GH3 The GH3: The advances continue!

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pulpfiction007

Veteran
I sat down today to do some research and was truly amazed by what I had found. That for $1299, a person can order the 2nd most advanced *DSLR video camera in the world. I'm conceding that 1st place goes to the $12,999 (price at B and H) 1DC. Emphasis on video
I am basing the word advanced on the video specs they offer, not subjective IQ....because many would argue in favor of the MK2/MK3, Nikon D800 and many other cameras based upon that alone. No other video/stills camera offers 1920x1080@60P (along with a huge selection of other frame rates and qualities) AND a *very robust ALL I codec other than the 1DC. The MK3 only goes to 30P. The D800 only goes to 30p and doesn't offer an ALL I option. By formats alone, the 1DC only has one that the GH3 doesn't offer- of course it's a big one: 4K recording at 24P. The 1DC also has the flexibility to record what is essentially vista vision OR super35 in full hd.
Both cameras have the ALL I options, time code, headphone jacks, external audio options, magnesium alloy construction, weather sealing, etc. The GH3 even has 2 things in it's favor for filming in cramped spaces or situations where one cannot have a bigger set up- A working view finder and an articulating screen.
The point that I am making is not to fault Canon or any other company (lord knows that the 1DC will be a low light/dynamic range king) but to give kudos to the Panasonic consumer division for really advancing the game. I urge them to continue with this gem known as the GH series on to 4K and beyond!

*I realize the GH3 isn't technically a DSLR
*According to the always reliable Phillip Bloom
 
On paper nothing means anything........ Let's wait till the camera is out, then hacked. That's what we will know what can/cannot be done.
 
From the early samples, Gh3 has visibly better DR than the Gh2, not a huge difference, but noticable. May be some minor issues with video aliasing due to the higher stills resolution and less aggressive OLPF, but so far it is looking very good, certainly as good as anything else in its price range. Weather proofing alone is worth the upgrade to me. The GH3 is on my Christmas shopping list for now. I am not buying another camera, still or video, that isn't reasonably well weatherized out of the box.
We will see how well it fares with the final release software, but I am not sure it would be worth the risk of hacking it for most since it does have two different high bit rate codecs, including an I-frame version.
 
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Specs may mean "nothing" on paper but if the quality of the GH2 gives us any sort of indication, the GH3 will be incredible. There is one spec though that DOES mean a lot; that's the 72mb/s i-frame H.264 recording and 1080/60p (50mb/s i-frame H.264) is just the sweet sweet frosting on top. That alone makes this camer "better" than a C300 in my opinion since all of the magic in film occurs in post-production anyway. Now we can should this video far more than we ever could with the GH2.

We've already pre-ordered a GH3, 35-100 lens and DP7-High Bright field monitor in prep for assuming this will be our new B-cam for filming pretty much everything. Depending on how good it looks after grading, it might actually become our A-cam :cheesy: Crazy world.
 
You would not be able to tell the difference between the GH2 and GH3 if they weren't labeled, unless you were looking for moiree. You can great a great deal on a GH2 right now and have a great camera.
 
The GH3 has me thinking! I just got the 35-100 and it's a keeper! No iris flick on the GH2 when zooming. OIS is rock solid. pair this with the 12-35 and I now have a nice kit. Heck this might end up being my A cam!
 
Kindredmachine said:
Specs may mean "nothing" on paper but if the quality of the GH2 gives us any sort of indication, the GH3 will be incredible. There is one spec though that DOES mean a lot; that's the 72mb/s i-frame H.264 recording and 1080/60p (50mb/s i-frame H.264) is just the sweet sweet frosting on top. That alone makes this camer "better" than a C300 in my opinion since all of the magic in film occurs in post-production anyway. Now we can should this video far more than we ever could with the GH2.

We've already pre-ordered a GH3, 35-100 lens and DP7-High Bright field monitor in prep for assuming this will be our new B-cam for filming pretty much everything. Depending on how good it looks after grading, it might actually become our A-cam :cheesy: Crazy world.
Click to expand...

What's your current A-cam?
 
I can totally tell the deference between GH2 and GH3 footage that I have seen on Vimeo.

The GH3 looks alot sharper and has better colors. BUT I have also seen some funky strobing motion (could be strange shutter angles) My big fear is Panasoinc decided what we all really wanted was high reselotion at the cost of smooth motion. I will find out soon as I plan I getting a GH3 as soon as it becomes available.
 
Erik Naso said:
The GH3 has me thinking! I just got the 35-100 and it's a keeper! No iris flick on the GH2 when zooming. OIS is rock solid. pair this with the 12-35 and I now have a nice kit. Heck this might end up being my A cam!
Click to expand...

The lenses I agree with. Sort of. tele res on the 35-100 is not impressive in one test I studied. But why would you say "Heck this might end up being my A cam!"
I'm digging my heels in till they fix the easy fixes,otherwise the GH2 is a fine transitional.
An 'A Cam' has to cover 4:2:2 or decent color grading in post is not going to be easy. Based on the icky yellow cast this camera seems to generate, color grading will be a must as is.
 
bitcrusher said:
I can totally tell the deference between GH2 and GH3 footage that I have seen on Vimeo.

The GH3 looks alot sharper and has better colors. BUT I have also seen some funky strobing motion (could be strange shutter angles) My big fear is Panasoinc decided what we all really wanted was high reselotion at the cost of smooth motion. I will find out soon as I plan I getting a GH3 as soon as it becomes available.
Click to expand...

In case you haven't noticed, Panasonic have indeed erred on the side of the still image on the 'hybrid' GH3. I'm guessing thier target market is the same as for the Olympus OM-D - Travel Enthusiasts tweaking in 'Lightroom' versus Independent film makers editing in FCS/AE/Premier etc.

They will be sorry when too many that were counting on the GH3 erring on the video side will simply knock on Olympus' door....
"Gimme that Prosumer MFT camera NOW"

We shall see.... when shipping GH3's are in the wild in North America
 
I depart the country on December 6th for a job, part of which the GH3 appears to be near perfectly spec'ed for (B-Roll in potentially dodgy locations), so count on it hitting the USA on the 7th.
 
Zephyrnoid said:
The lenses I agree with. Sort of. tele res on the 35-100 is not impressive in one test I studied. But why would you say "Heck this might end up being my A cam!"
I'm digging my heels in till they fix the easy fixes,otherwise the GH2 is a fine transitional.
An 'A Cam' has to cover 4:2:2 or decent color grading in post is not going to be easy. Based on the icky yellow cast this camera seems to generate, color grading will be a must as is.
Click to expand...

Because for me it's not a A-Cam. B-Roll and stills is what the GH2 is for me. I did shoot some reviews with it and that looked great. I love the GH2 but it has its place as a tool for my workflow.
I don't need 4:2:2 all the time. In fact my AF-100 has and is serving me well without an external recorder. YMMV. I always grade but I like to get the most out the image and it's not an issue at all. Holds up just fine. I always preserve the highlights when I shoot so grading is easy. Enhance instead of fix.
Anyway I'm stoked about the GH3. Looks to be a winner.
 
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