a couple of questions from a new GH1 owner

[tikigod19]

hi all, I have had a GH1 for a few days and there are 5 things I'd like to know...

1) for video, does it matter if you have the AF set to S or C, I have tried both and they seem to (albeit slowly on the 20mm 1.7) autofocus when a subject moves. Is there a better one to use or does this dial have no effect in video mode?

2) I have just received the 20mm 1.7 which is great but having been used to a 50mm 1.8 the lack of depth of field unless quite close to a subject is not perfect for me. Does there exist a tighter (50mm or 85mm for example) prime that will still autofocus?

3) If I half push the shutter on an object for example infront of a window and expose it how I want and then move the camera, the screen brightness dims as it meters for the light outside. However when I fully push the shutter, the image is how I wanted it when i first metered. In that case why does the brightness adjust in the viewfinder if the exposure is locked from the initial half push of the shutter?

4) The single point auto focus is quite a large square, is there any way to get this smaller so you can be more exact when choosing your focal point?

5) Is it possible to set the LCD screen to only come on to view photos that have just been taken for a short time (like all DSLR's Ive used in the past?) I've tried what seems like all combinations of settings in the menu and I can either have the LCD screen off at all times or on at all times (until my eye moves up to the EVF) and as I like to see the photo immediately after snapping it, this on all the time option is severely draining my battery!

I have read the manual but can't find the answers I'm after.

Many thanks

 

[swyzlstyx]

...I have read the manual but can't find the answers I'm after...

1. Page 52.

2. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=274&N=4293344976+4291296566+4292347245

3. Page 81.

4. Page 79.

5. Page 41.

Practice, practice, practice!

Good luck!

 

[tikigod19]

1. Page 52.

this seem to only explain the difference between AFS and AFC and refers only to photo mode

2. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=274&N=4293344976+4291296566+4292347245

no other 1.8 primes, disappointing

3. Page 81.

What, you have to push AE Lock every time before pushing the shutter? That seems crazy or have I read it wrong? The half push of the shutter does exactly what I want it to do, I just dont want the screen to adjust when I move if it is having no impact on the photo

4. Page 79.

Exactly what I was after thanks

5. Page 41.

this is just a very vague page about the viewfinder, can't find where it says how to set it to only illuminate when showing you a picture that you have just taken?

 

[terra1]

im not the best person to give advice as you'll probably know more then me.

1. afs/afc... i leave mine on afs, always works for what i need.
2. i've only got the 14-140 and pancake, everything else i got canon fd's.
3. have you held down the af/ae lock button to the right of the playback button.
4. dont know :smile:
5. id think because other dslrs have the lcd and a normal viewfinder this feature makes sense as it will save power having the lcd go off after taking a pic, on the gh1 with both electronic lcd and viewfinder, its always powering 1 or the other so it makes the feature useless.

just my views but hopefully somebody will correct me and it might bring out the right answers.

hope you enjoying the GH1! :smile:

yeah the manual only makes sense after you figure it out by fiddling and playing with the GH1 for a few months.

i hate wise guy reply's that state... search google for it! or page numbers! (as above)

it must have taken time for him to link your questions to the manual... in that time he could have actually helped.

 

[stoneinapond]

...hate wise guy reply's that state... search google for it! or page numbers! (as above)

it must have taken time for him to link your questions to the manual... in that time he could have actually helped.

But he did help! He gave the OP the resources he needed to answer his questions. What, everyone has to write a novel each time someone asks a question? Besides, swyzlstyx has helped many, many people in the past. So, wise guy? I think not.

 

[tikigod19]

chill! You've both helped! ANd I appreciated the page numbers, however they didnt in all cases answer my actual question!

To be honest I'm not sold on this GH1 so far... certain things I really dont like that I can't seem to find answers for.

terra1 you mention having canon fd's, I assume they wont autofocus?

I'd be much happier if panasonic released a 50 or 85 prime that autofocussed...

I'll try giving the GH1 a bit more use and attention, but if after a month I'm not sold I may look at a canon just because of the wide range of autofocus lenses available.

Oh I also noticed an issue with my 20mm pancake, i put it on a table and left it recording a test video and even though nothing much changed in the video, the lens regularly hunted for focus for a second or two and then returned back to normal... If I left this at the back of a church on autofocus this would be a big issue

 

[swyzlstyx]

this seem to only explain the difference between AFS and AFC and refers only to photo mode

no other 1.8 primes, disappointing

What, you have to push AE Lock every time before pushing the shutter? That seems crazy or have I read it wrong? The half push of the shutter does exactly what I want it to do, I just dont want the screen to adjust when I move if it is having no impact on the photo

Exactly what I was after thanks

this is just a very vague page about the viewfinder, can't find where it says how to set it to only illuminate when showing you a picture that you have just taken?

1. Page 52: "When recording motion pictures, the focus is continuously adjusted for both AFS and AFC."

i.e. AF-S is disabled during video recording...this is my biggest complaint about the GH1. There are work-arounds, but nothing that works very well for event/live video work, IMHO.

2. The 45mm f2.8 is a great lens. It's not f1.8...but f2.8 can still give you a very shallow DOF, and on M4/3 it's a 90mm equiv/portrait tele lens, and is also a great macro lens with a focus limiter switch as well. Of course, it's really expensive, compared to cheap eBay Canon lenses.

3. I would imagine that Panny figures the averge person would probably never require something like this. I kinda like the feature...once I got used to it, coming from using DSLR/SLR's. It's cool to have a nice image on the LCD/EVF regardless of the exposure setting when framing a photo. The AE/AF lock button is also pretty handy in certain situations for me...especially video.

4. I keep the focus point at its smallest, then you can quickly move it around to put it on your subject (unless you're shooting people in a live event), instead of doing the focus/re-frame thing...which often puts the subject off the focal plane.

5. I see, you don't want anything at all on the LCD except for the photo preview. Yeah, I don't think that's an option. Are you using aftermarket batteries? I shoot wedding videos (and a few photos of details), and can easily do a 5-7 hour shoot on 2-3 Lumix OEM batteries. That's with the LCD on the entire time, except when snapping a few photos.

 

[swyzlstyx]

....To be honest I'm not sold on this GH1 so far... certain things I really dont like that I can't seem to find answers for....


...I'm not sold I may look at a canon just because of the wide range of autofocus lenses available...

You and me both. When I first got the GH1, I almost chunked it in the garbage. Now I have two, and can't imagine shooting video with anything else...except maybe a GH2.

But if I were just taking pictures...I would for sure go with a full frame Nikon.

 

[swyzlstyx]

...Oh I also noticed an issue with my 20mm pancake, i put it on a table and left it recording a test video and even though nothing much changed in the video, the lens regularly hunted for focus for a second or two and then returned back to normal... If I left this at the back of a church on autofocus this would be a big issue

With the GH1, or any video camera for that matter, if you leave the auto-focus on, it will wander. That's why AF-S would be so great on the GH1! Right now I have to either switch back and forth between AF and MF on the dial when shooting video (this works okay on the 20mm, but not so well on the 14-140), or stop rolling, use the AE/AF lock, and start rolling again. Not ideal.

I use the 20mm on my stationary/backup/balcony cam as well. I just move the AF box to where the B&G will be standing (I try to get an innocent bystander up there before the wedding), then just press the AF+AE lock button. You'll find out real quick if you accidentally left it in auto-focus when they light the Unity Candle. Candles seem to cause havoc with the AF system!

 

[swyzlstyx]

.....i hate wise guy reply's that state... search google for it! or page numbers! (as above)

it must have taken time for him to link your questions to the manual... in that time he could have actually helped.

Sorry, I really wasn't trying to be an arse! I've shot like 50 weddings with the GH1, but still bust out my manual all the time...I have it saved on my desktop. I'm always looking to learn how to use the camera better, or find some feature in there that I can play with when I'm not buried in work.

 

[tikigod19]

thanks very much for all of your replies.

I do weddings too and eventually want to move up to DSLR video or at least DSLR lenses but its a very scary jump... I'd love to see some of your wedding footage with the GH1 and your thoughts on what its good for/what it lacks?

 

[terra1]

sorry to be the causer of aggressions... we did progress the answers in the end tho :smile:

swyzlstyx - sorry for calling you a wise guy, i didn't mean for it to be taken seriously, and thanks for the post above, much better info! :smile: you have progressed from wise guy to wise man :smile:

stoneinapond - as i stated above the manual can be pretty crap for a new GH1 user, it doesn't answer questions it just gives you a few words and then says... see page **! for me the manual only started to make sense once id used the camera for a good few months, also manuals don't seem to be very logical in there way of describing a function. (ps: hows the novel going?) :smile:

tikigod19 - good questions, answers helped me too!

happy run and GH1ing! :smile:

 

[mountainradio]

Agreed that the lack of AF-S in video mode is one of the more annoying things about this camera. People talk about the AF on the 14-140 like it's a great feature that allows them to use the camera "like a camcorder" but I haven't found that to be the case. Although I wouldn't really trust the AF on any video camera, the GH1 has a bad habit of hunting for focus even when I'm shooting at a relatively small aperture with everything more or less in focus. Much more prone to that than the videocameras I've used.

Anyone know if the GH2 has AF-S or a push focus function in video mode?

 

[Energy80s]

Learn to manual focus. Autofocus is a disaster for video footage as it can easily be fooled into focussing on the wrong object. Even for stills I wouldn't trust it. Remember that professional TV lenses don't have autofocus.

 

[mountainradio]

Learn to manual focus. Autofocus is a disaster for video footage as it can easily be fooled into focussing on the wrong object. Even for stills I wouldn't trust it. Remember that professional TV lenses don't have autofocus.

Sure, I don't really trust continuos AF either. But the vast majority of video cameras include a push auto button you can use for a quick AF in manual focus mode which can be very useful, especially on a camera like the GH1 which is comparatively difficult to manually focus. Just doesn't seem like it would be difficult to implement separate AF-S and AF-C modes and I think it would be a nice feature.

The AF-100 has a push auto button and I'm hoping the GH2 has similar functionality.

 

[swyzlstyx]

Sure, I don't really trust continuos AF either. But the vast majority of video cameras include a push auto button you can use for a quick AF in manual focus mode which can be very useful, especially on a camera like the GH1 which is comparatively difficult to manually focus. Just doesn't seem like it would be difficult to implement separate AF-S and AF-C modes and I think it would be a nice feature.

The AF-100 has a push auto button and I'm hoping the GH2 has similar functionality.

I agree. Automatic spot focus is one of the main reasons I shoot weddings/events with the GH1 over a video camera, and a big reason I can deliver in less than a week instead of 12 months. Lumix m4/3 lenses focus almost instantly, and spot on, a few hundred times a shoot for me.

Even video cameras with "push to focus" can't compete, since every one that I used didn't have a focus point to use with that function...let alone one you move around on the screen to put directly on your subject. "Push to focus" on video cameras often meant "try to focus on everything except the subject".

Manual focus lenses for event video work? No way, for me. Been there, done that with the GH1. I can nail focus 40 times before getting focus ONCE in a dark chapel with a manual lens and a tiny LCD...then only to find that one shot is soft because I still didn't get it right.

And for stills? Manual focus? For SOME macro shots maybe. Otherwise, I save the manual focus lenses for having fun with my "antique" 35mm SLR...not for professional work.

I can see manual focus lenses working great for indie movie makers, for doing follow focus/rack focus shots. But without HDMI out on the GH1, it's pretty hit or miss. If you're making videos for Vimeo, it's not as big of a deal, but slightly out of focus shots on a huge 1080p flat panel look horrible! The GH2 and AF100 should change that, with live HDMI out while recording. That will be great!

Where Panasonic dropped the ball on the GH1 is by disabling AF-S for video, and letting it default back to AF-C after releasing the shutter button when shooting video. As a wedding/event person, this is a WAY bigger problem than the weak codec, and makes the camera just "fun" and "interesting" to use instead of being an AMAZING camera to use. If they implement AF-S video recording on the GH2, in addition to a better codec, and HDMI out, it will be an absolutely phenomenal camera! Codec and HDMI alone won't be enough to sell my two GH1's and get GH2's...but AF-S absolutely will.

And FWIW, Panasonic is making some pretty huge claims on the AF speed of the GH2...it should be interesting to see!

 

[ninetto]

Although I thought I knew most everything I needed with my month-old GH1 this WAS an informative thread.

ONE question still baffles me: I have set the menu so that the AF/AE lock "holds" - I do not have to keep it pressed - but while shooting video the AF/AE lock has NO effect? How can this be? Am I missing something?

The only other solution offered: switching the dial between AFS/Manual is just too clumsy for video.

And yes, I too generally try to avoid using auto-focus lenses with video, but sometimes there is no other way to go.

 

[mountainradio]

You have to set the AF lock before you start recording. The button doesn't do anything while recording, meaning you have to stop to take focus lock off or refocus. Pretty annoying. Switching between AF and MF mode on the dial is also pretty annoying but really the only realistic option for something resembling AF-S.

 

[tikigod19]

I assume that the focus assist feature doesnt work with m42 lenses via an adapter?

 

[emory]

I assume that the focus assist feature doesnt work with m42 lenses via an adapter?

Focus assist works fine with my FD lenses, so there's no reason it shouldn't work with M42. I find it a great aid.

As for autofocus lenses like the kit lens or the pancake: I've found that the fastest way is to focus with the AF/AE lock button on the back of the camera. That locks the focus (I've deactivated AE in the menu because I always set exposure manually by eye). If the green rectangles aren't on the part of the image you consider important, just press the AF/AE lock button again, center the important part of the image, press again, then tweak your composition. Works like a charm!