GH3 Great GH3 video test by Sparky Media

Sparky874

Sparky874

Well-known member
We purchased this camera last week and were really excited about its capablities for video work. We also purchased the Lumix 12-35mm and 35-100mm lenses as well. I woke up to a freezing, but crystal clear winters morning here in Southend-on-Sea and decided to set out on foot for a few hours to shoot some test material, with a small Manfrotto tripod, the camera kit and a packed lunch all thrown into a backpak.
It was a fun shoot and a real pleasure to travel around with such a light kit - I am usually lugging around a PDW-700 with heavy tripod or a Sony F3 rig with loads hanging off it - so it was great to be really discreet and mobile and not having attention drawn to myself.
Looking back at the footage I was really impressed with the results. To be able to capture images of this quality with such a small kit is simply amazing. A circular polariser was used on the lenses throughout and the effect is pleasing. I controlled the light coming into the sensor by adjusting the shutter speed to match the aperature I wanted to shoot at. The histogram was also employed throughout to judge exposure and it was there or there abouts for most of the time, but sometimes I was a stop too open. However with shooting a codec of 50mbps I was easily able to add a color curve in Sony Vegas 12 to control the highlights. Next time out I'll have a better idea of where to expose.
I am delighted with the results and can't wait to get out there and do some more shooting with it. As a B cam, to get scenics and cutaways, this camera could well be perfect. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

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Thank you! Great test.

It looks like the GH3 has a lot more dynamic range than my 60D. Did you ever shoot with a Canon DSLR? Can you confirm this?
Some shots have magnificient HD detail, my in some I think it is still a bit soft. Might be the longer lenses tho or my 2560x1440 monitor.

The colours are nice, and it really seems 'film like' to me. I'm myself thinking about upgrading within the next month so these tests help me a lot. Thanks.

Bonus question: Which recording 'mode' is the best? 50 mbit h2.64 mov? 50 mbit avchd? 72 mps all-i?
 
Thanks for your kind feedback Stab, there are a few more details on the camera/ test shoot I wrote in a blog here if you are interested:
http://www.sparkymediaproductions.c...c-lumix-gh3-review-video-test-by-sparky-media
I used to shoot some video with my old Canon 5D MK2 (which I sold to contribute towards this) and yes, I think the dynamic range, without knowing the exact number of stops, seems vastly improved, and you can keep all the highlights in range. This is helped by the bit rate of course. I record using MOV 50mbps at 25 frames a second, which sort of matches the bit rate of my Sony PDW-700 and is good enough for most purposes. I tweaked the profile to suit my look, that of this flatt[SIZE=2]ish looking [SIZE=2]image which cuts in ni[SIZE=2]cely with my other cameras.
Interesting point about the sharpness Stab. Usually the close up shots will always [SIZE=2]appear sharper, [SIZE=2]and the wider shots slightly less so. But there is an o[SIZE=2]peni[SIZE=2]ng wide shot of the town which just looks amazing. I[SIZE=2]mages that do look slightly softer may have been just me shooting into the sun[SIZE=2] a little, or me tr[SIZE=2]ying to be too ambit[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]ious shooting wide open and using the lcd monitor to judge critical focus.
All I can say though[SIZE=2], is that I am delighted by the purchase and [SIZE=2]am really excited about taking it out again (and I have an [SIZE=2]F3 and PDW-[SIZE=2]700) on my s[SIZE=2]helf! Thanks again, sparky

Best wishes, Sparky[/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE][/SIZE]
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Thanks for your reply Sparky.

Yea usually lenses get softer wide open or at the tele end. It has much more detail than the Canon dslr's anyway, so it will be a big upgrade for me. I would like to see a 'scientific' test pointing out the DR of the GH3 in video mode, but it sure looks like it is improved by 1-2 stops.

I'm trying to sell my 60D + lenses at the moment to buy the GH3. It's just a tad expensive at the moment and we all know the prices will go down soon, probably after the holidays. But, can I wait until then? :) Probably not. Also I get some tax advantages if I buy it before the end of this year...

Did you shoot some shots a night? How are they turning out? Keep up the good work, nice shots.
 
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