Hey guys,
I just uploaded my first Gh-1 samples on Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atqldPTr6vc
The prices dropped a quite a bit in Japan, I was able to pick up the camera for 120,000 yen ($1200 give or take?) with 12,000 yen in-store credit at "Bic Camera".
I'm a bit worried if the file was too heavy for Youtube... I shot most of it in 60i. I really like the custom color setting on the top dial with the "blue" blasted max to the right.
I tested a bit with Gh-1 with my limited film/digital media knowledge and here are my findings.
Problem 1. Shooting your face
When shooting yourself while holding the camera with your arm, the distance between the lens and face may go down below 50cm(the closest focus limit?) Also, if you are walking around while shooting your face, the auto focus will be going wild, thus your face will be constantly in and out of focus, not good enough for quality production.
Solution.
I got me a heavy mono-pod and I used it to create the extra distance for focus. This also creates a "Steady-Cam" effect. This is really terrific! I look like an insane cameraman/tourist while walking around Tokyo with a mono-pod and SLR pointed at my face but the video is price-less. I highly recommend this for anyone who might need to shoot their own face one-handed.
I am currently fixing the bug issue about the auto-focus going nuts even with the mono-pod. I am sort of succeeding with putting the auto-focus on to start with and switching on the manual focus as I get the video rolling. This seems to work as long as I keep a consistent distance between the camera and my face. However I found that with aperture at 4.0, the focus distance is too shallow if I move. (am I technically correct?) I wonder the appropriate aperture setting might be...
Problem 2 60p vs 60i
Okay, here's my 2 cents about the 60p. When I put the finished video on slow-motion the 60p is KING. However, for regular footage, the HD quality is considerably better with 60i.(For Youtube) I personally think the 60i setting is the crispest thing, well as crispt as it goes on Youtube. I did test the 60p and I found lines on my face but when I switched on the 60i, the lines totally disappeared.
A lot of guys on this forum get really technical about this and I wish I knew what they were talking about. (24p, 60p, with film speed thing... : ) My main thing is to make a good JapanTravelTV show on Youtube and make it last so it's still pretty viewable in 5 years. (Try searching "Japan Travel Guide" or "Japanese Sex Culture" or "Japanese BB guns" on Google, 7 out of 10 times my videos rank top out of up to 66 million searches.
If anyone have any "simple" tips, that would be awesome.
Anyways, I love this forum and you guys are pretty cool guys!
Cheers from Tokyo!
Chris Gen
YT Partner
StreetEnglishTV
(soon to be launching JapanTravelTV!)
P.S.
Anybody have any up-to-date YT encoding tips?
I just uploaded my first Gh-1 samples on Youtube!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atqldPTr6vc
The prices dropped a quite a bit in Japan, I was able to pick up the camera for 120,000 yen ($1200 give or take?) with 12,000 yen in-store credit at "Bic Camera".
I'm a bit worried if the file was too heavy for Youtube... I shot most of it in 60i. I really like the custom color setting on the top dial with the "blue" blasted max to the right.
I tested a bit with Gh-1 with my limited film/digital media knowledge and here are my findings.
Problem 1. Shooting your face
When shooting yourself while holding the camera with your arm, the distance between the lens and face may go down below 50cm(the closest focus limit?) Also, if you are walking around while shooting your face, the auto focus will be going wild, thus your face will be constantly in and out of focus, not good enough for quality production.
Solution.
I got me a heavy mono-pod and I used it to create the extra distance for focus. This also creates a "Steady-Cam" effect. This is really terrific! I look like an insane cameraman/tourist while walking around Tokyo with a mono-pod and SLR pointed at my face but the video is price-less. I highly recommend this for anyone who might need to shoot their own face one-handed.
I am currently fixing the bug issue about the auto-focus going nuts even with the mono-pod. I am sort of succeeding with putting the auto-focus on to start with and switching on the manual focus as I get the video rolling. This seems to work as long as I keep a consistent distance between the camera and my face. However I found that with aperture at 4.0, the focus distance is too shallow if I move. (am I technically correct?) I wonder the appropriate aperture setting might be...
Problem 2 60p vs 60i
Okay, here's my 2 cents about the 60p. When I put the finished video on slow-motion the 60p is KING. However, for regular footage, the HD quality is considerably better with 60i.(For Youtube) I personally think the 60i setting is the crispest thing, well as crispt as it goes on Youtube. I did test the 60p and I found lines on my face but when I switched on the 60i, the lines totally disappeared.
A lot of guys on this forum get really technical about this and I wish I knew what they were talking about. (24p, 60p, with film speed thing... : ) My main thing is to make a good JapanTravelTV show on Youtube and make it last so it's still pretty viewable in 5 years. (Try searching "Japan Travel Guide" or "Japanese Sex Culture" or "Japanese BB guns" on Google, 7 out of 10 times my videos rank top out of up to 66 million searches.
If anyone have any "simple" tips, that would be awesome.Anyways, I love this forum and you guys are pretty cool guys!
Cheers from Tokyo!
Chris Gen
YT Partner
StreetEnglishTV
(soon to be launching JapanTravelTV!)
P.S.
Anybody have any up-to-date YT encoding tips?