GH1 EZ (Ex. Op. Zoom) and GH2 EX (Ex. Tele Conv.) = CROP MODE????

J

jcintron

Member
I'm confused by the Hype of "Crop Mode". I surely will have my confusion clear today as I should be receiving my GH2 later today. (Awaiting UPS now). But since I ordered my camera (I do own a GH1) I've been researching the Crop Mode feature and I pretty much concluded that is the same as the GH1 EZ mode.

In fact, I don't seen anything in the manual of GH2 referencing "crop mode". Just EX. (or EZ on GH1). So are my conclusion incorrect. Also, on the GH1 EZ mode is limited to Stills only, and it doesn't support RAW (only JPEG); And one most change the Picture Size something other that L - so the image is cropped on the GH1 but Zoomed on the sensor. So a lot more detail.

If these limitations are removed or improved on the GH2, then the hype is ok. Otherwise - have I been fooled??
 
The ETC of the GH2 is the same as the EZ on the GH1, but with this massive difference -- it works in video mode now. The extended zoom on the GH1 was only usable for stills. On the GH2, it can be used in video.

So the crop mode does four things for you:
1) it gives you hyper-long telephoto
2) it eliminates all aliasing and moire
3) it drastically reduces the amount of CMOS skew/jello/wobble
4) it lets you use cheap/fast c-mount or B4 mount or other small-chip lenses

Those are the benefits. It does crop the sensor substantially, yes. It gives you a resulting videocamera with a chip size about halfway between a 1/2" sensor and a 2/3" sensor. It's like having two cameras in one.

For some uses, it's definitely appropriate. But it won't give the shallow DOF look of using the full chip. Like I said, it's two different cameras in one.

Imagine using an 85mm f/1.4 lens on the GH2. To match that with a 5D, you'd need a 170mm f/1.4 -- and those don't exist. But when you go into ETC mode, now it acts like a 670mm f/1.4 lens. Do you know any wildlife photographers who would be interested in a 670mm f/1.4 lens? Especially one that's three inches long and weighs half a pound? I can certainly think of a few!
 
Although GH2 has a few other improvements over GH1(3), ETC is the only reason for me to seriously consider upgrading. BUT I STILL CANNOT LET GO OF MY GH13!!
 
bumkicho said:
Although GH2 has a few other improvements over GH1(3), ETC is the only reason for me to seriously consider upgrading. BUT I STILL CANNOT LET GO OF MY GH13!!
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If you don't need FHD 24p video and you want a camera with a hackable ETC video telecrop mode, the G2 has both that and touch-screen focusing.
 
Thanks to all! UPS just knock and I got my GH2! Away I go charging it! I'll be doing some comparison. Thanks Barry, Bumki and IPowell..
 
Barry_Green said:
Then why don't you want to go with the GH2?
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Because.. the way I feel is that even after creating three shorts (all under 6 minutes) and shootinng a few events with GH1(3), I am still not satisfied that I have used it fully!! It is a very capable tool and I want to create maybe one last short film (script is almost done) with GH1(3), which I can be proud of. And then I can move up? It sounds strange, but that is how I feel.
 
Hey, no problem, use whatever works for you. I just didn't know how to reconcile your statement in post #3, with your statement in post #6. But yeah, we did great work with a GH1 even before it was hacked, so it's definitely capable of great results. I'm just loving (LOVING!) all the updates to the GH2.
 
Barry_Green said:
Do you know any wildlife photographers who would be interested in a 670mm f/1.4 lens? Especially one that's three inches long and weighs half a pound? I can certainly think of a few!
Click to expand...

To speak to the OP's point, wildlife photographers have had the opportunity to do that for over a year on the GH1. That said, they'd be left with ~3 megapixel stills which is not ideal.
 
I haven't used the GH1, but in previous panasonic cameras EZ zoom was more than just a crop. It would scale proportionally from the wide end of a zoom to the telephoto end of the zoom, so that you would not miss out of the wideness of a lens.

Given the GH-1/2 is interchangable lens', I guess with a non-communicating lens, perhaps it's just a crop. Does it *just* crop with the communicating zooms like the 14-140 as well?
 
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