GH3 What did I do wrong? GH3 Live Event recording doesn't look so good

[Soundfx4]

what you need is a faster lens. something along the lines of 1.2 or 2.8. AND a range of ND filters.

I'd absolutely love one, but they are no cheaper than $700 from what I've seen, and I'm just starting out here (so for that matter, I can't really buy a display either, or a ND filter haha). This gig was not a guaranteed paid gig so I certainly couldn't have even rented a faster lens, however, in the future if I procure a paid gig, I'll likely rent one. I will, of course, eventually buy one to have as my very own but you gotta make due with what you have.

I'm very tempted, btw, to get a variable ND filter so I don't have to switch them out. Is there any reason why this would be a bad idea? I'm sure, like all things, they have their ups and downs.

 

[wgzn]

but they are no cheaper than $700 from what I've seen, and I'm just starting out

well. then there we have it. maybe you simply aren't equipped to properly do this kind of job in the first place.

that's the problem most of us who ARE equipped run into. "well my brother in law has ________camera and will do it for $200."
ok. so LET HIM. and don't call me when his video looks like s*%t.

this is the kind of thing i hear a lot. every dick-hammer who bought an HDslr from bestbuy thinks they are going to start a production business.
and it's not anywhere near that easy. even IF you get the mechanics of still shooting. can you manage that over a hour or two at a time? not likely.

no offense. but still shooters get off EASY. get the shot and move on. video shooters have to maintain that s*%t for seconds, minutes. or hours...

 

[Soundfx4]

well. then there we have it. maybe you simply aren't equipped to properly do this kind of job in the first place.

that's the problem most of us who ARE equipped run into. "well my brother in law has ________camera and will do it for $200."
ok. so LET HIM. and don't call me when his video looks like s*%t.

this is the kind of thing i hear a lot. every dick-hammer who bought an HDslr from bestbuy thinks they are going to start a production business.
and it's not anywhere near that easy. even IF you get the mechanics of still shooting. can you manage that over a hour or two at a time? not likely.

no offense. but still shooters get off EASY. get the shot and move on. video shooters have to maintain that s*%t for seconds, minutes. or hours...

No, I'm not, but you work with what you have. And what I have can get the job done for the most part, but better equipment would be more ideal and a lot easier to work with. I was recording this at f8 so I still had a couple of steps down I could go to f5.6 at the level of zoom. The lens is a moderate lens, yes, and the really good lenses are very expensive and currently out of my budget, but that's where rental houses come in. The actual shooting of an event is a one or two day job and I can rent a nice lens for a reasonable price when I get a guaranteed paid gig. But there's also used equipment that's significantly cheaper than brand new equipment. It's a rough plan that will change as I gain more experience. IE: My lack of experience doesn't allow me to foresee this rough plan not working, but I know I'll run into snags and even solid walls that I'll have to work around, and in the process learn from.

Bottom line, I'm not some "dick-hammer" who bought a DSLR from bestbuy and think I'm going to start a production business. I'm someone that's been quite passionate about this for many years and have worked with equipment far far inferior to the GH3 and the lens I'm using with it (Sony DCR-TRV50) and I was able to produce great shots with it just by using it's manual exposure control (the camera had no aperture setting, no shutter setting, no iso setting, nothing advanced) and I don't know what it did, but stepping it down allowed me to capture really good footage. It's just not HD and not convenient to work with (DV tapes). And I'm not "my brother in law" either. In fact, I'm the guy that came in with that DCR-TRV50 and shot BETTER footage and put together a BETTER DVD than the "Professionals" that told me, "with cameras now, you just have to set them on automatic and not worry about it". And while I may be a noob (and don't think for a second that I'm not aware of that), hearing someone say that, ESPECIALLY someone that's supposed to be a pro...there are just no words.

Btw, having to maintain that @$#%, as you said, is part of what I like about video shooting. And it's part of what I'm anxious to be able to get more experience doing as well Next time I do this, the outcome will be better, and then the time after that, even better. I love this @$#%

 

[wgzn]

i'd suggest going to ebay, craiglslist, garage sales, pawnshop, or cam dealer that sells used lenses and pick up some older full frame glass. you can generally get a fast 50mm for less than $300 or so.
when i had my GH2s. i had several old really fast nikkors that (aside from OIS and other electronic behavior) way outperformed my native m4/3 lenses.

with all of this said. i still wouldnt shoot an event like this with only one DSLR. simply due to lack of servo zoom. if you have two DSLRs you could leave one wide and rock and roll with the closeup. but using one camera. you need to get from wide to zoom without it looking like the bourne identity.

 

[Soundfx4]

i'd suggest going to ebay, craiglslist, garage sales, pawnshop, or cam dealer that sells used lenses and pick up some older full frame glass. you can generally get a fast 50mm for less than $300 or so.
when i had my GH2s. i had several old really fast nikkors that (aside from OIS and other electronic behavior) way outperformed my native m4/3 lenses.

with all of this said. i still wouldnt shoot an event like this with only one DSLR. simply due to lack of servo zoom. if you have two DSLRs you could leave one wide and rock and roll with the closeup. but using one camera. you need to get from wide to zoom without it looking like the bourne identity.

I agree wholeheartedly about using two cameras. I do have another camera, but no lens for it yet, and I'm not sure how well it would work with live event recording. It's the Black Magic pocket cinema camera. I heard great things about it and when they cut the price in half, I couldn't not grab one, even if I had no use for it yet. But for this one instance, there was no zooming, I just recorded the entire stage the whole time ;P

I'll look into using some older full frame glass. If they outperform the native m4/3 lenses then that sounds better anyway.

 

[smoke23]

GH4 Live Event focus help.

GH4 Live Event focus help.

I just shot a live event with my GH2 & GH4. For some reason, my GH4 looks out of focus and the subject is not sharp to my eyes. Here was my setup:

- 2 Camera set up
- GH2 hacked with Cake 2.3, HBR mode ,w/ Canon FD 50mm at around F/2.0-2.8, 1/60, ISO 640, manual focus
- GH4 1080 30p 50mbps, Lumix 25mm at 1.8, 180 degree shutter, ISO 800, manual focus. GH4 was my wide shot

Was my GH4 open too wide? I did a manual focus before the shoot and punched in to a subject on stage before and it looked fine.

 

[yslee]

Cow Clicker!

The cow seems sharp, and so does the stage, but what seems to be happening is that the exposure setting has blown out your speaker.