GH2 GH2 or Nkon D800?

B

bgpixelman

Active member
I have been a Nikon shooter for many years but presently I own 2 GH2s for video and love them. Has anyone in this forum been tempted to jump ship to the new D800? I probably will but have not seen any comparisons yet.
Does anyone know whether the lack of AA filter on the upcoming D800e will be an issue for video? No one is addressing that yet, since you can get the D800 with or w/o an AA filter. Thanks for any insight and for tolerance!
 
Everything I've read says the E is not for video since moire etc will be a big problem without the AA filter.

I too am looking at the d800 but I wouldn't get rid of my gh2 for it because each camera is a tool that can do different things.
 
bgpixelman said:
I have been a Nikon shooter for many years but presently I own 2 GH2s for video and love them. Has anyone in this forum been tempted to jump ship to the new D800? I probably will but have not seen any comparisons yet. Does anyone know whether the lack of AA filter on the upcoming D800e will be an issue for video? No one is addressing that yet, since you can get the D800 with or w/o an AA filter. Thanks for any insight and for tolerance!
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Hi Jeff: As you probably know, the NAB expo is just a few days away. I strongly recommend waiting to see what announcements are made. There are rumored to be possibly several new "video cameras" at a wide range of prices.

Since the GH2 has been around for awhile, its video quality (with & without various hack settings) are well known. (I've used a GH2 since Dec. 2010). The consensus is that the GH2's 1080p video resolution is as good as or better than any other HD-DSLR currently shipping. Especially if the GH2 has one of the better hack settings installed. But resolution isn't everything: Depending on your application, there can be many other factors to consider.

The D800 is a very interesting camera to me because it seems to offer several advantages over the GH2, but at a much higher cost of course. The D800e model is likely a bad choice for video because it will probably have too much aliasing/moire artifacts for video. However, the jury is still out on both cams regarding video because they are so new. Plus, when you throw into the mix the possibility that Mosaic Engineering may come out with a version of their anti-aliasing filter for the D800/D800e, things start to get interesting.

Even without an add-on AA filter, I was impressed by the following D800 video shot by Håvar Karlsen, which was supposedly shot with the cam's detail setting turned down (usually a good idea with all video cameras):


Read his comments on Vimeo & his blog for more info:
http://vimeo.com/39475988

(Download the higher-quality version of the file to get a more accurate view of the video. Vimeo's compression adds it own artifacts.)

For example, compared to typical GH2 footage, in this D800 footage I see far less gradient banding artifacts in the blue sky and flat surfaces, less noise in under-lit areas of the frame, and the D800 enables more DOF control & wider angles -- even via inexpensive lenses -- due to its much larger sensor. Plus, compared to the GH2, the D800 is also a superb digital stills cam (as to be expected given the huge price diff.).

I especially like that the D800 has clean, recordable HDMI 4:2:2 live video output. True it's "only" 8-bit, but unless something else is announced at NAB, the D800 is by far the least expensive FF sensor camera with clean recordable live HDMI output. There are so many great external HDMI recorders available now, and I'm sure more are coming, so having clean HDMI out is a compelling feature for me.

(Side note: Personally I'm hoping Atomos will make a version of their Ninja recorder with 2 HDMI connectors so it can support loop-thru to a hi-res external EVF or monitor.)

Cheers.

P.S.: Anyone interested in D800 vs. 5DM3 comparisons, watch this space for results soon:
http://twitter.com/#!/DSLRinformer/status/184962526734323713
http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/

So far, this is my favorite 5DM3 video (download the high-quality version):
http://vimeo.com/39147880
 
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Really nice footage.. I really like the D800. We need some more side by side comparisons.. maybe a shootout from Philip Bloom soon.
 
I am in the same situation as a Nikon shooter that has bought a gh2 for video. But if I was you I don't think I would sell all the gh2. The price of the gh2 is so low that it still remains a bargain and a waste to sell it. My gh2 (hacked) is until now my main video tool. My soon to arrive hopefully next month D800 is for my job as a photographer. Everything that it will bring for video will be a plus for me because of the gh2. For now, looking at the above New York video I am quite impressed by the video quality. Things like DR, high Iso and lack of jello are very very good and an upgrade to the gh2. These thing, I don't think will be enhanced by the hack. So with further test in the end the D800 perhaps with an external recorder and mosaic filter could become my A-cam. Time will tell, but the latest video is very very encouraging. This could be all I have wished in a gh3.
 
I really want to try the D800 out, more than the MKIII to be honest. Actual reduced rolling shutter is great, looks like color is much more accurate and tasty, and I think it does have a nicer overall look.

Not sure if I can justify 3,000 because I am not a photographer, and I'm leaning away from the lack of video features these days... as much as I love the GH2, fiddling has gotten annoying (typical DSLR fiddling) and I typically just want to be confident that I'm not accidentally doing something I shouldn't be. And, there are a lot of great things hitting this year (without a doubt, no guessing) and I'd hate to have 3K tied up in a DSLR when a few more thousand and up would buy a lot more flexibility.

Still, again, D800 looks like a nice option... Maybe I'll go and rent it, grab the External Recorder and do some side by sides?
 
Oh, yes, I'm definitely keeping my GH2 no matter what, especially since I only paid $630 for the body-only brand new way back when. But unless something else appears soon-ish, I have to say the D800 has a fairly strong gravitational pull for me right now ... ;-)
 
I probably wouldn't get rid of the GH2, either. It's too damned good, price considered or not. I'm shooting feature pickups with it (greenscreen, etc) and it's already justified its purchase a good ten times over since we've had it less than two month.
 
Kholi said:
I really want to try the D800 out, more than the MKIII to be honest. Actual reduced rolling shutter is great, looks like color is much more accurate and tasty, and I think it does have a nicer overall look.

Not sure if I can justify 3,000 because I am not a photographer, and I'm leaning away from the lack of video features these days... as much as I love the GH2, fiddling has gotten annoying (typical DSLR fiddling) and I typically just want to be confident that I'm not accidentally doing something I shouldn't be. And, there are a lot of great things hitting this year (without a doubt, no guessing) and I'd hate to have 3K tied up in a DSLR when a few more thousand and up would buy a lot more flexibility.

Still, again, D800 looks like a nice option... Maybe I'll go and rent it, grab the External Recorder and do some side by sides?
Click to expand...
My vote to Kholi as official dvxuser tester. Speak with Jason... they should borrow everything you need to test it for free!

Why?

We, 90,000 dvxuser members worldwide... we trust Kholi :-)
 
One small bizarre detail about the D800 (and I'd like to give the Nikon manager responsible a smack upside the head for it) is that it doesn't appear to allow adjusting sound recording levels while the cam is in record mode! Hopefully they can address this "oversight" in a firmware update.

Speaking of a possible future firmware update for the D800, didn't Vitaliy Kiselev (of GH1/GH2/etc. firmware hacking fame) announce a while back he has some success/experience hacking a previous Nikon cam? A hacked D800 could be an awesome thing to behold ... :-)
 
Kholi said:
I really want to try the D800 out, more than the MKIII to be honest. Actual reduced rolling shutter is great, looks like color is much more accurate and tasty, and I think it does have a nicer overall look.

Not sure if I can justify 3,000 because I am not a photographer, and I'm leaning away from the lack of video features these days... as much as I love the GH2, fiddling has gotten annoying (typical DSLR fiddling) and I typically just want to be confident that I'm not accidentally doing something I shouldn't be. And, there are a lot of great things hitting this year (without a doubt, no guessing) and I'd hate to have 3K tied up in a DSLR when a few more thousand and up would buy a lot more flexibility.

Still, again, D800 looks like a nice option... Maybe I'll go and rent it, grab the External Recorder and do some side by sides?
Click to expand...

Hi Kholi: What I really want:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthrea...shlist&p=1986114790&viewfull=1#post1986114790
 
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I just read all the posts here and there seems to be quite a bit of interest in the D800 from all who are here.

BUT, there is no one BLOWN AWAY by what they have seen.

That concurs with what I felt about Nikon that they are playing catch up and are getting close a little late, but still no "wow factor" in what they have to offer.

When you consider 3.5X the price, double the mp and no crop factor, this should have people salivating for the extreme quality, not just leaving nice polite compliments.
 
The D800 and the NEX-7 are the two video capable still cameras that might get me to sell my GHs - but I use my cameras for events periodically, and can't live with the stupid 29 minute record time limit - even though the stunning still photos that I have seen from both the Nikon and the Sony tempt me sorely :-(

Panasonic -- 'I cain't quit you' ;-)

The GH3 watch continues...
 
Kholi said:
IMO this is long ... long overdue, man. I can't figure out why it hasn't been done yet. I mean, I'm sure there IS a good reason, but still...
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I agree: There are probably several "good" business & technical reasons why cams like this don't exist for far less than $3K, but it's insanely frustrating.

There are many box & industrial cams offered by Sony, Panasonic, etc., but to the best of my knowledge none have APC-C or larger sensors & output 1080p for under $3K or so. Makes me nuts.

My hope is that someone like BlackMagic or SoundDevices will just say screw it and make one. Even if they have to buy another company to do it.
 
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You ever seen the Indiecam?

http://www.indiecam.com/

I've played with one, just about two months ago. This, and of course the other camera head that totally escapes my mind (slumdog millionaire... arg), are definitely supporting evidence to your argument. These record to laptops, as well as external HD-SDI devices. It's 2/3", but that's not too bad. It's high time that someone without as much stake put stock into external recorders like the PIX, and tell people "Here, you've got an A-Class camera head, go and choose your own recording format."
 
IndieCam, SlumDogCam ... all well & good ... for 2008 ... but BM, SoundDevices, AJA, etc. should just hook up with Samsung or another sensor fab (gotta be APS-C or FF) and just do it!
 
ChipThome said:
I just read all the posts here and there seems to be quite a bit of interest in the D800 from all who are here.

BUT, there is no one BLOWN AWAY by what they have seen.

That concurs with what I felt about Nikon that they are playing catch up and are getting close a little late, but still no "wow factor" in what they have to offer.

When you consider 3.5X the price, double the mp and no crop factor, this should have people salivating for the extreme quality, not just leaving nice polite compliments.
Click to expand...

For now it is only early days. Apart from the aliasing/moire that in some video does not look too good and in others like the New-york one which is very very low, this cam could be a wow camera. The thing is that most of the sample are unfortunately coming from the ........................... Nikon shooters. So most of them are new to video, posting on youtube, bad compression, shutter angle etc. are new to them. The New york video is from a Canon shooter. But the DR, rolling shutter and low light are very very good. I don't even dream the gh3 to equal it in the DR and low light. The sensor in it is insane, this is the highest in DXOmark history.

The second thing is that it is suffering from the release of the 5d mark3 which is taking a lot of the limelight because it is... the sucessor of the 5d2, the camera that started all this. So with a little time and video like the New york one, we could have a much better view of its true capabilities which could WOW and even more WOW with an external recorder.
 
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