Surfing footage.

[the doc]

i am a keen surfer and looking to use the GH1 for some surfing footage at local beaches.

1) Any recommendations re lenses? I have the panacake 20mm, and the kit lens. The latter is obviously great in the good light that is usually present - but any recommendations for a lens that will work well at longer distances? Either a bigger zoom (preferably one that doesen't change aperture much as you go further) or a good telephoto?

2) Has anyone tried using the GH1 in an underwater housing out in the surf? How robust have you found it? What kind of housing? What lens did you use?

Cheers.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

i am a keen surfer and looking to use the GH1 for some surfing footage at local beaches.

1) Any recommendations re lenses? I have the panacake 20mm, and the kit lens. The latter is obviously great in the good light that is usually present - but any recommendations for a lens that will work well at longer distances? Either a bigger zoom (preferably one that doesen't change aperture much as you go further) or a good telephoto?

2) Has anyone tried using the GH1 in an underwater housing out in the surf? How robust have you found it? What kind of housing? What lens did you use?

Cheers.

From the shore, I briefly shot some surfers, perhaps 100 yds away. Felt the stock lens was 'too short'. Wanted my Nikon 200mm...

I was out on a jetty so i was a bit closer than normally for a shore shot...

I don't have an underwater housing for the camera... and further... don't surf so, can't tell how that would go...

 

[the doc]

100yrds would be normal - sometimes even further. May be a bit of zoom change as they move along a long wave... so looking for advice on a good lens for that type of set up.

I too find the kit lens to be a bit short for this kind of stuff.

 

[svecher]

Well, the kit lens is 140 mm (280 mm equivalent) on the long end, which is well into telephoto territory. If you need to go longer and must have autofocus your only option [currently] is the Panny 45-200 f/4-5.6 OIS. It's a native mFT lens, a stop faster than kit at equivalent focal ranges, has 400 mm reach (35 mm equivalent) at the long end and is optically stabilized. I took the following shot hand-held, wide open at the longest focal range one Big December day last year from a cliff in front of Pe'ahi on Maui. The distance is ~400 m.

Would like it to be sharper, but performance is quite acceptable for under $300 bucks. Supposedly, a yet longer telephoto zoom will be announced this Fall. It's a 100-300 f/4-5.6

AFAIK, no zoom lens, with the exception of 7-14 mm, that is autofocusable on Panasonic mFT bodies has constant apertures across the zoom range. Olympus makes a nice FT mount 90-250 f/2.8, but it costs $6K and will probably only focus on Olympus mFT bodies. Might as well look at some fast legacy Canon or Nikon glass.

 

[the doc]

Nice pic! Is that Jaws?

Good to hear reports on the panasonic lens - i wasn't sure if i could justify the cost for a lens not a world away from the kit one. that 100-300 however.... hmmm. Take it it will be expensive?

 

[svecher]

Nice pic! Is that Jaws?

Good to hear reports on the panasonic lens - i wasn't sure if i could justify the cost for a lens not a world away from the kit one. that 100-300 however.... hmmm. Take it it will be expensive?

Yes, it is. Extra points if you can guess who the pictured surfer is

Telephoto lenses are usually expensive, but I'm hoping that in the absence of a red dot and the other "L" word on the barrel the price of 100-300 will be reasonable. If it is under $500 I will consider getting one.

 

[the doc]

Hmmm - i could take a stab at it being Laird Hamilton?

Assuming I don't want to wait till Autumn - surely someone has a recommendation for another companies lens for this job (with adaptor.)

 

[svecher]

You are on a roll Doc

I've been perusing the Canon FD thread and found the following post intriguing.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=2072710&postcount=20. At 2.8 aperture its a 2 EV stop advantage over the 45-200 and will likely be sharper too. I see a couple of them listed for under $200 at a local shop. Also, I see several copies of 300 /F4 at a slightly higher price. A modern equivalent lens from Canon will cost many thousands ... Maybe I should go check 'em out

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Great pic. Please tell me you have 1080p video from that session? The surf was epic then.

You can tell it is Laird because of his giant wingspan and the way he holds his arms up so high.

You can always wait for this under water housing to get some great shots with the pancake. However, you wouldn’t catch me swimming out there in 40+ foot seas with $4000 worth of camera equipment.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/10/panasonic-gf1-is-ready-to-take-the-plunge-big-daddy-style-with-t/

Well, the kit lens is 140 mm (280 mm equivalent) on the long end, which is well into telephoto territory. If you need to go longer and must have autofocus your only option [currently] is the Panny 45-200 f/4-5.6 OIS. It's a native mFT lens, a stop faster than kit at equivalent focal ranges, has 400 mm reach (35 mm equivalent) at the long end and is optically stabilized. I took the following shot hand-held, wide open at the longest focal range one Big December day last year from a cliff in front of Pe'ahi on Maui. The distance is ~400 m.

 

[mpgxsvcd]

Here are some of the longer telephoto MF lenses I currently use. If you stack a couple of teleconverters on there on a very bright day you would have no trouble telling who the surfer was even from the other side of the island. The longest focal length I have taken videos at was 3200mm(35mm equivalent). You have to have a tripod for that though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cZ-w1qWdJY

 

[svecher]

Great pic. Please tell me you have 1080p video from that session? The surf was epic then.

It was EPIC indeed. Surfline did a nice feature with much better pics. Unfortunately, I don't have any HD footage. My friend who lives on the island took some nice footage with an SD video cam (can't remember which one now). I was taking stills with his G1. I only had a lowly G6 (the Canon one) at the time and fixed that mistake as quickly as I returned to the mainland. If am ever so lucky as to witness something like this again, I'm getting on one of those boats prepared ...

You can tell it is Laird because of his giant wingspan and the way he holds his arms up so high.

That and the helicopter didn't film a lot of other riders They probably took some nice HD footage by the way ...

You can always wait for this under water housing to get some great shots with the pancake. However, you wouldn’t catch me swimming out there in 40+ foot seas with $4000 worth of camera equipment.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/10/panasonic-gf1-is-ready-to-take-the-plunge-big-daddy-style-with-t/

I think that gadget is made for taking pictures of the fishes. Will be swimming with them going into the water on a day like that

 

[mpgxsvcd]

I don’t think I could keep my head above water on a calm day out there. I watched all of the surfline videos. They are very nicely done. I wish someone would make another surfing Blu-ray like Step Into Liquid. Those type of films just scream HD.

I think that gadget is made for taking pictures of the fishes. Will be swimming with them going into the water on a day like that

 

[svecher]

Here are some of the longer telephoto MF lenses I currently use. If you stack a couple of teleconverters on there on a very bright day you would have no trouble telling who the surfer was even from the other side of the island. The longest focal length I have taken videos at was 3200mm(35mm equivalent). You have to have a tripod for that though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cZ-w1qWdJY

Wow, that 400mm thing looks insane. Interestingly, as much talk as there is about negative effects of 2x crop factor of mFT cameras on the wide end, there is very little talk about the positive effects on the long end. Normally, when using a 2x teleconverter 2EV stops are lost. However, mFT cameras have a "built-in" 2x teleconverter with no light loss. To get an equivalent focal range and speed on a full-frame camera to the $300 one you have one would have to deal with this beast that costs over $10K

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

Wow, that 400mm thing looks insane. Interestingly, as much talk as there is about negative effects of 2x crop factor of mFT cameras on the wide end, there is very little talk about the positive effects on the long end. Normally, when using a 2x teleconverter 2EV stops are lost. However, mFT cameras have a "built-in" 2x teleconverter with no light loss. To get an equivalent focal range and speed on a full-frame camera to the $300 one you have one would have to deal with this beast that costs over $10K

Junior Paparazzi Special... yes you to can spy on the celebs with greater detail than pros with 10's of 1000's of dollars worth of equipment...