GH3 GH3 best lenses for steadicam/stabilizer?

O

OldCorpse

Rockin the Boat
So I have one of those glidecam knockoff vest+arm stabilizers from China, what would be the best lens to fly with the GH3? I'm looking for smooth footage and easy focus.

Since a lot would be interiors, I'll need a wide lens (which makes it easier to get smooth!) was thinking no more than 25mm - maybe less and stopping it down to get deep focus (don't give a sh|t about shallow DOF). The most obviously helpful would be lens stabilization. However, not all are created equal - some work better with vibration, some work better correcting sway etc. But which one would be best suited for stabilizing steadicam footage? Zooms have some obvious advantages, because you are not limited to only one focal length, and if you are going for smaller apertures, you don't need the extra speed of primes... one example would be the panny 12-35 f/2.8. But I'm not excluding primes at all.

So, what are the suggestions for a good widish stabilized lenses suitable for steadicam work with the GH3 in your experience? TIA!
 
OldCorpse said:
So I have one of those glidecam knockoff vest+arm stabilizers from China, what would be the best lens to fly with the GH3? I'm looking for smooth footage and easy focus.

Since a lot would be interiors, I'll need a wide lens (which makes it easier to get smooth!) was thinking no more than 25mm - maybe less and stopping it down to get deep focus (don't give a sh|t about shallow DOF). The most obviously helpful would be lens stabilization. However, not all are created equal - some work better with vibration, some work better correcting sway etc. But which one would be best suited for stabilizing steadicam footage? Zooms have some obvious advantages, because you are not limited to only one focal length, and if you are going for smaller apertures, you don't need the extra speed of primes... one example would be the panny 12-35 f/2.8. But I'm not excluding primes at all.

So, what are the suggestions for a good widish stabilized lenses suitable for steadicam work with the GH3 in your experience? TIA!
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A lot of people (and myself) have had success with the GH2/Tokina 11-16mm combination, lots of examples on Vimeo. I never felt like I was missing IS with the Tokina on either the Merlin or Pilot (although at times I missed a little auto-iris). I think that despite some of the reported issues (I must be lucky mine seems to function perfectly) the 12-35 f2.8 might now be the best option. The biggest issue with the Gh2 and probably the Gh3 is getting it heavy enough to balance out, the Tokina helped that a little.
 
I've been using the Lumix 14mm f/2.5 with the Magic Wondlan stabilizer with really good results. You generally don't need IS and step down the lenses so AF isn't an issue.
 
Yeah, that was my idea, that if I stop down I don't need to worry about AF or focus at all... since everything will be in focus :)... Interesting to hear that you guys don't feel like IS is needed...
 
I love the 20mm pancake but it's a little light. I attached a Wiefang 717AH tripod plate to the Merlin to make it heavier and that helped, as well as using an ND fader to give me more weight and more control. I don't want 'everything' in focus but I definitely don't want to be a f 1.7!
 
I've been playing with my Panny 12-35 f/2.8 on the GH3 on a Glidecam HD-2000. The camera flies pretty well and the lens is great. Personally, I think the OIS is very helpful. I also like the fact that you can change the focal length on the lens although you have to rebalance. I'm thinking of switching my quick release clamp to fore/aft to use that for balancing when I zoom. The great thing about the 12-35 is that you can use the auto focus on the lens and shoot at wider apertures than you could if you had to stop down on a standard lens on a bigger sensor to hold focus.
 
BTW, the Panny 14mm also has very fast and accurate autofocus so if you want to go AFC route, it'll work just fine. I'm assuming that you'll be doing this outside as it'll need some light for the AF to work reliably.
 
Well, I'll be working outside, of course, but some inside too. For interiors, I'll probably have to use lights anyway, because if I'll have to stop down to get greater DOF for easier focusing... and stopping down means lights. I'm of course looking for personal experience people have with the GH3 (or more likely GH2) and lenses on stabilizers.
 
Wow, do you folks actually have good experience using autofocus on the GH2/GH3? I always go manual when flying. Seems like AF would hunt around a lot and be hard to trust.
 
omnikron said:
Wow, do you folks actually have good experience using autofocus on the GH2/GH3? I always go manual when flying. Seems like AF would hunt around a lot and be hard to trust.
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It depends on the lens. My 14mm is very fast so I hardly notice when it's shifting focus. I usually run it at f/4.0 when I want to run the AFC so there's a little room for the subject to still stay in focus when they're moving. If stopped down, I usually run f/8.0 so most everything is in focus then. I also tried running it with a 25mm Leica and although it worked okay with AFC, the 14mm did better.
 
Without a doubt the best lens to fly steadicam, without a wireless follow focus, and also using auto focus (not sure why people do), is the SLRmagic 12mm. When you set the focus to about 7 feet and have a decent Fstop you virtually get everything in focus. It's a good wide angle for this and I use it about 90 percent of the time when I'm flying the GH2 or the AF100.

Now outside, I like the 14-140 when there's enough light. The 20mm is also decent, but has it's quirks....
 
I don't normally use autofocus for flying on a steadicam. That said, if you want to use the steadicam indoors in low light during a wedding reception (which I often have to do), then stopping down to f/5.6 or something like that just isn't really an option. Plus the fact that the GH cameras don't have nearly as good low light capability as my Canon 5D3 or even my old 5D2. So, although I've never used the autofocus capability yet for shooting a wedding, I'm glad it's there as an option. Really, I'm looking forward to breaking this camera in at my next wedding in a few weeks. 1080p/60fps slomo is going to be awesome!
 
Does the GH3 export out HDMI though when shooting in 60p? The GH2 does not and that's a bit of a bummer cause I fly with a monitor. So this is where the AF100 and the 150 have an advantage.
 
Justyn said:
Does the GH3 export out HDMI though when shooting in 60p? The GH2 does not and that's a bit of a bummer cause I fly with a monitor. So this is where the AF100 and the 150 have an advantage.
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I'm not sure if you can view on an outboard monitor while shooting in 60p... The problem with flying an AF100 or HMC150 is that you'll get tired easily unless your biceps are huge or you're flying with a vest & arm system. The little GH3 flies great on my HD-2000 without even using the wrist support for short takes.
 
akivisuals said:
I'm not sure if you can view on an outboard monitor while shooting in 60p... The problem with flying an AF100 or HMC150 is that you'll get tired easily unless your biceps are huge or you're flying with a vest & arm system. The little GH3 flies great on my HD-2000 without even using the wrist support for short takes.
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I know very well about this. I flew for a few months without the arm and vest and then I finally invested in it some years back. The other big thing that no one ever talks about or wants to concede is that you can't shoot don juan without an arm and a vest, and it flies so terribly without an arm and vest... It should hover and glide and the only way to really do this is with the vest and arm. Also everyone goes lighter, but the heavier the rig the better it flies due to inertia. As much as my back breaks, but when I fly a fully loaded Zepyr its the best looking stuff instead of a light DSLR... And even when I fly my Gh2 I load it down to the end of the spring...

The other really big thing that I like to have on the GH2 is an ND fader... makes things a lot easier for controlling focus and if you are somewhat careful you can do an exposure shift while flying.
 
Justyn said:
Does the GH3 export out HDMI though when shooting in 60p? The GH2 does not and that's a bit of a bummer cause I fly with a monitor. So this is where the AF100 and the 150 have an advantage.
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Yes, the GH3 HDMI output works when using 60p, although I don't run an external monitor on a stabilizer.
 
shooting behind you, i.e. the lens pointed back over your shoulder. Best for high speed moves where running backwards would be dangerous or impractical.
 
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