GH2 Timelaspe - Variable Movie mode, or intervalometer best?

J

jbcon

Active member
Im getting my stuff together for vacation soon where I am flying cross country and then driving up the coast of California. I am planning on doing some timelapse while I am on the trip and since I haven't taken delivery of my new GH2 have some questions.

I currently own a GH13 and a GF1, and just ordered the before mentioned GH2. I own a intervalometer that I normally use with either my GH1 or the GF, and alternate to save the shutter life on the two. I'd prefer not to use the GH2 for this, and have been trying to read up on the internal "variable movie" feature that allows for speeding up and slowing down filming for slo-mo and time-lapse in the camera, but am worried that it will not give me the effect I want.

Most of the post on Time-laspe using the GH2 are still mentioning the intervalometers, but it is unclear if this is the better method or are the posters just traditionalist and don't like the internal method, or unaware of it.

Bottom-line for me is I am trying to miminze the equipment that I fly cross country with and would prefer to only take one camera. Can anyone explain the usefulness of the internal time laspse of the Variable Movie mode? If I were to set the GH2 up for 1080/24p before I left, would I regret not having another camera or setting asside a seperate reflash with 60fps if doing video, or am I beter off taking the GF1 and the intervalometer in my checked baggage and leaving out a pair or two of my wife's shoes??? lol
 
jbcon said:
....and leaving out a pair or two of my wife's shoes??? lol
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Not if you value your life. :grin:

Joking aside, the way it was explaied to me, and what I see, is that you will get different effects from traditional timelapse as oppossed to slowed down footage.

If you do a quick test I'm sure that becomes obvious.

The other issue is that with timelapse photography, even if you are using JPEGs, the individual frames that eventually make up the final footage have far more resolution in them than equivalent video frames.
 
jbcon said:
I own a intervalometer that I normally use with either my GH1 or the GF, and alternate to save the shutter life on the two.
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The Pansonic GH cameras don't have a mirror, thus no mechanical shutter. It's all electronic, so I'm not sure if that's even an issue.

EDIT: actually, that's incorrect.
 
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Thanks. Should have the camera this weekend and aren't flying cross country for a couple more weeks, so I have time to play around. Unfortunately I won't be able to get anyplace with a decent view to do a real, A/B test between the two to see what I like or need.
 
jbcon said:
Unfortunately I won't be able to get anyplace with a decent view to do a real, A/B test between the two to see what I like or need.
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You don't really need nice views for A/B tests. If you have a day with "fluffy" fast moving clouds, just point the camera upwards and try both methods.
 
Gary Huff said:
The Pansonic GH cameras don't have a mirror, thus no mechanical shutter. It's all electronic, so I'm not sure if that's even an issue.
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Take the lens off the camera and take a picture. You'll notice a mechanical shutter. That's why there is a shutter rating for the camera.
 
If I can swing it, I may try and fit all three camera's in my luggage and let my wife use the GF1 for her pictures, me the Gh2 for video and the GF1 for timelapse photos with the intervalometer. I had planned on selling it to offset the investment in the Gh2, but since I also sometimes use a Ghecko mount on the outside of vehicles to get car based shots; having a third camera like the GF that if something happened to I wouldn't be as upset about loosing like I would one of the GH's is anothe plus.

With over 12000 shutter presses on the GF already due to timelapse it is expendable in some ways.
 
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