GHX100 ideas

roxics

roxics

Veteran
I've done my kicking and screaming about the GH1/2 form factor but realistically I've come to really like it and I don't want to see it disappear. But it would be nice to see panny introduce a video SLR-like camera a notch above the GH series. Something in the price range of a 7D body and the size of a 60D or D7000. Maybe GHX100?

I've got some ideas. Nothing too unrealistic for that price point. Share any you have. This is just for fun.

1. AF built into the body. The m4/3 cameras are the perfect candidate for this because of their adaptability to all nearly all manual glass. Some older Contax camera used to have this AF in body function. It would move the film plane back and forth. I was always curious why more manufacturers didn't try this, especially in the digital era where it's a chip rather than a spool of film. I don't know, maybe it's not perfect or very limited. But it seems like a better idea to put a motor on something that is always consistent, like the chip and allow it to do most of the AF when possible. Especially if it's too difficult to get larger lenses to focus quickly for video. Or possibly allow it to work in concert with the AF lenses so they don't have to turn as far.

Just for fun they could add a little tilt shift to the chip as well. :)

2. Have plenty ready to ship. :)

3. Higher resolution LCD screen. It would be nice if they could match the Canon screens.

4. 3.5mm mic jack and headphone jack. I really don't think either of these are asking for too much. Video cameras usually have headphone jacks. Honeslty I'd love to see a quarter inch switchable mono balanced/stereo jack for the mic. I think this could fit on a camera this size.

5. I know AVCHD is their baby, but a 4:2:2 codec option would be nice to see in addition to AVCHD.

6. Weather sealed with plenty of dials and buttons. Less menu driven and more like something you can operate in the snow with gloves on.

7. A nice f2.8 zoom lens that could optionally be bundled in a kit with this camera.

Have anything else reasonable to suggest?
 
Well, my question for you is -- do you want it to take stills? Because all of your suggestions were basically video-oriented. If it's a dedicated video camera, that might open up some options, if it has to be stills and video that might close off some options, so I'm just wondering where you're coming from -- are you asking for a hybrid stills/video that has better video integration? Or are you asking for a video camera that uses a DSLR-shaped form factor?

I think all your suggestions are perfectly valid suggestions to make to the company, and I wonder if it was a dedicated video camera, that might be a new market and might open them up to a more radical departure from the past...

The moving of the sensor -- while they're at it, the #1 suggestion I'd make is to put image stabilization in the body, like Olympus does. That way all your manual lenses become image-stabilized lenses too...
 
Well, I´d love a formfactor like an a-minima but smaller and a sensor with alot less pixels, like 6 or 8mp, which is still good enough for stills but alot easier to sample HD . More in the line of a dedicated video camera that also shoots stills yet small enough to carry around without getting mugged. Thirty years ago there was an aaton super 8 prototype that was just the formfactor ticket......then super 8 got killed by hi8 , and so the story goes .
 
How about a Panasonic Version of the Nex-VG10

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&Q=&sku=717535&is=REG&A=details

Micro 4/3 imager.
1/8" stereo input.
dual XLR inputs with a $100 add on box.
960,000 dot 3.5 to 4" lcd with flip up eyepiece
24P 1920x1080
2x SD card Slots
DVCPro HD Codec.
10bit SDI out from a $100 add on box.

I call it Panasonic GHX-200a

$1699 Retail

Add-ons include Pistol Grip for Super-8 style filming. Run Stop built in, and battery extender in the grip.
First-Party shoulder mount that puts the camera on your shoulder and the ability to add a 960,000 dot eyepiece.

the NXCam Killer.
 
.....as long as it´s not sooo ugly ....as the vg10. Rumors have it that the vg20 is close to being announced.
 
I actually came across someone shooting with the NEX VG10. Very nice form factor for a "video" camera. Got a bit of weight to it also deceivingly so that helps with some stability. panasonic should release something like this that is video oriented placing it between the GH2 and AF100.
 
My inexpensive dream camera for the 4/3 imager is a bit different - because it would be a fixed lens camera with OIS, 3 ND filters, AF, etc.(suitable for many types of work)
Basically take the HMC150 body, controls, and form factor- add a 2.8 10x or 8x lens...whatever is feasible (I say 2.8...because of weight and cost) high res screen and vf, and a 3MP micro 4/3 sensor optimized for video only.
The codec would be AVCHD - (again to keep cost down) but I would add the options for high bit rate 4:2:2 mjpeg. It would also record SD 16:9 video as well, with all of the available frame rates of the HD 720 video 24P, 30P, and 60P. 1080 would be @ 24P and 30P.

I call it the DVX100CX. This camera would obviously not be the perfect low budget CINEMA camera, because of the fixed lens and modest specs, but it would be a well rounded large sensor video camera that has many things people miss with interchangeable lens cameras (by default of course) Nice Zoom and iris controls, nice smooth repeatable focus ring, OIS, and FAST AF.
Sorry, Dan Kane's idea got me thinking...
 
roxics said:
...it would be nice to see panny introduce a video SLR-like camera a notch above the GH series. Something in the price range of a 7D body and the size of a 60D or D7000.

1. AF built into the body.

2. Have plenty ready to ship. :)

4. 3.5mm mic jack.

6. Weather sealed with plenty of dials and buttons.

7. A nice f2.8 zoom lens that could optionally be bundled in a kit with this camera.

Have anything else reasonable to suggest?
Click to expand...
The Olympus E-5 Four Thirds DSLR meets all the above specifications:

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympuse5/

front2-001.jpg
 
All of those sound like great suggestions, especially for those of you who know what they are doing. For people now like me I'd like it to come with a clone of Barry Green, so I got someone who can shoot it right too.

Suggested retail on the Barry Clone add on: $999.
 
ChipThome said:
All of those sound like great suggestions, especially for those of you who know what they are doing. For people now like me I'd like it to come with a clone of Barry Green, so I got someone who can shoot it right too.

Suggested retail on the Barry Clone add on: $999.
Click to expand...

Hey there's an idea.....A Barry Green Camera Navi-system, with his actual voice of course - "Stop down the lens to F4.5" .... "You're over using the DRS! Knock it off" "Are you sure you want to go with Cine D?" "Out of focus, out of focus,.... IN FOCUS"
 
I would really, really love a modular camera - heck, maybe just one module. Like, if they could create a grip that converts the consumer GH series into a pro spec video camera -
a. more robust codec, eg 4:2:2, 50 mbps codec
b. overcrank / undercrank
c. 3.5mm jack for headphone,
d. Left & Right XLR jacks, full manual (uncompressed)audio controls,
e. double battery slot,
f. double SD slots,
g. full functioning HDMI out,
h. lanc port
i. more programmable buttons...

Sell it for USD 2500..... it would still be cheaper than buying an AF100 - plus the batteries are all standardized

oh well - just dreaming
 
I want a real large chip video camera for less money than the Af-100. It should ship with a kit lens, even if only the 14-140, no worse than Nx10.

3.5mm mic and headphone jacks on the body, full manual controls no comprimise.

Optional top handle with electronically coupled xlr and audio controls. The one for canon ax10 looks really cool. I say optional so I can buy 2 when I don't need audio on 2. The canon offers a consumer model without xlr with only difference being lack of top handle.

If they made a consumer version and a prosumer version, don't cripple the codec on the consumer version, it is the audio inputs that make the pro version better.

include the etc mode of the gh2.
 
I don't want a camcorder. I'm long done with those things. I want a modular image taking box with a large sensor. I want a new form factor. Something like a weather sealed smaller Hasselblad with XLR's. I don't need dials and buttons anymore. Just a touchscreen menu. In fact the Scarlets form factor is closest. I am satisfied with both the stills output as well as video of the GH2(a higher bitrate will help). I'll build it or rig it out to what I want it to do. If the codec issues on the GH2 are fixed then it is the best hybrid out there.
 
Barry_Green said:
Well, my question for you is -- do you want it to take stills?
Click to expand...

I do. It would be nice if it could takes stills on par with a modern Canon or Nikon in its price range, but I'd settle for the GH2 still capability since they've already proven they can do that without compromising video quality. I prefer it to stay the same form factor as a modern SLR-style camera.
 
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