GH3 Questions on G3

M

MTS

Active member
First Im a wedding videographer and been using canon, nikon as well as gh2 to film weddings. Really like the look and resolution of gh2 which is easier to combine with my EX1 as my main cam. But there are things that i really dont like about the camera. For the Gh3 users, please help me to decide if ill purchase Gh3 or not by giving me some inputs on the following:
1. Can you adjust the ISO sensitivity while recording in Manual mode?
2. Can you change the White Balance while recording?
3. Can you zoom in(focus assist) while recording?
4. Is there any dedicated button/Assignable for the ETC for video only
5. On the Gh2, pressing the start stop button after recording will take more than 5 seconds before you can recording again. This is not good for weddings since you need to capture the moments. Unlike the nikons and canons, once you press the start/stop button really fast to engage and disengage recording. Is it the same with the gh3?
6. Another problem in the gh2 is that lets say you record 10 secs and after which yuou stop recording, when you check the recorded file, the during is actually shorter than 10 secs. Is it the same with the gh3?
7. on gh2, while setting the exposure lets say daylight and you want to sacrifies your speed just to get the clip, when you reach the speed of around 2000 the live view will no longer adjust for the right exposure but once you hit the record button, it is already too dark. I mean the actual exposure is not seen on the screen . Does this also happen in gh3?
8. on gh2 once you hit the record button, there is a shift on the color and somewhat expose. is it the same with gh3?

These are some of major complaints on gh2 which can be a deciding factor in purchasing gh3. Thank you in advance
 
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anybody who can give at least a partial answer to my querries based on experience with the gh3? please
 
1) Yes you can change ISO while recording.
2) I haven't tried to adjust WB while recording but I'm doubtful. I will have to try it when I get some time.
3) haven't tried it
4) You could assign it on the GH2 also or are you asking something else? I have it assigned to a button on GH3 but almost never use ETC.
5) I have not timed the start stop. I have the impression it is faster but haven't examined it.
7) I use ND and Vari ND and always keep shutter speed between 40/50 so I really have no idea.
8) There might be a slight colour shift but not near as noticable to me as the GH2. Also the GH3 doesn't have that horrible green tint. It does lean towards magenta which some might not like but I find it far better than the sickly green on GH2.
 
i literally just got it last night, not sure if i'm keeping it.
i didn't test all the functions yet.

but i can tell you (to fill in RatLab's answer above)
2. Couldn't change it yet while recording.
3. Couldn't get that to work either.
5. doesn't feel too long. maybe takes 1-2 seconds to write.
6. yes, this is happening with my GH3. This is also the reason why i'm on this forum, to figure out if this is a common problem. Every clip feels a second short. I'm using AVCHD 24p with a 45mbps sandisk card. I asked my gh2 friends, but none of them have noticed that reported problem before. I've been shooting on a 7D for last couple years and am used to button pressing corresponding exactly to clip length. now i know i should do pre/post roll...but i also shoot weddings and sometimes have to stop and immediately start.
7. didn't really understand the question fully, but there's "constant preview" and also "monitor illumination" where you can set them to make sure what youre seeing is what youre shooting. i had to adjust it because my screen kept stepping up and down exposure.
8. haven't noticed this yet.
 
Thanks a lot for those input. Yes the gh2 can be assigned to have a dedicated button for the etc but it will always go first to the photo etc and you need to scroll to go to etc video.
 
I used the GH3 for a day and decided to return it. In many respects it's a great camera. On paper the camera specifications are impressive. The image quality seems excellent, but I found the image display to have some severe limitations for video. After you record for a few seconds (10 or so) some of the image info on the display just disappears. (Audio meters, for example) I could not find a way to disable this feature and continue to view the info on screen that I like to monitor while recording. I found other threads of users complaining about this issue and did not discover any fix short of a firmware upgrade from Panasonic if enough users draw attention to this issue. I am not impressed with many of Panasonic's recent marketing moves and I did not want to keep the camera with the hope of a quick firmware upgrade. I also found the placement of the headphone jack to be very annoying. (It interferes with the movement of the LCD) I really had high hopes for the GH3, but for me it falls short in its current configuration. If you use the EVF it's also very awkward to trigger record for video. Your thumb has to sandwich between your face and the camera and have the dexterity to smoothly activate and stop recording. A secondary, user assignable start/stop record button on the top of the camera would be much better. No camera is perfect, but I think I still prefer the GH2 for handling and many basic camera functions. (even though the larger camera body of the GH3 feels better at first grip) I also liked the multi-aspect ratio capabilities of the GH2 that are missing from the GH3. It's a personal choice and I think every user has to try the GH3 and decide for themselves if it's the right camera. For me...the search for a GH2 replacement continues.
 
SeattleDV said:
If you use the EVF it's also very awkward to trigger record for video. Your thumb has to sandwich between your face and the camera and have the dexterity to smoothly activate and stop recording. A secondary, user assignable start/stop record button on the top of the camera would be much better.
Click to expand...

You know you can assign the shutter button to trigger video just like the GH2 right?

Fair enough that you didn't like although having both GH2 and GH3 I can't even stand to use the GH2 anymore. It just feels so cheap and flimsy.

The features the GH3 has over GH2
- increased DR
- very little banding on gradients
- weather sealed body
- stronger lens mount
- ability to change ISO while recording
- better skin tones out of box
- cleaner image at higher ISO
- buit in timelapse function
- headphone jack
- great codec choices out of box (50mb IPB MOV is so nice after years of dealing with AVCHD in Avid)
- 1080p 60fps
- More image control at +5/-5
- More assignable function buttons and dials to control Aperture/Shutter (I hated having to cycle through on GH2)
- ETC mode works with HDMI monitor attached.
- Superior in every way for still photography
- Slightly better video image (some could argue the same) as hacked GH2 at 1/3 the bitrate.
- 3.5 inch jack instead of the stupid 2.5 with adapter.
- 1.5x more battery life

Things the Gh2 has over GH3
- Multi aspect sensor (1.8 vs 2.0 crop)
- info doesn't drop off screen after 10-20sec (for me not a big deal but really annoying to have to tap screen to bring it up)


To each their own but in my opinion unless your strapped for cash the GH3 is a massive upgrade. I really do hope they fix the disappearing info screen but that is a simple firmware fix (maybe a hackable feature). The headphone jack is in a weird spot for the flip out monitor but I have a pair of headphones with a slim 90 deg Jack and it works just fine. I'll take a wonky headphone jack over no headphone jack at all and the only other DSLR with headphone jack I can think of is 5DIII at almost 3x the price.
 
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You know you can assign the shutter button to trigger video just like the GH2 right?
Click to expand...

Thanks to RatLab for pointing this out...I missed it in the manual.

I also happen to agree with RatLab on all of the points he makes RE: strengths of the GH3 vs the GH2. The GH3 does represent an upgrade overall and a GREAT value for the dollar compared to other DSLR's but it's also nearly 2X the current cost of a GH2 or nearly 3X the GH2 cost if you got a December deal. You can make the argument that the GH3 is twice the camera of a GH2, but in my case, at least, I'll have to wait and see what the first firmware update or other "hackable features" might bring. The GH3 is a great camera, it just didn't seem quite right for me as-is. Perhaps I'll reconsider at a later date. There is not another DSLR that I find tempting at the moment. If anything, I may switch to a conventional video camera and I look forward to seeing samples from the AF 100A. Why hasn't Panasonic offered any samples from their re-designed flagship M4/3 camera? (but that's another thread altogether)
 
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