GH1 Thinking of buying it

S

s1mpl3k1d

Active member
Hi folks,

I own a Panasonic TM700 but I would like to buy a used GH1 body and a Nikkor 50mm f1.2 lens. I would like to achieve shallow DOF just like what we see in movies. I would like to try making some short videos/films. What do you think about this combination?

Thanks!

Neil
 
truthfully you don't need every scene to have shallow DOF to be cinematic. IMHO if I watch a whole film that is shot @ 1.2 the whole time I would be annoyed. Its only really suppose to be used to draw the attention of the viewer to a certain subject. If you shoot the whole movie with shallow DOF... it would be hard to really establish where the subjects are. UNLESS that is style you chose to give the film a certain feel.

IMO having the 24p option in camera is more important so you don't have to waste time converting footage, also the fact that the sensor is larger and more efficient with lower lights.

if Shallow DOF is the ONLY thing you are buying it for, just buy a cheap 35mm adapter and a used nikon 50 f1.8 and shoot your video upside down, unless you wanna flip in post.
 
Yup. I won't be doing a lot of shallow dof. I was just thinking that it's a good feature to have. The reason I would like to have 1.2 is that I also wanted to take still shots at very low light.

While I was searching, I fell in love with this video.
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?235262-Jewelry-Making-A-Simple-Short

However, I cannot find GH13 in Amazon. I'm very sure I typed it correctly. I am so shocked at timestamp 1:42 til 1:56. That's is sooooooooo sharp!!! I want that kind of setup. Maybe you can help me.

Thanks.
 
I think a TM700 and GH1 combination would be killer. The TM700 could cover 60fps 1080p and deep depth of field shots without jacking up the iso and the GH1 would be great for closeup dialogue and low light shots. You can also have two cameras running giving you more options in post. A used GH1 can be had for dirt cheap these days thanks to the GH2's release.
 
Trucci said:
I think a TM700 and GH1 combination would be killer. The TM700 could cover 60fps 1080p and deep depth of field shots without jacking up the iso and the GH1 would be great for closeup dialogue and low light shots. You can also have two cameras running giving you more options in post. A used GH1 can be had for dirt cheap these days thanks to the GH2's release.
Click to expand...

That's what I was thinking. :)

The GH1 body is easy to decide but I don't know what lens to use. I also don't know which proper adapter to use so sharpness of the lens is not compromised/affected.
 
Well that Nikkor is going to cost you more than the camera, at that point you might as well go GH2 body only. Now I very easily could be mistaken in this, but I believe the depth of field is razor thin if you are wide open at 1.2.
 
ChipThome said:
Well that Nikkor is going to cost you more than the camera, at that point you might as well go GH2 body only. Now I very easily could be mistaken in this, but I believe the depth of field is razor thin if you are wide open at 1.2.
Click to expand...

What would you recommend for the lens that's cheaper than gh1 body but amazing quality?
 
Get an old used Nikon 50mm f1.8. They're super cheap and will give you plenty of shallow dof. For a little more money you can get the 50mm f1.4 which is super shallow (I got mine for about 100 bucks). Just know that f1.4 isn't very sharp on that lens.
 
I've been watching the Nikon 50 1.8 used on Ebay and the nice ones do almost as much as a new one. It is rated one of the very sharpest lenses, even though it only is around $130. It is rated sharper than the 1.4, which Trucci already mentioned. A buddy of mine likes the Rokinon 85 1.4 which is about $260. Right now I am playing with a Zeiss Planar I got locally for not much at all.
 
ChipThome said:
I've been watching the Nikon 50 1.8 used on Ebay and the nice ones do almost as much as a new one. It is rated one of the very sharpest lenses, even though it only is around $130. It is rated sharper than the 1.4, which Trucci already mentioned. A buddy of mine likes the Rokinon 85 1.4 which is about $260. Right now I am playing with a Zeiss Planar I got locally for not much at all.
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Is this the Nikkor you are referring to?

http://cgi.ebay.com/NIKON-NIKKOR-50...27822438?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item45f8daa666
 
I'm very confused. I saw on ebay that NIKON NIKKOR 50mm f1.8 Ai-S LENS/FM2/FM3A/USED is BuyItNow for $86 including s/h. While there is another one and there are 18 bids going on at $105 including s/h. It is the Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D Lens.

Are they different? Which should I buy for a GH1?
 
s1mpl3k1d said:
Hi folks,

I own a Panasonic TM700 but I would like to buy a used GH1 body and a Nikkor 50mm f1.2 lens. I would like to achieve shallow DOF just like what we see in movies. I would like to try making some short videos/films. What do you think about this combination?

Thanks!


Neil
Click to expand...

You don't really need f1.2, f1.4 will give excellent shallow dof. Also remember that 50mm is a short telephoto on a gh1 - 25mm would be the "normal" focal length. I would suggest the 50mm f1.4 and maybe a 28mm f2.

I have a gh13 I am considering selling. I hate to give it up, but I make underwater housings and constantly have to get the newer cameras to keep up.
 
s1mpl3k1d said:
I'm very confused. I saw on ebay that NIKON NIKKOR 50mm f1.8 Ai-S LENS/FM2/FM3A/USED is BuyItNow for $86 including s/h. While there is another one and there are 18 bids going on at $105 including s/h. It is the Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D Lens.

Are they different? Which should I buy for a GH1?
Click to expand...

OK, let me begin that I am not a Nikon lens wiz, but have been investigating these for my GH cameras.

From all I have been able to find out, the differences in the Nikon 50mm lenses have to do with electronic functions that are built into them, or aren't built in, and controlled by the Nikon cameras. Because the adapter for Nikon to M4/3 has no electronic adapters built in, meaning none of the Nikon lenses will function automatically on a GH1 or 2. So, any of those with a manual focus ring and manual aperture ring are going to work basically the same on the GH1 or 2.

The ones I considered most had the D designation, which are the newest ones available. My thinking on buying one of those, if I didn't like it, they sell on Ebay for almost as much used as a new one is.
 
I will definitely buy one. I've already set my mind on the GH1. I just need to learn how to put the firmware to make it GH13. Thanks ChipThome, that really helps a lot. I'll make sure I'll buy the one with the D designation.

Thanks!
 
PJF said:
First lesson is how to get one that's hackable and how to avoid the others:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?218181-GH1-and-GF1-valid-serial-range

In addition to the serial number info, you need to be aware that Panasonic is applying the unhackable 1.34 firmware to cameras that they service and refurbish.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. :)

I'm going to scrape all the serial numbers on that site and make a simple php program on my site. This way, searching will be easier. :)
 
I just saw another lens which is 20mm. Since I am going to Cancun on June, which should I buy, 20mm or the 50mm? For still captures, I got it covered using my Canon 50D/17-50mm. But for video, I don't know how the 20mm and 50mm will look since I don't know much about the GH1's sensor crop ratio. I can only afford one lens right now.
 
20mm on the GH1 is roughly equivalent to 40mm on a 135 film stills camera (e.g. traditional 35mm SLR), or on a full-frame digicam. The 4/3rds sensor is approx half the area of full-frame (or 135 film), so simply double the focal length when thinking of the equivalent lens for the same field of view on full-frame.

The Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 is a very good all round prime lens in terms of focal length and light gathering; it's a fast, wide-standard. The GH1 is software matched with it to correct for some distortion and false colour (including in video mode) so images will be sharp. It is very small and light, and so is ideal for travel. It's an electronic lens, so manual focus and manual aperture control inputs are indirect (the latter via the camera). The focus motor is not silent and may be picked up by the onboard microphone in quiet environments; it's also not the quickest AF.

If you can have only one lens to start with you might want to think about picking up the GH1 with the 14-140mm "kit" lens first. Its only real downside is that it's slow (f/4 - 5.8) so you'll struggle for light indoors and at night (more ISO so more noise), plus not so good for "bokeh". For outdoor work, though, it's brilliant. Focussing is fast and silent.

Lots to think about, so don't rush unless you have to.
 
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