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GH3 user reviews and opinions
  • 1089 Replies sorted by
  • stanlymanly2stanlymanly2

    So I finally had some opportunities to film weddings with the GH3. I had 5 in the past 3 weeks. All I can say is, I have never been so impressed with a DSLR style video camera. The GH3 is so easy to grade and sometimes I'm left conflicted on wether I should grade it or not. This video has little to no grading at all. I now primarily use the Standard Picture profile with -3 -3 -3 -1 settings. I'm so happy that I can film at 1600 ISO and it is soooo useable. I've even pushed to iso 2500 and I am still impressed. This this obviously has its Limitations but if you just use it right, It is the ideal video camera. I can't wait to pair this with the BMPC i pre ordered. The GH3 has officially impressed me beyond my expectations.

  • grisnjamgrisnjam

    @ stanlymanly2, loved it.

  • Sph1nxsterSph1nxster

    Second wedding with two GH3s and delighted with the results. The latitude that the camera affords during grading is terrific.

    This film was shot with the 12-35 Panasonic lens, and Canon FD 50mm. Varavon slider for the moving shots.

  • DphotogDphotog

    Ive been shooting with the GH3 for quite a while now but never really did anything to actually sit down and grade my video till now. I shot using a friends settings and it came out pretty well. In this video Twixtor which i never really understood until after speaking with some DP's how to get that crisp look with 60p. It came out pretty satisfactory considering i dropped the speeds down to 5%. Was a very long 20hour export (aka i need a Vid card that works with cs6)

    enjoy the super slow modes 1st one is a little iffy though.

  • stanlymanly2stanlymanly2

    @grisnjam thank you! :) i used to be skeptical of the gh3 and was considering selling it to get another pocket camera on pre order. then i finally got more weddings to film and i am honestly blown away with the quality of the video it produces. it's a keeper forever!

  • jamesnordenjamesnorden

    Well that was fun! Used the GH3 and SLR Magic 25mm 0.95 lens at a carnival on Saturday. Try focusing on a moving float and people when it is that shallow... Steep learning curve! 50MB/s 1920x1080 50FPS MOV recording format. ISO 200. 1/100 Shutter speed. Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6. Graded with Magic Bullet Looks. Here is the video - impressed with the quality of the recording on the GH3:

  • anthonybertanthonybert

    @jamesnorden Very good job... The shallower the harder:) would mind sharing you process please? settings, recoding mode and post? Thanks

  • jamesnordenjamesnorden

    @anthonybert - thanks! I've added the settings to the original post below.

  • joss1joss1

    Unlikely, I saw a possum in Sydney CBD who was interested by my camera. I gave him a tomato then he started to act like a real actor during 7 small minutes, oh lucky ! I only got 4 mn of raw footage... Challenge was to create a 45 seconds video :) I am really REALLY happy about this camera. Workflow is fast and noise is more than acceptable for video !

  • RottenCarcassRottenCarcass

    That's a very cute video, joss. I'm slowly coming around to a decision on a camera for my film project, and I think I'm setting on the GH3. However, I have only been on personal-view for a few months, so I have no way to compare what people think of the GH3 with other cameras and models. I looked at this section "USER REVIEWS AND OPINIONS" and notice that posting has really fallen off in the last couple of months... are people disappointed in the GH3, or are they switching to other cameras they regard as better (for about the same budget)? Just trying to make sure I don't miss something everyone else realizes as I choose my camera. I don't want to be the last one to find out :) Thank you everybody, especially to Vitaliy for the amazing site and wonderful information and community here!

  • AonAndersonAonAnderson

    Hi RottenCarcass if you haven't seen my short film Clandestine I posted on page 38 check it out. I had many of the DSLR from Canon and Sony including GH2 and other pro camcorders and think the GH3 is the best hands down. Video quality is the best on any unhacked camera and it is so user friendly and fast to use. I don't think you would be disappointed in getting it.

  • Greek_m43Greek_m43

    I've huge problems with my GH3. It's sent in for repairs, fully covered, but here's the problems I've had. 2 are smaller problems, 1 large problem. The hot shoe came off from the XLR box I keep on top. This happened in 2 weeks. I had the box on my GH2 for two years and the hot shoe is fine. The screen was close to coming off, just totally loose. The big problem is that my camera bricked. I shot a short film over 4 days and had 2 days of promo shoots for work. Had my camera locked up over the weekend. Tried to fire up the camera, and got nothing. Other than that I love the camera. It looks fantastic and is a breeze to use. The short I shot was black and white and looks great!

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @Greek_m43

    We haveanother topic for such things

    http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/5488/gh3-issues-topic#Item_247

  • bwhitzbwhitz

    @RottenCarcass

    I looked at this section "USER REVIEWS AND OPINIONS" and notice that posting has really fallen off in the last couple of months... are people disappointed in the GH3, or are they switching to other cameras they regard as better (for about the same budget)? Just trying to make sure I don't miss something everyone else realizes as I choose my camera.

    I love my GH3! I'd say go for it! You won't be disappointed!

    I think allot of people might be in camera-limbo right now. Waiting to see how the BlackMagic Pocket turns out. That and the 2.5k BMCC are the only options I would consider as "better". But... they do lack the amazing 60fps the GH3 has... as do nearly all "real" video cameras. Hell, I would still chose the GH3 over a FS700, since the FS700 still records it's over-cranked footage to garbage internal codecs you can't grade worth a damn. I love the idea of 240fps footage... but really, 60fps will do for my slow-motion needs right now. Especially since it's so much more gradable (and has less banding) than most other cameras' garbage compression on it's over-cranked footage.

    The GH3 and Blackmagic cams are very complimentary to each other. Similar sensor-sizes and similar lensing options. The same lens set will work for all your cam-bodies here. For under $5k... you can get RAW, prores, and what might be the best-compressed H.264 8-bit footage available... for when you don't need raw or high-bit rates. Great combo here. Get the GH3 now... and see if you really need something like the BMCC later. The GH3 will ALWAYS make a great over-cranking camera or B-cam for extra coverage. The GH3's color science and DR look allot close to the Blackmagic than the GH2 or Canon cams.

    I've been wanting to do a review or something of the GH3... but I'm just waiting to do a worthwhile project first. No sense in uploading my boring test shots right now.

  • maddog15maddog15

    @RottenCarcass I love my GH3 for the same points outlined above by others. But there is a huge BUT about the GH3 in my opinion.

    Not gonna mince words here. The OLED viewfinder sharpness is a big step down from say, my GH2. It's simply not "crisp" and sharp when in perfect focus. Been a lot of complaints about this from others. I read about it before my purchase thinking people were just looking for something to bitch about. Some returned thiers because of this one "flaw". They weren't just bitching...It's bad compared to other cameras.. Not a problem on the flip screen of course but when I do hand held shots with my Fotga DP 500 rig I always use the viewfinder. The GH3 viewfinder is tough. When pulling manual focus...and you're almost there...poof... you float past the focal point and have to pull back. (Or vice versa) It's just soft looking when "perfectly focused.". No hard crisp pop visually. With my GH2's viewfinder there's no mistake when it's in focus.

    Is it a deal breaker for me? No. As with anything I've learned to be able to recognize the GH3's viewfinder focal sweet spot. I've not say...shot a bunch of footage, loaded it in Premiere and said, "It's all out of focus!" I've had to adjust to the GH3's viewfinder. To be honest it's not that big of a deal anymore. But when I use my GH2 for a shoot and go back to mt GH3 ... It's like, "Shit... I forgot how bad the viewfinder is on this thing."

    All things said and done - If I knew what I know now would I have purchased the GH3? Yes. Without hesitation, it's a Great camera. No regrets here.

    Good luck to you.

  • andrevanberloandrevanberlo

    I've used my 2 GH3's quite a bit lately and they are an improvement over the GH2 in a number of area's. I'm not so fussy about image quality as some so I'm ok with the fact that the GH2 might have the edge there.

    I love the extra dial for setting aperture, I have my lumix 25mm F1.4 on all the time to shoot pictures of our newborn and in the beginning setting aperture in the menu was a drag.

    I am disappointed that there is no focus peaking in the GH3, I assumed it would come later in a firmware update and now I'm reading contradicting posts about panasonic officials saying it is possible and in another instance saying it is impossible...

    I'm very happy with the results i'm getting but that focuspeaking thing just bugs me

  • RottenCarcassRottenCarcass

    Thanks for your observations and advice, guys. I'm still leaning toward the GH3, though I do have an eye on other possible cameras in the same price range, as for example the new Canon 70D. Anyhow, I do like the fact that you can use almost any lenses on the GH3 through adapters for the m4/3 mount, so even if the pocket BMC transpires to be a great camera, it can also share the same lenses for the m4/3 mount as a great A or B cam. I am sad about the lack of peaking (but who knows what magic Vitaliy might unlock!), because with a poor viewfinder I wonder how easy it will be to judge focus or even exposure... it might end up that you need an external monitor for the GH3 100%, which adds to the cost significantly and again makes one think of other cameras now at higher prices.

  • maddog15maddog15

    @RottenCarcass Good point about a field monitor for the GH3. I did buy a 5 inch Ruige TL-S500HD field monitor. Bought it for my GH2 but use it now for my GH3. Great price at around $200 for the monitor itself. I added the "Zoom trigger" for about $30 to add Peaking focus. It's NOT a super high end monitor BUT a perfect monitor for framing and focus. I love this little thing. I use it on a tripod constantly but have used it for hand held shots on my rig. Problem is the weight. Pretty heavy especially with the Sony 970 battery in the monitor. With or without Peaking focus - with this 5" monitor I have no problems achieving perfect manual focus with the GH3. (Hope I haven't gone off topic with this post as it does have relevance to a solution for the GH3's poor viewfinder focus issue)

  • maddog15maddog15

    5 inch Ruige TL-S500HD with GH3image

    GH3_withMonitor.JPG
    2592 x 1936 - 2M
  • labalbilabalbi

    Humm...the new Canon 70D with alien AF will have focus peaking ? Even the G6 there are a lot of controversial opinions about the focus peaking functionality...

    What do think adding a viewfinder like the ones from Carryspeed, model VF-4 and other brands ? Would nt it provide a better manual focusing without the weight of the external monitor ?

  • maddog15maddog15

    @labalbi Been looking around at viewfinders for the GH3 to assist with manual focus. The Carryspeed, model VF-4 wasn't made with the GH3 in mind. Therefore I've found that it doesn't exactly fit without having to use "Do it Yourself" foam and spacer tricks etc. I've searched but perhaps we need another topic for this?

    Edit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/970691-REG/zacuto_z_find_gh3_gh3_z_finder_pro.html

  • h2otarah2otara

    Could someone who's used the VF-4 or another loupe on the GH3 compare the view to using the EVF? I use MF only, and although I'm able to focus with the GH3 EVF it is definitely harder than my other G-cameras, and anything that would make focusing easier would be worth it. Thanks!

  • DailyFilmFixDailyFilmFix

    Two significant price drops this week: the GH3 dropped $230 and the Canon mirrorless camera is now $299 with the 22mm f2. The GH3 is looking like my next camera, especially since my latest doc just got funding. Have a happy 4th!

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @DailyFilmFix

    Yep, if you click on http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussions/tagged/camera-deals you'll see this and not only :-)

  • RottenCarcassRottenCarcass

    All right, so I pulled the trigger on the GH3 plus the lumix 12-35, because of the recent discounts. I want to thank Vitaliy and the posters here for making the choice so much easier for me. As soon as I get it, I'll read through the whole manual, but if anyone has any recommendation for any books on the GH3, I'll happily take the recommendations... though I don't think any have been published so far, whereas there've been several GH2 books. Again, thank you everybody in this wonderful community.

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