GH2 kit advice

S

Sergiu Mogan

Member
Hello,
I want to get into the wedding video business.
I want to buy a GH2 camera for that, but my budget is limitted.
I have two options in my head to start with that are in the same price range:
1.GH2 + 14-140 kit lens
or
2.Gh2 + 14-42 kit lens + glidecam 2000 HD

P.S.: wich one of the Pancake 20mm f/1.7 and Pancake 14mm f/2.5 (same price) would you reccoment.
 
And you already have all other things (audio, lighting, etc) ?
I suggest you to read forums for some time initially to get some idea of that you need :-)
 
My shopping list contains more than that but this is my first choice that I have to made and I am not decided between "1." and "2.".
I am also not decided between the two pancake lens (they are both at the same price).
"1." and "2." are also the same price.
So please help me with this decisions first and I'll try to figure out what other equipment should I have.
I am taking it one step at a time, because my budget can only cover one of "1." and "2." and one of the lens for now.
 
In this case, 14-140mm. Plus cheap indian shoulder kit (one for $35) :-)
Working with Glidecam on weddings is almost impossible if you are the only one and have one camera only.
It is also impossible without proper (about $900-1200) west for longer than 5 minutes :-).
 
If you're on a budget and you're a one man band, try a monopod instead of a glidecam. The the pod extended it counterbalances motion while you walk. You could even attach a small weight to the bottom. This technique isn't great for video cameras but the ultralight/compact gh2 makes this very effective with a little practice.
 
Sergiu Mogan said:
Ok, and as for the pancake lens? Which one?
I was aiming at the glidecam to compensate the pancake lens lack of OIS.
Click to expand...

Any kind of stabilizer won't compensate for lack of OIS on the 20mm...as OIS sucks for using in video, unless you're shooting handheld home videos which look like crap anyways, where OIS can "help".

I've not seen too many wedding videographers (or indie "film makers") that were competent enough to use a glidecam type device...most of it I see makes me sea-sick when watched on a big flat panel HDTV. So you might want to get the basics down with a tripod first...even if it's a $20 tripod from Best Buy...and watch all your test footage in HD on a big flat panel instead of a tiny NLE preview box, before putting a price tag on it. The most expensive steadicam in the world can't match a $15 tripod. It just depends on what you want your wedding video to look like...a timeless movie or an episode of Cops.

That being said, if you're going to shoot weddings, the 20mm f1.7 is (in my opinion) the main (or only) reason to buy a GH2.

1.GH2 + 14-140 kit lens
or
2.Gh2 + 14-42 kit lens + glidecam 2000 HD
Click to expand...

Go with the 14-140. It's painfully slow for shooting wedding video, but so is the 14-42. But, at least it's 140mm on the tele end. That's not long enough for most weddings I shoot, but 42mm at the long end is pretty useless. At least you'll have the crop function on the GH2 to get more reach out of the 14-140mm for church weddings, or you can pick up the Lumix 45-200mm for cheap.


I wanted to say Rode Video Stereo Mic. Is that mic good for wedding videos?
Click to expand...

The GH2 comes with a built-in mic that records stereo just fine. Bolting a bunch of crap to your camera with all sorts of bracketry is fun, but it won't impress anyone at a wedding, and won't make the video any better. It'll just make your camera look like this:

773201836_MEVtG-S-3.jpg


Instead of buying a hobbyist microphone to bolt on your camera, invest that money in a digital recorder that you can use to record audio directly at the source. For example, a mic on the groom (recorder in jacket pocket+lapel mic) to record vows and the minister, a recorder on the lectern to record readings, a recorder on the string quartet or soloist, a recorder on the DJ's speaker for toasts/blessings, etc. Those little camera mounted shotgun mics are okay for better isolating sources when you're shooting something like the bridesmaids getting their makeup done or something...but not really enough for me to screw with carrying it with me and mounting the silly thing. In fact, it just increases the odds you lose ALL of your audio from the camera, by using a crappy adapter to fit the 3.5mm plug into the stupid 2.5mm GH2 jack.


Most cheesy accessories will just collect dust in the closet. Save your money to get a 2nd GH2 body, and maybe a 2nd 20mm f1.7 to have matching footage from your B-cam.

Money spent on an on-camera light will go a lot further towards a great video than a silly stabilizer gizmo. Even with the 20mm f1.7, you'll want a little "fill" light from a light with a dimmer knob. The best suite one I've found is the TorchLED TL-50. Not cheap, but well worth the money. Full dimmer, and internal rechargeable battery that lasts all day.

But for poorly lit receptions, the TorchLED TL-50 (30w equivalent) light does almost nothing to squeeze out a visible image from the 14-140. The lens is just too slow.

Good luck!
 
I thought that the glidecam will be more useful in shooting a "Trash the dress" video, or a "Before wedding" video. I had some ideas in which only the glidecam could help. And how can a steddiepod be used as a glidecam (kinda) ?
Thanks alot for your advice.
 
Vitaliy Kiselev said:
I think that 14mm is the way to go in this case. 20mm (it is 40mm FOV in fact) willl be much harder to keep stready and DOF will be much thinner.
Click to expand...

Harder to keep steady? What? How is the 14mm any different? If DOF is thiner just close down the iris.

I'd rather have the 20mm with its wide aperture advantage than the 14mm with its not so impressive f2.5.
 
+ 1 with swyzlstyx. for me stabilizer is more candid style such as hiking video. prolly more suited for Flip HD or iPhone.

A sturdy tripod setup is a must for wedding video. To take more dynamic video I'd use a shoulder rig. Some people configured their shoulder rig so that it can sit easily on a tripod. e.g. glidetrack shooter + manfrotto video head & quick release & ball head. You could use the slider as a shoulder support.

ext mic on the hotshoe is good enough for recording ambient sound or close range voice.

Either 14-42 or 14-140 is kinda slow for indoor event. For wedding, no time to switch primes. Oly 35-100mm 2.0 is nice but $$$$.
 
About the mic. I was going for an external mic so that I can get rid of the lens focus noise. The mic Rode Stereo Video Mic has some kind of rubber that eliminates the camera vibrations and other unpleasant noise.
 
If you have noise from the lens focus motor, it means your camera is in continuous auto-focus mode, and your image is probably out of focus anyways, and audio would be the least of your concern since it's a ruined shot. Continuous auto-focus + video cameras don't mix, IMHO. But that's just my shooting style. ;) That's not to say that the Rode wouldn't sound better than the built-in mic, or at least more directional, but I wouldn't place it high on my priority list if I were on a budget.

Isn't that new Rode like $250??? If I were going to mount an expensive mic on the camera, I'd at least plug it directly into an audio recorder instead of the GH2, and set the levels manually (which is a PITA when you're shooting the wedding and the bride didn't pay extra for a sound guy to run a recording system and carry a boom pole). Then you can use DualEyes to sync in post. I might pick up the Rode for home video type stuff, it looks like a cool mic, just not worth the trouble for wedding use IMHO.

For me, I get ZERO usable audio from the camera mic (built in OR shotgun) during the wedding ceremony...not even ambient is good do to camera placement, moving positions, camera handling, etc, so the mic doesn't matter. During the reception, I use lots of ambient from the camera mic, but it's too noisy to get anything specific, so an expensive external mic is kind of a waste for me. External recorders are used for critical things like the toasts. The toasts for example, even on the most expensive mic, will still sound like crap if mounted on the camera. A camera mounted mic would be good for something like the "getting ready" footage, but I rarely shoot that junk anymore. I leave it to the photographers and other videographers who include all sorts of all-day free coverage. Since I started charging just $100/hour to shoot past the 4 hours of coverage I include, brides suddenly found that part of the video of VERY little importance...NONE of them have ever wanted to pay extra for it. :D
 
Ok, thank.
How can I use [FONT=&quot]the [/FONT][FONT=&quot]DMW-DCC8 [/FONT][FONT=&quot]DC Coupler with an external universal "battery" or something like that.
or
How many BLC12 batteries would I need in filming a wedding? (including the reception party). Would 2 (one charging and one in the camera) would do or I would need at least 3 ?
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Rode VideoMic Pro has a built-in gain control. -10 db or +20 db. This should work a way better than GH2's built-in AGC. The mic can be used on a boom pole, too. Sure it can be used with a small portable recorder without XLR power. Most of all it's small enough that I don't mind placing it on top of the camera. I'm not a big fan of a rig, either.
 
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