GH3 so... is the GH3 an unreliable piece of crap, or no?
- Thread starter mcbob
- Start date
I've dropped my GH3 in a stream. I've been hit by a wave in hawaii holding it. I've had it over 6 months. Keeps on ticking. And I know the vids are great..but damn so are the stills. 2x better then gh2. Only thing evf could be better..works with my left eye...but not my right..too precise..anyways a little crappy long movie of the gh3 here I made:
http://vimeo.com/81120081
Ianscreations
Well-known member
My hot shoe has been kind of loose for a week or so.
Today during a photography shoot with a flash mounted, the entire metal piece just came off.
Lovely.
Not I have to send this in to service.
Fortunately, I had a backup GH3 body and this is just barely under warranty.
Today during a photography shoot with a flash mounted, the entire metal piece just came off.
Lovely.
Not I have to send this in to service.
Fortunately, I had a backup GH3 body and this is just barely under warranty.
...which has bigger issues than either of them (said from professional experience with all 3)? Interesting.
Ian, always willing to lend you a cam if you need a 2nd for anything over the repair time
agreed, not too happy with the pan jitters. I get it with all my lumix OIS lenses, can really ruin a shot.
my hotshoe came loose within a month of use. Had to send it in for repairs. efv sucks balls, when on AFC half press focus does the jelly dance. other than that I love it. definitely a rushed camera.
I've held of getting a second body. will wait for the GH4 =)
my hotshoe came loose within a month of use. Had to send it in for repairs. efv sucks balls, when on AFC half press focus does the jelly dance. other than that I love it. definitely a rushed camera.
I've held of getting a second body. will wait for the GH4 =)
Oller Visuals
Well-known member
The EVF is the worst I've seen in any camera at this price range. It's unusable imo. Other than that, I'm just about to go and pick up my HD IPS monitor at the post office, and this sweet camera will be ready for some serious action! (I hope...)
Bern Caughey
Veteran
My GH3s have been worked hard & always produced. Both their LCDs are loose, but this is due to abuse.
The EVF is near useless for manual focus, so I use Varavon loupes, but note these block the headphone jack when it's pointed upwards.
I almost always have a dedicated SoundPerson, but for those occasions when I need onboard I've switched to Shure's mic with built-in recorder & headphone jack.
http://www.varavon.com/product/loupe_gh3.html
http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/vp/vp83f
Never noted OIS jitters with the 12-35, 35-100, or (2nd generation) 14-140.
Overall I think it's a great camera, much better than the GH2, so travels with me no matter the primary camera platform. We've cut it together with Alexa on big national TV commercials & nobody was the wiser.
The EVF is near useless for manual focus, so I use Varavon loupes, but note these block the headphone jack when it's pointed upwards.
I almost always have a dedicated SoundPerson, but for those occasions when I need onboard I've switched to Shure's mic with built-in recorder & headphone jack.
http://www.varavon.com/product/loupe_gh3.html
http://www.shure.com/americas/products/microphones/vp/vp83f
Never noted OIS jitters with the 12-35, 35-100, or (2nd generation) 14-140.
Overall I think it's a great camera, much better than the GH2, so travels with me no matter the primary camera platform. We've cut it together with Alexa on big national TV commercials & nobody was the wiser.
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Rolf Silber
Veteran
Hmmm ... sometimes I am under the expression that at times people may just pan a bit too fast for the focal length they are using - so such pans become jittery for reasons of good old physical laws, not problems of a camera. But - I am old school.
I agree. You are always going to get a jitter when doing fast pans and shooting at 24 or 25p. It happens with film cameras, digital cinema cameras, you see it at the cinema.............
The GH3 'jitters' are consistent with any camera shooting progressive.
Rolf Silber
Veteran
And I am under the impression that when I write before I had my morning-espresso I sometimes express myself impressively wrong.... "Am under the expression" .... Ha! 
Mike_Raddport
Well-known member
How do you like the 2nd gen 14-140?
Bern Caughey
Veteran
I like it better than the 1st.
OIS & auto-focus seem improved. Zoom ring is smoother too. And it's all black.
But the main reason I switched was the 58mm filter size. The 12-35mm & 35-100mm are my workhorses (for m4/3) & they too are 58mm, so one set of filters (NDs, VNDs, UVs, & Polarizer) gets shared among them (everything is fitted via Xume Adapters so quick to employ).
I just got a GH3 yesterday, and I have to admit Im extremely disappointed with the rear screen. Coming from the 60D, which had an immaculate rear screen, this one is pretty low resolution and has TERRIBLE color reproduction. In low light I see banding and false color and general ugliness. Really a bummer. And then the EVF, wow. Color is good, except reds are almost orange, and you have to concentrate so hard on keeping your eye in the absolute perfect position to avoid smear and see the whole frame that you cant focus on taking the f---ing photo. Add in the annoyance that you cant have separate picture styles set for photo and video modes, and Im fairly upset.
I hope I can get used to it all, because the video quality is definitely better than my 60D.
I hope I can get used to it all, because the video quality is definitely better than my 60D.
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I found smearing reduced considerably on evf with technique. In past I would just jam my eyeball into an evf; but the GH3 is simply fussier. I found if I actually pull my eye back a tiny bit..just barely touching the eyecup with eyebrow sort of closeness I get a clean image. Overall very happy with the GH3; and the fact that stills look twice as good as the GH2 is a bonus. Ergonomically way better as well as my hands are not tiny hobbit like things. Weather sealed and 60fps in 1080p...plus plus.
Yes I have become a little more accustomed to the EVF now, but it is still slightly annoying. But the rear screen is really just disappointing. Looks great when not shooting in low light, but even then you can see some banding in darker areas. Its weird.
Bruce Foreman
Veteran
It all boils down to an individual's "flexibility". The Canon 7D had a pretty good detailed LCD; T*i series, and 60D got better and actually had a pretty rich LCD image. But out in daylight you had to use a loupe to see it well enough to take advantage of it, that was your only viewfinder in video mode.
The GH2 with it's pretty good EVF really helped for me, but the LCD was like taking 7 steps backward from the Canons. With the GH3 they made the EVF optical system smaller it seems. Before cataract surgery I had to wear eyeglasses and my degree of astigmatism made it really difficult to get my eye "in the channel". It's easier now because I no longer have to wear eyeglasses for baseline distance vision.
The point is this: In my professional photo days, I had to "interface" with a lot of different gear, I didn't really have the luxury of wanting to only use my "favorite". In my own studio I could stick with Mamiya RBs or Hasselblad, but working for the air force I often had to use what they supplied.
So I could pick up damn near anything and go out on assignment, coming back with pretty much desired results.
When I used to teach Defensive Handgun I had to be able to take whatever my students brought to class and demonstrate technique with their choice. My personal favorite was Colt's Lightweight Commander in .45ACP, but I had to be able to take the student's Glock, Springfield XD, revolver, or whatever and show them how to place "holes" on target fairly quickly with their gear.
Adaptability can be a definite plus. The GH3 was a different animal from what I expected but I work with a pair of them now as my primary camera and they get results for me.
The GH2 with it's pretty good EVF really helped for me, but the LCD was like taking 7 steps backward from the Canons. With the GH3 they made the EVF optical system smaller it seems. Before cataract surgery I had to wear eyeglasses and my degree of astigmatism made it really difficult to get my eye "in the channel". It's easier now because I no longer have to wear eyeglasses for baseline distance vision.
The point is this: In my professional photo days, I had to "interface" with a lot of different gear, I didn't really have the luxury of wanting to only use my "favorite". In my own studio I could stick with Mamiya RBs or Hasselblad, but working for the air force I often had to use what they supplied.
So I could pick up damn near anything and go out on assignment, coming back with pretty much desired results.
When I used to teach Defensive Handgun I had to be able to take whatever my students brought to class and demonstrate technique with their choice. My personal favorite was Colt's Lightweight Commander in .45ACP, but I had to be able to take the student's Glock, Springfield XD, revolver, or whatever and show them how to place "holes" on target fairly quickly with their gear.
Adaptability can be a definite plus. The GH3 was a different animal from what I expected but I work with a pair of them now as my primary camera and they get results for me.
One of my GH3s is at McAllen for repair for working one day and the next, I couldn't turn it on. No power, no nothing. Finally received an update on it today that a screw fell out inside that holds the battery compartment to the main unit. The tech said that it was an old design that's been replaced so they're waiting for parts. I hope my other GH3 doesn't also have this issue and one day, it'll just stop working. My warranty expired by 2-3 days but luckily, Panasonic gave a 30-day grace so it was covered. Just FYI to all you GH3 owners out there.
Ianscreations
Well-known member
My camera is also back there. I have two GH3s and between them have been serviced three times within a year.