craigbuckley Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Hey so I just got my gh2 with my 20mm pancake. Works great. Still trying to figure it out. I have two questions though, 1.How do you zoom in? or can you zoom in? 2. Anyone suggest a good youtube video or link to read to learn about using a gh2 and cameras like it/such.. maybe I should read the manual? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanveer Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 The Panasonic 20mm f1.7 is a fixed focal length lens, meaning, that you cannot zoom in. The advantage that it offers, over a zoom, is that, you can get prime lenses, which are very fast (meaning, that they are very bright). This is great for indoor, or night shooting. Thought, I haven't tried any video or other tutorials, myself (I read a lot of articles, by various users, from Cinematographers, to Bloggers, to regular users, apart from checking various videos on Vimeo and YouTube), maybe, these will be helpful: [url="http://osgfilms.com/gh2-quickstart/"]http://osgfilms.com/gh2-quickstart/[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uROQbbiiO2I&noredirect=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uROQbbiiO2I&noredirect=1[/url] Btw, do NOT use the 20mm f1.7, with Autofocus, for video. Its too slow. Otherwise its a nice and fast lens, and very good, for the price. Best of Luck, with your new cam. craigbuckley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axel Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 In this video, there finally is a good explanation of the iDynamic function. As it increases noise in the shadows, I suspect it would be best to turn it off. Comments? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sanveer Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 iDynamic is apparently, a bad idea, for shooting video. I read, at quite a few places, that, the iDynamic function, makes the video create more noise (more grainy, in darker spots). Though, there have been very few actual videos, documenting this. This is one video, which does document it (though, from the looks of things, this could very easily have been cause, by the ISO Bug, or even due to the high contrast, at lower ISO, a little like the noise, in the video, in which Andrew testes the new SLR Magic lenses). I dunno. I don't use it, because I did earlier, and, I did not notice any difference. Also, one of the hacks (don't remember which one), said that the iDynamic has to be turned off, when the hack is installed. [url="http://vimeo.com/31420150"]http://vimeo.com/31420150[/url] P.S.: Btw, Andrew, I Really liked the train shot, in your SLR Magic Lens testing video, where you have inter-cut 2 shots, of the train, from 2 different angles, and then changed the focus from the train, to the fence, in the 2nd shot. Maybe, I'll use it for something ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigbuckley Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 thank you for your reply! So is the 20mm good for shooting video? The lens is so small- it is hard to manual focus, especially mid shot, so maybe I need a better lens for video. I just ordered the canon fd 50mm, will this zoom? DO I need a zoom lens for video? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 [quote name='craigbuckley' timestamp='1349444579' post='19410'] thank you for your reply! So is the 20mm good for shooting video? The lens is so small- it is hard to manual focus, especially mid shot, so maybe I need a better lens for video. I just ordered the canon fd 50mm, will this zoom? DO I need a zoom lens for video? [/quote] Lol, you're cracking me up dude. The "mm" after a number refers to the distance at which the lens sees. So for a 20mm or 50mm, you only get one distance - no zoom. A zoom lens would be titled something like "7-14mm" or "35-100mm." Meaning you could start at a length of 35mm and zoom all the way though 100mm. The 20mm is just fine for video. It may be a bit hard to focus with so just keep that in mind while shooting. You will need an FD to micro 4/3 adaptor to shoot with the canon fd lens by the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigbuckley Posted October 5, 2012 Author Share Posted October 5, 2012 ok relax Zach. Keep it in the pants... But I appreciate all you guys help, I am new to this field... What is the GH2 "Hack" all about? I keep hearing that and not sure if its a program or a setting or what... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrad Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 The hack is 3rd party (as in, not made by Panasonic) software that you can download and install on your GH2 for different settings. It allows shooting at higher bit-rates, which basically means you'll have video that is more open to colour correction, and that holds more information in the shadows, etc. The downside is that you can hold less video on your memory card. You can zoom 2.6x on the 20mm and all your other lenses by using the GH2's 'ex-tele' mode. This is different from an optical zoom (where you change the mm of your lens), but the quality is very good and it's worth using in good lighting conditions. craigbuckley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuickHitRecord Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 [quote name='craigbuckley' timestamp='1349447633' post='19413']What is the GH2 "Hack" all about? I keep hearing that and not sure if its a program or a setting or what...[/quote] Based on your questions, I think that you would benefit from a class in basic photography and/or filmmaking or at least some Google searches, and then I'd recommend that you pick up Andrew's e-book all about the GH2 ([url="http://www.eoshd.com/gh2-guide-book"]http://www.eoshd.com/gh2-guide-book[/url]). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy lee Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 have a good read of this US Navy basic photography course all you need to know about all the basics is in here [url="http://www.scribd.com/doc/7835975/US-Navy-Course-NAVEDTRA-14209-Photography-Basic"]http://www.scribd.com/doc/7835975/US-Navy-Course-NAVEDTRA-14209-Photography-Basic[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 [quote name='craigbuckley' timestamp='1349447633' post='19413'] ok relax Zach. Keep it in the pants... [/quote] I'm perfectly relaxed! Just found your question to be funny. The above resources are great. May be helpful to just pick up a basic photography book, thats how I got started. Also check out philip blooms website - he's got a lot of camera reviews and explanations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Teixeira Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 I have used the 2.6x extension on the 20mm and it's true that the quality is very good. If you really want a zoom, theirs the 14-140mm lens, the powered zoom 14-42, powered zoom 45-175mm and then if money is really no option, theirs the Panasonic 12-35mm and the 35-100mm. The last 2 lenses will give you better low light capabilities that the prior lenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigbuckley Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 any good beginning photography books you guys recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirrorkisser Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 [url="http://www.amazon.de/Panasonic-Lumix-DMC-GH2-Unofficial-Quintessential/dp/193395289X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books-intl-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1349536356&sr=1-1"]http://www.amazon.de...49536356&sr=1-1[/url] [url="http://www.amazon.de/Digital-Filmmaking-Handbook-Sonja-Schenk/dp/1435459113/ref=sr_1_4?s=books-intl-de&ie=UTF8&qid=1349536394&sr=1-4"]http://www.amazon.de...49536394&sr=1-4[/url] or take a look at Andrew Reids book. People here are very nice and helpful. Everybody has been a newbie at a certain point. But please also use the search function and google. If that does not help you can still ask... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigbuckley Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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