GH1 Lens Purchase Advice for Hotel Room Shoot for GH1

N

neven11

Member
Hiya all. Novice here.

I'm doing an interview for a business profile video. The shot will take place in a 4-5 star hotel suite, with several lamps, overhead, and bordered room lighting. It's warm, but very bright equalized light.

I have my trusty GH1 and the kit lens isn't fast enough in these lower light situations. I have a Canon 50mm 1.8 with a Massa Camera adapter ring. I've been doing some tests, and though that lens may be fast enough for the lighting in the hotel room, it requires me to be too far from the subject. Plus their is no AF. So I'm on the hunt for a new lens.

I've been looking at the LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm / F1.4 ASPH. Before I go ahead and buy this beauty, is their a better lens choice for this situation?

I really appreciate your advice.

neven
 
The 25mm f1.4 is an outstanding lens. It will certainly work for a head shot in a hotel room but may be too long for a full body shot if the hotel room is small. I wouldn't recommend autofocus however. The autofocus on the GH1 can pulse between foreground and background when shooting at wide aperture and also when your subject leans forward or to the side the autofocus will pulse slightly on the refocus which can be very annoying. You can edit around the probelm if you have two cameras running but I would definitely do a dry run with a test subject so you can experience what I'm referring to and figure out how to work around it.
 
Why would you need autofocus for a sit down interview? Frame your shot and shoot, if for whatever reason you lose focus just cut to whatever b-roll the interview is about. Personally just add lighting, the kit lens is more than fast enough with lighting. A simple led light kit will light your shot accordingly. If you want a more natural look the 25mm 1.4 would be a great lens.
 
Thanks for the advice!

As I'm bouncing around China, I'm trying to minimize the amount of luggage I'm carrying –so carrying a light kit isn't desirable. Also, a more natural room lighting is what I'm going for here. The light in the Shangri-La suites are quite good and offer some variation. The kit lens is okay for photos in this light, but I have found I get the banding on the kit lens with just about any light except direct sunlight when shooting video.

I hear you on the focus issue. I'm going to be about 3 meters or less away from the subject. I'm hoping to get the full the upper half of the body. Unfortunately this won't be a multi-cam shoot, but I will probably do a 2-3 runs with the questions for the interview (corporate video). Sounds like I'll forgo the AF and just frame the subject and shoot.

For future reference, is there a better lens choice for HD shooting for the GH1/2 for interviews, when your trying to get the upper torso within 3 meters? I looked at the LUMIX G 20mm / F1.7 ASPH, but since it's not as fast at the 25mm and a bit older tech, I felt it wasn't the best choice.

I've seen this pulsing issue when using AF on the GH1. This is annoying indeed. Is this better with the GH2? I've been considering moving to Cannon with my next purchase to see the quality difference. Many people rave about the Mark series. Though being a novice, I just feel that most of the problems occur behind the camera and with the wrong lens. I still have much to learn. Hopefully this shoot will help me get a bit further.

I unknowingly did buy my GH1 after they fixed the firmware hack capability :crybaby:, so I have to shoot in 1080i instead of 1080p. This is another reason I'll be upgrading the camera soon. The post work to de-interlace is a pain. I still am a little angry at Panasonic for preventing people from hacking and pushing their tech. /rant

Thanks again for the guidance & feedback.
 
Last edited:
neven11 said:
Thanks for the advice!

As I'm bouncing around China, I'm trying to minimize the amount of luggage I'm carrying –so carrying a light kit isn't desirable. Also, a more natural room lighting is what I'm going for here. The light in the Shangri-La suites are quite good and offer some variation. The kit lens is okay for photos in this light, but I have found I get the banding on the kit lens with just about any light except direct sunlight when shooting video.

I hear you on the focus issue. I'm going to be about 3 meters or less away from the subject. I'm hoping to get the full the upper half of the body. Unfortunately this won't be a multi-cam shoot, but I will probably do a 2-3 runs with the questions for the interview (corporate video). Sounds like I'll forgo the AF and just frame the subject and shoot.

For future reference, is there a better lens choice for HD shooting for the GH1/2 for interviews, when your trying to get the upper torso within 3 meters? I looked at the LUMIX G 20mm / F1.7 ASPH, but since it's not as fast at the 25mm and a bit older tech, I felt it wasn't the best choice.

I've seen this pulsing issue when using AF on the GH1. This is annoying indeed. Is this better with the GH2? I've been considering moving to Cannon with my next purchase to see the quality difference. Many people rave about the Mark series. Though being a novice, I just feel that most of the problems occur behind the camera and with the wrong lens. I still have much to learn. Hopefully this shoot will help me get a bit further.

I unknowingly did buy my GH1 after they fixed the firmware hack capability :crybaby:, so I have to shoot in 1080i instead of 1080p. This is another reason I'll be upgrading the camera soon. The post work to de-interlace is a pain. I still am a little angry at Panasonic for preventing people from hacking and pushing their tech. /rant

Thanks again for the guidance & feedback.
Click to expand...

Exactly what are you asking for?...

I'd recommend getting an iPhone app like either the Toland App or the pCam app. Both support the GH-1/2 in terms of camera configuration, and both will calculate to a reasonable degree of accuracy what the Field of View will be for a given lens on the GH-1/2.

In particular a 25mm lens on the GH-1, with a subject distance of 10 feet (approx 3 meters...), will yield a field of view of 7' x 4', which should cover your 'waist to top of head' well enough.

An f/1.7 lens I would imagine is fast enough... f/1.4 (only 2/3 stop faster...) or a f/.95 (about 1 2/3 to 2 stops faster...) is 'faster', but are they worth it...

For very static shots, manual focus is adequate, unless one has people who get up and move around. But then 'focusing' while shooting is a pain with the GH-1/2 anyway...
 
j1clark@ucsd.edu said:
Exactly what are you asking for?...

I'd recommend getting an iPhone app like either the Toland App or the pCam app. Both support the GH-1/2 in terms of camera configuration, and both will calculate to a reasonable degree of accuracy what the Field of View will be for a given lens on the GH-1/2.

In particular a 25mm lens on the GH-1, with a subject distance of 10 feet (approx 3 meters...), will yield a field of view of 7' x 4', which should cover your 'waist to top of head' well enough.
Click to expand...

I'm on Android, so I don't have access to the Toland or pCam app. Those apps sound very handy.

Your feedback on my FOV sounds perfect! Thanks for giving me the info.

GrahamH said:
My understanding is that the block on GH1 hacking was circumvented some time ago.
Click to expand...

WHOA! Are you sure? I stopped following this possibility once the GH2 was announced. I can search for a solution, though if you have the info handy, it would be great if you could shoot me a link. I originally bought the GH1 for the hack to find out I couldn't get 1080p and 60fps. Even a confirmation of this possibility would send me on the hunt for the new hack.

I'm on the way downtown now to pick up the LEICA DG SUMMILUX 25mm / F1.4 ASPH. We found one here in Beijing. It's a bit more than the US prices I've been seeing, but it sounds like a great lens. Thanks again for the feedback all!
 
Here's what Wikipedia says about the GH1:
Panasonic has not endorsed the hacks, and certain firmware releases from Panasonic, notably 1.3, made the camera unhackable, that is, until about May 2011, when hackers developed a way to get around the Panasonic version 1.3x firmware.

The hack does not provide 1080p60 - neither GH1 nor GH2 have hardware capable of that. Personalview.com will have more information and links to the latest PTools.
 
GrahamH said:
Here's what Wikipedia says about the GH1:
Panasonic has not endorsed the hacks, and certain firmware releases from Panasonic, notably 1.3, made the camera unhackable, that is, until about May 2011, when hackers developed a way to get around the Panasonic version 1.3x firmware.

The hack does not provide 1080p60 - neither GH1 nor GH2 have hardware capable of that. Personalview.com will have more information and links to the latest PTools.
Click to expand...

I had forgotten that it was 720p 60fps and 24fps 1080p. Both of those will be great to have.

Thanks a bunch for the heads up on this. I'm looking into the new hack now. FTR. the site is http://www.personal-view.com/.

Got back from getting the lens and have been doing some tests. This lens is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much for the feedback guys!

Cheers!
 
I personally use the Lumix 20mm/1.7 with a wide angle adapter which gets the fov to around 28-30mm (35mm equivalent). It should be plenty fast enough for the lighting you described. It will give you much better leeway for shot setup than the 50mm (35mm equivalent) you just bought.
 
If you're going to shoot multiple takes, then I'd stick with MF instead of AF because the AF pulsing can ruin a good segment. If you use AF, an inopportune pulse can ruin the segment. If you use MF, the worst that can happen is the subject briefly moves out of focus, no big deal, the clip is still usable.

I have both the 20mm and the 25mm and strongly prefer the 25mm to the 20mm for image quality.

You can definitely hack the GH1 but I wouldn't recommend it for a paid shoot. All the GH1 hacks that increase bit rate even modestly have a nonzero chance of locking up the camera while shooting. It's a tremendous risk to take. That being said, I've had the best luck with DrDave's 24p Concert patch

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?260823-GH13-Concert-and-Event-Patch-24p

and llpowell's 60i peak reliability patch

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?254789-75Mbps-GH1-Peak-Reliability-Patch-V2-update

Those patches should work in an indoor hotel interview but both will break if you shoot outdoors with wind-swept trees in the background.

neven11 said:
Thanks for the advice!
I hear you on the focus issue. I'm going to be about 3 meters or less away from the subject. I'm hoping to get the full the upper half of the body. Unfortunately this won't be a multi-cam shoot, but I will probably do a 2-3 runs with the questions for the interview (corporate video). Sounds like I'll forgo the AF and just frame the subject and shoot.

For future reference, is there a better lens choice for HD shooting for the GH1/2 for interviews, when your trying to get the upper torso within 3 meters? I looked at the LUMIX G 20mm / F1.7 ASPH, but since it's not as fast at the 25mm and a bit older tech, I felt it wasn't the best choice.

I've seen this pulsing issue when using AF on the GH1. This is annoying indeed. Is this better with the GH2? I've been considering moving to Cannon with my next purchase to see the quality difference. Many people rave about the Mark series. Though being a novice, I just feel that most of the problems occur behind the camera and with the wrong lens. I still have much to learn. Hopefully this shoot will help me get a bit further.

I unknowingly did buy my GH1 after they fixed the firmware hack capability :crybaby:, so I have to shoot in 1080i instead of 1080p. This is another reason I'll be upgrading the camera soon. The post work to de-interlace is a pain. I still am a little angry at Panasonic for preventing people from hacking and pushing their tech. /rant

Thanks again for the guidance & feedback.
Click to expand...
 
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