GH2 My GH2 combo for documentary filmmaking

basically any ball head that has thread on bottom same as gorilla.. i don't remember if gorilla has larger or smaller screw with adapter ( i keep forgetting stupid imperialistic measures). I didn't use gorilla long enough as a rig, i made myself a pistol style rig with a manfrotto quick release ball head but i don't have it right now with me and can't remember model numer

sorry my bad english.. i meant shallow depth of field for face or interviews. It's hard to get shallow depth of field with panny zoom lenses because they are slow. You can get some cheap 28 or 50mm canon /nikon/pentax manual lenses with adapter .
I do recommend having at least 1 panny zoom lens... i do mostly run n gun and at the end the 14-140 is my workhorse ( on the gh1) . I just recently got a gh2 with 14-45 lens and it seems just as good, plus using the ETC mode on camera i get basically the same range as 14-140.
For low light situations i use a canon FD 50mm 1.4 lens.. i love that lens in certain situations.
For audio, at the beginning i used a rode videomic fed into a Zoom h2 recorder , and then synced in post... but it was always a hassle, specially when you had 15 short interview a day and you forgot in the hurry to spell in camera the filename of recorder... I have been recording directly in camera with the videomic in the last 2 years and only once lost a recording. I do use it in very run n gun situations, at racetracks, where i practically shove the camera in front of driver as soon as he is out of the car to get his comments , then i need to run to the grid for the start of the next race. If i have time to setup a proper interview, i use lapels and the zoom H2.

here you can see my handheld rig with the manfrotto ballhead.
. 528061_4152457500490_1038099217_n.jpg
 
henryciullo said:
basically any ball head that has thread on bottom same as gorilla.. i don't remember if gorilla has larger or smaller screw with adapter ( i keep forgetting stupid imperialistic measures). I didn't use gorilla long enough as a rig, i made myself a pistol style rig with a manfrotto quick release ball head but i don't have it right now with me and can't remember model numer

sorry my bad english.. i meant shallow depth of field for face or interviews. It's hard to get shallow depth of field with panny zoom lenses because they are slow. You can get some cheap 28 or 50mm canon /nikon/pentax manual lenses with adapter .
I do recommend having at least 1 panny zoom lens... i do mostly run n gun and at the end the 14-140 is my workhorse ( on the gh1) . I just recently got a gh2 with 14-45 lens and it seems just as good, plus using the ETC mode on camera i get basically the same range as 14-140.
For low light situations i use a canon FD 50mm 1.4 lens.. i love that lens in certain situations.
For audio, at the beginning i used a rode videomic fed into a Zoom h2 recorder , and then synced in post... but it was always a hassle, specially when you had 15 short interview a day and you forgot in the hurry to spell in camera the filename of recorder... I have been recording directly in camera with the videomic in the last 2 years and only once lost a recording. I do use it in very run n gun situations, at racetracks, where i practically shove the camera in front of driver as soon as he is out of the car to get his comments , then i need to run to the grid for the start of the next race. If i have time to setup a proper interview, i use lapels and the zoom H2.

here you can see my handheld rig with the manfrotto ballhead.
. View attachment 55799
Click to expand...

Many thanks for the useful info and insight, I would appreciate A LOT if you can share the manfrotto name of the ballhead.
 
@henryciullo You have the type of run n gun setup I have been looking for, very simple rig that isn't so imposing visually when you film someone. Can you tell me two things:

Do you shoot with the LCD screen or the EVF?

If you shoot with the EVF, where do you mount your Rode?
 
Ditch the Rode.
Seriously... if your traveling light your gonna be carrying 2 lenses max. Maybe a gorilla pod, a few extra batts, and as you said... a "china LED".
You wanna be stealthy, you need to think about faster glass, instead of a huge LED drawing attention... but then that limits you on how you can move around depending on the glass choice.
You get some native glass (easier time focusing), like the new 20mm, 25mm, 12mm (Oly), and 45mm (Oly)... then you can cover most lowlight situations.
Frankly, i use the kit lens for outside daylight work... but i like to shoot wide.
If your doing telephoto... which it seems thats your preference, then the 14-140 is a good choice. Its good for video and covers both wide - zoom.
Amazon.com: Panasonic 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 OIS Micro Four Thirds Lens for Panasonic Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

Use a Zoom recorder. You can do more with it, and its not gonna draw attention at you, since you can place it next to your subject and stand back.
Amazon.com: Zoom H2n Handy Recorder: Electronics
Amazon.com: Zoom H1 Handy Portable Digital Recorder: Electronics

A polarizer is good to have... sounds like its gonna be fast run and gun, so maybe a Variable ND filter would be something you should consider?
Amazon.com: Variable ND: Electronics

Just get a decent backpack that can hold the MAIN items you need. I use a small lens bag for the 2nd lens. Small padded bags for my Zoom and batteries. Then my camera is either in a small case, or even wrapped in a towel... as you will probably be carrying it out of the bag most of the time.

Your gonna be traveling light and wanna look cheap. I dont think you need something that displays all your gear when ever you open it, and if someone stops you... you look more like a tourist anyhow.

Also, consider a Hero2 camera (Gopro). Its my stealthy pocket B-Camera. That thing is seriously useful and captures photos and footage I could never get with any other small camera, pocketable, no LCD to draw attention, and has a built in Timelaps!
Amazon.com: GoPro HD HERO2: Outdoor Edition (2011 Model): Electronics
 
Last edited:
Inprogress said:
@henryciullo You have the type of run n gun setup I have been looking for, very simple rig that isn't so imposing visually when you film someone. Can you tell me two things:

Do you shoot with the LCD screen or the EVF?

If you shoot with the EVF, where do you mount your Rode?
Click to expand...

I almost always use evf, only use lcd for low shots . The rode is monted on extension arm. you should be able
To see a pic of setup in use on my site www.henryciullo.com
 
I have the Gorrila Pod and the legs can be twisted in a way to allow three points of contact with your body making it very stable. This works well since the stabilization doesn't work with the close up panning I do when I shoot motorcycles, it has to be turned off. One thing I hate about the camera is when you have it set to shutter priority, the Aperture make adjustments for exposure in steps. I always have to hit the AE Lock and hope lighting doesn't change much. It's smooth in program mode. I need a low shutter speed though. Might experiment with ND filters but so far not ideal for my type of use. Video is fantastic though, just harder to get than with my HMC150
 
A couple more things that are a problem, the camera cuts maybe a second off your recording so you need to wait before hitting stop. Also you can't start recording again until it finishes writing to memory. Hacked or un-hacked seems to make no difference. Still needs to write to memory for a second or so.
 
I wonder what's not to like about the GorillaPod ballhead? Are you using heavy lenses it can't support?

I have RRS ballheads for my stills gear, & besides the build quality, the GorrillaPod's performs almost as well as the smallest RRS, while costing $100+ less. All my stills equipment use Arca-Swiss compatible quick releases, & plates, so I'm pleased the GorrilaPod does too.

One thing that's odd about the GorillaPod itself is the very short 1/4-20 thread. I'm not sure all ballheads would even be able to grab it properely, & it gives me pause about mounting heavy gear. It seems that a longer screw could be used instead, but so far haven't persued one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top