GH2 official discussion thread

tcglog:
So far as I´m concerned, AutoFocus focuses on something according to the mode you have set (how many focusing points etc.)
Tracking AutoFocus is like face tracking focus, only it can track the movement of anything you click on.
Correct me if I´m wrong.
 
The problem is that people in here continue inventing their own new terminologies.

We're talking about three kinds of focusing:
1) push-focus, in the GH2 this is named AF-S. Camera focused once when/during pushing a button
2) Continuous focus. Camera continues focusing on anything that come within a user specified area of the frame. This is quite normal in video camcorders and I assume the GH2 can do this too, it's called AF-C
3) Auto track focus. Subject (sometimes even a face) is recognized and locked-on by camera focus, and camera continues focusing on that subject of face. The GH2 cannot do this now.
 
RieniO said:
The problem is that people in here continue inventing their own new terminologies.
3) Auto track focus. Subject (sometimes even a face) is recognized and locked-on by camera focus, and camera continues focusing on that subject of face. The GH2 cannot do this now.
Click to expand...

Actually, there is a recent video showing the GH2 and auto track focus using face detection. I "Believe" (not sure, since I don't even have the camera yet) that the confusion is whether auto track focus on non-human targets is available in GH2.
 
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Is the confusion of 'tracking' focus because there is face detection which will 'track' focus of a face.....but, there was 'tracking focus' of objects, ie: a car or a moving body (not a face)...but that type of track focus has been taken out.
Can someone confirm if this is correct.
So much confusion on this.
 
mickee13 said:
Is the confusion of 'tracking' focus because there is face detection which will 'track' focus of a face.....but, there was 'tracking focus' of objects, ie: a car or a moving body (not a face)...but that type of track focus has been taken out.
Can someone confirm if this is correct.
So much confusion on this.
Click to expand...

That's my understanding, but I could be wrong. It's too bad, because that was a feature I remember hearing it initially and got excited because I do nature/wildlife photography, and have been interested in learning film.
 
I shoot wildlife too and for that it's better to work with huge depth of field so that you are not depending too much on focusing in the first place and I also don't think an auto track focus could deal with fast moving (and jumping around) wildlife or birds. The crop sensor function is great for wildlife and ENG work.
 
mickee13 said:
Is the confusion of 'tracking' focus because there is face detection which will 'track' focus of a face.....but, there was 'tracking focus' of objects, ie: a car or a moving body (not a face)...but that type of track focus has been taken out.
Can someone confirm if this is correct.
So much confusion on this.
Click to expand...
This is absolutely correct, the same as RieniO in contribution 2626.

Face detection is actually also a AF-Tracking function with the difference, that the camera detects the face by itself and follows the face. But it only works with a frontal face, 2 eyes visible also nose and mouth.

In AF-Tracking you can determine yourself, what object shall be tracked.
It must have a reasonable contrast to the background and it may not be too small and not be moving too fast towards the camera.

You can test this in photo mode.
Set the left top switch between face detection and multi area focus and set it on AF-C.
That is the AF-Tracking mode.


Here a video example of the function of AF-Tracking, where a GH2 LCD has been filmed. This is done of course in Photo mode "P"


The focus area is in the beginning not set and in the middle (white).
Then with a finger touch on the screen, the focus is set to the train (yellow) and the AF-Tracking of the GH2 follows the moving train, keeping him in focus.

I hope this clears the point.
 
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AKED said:
Face detection is actually also a AF-Tracking function with the difference, that the camera detects the face by itself and follows the face. But it only works with a frontal face, 2 eyes visible also nose and mouth.
Click to expand...
Does it work with any AF lens or better with the 14-140 lens?
 
I've had a GH1 for just over a year and am quite happy with it.

I'm wondering if it's a worthwhile upgrade to the GH2 if I shoot mainly stills? The low light performance seems to be significantly better.

Is the 14-140mm kit lens I got with my GH1 identical to the one shipping now with the GH2, so I can safely buy GH2 body only?

Is a language hack likely to be possible in future if I buy a Japanese body, as I did with the GH1?
 
I have the 14-140 of the GH1 on my GH2.
It works but of course I cannot say, if the original 14-140 of the GH2 14-140 works better.
There is a FW-update for the 14-140 from the 7th of December.
I would apply that.

The language change from Japanese to English is workig already.
Send a mail to Vitaliy, he is the one who can explain how it works.
 
Does this help clear up any questions there are about the GH2?

Here is a video that demonstrates most of the features of the GH2. I have listed what each segment demonstrates below. There are also shortcut links in case you want to skip to a certain section.


1. Moon shot getting progressively zoomed in. I used the 45-200mm and an old Canon 400mm FD lens with a 2x teleconverter for the most zoomed in shot.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro


2. Indoor shot showing the 20mm autofocus ability and sound. The Santa clip shows that you need a shotgun mic to eliminate back ground noise when shooting at a distance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro&t=0m26s
3. GH2 teleconversion feature. Showing Airplanes landing and taking off with 45-200mm and 2.6x and 3.9x zoom. Also shows some outdoor scenes and steaks grilling.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro&t=1m0s
4. GH2 autofocus samples. Shows that focus tracking only works with still photos. However, continuous autofocus works very well with both video and stills. Face detection focus can be used to track faces during video and stills. It even works with a picture of a face.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro&t=4m21s
5. Noise tests. 20mm Focus sound and GH2 and GF1 shutter sound. The GH2 is quieter than the GF1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro&t=6m6s
6. Continuous Auto Focus during video with high speed traffic and the 45-200mm. AF on the GH2 is exceptional.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro&t=6m32s
8. Resolution chart samples from the Nikon D7000, GF1, GH1, and GH2 for all video resolutions. I used the exact same Nikon 35mm F1.8 lens for all cameras. I manually focused with it for each camera. I had to move the camera back for the m4/3s cameras to account for the 2x crop factor. This resolution chart measures resolution per picture height. I will let you draw your own conclusions about which one is better. I will also post all of the original files to Vimeo for download later this weekend.
Don't forget to hit the 1080p button on the youtube player to see the videos in full resolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro&t=7m26s
9. High detail wide angle scene. The 1080p @ 24 FPS video option is the only one that does not show Mud in this type of scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaOOPEwpAro&t=9m4s
 
Update: Much to learn here. Just realized that I shot the whole thing with the 24p set to FS and not FSH...D'oh! So that would have been 17mbps instead of 24mbps. Damn. Oh well.


Ok, got my GH2 yesterday and here is my first VDSLR test, ever.

http://vimeo.com/17966581

24p(17mbps...oops)
Vivitar FD 400mm (1872mm equivalent?) with Ex. Tele On
f6.3 wide open
1/50
ISO 320
Ex. Tele Conv used the entire time.
I was standing about 11 meters away from the feeders at the time...12 yards.
Focus is off a bit at times as my fingers were freezing off...-10
I think this Vivitar lens (used from ebay for $70) is a bit soft, but can't really expect super sharpness for that price point. Can anyone recommend a really sharp FD 200mm or larger lens that won't cost over $200 on ebay? Probably not gonna happen, right?
No actual sparrows in the video; I just like that song.

Ragnar
 
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How do you turn off digital zoom when you turn the focus? I must be out of it because I can't find it anywhere :/

Sorry for the dumb question.
 
Peter J. DeCrescenzo said:
Thanks for posting all of these!

The shot in video #9 of the cat sitting on the ottoman in front of the Christmas tree is stunning! Please don't tell me that was shot with your GF1! :-)

What lens was that shot with?
Click to expand...

No that was not the GF1 shot. That was 1080p @ 24 FPS and ISO 1600 I believe! Honestly, I still can't believe that shot came from a sub $1000 camera. Any other guesses as to what the GF1 video was?
 
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