The Panasonic G1HD | GH-1 Video Mode : A Real Video Mode

Kholi said:
I thought it wouldn't work in video mode but the trick is to enable it in Manual or Custom mode and then it works across everything.

I found that out when I enabled ISO 1/3 increments and it ported over to Video/Movie mode, but the option for it is NOT in Movie Mode's menus.

For reference: Each setting seems to have it's own set of menus, with Custom having the most settings to tinker with and Movie mode the least. Seems as though most of the Custom settings effect the way Manual Movie Mode works as well.

Recording video is available in all modes as well aside from one, which I can't remember. Even the automatic adjustments the camera makes are pretty spot on.
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Kholi,

As I read this, I can't help think how feature rich this camera is. It appears as though they through in the whole kitchen sink. I'm sure over the next few months we'll still be discovering new tricks in this camera.....

I swear this is the new DVX/indie cam....

Canon must feel real stupid with that lame Ti Rebel 20fps joke of blah blah blah camrea.....
 
xmephestox said:
with lens adapter you lose all your autofocus options correct? and how do things look without the OIS system with 3rd party lenses?
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Some of the adapted four thirds lenses can autofocus on the camera, but with other system lenses you're in manual focus mode...

Brining up OIS brings up a good point... Olympus, a micro-four thirds partner with panasonic, puts OIS in its bodies. It would be interesting if Olympus did a "real" cinema camera in this format, with OIS that worked with all lenses..... but at this point Olympus has not said anything officially about any Micro-four thirds cameras, let alone a video oriented one, though they have shown off a prototype of a rangefinder styled camera.
 
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PappasArts said:
Kholi,

As I read this, I can't help think how feature rich this camera is. It appears as though they through in the whole kitchen sink. I'm sure over the next few months we'll still be discovering new tricks in this camera.....

I swear this is the new DVX/indie cam....

Canon must feel real stupid with that lame Ti Rebel 20fps joke of blah blah blah camrea.....
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To be dead honest, it's the first camera that deserves the moniker of "The New DVX". I think once this sucker hits the US it's officially game over.

Canon HAD it, dude. Canon SERIOUSLY had it. I dunno why or whator how but man, I was seriously counting on Canon to pull through and NOTHING. Canon's cut-throat tenacity that was shown with the HV20, HF10, XH-A1 vs H1 (You remember that? when the A1 came out and people were like "wtf? Why do I need an H1 anyway!? I don't change the lenses!")... CANON did that!!!

But of ALL companies, Panasonic did it. I never in a million would have ever guessed Panasonic would be the one to truly break the ice, and now-- as far as the video is concerned with DSLRS-- the others have big shoes to fill.

Even with the Nikon having manual controls, jello city, lens selection limitations, 720/24P only.

Even witht he Canon gaining manual controls, jello city, 1080/30P only, Full Frame limitations on glass. Better in lowlight than the rest by far, though.

The GH-1 has 1080/24P, 720/60P (slow mo), 720/30P, Near 35mm sized sensor, incredible options for lensing, nearly non-existant Jello, An AWESOME kit Lens that's silent and snappy on focus, incredible Auto Focus features, Articulating LCD, Audio Input, have I missed anything?

Whatever gripes I have about aliasing are fixed when I watch the footage back on a large LCD. I'm sure they'll be fixed in the near future.

It's just bad-ass, man. But I COULD be totally wrong. Always room for that.
 
There are 5D Mark II cameras in production in studios and sets all over. It's confirmed to be in use on the Iron Man II film and reports are strong of a firmware in active testing. The camera was all over the floor at NAB and even the Canon representatives are optimistic. The 5D Mark II has many advantages and is still a very powerful tool in the right hands.

Who knows, maybe we will see nothing. Don't hold your breath, but don't count them out just yet.
 
Kholi said:
It's just bad-ass, man. But I COULD be totally wrong. Always room for that.
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You could be wrong about the GH1 being bad-ass??? Is that what you're saying???

Well, I hope you're right.

Can you explain something to me Kholi (different topic) - you've mentioned several times that you favor 720 60p on the GH1. I'm about to reveal my ignorance when it comes to HD. I figured you were talking about 720x480, but I read this blurb about the GH1 on Amazon ...

"The DMC-GH1 can record high-resolution full-HD 1920 x 1080 movies at 24 fps or smooth HD 1280 x 720 movies at 60 fps in AVCHD (MPEG-4/H.264) format."

I've never heard of "smooth HD 1280 x 720." How can HD be 1280 x 720??? Care you enlighten me?
 
Kholi said:
I'm awake I'm awake....

Okay, all things considered, while the aliasing gets my goat, when viewed straight out of my PStripla (PS3, Playstation 3) to a 42" 1080P Samsung HD LCD, I can't really see it.

That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, It just means it's not a MAJOR issue, but I'd like to see it corrected in the near future.

With that said, I still await my Contax and Nikon adapters arrival and I'll move on from this aliasing thing to wrap up my personal lessons with this camera.
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Hey Kholi,

I've built up a collection of Contax lenses over the past few months, but haven't decided what platform to go for; 35mm adaptor, 5D, etc. What are you using your Contax's for?

Peter
 
powervideo said:
Hey Kholi,

I've built up a collection of Contax lenses over the past few months, but haven't decided what platform to go for; 35mm adaptor, 5D, etc. What are you using your Contax's for?

Peter
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I bought my Contax for my 35mm Adapter, usually use them on that. Glad to be able to port them over to the GH-1!

Finster -- 1280 x 720 is a Hi Definition format. 1920 x 1080 is considered "Full HD".

Daniel L -- 5D On Iron man II for... footage or stills? Again, the MK ii is still awesome, but it lacks in several areas as far as video goes. Stills are an entirely different topic. I would be surprised if they were using the MK ii for anything more than plates. If it were a RED that would be a different story.

Just about any video acquisition device is a powerful tool in the right hand as well. That's a blanket statement that applies to a DVX100B as much as it does a MKii.

If the MKii suddenly acquires 24P and Manual Controls that will, undoubtedly, be enough to make things extremely complicated. Even for myself.

But I don't see it happening and the GH-1 is here, now. Well it will be in a matter of weeks.
 
Kholi said:
Daniel L -- 5D On Iron man II for... footage or stills? Again, the MK ii is still awesome, but it lacks in several areas as far as video goes. Stills are an entirely different topic. I would be surprised if they were using the MK ii for anything more than plates. If it were a RED that would be a different story.
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Maybe you are right.. but..

With all due respect, I think you are being way too picky. The camera footage already found it's way into theatrical feature films, TV shows, network commercials, and is praised by a number producers and directors for the video quality. In fact, you may have already seen it cut with the RED or 35mm and never even noticed.

I don't mean to steer this discussion off topic. There are a lot of resources online on the subject but here is a link concerning Iron Man II:
http://www.tvguide.com/celebrity-blogs/ghost-whisperer-producers-1004078.aspx
 
Kholi said:
TCanon HAD it, dude. Canon SERIOUSLY had it. I dunno why or whator how but man, I was seriously counting on Canon to pull through and NOTHING.
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I think to understand why this is such a good cinema camera, look at its predecessor, the G1, and think about it as a photography camera.

The digital photography age is well into its second decade. What are Canon and Nikon shipping? SLRs. SLRS with digital sensors, of course, but really not much different from ther cameras they were selling in the 1970s-- and to the same crowd. (Well, their children now too.)

So, what does Panasonic, oh great manufacturer of microwaves do? They haven't been selling cameras since the 1950s. They don't want to be a bit player, so they looked at the camera market, saw what was working from an IQ viewpoint and what was not working.

Large sensors, give better IQ, but DSLRs are like 2-3 times as large as film SLRs, with lots of features and high prices to boot.

My first Nikon cost $149. And that was a camera that was at least assembled by hand. While there's been inflation ,digital technology is deflationary-- every year performance at the same price goes up. Now what does a Nikon DSLR cost? How huge is it?

They have established markets with reams of fans who are dedicated and very loyal. Try talking about something other than Canon in some camcorder circles and you'll be considered nothing short of a heretic.

These companies are not going to put out a good cinema camera in the next year. They aren't even thinking about it. The video mode is just a way to throw in a cheap feature and show off their stills cameras.

They're not hungry at all. Panasonic, a bit player in the SLR market is hungry.

And they saw an opportunity to bring some real innovation to the market-- get rid of the mirror. This is the digital age, why are we putting electromechanical devices in digital cameras to swing a stupid mirror up and down? Get rid of the pentaprism. Why have an expensive to manufacture optical component when you can get better results from the sensor?

Why manufacture a needlessly large behemoth of a camera (apparently the "Fans" of these manufacturers think the bigger the camera the more "professional" it is?) when you can make the camera small, light, portable like a Point & Shoot--- the segment that sells in huge volumes-- but give it a huge sensor like the DSLRs?

Their goal-- and they've been pretty successful is to win over the Point & Shoot crowd who would like the advantages of a DSLR but don't want the bulk, expense and complexity.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 won the Camera of the Year from Photography (I think) magazine. Its been apparently selling rather well.

Its also the first of its kind in a new formfactor with the advantages of the DSLR in image quality without the disadvantages that have kept the DSLR a niche market.

Samsung is hungry. Probably culturally they are very hungry, but they see the advantages of a new formfactor. Its really too bad they didn't go with Micro-Four Thirds. Three companies behind it would give it a great shot at becoming dominant-- rather than having to compete with another mirrorless formfactor. Maybe this time next year Samsung will be coming out with a video camera. I don't think they'll do it out of the gate-- the NX may have a video mode, maybe even likely, but it will be tacked on. The G1 came out in September of 2008, and 8 months later we have the GH1. So maybe Samsung can follow suit.

But Nikon and Canon are more interested in fighting with each other... neither of them is going to introduce a mirrorless design. A year from now one of them may introduce a real cinema camera in this formfactor.

But can you imagine a year from now going with a movie camera that has a stupid mirror that swings up?

Ok, this has been a bit of a rant. No offense meant to anybody-- I like Nikon as a company and I have nothing against Canon.

But they're not hungry. They aren't motivated to innovate. Not yet, anyway.
 
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Then I'm being picky. It's being picky that brought 24P to Video World in the first place. If we weren't picky we'd still be shooting VHS. Righty?

They can use a MKii for a webseries, sure. People can also be satisfied with the workarounds you have to do to trick the shutter, etc etc etc.

If I see MKii footage in Iron Man I'm sure i'll be impressed. But I saw the HVX200 on Cloverfield... I saw DVX100's being used on Richard Linklater productions for plates.

And I won't have an MKii unless the key workarounds are fixed: 24P and Manual Controls. And even then it won't be a straight-away purchase.

That's just me, your mileage may-- and probably does-- vary.
 
Finster said:
I've never heard of "smooth HD 1280 x 720." How can HD be 1280 x 720??? Care you enlighten me?
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There are two formats for HD-- 1080 which is a 1920x1080 resolution frame, and 720 which is a 1280x720 frame.

"Smooth HD" seems to be marketing speak for 60 frames per second. Apparently some people prefer 60p over 24p.

The GH1 will also shoot lower resolution images, including 848x480 at 30fps which might be a nice basis for Standard Definition footage.
 
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Kholi said:
And I won't have an MKii unless the key workarounds are fixed: 24P and Manual Controls. And even then it won't be a straight-away purchase.
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I'm not suggesting you should use it. To each his own :)

But it will be interesting to see what happens next.
 
Can't get rid of it under Sodium VApor and Fluorescents.

But I haven't tried 60P? I wonder if that makes a difference.
 
LizaWitz said:
There are two formats for HD-- 1080 which is a 1920x1080 resolution frame, and 720 which is a 1280x720 frame.
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I'm still a little confused. I mean, 1280x720 is SMALLER than 1920x1080, so on a HDTV is must not look as good, right???

I realize that HDTV resolution is 1080 or 720 lines. What happens, though, when you play 1280x720 on a HDTV with 1080 lines?
 
Finster said:
I'm still a little confused. I mean, 1280x720 is SMALLER than 1920x1080, so on a HDTV is must not look as good, right???

I realize that HDTV resolution is 1080 or 720 lines. What happens, though, when you play 1280x720 on a HDTV with 1080 lines?
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It just scales it to fit the screen in 16:9.
 
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