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Fun with Panasonic GH3

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OJO

Guest
My camera is coming in so I like to start this thread to share fun images with the GH3.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I tried it yesterday. It feels bigger and heavier than expected, and some of the changes to the ergonomics are not to my liking, particularly the "Canon style" wheel on the back.
But: It feels extremely solid and well balanced, at least as good as the Nikon D7000 in that respect and miles ahead of the GH1/2. Over all a very positive experience.

I won't be buying one soon, since I purchased more or less unused GH1 and GH2 last week (in addition to the GH1 I already had) for around a third of what 2 GH3 bodies would have cost me (I'm going more or less all m4/3 for work now, so I need 3 bodies), but it's an open question how long I can withstand the temptation.
 

bensonga

Well-known member
I'll be interested to see one of these too. I've had problems inadvertently hitting buttons on my GH2, especially the WB and ISO, so I'm hoping the placement of these buttons on the top of the GH3 will be an improvement for me. I'd like a GH body that was a little bigger than the GH2 and better built as well....so this could be just the ticket for me.
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I would be interested in hearing how you are making use of three bodies. Are you dedicating them to individual lenses or purposes?
Yes, for events and motor sports in particular. 7-14 and 14-45mm on the 2 GH1s. 100-300mm on the GH2 since AF is more demanding with that lens. I'm also carrying a portrait lens, currently a Zeiss 85/1.4, soon to be replaced by a Zuiko 75/1.8. I even consider buying an E-PL5 and equip it with the new Zuiko 17/1.8 for stealthy environmental portraits. That camera/lens combo is so small that it goes into a pocket in my pants or vest.

With sport events, motor sports in particular, but also on other occasions, there's simply no time to change lenses, and important shots may be missed if I don't have all options available.

With the Nikon gear, I've carried 2 bodies and had a backup in the car, but since the 3 Panasonic bodies with lenses weigh less than the D2Xs with 80-200 AF-S, I can afford the luxury of carrying all three bodies in a medium sized belt pack.

Another application for 3 bodies is when I do video. Now, I can have 2 bodies fixed on tripods while I use the last one handheld, mixing them together in Premiere. Particularly useful for industrial video where seeing a process from different angles is often of utmost importance.
 
O

OJO

Guest
here is the first shot straight from camera JPG.
 
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Tesselator

New member
For me the ergonomics of the GH2 are just about perfect. I can hit all the buttons and handle the camera with confidence in most situations. If I were to change anything from my own personal intuition I would fatten the grip hump some, enlarge the 4-way control buttons, and weather-proof the system. Functionally I would widen the view of the EVF, improve the diopter lens quality, increase the strength of the flash, offer between 12 and 20FPS in continuous drive (with a buffer large and fast enough to accommodate), vastly improve the in-camera JPeg conversion engine, and add an internal intervalometer.

The GH3 as well as the OM-D address many of those issues so I'm definitely looking forward to owning one (or both?) of them. Of course I'll have to wait till they come down significantly in price. The OM-D is already starting its downward spiral in retail terms so maybe I'll get that one first. :)



BTW, if those images above are 100% crops then I'm fairly (but not completely) impressed. If those are full image scales then I'm completely disappointed.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
This seem to be the story of the mirrorless cams (from any brand). Early buyers pay significantly more.
 

ohnri

New member
I've been shooting with mine for several days and shot a couple of indoor sports events with the 35-100 f/2.8 lens.

It is a very impressive camera. The best ergonomics of any micro 4/3's camera to date. Even with the add on battery grip my OMD is not as good in this department.

The video is superb. Nothing close. For any function where I want video or a combination of video and stills the GH3 will be very hard to beat. It blows away my D4 and handily beats my OMD as well. For very casual video the OMD IBIS does provide amazing stabilization though.

After getting my OMD, I sold my M9. Now, after getting my GH3, I am not selling my D4 but it has been further marginalized.

It is a great time to be a gear head, er, photographer!

-Bill

Fashion Meets Fighting

April 2012 – Bill Fulcher | HatakeyamaGallery.com
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
Very interesting report, Bill, and thank you. I'm stocking up on m4/3 gear now. The 100-300 and GH3 are next on the list. My plan was also to replace my Nikon bodies with a D600, but I'm not sure what I'd use it for. Maybe better to buy some more good lenses for m4/3.
 
O

OJO

Guest
The more I play with this GH3, the more I love the camera. One of the many features I like from this camera is the electronic shutter which is great for long tele lens. I will try out some of my long tele lens tomorrow.
 
Is it true that the lowest ISO setting on the GH3 is 200? That's the info I'm getting from online reviews. I'm puzzled as to why such an advanced camera as this does not have a 100 ISO setting. It's going to be a serious challenge trying to slow down your shutter speeds or shoot wide open without ND filters. Other than that, I'm really impressed with the specs on this camera.
 

ceklund

New member
That one reviewer used the GH2 made it more credible. I know there is a difference in sized with DSLRs, but wow. That is why I like my m4/3 so much.
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
I think the main difference is actually that you hardly can use these HDSLRs without a rig. You need an extra EVF. Also doing handheld fast work is a problem. Always preferred the GH2 over any HDSLR for handling.

If you use full rigs all things change of course.
 

ustein

Contributing Editor
>Using Wi-Fi today to my iPhone.

Does it work peer to peer without any other network involved? Would you mind to describe the steps (saves me reading the manual :)).
 

ptomsu

Workshop Member
Well a bit off topic, but thought I would share this as it is kind of an interesting finding after the few past years:

I used to be one of the first adopters of the GH2 and while I was not doing much video, I always liked the GH2 concept and also the OOC IQ for photos. Finally sold it as I went into other camera adventures.

Recently I viewed a number of photos I had shot with the GH2 in Aperture and I was blown away! I was not able to get that look some 2 years ago using LR and I had not tried Aperture at this time.

I assume that the IQ from the GH3 is even better than the IQ from the GH2, especially when using higher ISO. Also the body design looks much more pro-like, as I am used ( and maybe also many others) from conventional DSLRs, but still much smaller and lighter. Adding to that the new X-lenses from Pana this seems to become a winning combination.

Also I recently started to use more video on my DSLR (D800E) and while the handling is not bad I could see the big advantages from the GH3 as I was really missing the option to take high res photos during video, which Nikon does not allow in a really useable way (and I assume Canon is similar).

So while getting more and more attracted by hybrid shooting I might definitely get a GH3 in addition to my OMD.
 
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