Switching to an EVIL camera

Barry Wilson the 1st

Barry Wilson the 1st

So I was thinking of switching to a GH2, and more than likely hacking it.
I like my Canon XA10, but i feel to become a better cinematographer, I need to learn about a using different lenses.
I am used to cameras without changeable lens, so I want to jump ship and begin to use them.
After I finish a couple of projects, I will sell my xa10 and take the plunge.

My question is what are a good set of prime and zoom lenses I should look into? the biggest problem seems to be the crop factor the of the camera, which seems to almost double.
I know for sure I would want a couple of primes, such as a 28mm and 50. What other suggestions?

Thank you for the time.
 
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Can you put a friggin lazer on your EVIL camera?

Two of our regulars (wheatgrinder and Kholi) are GH2 users, and they produce some very fine content (and it's worth noting that both of them are DP-types).

I agree with Gonzo that a wide lens would be nice. On my 1.6 crop-factor DSLR, I use the 18mm side of my stock zoom lens quite a bit. I imagine if I had a GH2, I would probably want something at least in the 14mm range.
 
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When I get it, I honestly might call it Dr. Evil because of that.

I know the gh2 comes with a 14 to 42mm kit lens, which opens up to 3.5, which is not that bad.
I found a 28mm vivitar prime which looks pretty decent too.
While I do want a couple of primes, I am certainly not opposed to using zooms, because I like variety.
Have many people used the GH2? If so, what do you like about it?
 
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Barry Wilson the 1st said:
I know the gh2 comes with a 14 to 42mm kit lens, which opens up to 3.5, which is not that bad.
Click to expand...

Good. I was not aware of that. :)

Primes are all the rage, and for good reason. If you're a serious DP-type, I suspect it won't be long before you'll want to amass a worthy set of glass. But for the here-and-now, and considering your budget, I think the GH2 with it's stock will do you just fine. :)
 
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EVIL stands for Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens.

I do not think there is anything sinister or bad about it though.
To me, it just seems to be a better camera than say a 60d or a Mark 3. The fact that moire is not a problem for them makes them better in my eyes.
 
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Barry - The XA10 is a great camcorder, but I think I understand what you're trying to do.

I have a GH2 and found the kit lenses to be too slow to use indoors without lighting. I have recently started buying lenses from the predecessor 4/3 system with a relatively inexpensive adapter. These lenses give you autofocus ( a little slow) and autoiris and produce great video and still images. I bought a used Olympus 11-22mm f2.8-3.5 with a used Panasonic DMW-MA1 adapter. This is a fabulous lens and I pretty much leave it on the camera all the time.

Thinking about trading it in, though, for the new Panasonic 12-35mm constant f2.8, but this lens was just announced and is not available yet - and once it arrives, it will be pretty expensive.

If you prefer primes, I have also heard very good things about the Oly 12mm f2.0.

Congratulations and welcome to the world of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. I don't like "EVIL" or "MILC" or "CSC", so I call them "DSLMs" (for Digital Single Lens Mirrorless) instead of DSLRs or DSLTs (Sony's name for their translucent mirror cameras). It may not be the most descriptive acronym, but its similar enough to "DSLR" that it fits into a framework that millions of people are familiar with and is therefor easier to explain. Sadly, the marketing departments at Panasonic and Olympus aren't listening to me - I'm pretty much the only one who uses "DSLM" ;)

Good luck with your new camera!

Bill
 
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Never heard of that acronym before, thanks for dropping some knowledge!

Barry,
Personally, I was debating between the 60d and the gh2 while looking for a new camera. I REALLY didn't want to get the Panasonic just based on name recognition alone (I still get the "what the hell is a lumix" from people). But after all the comparisons on YouTube, shootouts on blogs, and searches in forums like this, I had to go with the gh2 (the hacks are a nice bonus too).

I'm still a noob compared to the others on the forum, but it all comes down to how much you wanna spend/afford. Invest in a wide fast lens like the others suggested. Then just watch some lens reviews on YouTube, Vimeo, Google and scour the ebays for vintage glass, if you're on a budget. I've inherited nice Soligor and Nikon primes that are over 30 years old.

Good luck to ya
 
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Barry Wilson the 1st said:
EVIL stands for Electronic Viewfinder, Interchangeable Lens.

I do not think there is anything sinister or bad about it though.
To me, it just seems to be a better camera than say a 60d or a Mark 3. The fact that moire is not a problem for them makes them better in my eyes.
Click to expand...

You'll have way more moire and aliasing problems on a GH2 than you would on a MK3 where that has been virtually eliminated. At about 4 X the price of course. The colors on the GH2 can also be problematic and it has issues with weird artifacts, Not saying it's not a good camera, it is, but it's far from perfect.
 
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I sold my canon and got a GH2. No regrets. Most of the stuff on my site was shot with it. I would recommend it to anyone. I have a 28mm, 14mm, and a 50mm. I shoot with the 50mm moreso than the others.
 
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Gonzo_Entertainment said:
You'll have way more moire and aliasing problems on a GH2 than you would on a MK3 where that has been virtually eliminated. At about 4 X the price of course. The colors on the GH2 can also be problematic and it has issues with weird artifacts, Not saying it's not a good camera, it is, but it's far from perfect.
Click to expand...

I did some research and the gh2 has virtually no moire. I watched a video compared to the 60d, and geez there was nothing at all. And it was not even hacked.
 
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Gonzo_Entertainment said:
You'll have way more moire and aliasing problems on a GH2 than you would on a MK3 where that has been virtually eliminated...
Click to expand...

Have you seen Andrew Reid of eoshd's side-by-side of the two cameras?

His conclusion on moire and aliasing: "Both cameras don’t have any detectable moire apart from at extremes on a test chart. Aliasing is a minor issue on the edges of highlights with the GH2 and the 5D Mark III doesn’t have any apart from on extremely gentle fine sloping high contrast lines where the resolving power isn’t quite enough to render the detail."

His conclusion on resolution: "The extra resolution on the GH2 gives the image a ‘pop’ in general and makes for an all-round better looking image..."

Pretty good for an 18 month old camera that costs less than $1000 ;)

Cheers,

Bill
 
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Again, not saying it's not a good camera, but do any reading in GH2 dedicated forums and you'll find it does have it's own basket of issues including terrible menus, artifacting, poor color rendition and lens limitations. No camera is the "best" for everybody, it's pick your poison. They all have pluses and minuses.
 
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The post was regarding your comment that the GH2 has "way more aliasing and moire than the 5Dmark iii." That simply isn't true and evidence was given. It has nothing to do with the other issues.
 
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ah, Im a raving GH2 fanboy but Im going to side with Gonzo here.. but only because of semantics.

The GH2 has very LITTLE aliasing, certainly not a lot of moire. However, very little is still "some" .. the MK3 is much closer to NONE so in tech terms you will have more aliasing issues with the GH2 then you will with the MK3.. say for example 1 in 1000 shots with an aliasing issue vs 1 in 10,000....

Aliasing is certainly not a reason to NOT get the GH2.

GH2 IS the best video image for the buck right now, but there are BETTER but it will cost ya.. a lot!
 
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Gonzo_Entertainment said:
Again, not saying it's not a good camera, but do any reading in GH2 dedicated forums and you'll find it does have it's own basket of issues including terrible menus, artifacting, poor color rendition and lens limitations. No camera is the "best" for everybody, it's pick your poison. They all have pluses and minuses.
Click to expand...

And once again we wade in to familiar water.
Menus: yes they suck. Manual is also garbage
Artifacting: Has a few banding issue, but generally produces extremely clean image.
Color: a lot of people love the GH2 color. I like it a lot, Canon color often looks plasticky to my eyes. subjective.
Lens: Accepts any lens. m43 sensor creates 1.9 crop factor though, so can't get super wide.

GH2 has the sharpest image of any DSLR and is dirt cheap. A lot of DP's love the way it handles motion.
 
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Lots of people love it (the GH2 image), some people (including me) don't. Again, no perfect camera. I like the image from the MK2 better than the image from a hacked GH2. You don't, that's why aesthetics are subjective.
 
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