T2i Should I sell my GH1 for the T2i??

[Ian-T]

Um Polarjee...don't be disuaded on FD to EOS lens. There are many adapters out there that are cheap and allow you to focus to infinity. Quite a few folks on these boards are using them. I have not used any (yet) myself but I'm sure you kknow that there is always some kind of hit to IQ when you start adding more elements on top of what you already have. How much of a hit? It will vary....probably from barely to enough. Here are some links where you can find some:

http://cgi.ebay.com/FD-LENS-TO-CANO...ItemQQptZLens_Accessories?hash=item3efcfae954

http://cgi.ebay.com/Canon-FD-Lens-t...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item414bee2eba

http://cgi.ebay.com/CANON-FD-Lens-t...ItemQQptZLens_Accessories?hash=item35a32842d7

 

[shaocaholica]

...but I really only have one lens I really like which was the 50mm 1.4

50/1.4s are a dime a dozen in any mount (except maybe Leica). I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[Ian-T]

I tell you what...I have a Pentax Super Takumura lens 50 1.4 that I have been using and I love it. You should check out Vimeo for them and other Pentax lens. This one is under $100 most of the time.

 

[Martti Ekstrand]

I would better like to hear/read from someone who has owned both cameras such as myself.

You wish. My command.

I've owned a GH1 for 6 weeks and I owned a 7D for 72 hours. As a fan of Canon lenses (I have 11) I fully intended to replace the GH1 with the 7D. I even had a buyer for my GH1.

After several hours of shooting 1080P with the 7D in daylight then again the following morning before dawn, I returned the camera for credit.

Analyzing the 7D's video files on broadcast monitors showed a resolution that I sincerely believe is less than 600 horizontal lines. On any scene element that is horizontal or near to horizontal, the camera exhibits the worst aliasing that I've ever seen in any camera... and I've worked with a lot of cameras. In addition to all this, the 7D adds a moire rainbow pattern to areas of horizontal detail.

There is no question in my mind that the 7D is a better still camera than the GH1, but it simply doesn't produce acceptable 1080P video that can be cut into programming that was shot on broadcast HD cameras. With proper setup (smooth setting, contrast -2, color 0, sharpness 0, NR -2) we've shot scenes with the GH1 that are perfectly acceptable for integration into broadcast projects.

Forum members (and Canon) have indicated problems with the 7D's 720 setting. If you're sincerely concerned about the visual quality and potential marketability of your projects, forget 720P. As bad as the GH1's AVCHD codec is, the camera simply looks better at 1080 than it does at 720. It's not that hard to remove the 3-2 pulldown and edit on a 23.976 timeline. If you want to release for the web or whatever in 720, 1080P down-samples to a great looking 720P. 720P (from these DSLR's) doesn't hold up when up-sampled to 1080. I don't want to stir up a hornets' nest, but 720P is rarely (if ever) the format of choice for major TV spot production or post-production.

Here's an example of 2 minutes of "B-Roll" footage from the GH1. Some of these scenes will be used as transition elements for an upcoming episode of a comedy TV series and as the BG behind closing credits. I down-sampled the 1080P to quarter size 960x540 H264. There is no storyline, just a series of shots that the editor will use. I shot the scenes at ISO 800, 400, & 200 using Canon 85mm F1.2, 135mm F2, 50mm F1.4, and a Nikon 35mm F2 lenses. The only "filters" used were Final Cut's 3 way color corrector and broadcast safe filter. I put it on our server for a couple days so you won't be looking at crappy, re-compressed, Flash video.

http://www.przyborski.com/HD_movies/B-Roll_GH1-960x540_H264b.mov

Przyborski Productions
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
www.przyborski.com

Oh, and in case you don't know Glenn's merits then along being a fine cinematographer for decades he also holds two base patents on 24P video technology that are licensed by Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Thomson and others.

 

[Ben_B]

Do you have ANY idea how many EFS and EF lenses they are? You would literally never own or probably use them all so this whole talk about lenses to me is mute.

My point is that the EF lenses are pretty expensive for what you get for video shooting compared to FD lenses and old Nikon lenses so you can save a lot of money by either using Nikons on your T2i or by shopping around for all the lenses available for the GH1...if you find a great price the mount won't hold you back.

Also call me paranoid, but I don't really trust Canon because of the EF lenses...when they switched to that mount they left everyone who had built up big collections of FDs out in the cold...I am not confident that 5-10 years from now they won't decide: hey, let's do a new mount again, and screw everyone over. I know Nikon won't do that

 

[Ben_B]

Ben is exaggerating but it's true that Canon are a tad optimistic in their sensor ISO ratings and Panasonic are equally conservative. At least according to DXO Labs. They have measure tests showing that GH1 at 400 is nearly as sensitive as 7D at 800 - 591 vs 624 - this holds up pretty well through the range. They haven't done a test with the final T2i/550D yet but the pre-production model looked pretty similar to 7D. Click on ISO Sensitivity here:

http://dxomark.com/index.php/eng/Im...rand)/Panasonic/(brand2)/Canon/(brand3)/Canon

Hmmm interesting data. I believe Illya Friedman said that the Gh1's ISO 100 was ASA 640 so that's what I was basing my statement on, and also when I was at the Philip Bloom meetup in San Rafael I was shooting with an open f/1.8 lens at ISO 800 and my camera was reading exposed...a guy with the 7D was shooting at ISO 5000 and an open f/1.8 lens and his read exposed. Phil laughed at the 7D guy's ISO 5000 but didn't believe me till I showed him that my GH1 was managing in that light at ISO 800...so I suppose the difference lies somewhere in the middle lol.

 

[N.E.S.]

You wish. My command.



Oh, and in case you don't know Glenn's merits then along being a fine cinematographer for decades he also holds two base patents on 24P video technology that are licensed by Canon, Panasonic, Sony, Thomson and others.

:violin:


Sounds good on paper, I just had a great shoot yesterday and my T2i minus some few things went lovely. So I'm starting my own trend here, I respect those before me but I'm forming my own name and work with no rules and learn as I go.


Different is key and I'm happy and I'm also off to an amazing start! So people enjoy whatever camera you have and just make the best of your tools........

 

[Lee Wilson]

Do you have ANY idea how many EFS and EF lenses they are? You would literally never own or probably use them all so this whole talk about lenses to me is mute.

'moot'


[/pedant] :cheesy:

 

[Gene Sung]

I remember not too long ago I was debating between the 7D and the GH1. I ended up with the 7D (Which is absolutely GREAT). The T2i seems like an even better deal for video.

As a company, Canon just seems to be way more into their DSLRs that Panavision. It pretty obvious that Canon played their cards a lot better than Panavision with the DSLR thing, because they seem to listen to what people want and give the DSLR community what they need a bit more. Panavision just seems to have deaf ears. The result is they've sold a trillion 7Ds and now the T2i.

Back then, reading the GH1 forum, it just seemed that many people were disgruntled (especially about the Codec), while most people on the 7D side seems to be very happy, which was also a big factor.

Finally, I work in LA in the TV industry and the 7D is used for a lot of real projects. I worked on the NBC Prime Time rebrand (a HUGE project), and nearly EVERYONE on their Primetime shows (from Leno to Chevy Chase to Conan) was videoed on the 5D. The footage looked really great and it just blew my mind that NBC would trust their entire Prime Time re-brand to a DSLR. That speaks volumes IMO, especially since the re-brand is played over and over every single night.

 

[shaocaholica]

Also call me paranoid, but I don't really trust Canon because of the EF lenses...when they switched to that mount they left everyone who had built up big collections of FDs out in the cold...

I'd have to disagree. The EF mount is fantastic. It has the shortest registration distance and largest diameter of all the modern SLR systems making it perfect for adapting. I'm also a big fan of electronic focus and aperture control moving into the future. And I'm not even a Canon user primarily although I also see the merits of keeping the same mount a la Nikon F which I also enjoy for different reasons like being able to mount 40 year old non AI lenses on my D700.

Quite honestly, the FD mount was a pain in the ass. I'm not saying the lenses were bad, just the damn mount.

 

[Ben_B]

I remember not too long ago I was debating between the 7D and the GH1. I ended up with the 7D (Which is absolutely GREAT). The T2i seems like an even better deal for video.

As a company, Canon just seems to be way more into their DSLRs that Panavision. It pretty obvious that Canon played their cards a lot better than Panavision with the DSLR thing, because they seem to listen to what people want and give the DSLR community what they need a bit more. Panavision just seems to have deaf ears. The result is they've sold a trillion 7Ds and now the T2i.

Back then, reading the GH1 forum, it just seemed that many people were disgruntled (especially about the Codec), while most people on the 7D side seems to be very happy, which was also a big factor.

Finally, I work in LA in the TV industry and the 7D is used for a lot of real projects. I worked on the NBC Prime Time rebrand (a HUGE project), and nearly EVERYONE on their Primetime shows (from Leno to Chevy Chase to Conan) was videoed on the 5D. The footage looked really great and it just blew my mind that NBC would trust their entire Prime Time re-brand to a DSLR. That speaks volumes IMO, especially since the re-brand is played over and over every single night.

Panasonic not Panavision.

Hey do you know what Community shoots on? I'm really curious, it looks great.

 

[Ben_B]

I'd have to disagree. The EF mount is fantastic. It has the shortest registration distance and largest diameter of all the modern SLR systems making it perfect for adapting. I'm also a big fan of electronic focus and aperture control moving into the future. And I'm not even a Canon user primarily although I also see the merits of keeping the same mount a la Nikon F which I also enjoy for different reasons like being able to mount 40 year old non AI lenses on my D700.

Quite honestly, the FD mount was a pain in the ass. I'm not saying the lenses were bad, just the damn mount.

Totally agree on the FD...I love the Nikons though, and I really dislike the electronic aperture control. Part of the reason is that I like to be able to know that I can use the glass on different systems...Canon has basically designed it so that you're stuck with Canon if you invest in their glass...with Nikon you can build up a huge Nikon glass collection and go back and forth on bodies to whomever happens to have the best at the time...even the Nikon lenses without aperture rings use a physical control method and can be controlled with the proper adaptor.