GH2 vs. T3i (specific questions)

S

Snapper123

Well-known member
Hey guys, I have to decide very soon wether I want to buy a Gh2 or a T3i.

- One feature that I'm curious about, is the T3i's "Crop Modes" where it seems that you can have 3x Crop and 10x crop at a 1080P resolutions. With my tests, I believe that these "Crop Modes" improve aliasing. Would it be possible that the 3x crop mode would equal the quality of the Gh2's video mode? Does that 3x crop also equal the sensor size of the Gh2?

- With the Gh2's video quality, I've been seeing what seems to be a bunch of sharpness aliasing (the pixel-ish type you see more often on a camcorder, not the rainbow type) on Youtube, does this happen in the true files? I personally love sharpness to death, but I don't really want it to look like the fake contrasty type.

- With the GH2, one issue that concerns me is that I already am a wide-angle guy and I would say that the 35mm sensor on the Canon's is even a bit small for what I would truly like to have. Is the Gh2's sensor much smaller than the Canon's? Is 55mm on a Canon aprox 42mm on the Gh2?

- Does the Gh2 have manual audio?

- Finally, if a Gh1 was easy for me to find, is it a better option to hack a Gh1 instead? I personally would enjoy that $400 price cut, and from tests simply on Youtube, I almost want to say the Gh13 makes things look better than the Gh2 in video mode, but I'm unsure. Any certain features that make the Gh13 a nessecity over the Gh2?

Thanks!

P.S. This video really I think has inspired me to get a Gh2, I'd have to see the original files but I just don't think my T2i could really pick up the details seen here. I've tried it and while anything looks good when you down-size it drastically, I'm eager to see if the Gh2 could deliver to me something that's more accurate to 720P-1080P. Based on how aliased these Youtube vids are, it really looks like there'd be a heck of a bunch of detail in the original files.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hGB25jJoNs
 
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If you didn't like the T2i then you'll probably feel the same about the T3i's results. Just get a GH2, it's a fun camera that produces great video. If you don't like it, plenty of people will buy it close to what you bought it for. A win-win. I bet you'd keep it, though.
 
The T3i’s 3x-10x mode is nothing more than a digital zoom. They crafted their words carefully to imply that it was a lossless mode like ETC. However, it is not a true 1:1 mode for any magnification. It scales from 3x all the way to 10x.

That being said all accounts say it scales well and it can be activated during video. However, it is not a replacement for ETC mode. If you are reluctant to use the ETC mode because of its drawbacks then you definitely won’t like the T3i mode.
 
- With the GH2, one issue that concerns me is that I already am a wide-angle guy and I would say that the 35mm sensor on the Canon's is even a bit small for what I would truly like to have. Is the Gh2's sensor much smaller than the Canon's? Is 55mm on a Canon aprox 42mm on the Gh2?
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are you shooting video or taking stills? The sensor on the GH2 is almost exactly the same size as academy 35mm film frames so any lens selection for framing of 35mm film will net the same effect on the GH2.
 
If you need a camera now get the t3i, but if you can wait a few days or weeks like me, get the GH2, is so difficult to find one on stock, good luck.
 
Hi Snapper, I am also a T2i owner, and have not regretted switching to the GH2. I have not handled the T3i, but understand that it is just a T2i with a swivel screen, manual audio and a digital zoom. You've gotten a lot of good information here, but I'm not sure that all of your specific questions have been answered, so here goes:

- One feature that I'm curious about, is the T3i's "Crop Modes" where it seems that you can have 3x Crop and 10x crop at a 1080P resolutions. With my tests, I believe that these "Crop Modes" improve aliasing. Would it be possible that the 3x crop mode would equal the quality of the Gh2's video mode? Does that 3x crop also equal the sensor size of the Gh2?
Click to expand...

The 3x and 10x crop on the T3i are similar to the 2.6x sensor crop for video on the GH2. According to Canon's press release announcing the T3i, "Unlike standard digital zoom for still images, Movie Digital Zoom crops the video image directly from the CMOS sensor at Full HD resolution to preserve video quality and still provide amazing additional telephoto power beyond just the lens"

I have found the GH2's 2.6x Extended Tele Converter mode to be very useful, and imagine that the Canon "digital zoom" crop modes would be useful too -- but I doubt that these crop modes would solve the Canons' aliasing problems.

With the Gh2's video quality, I've been seeing what seems to be a bunch of sharpness aliasing (the pixel-ish type you see more often on a camcorder, not the rainbow type) on Youtube, does this happen in the true files? I personally love sharpness to death, but I don't really want it to look like the fake contrasty type.
Click to expand...

YouTube is not really a good place for determining image quality. Vimeo is better, but not much. Straight out of the camera, the video files from my GH2 are stunning on my TV or laptop - no moire, no aliasing, and no fake video look.

With the GH2, one issue that concerns me is that I already am a wide-angle guy and I would say that the 35mm sensor on the Canon's is even a bit small for what I would truly like to have. Is the Gh2's sensor much smaller than the Canon's? Is 55mm on a Canon aprox 42mm on the Gh2?
Click to expand...

I am a little confused by this question. The sensors on the T2i and T31 are APS-C, not full frame 35mm. As such, the sensor crop factor for the Canons is about 1.6, while the sensor crop for the GH2 is about 2.0, since its sensor is about 40% smaller than APS-C. So a 55mm lens on a T3i is equivalent to an 88mm lens on a full-frame 35mm camera, and a 42mm lens is equivalent to an 84mm lens on a full-frame camera. I hope that answers your question.

Does the Gh2 have manual audio?
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It has a 4-level user-selectable automatic gain control. On the low setting, the background hiss that I used to get with the T2i's AGC is absolutely gone. That said, the T3i is supposed to have real manual gain control, which is preferable.

Finally, if a Gh1 was easy for me to find, is it a better option to hack a Gh1 instead? I personally would enjoy that $400 price cut, and from tests simply on Youtube, I almost want to say the Gh13 makes things look better than the Gh2 in video mode, but I'm unsure. Any certain features that make the Gh13 a nessecity over the Gh2?
Click to expand...

Yes, the GH1 seems to be readily available -- and at great prices -- but Panasonic modified later models so they could not be hacked. You would have to buy an earlier, "hackable" model below a certain serial number (I can't remember what it is), and then modify the camera's firmware, if it wasn't already hacked. For me, that's too much trouble for the supposed benefit. I don't want to start a flame war, but, in my opinion, the GH2's image processing is better than the GH13's.

A couple of things you didn't mention, but that I miss from my T2i:

1. Million-pixel LCD. This is a biggie. The GH2 has about half the number of pixels on the LCD. It's perfectly usable (and the magnified focus assist mode on the touch screen is GREAT), but on the rare occasions when I pick up the old T2i these days, I am reminded of the advantages of a big, razor sharp megapixel LCD.

2. Batteries. Batteries for the Canons are inexpensive and plentiful, but battery availability for the GH2 has been poor to date. And there are no battery grips from Panasonic or third party manufacturers yet. I've written about a no-solder external battery solution on my blog, but this is a problem for me and many other shooters.

Bottom line: if video image quality is what you're looking for and you can only have one camera, sell your T2i and buy the GH2. It's not the perfect hybrid still/video camera, but it's close.
 
brunerww said:
Bottom line: if video image quality is what you're looking for and you can only have one camera, sell your T2i and buy the GH2. It's not the perfect hybrid still/video camera, but it's close.
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What about an unhackable GH1 compared to a T2i/T3i/60D? Everyone talks about the GH2 as if it's readily available and you can just run out to the store and pick one up today. Not the case. However that is the case with the Canon cameras. I can run down the street to Best Buy and pick up a Canon on my lunch break. That in my opinion is a huge factor to consider. Whereas you may be waiting months for a GH2.

So at this point I'd like to hear more comparisons between the GH1(hackable and unhackable) and the Canons.
 
roxics said:
What about an unhackable GH1 compared to a T2i/T3i/60D? Everyone talks about the GH2 as if it's readily available and you can just run out to the store and pick one up today. Not the case. However that is the case with the Canon cameras. I can run down the street to Best Buy and pick up a Canon on my lunch break. That in my opinion is a huge factor to consider. Whereas you may be waiting months for a GH2.

So at this point I'd like to hear more comparisons between the GH1(hackable and unhackable) and the Canons.
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There must be hundreds of threads on that already.
 
brunerww said:
The 3x and 10x crop on the T3i are similar to the 2.6x sensor crop for video on the GH2. According to Canon's press release announcing the T3i, "Unlike standard digital zoom for still images, Movie Digital Zoom crops the video image directly from the CMOS sensor at Full HD resolution to preserve video quality and still provide amazing additional telephoto power beyond just the lens"
Click to expand...

What they failed(or intentionally left out) was that the T3i always scales the cropped image to that "Full HD" resolution. At 10x it is using less than 1920x1080 pixels and scaling it up to 1080p. It is the exact same thing as a digital zoom just worded differently.
 
Buying a GH2...

Buying a GH2...

Just ordered my GH2 from Jon over at Precision Camera in TX. They had 4 of the 14-140mm packages, For anyone interested.

Here's his info:
Jon Leatherwood - Sales
Precision Camera & Video
3810 N. Lamar Blvd.
Austin, TX 78756
phone: 512.360.4980
toll-free: 1.800.677.1023

Good luck gents! Can't wait for mine to get here! I'll have it Tuesday.
 
I've been waiting since Dec for a GH2 body only since I already have the GH1(3) w/ 14-140, but I gave up last week and picked up a T3i for now to go with my 7D. I still hope to eventually get a GH2 + 100-300 OIS lens.

First impressions after a week of shooting:
- AF, I miss my GH1's AF and excellent EVF, I'm still keeping my GH13 for it's almost "point-n-shoot" ease of use.
- Batteries, the T3i doesn't used chipped batteries, so they are _very_ cheap and widely available and so far, battery life is pretty good.
- 3x crop mode, it's certainly better than just a digital zoom, the GH1 had a digital zoom in video mode, and that was crap. However, anything beyond 3x is digital zoom and turns to crap pretty soon
- ISO noise, it's pretty good, better than my GH1 and about the same as my 7D. I don't really miss the 1/3 stop increments since I don't usually shoot above iso 100 for wildlife.
- Availability, it's a DReb so it's everywhere, and I can get accessories for it just about everywhere and just about everything is also available... except the excellent 14-140, that's reason enough to keep the GH13.
- Compatible with most of my lenses, I already had many good EOS lenses with f2.8 zooms from 11mm to 300mm and tele's to 500mm

My main reason for the T3i is the 3x crop mode which has been pretty good so far. The swiveling LCD is very nice too as many birds and animals can actually tell that you're looking at them, so being able to look down and away is a bonus. Now I just have to improve my focus pulling.
 
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