GH3 user reviews and opinions

cisco

L1N3ARX, I agree. The Picture on the left looks nicer to me as well. The colors look more natural.

christianhubbard

@driftwood, you label the GH3 as "I think the GH3 isnt a giant leap, but a natural step in the right direction."

Do you really think panasonic will give us a "giant leap" though? Yes it is hard to compete with blackmagic on the cinema market at that price range, but if they market a more compressed camcorder that has similar image quality, there is a niche for that.

So honestly, i think this is the best we will see out of a GHx line, due to panasonic not wanting to step on the toes of its "pro video" division. Or, at least, not without a major price increase.

L1N3ARX

Interesting difference on that picture, maybe I'm the weird one- but I like something about the GH2's less intense color, it feels slightly more organic. But in post you can always make it as intense as you want of course. I really like to start with an image a bit flatter like in that example.

You should post the same pic again driftwood once you find which profile & settings combo appears the flattest to you.

driftwood

@Aria Still experimenting with pic profiles to see what is the flatest.

Aria

@driftwood, a move in the right direction is good IMO. Too often many of us have overhyped expectations. The GH2 was already an impressive image maker considering the price and now it's structurally improved and the image is improved as well. That sounds like a worthwhile product upgrade to me. Imagine what it will be able to do with a hack?

@driftwood, do you think the GH3 will need a flatter picture profile or can we tweak it enough already with the current firmware? I remember many complaints about the GH2 being too contrasty and the color not being the best.

driftwood

All things are looking defintely better according to my comparable tests (which incidentally Im still doing). Though some of my GH2 intra settings run the GH3 very close in terms of encoding. The 8x8 adaptive transform is effeciently providing excellent results.

I think the GH3 isnt a giant leap, but a natural step in the right direction.

720p50 All Intra Test:

Here's a quick test shot of a GH2 (left) utilising the GH3 matrix and bitrates against the real GH3 (on the right). The GH3 with its adaptive 8x8 transform shows QP range is tighter, transform percentage and larger mb/picture size overall. But the GH2 hack does very well. :-)

Notice the GH3 colour difference (both are using 14-140mm lens, 0,0,0,0, 50 shutter, f4.5, Std profile. lit room WB, the GH2 edited to one of my Intra 720p settings)

Edit: Actually Elecard handles mts files different to Quicktime .mov files. Here's the same pics in Quicktime on the Mac - Left is MTS wrapped to Quicktime without re-sample versus GH3 raw .mov on right. Full Range probs probably.

RRRR

Getting excited! :) My order is about a week away..!

driftwood

720p50 Test (and in ALL-I tests) of Sequence Parameter Sets of GH2 versus GH3 for full range.

The GH3 displays;-

if (video_signal_type_present_flag) {
      video_format                             = 5
      video_full_range_flag                    = 1 (true)
      colour_description_present_flag          = 1 (true)
      if (colour_description_present_flag) {
        colour_primaries                       = 1
        transfer_characteristics               = 1
        matrix_coefficients                    = 1

The GH2 as we know is n/a (not applicable) ie not using full range flag.

jfilmmaker

@driftwood Trying to figure out whether to get GH3 or instead get a GH2 for video use. Any info on moiré/alias issues w/ 12-35mm lens in video? Do I need to get manual lenses to avoid issues with moiré/aliasing in video? How do things compare (12-35mm lens, vs. manual lens with regards to moiré and aliasing, respectively)? Better/worse than GH2? Thanks!

driftwood

@Alex Yep, the 12-35mm is working very well with the GH3.

Alex

Got it from Wexcameras ...

mpgxsvcd

@Alex

Good to know about the 12-35mm. Where did you get your GH3 from?

Alex

got my GH3 today together with the 12-35mm. First impression:

the display and its touch interface is top notch
the interface design is also much improved
button ergonomy is better but my expectations had been very high after bloggers compared it with a Canon 7D. Its getting there but buttons and this click wheel are still cheap and fiddly - not 7D (the overall size and wight is also not 7D and that's a big plus for me. I rather fiddle with those buttons than carry bulk ...)
I still notice a gamma shift between preview and record
the internal color processing/demosaicing has changed for good. No green tint no blue/magenta banding so far
there is no "miss behavior" of the 12-35 lens while attached to the GH3. Aperture clicking whilst zooming only happens on the GH2
the 12-35mm f2.8 feels and operates much better than the 14-140mm. Way less plastic.

katig

720p hdmi out monitoring while recording?

konjow

@JDN where you can get kit with 1/2 price lens? I think it is actually cheaper separate now.:)

JDN

@AKED yeah, agreed. I was ready to pull the trigger on the gh3 until I found out about this fact -- I still may as I like a lot of it (especially in a kit where you can get the 12-35 for basically 1/2 price) but lack of etc 1080p60 is really quite sad as I primarily do nature work and the ETC on the gh2 is truly a killer feature.

That said, having look at 720p60 footage from the gh2 on a $5K OLED studio monitor and compared it to 3K red scarlet footage at 48fps, I can say the results are shockingly similar, and no contest that the gh2 at 720p beats the scarlet at 2k 60 fps.

4k is another matter. Scarlet wins there no problem.

mpgxsvcd

@truestory

What makes you think that some guy at B&H has more information than someone else? The specs even on Panasonic's own webpage have been in constant flux.

truestory

The GH3 should be a global model NTSC/ PAL switchable, I Specifically checked with B&H before I pre ordered for this reason. I am in Australia PAL... The B&H website lists NTSC/PAL in the video specs..

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/892456-REG/Panasonic_Lumix_DMC_GH3_Mirrorless_Digital.html

I emailed B&H to verify and they confirmed that the GH3 is NTSC/ PAL switchable.. Will have to wait and see if this is the case obviously....

DealjagdLtd

@AKED Ok, thanks Dieter! Great news! The GH3 seems perfect for me. @Driftwood: Do you know about Timelapse? Does the Cam go to Sleep-mode between the shots when you use for example an Interval of 30 Minutes?

AKED

@DealjagdLtd This was also, what the Panasonic Manager told me during the interveiw at the Photokina. Supposingly, in the ideal case, only 1 frame shall be skipped.

DealjagdLtd

@Driftwood: "The getaround (which I need to confirm) is that a new file will be created on recordings greater than 30 mins when it reaches 30 minutes of continuous recording for PAL land." Ok, would be cool, if you could test this... This would mean, i can record 3.5-4 hours and have it splittet in to 8 Parts and only a few seconds of non-recording...

AKED

@driftwood So EX Tele does not work in AVCHD, mp4 and MOV neither in 1080 nor in 720 mode, correct? So only in the 24/25 fps modes? If that is true it is a drawback from the GH2.

ahbleza

@HillTop1 There are likely two versions of the camera (at least): one for Europe, where mains power uses a 50 Hz frequency, and USA/Canada, where mains power uses a 60 Hz frequency. Due to aliasing, under fluorescent lighting a mismatch on frequency would cause banding on video, therefore cameras generally record with a frame rate at a multiple of the mains frequency.

Strictly speaking, this is also a function of the use of PAL versus NTSC, which generally use 50 and 60 Hz refresh rates (linked to or derived from the mains power frequency -- although some countries use PAL @ 60 Hz. Go figure.) If you have an "NTSC" version of the camera, it will support 720p60, 1080p30, 1080i60 and 1080p60.

Paradoxically, Japan actually uses BOTH frequencies (in different parts of the country), so it's possible that some cameras intended for use throughout the country should be switchable.

Partly, this may be a technique intended to reduce support issues or grey market or parallel imports, but I don't see the point myself.

I think you'll find that Panasonic advertise 1080p60 (and 30) in the USA and other locations which use 60 Hz mains frequency power, and NTSC rather than PAL. See section 2 of this Press Release, that shows Panasonic offering both (but only for each region-specific "version" of the camera.)

http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/pressrelease/gh3_hs35100/index.html

HillTop1

@driftwood please or anyone explain something to me doesn't Panasonic advertise it as doing 1080p @ 60p or is something else?

driftwood

@JDN Fw version 1 Questions and answers here

I'm ready to accept any queries anyone has: Ask away and Ill endeavour to answer /even test/now!

NOT WORKING NTSC/PAL/vice versa Rec modes switching: Ive tried switching to NTSC to no avail - so no 30p/60p. Another reason why we need GH3 hacked.
WORKING 4:2:0 HDMI Out 1080p Out of HDMI to compatible 'progressive' monitor confirmed as working beautifully. You can record GH3 pictures with or without the display menus in the picture!
WILL BE FULLY WORKING Presently, Wi-Fi remote recording doesnt work correctly for remote shooting using Lumix Link on Iphone/iPad/Android. Basically it only works if you move your hand across the EVF sensor to initiate photo taking. Movie recording doesn't work. I believe a firmware upgrade/Lumix Link fix will be required by Pany. It didnt work in v0.5 fw either. UPDATE: Yes, its happening this week... http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/lumixlink/iphone/index.html http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/lumixlink/android/index.html
NOT WORKING 1080 50/60P can't make use of Ex Tele. Indeed any setting using the Sensor Output of 50p/60p will not be able to use EX Tele mode. This includes the AVCHD 108050i/60i modes and MOV mode 720p50/p60 and 40% / 48% slow-motion settings which also use a sensor output of 50p/60p. There is little or no information regarding above in the manual. On this site there is a note under the Ex Tele table regarding 50p/60p sensor modes;- http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/gh3/video_shooting.html
NOT WORKING Can't record > 30mins in PAL GH3. Same as GH2. Because of licensing laws in EU, the GH3 is only able to make max 30 minute recordings. NTSC is fine. The camera fails to begin a new file when it reaches the 30 min mark.
WORKING Touch screen/Manual Focus Assist with Manual Lenses Working with firmware v1. Couldnt get this working with v0.5.
WORKING Full Range Flag in SPS Video full range is confirmed in GH3 (not applicable on GH2).

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