GH3 Recommendations for an autofocus lens with variable zoom

Bill Clar

Bill Clar

Well-known member
I'm considering the purchase of a GH3, but I've yet to find an affordable MFT lens that provides autofocus and variable zoom. Here's what I'm trying to accomplish:

I'm going to be filming a podcast/vidcast consisting of 3-4 people, and each one will showcase an item for sale. I need to have a wide shot of all members, then I need to zoom in on the products for sale. A multi-camera setup would be ideal, but it's not in my budget at this time.

As it's a one camera setup, manual focus would be difficult while zooming.

These are Youtube videos, so I don't need a high quality lens. My budget is $400.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

Bill

P.S. I did try out a Canon XF 100 but the price tag is much higher than the GH3 (and I didn't care for the MXF file format).
 
Its really not going to look professional with the focus hunting though. Couldn't you buy a point and shoot with half decent video and use it for the close ups? Have it zoomed in on the item you are reviewing and then cut back and forth between it and the GH3... moving it to the different products in between cuts?
 
Buy a GH2 and use it for one of your cameras? Many of them come with the 14-42mm kit zoom which may not be a great lens, it will do what you need. If you don't already own the GH3, then I suggest 2 used GH2 just because the price is lower. Normally around $300 to $350 with that kit zoom. Makes plenty nice enough pictures for what you are doing.
 
Two GH2s...that would work. I can leave one in the wide shot and use the other for closeups.

Thanks!
 
Kit lens is excellent, super sharp for 1080 video. Just as mcbob said, bring lights. 14-42 = 28 - 84mm which covers most indoor zoom situations.
Also, you could grab a nifty50 Canon or Nikon and a $10 adaptor and that'll give you 100mm without the need for tons of light.
 
Or you could get a GH4 (or GX8), shoot 4k and then zoom in post. If you shoot 4k and are delivering 1080p, you can zoom in quite a lot in post before experiencing a perceptible loss in resolution.
 
Batutta said:
Or you could get a GH4 (or GX8), shoot 4k and then zoom in post. If you shoot 4k and are delivering 1080p, you can zoom in quite a lot in post before experiencing a perceptible loss in resolution.
Click to expand...

I considered this - but if he is covering 3-4 people in the shot the crop will likely be too much.

If he did want to try this - buying a G7 would make more sense as he is on a tight budget... same UHD 4k... but slightly wider crop angle... and half the price.
 
Why not rent a second camera? Very cheap, much cheaper than buying a lens. This way you can keep one camera wide and the other can be used to get closeups. I know some consider renting a waste of money but when you factor in how much more it lets you do it is not a waste of money. You can rent a GH4 for like $75.00. a GH3 or GH2 may be even cheaper.

I have a friend who owns one GH4 but typically will rent 2 or 3 more GH4's for shoots. He said it isn't worth buying the extra cameras to just sit around and collect dust when he doesn't have a large multi-cam shoot. By the time he makes enough money to justify the cost of buying three more cameras vs renting, the GH6 would be out and he would no longer want the GH4s.
 
Thomas Smet said:
Why not rent a second camera? Very cheap, much cheaper than buying a lens. This way you can keep one camera wide and the other can be used to get closeups. I know some consider renting a waste of money but when you factor in how much more it lets you do it is not a waste of money. You can rent a GH4 for like $75.00. a GH3 or GH2 may be even cheaper.
Click to expand...

I would, but the only local camera rental place doesn't have Panasonic equipment. Only Canon and Nikon.

We plan to shoot one video per week, so after a couple of months the rental costs add up.
 
B&H is the place to go to check latest prices on cameras, they tend to drop prices quicker than others. Plus when you buy from B&H you know where it's coming from, no need to worry about grey market items.
 
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