imagining a Panasonic GH2: full frame, DVPROHD, 1-60fps

N

Nicholas Natteau

Veteran
What if for 2010, Panasonic were to improve on the amazing GH1 with a GH2 that has the following specs:

• FULL FRAME SENSOR
• DVCPRO HD CODEC (instead of AVCHD)
• 1 TO 60 FPS (with a hack that allows you to dial any frame rate you want)
• HD-SDI port

Even if these specs required a DSLR size camera, I would jump at the opportunity to buy one.

QUESTION: What would you want to see in a Panasonic GH2?

- Nick
 
none of that are likely to make the cut. i know we all want the sky, but let's keep dreaming in the land of reality and not sci-fi =)

Full-frame sensor, I guarantee it not gonna happen on a m4/3 camera... otherwise it wouldn't be a m4/3 camera and panasonic has hinted that they abandoned SLRs altogether.

DVCPRO is not gonna happen because that would make it into a professional camera and it would require crazy amounts of SDCARD memory to record minutes. AVCHD is here to say.

I think most people's desire is to have native 24p mode and maybe an external monitor plug.

But as long as they are not major ground-breaking changes, I can live with my GH1, it does what it is supposed to do pretty well: Shallow DOF shots when needed with the bonus of no rolling shutter like other DSLRs.
 
Don't get me wrong. I love this camera too. But I why wouldn't Panasonic improve on it?

I don't think its crazy to think this is possible. I don't think anyone thought it was possible a few years ago to do what Panasonic did with the GH1.

I agree, a full frame GH2 would have to be bigger. But I'm sure Panasonic is already looking at how to best the Canon 5D Mark II. Maybe, they'll come out with a full frame DSLR under another name.

I think 2010 will be a very interesting year in the DSLR market.

In any case, I plan to keep using the GH1 while waiting for Scarlet. Cheers!
 
1. better codec / bandwidth / native 24p (no mud, artifacts or banding)
2. livevideo out
3. in body stabilisation
4. optical zoom in video mode for lense like c-mounts
 
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GH2 will be micro 4/3rds. They do need to improve the sensor but not by making it larger and incompatible with all their micro 4/3rds lenses which they rely a lot on for profit.

I hope Panasonic do a mirrorless GH1-like camera with full frame sensor but it'll be called something else entirely and I am not sure they wanna make the investment because they'll need to produce their own range of lenses from scratch.
 
It doesn't need a much higher bitrate, what it needs is a proper full implementation of Panasonic's PH mode. Add in the B-frames and the multislice technology and it'll be plenty fine at 24mbps.
 
I would see some improvement in its ability to shoot still and to improve its overall design. The GH1 when compared to my Nikon D90 still feels like a work in progress and toy-ish.

1. Beef up the body. The body is not weather sealed and feels fragile. It does not need to be able to work in downpour but at least I want to feel safe to use it when my fingers are wet. There are reports on paint falls off, the strap eyelet comes off, etc to indicate that the body is not designed nearly as strong as it should be for a $800 camera. I owned a Nikon Coolpix 5400 for many years; it is a P&S but built like a rock.

2. Better design the command dial on the left, which seems under-used, while there are too many small buttons on the back.

3. The On-Off switch seems very fragile to me — how long will it last?

4. "My menu" should be programable by user, by me so that it is really "mine."

5. Custom setting should be more flexible. Right now, you have to lock in into a certain shooting mode (eg P, A, S or M). I would like to save a set of settings, such as for using MF lenses, a specific way of using the AF-AE button etc, but still able to change the shooting mode as I wish.

6. Move ISO or Fn button to may be the front of the camera to make it easy to find and use.

7. It needs to shorten the black out time in the VF between shots to make it remotely useful for tracking moving objects.

8. Even in M-mode, I would like to have the choice to have the ISO bumps up when needed so I only have to worry about S and A.
 
No problems over button layout or construction here, although the lens rubber grip is prone to stretching. I'd just be happy for better image quality, and faster AF.
 
I agree, no way GH2 is not an m4/3 camera. I like the layout and design quite a bit. I would chime in with the following:

1) Better AVCHD codec, it's been said a million times, but this is almost a prosumer level camera, it should have at least the best AVCHD implementation as an option (24Mbps and b-frames).

2) Same sensor size, but maybe better technology to improve low light performance / noise.

3) Better battery life.

4) Better built in audio recording, and no forced gain.

5) A and S modes, if the video button is pressed, should actually obey A and S settings, you shouldn't have to go into creative movie mode and change settings through a menu.

-kap
 
It would be nice if panasonic can add HD lenses for video. Anything better than this current model would keep us from getting their true video cams.
If anything IMHO they will be implementing what they've learned from this camera into their professional line video cams. This line has been very quiet for a long time.
 
Camcorder like housing, push focus, manual audio level, headphone jack, no fly by wire focusing but proper mechanic focusing ring with handle and scale (focusing with GH1 drives me nuts). Someone asked for zebra... did you try shooting with histogram? That's better than zebra!
 
ghx100.jpg


GHX-100 :D
 
Ben,

That looks cool. Is there any footage shot with that set-up in your Vimeo directory?
 
Avchd with 24mps, native 24p and B frames. DVCProHD would be a dream come true, but I'm a realist and that aint gonna happen on this camera.

Mic in with headphone out. Manual gain control.

Zebra and/or histogram.

HDMI out.

No need to change to ff or aps-c... m4/3 works well and is a good setup.

In-body stabilization would be icing on the cake.

Panasonic, are you listening?

Ash
www.iniosante.com
 
How about the HPX170 set up (a real HD camera, 1080p24, variable frame rate, that has the ergonomy of a real camera), with a full frame sensor.... DSLR are cool because you can for cheap get DOF without light loss, but let's face it, STILLS CAMERA (so far) ARE NOT MEANT TO SHOOT MOTION picture. Companies can create as much rig as they want, even my old DVX100 is still more efficient to handle and get the shot right without over rigging the camera.
 
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