What do you want to know about the new GH2?

anybody know if certain features are available during recording ? one for all, focus assist... on the gh1 once you start recording 99 % of the buttons are useless... would be nice to have focus assist, wb and iso changeable during recording.. at least for someone like me doing lots of run n gun work... and if it was possible to have focus assist enlarge only a certain part of image at the center , in order to keep the framing correct it would be magnificent....
 
.. other thing... the 1 second audio gap at beginning of clip... has that been solved ? and the 1 second missing at end of take... ?
 
i guess itll still have some sort of mud but not as bad as before... lets wait 2 yrs from now for gh3! lmao.

now a little bit of bitrate boost hack would make this cam perfect. :)
 
I have few specific questions.

1) Why 60p mode had been eliminated and only 30p is available?
2) Why fixed patern noise is still visible.
3) Why same 2.5mm audio jack?
4) H264 codec is still much worse compared to video cameras. Why is this?
5) No HDMI output during recording. Is this Panasonic policy fo VDSLRs?

This is questions according to data I have now (of course, they are nto certain).


I also want to know the answer to #2. Are the GH1 and GH2 that small that they can't include a 3.5mm mic jack?
 
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....Now new is, that the silver button is only for stills (also in movie mode as far as I remember) and the red button, that moved up on the camera behind the still button, is only for video.

But the result is, that you can take still pictures while you are filming. There is no clicking sound during the picture taking and the video continues.
Great feature I think.....

My biggest complaint with the GH1, even over the codec, is the fact that AF-S is disabled in video mode.

If you can't even use the silver shutter release button to shoot video anymore (no half-press to instantly nail focus immediately before recording), then it would be a step backwards for me being an event videographer. AF-S may not interest film-makers shooting with cheap manual lenses, but considering this is a camera geared for non-pro consumers, I'd think Panny would consider this a very marketable feature.

I can't wait until these actually come out, so someone can verify the AF-S situation. AF-S + Better Codec + HDMI Out...."vendor, two please..." :D
 
My biggest complaint with the GH1, even over the codec, is the fact that AF-S is disabled in video mode.

If you can't even use the silver shutter release button to shoot video anymore (no half-press to instantly nail focus immediately before recording), then it would be a step backwards for me being an event videographer. AF-S may not interest film-makers shooting with cheap manual lenses, but considering this is a camera geared for non-pro consumers, I'd think Panny would consider this a very marketable feature.

I can't wait until these actually come out, so someone can verify the AF-S situation. AF-S + Better Codec + HDMI Out...."vendor, two please..." :D


If I remember right, it focussing still works by half pressing the silver button.
Also in video mode. Not 100% sure but pretty much so.

Only you cannot start/stop video with this any more.
If this would start/stop video you could not take a picture during the filming, because it would stop the recording.
 
If I remember right, it focussing still works by half pressing the silver button.
Also in video mode. Not 100% sure but pretty much so.

Only you cannot start/stop video with this any more.
If this would start/stop video you could not take a picture during the filming, because it would stop the recording.

This sounds promising....since if it is able to take a photo while shooting video, I assume they HAVE to make AF-S available while recording. This would be great during wedding ceremonies and toasts/speeches where I don't want to stop rolling the camera when changing focus. I'm very surprised I haven't torn the focus mode select knob right off my GH1 going back and forth!!
 
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This sounds promising....since if it is able to take a photo while shooting video, I assume they HAVE to make AF-S available while recording. This would be great during wedding ceremonies and toasts/speeches where I don't want to stop rolling the camera when changing focus. I'm very surprised I haven't torn the focus mode select knob right off my GH1 going back and forth!!


I have a friend who goes to the Photokina on Sunday.
i told him to check this.

On my GH1 the silver button focusing works in both, AF-S and AF-C mode very well.
No need to switch back and forth in my opinion.
 
....On my GH1 the silver button focusing works in both, AF-S and AF-C mode very well.
No need to switch back and forth in my opinion.


But when in AF-S, it functions as AF-C when in video mode...which is useless on any camcorder, IMHO. :(
 
But when in AF-S, it functions as AF-C when in video mode...which is useless on any camcorder, IMHO. :(

I am sorry, I sure do not know all application features of the GH1 well.

Please let me know the importance of the one and the other.
I always use AF-S and I have no complaints.

How is AF-C different and why.
 
AF-S = Auto Focus - Single
AF-C = Auto Focus - Continuous

AF-C is when the camera just mindlessly focuses back and forth on everything except what you want it to focus on...like most camcorders work in auto focus.

AF-S is when you lock your focus onto the desired subject, and hold that focal plane until you release release the shutter and take your finger off the button. But when taking video, you might want the focus to REMAIN on the subject since you're still recording, instead of reverting back to AF-C like the GH1 does.

To "fake" AF-S, you can lock focus, then switch the knob over to MF. But this doesn't always work, since about half the time the camera will quickly loose focus during the switch...and it's hard to tell on the tiny LCD. On the 20mm f1.7, however, you can put it in AF-C mode, lock focus, and switch to MF without dropping your focus lock.
 
To "fake" AF-S, you can lock focus, then switch the knob over to MF. But this doesn't always work, since about half the time the camera will quickly loose focus during the switch...and it's hard to tell on the tiny LCD. On the 20mm f1.7, however, you can put it in AF-C mode, lock focus, and switch to MF without dropping your focus lock.
Why not use AF Lock button for this?
 
Why not use AF Lock button for this?

That doesn't work if you want to change focus DURING recording...as one might do during a wedding ceremony of speech when you don't want to stop recording. Once you press the button to unlock the current focus, it defaults back to AF-C and no longer functions.
 
That doesn't work if you want to change focus DURING recording...as one might do during a wedding ceremony of speech when you don't want to stop recording. Once you press the button to unlock the current focus, it defaults back to AF-C and no longer functions.
Yes, that you can't do on a kit lens in video modes, because half-press on shutter button will not change focus. I think the only lens I have seen perform the way you want is Olympus 14-54 V2.
 
Yes, that you can't do on a kit lens in video modes, because half-press on shutter button will not change focus. I think the only lens I have seen perform the way you want is Olympus 14-54 V2.

Yes, the 'half-press' changes focus during video recording... what also happens is the focus changes during video recording, rather than 'freezing' at the last 'half-pressed focus' point.

So, if you have focused on something, then moved the camera to 'reframe' the shot, the 'AF-S' begins to 'drift', to whatever is a 'focusable' target in the center of the frame.

It is a 'subtle' action, the 'drift' is slow, but evenually if the object of the center of the frame is 'radically' different in distance from the 'subject', the focus on the subject will drift out...

Example (wedding...). Shot: Couple at Altar in Church, audience behind. Cameraperson standing behind wedding party, looking towards church audience (of the minister/priest allows...)

Ok, so focus on the couple, then shift the frame so the couple is on the left side of the frame, revealing the audience in the church... then notice, couple drifts out of focus... and some joker in the middle of the audience comes in to crystal clear sharp focus...

Not the desired effect. The desired effect is that the couple remain in sharp focus, and the audience is thrown into a 'soft focus' effect (why else have shallow Depth of Field...).

This is done extensively with still cameras, as well as 'standard video' cameras with a 'manual focus', but momentary push button auto focus 'override' capability.

My 'solution' to this is, turn the focus selection knob to 'AF-S', AutoFocus-Single... half-press for focus, then turn the knob to "M", Manual. The focus 'sticks'... then should I need to adjust focus, turn knob to 'AF-S', half-press, hope the AF converges on what I want... then reset knob to Manual, when focus is achieved. Any jolt/jiggle doing this procedure, I'll cut out in editing... unless some news worthy event takes place.. then I'll hope like hell that I can salvage the footage...
 
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