GH2 Fancy Home Movies Vol. 1: Disney World on the GH2

Stephen Mick

Stephen Mick

Totally Usable
Okay, so this may not be everyone's cup of tea, and I don't generally share my glorified home movies, but…

I took my two GH2s and a handful of lenses down to Disney last week. I ended up shooting a bunch of more or less random stuff, mostly testing. But I really thought so much of how this footage looked, I thought I'd share it.



Shot with Tweedle-Dee (Black GH2) and Tweedle-Dum (Silver GH2). Used the Panasonic 14-140, 7-14 and Voigtlander 25mm f0.95 lenses. Edited in FCP and graded with MBL.
 
Really glad you decided to share this. Great looking images and really loved the grading. Ending was very cool.

Was this a MBL preset or custom? Thanks.

Damn, this just puts me one step closer to getting that Voightlander. :)
 
Thanks for all the kind words, guys.


JV - I didn't quite get the framing I wanted for the fireworks show. The wife and I had just gotten off of Space Mountain and had to grab the tripod and camera bag from the storage locker. By the time we got to the castle, there had to have been about 10,000 people there, and my "spot" was occupied. I had never shot fireworks before, and I was guessing a bit with exposure. When I looked at the clips, I was amazed at how it all looked. Glad you liked it.

tflak - The grading setup was a variation on the "Buffalo" preset. And to be perfectly honest, the Voigtlander is a killer lens. But if you don't have the 7-14mm yet, I'd get that one first. There really aren't many shots in the piece from the Voigtlander. Most are from the two Panasonic lenses. I wasn't the biggest fan of the 7-14mm copy I owned before, but the one I have now is just wicked. It seems sharper and richer than the previous copy I had.
 
man, i love Disneyland footage...no matter how new or crisp it is, it always has a retro vibe.

and thanks Stephen for waving the flag for the "fancy home movie" folks like myself!
 
Stephen.. this is a great example of the love and feelings that I've having for the Gh2. Those clips on the float and the fireworks could have been said to have been shot on a much, much more expensive camera. You have the ability to get truly staggeringly awesome broadcast looking images in such a covert camera.. This is the other thing I love.. You couldn't bring your AF100 into this and i couldn't either.. Couldn't even bring my 150, but the GH2 is a killer combination for this...

You've like the 2nd person I've heard speak the praises of the 7-14. Is it really that awesome? I've shot with the Voigtlander a lot and you would say that you like the 7-14 even more... Can you give some reasons why... i might have to pick one up cause I do really need a wide....


cheers
 
Would I recommend the 7-14mm over the Voigtlander? Honestly, it really depends on what your needs are.

For this "shoot," I found myself reaching for the Panasonic lenses more often than not. Mainly because everything was happening so quickly, and there was no time to really set up any of the shots. The character "parade" was something we just stumbled into, and the flexibility of the zooms was key. I also knew that I'd be in situations where a wide like the 7-14 would be needed to get everything I wanted in frame. The "Small World" shots are a good example of that. The tunnel isn't really very large, and the 7-14mm captured everything, and looked amazing. And that's at f4, indoors, with available light, and no post sharpening or noise reduction whatsoever.

The Voigtlander is certainly a great lens, and one I'm very glad I own, especially for narrative and low-light work. But if I had to choose only two relatively budget-friendly lenses to carry, they'd be the 14-140 and the 7-14.
 
Justyn said:
You've like the 2nd person I've heard speak the praises of the 7-14. Is it really that awesome?
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Yes. In that it's hyper-insane wide, and unlike certain other types of cameras that can't shoot a wide shot worth crapola, the wides on the GH2 (and AF100) look fantastic. So getting as wide as the 7-14 goes, it's incredibly flexible. And it's a relatively small lens, and very sharp, and it has the best zoom action and best manual focus of any of the Lumix lenses I have. It's probably my favorite. No, it's not the fastest (at f4) but so what -- the AF100 is so clean you can just boost the gain a notch and voila, it's now as "sensitive" as an f/2.8.
 
Stephen Mick said:
For this "shoot," I found myself reaching for the Panasonic lenses more often than not. Mainly because everything was happening so quickly, and there was no time to really set up any of the shots. The character "parade" was something we just stumbled into, and the flexibility of the zooms was key. I also knew that I'd be in situations where a wide like the 7-14 would be needed to get everything I wanted in frame. The "Small World" shots are a good example of that. The tunnel isn't really very large, and the 7-14mm captured everything, and looked amazing. And that's at f4, indoors, with available light, and no post sharpening or noise reduction whatsoever.

The Voigtlander is certainly a great lens, and one I'm very glad I own, especially for narrative and low-light work. But if I had to choose only two relatively budget-friendly lenses to carry, they'd be the 14-140 and the 7-14.
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Totally entirely agree. 100%. Especially for the GH2, I just prefer the Lumix lenses -- the types of things I would shoot on the GH2, the auto flexibility and the zooming is just crucial. For controlled scenarios and setting up shots in a structured cinema environment, the voigtlander is unparalleled. For walking around, glorified home movies, eng/efp, "run & gun" etc, the Lumix lenses are just so much more flexible. Shooting on primes is very restrictive, and shooting with manual-only primes is extremely restrictive. The GH2 can autofocus in a hundredth of a second, and you can point on the screen at what you want to focus on. Focusing with the voigtlander is a much more involved process. And the voigtlander doesn't zoom.

I have both the voigtlander and the 20mm pancake, and love them both. But for the GH2, I find the pancake a far better match. For the AF100, I reach for the voigtlander every time. It just really depends on what you're shooting and how you like to shoot and what your needs are.
 
I just purchased the 20mm 1.7 and the 100-300mm panny lenses. Should be here tomorrow. I just think it's going to be better for my style of shooting to have the Lumix lenses that are made for the GH2. I've already tried different manual lenses and just don't like the extra time it takes to get a shot. Yes, I will use them when there is time to light/compose/shoot. I'm really looking forward to the 25mm 1.4 panny lens. I'll probably sell the 20/1.7 for a little extra help paying for it.
 
Thanks guys!.. I think the 7-14 will be next thing to purchase. I was also looking at the Olympus 9-18 cause it's a bit cheaper and allows for filters, but the build quality isn't that great... I agree with all of this about the voigtlander and the Panasonic lenses. I use the 14-140 when I have to really catch the stuff quickly and need flexibibility. The Voigtlander is a bit more designed for static subjects and controlled setups....

What a wonderful thing to be able to have these cameras and not spend as much as I did on my house to get the results I want.... I've also been picking up some cheap pentax primes and although not as sharp I really like the look and it's hard to pass up a 30 dollar lens and a 20 dollar adapter. I got a 135mm 2.8 that's a great macro lens and it was a freebie...
 
Stephen Mick said:
tflak - The grading setup was a variation on the "Buffalo" preset. And to be perfectly honest, the Voigtlander is a killer lens. But if you don't have the 7-14mm yet, I'd get that one first. There really aren't many shots in the piece from the Voigtlander. Most are from the two Panasonic lenses. I wasn't the biggest fan of the 7-14mm copy I owned before, but the one I have now is just wicked. It seems sharper and richer than the previous copy I had.
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Stephen - thanks for the MBL info. I do have the 7-14 and agree with everything that's been said about how great it is - it's hard to fully appreciate just how insanely wide that lens is until you slap it on and your jaw just kind of drops.
 
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Great job as always Stephen. I thought the grade was cool as well. It would seem Disney marketing would love to have that as promo material. First Class!
 
Great footage, gotta love Disneyworld. Like everyone else has said, this is a great example of how strong a camera the GH2 is for such a compact size and great price.
 
+1 on the 7-14mm. It'e a great lens, especially if you are a fan of the Orson Welles/Terry Gilliam W I D E look. Great footage BTW. Some of your shots have an old Technicolor look to them, which may be partially due to the saturated colors at Disneyland. But it looks great. Isn't it nice to have home movies that look better than some things shot for TV?
 
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