Gh1 Good For Short Film

[FlyingDorkProductions]

Hello Everyone,

This is my first post, so I hope that I don't sound completely stupid. I'm looking to get a new camera to replace my old Sony HVR-A1U. I finished up film school recently and I want to keep making shorts for festivals, hopefully for small commercials and maybe music videos. I got my A1U before film school for fun little projects but I want to get a better look.

I was originally thinking about getting a JAG35 DOF adapter with a good lens, follow focus and support rails for my A1U but I would drop around $800 and I figure maybe looking at a new camera would be money better spent.

So, I just recently caught all of the craze over the Panasonic GH1 and thought it seemed like a very intriguing option for a short film camera.

I was also looking at the Panasonic HMC150 as an option but I was worried about the label of "Wedding videographer" camera. I know that it is just a label and no insult to wedding videographers, it is tough work, an artform unto itself. I just would want something that would hold up well for festival level short films. I recently went to a short film festival where I was lucky enough to show something I made during film school which was shot on a Sony Z1U and it held up ok but I couldn't help but feel a bit out of my league with cameras shot on the Red One and others near that level. Anyways, I guess that is a direct example that it isn't always about the tools but I would definitely like to upgrade my images now that I don't have a film school backing me up.

I really wish that I had huge amounts of money to pour into all sorts of fancy things, but the reality is that I don't. That is why of coruse the GH1 looked so attractive. I realize that it has it shortcomings in terms of audio but it seems that could be remedied by recording audio seperately or running a Beachtek adapter to the camera.

Sorry for the long chunks of text but I wanted to get some opinions on what might be a wise choice. Would the GH1 be a decent way to go for short narrative and commercial work. Or would a HMC150 with a potential 35mm DOF adapter being added on at some point be smarter. Or is there any other ideas or options you think would be good? And trust me I do realize that none of the above mentioned cameras are a Red One or some other $50,000 camera but again, I would like to maybe get a better look than the HDV of an A1U.

Thank you all so very much for your time!

Jeremy Pommier
www.flyingdorkproductions.com (http://www.flyingdorkproductions.com)

[SonicStates]

The GH-1 is a very capable camera for short narrative, commercial and music video type work...ask Kholi; he's already making money with the thing. Plus you can always get rid of the body and keep the lens when the GH-2 comes out. Sure it has some shortcomings as has been well and truly documented here BUT there are some very exciting features and possibilities that accompany a very cheap camera package that can also take respectable stills.
I just got rid of my HVX and assorted crap to put the coin into lenses etc for the GH-1 and future cams. Wouldn't go the HMC-150 + adapter route myself.
Best of luck!
Sam.

[FlyingDorkProductions]

Good advice, thank you Sam!

[Cassius]

Keep in mind you'll need to invest in an audio recorder if you'll be owning the audio equipment as well, since the GH1 can't handle much in that regard. Except for the music videos, obviously. But the video is pretty damn good, and depending on what you're doing the size could actually be an asset. Especially compared to an adapter. It sounds like you don't have a good budget, so speed is extremely important. Any bit of gear you don't have to deal with is a plus, and in that regard the GH1 wins. It's a lot of camera for the price.

I do feel it necessary to mention that the camera is not the most important thing. Sound, lighting and content (including cinematography and acting) trumps the toy you pointed at the scene. So make sure to budget for those above all else if you find your supply lacking.

[FlyingDorkProductions]

More great advice! Thank you as well Cassius!

[SonicStates]

Check out the threads on audio with the GH-1. The Zoom H4N sounds like it is pretty popular - and cheap - with really decent results (as well as phantom power!!!). I've been using an FR-2 with Lunatec V3 preamp but it takes a decent sized bag (with all the batteries etc) to lug it around... might be picking a Zoom up myself shortly.

[Justyn]

I own the 150 and wouldn't call it a wedding videographer camera by any means, as I've done quite a bit of broadcast work with it... but I too wouldn't recommend it with an adapter. Sure there's great stuff done with it, but the whole adapter thing seems pointless to me now.

Plus for the money you are getting the GH1 for, you could have 2 grand to spend on other stuff. I want a GH1 to use with the 150, but I won't be selling the 150. For some stuff, that will be a better camera choice and for other things, the GH1 will work.

[jamesc]

Hey Jeremy,

I own both the HMC150/Letus combo and the GH-1. I used the GH-1 to shoot a short film (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=180695) for the San Jose 48 hour film festival short film competition. What I really enjoy about the GH-1, despite its limitations, is how much fun it is to shoot. It allowed me to go handheld at times and pull off all several shots very quickly. For the indie feature I shot over the summer with the HMC/Letus, the bane of our shoot was setup time + lighting.

Just a really quick comparison between GH-1 vs. HMC150/Letus:

GH-1 wins at:
- price: $1500 vs. ~$4800 for HMC150/Letus combo.
- low-light: It completely crushes the HMC150/Letus here. Compared to lighting a scene with the HMC150/Letus, you could save on less powerful lights.
- weight: I can handhold and steadicam my GH-1 and get reasonable auto-focus with the kit lens. I can't steadicam my HMC150/Letus and handheld is heavy... Your gear can potentially become lighter as well since I don't need to support as much weight (tripod, indislider mini, kessler crane lite, etc.)
- gorilla shots: No one thinks you're shooting video (yet)


HMC150/Letus wins at:
- Full-frame 35mm (or close to): GH-1's 2x multiplier can hurt a bit if you want wider shots with prime lenses.
- Built-in audio: with the GH-1, learn to love and work with the Z4n or beachtek and sync up later.
- Log and Transfer. Currently, the HMC has no extra step needed to remove pulldown or deal with 720p/60 conversion. Though, I was still able to edit the GH-1 footage in the 48 hour time frame, but I was fortunate to have a separate laptop for Compressor to remove pulldown.
- AVCHD codec: The HMC150's 21 Mbps AVCHD holds up better than the GH-1's, but at 720p/60, the GH-1 is pretty strong.
- HDMI out/live monitoring: It's quite possible based on previous statements that the GH-1's CPU isn't powerful enough to do HDMI, so no firmware update will solve this.

Hope that helps a bit.

[Justyn]

good points james... and some of the letus/150 footage is pretty darn awesome.. but one other key point is the price.

The GH1 combination, if you get the Letus Extreme and the 150 is about 6K less. So in saying that, the GH1 is about 1/5th the price of the 150/ Letus Extreme... or so. That's why the adapter thing doesn't make as much sense now as it did a year or two ago.

[Cassius]

I think price is the most important point here. I've spent some time playing with a new GH1 today, and it is not even close to the quality of the high end cameras I've used in the past for serious work, besides taking it out around town and getting some shots to upload as "GH1 Test" on Vimeo. But it's a couple thousand less than even the least of those, which makes it much better for the price. Quality per dollar, it may be the best camera I've used yet.

[Ian-T]

Quality in regards to what...build or PQ?

[Mike@AF]

Personally, I've written a short that I will be shooting with the GH1. I may also shoot a short for MonsterFest with the GH1. I am also currently writing a feature that will be shot with the GH1 on pretty much no budget aside from the equipment I already own, food, and some wardrobe.

The camera isn't the most important thing. Story and good acting is. Audiences for the most part don't care what camera a movie was shot on. Sometimes they'll even forgive poor lighting if the story is good enough to make them not even think about it. Do the best lighting you can and maybe throw in some interesting shots for good measure.

Don't let anyone tell you you can't make a film with the GH1. Utilize what you have in front of you and what you can get your hands on to make the best film you can. With the GH1 as compared to some other options, you certainly would be making it more difficult on yourself to end up with an enjoyable and successful film that will make you money, but it can and has been done in the past (and I don't mean specifically with the GH1).

[Justyn]

I too say.. what other cameras are you comparing this too that it falls so short of? I think it's looks very close to the EX1/EX3 line, the HVX-170 line... so what are we talking about here that it fails in comparison to?

For the price... it looks more and more appealing. I'd like to sink all my cash into getting good quality lenses.. that's something that isn't going to change as rapidly...

I'm gearing up for a feature at the end of 2010 and I'm going to shoot it on the best platform that I can afford to either rent or own.. It has some compositing and efx so I have to consider that... Will be interesting for sure.