GH2 GH2 or 5DmII - Which to buy for lens selection? Help me decide!

G

Gang_Green

Active member
Which package would you buy if you could hypothetically have either one for the same price?

GH2 Package:
with the Voitlander 25mm 0.95 lens.
The stock 14-42mm F4.0.
A 50mm 1.8 Canon FD lens (already own)
An FD mount to MF3 mount lens adapter
A 35-70mm F/3.0 Canon FD lens (already own)

or...

5DmII Package:
with the canon 24-70mm F2.8 lens.
...and Thats it for now.

Main Reasons for GH2 over 5Dm2:
1. Flip out LCD will save my back. Ive used the 7D and hate not having a good articulating monitor.
2. I love the aesthetics of the "Panasonic Look". Always have preferred it since DVX100.
3. The GH2 is brand new. The 5D mark2 has been around for 2 years which is bound for an upgrade soon! What if i buy it and six months later the 5Dmark3 comes out. I don't want to get burned like that. In 2006 I bought an HV10 and 5 months later they dropped the HV20 with 24p and mic input! I was flaming mad! Still upsets me to this day!
4. The Voiltlander 25mm 0.95 is awesome and looks amazing on Vimeo. The looks is exactly what i want. This lens would be my primary lens for 75% of my shots.
5. Future purchases of MFT lenses are cheaper then 5D lenses.
6. Sound levels on the GH2 are available but Not on the 5D. Even though i would do external audio usually anyway.

Reasons for the 5D:
1. The Voitlander 25mm 0.95 lens for the GH2 is on indefinite back order!! What if it never comes!? How long do i have to wait? I could get the 5D with 24-70mm 2.8 lens right now, no waiting.
2. GH2 is not as "Famous" as the 5DmII. People know the 5D. It's got street cred. "They shot an episode of house on the 5D". People who dont know anything about cameras say things like that. That matters to a degree when you work as a videographer. You don't want to say to a client, "No i don't have a 5d but i have a GH2 which is just as good. Then they say, "oh yeah but"...
3. 5D lenses are widely available to rent. M43 lenses are a little harder to come by.
4. A FF sensor means DOF is one stop lower on each lens. An F2.8 lens on 5D has a DOF equivalent of a 3.8 lens on M43 cameras. (right?) So perhaps Depth of Field would be very close to what id get with 2.8 lens on FF 5D anyway.
5. 24-70mm means I can find a suitable zoom range for 90% of the shots i compose during most of my shooting. Shot a film with the 7D and this lens and used it 90% of the time. I imagine on the 5D it would be even better for the DOF advantage.


What would you do?
 
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Considering you're posting in the GH section most people will say gh1/2.

Gh2 is a great camera if you don't care about stills.

Decent stills but wicked video.

Based on your own words the 25mm voigtlander and gh2 give you just what you need for a look.

Even a gh2 with 20mm 1.7 will be a great combo until you could get a voigtlander.

ETC mode means you can snag multiple focal lengths with the same lens too.

I still think the 5d2 has better colours than a GH2 but there's so much other stuff that is right about the gh2.

Either one will give you a great image.

I had a 5d2 but kept getting some hot pixels when the warranty was over, so maybe excessive video shooting isn't such a hot idea over extended months. Or I just got unlucky.

I ended up getting a gh2 afterwards and will wait to see if a 5d3 comes out. Gh2 is so cheap that it's a great piece of fun to have around.
 
It's really hard for me to say. I have both right in front of me and have been shooting a lot with both the past couple of days. Have had the 5d since Dec. 2008, the GH2 for about a month. The GH2 is so much sharper that it should just win hands down, but for me, the 5d just usually looks 'better.' That's a vague term, but that's what I keep coming back to. I prefer shooting with the GH2 much more: amazing little viewfinder, flip out LCD, WAY smarter menu (at least for the way my brian is built)... but again, for anything but detailed shots, the 5d usually looks nicer to me.
 
It all depends on what is important to you. First of all, the GH2 will likely be cheaper and quite a bit sharper. I have been thinking about the same comparison myself. I agree about the concern of a new Canon camera coming out, so unless you get an unusually good deal on the now 'old' 5dmk2, maybe it would be tough to swallow. The prospect of nearly two extra stops of sensitivity and DOF options is an interesting one. If you often shoot in very low light and never deliver more than 720p then the decision might be an easy one. However, if you often shoot landscapes and wide shots for 1080p delivery and do not like having to pull focus on FF35 and want to have 1080p monitor output while using the onboard lcd, the decision also might be easy.

A 14-140 at f4-f5.8 ( f5.8 for a constant stop) will probably feel like you're shooting on a 2/3" sensor which is pretty enormously different from the f2.8 on the 5dmk2. Think 4stops of DOF and sensitivity different. That's the same difference I get between my Sony EX1 and Canon 7D, where in this case the GH2 would be the Sony EX1...

I might also be careful about older FF35 glass on a GH2. It might start looking a bit soft and bloom a bit since you're essentially cropping by 2x and taking a sharp 1080p image from it.

Also, f2.8 on a 5dmk2 will look like f1.4 on a GH2 for the same field of view, not f1.8.
 
I came over to the GH2 and Micro 4/3 from Canon APS-C, not FF, but I don't regret it.

With an inexpensive adapter, I can still use my EOS glass in manual mode (with workarounds on aperture control until I can get one of these http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280611604024&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT).

In addition to the Canon FD lenses you already own, you'll find a whole universe of classic glass available to you. I have only had the camera for a month and have already had some great results with a couple of relatively inexpensive old lenses.

And please don't overlook the flexibility provided by the GH2's extended tele mode, which more than doubles the focal length of all of your glass.

The 5DmkII is a great camera, but as a video cam without a flip-out LCD or any kind of audio gain control, I don't care how much street cred it has.
 
If you get the 5D be prepared to apply the magic lantern hack to get full use out of it, frame rates, audio controls, etc...
 
Get the shot faster

Get the shot faster

Im leaning towards the GH2 at this point. Here is why. For me, I feel the GH2 will allow me to get the shot faster than the 5D. Both obviously will look good. But for me, Get the shot faster is always important. The GH2 has had more time to evolve the idea of shooting video on a DSLR style camera.
 
fishquail said:
Im leaning towards the GH2 at this point. Here is why. For me, I feel the GH2 will allow me to get the shot faster than the 5D. Both obviously will look good. But for me, Get the shot faster is always important. The GH2 has had more time to evolve the idea of shooting video on a DSLR style camera.
Click to expand...

I agree...particularly since the GH1(GH2) was designed from the ground up as a hybrid camera. With a GH1 or GH2, it's real easy to just shoot randomly....I know most people don't use these cameras for that...it's a nice bonus though.
 
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