To those who own BOTH Canon (7D, etc.., but not 5D) and GH2

G

Gene Sung

Veteran
Same old question but in a different form. Video only. No stills

This question is for those who own BOTH a Canon (7D, T2I, etc... but not 5D) and the GH2. Which camera are you using more these days and why?

I have to start over since my 7D kit was stolen.

I've watched about 1000 vimeo video and this is what I have concluded. Tell me if you think I'm right or wrong.

GH2 -- Pros
1) Sharper image
2) No Moire
3) Useable 720p which is really nice
4) Crop Mode. I love macro shooting
5) Better company. Canon just milks it at this point.

Canon 7D, T2i -- Pros
1) Color. Canon colors are richer while GH2 seems to steer towards green
2) Shallower DOF
3) Better lenses. I know GH2 can take more lenses, but Canon has the fast, IS zooms and lenses. Quality over quantity.

So yeah, for those who own BOTH cameras (since you guys have used both extensively), which do you like better and why?
 
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I own both. Gh2 much better in vid. Don't worry dep of field. Almost same. Gh2 has very deepening dof also. Gh2 can fit 16mm s lens!
 
As a former canon user, and current GH-2 user I'd like to weigh in.

Lenses:

if you want to talk about quality let's talk about Leica and PL mount glass which you can easily put onto a GH-2 through a simple (or more complex as needed) adapter. Leica M lenses are worse than Canon L series? I don't think so.

Color:
I feel I have much more control over color results with the Gh2. You can VERY EASILY dial in an accurate white balance which is essential when shooting to these compressed codecs. you have a full color adjustment matrix for your WB... readily accessible and the picture is visible while you tweak it...

Focus:

I personally don't mind being able to hold things in a useable focus... If I want it soft I can throw a 1.2 or f0.95 lens on there and go WOW LOOK AT ME!

Field of view:

this aspect of the gh2 sucks. it's cropped. compared to 35mm motion picture film, it's cropped. compared to the 5D it's 2x cropped!

FAST WIDES are what we need. Tokina 11-16 2.8 is cool, but it would be cooler if it was a 1.8...and came in a m43 native mount with autofocus for stills.


The LCD on the back of the GH2 Suuuucks in comparison. You might even think the picture sucks from the GH2 if you judged it from the onboard LCD alone. Do yourself a favor and hook both cameras up to a HUGE screen and watch the footage played back straight from the cam.

a 460.000 dot LCD is less than half the quality of a 920.000 dot LCD. I'm just sayin.

The EVF on the GH2 ROOOCKS. if you like operating the camera like this - it is truly incredible and very useable.

Live HDMI on the GH2 - this is CRUCIAL if you are trying to show anyone else what you are shooting while you are shooting it. Period. bottom line. End of story.

Workflow: MTS files are lame. MOVs are easy. You can directly ingest MTS into final cut and maybe other systems, but anyone can see an MOV...

Price:
GH2 is cheap. You could get one, use it until 5D3 comes out...or whatever flavor of the month is popular in a year and be fine.

weight:
Gh2 weighs nothing.

Noise:
I find gh2 cleaner than 7D.

I find the 5D image "limp" the gh2 image has strength by comparison.

battery availability: Panasonic just has a poor supply chain.

I love my gh2. I don't think I'd want to use a Canon again. unless they came out with something mind blowingly good, even then I'd still be wary of them.
 
I've got the T2i as well as the GH2. Except for last night, I haven't used my T2i for video since I got the GH2.

GH2 Strengths:

Little to no moire
Ergonomics
Flip LCD
EVF
HDMI out is full rez so it stays at 1080 while recording, great when using an external monitor
Full time AutoFocus (if you're into that sort of thing...)
Ability to use a WIDE variety of lenses via adapters and a growing body of dedicated micro 4/3 lenses
Crop mode

Cons:

Doesn't take quite as nice a still image as the T2i but it's still a good camera for stills.

I find that the video image on the GH2 is just more "pleasing" to me at least. Looks a little deeper and crisper, but with latitude for adjustment. It's just a pleasure to use.
 
Gene... as others have pointed out... I think your cons are way off base. Canon does not have the best lenses out there... certainly not when you consider the PL mount lenses, the options for Nikon and cinema lens... and if you haven't already, the Voigtlander .95 kicks the pants off just about everything....

I also have a different opininion regarding color and DOF especially when considering the 7D instead of the 5D...


Since I've shot a lot of 7D footage, you also forgot to include that it only shoots for 12 minutes and that it overheats all the time.... Having both of them side by side, I'd choose the 7D for stills and the GH2 for video.... It's not even a question.. The 7D looks so soft by comparision and the workflow is the pits...
 
Thanks guys for the info. That really helps a lot. Much appreciated.

Sounds the biggest disadvantage to the GH2 is actually finding one and then a spare battery. Hehe...

I still think Canon has the edge on lenses. Leica and PL would be nice, but super, super expensive. In reality, if you're going to spend the cash and rent PLs, you would probably not be shooting on a GH2.

Tokina 11-16, Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS, Canon 100m L IS macro and the 70-200L IS are 4 of the best lenses made, and somewhat affordable. There is just nothing comparable to those on the Panny. Maybe Berger mount will change that. The lack of wide lenses is a drag. The Panny 7-14 cannot take filters, so w/o matte box, it's nearly impossible to control light. So that's mostly an indoor option.

But yeah, I think the advantages of the GH2 outweigh the disadvantages at this moment.
 
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gene_can_sing said:
Thanks guys for the info. That really helps a lot. Much appreciated.

Sounds the biggest disadvantage to the GH2 is actually finding one and then a spare battery. Hehe...
Click to expand...

Canon -- Pro: A bunch of them sitting on store shelves, on Amazon, falling off the back of trucks...

GH2 -- Con: Bigfoot and Loch Ness Monster seen more frequently in past 3 months than stores with GH2 in stock....
 
I have both and I didn't touch the 7D ever since the GH2 arrived. To choose between all my lenses that I could never use with the 7D is tough though (Leica-R and the Nikkor did great on the 7D as well):

- Zeiss *T Contax G 21mm 2.8, 28mm 2,8 and 45mm 2 (the Metabones adapter rules!! It turns those lenses into precious manual focus glass with sick sharpness and no distortion. They are not the cheapest lenses on ebay but still much cheaper than other Zeiss or Leica lenses)
- Leitz Leica R 90mm 2 (to die for bokeh, sharp, warm look, 90mm is often to long for the mft crop for me)
- Canon FD 85mm 1.2 (killer party or concert lens, results at f1.2 are stunning)
- Canon FD 50mm 1.2
- Canon FD 50mm 3.5 Macro
- Olympus OM 55mm 1.2 (I love the warm look of Olympus OM glass)
- Konica Hexanon 50mm 1.4
- Konica Hexanon AR 40mm 1.8
- Jupiter-8 M39 50mm 2 (very sharp, nice warm look, click-less aperture, mine is very beaten up though)
- Voigtländer Color-Skoparet 28mm 2.8 (Canon FD)
- Nikkor-N 35mm 1.4 (the crop factor makes it a fast portrait lens with a warm dreamy look)
- Schneider-Kreutznach Cine-Xenon RX 25mm 1.4 (perfect low key lens, vignettes only the corners in normal mode, shooting high contrast black and white in ISO 3200 looks like 16mm film out of camera)
- Schneider-Kreutznach Cinegon 10mm 1.8 (very sharp. 10mm gets you a 50mm in crop mode)
- Schneider-Kreutznach Arriflex-Cinegon 16mm 2 (if only the focus mechanism would be smoother on my copy. Vignetting needs crop mode. Ends up being a 80mm f2. I rather go for the Contax 45mm f2 or the Hexanon 40mm f1.8 in normal mode)
- Akai TV zoom lens 11.5-90mm 2 (those TV lenses are a joy to operate. Everything is so smooth. Not all TV c-mount lenses can be fit to an adapter. Still missing a very fast <10mm c-mount lens
- Angénieux Paris 5.9mm 1.8 (fixed focus lens with Arri mount. 20mm in crop mode is cool but this fixed focus thing is too soft. I wonder is the flange back of the adapter is not precise)
- Iscorama 2005 35mm 2.4 (well, the MC is too good. Its hard to get anamorphic flares. 2m close focus is also not so cool)

a view sample pictures:
http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/7957418/1/Lenses?h=7b335a

Canon FD 85mm 1.2
CanonFD85mm1.2.jpg

Contax G 28mm 2.8
ContaxG28mm.jpg

Contax G 45mm 2
ContaxG45mm.jpg

Cine-Xenon RX 25mm 1.4
Cine-Xenon25mm.jpg
 
I use my GH1 more often than my 5D for video these days, but when I do shoot stuff on the 5D I find the color is more to my liking, there's just something more appealing to my eye about it. Yes you can grade GH1 stuff to pieces if you shot it right (especially with the GH13 hack) but it's still lacking a certain mojo for me some of the time.

I do remember reading that the 5D/7D/T2i/etc do their color processing at a higher bit-depth before spitting out the final 8-bit file, whereas in the GH1/2 it's 8-bit the whole way. Might have something to do with it.
 
Having shot with every DSLR that has video out there (I work in a camera store, the priviliges :P ) I can say that I pretty much agree with everything Dan_Kanes said. GH2 gets my vote, as it's what I purchased when all the options were in front of me and tested. Just way more features for video than anything else out there.
 
I believe without question that the Panny can get a better image, and that this has been true every since the hack came out for GH1. But I still use my 7D more often for single camera shoots. Why? It's heavier. The GH_ is so lightweight that it makes proper steady shots, especially with a slider, a major pain requiring too many takes. If it had a battery grip my 7D would quickly become a stills and backup camera only.
 
gene_can_sing said:
Canon 7D, T2i -- Pros
2) Shallower DOF
Click to expand...

I don't own both, but my shooting partner has a 60D and I have a GH1 and GH2 and edit all our footage, so I am very familiar with both systems. The GH2 is, hands down, better.

Here is a post on my blog about the real-life shallow DoF of the GH2. I don't know why you would want it to get any more shallow.
 
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