Gh1's lowlight weakness is discouraging me and letting me lean towards the t2i

JoeJITSU

JoeJITSU

Veteran
I have gotten rid of my HV30 with handy35 v5 plus DOF adapter and bought a HMC40...Now I am in need of a second camera just for DOF shots. My hmc40 is already weak on lowlight shots...and from what I researched the Gh1 is about the same way. Why didn't Panasonic make the gh1 a great camera with lowlight strengths like the HMC150? I am quite disappointed and am leaning towards the T2i regardless of the 12minutes video shots.
 
Considering the HMC150 is rated at about 500 ISO, and the fact that the GH1 looks pretty good at 640 ISO, which is actually MORE light sensitive, I'd say your disappointment is misplaced. Plus, since you won't need a 35mm adapter to get shallow depth-of-field, you gain about 2 stops of useable light because 35mm adapters are light hogs. To me, the GH1 is seeming like a great choice. Get a few fast primes on Ebay with the appropriate adapter, and low light problems will be a non-issue with the GH1.
 
Though the T2i’s low light is good the GH-1 is no slouch especially when compared to most camcorders. They (DSLRs) are all in the same ballpark in terms of low light capability.



…except for Nikon D3’s which has the best NR in higher ISOs.
 
Get an adapter and fast glass and it will be awesome

Get an adapter and fast glass and it will be awesome

With the stock lens, it may not be all that great in low light, but get an adapter and fast glass and the gh-1 rocks. There have been plenty of posts where people have gone out and shot with nothing but street lights in the middle of the night and the footage looks pretty good.
 
What research?

I don't think there's anything else I can add except to reiterate that yes, the kit lens--like the kit lens on the T21--is very slow. It's a great lens otherwise, but yes it is slow. But if you're shooting in low light, get the 20mm 1.7 or any number of legacy lenses since you can put almost anything on the GH1 and there is no low light problem.
 
dbcheng said:
With the stock lens, it may not be all that great in low light, but get an adapter and fast glass and the gh-1 rocks. There have been plenty of posts where people have gone out and shot with nothing but street lights in the middle of the night and the footage looks pretty good.
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Is there any Gh1 vs T2i lowlight tests side by side? Thank you guys for your input I really appreciate it.
Also can you give my the top 3 glasses I should use?
If I do get the Gh1 I will get the kit lens ...from what I heard its a $800 lens.
 
There are films with it low light and there are some side by sides vs the 5d wherein it holds up pretty well.
 
Fastest lenses for the money will be old manual primes. Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, etc.
Here's my cheapskate list: a 28mm f2, a 50mm f1.4 or f1.2, and an 85mm f1.8 or f2. If you need something more wide angle, you probably don't need shallow depth-of-field and I'd use your other camera for those shots. Wide fast primes for the GH1 either don't exist or are EXPENSIVE.
 
Ian-T said:
Though the T2i’s low light is good the GH-1 is no slouch especially when compared to most camcorders. They (DSLRs) are all in the same ballpark in terms of low light capability.



…except for Nikon D3’s which has the best NR in higher ISOs.
Click to expand...

Yeah but did you see the price on that thing. The low light test is the only realm that I saw this camera shine. As a still camera it might goner that price tag, but not as a video camera. $5,000.00. :P
 
MadHMC150 said:
you have $300 or $10,000 to spend? there are lots of threads on good glass... best read up!
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lol...ok. Cheap glass. Or should I say best "bang for the buck" glass.
HMC150 huh? I should have bought that instead of my hmc40...but still love it
 
JoeJITSU said:
My hmc40 is already weak on lowlight shots...and from what I researched the Gh1 is about the same way. Why didn't Panasonic make the gh1 a great camera with lowlight strengths like the HMC150? I am quite disappointed and am leaning towards the T2i regardless of the 12minutes video shots.
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I don't know what you've been reading or thinking, but the GH1 is far, far more sensitive than the HMC40.

I think you're probably just using the stock lens, which only opens up to f/4. Try a cheap f/1.4 lens and you'll be shocked at how bright the GH1 is.
 
To add to that... put the Noktor 50mm f/0.95 lens on there, and it'll be shockingly more sensitive than any competing SLR...
 
dvbrother said:
Fastest lenses for the money will be old manual primes. Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, etc.
Here's my cheapskate list: a 28mm f2, a 50mm f1.4 or f1.2, and an 85mm f1.8 or f2. If you need something more wide angle, you probably don't need shallow depth-of-field and I'd use your other camera for those shots. Wide fast primes for the GH1 either don't exist or are EXPENSIVE.
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???

I use my 50$ Nikon 50mm F1.4 and my 30$ 28mm vivitar 2.5 all the time. Since when did those become expensive?
 
So should I still go for the GH1? or T2i? I guess if I asked this on the Canon side it be different as well.lol
 
you will be happy with either or really. its a matter of preference. The gh1 is just kick ass for mounting different old glass...oh and don't forget the swivel screen....best ever! And it is tiny,but does suffer from banding if your not careful. Ive seen great stuff shot on the T2i. You should stop by the store with a mem card and have a play with both or rent them for a day maybe.
 
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