Search the Community

Hey guys! I'm looking to get into video work, and I'm trying to figure out which camera would best suit my needs. I'm looking for a camera with great stills as well as video. The 3 main contenders for me are panasonic's gh3 and g6 and Nikon's d5300. All of them offer full HD at 24 at 60fps, which is crucial for me. They also all have a 3.5mm jack for external microphone. These specs are similar, but Panasonic's seem to be better for video. If it was video alone, I would choose the Panasonic cameras. But, I'm also looking for great stills. Right now I have the sony a58, and I don't want anything under the quality of its stills. The d5300 has better dynamic range, AF, sensor size, and low light performance. I've heard that the d5300 is one of the best APS-C sensor cameras for video, but it's also one of the most annoying to use. I don't want to sacrifice any stills/video quality. Which would you guys suggest? Here's a post by eoshd themselves against the d5300. http://www.eoshd.com/2014/02/nikon-d5300-review/ I would really appreciate the help!

I'm starting to set myself up a small videography business: just a one-man-band doing local stuff - community group promos, weddings, etc. I'm still working on the website (www.lintelfilms.co.uk) and have just finished the 2nd draft of my promotional film. I'd really appreciate your feedback on the film. I don't mind at all if you are brutal!

Panasonic GH2 hacked Moon Trial 5 hack, shot in 1080p HBR mode 25 fps (~ 60Mbps) Standard profile -2-2-2-2 Panasonic 14-42mm kitlens, OIS on. Looks like there are some dropped frames in the GH2 footage, did use a Sandisk 95MB/s card though... Panasonic G6 AVCHD 1080p 25 fps (24Mbps) Standard profile -5-5-5-5 Panasonic 14-42mm kitlens, OIS on. Everything shot with the same fixed white balance at 1/50s, various apertures but same on both camera's at all times. My first impressions: The G6 looks better to me. Better shadow detail and a bit more detail in the highlights. Probably due to flatter picture. The G6 shares the picture styles with the GH3, so no smooth like on the GH2. Kept both camera's on standard to keep it as close as possible. Everything dialed down maximum. Less noise at high iso's, less banding. Couldn't detect any moire. Looks a tad less sharp than (hacked) GH2, but that could be up to the sharpening at -5. With some sharpening probably same detail level. Rolling shutter looks the same to me. Although the G6 is a bit smaller I actually prefer the grip to the GH2. It holds very nicely. The lcd is much much better. The color cast on the GH2 screen is horrible. The G6 looks pretty natural and true to the output. Funny thing: the viewfinder looks quite smaller to me.

This is a promotional reel I've just made for the small videography business I'm currently setting up (one-man-band doing local community organisations, weddings etc). Everything in it was shot on low-end/cheap cameras, several of which have been discussed and compared extensively on this forum over the last year or two. To boot, other than the Tokina 11-16mm all of the lenses were each bought for under $300. After a couple of enquiries about the gear I used for this reel, I've decided to add subtitles to show each camera (and lens) each shot was taken with. Just click the 'CC' button in the Vimeo play bar to turn the subtitles on. I'd welcome feedback on my reel, but this is mainly posted here in the hope it might be of use to others: Sorry the subtitles aren't synched perfectly to each edit (it's not easy with Amara). You'll work it out though I hope ...

Two journeys, a plane into Macau, and the ferry to Kowloon, as the storm clouds come in. Panasonic G6, 20mm 1.7, neat video NR, ImpulZ LUTs Unfortunately the noise reduction means that banding is evident in the vimeo stream. It's a bit better if you download it. It got a nice review on Coconuts Hong Kong, which has never happened to me before. If you'll forgive me quoting my own good press! http://hongkong.coconuts.co/2014/08/08/video-fall-love-hong-kongs-typhoon-season-romanticised-wet-weather-treat

Shot entirely on a G6. Edit and grade in FCPX. Nikkor manual lenses and tilt transformer. See Vimeo description for details.

I hope I can get some good advice from you - at least I'm sure I'm at the right place here. Ever since the G6 came out I'm having an eye on it's price. Unfortunately rumour has it that it's not produced anymore and also price drop is stagnating. Because of that I'm thinking of getting it soon. If I had the money, I of course would go for the 14-140mm bundle as a start and later on buy one or two primes to complete the kit but 750€ for the kit is just more than I want/can affort. I was looking for more affordable alternatives for that lens but it seems there are none. So I thought why not just get the G6 body for about 370€ and some old, even vintage lenses and a adapter along with it? I'd much prefer all manual lenses anyways (at least for photography), but although I've read quite a bit about it I simply have no clue which ones I should go for in specific or what adapter would be needed. I can tell you that lens size/weight doesn't matter to me and even that the lenses don't have to be top notch - but I also don't want to waste my money on crap. In the long run I might even get a speedbooster so the lenses you suggest should be ok with but also without one and just using a adapter instead (as that's how I'm going to start) and preferably the same lens mount. Of course that's another story if a lens is available for 30-40€ only - then the mount is not that important as long as there is an adapter. I'd be using the G6 for indoor videography - with more than enough lighting though. To give you an idea what lenses could be needed, here's what I'm using it for: I'm mainly filming products from a distance of about 1-2 meters The objects usually are below 10cm wide/high/deep There's basically only two options to film such a product: Either them alone, all over the screen or along with my forearms and hands holding/moving it. But I also would use it for photography and I appreciate a nice bokeh in most cases for: the products I'm filming, of course portraits of course the standard family/friends pictures every now and then I want to get into night sky - astrophotograpy (milkyway, so no extrem zooms but a wide angle lens), also time lapses of that street life/nature photography is something I'm doing rather seldom Ok, I really hope you guys can help me with lens suggestions as I just don't like the idea of getting the standart zoom bundle. Hopefully the lense junkies in this forum will assist me with their knowledge. Every answer helping me with my decision is very appreciated.

This is probably a stupid question but after an hour googling and looking through the manual I've come up short... I've got a G6 and am using exclusively for video. I've read it's good to keep the camera at "natural" -5, 0, -5, 0, and shutter speed at 1/50. I have NO IDEA how to set the shutter speed at 1/50. I see an option for everything from "2" to "4000". Is 1/50 the same as "50" on the G6? I'm sure this is a simple one. Sorry for my ignorance.

Hi All Could you recommend a B roll camera to use alongside a Panasonic G6? My budget will allow for a second G6. but is this really necessary? Thanks in advance for your recommendations. Regards Shaun

With advice from some of you, I picked up a G6 recently for corporate video work (actually replaced my Canon 6D with the G6 to save money). I thought I was getting a GH3, but due to an inventory error by keh I ended up with no GH3, so I picked up a G6 off Craigslist. This is my first experience with Micro Four Thirds. FWIW, first impressions from my first weekend of shooting: Ah, the joy of a camera from a manufacturer who cares about video!! Now that I've seen how video-friendly Panasonic can make these things, I'm even more dumfounded that other manufacturers don't do the same thing (Dear Nikon, I would have bought a D5300 and been all-in with Nikon if you didn't have that ridiculously short video time limit). In less than 5 minutes I understood the menu system and had all of my key video settings ready to go. Very intuitive. Love all of the custom fn keys. Delighted by the battery life, no overheating issues, and no video time limits. First thing I did was set it up and just let it run - an hour and a half later, it was still recording just fine, and still had 2/3 battery life. My first touch screen, and I like it. The very light plastic is a shock coming from DSLR bodies, but overall I like it. That LCD hinge just scares me a little bit. It seems flimsy. Glad to have the electronic viewfinder for shooting video outdoors. The "record" button frustrates me some - it's indented so much into the camera body. If you're not looking at the LCD, it's not clear when you've depressed it and when you haven't. I love the little lenses. I got rid of my 6D partly because I just didn't carry it around because of size, and so many of the lenses were truly massive. I'm really excited about the deeper depth of field. I got the 6D partly because I wanted the super-shallow DOF. But for the kind of corporate stuff I do most of the time, I had to stop down to at least 4.5 just to get the nose in focus! So it's actually really cool to be able to shoot in the 1.4-3.5 range. Of course that also helps to offset the higher ISO noise issues. Video autofocus is surprisingly usable. I manual focus most of the time, but am pleasantly surprised to see that this will do the job if I really need it. The 2x crop factor is going to take some adjusting. I love using older manual focus lenses for video, and of course anything wider than 24mm costs a fortune. So I'll have to use MFT lenses to go wide. But gratefully I've discovered that one of the key focal lengths I need is the FF 100mm equivalent - which means the whole world of affordable 50mm lenses are available as options! Colors are really going to require some adjustment. Coming from Canon, I'm so used to pulling back the deep reds and rich colors. With the standard output from the Panasonic sensor, I can get a very natural look for skin tones if I do quite a bit of color correction. But overall I'm just surprised at how flat the image is, even when I crank up contrast and color. It seems to be really tailored toward film-look customizations in post processing. Again I'm not really concerned by this - I'll learn the PP that works best to get what I need. But it's a big shift from what I'm used to. Grateful for your advice that pointed me toward the G6, Tim

I've made the switch to M4/3 2 months ago. So far, couldn't be more happy, but then again I have done nothing but well-lit shoots or with plenty of daylight. But, in a few months I'll be shooting a few wedding videos again. Which means I'll be facing the challenges of shooting in low light. My Canon T3i did a decent job, even though going past 1250 ISO meant macroblocking and all kinds of ugly artifacts. The noise on my G6 is much less obnoxious, but it's still a lot less sensitive to light than my T3i. So, I'm looking for a solution to shoot lowlight and still stay within M4/3. Without having to setup lights (strictly ambient light shooting). From the few tests I've done indoors, the G6 seems to lack that extra bit I need. Is the GH3 the camera to pick for low light shooting ? And is it's sensitivity comparable to the Canon TXi series (read : the 7D sensor) ? Or is it the GM1 I need ? To be clear : lenses aren't the problem (shooting with a 25mm 1.4, 35 1.7 and 50 1.4). Anyone else made the switch from a 7D, T2i or T3i to a GH3 or GM ? Couldn't find any direct comparisons online ... Thanks in advance.

id love to hear g6 specific tips and tricks from my fellow owners!!! its day one for me with the camera; never owned a panny before so this is all new to me :o what do I need to know about this lil guy? :) one question right off the bat: so i see that 24p is available in avchd but not mp4 (?) whats the easy way to deal with avchd files on a mac running mavericks? no idea wtf is going on with the file structure/whatever. i have cs6 software btw P L E A S E H E L P G U Y S also, generally, id love to hear about what youre doing to make that g6 footage look more organic and less electronic, more cinematic and less videographic~! PLEASE SHARE!

Hi,   This is my 1st post, I have been reading this forum for the last 6 months or so. I have owned a 2nd hand GH2 and found this site shortly after my purchase (I brought Andrew's GH2 shooters guide, very good!) but decided to upgrade manly because my GH2 is faulty and out of warranty. For the last few months I have been reading a deliberating on what camera to buy. I want to use it manly to make short films & shoot arty stuff but also like to use it as a camera. I have a 3 lenses: SLR Magic 12mm, Voigtlander Nokton 25mm & an old Olympus auto-s 50mm After considering the G6 or GH3 I decided to go G6. With a lot of new tech emerging I think 2014 may produce some very interesting cameras, GH4 etc.. But need something to tided me over as my GH2 is playing up.   After playing around with my G6 for a few hours I thought I would see what fellow G6 users suggest as good settings? Mainly for 24p but 50p would also be useful i'm sure.   Sorry if this has been posted before, I did have a quick look.

Hi Guys,   i love the g6 videoquality, specialy for aerial filming would this be a perfect solution (light and small but sharp picture). But with no live video output it is useless for me. Anyone know a camera with almost the same picturequality but not bigger then the g6 and a live videooutput. it doesn't matter if analog or hdmi. but it needs to be working even when i hit the record button.   maybe someone has an idea. i'm using the nex5 right now. gh3 is also nice, but a bit to big. maybe a bmpcc, but i would like to have the 50p, because i'm doing a lot of sport and car stuff.   thanks Marcus

Straight out of the camera... https://vimeo.com/72585046

Just got a G6 and heading to Tokyo next week with the 12-35 and 20mm.  Anyone have suggestions for shooting flat/neutral on the G6?   I've been testing with -5, -5, -2, 0 on Natural.  But would love to hear what everyone else is doing and what's been working.  Just had the camera for a week now.    I am new to dslr shooting (I have shot 16mm film before), but I am targeting a cinema look in post.  I plan to shoot in 24p/AVCHD.  

Hi -    I am v. basic photographer but want to learn...mostly travel/family etc...Would love to get a bit more serious and learn about video etc.   So...I currently have a Pana LX5 which I find generally nice.    I was going to upgrade to the RX100 II to get really great shots in a compact form for again, travel/family etc.   My first question is on a slightly different tangent...I am looking at non fixed lens cameras..And came down to NEX 6 vs Pana G6. Both seem to get pretty good universal reviews.   I guess on this forum most people would recommend the G6 for better video?   If am pretty keen on small form..Would the NEx6 be OK/nearly as good but with the better/smaller form?   And if the answer is the NEX6 would likely be pretty good for me. I wonder if I shouldn't get the RX100 II and just step straight to the NEX6.   NEX 6 with a lens vs RX100 II is almost the same price on Amazon in the US.   Any advice/thoughts appreciated.   thanks, Brett  

Double-post. Moderator; please delete this:)