - my 60D blows my GH2 away in low light. Sadly, that means I'm also stuck with a soft, aliased, moiree ridden image as well.

  • @mrbill I like the GH2 in B&W on high ISO.

    Another issue with learning the GH2 and any camera for that matter is all the conflicting excess information out there. At some point you can't research any further and just need to test for yourself. Many debates are over things that make negligible differences. If your content is good nobody cares if your custom white balance has 2 notches less red.

  • Wow thanks everyone for chiming in! I really appreciate everyone's input into this topic it's been worlds of help. Im going to do some more research before "making the switch" but the information here is definitely pointing me in the right direction.

  • I got in this late but I was a hard core Canon user. I had a MkII and a 7D. Loved them, had a bunch of L glass and was happy with the Video on 7D even without a hack. I always felt the 5D was a little soft and sold it.

    I bought one GH2, used it, then hacked it. Information was hard to sift through especially for someone coming from still work mostly, to video. I bought a second one when I realized the potential.

    This place was horrible until I got the feel for it. It was like trying to use twitter as a tutorial.

    After a while, I learned the board and things improved. I started buying glass and realized I could get as good or better glass for a fraction of the cost. I finally sold the 7D and all my Canon lenses.

    For a still camera, I'd take Canon or Nikon. For video, there's simply nothing better out there for less than 4 times the money than the GH2, despite my dislike for customer service.

    Cameras come and cameras go. The GH2 will be overshadowed by something one day, maybe this fall although I doubt it, but the GH2 has set a mighty high bar for the other camera companies to cross.

  • i own a canon t2i and a gh2 ill say this theres some problems with the gh2 for me. when u hit record the video changes to a green tent. and it throws you off the canons are easyer to work with. the rollling shutter on the gh2 is better. and the alising is better. the canons are easyer to use. the gh2 doenst have the option to use a white card or grey card to set your whitebalance. the gh2 hasnt given me a better image yet then my canon t2i. the gh2 has less depth of field. i like it myself it gives you more room to be in focus. the gh2 does make more things in focus. it is sharper. im kind of just typing whats coming in my head.

  • Please stop rambling on about things which you do not know.

    The GH2 can set white balance from a white card. When more things are in focus, it's greater depth of field, not less. Depth of field is a function of resolution and the lens. It is useless to compare the depths of fields of two different cameras if you don't say something about what lenses you are using. For the same resolution, the same focus distance, the same angle of view, and the same aperture diameter, different formats will have the same depth of field. For the same resolution, the same focus distance, and the same lens, the smaller format has less depth of field. For the same resolution, the same focus distance, the same angle of view, and the same f-number, the smaller format has greater depth of field.

  • Wow, Id like to see that green tent in my footage sometimes!

    Seriously though; I became interested in dslrs for video when mkII / 7d / 550 (t2i?) entered the market. I was instantly sold on the possibilities with such a camera. I shot some stuff with all of them (did not own any of them), but was particularly annoyed with the moiré and soft looking footage (shot often side by side with a canon xh a1, and the dslrs were really poor in comparison; despite more dynamic range and better glass). Opening the files was a dissapointment in relation to what I saw in the frame and I found them "completely useless" for nature / scenery shots.. I started to look around as to why the footage was like it was, possible fixes and eventually; looking for alternatives.

    Hence, I stumbled upon the gh1 and the difference was mind-blowing. Not to mention how much cheaper it was; plus I didn´t have to fork out a fortune for decent glass; having basically the whole history of optics to choose from.

    Last autumn I got the gh2. Sold the gh1. Now I have two gh2´s. I wish for better stills capabilities, although I can´t complain TOO much. (I hope the gh3 will compare to the om-d – it would make it the perfect wilderness companion) It´s such a great deal for anyone who wishes to shoot video seriously. A bit of a learning curve, granted (especially if you´ve only shot with canons previously) - but way more functional / practical than any of the above Canons for video. Haven´t tried the newer ones with articulated screens since video looks like "shit" anyway. Functionality seems to have improved, but it doesn´t mend the footage.

  • @mrbill

    my 60D blows my GH2 away in low light.

    Well the 7D is a better low-light performer than the 60D, and my GH2 is much cleaner than my 7D. So I don't know what area you are seeing the 60D "blow it out of the water" in...? I feel comfortable going up to 2500 on the GH2 when needed, but anything above 1250 on the 7D is garbage.

    ISO1600 on the GH2 looks like ISO640 on the 7D noise wise.

  • always amazes me how people can over look the terrible electronic artifacts of the Canons. Moire and aliasing are deal breakers to my eyes. Not crazy about the soft image either.

  • I have a 60d and a gh2...and like these things about each: -The gh2 footage, with the right glass (like the voigtlander 25/0.95) is very amazing. -being able to shoot video with the viewfinder is huge for me. I do have an LCD magnifier, but don' always want or need it...viewfinder grab works great in many cases. Of course no mirror slr will offer that -The 60d excels for stills. Wouldn't want to be without it. -Magic lantern is great on the 60D...I haven't figured out all the good things to do with it

    In short, this is feeling Iike the best of both worlds. So...maybe the question is not whether to switch...but, rather, to ADD a gh2 to your kit.