GH2 Panasonic GH2 vs Nikon d5100 - which is best?

R

rc444

Well-known member
Hey Everyone,

Okay, I'm weighing up two cameras to purchase - the GH2 or the Nikon d5100.

I love the lens and generous APS-C sensor on the d5100, however, I dislike it's semi-manual functions for video.

On the other hand, I have seen great footage/comparisons of the GH2 on the internet. Some of the footage definitely looks better than even the Canon 5D Mk III.

I would like to get the GH2 because it seems to offer better movie quality and manual functions than Nikon, but I worry about the 4/3rds sensor.

I know a lot of people like to diss the 4/3rds sensor saying it's worse off than APS-C, but is it? Has anyone reading this used the GH2 found any problems with the 4/3rds sensor? Is it something to be worried about, or doesn't 4/3rds matter, judging by the comparison videos of the GH2 vs 5d?

Also, where is the most generous bitrate hack for the GH2? I've seen it go up to 176 mbps, can it go higher? Would it be fair to compare the GH2 bitrate to the bitrate of say HD-CAM (144 mbps)?

Cheers
David
 
I have both cameras and find they complement each other pretty well. The D5100 works best in Aperture Priority, has a broader dynamic range, and good noise performance up to ISO 3200. The GH2 is better at fast action and works well in manual mode with manual lenses up to ISO 800. The D5100 also doubles as an excellent stills camera, with the same 14-bit RAW sensor as the D7000. And of course, Nikon lenses speak for themselves.

Here's a link to a comparative reviewI did of the D5100 and GH2:

http://www.personal-view.com./talks/discussion/1195/nikon-d5100-compared-to-panasonic-gh2
 
GH2

GH2

Thanks for your help.

Question: Does the hacked GH2 produce a better image than the d5100? Is it worth getting the GH2 for the hack alone?

lpowell said:
I have both cameras and find they complement each other pretty well. The D5100 works best in Aperture Priority, has a broader dynamic range, and good noise performance up to ISO 3200. The GH2 is better at fast action and works well in manual mode with manual lenses up to ISO 800. The D5100 also doubles as an excellent stills camera, with the same 14-bit RAW sensor as the D7000. And of course, Nikon lenses speak for themselves.

Here's a link to a comparative reviewI did of the D5100 and GH2:

http://www.personal-view.com./talks/discussion/1195/nikon-d5100-compared-to-panasonic-gh2
Click to expand...
 
Well, I see the Nikon only records video for 20 minutes at a time, and has only mono audio. Both of those are not issues with the GH2. Also I don't see any video options besides 1080P at 30frames. No 24-frame cinema style. And no 720P at 30f nor 60f like the GH2.
Seems like it may be a better stills camera than the GH2, but the video options don't appear to come close.

Just reading the specs at B&H's website.

Oh, and a well hacked GH2 is generally regarded (at least here and on the "personal View website") as capable of producing a better video image than any of the DSLR's. Provided it is used correctly by one who has a good grasp of lenses and of how to maximize on the GH2's many different possible shooting modes.
 
@rc444 The link lpowell provided includes comparisons of d5100 with one of the lower bitrate hack options on the GH2, so you can see how it fares even at that level. The newer hacks from Driftwood, bkmwcd and LPowell himself can exceed that image quality, in some cases quite significantly.

LPowell and I both contributed some information about what the hacked settings do in this thread.
http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/comment/70063#Comment_70063
 
DPStewart said:
Well, I see the Nikon only records video for 20 minutes at a time, and has only mono audio. Both of those are not issues with the GH2. Also I don't see any video options besides 1080P at 30frames. No 24-frame cinema style. And no 720P at 30f nor 60f like the GH2.
Click to expand...

No that's not the case with the Nikon D5100. It supports both 1080p and 720p at 23.976, 25, and 29.97 fps. Vitaliy has also made available an "NTool" hack that can be used to extend recording time to 30 minutes. While the D5100 lacks 720p50/60 modes, the GH2 lacks the D5100's 720p24/25/30 modes.

For my purposes, it's not an issue of whether the D5100 is "better" than the GH2, but in which shooting situations they are each best suited. For still shots and anytime I'm tempted to go beyond ISO 1200, I'd rather use the D5100. And anytime I'm panning or shooting fast-moving subjects, my first choice is going to be the GH2. In addition, for cases where rolling shutter is a hazard, the GH2's ETC zoom mode is highly useful.
 
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Hacked GH2 vs Nikon unhacked

Hacked GH2 vs Nikon unhacked

Thanks DPStewart for your messsage. Would this mean that a GH2 maxed out to 100 mpbs would do better than Nikon d5100 unhacked? (Nikon is 26 mbps I'm told).

Cheers
David

DPStewart said:
Well, I see the Nikon only records video for 20 minutes at a time, and has only mono audio. Both of those are not issues with the GH2. Also I don't see any video options besides 1080P at 30frames. No 24-frame cinema style. And no 720P at 30f nor 60f like the GH2.
Seems like it may be a better stills camera than the GH2, but the video options don't appear to come close.

Just reading the specs at B&H's website.

Oh, and a well hacked GH2 is generally regarded (at least here and on the "personal View website") as capable of producing a better video image than any of the DSLR's. Provided it is used correctly by one who has a good grasp of lenses and of how to maximize on the GH2's many different possible shooting modes.
Click to expand...
 
lpowell certainly knows cameras, he has been a valuable resource for a long time.

I also own both cameras, D5100 & GH2.
For stills, the Nikon wins.

The video on the 5100 is OK, but falls short especially up against the hacked GH2.
The GH2 (video) hacked acually looks better, or stands up to many of the video & DSLR cameras I own and have used.

Are there shortcomings, yes there are like every other camera.
But, for the money, it's quite amazing.

What would I like to see ... a couple more stops of dynamic range, better S/N, and 4:2:2 (Intra).
Fix th ISO bug.
GH3?
 
No one can dispute Mr. Powell's expertise, his postings all over this board and others speak for themselves.

My personal experiences with the D5100 are 180 degrees from his as well as others who had claimed to have had it.

After 9 months I trying to learn how to speak Nikon, I dumped it all and came back to my GH1. I took the money form the Nikon gear, invested in Lumix glass. The first lens I got was the 45mm. When it arrived, I grabbed the GH1, stuck it on, stuck the cam out the front door and pushed the button to grab a still. It was just that fast and with that much preparation. I immediately looked at that image on my computer. I said then as I still do today that I would have kissed someone's @#$ to have EVER been able to have gotten something that sweet from the Nikon.

That was my experience, as always YMMV.
 
ChipThome said:
No one can dispute Mr. Powell's expertise, his postings all over this board and others speak for themselves.

My personal experiences with the D5100 are 180 degrees from his as well as others who had claimed to have had it.

After 9 months I trying to learn how to speak Nikon, I dumped it all and came back to my GH1. I took the money form the Nikon gear, invested in Lumix glass. The first lens I got was the 45mm. When it arrived, I grabbed the GH1, stuck it on, stuck the cam out the front door and pushed the button to grab a still. It was just that fast and with that much preparation. I immediately looked at that image on my computer. I said then as I still do today that I would have kissed someone's @#$ to have EVER been able to have gotten something that sweet from the Nikon.

That was my experience, as always YMMV.
Click to expand...

The Olympus 45mm is a phenominal lens for stills. I had the same experience. I bought it, snapped 1 picture with it and was like "holy crap." Fast glass, looks amazing, fast autofucus and small.

I already pre-ordered the 75mm version, I can't wait until it ships.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00836JHVQ/
 
I have a D7000 and bought the GH2 solely for video. As usual, a pro can make an iPhone video look great, but if you're looking for the highest image quality under a few $K, the GH2 is where it's at. It's head and shoulders above the D7K, which is a bit better than the D5100 (manual movie controls). Especially when it comes to flexibility for grading when hacked (shadow detail mostly intact, limited/no compression artifacts).

Even unhacked, the footage is noticeably sharper, and when you apply a hack, the sky's the limit (or more accurately, the card's write speed is ;) ). This is due to the way the cameras interpret video (line skipping [D7K] vs interpolation), which also reduces/eliminates moire and aliasing as a side effect.

The only two advantages the D7K holds is the ability to customize Picture Controls for seriously flat images, and HDMI out at any resolution. The GH2 is limited to its built in presets, which have a small range of adjustability, but are still very usable. It's limited 1080i/60 for recording while externally monitoring, though the screen is very sharp and the camera has a highlight warning, live histogram, and meter for exposure. You can also shoot through the viewfinder with the same info displayed. Plus, I've heard you can record an uncompressed stream via HDMI.

For me, a D7K paired with a GH2 is the ideal photo/video combo. The D7K's photos are phenomenal, while the GH2 isn't anything to write home about. Go to video, and the exact opposite is true. Each camera covers the other's weaknesses.
 
An immense advantage to the GH2 over any other camera, even over the likes of the Canon 5D series, is the ability for it to take nearly any lens ever made. You will only have manual focus most of the time, but if you use the camera for shooting scripted scenes for films, etc. you won't use auto-focus anyway. The reason I bought the camera was because the clerk in the camera store recommended it for this very reason. I asked him what camera would be great for a student, and he asked me if we already own an interchangeable lens camera. I replied that we do have an old Olympus OM-1 camera with three lenses. What the clerk said next is what sold the camera to me. He said for under R100 ($10) I could get an adapter that would fit all those lenses on the GH2. So I bought it with the 14-140mm, and a month later, when the OM to m43 adapter arrived from Ebay, I had 3 extra lenses I could use and got them basically for free. A 50mm f1.8, 24mm f2.8 and a 75-205mm zoom. Since then I've obtained a few c-mount cinema lenses, old Nikon and Canon lenses and two Minolta lenses for next to nothing. These lenses, especially the c-mount ones, which can have apertures as wide as f0.8 and focal ranges from 4mm, 6mm, 8mm 12.5mm 25mm, 50mm and beyond, allow for incredibly unique and creative looking footage and my lecturers at the film school are all very impressed.
 
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