GH3 GH3 Display Information Turning Off Question

R

rszebras

Well-known member
I'm considering buying a GH3 to replace my t2i (which I'm using with magic lantern). The t2i overheating problem and limited record time is posing problems. I need a camera that can record long form projects without overheating or having to auto restart recording and losing a second or two of footage. (The latter is not that big of a deal but the former problem is.) Anyway, I've seen all this stuff about the information on the GH3 display going away after ten seconds of recording. I know there's heated discussion about Panasonic coming up with a firmware update to fix the problem. Anyway, what is the solution? Can you press the display button (or something else to have the information (e.g., audio levels, histogram) come back up during recording? I assume if so, that it then goes off in ten seconds?

Obviously if I'm recording a long form project and I can't get the display to pop up the information every now and then so I can check audio levels and exposure that would pose a BIG problem. So before I plunk down $1300 I wanted to see if the information can be brought up during recording -- even just temporarily.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
My favorite way to bring the display info back: Use the wheel on the back (the one you use to scroll through pictures on playback). A slight roll up or down will only change the headphone levels up or down one step and is better then hitting a button and bumping the camera.
 
soarprod said:
My favorite way to bring the display info back: Use the wheel on the back (the one you use to scroll through pictures on playback). A slight roll up or down will only change the headphone levels up or down one step and is better then hitting a button and bumping the camera.
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This is what I do also.
 
soarprod said:
My favorite way to bring the display info back: Use the wheel on the back (the one you use to scroll through pictures on playback). A slight roll up or down will only change the headphone levels up or down one step and is better then hitting a button and bumping the camera.
Click to expand...

It does stinkt that the display goes away after a short period of time, but you can bring it up anytime you want. And I agree that my favorite way is also to just rotate the wheel.
 
Thanks everyone for answering my question! I thought it surely must be possible. And I like the idea about using the wheel on the back, but pressing the display button is also an option. For long form work the camera will be on a steady tripod at all times anyway so pushing the display button won't affect the stability. This is a big move for me away from Canon so I wanted to make sure it's the right decision. I will miss Magic Lantern -- specifically the waveform monitor and vectorscope. I love these two tools for judging exposure, saturation, and color temperature. I'll just have to get used to the histogram for exposure. The vectorscope is another story. I use a grey card and dial in the exact color temperature in Kelvin. And then if I want it warmer or cooler I know the current Kelvin temperature so I adjust from there.

But I am really looking forward to using auto focus on the GH3, especially the one where you can use the box to highlight a face for instance and tell the camera to keep focused on that. It's certainly not necessary for a sitdown interview but for events with movement it will be quite helpful -- assuming it works well. If not, I'm back to manual focus with my z-finder.
 
TheDingo said:
Yes, pressing the "Display" button will bring back the info overlay while you are recording.
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I notice you not only use the GH2 and GH3 cameras but also the AG-HMC150. How would you say the image quality of the HMC150 is compared to the GH2 or GH3? Is it a huge difference or do you find you can match shots between the cameras? I assume there is significant difference in low light capability between the micro four-thirds camera and the 1/3" ccd of the HMC150? How much of a difference?
 
rszebras said:
I notice you not only use the GH2 and GH3 cameras but also the AG-HMC150.
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I shoot 90 percent of my work with my GH2 and GH3, and the other 10 percent with my HMC-150.

I keep the HMC-150 for live event gigs where I need to work quickly and may have to record hours and hours of footage.

I wouldn't recommend trying to mix the two formats, mainly because the image they produce is very different in terms of sharpness ( the HMC-150 is really a 720 HD camera ) and DOF. The HMC-150 produces a nice image, but it's a four year old camera and requires proper lighting to get the best from it. ( the GH3 can get away with much less light )

If I really wanted to mix my GH cameras with the HMC-150 I would start by downgrading my GH footage to 720 HD resolution and lowering the color saturation, and use the wide range of image controls on the HMC-150 to try and match the color of the GH footage. So far I've never needed to go this route. ( I would probably rent an AC-130/AC-160 camera if it was for a paying job )
 
I have two seminars I'm recording over the next couple months where I need to be able to record for 1-1/2 hours straight. I was thinking about renting an AF100, or a 1/3" camera like the Sony PMW100 or something similar, or buying a used HMC150. I won't really be able to bring in a large light kit, if any lights, so I was leaning towards an AF100 rental from borrowlenses. It's only about $450 for a week with lens. Two rentals and I'm at $900. I need it for a week so I can get up to speed with the settings, although the second rental could be shorter if I feel comfortable the second time around.

But then I thought about buying the GH3 and renting a zoom lens or buying a prime like the Olympus 45mm f1.8 which should do good in low light. I will be taking a look at the facility next week to assess the size of the room, lighting conditions, acoustics, etc. Then I can determine where I'll set up the camera and what focal length I'll need. Anyway, this is an opportunity to move from Canon to the GH3. I'll be using my Sennheiser G2 for the speaker so I can increase the AF out to lower the camera's noisy electronics and get better sound. I've been doing this with my Canon for quite a while and everyone's happy with the sound. I think I could use the GH3 in this scenario. Would you shoot something like this with the GH3?
 
rszebras said:
I have two seminars I'm recording over the next couple months where I need to be able to record for 1-1/2 hours straight
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Do you own a camera now?

Most large seminar spaces are usually well lit, so the HMC-150 is always a good fit.

2 months ago, I shot a seminar with my GH3 and a mint condition Canon FD 70-200 f/4.0 lens that I picked up for $50. The speaker was wandering all over the place making focusing a bit of a pain ( I should have brought an external monitor, so I shot it using the EVF ), but the end result was really quite good. I shot it at f/4.0 at ISO 800 and 2800 degrees Kelvin. ( I carry a Sekonic color-meter, so color is always a no brainer ) At some point I plan on picking up one of these, which I think will be a great fit for lecture/seminar work.
 
My favorite way to get everything back up on the screen is to pass my hand over the sensor on the back by the evf. It blacks out for a second while it switches from the screen to the evf and back again but you don't have to touch the camera and it's an easy fix. I have a pair of GH3s and might be selling one of them with a Panny 14-140 lens since I'm finding that I don't really need both of them. Let me know if you're interested.
 
TheDingo said:
Do you own a camera now?
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Yes, but its my Canon dslr and that's the problem -- the record limit, but more so the overheating. I can't run the risk of overheating. I can start and stop the recording I believe without missing a beat. But I can't cool the camera down. So it's time to look for something more reliable. Thus the GH3 option. From my conversation with the insurance company representative, this will not be a large seminar space. They will only have about 20 people present for the training and I'll be recording it for our company that will then pass it along to the insurance company so they can show the training to other adjusters in different locations. We will also post some (or perhaps all) of it on our website for other companies to see.

Yes, the focusing is somewhat of a concern. When I've used my t2i, I use my z-finder. Even more so, I will perhaps shoot at f2.5 or above so I have a wider depth of field which helps considerably. And with the APS-C sensor I only need to be at 320, 400, or perhaps 640 ISO so it's still a nice clean image.

I hope to be able to use the GH3 auto focus with one of these lenses: http://www.borrowlenses.com/product/Panasonic_Lumix_G_X_Vario_1235mm_f28_Asph_Lens_for_Micro_43_ or http://www.borrowlenses.com/product/Panasonic_35100mm_f28_Lumix_G_Vario_Zoom_Lens

I plan to use the focus box to select the speaker's face and let it track. Of course, I may also have to pan but I have a good fluid head tripod. I will determine the focal length I'll need when I look at the facility next week. Again, I may just buy a prime if it suits the purpose (like the Olympus 45mm f1.8 which has a stellar reputation for fast, accurate focus, and very good low light performance). All I shoot with on my Canon is primes. For those instance where I need to zoom, I shoot with a prime and then I edit in 720p. Then I just do a slow increase in the image in Premiere to the full 1080p resolution and it looks like a good zoom! :-) Although a fixed lens camera would definitely be better for zoom capability, unless I go with one of the above lenses then I'd have a power zoom from the lcd screen, which might be really nice if the f2.8 aperture will work.
 
rszebras said:
I have two seminars I'm recording over the next couple months where I need to be able to record for 1-1/2 hours straight.
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I shoot at 30fps (to get utilize a better SS using the 180 rule), mov. The 32GB will give me 124 mins of record time under these settings, so you can probably make the GH3 work for this need. I've shot over 1 hour straight with no problems.
 
Ianscreations said:
I shoot at 30fps (to get utilize a better SS using the 180 rule), mov. The 32GB will give me 124 mins of record time under these settings, so you can probably make the GH3 work for this need. I've shot over 1 hour straight with no problems.
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I was thinking of getting a 64GB card to be on the safe side and recording 24p (like everything else we've done with the Canon) in the 50mbps or 72mbps .mov mode.
 
rszebras said:
I was thinking of getting a 64GB card to be on the safe side and recording 24p (like everything else we've done with the Canon) in the 50mbps or 72mbps .mov mode.
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I'm not sure 24fps is e speed you want for a seminar. More than likely, you will be doing a fair amount of camera movement. I know when I shoot similar seminars I am constantly tracking the speaker and often zooming in and out. If you do shoot in 24, I would love to see a sample!
 
rszebras said:
I may just buy a prime if it suits the purpose (like the Olympus 45mm f1.8 which has a stellar reputation for fast, accurate focus, and very good low light performance)
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Prime lenses aren't great for seminar/lecture work because you are usually filming off to the side ( or from the back of the room ) so you don't obstruct the audience's view, and if the presenter likes to work the room wearing a wireless mic, you have to track them with your camera while zooming in or zooming out to keep them properly framed. The venue where I shot with the Canon FD 70-200mm was about 80 feet wide and I was positioned behind the audience about 100 feet from the stage. The presenter would start at the stage, then wander into the audience ( as close as 20 feet from me ) and then they would slowly work their way back to the stage, all the while they were performing with a wireless mic. I would have been a dead-duck with a prime lens. ( I can't move with the presenter, so I have to film everything from one spot )

For audio I always get a LINE level feed from the room's sound system and then feed this into my camera, or into a portable recorder. ( I usually pack an Olympus LS-12 recorder with patch cables to connect to the room's mixer board )
 
TheDingo said:
2 months ago, I shot a seminar with my GH3 and a mint condition Canon FD 70-200 f/4.0 lens that I picked up for $50.
Click to expand...

Was this a fast enough lens for the job a f4.0? I guess there was a lot of light in there. I assume you used this lens because you were so far back. Did you consider using your Lumix 35-100 f2.8? Have you used it on these types of projects before? If so, does the auto focus work well? And is the zoom controllable from the lcd of the GH3?
 
rszebras said:
Was this a fast enough lens for the job a f4.0?
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At 800 ISO it was.

rszebras said:
Did you consider using your Lumix 35-100 f2.8?
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I had it with me, but I was too far from the stage to use the 35-100mm zoom, which is why I packed the 70-200mm too.

rszebras said:
Have you used it on these types of projects before?
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I shot a musical cabaret show about two weeks ago with the 35-100mm, but ended up using manual focus because the AF kept getting confused by all the people moving on stage in the dim light. The footage turned out great, but I was paranoid about keeping focus using the EVF again.

I just bought a 7" Marshall V-LCD70MD monitor that has multi-color focus peaking which I am hoping with make a big difference with manual focusing. I went for the 7 inch model over the 5.6 inch because it's almost 3 times brighter ( 800 nits versus 300 nits ) and should work better under daylight conditions.

rszebras said:
If so, does the auto focus work well? And is the zoom controllable from the lcd of the GH3?
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The 35-100mm is a very sharp lens and the AF control works well in good light, but you have to focus manually when shooting in dim light.
 
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...In case you are curious here's a full resolution frame grab from the cabaret shoot with my GH3 on a monopod using the 35-100mm f/2.8 zoom at 100mm. I was sitting in the audience about 20 feet from the stage.

The first image is exactly as it came out of the camera, the second image has a bit of sharpening done in Sony Vegas. ( I shoot at -5 -5 -1 -5, so sharpening always needs to be added in post )

GH3 Cabaret Frame Grabs
 
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