Does the lack of video monitoring on the gh1(3) DRIVE YOU MAD???!!!

The whole world's turned upside down since then. Between the hack and the announcement of the forthcoming AF100, I got rid of my 7D. The hack made an amazing difference to the GH1, it totally outclasses the 7D in sharpness now. But, the unpredictability of it has me looking to move my GH13 on to a new home, once the GH2 is out. With the AF100, for those who can afford it, I just don't see the point in struggling along with a 7D anymore. And for those who want a small cheap camcorder, the GH2 looks like it's going to answer most all the issues the 7D has. It'll still have moire, but it should have 100% reliability and no hack issues, so... yeah, back in the time I did that comparison review I said "I can't sell either of these off." Now, just a year later, I've already sold one and am looking to get rid of the other. :)


Thanks again Barry. It's great to have such a knowledgable person on the boards who loves to help others. Much appreciated. I'll definitely look into the AF100. Will probably keep one of my gh13s for anonymity reasons - taking it out in public with a tripod and a 20mm lens it just looks like a consumer camera (which I guess it is!) and I've never been stopped by anyone.
 
Holy cow! That SD composite video out works a treat! It's helped with exposure and focusing no end. Sure, HDMI would be better, and the SD isn't available during recording, but it helps set up and run through the shot a LOT easier. Enough to make me settle with the better picture of the gh13 over the less detailed, but HDMI out of the 7d.

Thanks for the heads up!

And does anyone know how they monitored HOUSE using the 5D which outputs standard def when recording?

THANKS
 
Holy cow! That SD composite video out works a treat! It's helped with exposure and focusing no end. Sure, HDMI would be better, and the SD isn't available during recording, but it helps set up and run through the shot a LOT easier. Enough to make me settle with the better picture of the gh13 over the less detailed, but HDMI out of the 7d.

Thanks for the heads up!

And does anyone know how they monitored HOUSE using the 5D which outputs standard def when recording?

THANKS

They used monitors and remote follow focuses and lots of squinting. I believe they had some guys looking at very very large monitors remotely.
 
I don't know, all I know is I've had the GH13 choke up on me too many times so I don't even bother using it. The GH2 will be reliable, and for me that's far more important than whether it has an extra megabit here or there.

Barry, what do you have your GH1.3 set at that it chokes so much? What cards are you using?

I find it really odd... because I have shot SOOOOOO much highly detailed stuff and I rarely rarely ever get lockups. I mean they are REALLY rare.... about equal to the occasional dropout one would get on a tape that had a bad spot. Since I am shooting mostly planned productions... I just reset, shoot again and move on.
 
We've be running a pair of GH1's that are hacked to PappasArts settings, the only time we locked up was when I managed to bumped one of them off M-movie mode to M mode. We're running SanDisc extremes, and are happy so far.
Once we launch our little project, we're going to have to work very quickly, and the viewfinder situation is a concern -- I'm the world's worst about finding light stands and other debris in the shot after the perfect take. Has anybody found a workable (and hopefully inexpensive) viewfinder mag hood for a GH1? I'm old and don't squint well....
 
I can say, after shooting full time for well over a year on the GH1, my eyes are coincidentally getting really bad! I have a very difficult time checking focus on the tiny little LCD.

When it comes to wedding video, a lot of this could be solved by simply enabling AF-S with Lumix M4/3 lenses. The AF is very fast and super accurate...WAY faster and more accurate than what I can do manually. (I don't have laser-beam eyes and sonic motors in my fingertips.) But either way, HDMI alone will probably be reason enough alone for me to eBay both my GH1's for GH2's. ;)
 
+1.
I really don't get why GH1 was behaving same way for AF-S and AF-C during recording. A new mode that allows a single click one-time (not continuous) AF and manual focusing without pressing the shutter button would be nice. I'm tired of switching AF and MF modes back and forth.
 
When it comes to wedding video, a lot of this could be solved by simply enabling AF-S with Lumix M4/3 lenses. The AF is very fast and super accurate...WAY faster and more accurate than what I can do manually. (I don't have laser-beam eyes and sonic motors in my fingertips.) But either way, HDMI alone will probably be reason enough alone for me to eBay both my GH1's for GH2's. ;)
That, and AFS and AFC are now properly implemented in video modes on GH2.
 
If you're really frustrated by having to squint at the LCD to nail focus, do yourself a favor and get one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/LCDVF-LCD-Viewf...Accessories&hash=item3a5fb9a736#ht_3818wt_755

It's a Chinese "homage" to the $179 LCDVF loupe and some even claim it's the same item. Honestly, it takes 20 secs to stick the magnetic frame on your LCD, and then nailing perfect focus is child's play, even outdoors on a sunny day. As an added bonus, the extra contact point it creates when you press it against your head helps stabilize camera movement.

I've been using this LCDVF knockoff on my GF13 and I can't tell you how much it helps when shooting video, especially when you're shooting fast glass wide open to take advantage of practical light. Along with a FaderND, it's a DSLR video must-have.
 
If you're really frustrated by having to squint at the LCD to nail focus, do yourself a favor and get one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/LCDVF-LCD-Viewf...Accessories&hash=item3a5fb9a736#ht_3818wt_755

It's a Chinese "homage" to the $179 LCDVF loupe and some even claim it's the same item. Honestly, it takes 20 secs to stick the magnetic frame on your LCD, and then nailing perfect focus is child's play, even outdoors on a sunny day. As an added bonus, the extra contact point it creates when you press it against your head helps stabilize camera movement.

I've been using this LCDVF knockoff on my GF13 and I can't tell you how much it helps when shooting video, especially when you're shooting fast glass wide open to take advantage of practical light. Along with a FaderND, it's a DSLR video must-have.

Looks cool, but unfortunately handheld or having the camera pressed against my eyehole doesn't fit my shooting style. Otherwise, I'd just use the EVF that the GH1 already comes with from the factory. It works quite well for shaky home videos and stuff...no need to add a 2nd one to the camera. ;)
 
i do mainly run ang gun stuff so monitoring is not vital for me, but in the few controlled situations i have been using the gh13, i simply used a monitor connectd via hdmi and played back the shot to check everything was ok... if something's wrong, then we do another take.. you only have to press play once the take is finished to check footage in HD... unless you are doing 10 minute long takes or interviews with long answers, then it may be quite annoying having to repeat everything again....
 
id like HDMI out but it would probably make people hate me... nahh we can do it better than that... lets do it again... and again... and again.
 
wait a sec...
ive been toying with buying a hackable gh1. are you telling me there is no way to send picture out to an external monitor?

DEAL
BREAK
ER

i think i may abandon the whole dslr thing and just buy a letus...
 
Last edited:
Only an SD composite out - but it's only for previewing your shots, it cuts out when you hit record, and comes back on when you stop recording! Doh!
 
Back
Top