GH2 Documentary rig advice?

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Rapsnacks

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After shooting a long-form doc over the last few years, I'm transitioning to shorter subjects to stay sharp during the edit. It's tough but I've decided to sell my HVX-200 and pick up a GH2. I'm a bit new to HDSLRs, especially when it comes to anything but short narrative work and would love a bit of advice on a rig for short docs. Going for highly mobile solo shoots, possibly some simple narrative work on the side. Budget is around $1200-$1500.

I have a two Nikon zoom lenses leftover from an old camera (18-55mm and 70-300mm), a fig rig and a couple 1gb memory cards. Multiple tripods. I'm guessing the Zoom H4n is a must. Any other recommendations on essentials would be greatly appreciated.

Bonus round: any suggestions on selling my HVX (in great condition), as I'm terrified of Ebay and more specifically Paypal. Thanks in advance!

edit: Budget sort of moot since I'm basically at my limit with a GH2, Zoom H4n and a few SD cards/batteries, but I would still love to hear thoughts in case I manage to sell my HVX for a bit extra.
 
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You want a constant aperture zoom, otherwise the light will change if you need to zoom during a shot. Be prepared, however, that the barrel zoom looks very different from the servo zoom you may be used to on the HVX- its not as smooth and controlled, but more like an old film documentary / news reel shot. Which I personally prefer, but some people don't like.

I had a thread recently over here discussing my lens woes for this camera mount:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?271235-Equipment-recommendation-for-outdoor-docu-style

Basically, I had to choose between constant aperture and OIS (there isn't a lens with both that is compatible with the GH2). Since I was going to be outdoors, and not necessarily on a tripod at all times, I figured OIS would be necessary. But, I've decided to go with constant aperture zoom, and just keep the camera as stationary as possible during these shoots. For documentary footage, I think a bit of unplanned camera shake is excusable, as long as it is kept to a minimum.

Meanwhile, that being said, I highly recommend the Tamron 17-50mm non-VC. Get one in Nikon mount and get one of those adapters that allows aperture control via a ring. Its plenty sharp, wide, and constantly fast at F/2.8, and relatively cheap for what it is (Ive seen them around $300 on ebay).

As far as audio goes... I'm under the impression that the audio on the GH2 isn't as bad as the Canon DSLRs. The AGC doesn't get in the way nearly as much, and it seems to be more of a limiter than anything else, which means it will mostly prevent clipping if the volume goes too high. Otherwise, the sound floor seems pretty low, which means you can get good, clean audio out of it if you aren't keen to the whole dual-system audio.
The biggest problem, however, is the lack of monitoring options. You have to trust that everything is properly going into the camera- I mean, you can watch the audio meters moving, but you can't tell if there is a loose connection causing crackle or noise to show up until afterwards. That is primarily why I also have a Tascam recorder, but I'm not against using the audio in-camera with a good mic like the Rode VMPro. You'll need a 2.5" to 3.5" headphone adapter, though.

Other than that, check out the thread I posted above. Some really good advice about using monopods for on-the-go shots. Don't expect to be able to carry the GH2 handheld the way you could with the HVX. DSLRs are just not designed for that.
 
Thanks for the reply! So am I correct in thinking the lenses I listed in the first post are not constant aperture zooms? If not, will the Novoflex MFT/NIK I'm looking at compensate for this? Or will it simply allow me to control the aperture when not zooming?

All that said, given that the combined sale price of the two lenses I have NEW is only around $300, would it be a better idea to just sell them and get something more useful?

Thanks for the link to your original thread by the way, very helpful.
 
Rapsnacks said:
Thanks for the reply! So am I correct in thinking the lenses I listed in the first post are not constant aperture zooms? If not, will the Novoflex MFT/NIK I'm looking at compensate for this? Or will it simply allow me to control the aperture when not zooming?

All that said, given that the combined sale price of the two lenses I have NEW is only around $300, would it be a better idea to just sell them and get something more useful?

Thanks for the link to your original thread by the way, very helpful.
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I don't know what lenses you were talking about above- you only mentioned their zoom range. You could have two lenses with the same zoom range, and one be constant and the other not. Without looking at the F/ rating on the front of the lens, I wouldn't know. If there is a range (3.5-5.6 for example), than the aperture changes as you zoom which will make the visible light darker (or brighter, depending on the direction you zoom). Its not a very appealing effect, having your lighting change every time you zoom.
If it only has one number (F/4.0, for example) it will be constant across the zoom range. Constant aperture zooms are more expensive and generally bigger and heavier than variable ones.
If you're not sure what you have, I'm willing to bet its not constant (they sound like kit lenses). You'd probably know if it were.
 
Rapsnacks said:
I'm a bit new to HDSLRs, especially when it comes to anything but short narrative work and would love a bit of advice on a rig for short docs. Going for highly mobile solo shoots, possibly some simple narrative work on the side. Budget is around $1200-$1500.
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1- You need an external monitor for focusing, as the built-in LCD and EVF are not detailed enough to easily see when things are tack sharp. With shallow DOF shooting you MUST ALWAYS be in focus. I am using a 7 inch Crap-tastic Lilliput monitor right now, which does a fairly good job for focusing. ( color, contrast, features are all pretty bad, but you can't expect much for the price ) Planning on replacing this with a SmallHD DP4 when I have the budget.

7 inch Crap-tastic Lilliput Monitor Works Well for Focusing : $170 + Batteries and Shipping

2- I also own and love my FigRig, but I also bought a HaloRig Mini for my GH-2 because the Fig Rig is really too big for the tiny little GH-2.

HaloRig Mini Product Page : $140

3- I can't recommend the Manfrotto 561BHDV-1 Video Monopod enough. Super versatile, with very smooth pans.

Manfrotto 561BHDV- 1 Fluid Video Monopod : $279

How to Use a Video Monopod

4- I recently figured out how to properly mount my HaloRig to the video monopod, and will use it on a shoot next Thursday. Once I am sure it's a winner ( it really seems like it is ) I will post some pictures of the rig.

5- Not a big fan of the Zoom H4n recorder, but it's affordable. My favorites in this price range are Olympus LS-11 ( great mics, low noise floor, 17 hours on 2 AA batteries, good limiter ) which has just been discontinued, but the new Olympus LS-100 is coming in February, and I fully expect it to kick H4n ass. The Tascam DR-100 mkII looks like it could be quite good, but I've read that AA battery life is less than 1 hour when phantom power is switched on, so the lithium ion battery packs are a must when phantom power is used. ( 3 hours with LI battery packs ) Right now I am trying to obtain an Olympus LS-7 to test and see how it stacks up in the cheapie recorder arena. It's only $160, and looks like it might be pretty good from an audio perspective. I also want to try out the Tascam DR-07 mkII, to see what the noise floor is like. ( the noise floor on the older DR-07 was the worst I've ever tested, so I hope this has been fixed with the mkII model )
 
I got the Panasonic mic for the gh2 and it's great in many situations. I have no problem with the auto gain feature. When I do an interview though, I break out the external recorder with the proper mic.
I would recommend a shoulder mount instead of the fig rig because you can put your hands on the camera easier.
If you can live with the slow 14 – 140 lens it has great stabilization and a great zoom range.
 
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