GH1 battery grip?

P

Pelerino

Member
I would like to see a battery grip that incorporates an XLR input/ blue tooth mics, live hd out, room for another 2 memory cards and an option to use a high end codec. All this can be done - do it!...please.
 
I don't think that a codec can be implemented in a battery grip. There's no way to interface with the camera that way.

Your proposed battery grip also doesn't serve the GH1's target market. There's a reason that Panasonic deliberately omitted the features that you want. No battery grip has such features. I don't even think that it's possible; again, it's an interfacing issue. The GH1 wasn't designed to have an optional battery grip. Therefore, the only thing that a battery grip could do is supply power.
 
I disagree, before the GH1 there was no other vidslr that does what it does, so why stop there? The gh1 itself isn't designed for that market but add a battery grip with pro functions and it does - it's an option, you wouldn't have to buy it.

How do you know there is no interface? Did you know that the mic socket has phantom power? Albeit limited, and if you look at the battery flap there is an additional small rubber flap for such a thing as a battery grip.

If this is really impossible could all of this be achevied via hotshoe?

I don't think we can rule it out at this stage.
 
I don't think the codec thing is possible really. The best option would be to have HDMI out while recording which would enable you to use recording equipment with none of the codec troubles.
 
The rubber flap is for the DC power cord. There doesn't appear to be any real interface in the battery compartment (outside of the OEM battery validation). The only way I could see something like this working, is if it uses one, or both, of the IO ports under the left side cover.
 
Pelerino said:
I disagree, before the GH1 there was no other vidslr that does what it does, so why stop there? The gh1 itself isn't designed for that market but add a battery grip with pro functions and it does - it's an option, you wouldn't have to buy it.

How do you know there is no interface? Did you know that the mic socket has phantom power? Albeit limited, and if you look at the battery flap there is an additional small rubber flap for such a thing as a battery grip.

If this is really impossible could all of this be achevied via hotshoe?

I don't think we can rule it out at this stage.
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Please explain how data is supposed to be passed through connections designed only for batteries. And how is HD video and camera control data supposed to be passed through a hotshoe? Are you an engineer? How do you know that it's possible? Some things just are impossible. This is one of those things. It's like expecting broadband from your dial-up modem.

The GH1 was not intended for the pro video market. It's not being marketed that way. I doubt that there would be enough of a market for a specialized, video-oriented battery grip to justify releasing one. You don't see Canon releasing such battery grips, do you? There were even ridiculous rumors of a RAW module for the 5D, but Tim Smith shot down those rumors and said that such a device would be impossible, because the camera wasn't designed for it. In order to incorporate a better codec in your proposed battery grip, the GH1 would have to send RAW video through an input-output connection other than HDMI, which it simply wasn't designed to do.

Panasonic has made clear that it's uninterested in responding to the wishes and demands of those customers who bought the camera specifically for video. How else would you explain the fact that none of its firmware updates so far has actually improved the video functions?

Besides, a battery grip would be antithetical to the design aims of the GH1. The GH1 (and the G1, and other Micro Four-Thirds cameras) was intended to be a much more compact alternative to DSLRs. It's supposed to be the bridge between compact cameras and DSLRs. A battery grip dilutes the concept. Look, compact cameras have been recording HD video since before DSLRs could. So why not release battery grips for those cameras?

As for phantom power, that's a piece of cake. A microphone connection merely passes a simple, analog electrical signal. (Sound is far less electrically complicated than video, let alone HD digital video.) To make a power signal ride along the sound signal is simply intuitive. And not all microphones, mixers, and recorders are designed for phantom power either. You can't make phantom power work if your equipment doesn't have the capability.
 
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All very true...I thought the first post was a joke...seriously...

As for the GH1 not being marketed that way is the thing being marketed (advertised, of course it's being marketed...) at all? I've yet to see a single ad in print or on the web or on TV...
 
I've been thinking about after-market grips for the GH1 since I had a 'goldilocks' moment at B&H last week. I was playing around with the handling of the GH1 and the 7D, going back and forth between the various booths seeing which camera felt better in my hand and I come to the following conclusion: the 7D is a little too big and heavy for my still work (which is focused on street photography and non-pro photojournalism where lightness is key for me), while the GH1 is little to short, especially with the lens making the whole unit very front heavy. I have a tiny manhattan apartment and I’m always out exploring the city, so I want a single unit for stills and video. This got me thinking of custom-molded grips and how I’d love a grip that I could use to add a few inches to the height of the GH1, so that my whole hand could grip the body, instead of just my thumb and first two fingers. One form of this grip could be a lightweight, yet fairly strong molded plastic, in the form and finish of the GH1. This grip could be outfitted with SD card holders, so one could carry a bunch inside the grip and replace as necessary. This should solve the slightly too small issue of the GH1’s height, but not hopefully add too much weight.

I was also thinking that this grip system could be modular and maybe one could switch in a battery grip or a grip that had an intervalometer or remote shutter that could connect via cable to the GH1’s remote port. This grip could be similar to this one for the D80/D90: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938811&pf_rd_i=507846

Clearly, that would add some weight to the GH1, but added weight could be a benefit in some conditions and it would allow an easier time-lapse capability to the system, which is why it being a modular system may make some sense for some photo/video hackers like myself who generally value lightness but appreciate added value in some situations.

I’m not an engineer or machinist, so I don’t have any real thoughts on the practicality of these suggestions, so please take these ideas with a grain of salt, but I was wondering what y’all thought of them?

Thanks,
j.
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