Hey all
I am slowly delving into the world of using dslr video for weddings. Little by little I use my 5d mark II more and more and I am improving upon the required manual focus workflow. BUT as a fail safe I always make sure to also use a proper video camera with great continuous autofocus and infinite clip recording as a wide angled master shot for me to cut to if i find that a certain shot with my dslr is out of focus. Then i cut back to the dslr when its refocused. Maybe one day I will feel confident enough to shoot with only dslr's but for now thats not the case. Especially since at the moment I only have a crew of two and thats including myself. So I currently use a Canon XA10 as my autofocus camera. The problem is that the XA10 image, in my opinion, really doesn't match well with the full frame dof dslr look. The image from the XA10 is just too home video looking when I cut to it. On top of that, its even more horrendous when I cut from a beautifully bright 5dmkII image to the dark XA10 image during a low light circumstance. The XA10 is just too dark and grainy when compared. Now I do always have a light mounted on the XA10 to ease this issue but again it comes down to the image not matching well with the 5d. It goes from a cinematic dreamy shallow dof to, again, a home video look of the XA10.
So, finally, my question is this, how reliable is the continuous autofocus of the GH3 with a wide angled fast prime and are there any good prime lens that have fast continuous autofocus that don't break the bank. My logic is that i can potentially replace the XA10 with the GH3. The micro four thirds sensor, being much bigger than the 1/3 chip in the XA10 should get much much better performance in low light than the performance I'm currently putting up with from the XA10. Add a fast wide prime, and throw in the fact that the GH3 has infinite clip record times and I'm really thinking that I can replace the XA10 with the GH3. The GH3 giving me an image that I assume will match the 5D better than the XA10. This is all ONLY assuming that the continuous autofocus in the GH3 is just as reliable as the XA10. But honetsly how hard can it be for the GH3 to keep focus on a static wide shot?
Lastly I want to note that I also use the XA10 as my primary source of recording audio. So, aside from the small 1/3 chip it has, I really love the XA10 for the features it brings to the table that make my workflow a breeze when filming a wedding as it gives great image quality/resolution during well lit circumstances, has infinite record times, is my master shot to cut to, and has xlr inputs to use as my master audio. That being said, If I do switch to the GH3 then I would probably use a Zoom H4N to record my master audio. Or just keep using the XA10 as my master audio recording device lol. Any input on my situation, logic, and whether or not it would work is greatly appreciated.
Johnny
I am slowly delving into the world of using dslr video for weddings. Little by little I use my 5d mark II more and more and I am improving upon the required manual focus workflow. BUT as a fail safe I always make sure to also use a proper video camera with great continuous autofocus and infinite clip recording as a wide angled master shot for me to cut to if i find that a certain shot with my dslr is out of focus. Then i cut back to the dslr when its refocused. Maybe one day I will feel confident enough to shoot with only dslr's but for now thats not the case. Especially since at the moment I only have a crew of two and thats including myself. So I currently use a Canon XA10 as my autofocus camera. The problem is that the XA10 image, in my opinion, really doesn't match well with the full frame dof dslr look. The image from the XA10 is just too home video looking when I cut to it. On top of that, its even more horrendous when I cut from a beautifully bright 5dmkII image to the dark XA10 image during a low light circumstance. The XA10 is just too dark and grainy when compared. Now I do always have a light mounted on the XA10 to ease this issue but again it comes down to the image not matching well with the 5d. It goes from a cinematic dreamy shallow dof to, again, a home video look of the XA10.
So, finally, my question is this, how reliable is the continuous autofocus of the GH3 with a wide angled fast prime and are there any good prime lens that have fast continuous autofocus that don't break the bank. My logic is that i can potentially replace the XA10 with the GH3. The micro four thirds sensor, being much bigger than the 1/3 chip in the XA10 should get much much better performance in low light than the performance I'm currently putting up with from the XA10. Add a fast wide prime, and throw in the fact that the GH3 has infinite clip record times and I'm really thinking that I can replace the XA10 with the GH3. The GH3 giving me an image that I assume will match the 5D better than the XA10. This is all ONLY assuming that the continuous autofocus in the GH3 is just as reliable as the XA10. But honetsly how hard can it be for the GH3 to keep focus on a static wide shot?
Lastly I want to note that I also use the XA10 as my primary source of recording audio. So, aside from the small 1/3 chip it has, I really love the XA10 for the features it brings to the table that make my workflow a breeze when filming a wedding as it gives great image quality/resolution during well lit circumstances, has infinite record times, is my master shot to cut to, and has xlr inputs to use as my master audio. That being said, If I do switch to the GH3 then I would probably use a Zoom H4N to record my master audio. Or just keep using the XA10 as my master audio recording device lol. Any input on my situation, logic, and whether or not it would work is greatly appreciated.
Johnny