GH2 GH2 as Corporate tool?

H

Heartfelt

Well-known member
Are any of you using the GH2 as a corporate tool including greenscreen video, product photos, personnel and on location video?

Is it capable of all of these?
Rob
 
I use my 2 GH2's for greenscreen, personnel, and location video. Not for product photos though, but I do use it for hobby photo taking. Very capable on all fronts, with the exception of greenscreen. I can usually pull decent keys from its footage, but it's not the ideal camera for greenscreen since it's an 8 bit 4:2:0 camera.
 
hmmm. That is a huge consideration with my position/needs. Is there another camera that does well or will I have to have a DSLR and a Camcorder? Geez, I hope not.
 
We've been pulling clean keys from digital betacam for years, which is a standard definition format - as long as you light your b/ground evenly and get a decent bit of distance between it and your subjects, you'll be fine. Not recommended for stills tho.

my 02
 
awelgraven said:
I can usually pull decent keys from its footage, but it's not the ideal camera for greenscreen since it's an 8 bit 4:2:0 camera.
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The most recent version of PTool for the GH2 does not support 4:2:2 color depth in MJPEG video mode, and if previous experience with the G2 is a guide, it's not likely that this feature will be available on the GH2.

With the GH1 and GF1 cameras, however, 4:2:2 color depth in MJPEG 720p HD mode has been supported since the earliest versions of PTool. This feature provides higher resolution color details, which is desirable for precise color keying in greenscreen applications. For corporate video purposes, I'd recommend my Reliable In-Camera Playback Patch, It has built up a solid track record of image quality and dependability over the past 11 months since it was published.
 
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Thanks for the info hyphygreek. Have anything of interest to share about your experience with it? Did the 4:2:0 cause any difficulties? What editor are you in.

'ppreciate it.
Rob
 
Keying with the Gh2 is much better than DV, DVcam, and HDV. Pulled some almost perfect keys with really bad lighting. Of course 4:2:2 or uncompressed will always be best though.
 
Heartfelt said:
Are any of you using the GH2 as a corporate tool including greenscreen video, product photos, personnel and on location video? Is it capable of all of these? Rob
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A search on Vimeo will find many excellent GH2 examples.

Also, at the 21-sec. point in my demo video there is a _GH1_ greenscreen sequence (GH2 can key even better). The product shot (machined metal rod) at the 33-sec. point was recorded with my GH2.:



_All_ of the following video by "pilpop" was shot using a GH2 -- it looks fantastic!



All of the B-roll footage in the following video by Glenn Przyborski was shot using a GH2 (the rest was shot with a AF100):



To answer your question, yes, a GH2 is capable of fantastic results -- for corporate productions and more -- in competent hands. Cheers!
 
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I agree... The Gh2 just like my HMC150 is totally able to pull a great Key. Just like the 7D is too. It's more about lighting correctly, getting the right exposure, and knowing the strenghts and weaknesses. With the 4:2:2 cameras I just found that they were more forgiving for bad lighting and other options... They were easier to pull, but not exponentially easier and the final results were about the same. I shot a ton of HVX greenscreens at the same time with my 150 and both performed pretty well...

My cousin shot and posted this piece in 3 days and it was shot on a 7D. http://www.poptent.net/media/57511/1


cheers
 
That car footage looks super stupendous... My goodness. I wonder what he did for his grading. That might be the nicest GH2 footage I've seen... wow indeed!
 
Heartfelt said:
Thanks for the info hyphygreek. Have anything of interest to share about your experience with it? Did the 4:2:0 cause any difficulties? What editor are you in.'ppreciate it.Rob
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We shoot all our promos 1080/24p on our EX1s and my GH2. Keying works fine as long as it's lit and exposed perfectly. We have to sink our audio sepertly too. We edit in FCP7 and it all works like a charm even with our harsh deadlines. PM me and I can send you some promos.
 
Wow, thank you guys!
This goes a long way to putting me at ease about a recc for a purchase, here.

Peter, your work is outstanding as well as the reference footage you linked. Thanks for your time in doing so.

I have loved the footage of DSLR's (dslr movie footage is new to me) and especially the Panasonics. I come from
using 2 HMC40's and a DVX100B, prior. I have always loved the color of Panny cams, versus others. I am pretty
stoked now and the only thing that can sway me is a GH3. hehe


Many thanks!
Rob
 
HVXguy, love the crane footage. I have a cobracrane 1 for use with the HMC40's. I find it a
bit shaky for them as it requires a lot of weight to balance. when using the extension.
I imagine the smaller GH2 would make it easier.

Do you have the 1 or the 2?
How much weight do you balance your camera with in addition to the strap weight they provide?
Do you use the extension?
 
Heartfelt said:
HVXguy, love the crane footage. I have a cobracrane 1 for use with the HMC40's. I find it a
bit shaky for them as it requires a lot of weight to balance. when using the extension.
I imagine the smaller GH2 would make it easier.

Do you have the 1 or the 2?
How much weight do you balance your camera with in addition to the strap weight they provide?
Do you use the extension?
Click to expand...

We are using Cobra Crane 1 with the extension.
I have the GH2 on top of a Bescor motorized pan/tilt head.
We have 20 lbs. of counterweight and some C-clamps
to slide back & forth to balance.
We had originally bought the Cobra Crane pan kit but it
was a piece of junk. The little Bescor motorized pan/tilt head
with a control extension cord was like $150, and works
fine for this application.
We had looked at the $1500+ remote heads but the client
did not want to spend that much.
 
ya, I got the Cobra pan kit and agree. I never installed it.

Your footage looks very smooth and doesn't exhibit the shakiness that I tend to get.

Great idea on the C-Clamp. At a recent shoot, I didn't have enough weights with and was hanging a larger plumber's wrench from the tail. It worked, haha.
 
Heartfelt said:
ya, I got the Cobra pan kit and agree. I never installed it.

Your footage looks very smooth and doesn't exhibit the shakiness that I tend to get.

Great idea on the C-Clamp. At a recent shoot, I didn't have enough weights with and was hanging a larger plumber's wrench from the tail. It worked, haha.
Click to expand...

What camera are you using? I noticed that that wire cable needs to be pretty tight so the tilt head
won't slip. I also have a smaller Kessler crane that is more solid but it could not get
high enough. My client wanted to buy a crane but of course do it as inexpensive as possible.
In the past for their corporate video we rented a techno crane and operator but that was $1500 per day.
I think the whole Cobra Crane rig was around $500 - not as exciting as being able to go 30 feet in the air
with a Hothead but it will get the job done.
 
Panny HMC40.

I think that this being a corporate gig, as compared to my previous nfp gig, I may spec a better crane with more reach. Those crane shots are the money shots.
 
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