Canon vs Panasonic DSLR's

I'm helping someone put a camera package together. I've only used the Canon DSLR's and I'm really partial to them, but after reading about the GH1 and new GH2 hacks wanted to give a second look at the Panasonics. I'm read up, and I don't remember seeing a general Panasonic vs Canon thread, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

So, you Panasonic guys, price aside, why the GH2 vs a Canon Crop Sensor DSLR (7D, t3i, t2i)

What about the GH2 vs a 5D Mk. II?

Sell me on them haha. One more question, has anyone used them side by side on the same production? How will it work alongside a 7D, will it match pretty well?

Thanks much!
 
The Panasonic cameras are far better at dealing with moire and aliasing issues. They also resolve more detail. The Canon crop sensors are slightly larger than the Panny m4/3 sensors, but it's a minor difference; they're both dwarfed by the full frame 5d. Coming straight out of the camera, the Panasonic has a flatter image. It's better for grading, but looking at ungraded footage many people prefer the "Canon look". They can be graded to match well, especially if they are set to due so. I remember seeing a guide to get a good matching image, but I can't locate it at the moment. Due to the m4/3 lens mount, the Panasonic can mount pretty much any lens in existence that will cover the sensor size. The GH2 also has a crop mode that takes a 1080p image from the center of the sensor, essentially giving you a 3x zoom. The T3i has a similar feature. Overall, I prefer the GH2, but both the Canon and Panasonic cameras are great. I've never used both brands in the same project, but we will be doing that for the 48HFP in a couple weeks. I look forward to comparing the footage.
 
The Canons also have a bit more latitude and have a more intuitive menu structure. The audio on the Canons is astonishingly bad. GH2 audio is passable straight to camera if it's not a dual system moment.
 
I shot a music vid a couple of weeks ago using a canon HF200 camcorder, a T2i and a GH2. I bought the GH2 a week before this shoot.
I used the GH2 most of the time because its better in low light. I used a 28mm/2.8 canon, 50mm/1.8 canon and the Panasonic 14-40. All of the footage is shot at 24fps, 1/50, 1080...
I tried matching the exposure and look using the camera on set the best I could and then tweaked all the footage in post. I was a lot more happy with the GH2 stuff right off the card. I used smoke to make some of the lighting stand out and the GH2 shows the smoke more clearly.. The canon shows it as noise almost.

Canon Shots
0:10-0:15
0:32-0:36
0:52-0:54
1:19-1:22

The rest was GH2 except the hand-held stuff at the end that was the HF200.

I'm really happy with the Panasonic so far. Its a noticeable difference in quality once you get it dialed in. The autofocus could be faster, but it maybe the way I have it set....

The menus arent bad to me.. I think the custom settings are what confuses people. The first icon is for whatever setting you have selected, the next is secondary or related functions, and the c+wrench icon is for the custom settings, the wrench icon is for general/global functions. The MY icon "remembers" the last items you changed so you dont have to go through the menus again to find them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBLW-Lt5LfQ


Get the GH2 you wont be disappointed.
 
Coming straight out of the camera, the Panasonic has a flatter image.

Really? My 7d has a pretty stinkin flat image, even more so with the CineStyle profile by Technicolor. If it does than great.

@Anim8 - thanks for posting the video. The Canon was a bit softer for sure, that may have been lens though? Or Aperture, because the Canon lenses are faster? Have you used it in daylight?

Anim8 said:
I used the GH2 most of the time because its better in low light.
This is a little surprising too. Better how, less noise? Generally the bigger sensor, the better it does in low light (except the 1D Mk IV, which can run up to 3200 ISO without too much noise and it's sensor can actually see detail in shadows better than the human eye). Vincent Laforet said that you can doa t2i/t3i/7D up to 800 ISO, a 5D up to 1600 ISO and a 1D up to 3200 before passing the noise threshold.

Have you guys noticed any difference in color depth? Form what I read the Canons are a bit deeper.

Also, has anyone used 1080 60p on a hacked Panasonic? For what I do, that right there might be the selling factor.

Thanks again. Not trying to be argumentative, just want to examine all sides haha.
 
The fact it's mirrorless and will adapt any lens is a huge plus, but the 2X crop put me off it. I really wanted to shoot all vintage glass, so you'd be SOL for wide angle.

The crop factor on the GH2 in 16x9 is actually closer to 1.8x, or so I've read. There's been conflicting reports on that. The closest thing to a wide angle with vintage glass that I'm aware of is the 17mm Canon FD. There's also a Minolta 17mm as well.
 
The crop is 1.9 I believe and 1.6 for a APS-C...I think.

The Canons do a little better with color, that's true. The Panny does better with Res and the biggest tihing for me was the lack of moire and aliasing -- that used to drive me nuts on the 7d. The panny VF is far better as well, the 7d has a fixed LCD and the optical VF disables in video mode.

For wide shots, the Canon 5d is king. For my Gh2 I put a .5 WAD on my 14-55mm f2.8 Oly lens. It's not bad, a little bit of distortion and softening though.
 
Back
Top