Equipment Advice for someone just starting

[deckitout]

I have been shooting stills for some time but lately fancy capturing Video footage of my Grandchildren and family events etc. These would be edited on my iMac in iMovie.

 

I am a total novice when it comes to Video and have been trying to educate myself during the last few days.

 

 

My current kit is an Olympus EM5 with the Panasonic 2.8 12/35 and 35/100 lenses. I also have the 20/1.7 and 45/1.8

 

So I guess it would make sense to develop and use the equipment I have

 

My question is that I am going to be getting a second body and have been considering the EM1, GX7, GH3 and G6. Clearly the Panasonic's are better for Video but are they overkill for what I am going to be using them for. Will I notice the difference compared to my EM5

 

Any advice appreciated

 

Phil

[jgharding]

For what you're doing there, probably not, the amazing stabilisation of the EM5 will be a more useful function than higher bit rates and so on.

 

Of all of those I'd either choose the EM1 so you're upgrading to something you'll be used to, still with the stabilisation, or the G6 for sharp slow motion video.

[deckitout]

Thank you

 

Am I correct in thinking that with the EM5 I have no manual control at all, if so does the camera decide ISO aperture/shutter speed etc

 

Phil

[jgharding]

That I don't know. I'd be surprised if the EM1 didn't have manual control, or the EM5 for that matter.

 

Andrew reviewed the EM5 here : http://www.eoshd.com/content/8565/olympus-om-d-e-m5-review

[darrellcraig]

I'm an experienced photographer just trying to get serious about video, primarily of my 1 and 4 year old children and capturing short video clips to accompany stills while traveling (I travel quite a bit for work). I have OM-D EM5 and same lenses as you (but 17 and 25 instead of the 20/1.7 which I used to have).

 

I ended up buying a GH3 during the recent sale and have shot stills and video with it last two weeks or so. From a complete novice perspective, my observations are:

 

• GH3 is better at motion - even I can see how the OM-D breaks down with a quick pan or a fast running 4 year old. But for most of the things I video, OM-D is fine
• GH3 does 1080p60, allowing for slow motion at 24fps in camera or in post (I'm trying to learn Adobe Premiere CC). This is pretty neat. Not sure if or how you can do effective slo-mo with the OM-D.
• IBIS on OM-D is amazing. It really makes video clips look a lot better, and works for all lenses. The OIS on the 12-35 is obviously not as effective as OM-D IBIS for handheld video. It seems to jump erratically from time to time, and just isn't as effective, as consistently.
• I think AF tracking is better on the GH3 than the OM-D. Manual focus is obviously the way to go, but I'm getting decent results with the AF tracking on the GH3 with the 12-35.

In retrospect, I should have skipped the GH3 and just used the OM-D until I felt like I was hitting limitations.

 

You can do manual exposure control with the OM-D. If you hit record with the mode dial in 'M', you're in control.

[deckitout]

Thanks Darrell that is useful.

 

My initial foray into Video will be to capture my two Grandsons and a few family events, then see where it leads to.

 

Before purchasing the EM5 I handled the GH3 and EM5 and much preferred the ergonomics of the GH3 but felt it was to big. Now having used the EM5 for a few months I am not really gelling with it and it's small buttons. I now wish I had gone with the GH3.

 

Today I handled a G6, felt good but comes across as a little cheap (which it is I guess) a GX7 which I really liked, and an EP5 which I was not so keen on.

 

I am planning on two bodies to avoid lens changes, so I am down to choosing between GH3, G6, GX7 and EM1

 

Thanks again

[nigelbb]

I have an Olympus OM-D E-M5. The video is limited because it only shoots 30p (not a problem for the OP if he is in US) but the quality is decent enough. Not great but good enough. The 5-way IBIS is amazing though & makes the camera worth using just for that point alone. Nothing screams 'amateur' so much as shaky hand held footage.

 

The OM-D E-M5 has full manual control when you set it to video. If you are using one of the still photo modes (P,A,S or M) then press the video button it shoots all auto. This caught me out when I first used the camera.

 

I also own a Panasonic G6 & while the stills aren't quite as nice as the OM-D E-M5 it shoots very very nice video but lacks the stabilisation of the Olympus. The OP already has decent lenses. If he really wants another camera then I can thoroughly recommend the G6 especially as it is so cheap but TBH the OM-D E-M5 is plenty for his video needs.