GH2 $500 camera to use with GH2?

G

gutterball321

Well-known member
I shoot some small corporate videos as a side business and use a panasonic gh2. Anyone recommend a 2nd camera for around $500 that would match the gh2 well? preferably the cinema 24p mode?
 
You can pick up a gh1 for $350 or less. I shoot with a 1 and 2 all the time, they match up great.
 
i want a camcorder. This will allow me to use my gh2 for interviews while zooming in/out and moving the camcorder around. I also do some sport highlights and weddings and feel a camcorder would be better than 2 dslr's. I really like the canon vixia hs20 but its a little more expensive. The newer canon vixia's with the better sensors look a lot worse to me and dont have the focus dial so i'm not sure about them.
 
Canon HV20, HV30, or HV40? Until the GH1/2 came along, they had the best sensor for the money. The HV20 had 24p and a flat-ish color profile for grading, but put 24p in the 60i container so you need to remove pulldown. The HV30 has 24p with pulldown and 30p option and the HV40 has true 24p. I think they all have uncompressed hdmi out, but I'm sure the HV20 has it so you can capture uncompressed to a recorder. Cheapest uncompressed cam I know of.

I used to use a HV20, and the GH1 was a big improvement. While the low light isn't as good as a GH2, it's way better than the HV20. They record to HDV tape though, so you only get an hour, but even with the 100mb max lat hack, you get 2hrs time on one 16gb card on the GH1. I don't know of any hack for the GH2 that gives that much time on a 16 gig card. Cake at 66mb gave me 50min.
 
why not wait and just grow you money a bit longer until you can afford a few hundred more and get a second gh2?
 
i dont want 2 dslr's. I want a camcorder to assist my dslr so I can run and gun with auto focus and have big zooms. Half the time ill probably have a friend with no video experience using it while I operate the gh2. im thinkin the hf m40 or m30 would be good. I see them on craigslist for under 500. The m30 comes with a mic but the m40 is bigger which will make clients think we have a higher production value. any thoughts on those, or similar cameras?
 
for sale? how do you like it? any good footage you have filmed with it I can see?

if your not selling, know where to get it for cheap?
 
You already using the best cheap camera, if $200 difference is such a big deal for you, maybe you're not made for this industry...
 
Phenixone said:
You already using the best cheap camera, if $200 difference is such a big deal for you, maybe you're not made for this industry...
Click to expand...

200$ being a big deal? where did i say that? I said I want a camcorder and a dslr that work together, a bunch of gh2's would not be good for weddings, behind the scenes, youtube skits and sports highlights. I want something simple as my B camera.
 
GoPro if you don't care about audio and have adequate lighting. Actually, I hear they have XLR inputs and flat lenses for the GoPro now.
 
yeah, gopro at a wedding.... ...

I understand you want a camcorder and would go with the hv20 or hv40, but I don't think its a bad idea to get another gh2. I don't think its a good idea to have someone who has no idea what they are doing help you in any way. A few hours of training your partner on the gh2 could really up the quality of your final product.
 
if i get another gh2 I will also have to get a zoom lens and a rig, so there is another 500$ or more. The zoom will still look bad and it will still be hard to focus on weddings and live events. now I'm also $1000 over what i was aiming to spend. Maybe That will be a good 3rd camera.

Here is a testimonial i did mixing my gh2 with a cheap handheld camcorder, it was just easier to edit and looked better than only having 1 camera: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QPd63TaSno - I'm just doing cheap web videos, is there not a decent handheld HD camcorder worth buying? I wont be using it long, only for a few projects till it helps me buy a 3rd better camera.
 
I still recommend the Canon Vixia HF S200. Buy it used on eBay so when you resell it you will get most of your money back. Bunch of other samples on YouTube but here is one that was color corrected in Adobe Premiere. It shows the original video at the beginning before color correction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9jBBmnGeOU
 
i found an hf s200 only 2 hours from me on craigslist. This camera looks great. do you have any footage of you mixing it with a gh2?
 
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