Vertical Streaking: Got my camera back from Panasonic...

I'm well aware that you can't compare it to 35mm. For me the question is between the 7D and the GH13. In my opinion, the GH13 would beat the 7D by a long shot in most conditions if it wasn't for the vertical streaking. I prefer the GH13s sharper image, less aliasing, and I also love the fact that it has an EVF and a flip out LCD (unfortunately though no video out). Nevertheless, when I had to decide between the two cameras recently, I went for the 7D. The vertical streaking problem is just too much to worry about on an actual shoot. It's just too much of a risk, and if you get vertical streaking over faces, your shot is pretty much ruined. Since the GH13 has no video out, you have to download the footage to check on a bigger screen for streaking which is way too time consuming on an actual shoot.
 
cordvision said:
The vertical streaking problem is just too much to worry about on an actual shoot. It's just too much of a risk, and if you get vertical streaking over faces, your shot is pretty much ruined. Since the GH13 has no video out, you have to download the footage to check on a bigger screen for streaking which is way too time consuming on an actual shoot.
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You can watch the video directly from the SD card using a Panasonic Blu-ray DVD player with an SD slot. Panasonic also has a couple HDTV's that have an SD slot that is capable of playing back AVCHD video from an SD card.

Randy
 
This would work but is just not very practical. You need to record a little first, then you have to take the card to the tv, play the right clip back, get the card back to the camera, and then you can start shooting... Not very practical in an environment were you are under a lot of time pressure...
 
Well it sounds like you'd would be way better off with an AF100 than a DSLR at this point since DSLR's are all about compromise in many ways when shooting video. $5000 isn't that much money to spend on something that will work much better in a pressured-filled environment.

Of course this forum and Vimeo are filled with many professionally shot and edited high quality videos that used the GH1 in all types of situations even before the hack came out.

Randy
 
Regarding the idea that the GH1 is useless for narrative, I guess it all depends on your style and the subject matter you often shoot. For me, I got burned once by vertical streaks, and then I adjusted my approach to fix the problem. And it didn't compromise my ability to get the look I wanted. But, like I said, what you shoot may be totally different, and the lighting style you like may not work with the GH13.
On another note, regarding monitoring from the GH1, you can connect an HDMI cable to it and play recorded clips right off the camera. This is what I did for my short film. I had an HDMI monitor on a cart and quickly plugged it in to play back clips to check for critical focus. It isn't too terribly time consuming.
Perhaps the GH2 would be a good choice for you. Clean HDMI out while recording. 24mbps 1080p, and it's supposed to be a stop more light sensitive than the GH1.
 
I'm just disappointed a little bit. I like it so much better than the 7D if it wasn't for the vertical streaks... the streaking just ruins it for me. I'll just wait and see how the GH2 performs... I can always rent better gear if I need to, but it would be nice to have a small camera like the GH1 that I could use occasionally for little simple projects...
 
cordvision said:
Here's a picture to illustrate what I'm talking about. We shot the same scene on 35mm / 16mm / 7D / GH13 in a soundstage with proper lighting. This picture is properly lit, but of course contains parts that are several stops under base stop. The screen grab is from the GH1. Unfortunately you don't see the streaking very well in the screen grab but when the actress moves her head, you can see streaks all over her face...


gh13Streaking.jpg
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still looks underexposed to me..
 
decided to sell the camera... it's listed in the market section here on dvxuser. Asking $640 plus shipping...
 
cordvision said:
I'm just disappointed a little bit. I like it so much better than the 7D if it wasn't for the vertical streaks... the streaking just ruins it for me. I'll just wait and see how the GH2 performs... I can always rent better gear if I need to, but it would be nice to have a small camera like the GH1 that I could use occasionally for little simple projects...
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Is a Canon 60D a possibility for you? It has the flip-out LCD. If your goal is to have a camera for little simple projects, I still think the vertical streaks are nothing to worry about. When evaluating a single frame and obsessing over it, then yes it's a problem. But if you just want a camera for small projects, then if you have a halfway decent story and decent lighting, nobody is going to notice streaking. Here's a low-key scene I shot last year with an un-hacked GH1. I was able to get amazing results with faces under key exposure:


 
Nice film, looks really good. I also don't see any colored streaking in your film but I think that's because it has such a strong blue tint. It's the colored vertical streaking that bothers me in my footage. I'm not really obsessing about a single frame, in the frame I posted, it can hardly be seen, and if it was like that in an actual clip, it wouldn't bother me at all. The problem is that as soon as she moves, the streaks really stand out and draw attention to themselves. I had non film people noticing the streaks and asking me about it. I'll post part of the clip as soon as I get home on Sunday (I don't have access to the footage at the moment).
 
cordvision said:
It's the colored vertical streaking that bothers me in my footage.
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I have gathered from other threads that the vertical streaking may be worse on some cameras vs. others. So maybe you got one of the worse ones. Here's a still from the one scene I shot that has bad streaking. You can see it on the left half of the actresses face. I had to bring this shot up about a stop in post. I just plain-old underexposed it. Operator error. I think if I had exposed this 1 and 1/3 stops hotter (or added that much more light to her face so that the background lights remained the same), the problem would disappear.

FPN.jpg

Well, I can't figure out how to post a full-sized image. But the streaking is there.
 
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dvbrother said:
I have gathered from other threads that the vertical streaking may be worse on some cameras vs. others. So maybe you got one of the worse ones. Here's a still from the one scene I shot that has bad streaking. You can see it on the left half of the actresses face. I had to bring this shot up about a stop in post. I just plain-old underexposed it. Operator error. I think if I had exposed this 1 and 1/3 stops hotter (or added that much more light to her face so that the background lights remained the same), the problem would disappear.

View attachment 26048

Well, I can't figure out how to post a full-sized image. But the streaking is there.
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<off-topic>
By the way...whatever happened with this film? I often wondered about it. This trailer was key in me getting rid of my 7D and getting a GH-1.

</back-on-topic>
 
Ian-T said:
<off-topic>
By the way...whatever happened with this film? I often wondered about it. This trailer was key in me getting rid of my 7D and getting a GH-1.

</back-on-topic>
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I recently finished it. Actually, it's making its theatrical premiere this Sunday night in Kansas City. I've sent it out to a bunch of festivals but have not heard back from any of them yet. Are you on Vimeo?I just sent you a password protected link to the movie.
 
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