GH3 Panasonic GH3 Tips and Tricks Setup Guide

M

mpgxsvcd

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I finally created the first of several Panasonic GH3 tips and tricks videos. I will create more of these as time allows. For now this video goes over the items below. Make sure you watch it all the way through. At the end I discuss some of the issues that the GH3 currently has. If anyone discovers any workarounds for these issues please let us know.



  1. Moire really is not a deal breaker with the GH3. It can appear. However, you can make it happen in the GH2 as well. You just have to try to avoid it if you are using sharp m4/3s lenses. It really isn’t as big an issue as we originally thought.
  2. Auto and Intelligent ISO can now be set to as high as ISO 12,800 instead of just ISO 3200. This is a big improvement for the Program priority mode which wouldn’t use a fast enough shutter speed on the GH2.
  3. The extra two custom function dial settings that the GH3 has is a big improvement over the 3 in the GH2. I setup C1 with Program Priority for stills. C2 with Shutter Priority for stills, C3-1 with Shutter priority for video, C3-2 with Full manual control for astro photography, and C2-3 with the high dynamic color mode just for fun.
  4. All of the new color modes are actually pretty good. Portrait has the most dynamic range. However, Vivid gives the lowest shadow noise and Scenery looked be the most natural to my eyes. This is all subjective though. Color choice is all up to preference.
  5. I love how you can customize what settings appear and in what order on the quick menu. That is a fantastic new feature.
  6. ISO 6400 is completely usable on the GH3 just like it is on the OMD. In addition ISO 12,800 is now usable for web delivery and maybe small sized prints when you are in desperate conditions.
  7. The new AFF single box auto focus is very good. In addition the face detection auto focus works well when there is only a single person in the frame. If there are multiple people it is hard for the camera to know which one to focus on.
  8. You can setup a Function button to change the Auto Focus. In manual focus mode it automatically will bring up the new focus assist zoom preview. I like the new center zoom with normal outside edge for focusing.
  9. The 35-100mm F2.8 is not parfocal. If you zoom in manual focus mode it will go in and out of focus. However, in Auto Focus mode it will correct for these little errors.
  10. 1080p @ 60 FPS is excellent for almost any video situation except for when you need to match film frame rate.
  11. 1080p @ 24 FPS all I and 50 mb/sec are both great. I find it hard to tell the difference between them.
  12. ETC will not work in any of the 60 FPS modes. You must use the 1080p @ 30/24 FPS or 720p @ 30 FPS modes to use ETC.
  13. The AVC-HD modes are useless to me because the .mov modes offer higher bit rates and are easier to find the files. However, AVC-HD might be useful for those that need native compatibility with another device.
  14. The electronic shutter mode cannot use over ISO 1600 or more than 1 second of shutter duration. It also can show skew when there is subject motion. It is not quite as useful as I thought it would be.
  15. The burst mode buffer clearing is probably the single biggest improvement over the GH2. Burst mode is now very useful even in JPG+RAW mode.
  16. Focus tracking is enabled in video mode. However, it still isn’t reliable enough to depend on it.

GH3 Issues

  1. The flash sensor is too sensitive and it can be confused and think the flash is open when it is not. It can actually fire the flash when it is closed and it will partially pop itself up when this happens. This needs to be resolved. I hope a firmware fix can change the way the sensor acts. I don’t want to have to send my camera in for repairs.
  2. Without a doubt the GH3 has a halo issue with the EVF. If you turn your eye slightly the edges will form halos. I don’t use the EVF so it doesn’t bother me. However, if you do use it a lot you should definitely have a look at the video and see if this will be an issue for you.
  3. The single exposure JPG mode blacks out the screen way too long if your ISO is at or above ISO 3200. If you shoot single RAW images instead it will not black out the screen for as much time. Also if you shoot in burst mode it will not have this issue.
  4. The flash exposure cannot be set with a Function button. You must navigate through the menu to change this setting in manual mode.
    "Zeoff on dpreview pointed out that "if you have "Auto Exposure Comp" set to ON in the flash menu you can use the top scroll wheel to adjust the flash output relative to the metered amount after pressing the exposure comp button (The back scroll wheel adjusts the regular exposure comp). In manual mode however the top scroll wheel doesn't change the flash output in any way and you really do have to delve into a sub-sub-menu just to change the output which is just silly."
 
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Jim Simon said:
OK, what exactly does that mean? All video cameras have electronic shutters. So what is the purpose of a 'mode' for such?
Click to expand...

The shutter is in electrically activated within the sensor instead of a traditional mechanical shutter. The shutter actuation is completely silent. However, it suffers from the rolling shutter effect and it has ISO and shutter duration limitations.
 
Zeoff on dpreview pointed out that "if you have "Auto Exposure Comp" set to ON in the flash menu you can use the top scroll wheel to adjust the flash output relative to the metered amount after pressing the exposure comp button (The back scroll wheel adjusts the regular exposure comp). In manual mode however the top scroll wheel doesn't change the flash output in any way and you really do have to delve into a sub-sub-menu just to change the output which is just silly."
 
mpgxsvcd said:
The shutter is in electrically activated within the sensor instead of a traditional mechanical shutter. The shutter actuation is completely silent.
Click to expand...


That's pretty much how ALL video cameras have ever worked, including the GH2. Only motion picture film cameras use a mechanical shutter. That's why I don't understand what this "electronic shutter mode" is supposed to be. How is it different on this camera from any other camera that records video?
 
Jim Simon said:
That's pretty much how ALL video cameras have ever worked, including the GH2. Only motion picture film cameras use a mechanical shutter. That's why I don't understand what this "electronic shutter mode" is supposed to be. How is it different on this camera from any other camera that records video?
Click to expand...
Jim,

Even though the video function of cameras like the GH2 and GH3 use electronic shutters, when in stills mode they traditionally use mechanical shutters. Both the GH2 and Gh3 have mechanical shutters for still image-taking. That's what makes the audible click sound when you press the shutter button. But the GH3 can switch over and use the electronic shutter for stills. The Gh2 could not do this.
 
A huge thanks to you, mpgxsvcd, for this important contribution. I hope this is just the beginning, and you and others will continue to add and amend it. I strongly suggest that this becomes a sticky, and yes, I think a new GH3 forum is an excellent idea.

On another note, I would hope that the "problem areas" part can be broken out into a separate thread, where we can all assemble lists of bugs, limitations and problems with the GH3 - it would also be very useful for anyone who gets a new GH3 to check to see if they have a defective unit if we know of some flaws that affect certain of the GH3 cams.
 
Many thanks... I'm one of the people that likes AVCHD, especially the higher bitrate AVCHD2.0 in my GH3. I don't like how the .MOV files are tossed into the DCIM/100_PANA folder on the GH3. Why even have a "MOV_SHOT" folder if it's gonna put them in the DCIM folder? LOL
 
i've been using the "electronic shutter" function a fair bit and loving it! perfect for discrete street (stills) photography. heavy rolling shutter effect and 1600 max iso limit but a great freebie!

also perfect for landscape/astro photographers (long exposures) no mechanical movements to shake the camera whilst capturing.
 
Jim Simon said:
That's pretty much how ALL video cameras have ever worked, including the GH2. Only motion picture film cameras use a mechanical shutter. That's why I don't understand what this "electronic shutter mode" is supposed to be. How is it different on this camera from any other camera that records video?
Click to expand...

If you try to use electronic shutter to take still pictures with GH2, then you may understand. GH3 is at least designed partly to be a digital camera, not purely a camcorder. I absolutely love the electronic shutter of my GH3, in conjunction of improved AF and high ISO performance. Finally I can take still pictures indoor under poor light condition with a high degree of confidence with my M4/3 gears. The quietness of the electronic shutter is extremely useful in a concert. What is not to love?
​
 
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MPG,
Very helpful videos. I watched both this and your original GH2 setup video.
Couple of follow-up questions. You mentioned 30FPS is good for ETC. I don't understand what you mean by that. Do you only recommend 30FPS if you are doing ETC? Not sure I understand your comment.
I was also curious about your Movie Custom setup. I do a lot of Wedding Event Video and shoot a lot of indoor low-light conditions.
I was curious what ISO limit you recommend for low-light? 3200 looks good to me, but I wouldn't want to go above that b/c of noise.
I saw you turned off Auto-Focus. I was a bit surprised you did this since you are doing a lot of a sports/fast motion work. I would imagine it is very difficult to maintain manual focus?
Thanks
 
Ianscreations said:
MPG,
Very helpful videos. I watched both this and your original GH2 setup video.
Couple of follow-up questions. You mentioned 30FPS is good for ETC. I don't understand what you mean by that. Do you only recommend 30FPS if you are doing ETC? Not sure I understand your comment.
I was also curious about your Movie Custom setup. I do a lot of Wedding Event Video and shoot a lot of indoor low-light conditions.
I was curious what ISO limit you recommend for low-light? 3200 looks good to me, but I wouldn't want to go above that b/c of noise.
I saw you turned off Auto-Focus. I was a bit surprised you did this since you are doing a lot of a sports/fast motion work. I would imagine it is very difficult to maintain manual focus?
Thanks
Click to expand...

I shot a wedding today... The GH3 was amazing in the low light reception. It was better at 1600 ISO than my GH2 was at 3200 ISO and the GH3 allowed me to shoot 1080/60P with a 125 shutter in a low light reception with the 25mm 1.4. The video is beautiful, sharp and clean. I'm amazed... I'll post the video tomorrow when I get a chance.

One other cool feature.... during the recessional the couple danced down the aisle after being announced husband and wife... I wanted to share a pic of it but I recorded video... I noticed while playing the video back that if you pause the video, a camera icon appears in the on screen play controls.. It allows you to capture a still frame of the video. Then I transfered that still to my phone via wifi and posted it to FB. Very cool. The pic was not the best quality and didn't look as good as the video (hopefully a firmware update can improve it) but it did allow me to post stills from the video to social media which was really cool.
 
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