GH3 Changing from Canon to Panasonic ... Please some advice

[Stab]

2 years ago I bought a Canon 60D with the famous 50mm 1.8 prime from Canon and a Tamron 17-50mm 2.8. For production gigs we usually rented some extra (better) lenses and I was pretty happy with the results.

After seeing some GH2 footage, I was actually amazed by the amount of detail in the image... Shooting nature or just wide shots in general are certainly the Canon's worst points... Now, the GH3 will be released in about a month or so (right?) and it certainly has my interests. I assume it will be even better than a GH2 in terms of dynamic range and detail, but we will see when more test footage comes out.

I have a production company but when it comes down to budget I am nowhere near the gigs I want to have and thus I cannot make big investments. How do I make the change to the GH3 as 'efficient' as possible, without spending too much.

Lets say in about 2 months the GH3 will have dropped in price to around € 1000. What is the best move?

- Sell my 60D with lenses and buy the GH3 with Lumix lens(es)? Which?
- Sell my 60D with lenses and buy a adapter and buy old cheaper Nikon lenses with manual aperture control? Which lenses?
- Sell my 60D and keep the lenses and buy an adaptor with build-in aperture? How is the bokeh on those things?
- Other options?

I guess I can get around 900 or so for my current setup... What are the most cost efficient options to make the change?
Thanks for your insights in the MFT world

 

[P13]

1) If you're in the UK, Tweet Panasonic about the price as it's a joke, I've already started on that since they're too rude to even reply, a suitable hashtag is #GH3UKRipOff
2) Get your GH3 from http://www.technikdirekt.de if you can stretch to: €1199
3) You can get decent f1.4 manual lenses off eBay, I've got some m42 and Pentax lens with adapters, lovely bokeh too.
4) The Nokton is a lens that is wonderful on m4/3, I've seen it with a third off recently (note: I've not used this retailer myself but they have 4/5 reviews) http://www.waeplus.co.uk/product/854788/VOIGTLANDER-Nokton-25mm-F0.95-Lens
5) Whilst not an essential purchase I’m become very fond of the SLR Magic 12mm T1.6 (sometimes advertised as F1.6 but it’s really an F1.4). Philip Bloom used it for the GH3 promo. I’ve used it myself for a music video performed inside a closet (now that’s a challenge space wise), I’ll be putting that on YouTube in a few weeks.

If you’re interested in saving money and going for fast vintage lenses I’ll detail some I’ve got when I get home this evening (I’ve bought too many to remember off the top of my head).

There's nice Bokeh on a lot of the automatic lenses, check reviews links from sites such as:
http://www.43rumors.com
http://www.mu-43.com
http://www.smallcamerabigpicture.com

 

[David W. Jones]

If you are a production company why would you sell your only source of income?

Keep your Canon camera and earn as much income as you can with it. Buy the GH3 when you have earned enough to pay for it.

 

[Bassman2003]

Yes. And I would look at you rate structure if your company cannot afford a $1,300 camera. Remember that you never buy equipment as a company, you only use it until you sell it. So think of buying anything as a long term rental. Costs $1,300 today, you maybe will sell it for $700 in two years. $600 rental fee for two years of work. Pretty good rate and easier to put in the budget.

 

[Jim Simon]

The problem with that 'rental' line of thinking is that no matter what the numbers turn out to be in the end, you still have to lay out the full $1,300 up front.

 

[stoneinapond]

The problem with that 'rental' line of thinking is that no matter what the numbers turn out to be in the end, you still have to lay out the full $1,300 up front.

Cry me a river....

 

[Stab]

Yes. And I would look at you rate structure if your company cannot afford a $1,300 camera. Remember that you never buy equipment as a company, you only use it until you sell it. So think of buying anything as a long term rental. Costs $1,300 today, you maybe will sell it for $700 in two years. $600 rental fee for two years of work. Pretty good rate and easier to put in the budget.

Actually, we can easily afford it and the company made a good amount of money in its first year. But the thing is, we dont really 'need' an upgrade. The 60D gets the job done. The cameraman we used lately even has a 5D with some L lenses and we use the camera's together on the shoot nicely.

So what it actually comes down to, is that its more a 'personal' thing I want because I am not satisfied with the image quality. And because I try to live from the company's income only, the fewer money we spend, the more security I have that I dont need to search a job. The change to the GH3 is basicly not necessary and therefore should cost as few as possible.

The retail price of the GH3 is indeed quite high but I expect it to come down real quick actually.

 

[David W. Jones]

Actually, we can easily afford it and the company made a good amount of money in its first year. But the thing is, we dont really 'need' an upgrade. The 60D gets the job done. The cameraman we used lately even has a 5D with some L lenses and we use the camera's together on the shoot nicely.

So what it actually comes down to, is that its more a 'personal' thing I want because I am not satisfied with the image quality. And because I try to live from the company's income only, the fewer money we spend, the more security I have that I dont need to search a job. The change to the GH3 is basicly not necessary and therefore should cost as few as possible.

The retail price of the GH3 is indeed quite high but I expect it to come down real quick actually.

That is a major function of managing a business... Need VS Want.

And I don't expect the retail price on that camera to drop for some time as it's not even shipping yet.

 

[J.F.R.]

That is a major function of managing a business... Need VS Want.

And I don't expect the retail price on that camera to drop for some time as it's not even shipping yet.

On the contrary, you could buy a GH2 with some older lenses and Save money + be able to do some of those nice wide shots you couldn't before with your 60d. Also the point of any business is to make money, BUT the less limits you have the better.

 

[ChipThome]

IMO, any new piece of gear has a learning curve to it. Be that an hour, a day or a month, it takes time to learn to use it properly and get the most advantage from it. Given that, IMO, because this is your income producing equipment, you are at a dual setup of owning both cameras, at least for a short period of time. The last thing you would want would be a gig come in on short notice, and not be ready with your gear. There is also the possibility, you might HATE the GH3. If you already had disposed of your Canon gear and found you hated the GH3, trust me, you would really be kicking yourself as you went back out to try and duplicate what you had.

As far as what route to go with lenses, lots of options there and it will depend mostly on you, your shooting style and your needs. I've gotten lazy and now love the "auto everything" of using Lumix glass. I also have found that Panny has some voodoo going on between the body and lenses that makes that Lumix glass just sing in most cases. If I were to start with just a GH3 and one lens, I think I might pick the Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4 to start. As far as low priced Nikon lenses, I have a 50mm f1.8 that cost me about $100 new. I use a cheap chinese adapter for it and so far, it does what I need it to do.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Bruce Foreman]

I second what Chip says above. The way I went about it was to find a used GH2 body (on this site, too), I already had the Lumix 14 and 20mm "pancakes" for an Olympus Pen, and just got in but not tested an Olympus 45mm f1.8. So it was easy for me to try out the GH2 with those lenses.

The GH2 led me around "by the nose" for a most of a week (Canon menus were much simpler to me) but once I saw the GH2 image characteristics were what I wanted, I started selling off the Canon bodies, then the lenses. I now have a pair of GH2's, with enough "native" glass to do what I want and feel I haven't given up anything except size and weight.

The GH2 might be a good starting point as it's going to be awhile before the GH3 is easy to get ahold of and even longer before prices come down. GH2 with 14-42mm "kit" lens is $785 at B&H.

 

[Shenan]

[...] If I were to start with just a GH3 and one lens, I think I might pick the Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4 to start. [...]

Just be aware that if you do any handheld shooting at all, try to verify if the GH3 has improved the rolling shutter jello from the GH2. I used that exact lens handheld with the GH2 and had problems with that, so I returned it. I feel that it's more of a tripod-mounted or stills lens. If you do handheld video work, look for one of the lenses with OIS, or some of the wider lenses.