GH2 or TM700?

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dmoreno

Active member
I have a hacked GH1 that I love! (I also have a Canon HV30). I do event videography (including weddings) and also some low budget commercials and corporate videos.
I am planning on buying new gear soon and Panasonic GH2 and TM700 seem to be my best choices.
I need to be able to monitor what I am shooting so that my clients can see it. Both cameras could solve that problem I have with the GH1.
I also need to have reliable autofocus for some events and a camera that will hold focus while zooming. This because I've done some gigs where really long continuous shots had to be made (conferences, weddings) and zooming in and out becomes necessary to keep the footage interesting. (had lots of trouble with GH1 on a conference as it would go out of focus when I zoomed in and out). The necessity of zooming to change framing sometime forces me to use the kit lens of the GH1 (14-140) which isn't that great in low light. Will lowlight in the TM700 be better than GH1 with kit lens?
I am still not sure of how much better the TM700 will be than my HV30 (the canon has a good autofocus, can keep focus while zooming and has HDMI out). I can tell HV30 footage is softer than my GH1 footage and low light in the HV30 isn't that great. Will TM700 footage match better with my GH1 than the canon? Is it better in low light than the canon?
For now, the only advantage of GH2 over GH1, for what I do, seems to be being able to use an external monitor (I also value having progressive 24p, but I already bought Cineform Neoscene and am happy with it).
Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated!
 
After a lot of research, I bought (2) Gh1s and (2) TM700s last summer to replace 3 older HD cameras that were much larger. I have done, for many years, and still do, a wide variety of video projects. A power zoom will always be a must for much of what I do, but I wanted to be able to go with a DSLR as well. I built (2) rigs that will actually mount both cameras at the same time, if the shoot would benefit from it. This past July through September I shot a series of night motorcycle races in an unevenly lit outdoor facility. The first night was a test for the GH1 with kit lens as the medium wide camera, and the TM700 as the primary unit using a Toslink cable rigged remote (came with the camera) for the power zoom shots. The focus of this project is slo-mo, particularly when the riders slide, side-by-side through the turns - Speedway Bikes on dirt track ovals. The TM was set at 1080P 60fps and the GH1 at 720P 60fps. Footage from both cameras was synced in post. On full manual, the TM is the better low-light camera. It is simply amazing for what it can do at it's price-point! The second night I mounted a Nikkor 1.4 50mm on the GH1 and the difference in light level and picture quality is amazing. However, there is no way to pull focus on the GH1 while concentrating on the TM700, so only part of the turns are in focus, but those few seconds are what I need when the footage is slowed down in post, as I have 2 tracks to choose from for the best shot. I will be testing the 20mm pancake lens on the GH1 on an upcoming night race, but I doubt that the auto focus can keep up with the thundering herd. Thankfully, I begin shooting some scheduled daytime races in a few weeks, and am looking forward to better slo-mo footage from both cameras and a chance to see how closely I can match them up. Then it's on to a scripted green-screen shoot to see what the GH1 can do. I feel that I definitely made the right choice with both of these amazing little Panasonics.
 
John, thanks a lot for your reply!
So the TM700 is better than the GH1 with the kit lens! That's good to know! How much better? (subtle, noticeable, day and night?)
Also how good is the autofocus in the TM700? Does it hold focus well while zooming?
I also have an f/1.4 50mm (mine is a Canon FD) is wonderfull for lowlight and for extra shallow depth of field, but not wide enough for events and hard to keep in focus. I bought the 20mm pancake lens and is great, almost as bright as the 50mm but easier to keep in focus, especially because of the wider angle that makes slightly off focus footage look well enough. I don´t trust any lens to autofocus on the GH1, specially in low light (kit lens is a little better than the pancake, but still not as reliable as autofocus from my Canon HV30). I think the pancake lens will work for you, you could manually focus it to somewhere in the middle of the track and everything will appear "about" focused, if you leave it in auto it will probably be "haunting" focus all the time.
 
I wouldn't say that the TM700 is better, but in lowlight full manual, it is better than the GH1 with Kit lens. I rarely use autofocus, as I come from a broadcast camera world where there is no autofocus, and would not use it if it had it. The TM700 does a very good job of holding focus manually, and not too bad if you have to go to auto. The 1080P 60fps is perfect for the action sports stuff, but I plan on using the GH1 for scripted based tripod shoots as the lens choice and 24p hacked mode is very nice. Depending on feedback from GH2 users, I may go there as the live HDMI output is a major necessity for my studio and controlled field shoots. If you can afford it, consider the GH2 and a TM700 - two tools in your video arsenal.
 
John Frey said:
I wouldn't say that the TM700 is better, but in lowlight full manual, it is better than the GH1 with Kit lens.
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Won't hold a candle to the GH1 with other lenses though. GH1 using an f/1.5-2.8 lens like the TM700's would blow it out of the water in low light.
 
As I said in my first post, the GH1 with my Nikkor 1.4 50mm is awesome - but is limiting for the action sports stuff. The TM700 lens is a 35-420mm (equiv) f1.5– 2.8 Leica lens. The GH1 is the superior camera for controlled situations, and I look forward to the other lenses out there that will work with it. That's why I bought 2 of them!
 
One important question is "Do any of the m4/3s lenses will hold focus while zooming?". I believe the 14-140mm won't quite do it and the 45-200mm won't do it at all. However, the 14-45mm seemed to do it when I had that lens. However, I tested it with autofocus on so maybe it was just refocusing fast enough.
 
I have both the GH1 and the TM700 that I use for weddings. I can also confirm that the TM700 is better in low light than the GH1 with the kit lens, by a wide margin. However, once I throw my 20mm 1.7 on the GH1, it blows the TM700 away.

I find that I use the kit lens for the ceremony, when I need the ability to change zoom. A few times I've found it to be a bit too dark, but nothing I can't fix in post.

For dark receptions, the GH1 with the 1.7 is a lifesaver.
 
ampsonic said:
I have both the GH1 and the TM700 that I use for weddings. I can also confirm that the TM700 is better in low light than the GH1 with the kit lens, by a wide margin. However, once I throw my 20mm 1.7 on the GH1, it blows the TM700 away.

I find that I use the kit lens for the ceremony, when I need the ability to change zoom. A few times I've found it to be a bit too dark, but nothing I can't fix in post.

For dark receptions, the GH1 with the 1.7 is a lifesaver.
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Are you saying it "blows it away" in regards to resolution and/or clarity of the footage? What recording modes are you using on the GH13 vs. the TM700? I've got both, but from a resolution standpoint the TM700 seems sharper. Then again, I have not routinely recorded progressive 1080 footage on the GH13.
 
aae991 said:
Are you saying it "blows it away" in regards to resolution and/or clarity of the footage? What recording modes are you using on the GH13 vs. the TM700? I've got both, but from a resolution standpoint the TM700 seems sharper. Then again, I have not routinely recorded progressive 1080 footage on the GH13.
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I'm only speaking in terms of exposure. I find the GH1 w/ zoom lens is often under exposed. Also, I have not hacked my GH1... since I have no backup I am a bit scared to use a hacked camera for events. I run the GH1 in 720 60p, and the TM700 in 108060P. I edit in 720 24, and it's nice to have the extra resolution on the wide shot (TM700) so I can either scale or crop for a bit of shot variety.
 
Thanks. I did a side-by-side of the TM700 and the GH13 on a large monitor and was stunned by the apparent superior resolution of the TM700 when compared to the GH13. No resolution charts or "scientific" analysis, just qualitative observation. Then again, the TM700 was at 1080 60p and the GH13 at 1080 60i. MJPEG on the GH13 "looks" nicer and seems to resolve better, but comes at a price of huge file size.
 
ampsonic, what settings are you using on your cameras when you say TM700 is much better in lowlight and kit lens (gain/ISO and shutter speed)?
I agree with you that the GH1 with pancake lens is great for receptions, I basically use it all the time and also have a wideangle adapter to make it even wider.
One of the main reasons I am thinking on buying the TM700 is for weddings. Currently I use my HV30 for a wideshot and my GH1 as a main camera, zooming and refocusing to try to capture the most important moments. I am thinking I could start using the GH1+20mm pancake for the wideshot (which would be awesome for lowlit ceremonies) and the TM700 for the main camera, as it would be better in lowlight than the GH1+kit lens and could keep focus as I zoom, also motorized focus would be nice to do slow-usable zooms!
 
mpgxsvcd said:
One important question is "Do any of the m4/3s lenses will hold focus while zooming?". I believe the 14-140mm won't quite do it and the 45-200mm won't do it at all. However, the 14-45mm seemed to do it when I had that lens. However, I tested it with autofocus on so maybe it was just refocusing fast enough.
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That is a question I will also would like to know the answer to! Since there's so many knowledgeable people here I wonder if someone knows if a m4/3 lens can be made that will keep focus as some pro camcorders do (you zoom in to maximum, manually focus and then can zoom in and out keeping your focus). I also wonder if the TM700 lens will do that.
 
aae991 said:
Thanks. I did a side-by-side of the TM700 and the GH13 on a large monitor and was stunned by the apparent superior resolution of the TM700 when compared to the GH13. No resolution charts or "scientific" analysis, just qualitative observation. Then again, the TM700 was at 1080 60p and the GH13 at 1080 60i. MJPEG on the GH13 "looks" nicer and seems to resolve better, but comes at a price of huge file size.
Click to expand...
Thanks, from this post and ampsonic's post I am learning that TM700 is probably MUCH better than HV30 in terms of resolution (I find GH1 at 1080 has better resolution than HV30 and you are stating that TM700 has better resolution than GH1). I guess TM700 could also be better in lowlight than HV30, but that is just speculating.
 
I have the TM700 cranked, but I'll be honest, I run the GH1, my partner the TM700. The TM700 controls / menus are frustrating to me.
 
John Frey said:
My TM700s are easy to put into and adjust in full manual mode, and the touchscreen menu control keeps it simple. Yes, the TM700, in manual focus mode, will maintain correct focus, if you zoom all the way in, set focus, zoom all the way out, and then back in. Here is a photo of both the GH1 and TM700 on one of my rigs.

http://www.digitalwestvideo.com/content/field-production
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Wow, that's one hell of a rig! I also have the Zoom H4n. How do you handle audio? Do yo feed it from the zoom to both or only the TM700 (that has adjustable audio gain) from the H4n?
Great to know the TM700 hold focus while zooming, have you had any problems with the fan noise some people complain about?
 
I use the Zoom as a mixer, split the audio out with an attenuated cable to the GH1 and standard 3mm cable to the TM700. As you can see, I have the wireless remote from the TM700 (with a Toslink cable rigged to the TM), an inexpensive wired remote for the GH1, and the Zoom Wired remote mounted over the right hand grip and within finger/thumb reach - makes starting and stopping record mode a lot easier. I just can't plug in both the wired remote and the audio cable to the GH1 at the same time. However, even with the GH1 remote plugged in, I still get camera mic audio - Go Figure! Depending on the shoot, I will often remove the wireless receiver, shotgun mic and/or the Zoom. Very flexible, and I can even mount (2) TH700s or (2) GH1s if need be, as there are quick release heads for both cameras and at the bottom of the rig for snapping onto a tripod. I made the frame out of aluminum alloy and bent the quick release shoulder braces to fit me. There is also one extra cold shoe mount for an LED light. Having (2) shoulder braces and (2) handgrips instead of (1), evens out the load and I can actually take my hands off of the grips and the whole thing will balance on my shoulders. It all looks really weird, but it works great and that's what counts. It beats the old days of lugging a big Betacam system around on my right shoulder. I remove the shoulder mount for tripod use. I still need to add a shock mount for the Zoom.
 
Very interesting setup! would love to see a comparison between tm700 and GH1 with stock lens! Any problem with TM700 fan noise?
 
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