GH3 Best AF lens for low light wedding receptions

dustylense said:
Watch this video where the shooter used the 35-100 on AF full-time. He even states how good it is:
Click to expand...

Hmm.. this is pretty impressive if it is full time continuous autofocus with telephoto-zoom lens. Not much, if any, focus breathing or hunting.

This looks like a really nice improvement in autofocus for the GH3. I wonder how well the Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4 works with autofocus now with GH3.
 
Last edited:
akivisuals said:
The GH3 footage by Joe Simon looks amazing. Although it's pretty much all in sufficient light. The a99 on the other hand has many areas of blown out highlights that i've seen in other Sony camera videos. The highlights clip pretty harshly. That look is what I want to avoid as much as possible without having to go to the point of getting a BMCC or RED. I like the sharpness of the GH3 and still see some relatively shallow DOF in some scenes. Love the fact that it can autofocus decently well in video mode. While I really want to love the a99 for video, I'm thinking that I'd be using it mostly for stills work. Right now, my 5D3 and 5D2 do well for stills, but I find that I'm not getting as accurate exposures as I do with even my Sony NEX-7. I like being able to see what I'm going to get in a final image without having to chimp afterwards.

Anyways, that Olympus 12mm f/2 definitely sounds like a lens worth getting to pair with my Nokton 25mm and the 12-35 Panasonic. I'm considering that 35-100 Panasonic as well but wonder if f/2.8 will do it for low light conditions plus the fact that there isn't as shallow DOF with the M4/3 sensor.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the work around for low light with f2.8 lens on micro four third cameras I am thinking of is using some noise reduction plugin in post and also use on camera LED light. I have been doing that so far anyways but when you want to capture some thing in a distance a LED light might not have enough throw to reach something in a distance away. I keep going back and forth between A99 and GH3 but at the moment I am leaning toward GH3 and those zoom lenses and find some way to manage with low light shooting with either on camera LED lighting and noise reduction plugins.
 
@dusty, Awesome example. Thanks. I'm waitlisted for a GH3 anyway, so don't mean to belabor my original point, but I guess maybe I or someone else will report how good it is wide open, and with other faces in the shot. I'm guessing it will do well. But I wonder what margin of error is tolerable. Anyway, I stand corrected, thanks!
 
svem said:
Yeah, the work around for low light with f2.8 lens on micro four third cameras I am thinking of is using some noise reduction plugin in post and also use on camera LED light. I have been doing that so far anyways but when you want to capture some thing in a distance a LED light might not have enough throw to reach something in a distance away. I keep going back and forth between A99 and GH3 but at the moment I am leaning toward GH3 and those zoom lenses and find some way to manage with low light shooting with either on camera LED lighting and noise reduction plugins.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a reasonable solution. I recently purchased a Switronix Torch LED Bolt and that light has a great throw for an on camera LED. Plus the quality of light is pretty decent. It's worlds better than the cheap Chinese LED light that I have (but almost never used) prior to buying the Bolt.
 
awomias said:
Got my GH3 and loving it! Trying to decide whether to get Lumix 35-100 f2.8 with autofocus ( which I can use for church ceremonies as well) or get Nokton f0.95 25mm or 17.5mm. Have variety of Canon and Nikon lenses I will be using with adapters. Love the autofocus feature of the 35-100 but the low light of Nokton draws me!! Can only afford one additional lens now .....
Click to expand...

I have a wedding tomorrow night.
I will upload samples to my Vimeo account of both my 25mm 1.4 and the 35-100 2.8 with no post correction.
I also won't use a light so you can get the absolute worst case scenario in low-light.
 
Awomias,
I haven't had a chance to upload any footage yet, but will do so this week.
The wedding I shot was as dark as most receptions get. Additionally, the wedding party and majority of the guests were African American. In other words, I'm hoping to show some footage that, from a lighting standpoint, was as "challenging" as it will get for indoor wedding receptions :)
Preliminary notes: This was my first time EVER shooting on a DSLR. I had to rely a lot on Auto settings b/c I am still getting used to all the manual adjustments. That being said, I deliberately recorded a lot of samples just to show you. I used both lenses I currently own: 25mm 1.4 and 35-100mm 2.8. My preliminary thoughts while shooting were that the 25mm 1.4 was awesome. Didn't need a light with 3200 ISO. I wouldn't want to go above ISO b/c of noise. On the other hand, 3200 ISO was a MUST with the 35-100. Additionally, you had to stay pretty far away from the action, so this lens is not good for group dance floor ation. If I had the 12-35mm (my next lens), I would use that exclusively and never touch the 35-100mm b/c of how far away I needed to be to fit everyone in the frame.
I plan to use my 35-100mm for ceremonies and the 25mm and 12-35mm for receptions. I can't stress enough how much I loved the 25mm 1.4.
I'll let you know as soon as I post some video...perhaps tonight!
 
I posted a 6 min clip on Vimeo I will share.
problem is, when I play back the original clips in my camera, I can't see any display regarding the ISP, shutter speed, or aperture settings. Is this bc I shot it using the iA+ setting instead of the program mode?
I had auto everything on: focus, white balance.
ill post the clip in the morning with some notes on where I switched lenses. I can't figure out how to get the camera to tell me what lens or focal length I was using for each clip either.
 
Ianscreations said:
.....problem is, when I play back the original clips in my camera, I can't see any display regarding the ISP, shutter speed, or aperture settings. Is this bc I shot it using the iA+ setting instead of the program mode?
Click to expand...

Don't know if the GH3 is any different, but that metadata is not recorded when videoing with the GH2. Frustrating, I know. Not sure if it is a "DSLR" thing or the codec.

Would be nice to have.
 
Okay, Here are some clips:
https://vimeo.com/56451434
Please note:
This was my VERY first shoot with the GH3 (or any DSLR for that matter). So, I had most everything on Auto. I also had to shoot 30fps b/c I only had CS3 to edit this on. (I have since purchased the MacPro and CS6). You'll see CS3 had a hard time rendering this. It is jittery and there are blank spots. You are just looking for lighting examples, though, so it will serve the purpose.
I shot 30FPS, MOV, Std Picture Setting, AWB, AutoFocus
From
00:00-1:26
I use the 25mm 1.4 Prime
From 1:26-3:45
I use the 35-100 2.8
At 3:45, I switch back to the prime.

No onboard lights, mic, or anything. Handheld with steadycam off. Does anyone one how to turn it on!?!?!
LOL
 
Ianscreations said:
Okay, Here are some clips:
https://vimeo.com/56451434
Please note:
This was my VERY first shoot with the GH3 (or any DSLR for that matter). So, I had most everything on Auto. I also had to shoot 30fps b/c I only had CS3 to edit this on. (I have since purchased the MacPro and CS6). You'll see CS3 had a hard time rendering this. It is jittery and there are blank spots. You are just looking for lighting examples, though, so it will serve the purpose.
I shot 30FPS, MOV, Std Picture Setting, AWB, AutoFocus
From
00:00-1:26
I use the 25mm 1.4 Prime
From 1:26-3:45
I use the 35-100 2.8
At 3:45, I switch back to the prime.

No onboard lights, mic, or anything. Handheld with steadycam off. Does anyone one how to turn it on!?!?!
LOL
Click to expand...



Look into getting an on camera LED light. It will help a lot for capturing low light situations. Something like the 312LED light or Switronix Torch LED Bolt.
 
I question the effectiveness of that light's throw. The only LED light I've seen so far that has wide, non-spotty coverage is the Rotolight.
 
Jim Simon said:
I question the effectiveness of that light's throw. The only LED light I've seen so far that has wide, non-spotty coverage is the Rotolight.
Click to expand...

ive been using it with my z5u and it is great. I usually out it on max strenght but then bounce off the ceiling so it doesn't annoy guests
 
stoneinapond said:
Jim,

Do you have one?
Click to expand...

I do. Been using it for about a year. Admittedly it seemed more effective paired with the DVX100 than with the GH2. Not sure why, but it just doesn't seem as 'bright' on the GH2 by comparison. That's a very subjective observation, though. One thing I can say is that the throw is very wide without a hint of hot spotting (a flaw most every square LED suffers from).

I just wish there was a model with twice the number of LEDs for more light output.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top