GH2 Help me quit wasting money? Purchased a Nikon D5100 with lens and GH2

R

rock moves

Member
I have always loved filming and as a kid I would film my friends in the neighborhood in short films. I used my dads huge camera that he bought with his betamax and I didn't really care about quality. Growing up a bit poorer, we never really upgraded and I would use this same camera all through high school. Like I said, it was just a hobby. I never really invested much money into cameras or filming, I just enjoyed doing it. Photographs? Not so much.

Around the time I joined the forum I purchased an hvx200a. The goal was to film a commercial but when dealing with the hvx200, the p2 format, the editing of the p2 format, it became more of a headache than hiring someone to do the commercial... which we did. The hvx200 then sat in the closet for years, untouched.

Money has been wasted, I know.

These days, I work full time and do not have much time for hobbies. However, me and my wife do kickboxing. I have decided to do a documentary for ourselves and our kids about my wife kicking boxing, the things women go through, etc. It's not going to be something huge, but it will be fun for the family. I purchased a Nikon D5100 (Body Only - already had a basic lens with the old d50) and a af-s 35mm 1:1.8G lens. As soon as I opened the package the pictures looked great. Good lighting, great photos, amazing blur in the background (I suppose that is the 35mm lens). The video also came out clean, but from reading online it was best to turn all the auto modes off. After more and more reading, especially here, I realized maybe I should have went with the dh2. The footage I have seen from this camera has been amazing. I also read it is a perfect camera you can eventually grow into. Since I ordered my first camera online, I still have time to return it. I then ordered the gh2, with the nikon adapter. It came today, and I immediately learned that I cannot use the lens I purchased with this camera (am I correct?). Since I could not change the aperture it was just extremely dark. I assume these new nikon lenses are not compatible with the gh2. I do have an older manual lense, s.c. 50mm 1.4, that did work with the adapter, but it was still dark. I had pretty good lighting, but still had to set it at 1.4. I am pretty sure I am doing things wrong, which is expected, but I would love some input from users who can help me me out.

Do I get rid of this new nikon lens? What lenses should I look at for my project (in a car, in a gym, at home, maybe in a few stores)? I have seen some lenses run from $500-$1000, and unfortunately, that is just out of my range. Hopefully the dh2 has options, where I can get a fairl good look with a decent priced lens.

I have not hacked the dh2 because I wanted to make sure I was going to stick with the gh2. As a novice, did I make the right decision? I understand it is different for each person, but I am hoping the great quality (straight out the box) from the nikon is because it is so consumer (yes -- that's me)friendly, and with a little work I can get the gh2 where I need it. I also feel, the fact I have no lenses and just a body has been a huge setback.

Sorry if I babbled, any help is greatly appreciated.
 
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The GH2 will give you GREAT video without the hack.
Be sure of that.
Lenses - what you need for the GH2 are lenses that have their own aperture ring. Canon FD's are an example, but there are many many Nikon mount lenses that have this too.
The reason I say get lenses with their own aperture ring is that then you can use inexpensive good solid adapters that don't try to do too much fancy stuff and don't cost $300.
There are SO MANY great old Nikon and Canon lenses out there that can be had for under $100 on eBay etc.
You have to get an adapter for each different lens-mount-type usually, but you will be amazed at how many great choices you will have just by getting into one or two lens-mount types.
I just got 2 - the old 1970's Nikon full manual style and the Canon FD style adapters - each about $50, and I will be experimenting with great cheap lenses for years!
 
Thank, gotcha. The one lens that worked had its own aperture ring,luckily fit adapter. Since I bought body only, good first lens?
 
Lens choice is a difficult thing because every focal length tells the same story in a different way. A 50mm lens might give you an extreme close up capturing the emotion, however the same extreme close up with a 8mm will give a sense of a disturbed emotions or disorientation. I suggest you make a little list, or take note of car scenes...of scenes similar to your situation that you like watching movies or documentaries, and buying according to that.

Or, get an adapter(s) for the lenses you do have and experiment with them to see what the footage looks like, if you prefer a wider shot in the car and a closer shot in the gym. I realise this isn't the answer you are looking for, but it is a better way of working at the film. Experiment with what you have and decide what you need, wider, narrower, long shot, close ups...these needs all affect lens choice. You can get the same close up with two different lenses, but the one lens will bring the background closer while the other puts the background further away.

Start shooting in the situations you will be shooting, it isn't wasted footage cause you'll either not like it and know what shots you want in that situation (lens choice) or you will like it enough as B-roll.

Have fun - there is no right or wrong way.

P.S. Having a zoom lens helps cause it will help you determine which primes to get - vintage glass.
 
TheDingo said:
To use your Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.8 lens with your GH-2 you need to purchase a Nikon G mount adapter, which will allow you to change the F-stop of your lens when shooting with your GH2.

eBay is probably the least expensive way to buy a Nikon G adapter for your GH2: FOTGA Nikon G AF-S Mount lens to Micro4/3 M4/3 Adapter : $25
Click to expand...

Novice question. Is it worth it for me to keep the nikon? I purchased the FOTGA adapter for $10 on amazon but am unsure if I should buy something else for the same price (can still return the nikon).

David W. Jones said:
Audio is going to be your biggest issue with a DSLR type camera.
Click to expand...

Yes, already noticing the sound issue. :(



I am noticing, going back and forth with the nikon d5100 (bright and colorful) and gh2 (dark and blue). While in movie mode, if I hit the fn1 button (intelligent auto mode?), it seems to go into another mode (but it is light and colorful -- comparible to the nikon). However, I cannot record in this mode because it doesn't recognize the "lens" . In this mode, which I understand it's auto, I can't turn the without lens option on. I mean, it looks good, I just can't record.


Is there a newbie section here?
 
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With all due respect, let me take a crack at this.

You state you are back at this again and consider yourself a newbie with DSLRs. Nothing wrong with this, we all been there. :-)
You bought a D5100 and the appropriate lens for it (35G) and it worked.
You then bought a GH2 and are trying to adapt lenses to it, that were not designed for the camera, and this is not working.
When you bought the D5100 and lens, you had a great newbie setup as the camera/lens combo was able to do everything, and give you settings to learn from. This is a good first step for a newbie. Let the camera do the initial work, so you can see what aperture,ISO and shutter speed it picks for various situations. As you get more skilled, you will have these early experiences to draw from, as you attempt to go into manual modes. IMO, you were taking the appropriate steps in the learning curve and taking them in the correct order.
With the GH2, you are trying to adapt these lenses you own, but you don't have the prior experiences, the D5100 and 35mm would have given you, as none of your lenses are propitiatory to m4/3. These lenses you wish to adapt, can adapt, but IMO, you are jumping in at a skill level one or two steps ahead of the skill level you currently possess. Having done that myself more times that I care to admit, that is a prescription for frustration and often times, for failure.
Do yourself one huge favor and go buy 1 m4/3 lens to learn from. When used on the GH2, that will give you auto everything and display the settings so you can begin to learn, and from there, then adapting your existing lenses will make more sense to you. One lower priced m4/3 lens that would do this and may be useful to your project is the new Sigma 30mm f2.8. Reviews are decent and price is cheap at $199.
 
I brought the D5100 in December and the GH2 in May. I enjoy using both cameras and each has its own strength and weakness. If you can afford it I would keep both cameras. :) And either get one of the Panasonic zooms for the GH2 or a suitable 35mm SLR lens with adapter. Canon FD lens often get recommended.
 
rock moves said:
I purchased the FOTGA adapter for $10 on amazon but am unsure if I should buy something else for the same price (can still return the nikon).
Click to expand...

So you bought the FOTGA Nikon G adapter, and you CAN control the aperture of your Nikon lens?

I mention this because there are two types of Nikon adapters, the Nikon F adapter which does NOT control the aperture of Nikon G lenses, and the Nikon G adapter that DOES control the aperture with Nikon G lenses.
 
ChipThome said:
With all due respect, let me take a crack at this.

You state you are back at this again and consider yourself a newbie with DSLRs. Nothing wrong with this, we all been there. :-)
You bought a D5100 and the appropriate lens for it (35G) and it worked.
You then bought a GH2 and are trying to adapt lenses to it, that were not designed for the camera, and this is not working.
When you bought the D5100 and lens, you had a great newbie setup as the camera/lens combo was able to do everything, and give you settings to learn from. This is a good first step for a newbie. Let the camera do the initial work, so you can see what aperture,ISO and shutter speed it picks for various situations. As you get more skilled, you will have these early experiences to draw from, as you attempt to go into manual modes. IMO, you were taking the appropriate steps in the learning curve and taking them in the correct order.
With the GH2, you are trying to adapt these lenses you own, but you don't have the prior experiences, the D5100 and 35mm would have given you, as none of your lenses are propitiatory to m4/3. These lenses you wish to adapt, can adapt, but IMO, you are jumping in at a skill level one or two steps ahead of the skill level you currently possess. Having done that myself more times that I care to admit, that is a prescription for frustration and often times, for failure.
Do yourself one huge favor and go buy 1 m4/3 lens to learn from. When used on the GH2, that will give you auto everything and display the settings so you can begin to learn, and from there, then adapting your existing lenses will make more sense to you. One lower priced m4/3 lens that would do this and may be useful to your project is the new Sigma 30mm f2.8. Reviews are decent and price is cheap at $199.
Click to expand...

Exactly.

I was reading your reply and thinking, he knows my wife or something... perfect. I was hoping you weren't going to say, "stick with the d5100, as you had no problems with it", which you didn't. Thank you. Instead you tossed me a bone, and I appreciate it. I will look at the sigma 30mm f2.8. This is something I really wanted to know, a lens I can use made for the gh2. I should have renamed this thread to, please give me a few suggestions for start lenses. The learning curve without auto is killing me :)
 
TheDingo said:
So you bought the FOTGA Nikon G adapter, and you CAN control the aperture of your Nikon lens?

I mention this because there are two types of Nikon adapters, the Nikon F adapter which does NOT control the aperture of Nikon G lenses, and the Nikon G adapter that DOES control the aperture with Nikon G lenses.
Click to expand...

I purchased the adapter that could not control the aperture (worked well for my non G lens), and the one you linked. It was the exact same adapter, just on Amazon
 
Fly-catchers said:
I brought the D5100 in December and the GH2 in May. I enjoy using both cameras and each has its own strength and weakness. If you can afford it I would keep both cameras. :) And either get one of the Panasonic zooms for the GH2 or a suitable 35mm SLR lens with adapter. Canon FD lens often get recommended.
Click to expand...


Very tempting, as I like both panasonic and nikon, but if I wanted to get the 5100, I could do so later. The body isn't that high priced and I assume it will only go down eventually. After seeing all the footage of the gh2, it actually gave me the bug to just go out and shoot. It really is inspirational.

I appreciate everyones help.
 
rock moves said:
I purchased the adapter that could not control the aperture (worked well for my non G lens), and the one you linked. It was the exact same adapter, just on Amazon
Click to expand...

So the "< Lock Open >" ring doesn't adjust the aperture?

This is strange, as they list it as a Nikon G lens adapter, and most of these use a simple rotating ring that lets you control the aperture. There is one high end adapter ( Adaptimax ) that uses a set-screw to provide very fine control of the aperture: Adaptimax Plus Nikon to micro 4/3 Lens Adapter
 
I think you misunderstood me. I originally purchased one that DID NOT have the rotating ring, just an adapter for the old nikon lenses. Today, I purchased the one you linked, it should work as you said. It does have a ring that will manually open the aperture.


I have decied to focus on a lens dedicated to the gh2 camera so I took a big chunk out of my wallet and got the Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7. Hopefully this was a good choice. Although the nikon lens looked great on the d5100, I am returning the 35mm lens for now. I still have another G lens to use the adapter with, but I will try to find an older manual 35mm lense instead. I need something dedicated to my camera, like chip suggested.
 
That LUMIX 20mm f1.7 is an excellent choice. The perspective is what I call "slightly wide normal" which will give you a little room to work with without being stuck in "wide angle". The lens will work with the features of the GH2 body and the fast aperture of f1.7 will be a great help in low light environments.

I suggest you start out shooting stills for a few days, set the mode dial on top at P for Program mode and shoot stills. Then the next day set the dial on A for Aperture Priority mode which requires you to set an aperture and the camera will then select a shutter speed and if in AUTO ISO it will select an ISO that will work.

As you see how that works you can then select specific ISO values according to lighting conditions. You are now almost working manually. This will get you started.

That lens may be the best "general purpose" lens you could have selected.
 
TheDingo said:
So the "< Lock Open >" ring doesn't adjust the aperture?

This is strange, as they list it as a Nikon G lens adapter, and most of these use a simple rotating ring that lets you control the aperture. There is one high end adapter ( Adaptimax ) that uses a set-screw to provide very fine control of the aperture: Adaptimax Plus Nikon to micro 4/3 Lens Adapter
Click to expand...
That one does. I have it. It's a very coarse adjustment, though, so don't expect to easily set to any specific aperture unless you make markings and spend the time to fine adjust the adapter properly every time you change the aperture. The Adaptimax looks great, except the price. You can probably rig the other adapter to have the same level of adjustability somehow.
 
I am getting results! Stuck with my old nikon 50mm 1.4 I am learning to mock the Ia look, except better imo! Quickly falling in love.
 
For future reference, the best-suited lenses for use on both the D5100 and the GH2 in manual-focus mode are Nikon AF-D lenses. These lenses have manual aperture rings that will work properly with your Nikon F-mount adapter for the GH2. You will be able to attach them to the GH2 and use them just like the older Nikon AI-S manual-focus lenses.

Although AF-D lenses will not auto-focus on the Nikon D5100, you will be able to use the focus-confirm light in the viewfinder to focus them manually. The D5100's auto-exposure functions will work properly as well, allowing you the use the camera in any of its P, A, S, or M exposure modes.

In my experience, the D5100 works best in auto-ISO Aperture Priority mode, for both still photography and video. Since it lacks a real-time histogram display, there's no easy way to monitor manual exposure settings. I find it's better to rely on the camera's excellent light meter to adjust the ISO for correct exposure rather than attempt to set all the controls manually. And since I always shoot video at 1/60 sec shutter speed, I need only set the aperture for each shot and the camera does the rest.

Here's a link to a comparison review I did between the D5100 and the GH2. Be sure to read through to the third post where I provide detailed instructions for setting up the D5100 for shooting video:

http://www.personal-view.com./talks/discussion/1195/nikon-d5100-compared-to-panasonic-gh2
 
I appreciate you taking the time to reply here lpowell. You are t he reason I bought the d5100 to begin with. I love nikon and its photo quality. When googling d5100 vs gh2,your points sold me. I just can't keep both and maybe I want to do it the hardway. I am learning a lot more this way.

Anyine have any inexpensive solutions to getting better sound?
 
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