Olympus EM5 vs Panasonic GH3! Need your opinion/help!

[JackHorror]

Olympus EM5 body costs: 800€

Panasonic GH3 body costs: 1200€

Both are shooting 60fps both have 16mp sensor.

 

I believe that Olympus EM5 is the best camera for that price & that  it has the same video quality with the Panasonic GH3 (i am telling that cause i've seen a lot of compares), correct me if i am wrong!

 

Here is a very nice Olympus EM5 video

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Chrad]

Olympus EM-5 does not have 1080p60. GH3 does. GH3 also gives you the choice between 24p, 25p/30p and 50p/60p. OMD EM-5 only gives you 30fps at 1080p.

GH3 video quality is better. It has better codecs for video, which will help you out when it comes time for colour grading your footage.

EM-5 has very good in body stabilisation.

 

If you're buying a camera primarily for video, GH3 is a much better choice.

[JackHorror]

Thank you for your reply! I read it on bhphoto for the 60fps http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/842934-REG/Olympus_V204045BU000_OM_D_E_M5_Micro_Four.html

[JackHorror]

+Another question! They both record to .mov files, so how the codec can be better?

[Damphousse]

+Another question! They both record to .mov files, so how the codec can be better?

 

.mov signifies the Quicktime CONTAINER.  A glass is a container.  Which would you rather have.  A glass full of Courvoisier or a glass full of Boone's Farm.

[maxotics]

+Another question! They both record to .mov files, so how the codec can be better?

 

What Damphousse is saying is the CODEC (compression/decompression) is only an agreed upon protocol for how image information is saved.  It's what happens BEFORE compression that makes a difference; that is, what information are you going to save?  Do you want that rose to come out with a lot of nuance in its shading, or do you want each petal to be as sharp as possible?  The CODEC requires that you keep within a certain data "bandwidth" so it's critical the camera's internal software (firmware) make good decisions.

 

It's a tremendously complex subject and the camera manufacturers closely guard their secrets.  That's part of what this site does, Andrew figures out what they're doing well, or not so well.

 

All that said, it's difficult for me to see the difference in most situations.  The irony is that both 60fps and in-camera stabilization will help with motion smoothness and neither camera has both.  

 

In the end, for video, my personal preference in Panasonic.  Someone on this forum may also suggest the G6.  I don't want to steal his thunder ;)

[JackHorror]

Thank you guys!

[dishe]

The OMD can only do 60 fps interlaced (does not do 60p). 

Not all codecs are created equal, and not all video modes despite using the same sensor. 

The colors are rendered beautifully on both due to the superb sensor from what I've seen and heard, but when it comes to video modes, Olympus seems to not be able to deliver pro-level quality. 

 

Andrew did some tests when he got his OM-D a while back, I remember. I was excited about the the in body stabilization, but it turns out the video was not so hot. You can find his review somewhere here- he basically concluded that it took great pictures but pretty lousy video compared to other cameras in the price range. 

 

In a nutshell- if you want this for video recording, I'd definitely pick the GH3 over the OM-D.

[xenogears]

I own both cameras, and the video quality of the GH3 is miles ahead the OM-D also have better options for video recording as differents video formats, mic input and earphone jack, live and clean hdmi output a much better battery life on video recording;  but the OM-D is my choice for photo thank to the wonderful 5-axis stabilization, because i use mainly vintage glasses.

[yannis.zach]

also E-M5 sucks in low light conditions, is only for shooting under day light if you want to achieve good results ...

[nigelbb]

also E-M5 sucks in low light conditions, is only for shooting under day light if you want to achieve good results ...

This is not my experience. I have shot the E-M5 with ISO3200 & it's noise free. The E-M5 has the best low light performance of all MFT cameras for both stills & video except probably it's bigger brother the E-M1 when that ships.

 

I don't own a GH3 but do have a G6. The video on the G6 is better quality than the Olympus  but the IBIS is so damn good that I more often than not use the OM-D as it allows utterly stable hand held footage. The fact that the G6 has more detail & shoots 50p is not as important as the fact that the usability of the OM-D is so impressive.

 

People get hung up about the fat that it only shoots 30p but I just shoot at 1/50 & drop the clips on a 25p timeline & Premiere Pro does its magic & matches it up with 25p from a Canon 5D3 & 50p footage from the G6.

[JackHorror]

but when it comes to olympus em5 vs panasonic gh2? Does panasonic still have a better quality/codec etc?

(they cost the same)

[xenogears]

but when it comes to olympus em5 vs panasonic gh2? Does panasonic still have a better quality/codec etc?

(they cost the same)

The GH2 still been much better related to video, thanks to the hack.

[nigelbb]

but when it comes to olympus em5 vs panasonic gh2? Does panasonic still have a better quality/codec etc?

(they cost the same)

 

Can you still buy a new GH2? A G6 is at least as good as a GH2 without mucking about hacking it & having ridiculous bit rates filling the cards so fast. A G6 is quite a bit cheaper than an OM-D E-M5 or a GH3. The Olmpus produces the best still photographs though.

[ntblowz]

I'd say even the GH1 have better video than any Olympus, as soon you got panning or motion or complex foliage the Olympus video fall apart quite easily in the form macroblocking.

 

But then no other camera have stabilized F0.95 footage without warp in post except Olympus and their 5 Axis IS.

[switchmag]

If you mostly plan to shoot video, go on the GH3, it's superior everywhere (except the beautiful 5 axis). Better codecs, lots of settings and the GH3 is also very good for stills. I've got one and it's the better things I've bought yet, so happy with it.