PhilD
Well-known member
What about ultra-thin plastic grocery bags? I need to know if that'll break my GH1!!!
Low Light Streaks - Is my camera faulty?
- Thread starter nathankw
- Start date
What about ultra-thin plastic grocery bags? I need to know if that'll break my GH1!!!
Your first shot here with iExposure shows very obvious vertical streaks and les obvous horizontal streaks - it looks like a Tartan pattern.What ISO, shutter speed and aperture. And was it under exposed a few EV?
If you have iExposure turned on... disable it. In certain conditions it exaggerates the natural CMOS banding phenomena.
Usually it is either none existent or very slight, aka 5D MII.
My GH1 with iExposure (under exposed):
My GH1 without iExposure (under exposed):
Anything normally exposed is 100% clean with iExposure turned off:
That's all at ISO 1600, full HD.
I've not had this banding problem effect any of my footage, because I never shoot with iExposure turned on.
It's not really a camera fault - more a side effect of using iExposure whilst forcing the camera to underexposure.
This pushes iExposure into overdrive, amplifying the CMOS sensor so that it goes mad.
Don't be daft and underexpose, then boost the CMOS sensor with an in-camera software trick. It doesn't make sense!
You second darker shot without iExposure has this Tartan pattern too, but is less obvoius due to the darkness of the shot. I expect this 'Tartan' will leap out at you once this shot has been graded.
My big, big, tip. Review all your work on a decent monitor (a 24" PC monitor just doesn't cut it) eg on a properly adjusted 50" Plasma (I do this). If the footage has any wart like these pics, this problem will then become obvious.
Have you played this on a decent properly adjusted display, eg a 50" Plasma?
You may be amazed at all the 'orrible warts that come to life on a nice big clear TV. TVs will get better and more revealing still - Panasonic have Promised an OLED TV within 18 months.
Do you work for Panasonic ? I mean, why would you recommend a camera that has these issues, when there are other alternatives ?
I have seen the 5D2 campared to the RedOne (the 5D2 is better in low light BTW),
http://www.vimeo.com/5160288
http://www.vimeo.com/5160288
but I have not seen the GH1 compared to the Redone.
The 5D2's sensor has 2.3x the surface area of the GH1 - hence the 5D2's lowlight goodness.
This is why the 5D2 is far cheaper overall than the GH1 - LESS LIGHTING IS REQUIRED.
Ben_B
Veteran
Pepster do you have one? I do. Mine doesn't have these problems. I've managed to shoot some really nice stuff with it. Of course a CMOS sensor is going to band in crappy lighting at ISO 1600...when has anything ever not looked like crap at ISO 1600? Light your footage properly, don't go nuts with ISO (I try not to shoot at anything over 400, or if I do I make sure there's lots of negative space and not like plain white to show banding...not that I have seen any banding on min yet.) Oh, and learn to use your camera manually, don't turn on gimicky consumer crap like iExposure...light your scene for the camera and lenses you have.
We shot a film noir with all night shoots on an HVX-200...did we complain that the camera sucked low light? No. We went out and found some generators and 6000 watts worth of lights and made it anyway. We made the film on a near zero budget, money spent was mainly to feed crew and actors. Beg, buy, borrow, steal. That's the rules. Did we complain about the tiny dynamic range? No. We used it to our advantage; we saved time/money/effort on locations by using the quick dropoff in poorly lit areas to shoot in places that otherwise wouldn't have worked (like a bar that was supposed to be small and dingy but had a huge empty restauraunt behind it...you couldn't see the restaruant because we didn't put light on it!)
Sure not everyone can do this, but don't expect the camera to be magic. Cameras work because of light. They don't work without light. This has always been true. Sure it's not always banding but if it's not that it's something else. If you get streaks in non low light or high contrast situations then send your camera in, because I know mine doesn't do it, so yours theoretically doesn't have to. Otherwise, if you must shoot footage in crappy conditions why expect the footage to come out looking amazing? It's not the camera's fault, it's yours. It doesn't matter what you shoot on.
We shot a film noir with all night shoots on an HVX-200...did we complain that the camera sucked low light? No. We went out and found some generators and 6000 watts worth of lights and made it anyway. We made the film on a near zero budget, money spent was mainly to feed crew and actors. Beg, buy, borrow, steal. That's the rules. Did we complain about the tiny dynamic range? No. We used it to our advantage; we saved time/money/effort on locations by using the quick dropoff in poorly lit areas to shoot in places that otherwise wouldn't have worked (like a bar that was supposed to be small and dingy but had a huge empty restauraunt behind it...you couldn't see the restaruant because we didn't put light on it!)
Sure not everyone can do this, but don't expect the camera to be magic. Cameras work because of light. They don't work without light. This has always been true. Sure it's not always banding but if it's not that it's something else. If you get streaks in non low light or high contrast situations then send your camera in, because I know mine doesn't do it, so yours theoretically doesn't have to. Otherwise, if you must shoot footage in crappy conditions why expect the footage to come out looking amazing? It's not the camera's fault, it's yours. It doesn't matter what you shoot on.
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Ben_B
Veteran
Do you work for Canon? Every post you have on this site is in a 5DMKII vs X forum or in a forum discussing potential problems with a panasonic camera. every freaking one. Why would you recommend a camera that is more expensive than the one being discussed here, and has fewer features.
You know what. Don't answer that. I don't care. Have you even touched either of them? If you haven't touched the GH1 and have no desire to, and are not here to help but rather tell people they should have bought the 5D mkII instead then get the hell out of this forum. Have? Go shoot some good stuff with it. Have you touched the 5D mkII? Yeah? Go bother people over at 5Duser. Haven't? Stop telling people to buy it.
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Martti Ekstrand
Veteran
GH1 - one small dinky heat candle so about 0.8 lux - self portrait in mirror so 1/4 stop of light loss - camera handheld in only left hand so some motion blur - frame grabbed with OSX screen dump from Toast Video Player - quick CC in Photoshop
Happy now?
Attachments
Commanderspike - yes, it was fine yellow streaks. If you really look hard, there can be some green and red.
I-exposure, whether on or off, did not help nor aggravate in my case.
Everything I tried in every mode, it was there, as long as exposure was in the -1 to -2 range. -3 was almost negligible. In yellow light (like the warm light compact flourescent, energy saving bulbs) they were most visible. When I shot a street scene with the yellow sodium street lamps, it was not there! Go figure....
Again, I have to say this - streaking is minimized - it's still there, but not with such severity. Who knows? Maybe over some more time, it will lessen even more - or not. It's like voodoo..... God forbid it increases!
I-exposure, whether on or off, did not help nor aggravate in my case.
Everything I tried in every mode, it was there, as long as exposure was in the -1 to -2 range. -3 was almost negligible. In yellow light (like the warm light compact flourescent, energy saving bulbs) they were most visible. When I shot a street scene with the yellow sodium street lamps, it was not there! Go figure....
Again, I have to say this - streaking is minimized - it's still there, but not with such severity. Who knows? Maybe over some more time, it will lessen even more - or not. It's like voodoo..... God forbid it increases!
lol... I concur.
D.R. Gates
Well-known member
I hear ya, Ben. Too many whiners, none of whom know what they're talking about.
commanderspike
Carbonite Member
As a brand new GH1 owner (as of 4pm yesterday) I can vouch for the scary streaking (even plaid! vert and hor in some cases). I'm currently letting it run a 'burn in period' (fresh battery and card and let r go for as long as it will go). To see if that does the trick like others have stated.
I'll report back when I'm through.... I'm praying that it goes away because I was testing the camera last night with a switar 26/1.1 and the low light results were really impressive (banding ignored). IF the banding 'burns off' I'll be one very happy camper. If not.... It will severely limit how I can use this camera!
I'll report back when I'm through.... I'm praying that it goes away because I was testing the camera last night with a switar 26/1.1 and the low light results were really impressive (banding ignored). IF the banding 'burns off' I'll be one very happy camper. If not.... It will severely limit how I can use this camera!
PhilD
Well-known member
Unless you have a different GH1 package in your country, in Canada it comes with a DC adapter that also serves as the charger so no need to use the battery
I think you had a G1 before right? Did it have streaking?
I was happy to see that additional adapter! Anyway, I have a couple of batteries so I ran it for 2 HRS. I think (after killing chicken) that it appears a lot better at 640 now. More testing will tell.
The G1 definitely has a different iso character. More characteristic grain and small blocking (which I'd actually prefer because noise filters recognize this). Although it's noise celing IMHO starts around 400-500 whereas the GH seems to be toward 800.