I am looking for an inexpensive DSLR companion for my video camera.

Is the Panasonic GH the only one that does not have the recording time limitation?

Thank you,

all the canons except the 7d have optional firmware called 'magic lantern'
One of the features of ML is that it automatically restarts the recording when it stops.
There is a 3-5 second break in the video though.

3-5 seconds break means it's not continuous recording - that's not acceptable for me.

So I'm down to the Panasonic, right?

Yes, panasonics would be your answer if you are looking for a DSLR form factor/look and continuous recording. None of the canon DSLRs offer a truly uninterrupted recording solution unfortunately.

how about the new sony's, do they?

Thank you.

From a video standpoint, is there any plus/minus to the GH2 over the GH1?

the characteristics that differentiate the GH1 and GH2 are enough where buying a GH1 could/would be considered ignorant. I'm not going to type them out, just search around. Also wait a bit, canon should be releasing some new stuff soon

I have both the GH1 w/ GH13 hack and the GH2, and the GH2 is great for what I use it for mainly, shooting wildlife. The 2.6x and 3.9x modes are perfect for that.

Without hacking the GH2, I would say it's already as good as my GH13. AF is faster, low light performance is better.

I feel the biggest shortcoming is the smaller battery size, the position of the battery door is such that you need a smaller QR plate to not block it. A Manfrotto 200PL QR plate fits nicely, but the plate for my Weifeng 717 is much too large and blocks the door.

I have a friend who owns a Canon T2i and he bought an extra battery/grip like this one: Canon BG-E6 Battery Grip 3353B001 B&H Photo Video


Is there no such thing available for Panasonic cameras?

I have a friend who owns a Canon T2i and he bought an extra battery/grip like this one: Canon BG-E6 Battery Grip 3353B001 B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590457-REG/Canon_3353B001_BG_E6_Battery_Grip.html)


Is there no such thing available for Panasonic cameras?

There's some hacked together ones on eBay made from modified Canon or Nikon grips but I wouldn't use them. The battery life is long enough anyway I think.

I'll second the Panasonic GH2 as a great camera. I love ours.

Thanks, guys.

Anyone used it with a JVC GY-HD1xx? Do they cut together acceptable? Anything similar to the JVC scene files for the Pana?

I'm a one man band, doing mostly events. The idea would be to set and forget the GH on a tripod at the back of the venue, for a general view (or zoomed to shoot the whole stage, whatever the case), and use the JVC for close-ups.

double post

3-5 seconds break means it's not continuous recording - that's not acceptable for me.

So I'm down to the Panasonic, right?

Not sure how well informed you are about this Ervin , but in case your not up to speed on DSLRs...

with the click of a button 'pluraleyes' would sync your canon clips to your JVC files. its really not a big deal.
There are advantages to using crop sensor Canon for this, mainly in the line of 1.6x vs the 2x crop youll get from GH2. Canon also has a huge second hand market of low cost, high quality lenses.
Thats without even bringing ML or stills into the comparison.

Push push, I should work for Canon.

Not sure how well informed you are about this Ervin , but in case your not up to speed on DSLRs...

with the click of a button 'pluraleyes' would sync your canon clips to your JVC files. its really not a big deal.
There are advantages to using crop sensor Canon for this, mainly in the line of 1.6x vs the 2x crop youll get from GH2. Canon also has a huge second hand market of low cost, high quality lenses.
Thats without even bringing ML or stills into the comparison.

Push push, I should work for Canon.

I believe he needs something to record unattended for longer than 12minutes - not that he can't synch his videos with a camcorder. In that regard no none of the Canon DSLR's offer autonomous continuous recording.

I don't understand how crop factors and lenses got into this but they don't really matter. Canon has a lot of lenses but the GH2 and other m4/3s cameras have the advantage of being able to adapt to almost any lens on the market. Canon EF, Canon FD, Nikon F, Pentax KF, Sony A, Leica M, PL, C, Leica R etc etc. You name it you can use it. I'm partial to the Nikon 50mm f1.2 AI myself - you can find them for cheap.

Regarding the difference between 1x, 1.3x, 1.5x, 1.6x, and 2x crop factors it is small except for in the case of extreme wide angle lenses. Watch Philip Bloom's test of the Sony FS100 vs the Panasonic AF100 to see how the difference between 1x and 2x crop in real life only works out to be 5-10 feet in camera position for similar framing and subject size. AF100 vs F3 vs FS100 Part 1: The Real World on Vimeo

Thanks, guys.

Anyone used it with a JVC GY-HD1xx? Do they cut together acceptable? Anything similar to the JVC scene files for the Pana?

I'm a one man band, doing mostly events. The idea would be to set and forget the GH on a tripod at the back of the venue, for a general view (or zoomed to shoot the whole stage, whatever the case), and use the JVC for close-ups.

Cutting between camcorders (massive depth of field, small dynamic range, and really sharp (sometimes over sharpened)) and DSLR's (shallow depth of field, high dynamic range, and slightly soft) is tricky. You will need to mess with the clips in post to grade the colors and contrast ranges to match. You might be able to setup a picture profile on one of the cameras to more closely match the other. It will require some experimentation. That said we regularly cut between Nikon D7000s, Panasonic GH2s, and a GoPro HD Hero without issue. It just takes a bit more work!

I believe he needs something to record unattended for longer than 12minutes - not that he can't synch his videos with a camcorder.

Ive made my point already about magic lantern combined with plural eyes. i shouldnt need to elaborate.
But for the benefit of some, I will.
The continuous record problem has being completely nulled and voided in recent months.
Its a non issue. Especially for a B cam.

As for crop factors. I dont need to watch anyone elses videos to see the difference. I have plenty of my own experience. And I brought it into it because it is always an important consideration in DSLR choice regardless of whether you shoot video or stills. Because what could initially seem like an easy choice in terms of camera body can end up as a long term costly decision in relation to glass. Equally the opposite can also apply where 2x can be advantageous. Either way must be considered at this early stage.

Im simply trying to be helpful in pointing out what I would condider to be the more important aspects of why one would choose one camera over another.

I believe he needs something to record unattended for longer than 12minutes - not that he can't synch his videos with a camcorder.

Ive made my point already about magic lantern combined with plural eyes. i shouldnt need to elaborate.
But for the benefit of some, I will.
The continuous record problem has being completely nulled and voided in recent months.
Its a non issue. Especially for a B cam

As for crop factors. I dont need to watch anyone elses videos to see the difference. I have plenty of my own experience. And I brought it into it because it is always an important consideration in DSLR choice.
And its not a crime to bring something new to a thread around here.

RE lenses . What could initially seem like an easy choice in terms of camera body can end up as a long term costly decision in relation to glass. For example the next gen of Canon DSLR bodies will have improved Af in live view mode. So native (not adapted) lenses are an important consideration.
(eagerly awaiting November 3rd when Canon announces my next video camera with full control over EF lenses...)

Sure the GH2 has some advantages too. Drumroll.................

I am completely new to the dslr world.... please explain or point me to a tutorial on this crop factor thing.

Thanks,

I am completely new to the dslr world.... please explain or point me to a tutorial on this crop factor thing.

Thanks,

The focal lengths of lenses do not do a good job of conveying the field of view you get when you use them. Angle of view would be the way to talk about it but it's difficult to understand and also falls down when you mount a lens intended for a larger format on smaller formats.

So instead we refer to the crop factor which is a multiplier used to convert the numbers to what they would be on a 35mm still camera. For example the common lens with a 1.5 crop camera is an 18-55mm lens. When you multiply the crop factor this becomes a 27-82.5mm lens.

It can get confusing but it's not that bad. Just remember to take a lens' focal length and multiply by the crop factor to get the focal length relative to 35mm still film. Then you can get a rough idea of how it will perform. It just takes a little bit of practice.

Ger:

Magic lantern does not offer true continuous recording. Period. It simply restarts recording when a 4gb file size is reached and then restarts. This restart causes a 2-5 second loss in record time. This is not acceptable for most uses. Can you imagine if that happened while someone was giving a speech or exchanging wedding vows? The GH2 or any typical camcorder can record true continuous footage with no gaps and are limited only by battery and memory card. I use DSLRs for my main event coverage but the locked off camera is a GH2 for a reason.

I wouldn't advise people to use hacks or to buy equipment based on rumors of the future. That's a liability I don't think you want to have on you.

Ervin, shooters use the DSLR primarily for the "shallow-depth-of-field" look. You're not taking advantage of its strengths if you've got it on a tripod at the back of the church with a wide shot. You should have the JVC as the wide and you should be shooting the close-ups with the DSLR. That way when there are breaths in-between, you can quickly stop and start your DSLR; in editing you can cut back to the wide, which will be recording the entire time without issue.

If you choose the JVC to be your close-up cam, then you should save yourself any heartache with DSLR's (which you wouldn't be using appropriately anyways) and just get an affordable video camera as a wide-shot cam.

All true Edward.
I dont think a DSLR would really benefit Ervin the way he plans on using it as a Bcam wide.
But it would be good for him to get one and use it that way as over time he would get comfortable with it and then maybe incorporate it into other parts of the day and eventually use it as his A cam.

Stephen I work professionally with DSLRs all the time.
As long as its not the only camera on the job then loosing a few seconds once in a while is not a problem.
Remember you have at least one other cam running ( i have 2 others ) plus a couple of external sound devices.
Im infinitely 'safer' than a single camera operator the way I do things.

No doubt, Ger.