GH1 GH1 for $400-450?

C

caiofilm

Member
I've been noticing GH1s for pretty cheap recently. Are new GH1s for $400-450 a good deal? It wouldn't be my main camera, I use my HMC150 w/ Letus adapter and Nikon primes for my regular shooting. I think I would mostly use it for location scouting and travel photos. The biggest thing is the price saving and the fact that it's $300 cheaper than a Canon T2i.

Any thoughts?
 
All the GH1s are now hackable. Amazon and B&H have them brand new with Panny warranty for $399. Now depending on the lens(es) you choose, you are getting footage that rivals your 150. You also have a cam whose colors are going to be very close to those of your 150. To me this makes it a no brainer, even if you never need it for a second cam. If you want a good bang around lens with autofocus, you should be able to get a 14-42 used for $150 or less. You want a lens that is tack sharp with killer bokeh, the Nikon 50mm f1.8 D is around $135 and an adapter will set you back about $25. I bought one of those "refurb'd from Nikon and it was $107 to my door. Another killer lens with great bokeh is the Rokinon 85mm f1.4 and that can be bought around $265. With the shallow DOF the Nikon or Rokinon bring to the table, you have got a great addition to your gear for not a lot of money invested.

I suggest to do it, I did and am real happy with it.
 
I'm curious - it's probably a stupid question, and has been answered before - is the footage from a hacked GH1 really easy to seamlessly intercut with that from a GH2, if you were to use the GH1 and GH2 in a multicamera shoot? What are the differences between the footage from a GH1 and a GH2 anyway?
 
Hi caio -- dealers have been clearing them out and they are out of stock in places like Samy's. As a result, I've started to see prices at places like Amazon creep back up to $450 recently -- but they're still $399 at Adorama (where I got mine) and B&H. I'd get one before they're gone.

corpse -- not a stupid question -- my unhacked GH1 intercuts seamlessly with my GH2 -- the only issue is low light situations, where the GH1 struggles. I'll try to post some samples in the next few days, but in the meantime, here are a couple of clips of the GH2 and hacked GH1 side-by-side:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTcBsDpZiDc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NLNC-emsso


Cheers,


Bill
 
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Thanks all, I actually couldn't resist and ordered mine from Adorama before you all answered (or more importantly before they sold out). I'm very much looking forward to experimenting with it and doing more spontaneous shooting than with my HMC150/Letus rig. I've already got a basic set of Nikon AI primes (24, 35, 50, 85). What are people using for wide shots? I was going to get an 18mm Nikkor-AI for the Letus rig, but that only translates to ~35mm. Anyhow, I guess I have a normal to telephoto set and plenty to play around with.

Cheers All!
 
Yeah I got mine in from B&H just the other day (even the shipping is free!). From the limited testing I've done with the camera, I like it alot. The default picture isn't as pretty as the Canon's out of the box but there's always color grading. For a newbie to hacking, has there been any bricking incidents with the GH1 hack?
 
Hi Chris,

I can't say I have heard of any. First thing you do is fully charge the battery. If for some reason you lost power in the middle of the hack installation, then you are going to brick it, no doubt.

The first time you do it, its kinda scary, after that its no big deal to do it again.

Enjoy !!!
 
I just picked up a GH1 with 14-140mm in a clearout for about $770, which is a good deal here in the UK. First thing after unboxing, I put in lpowell's reliable patch with no qualms at all. All I can say is - brilliant!
 
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