can anyone that has a gh3 help me understand this camera's audio features? It is one of the main reasons I am interested in buying this camera for video HD work. I assume it has a 3.5mm stereo mic jack and another 3.5mm jack for headphones. Can I record two mics to different L/R channels with a splitter cord I have just for that purpose? Can I see the audio levels on the flip out OLED display? Do the vu meter levels stay onscreen all the time if desired? Same for level controls. Can I adjust levels easily during setup and recording? Can I adjust them separately for left and right? Is there a headphone level control that easy to use or are all of these controls buried in menus?

The VU levels, adjustment controls and staying onscreen are the most important to me.Doing a very important interview and having these features can make a big difference instead of seeing in post it got out of control.

alex

The audio is OK not great. Yes you can send two mikes in but you have limited control. If you really want pro audio you would have to get a Zoom recorder at the very least, record the mikes there and link the audio in edit. The camera is great for images but audio recording is mostly serviceable.

As you have probably read elsewhere the whole display disappears after 10 seconds which is a giant pain, especially for monitoring audio. I use a beachtek because I have more controls and XLR in - I think the GH3 audio set-up is very average and very fiddly to adjust.

As you have probably read elsewhere the whole display disappears after 10 seconds which is a giant pain

Do you mean the live view on the lcd screen turns itself off after 10 seconds?

thanx for the feedback. at least it has a headphone jack unlike most dslr cameras. can anyone confirm the audio headphone jack stops working when you record and have the oled display open? Chris, I did read that before. I just try twice to see if different answers pop up on certain issues.

alex

sorry for the double post. it seemed to me it was not posting, so i hit the send again.

alex

I'm pretty sure the headphone jack lets you stay on whether you're recording or not.
For the on/off display someone suggested just waving your hand in front of the eye sensor and the display comes back - which works really well. Although it's not the desired way for monitoring what you're recording, it is a simple workaround that I use all the time - and I shoot most days. There is also a small timer on the left in the LCD that lets you know how long you've been recording, but that's it !!.
Having said that, it's a great camera for the money, but as always it can be improved on. The quality of the image in the LCD is probably the other disappointment.

Do you mean the live view on the lcd screen turns itself off after 10 seconds?

Absolutely NOT!

Only the settings data display and vu meters disappear after 10 seconds. Those come right back if you block the eye sensor briefly with a hand.

You can look at this as a benefit, if you are trying to pay attention to the visual image onscreen the settings data "clearing" removes potential distractions so you can concentrate on composition, expression and tracking.

I would not mind having that happen for a clearer view. But I would like the audio meters to stay on, especially during an interview.

alex

I'm pretty sure the headphone jack lets you stay on whether you're recording or not.
For the on/off display someone suggested just waving your hand in front of the eye sensor and the display comes back - which works really well. Although it's not the desired way for monitoring what you're recording, it is a simple workaround that I use all the time - and I shoot most days. There is also a small timer on the left in the LCD that lets you know how long you've been recording, but that's it !!.
Having said that, it's a great camera for the money, but as always it can be improved on. The quality of the image in the LCD is probably the other disappointment.

Chris, I appreciate your feedback on this cam. I can overlook some of its issues keeping in mind its low cost, quality and some features other cameras lack.

What is wrong with the quality on the flip out OLED display?

alex

You can look at this as a benefit

I could live with that but I"d prefer if I could remove data with a press of a button instead of the camera doing this for me, in general I always want to see what the camera settings are. But again, good to know.

Chris, I appreciate your feedback on this cam. I can overlook some of its issues keeping in mind its low cost, quality and some features other cameras lack.

What is wrong with the quality on the flip out OLED display?

alex

It's just a very low resolution display - even compared with other DSLR's it's very average. Daylight in particular is difficult to manage.

I also find the LCD display too small for focus adjustments but after I put on a viewfinder loupe with a magnifier eyepiece, the display is quite sharp. Good enough for live focusing. And yes it's very hard to use in direct sun but most LCD displays are like that. A GH3 is a very good deal but you may find yourself spending a bit more to get it working great.

I have had my GH3 since December and I can say that the audio I am getting from the GH3 is a s good as any camcorder I have owned. With a JuicedLink pre amp, it sounds as good if not better than a Zoom recorder. Here is a report I did back when I got the camera.

An Early Present, The GH3: It Sounds Real Good » FrugalFilmmakers.com (http://frugalfilmmakers.com/2012/12/13/an-early-present-the-gh3-it-sounds-real-good/)

Audio is fine, I split wireless and Rode mikes thru Azden mixer that I had forever, sounds the same as all the Sony cameras I've had thru the years, works fine on the GH2 also.
The screen display shuts off Panasonic says to keep from burning the information onto the OLED. If you touch the screen it comes back on or just touch the focus button.
There is a Cage built just for the GH3, now it's $99, I paid $150. I don't know if we are allowed to put links on this forum so if you go to the Panasonic GH3 Facebook page you will see it.

Lets talk some more please about the sound meters info that disappears and the headphone jack itself.

Some have mentioned the trick, and it does work, of briefly blocking the EVF while recording footage which blacks your displays out for an instant, but then brings up your VU meters and other information for a brief period of time again. Annoying as hell to have to do this but it does bring up the meters.

I don't know if all lenses do this but have learned at least with my 12-35mm Panny 2.8 zoom that slightly racking your focus or your zoom ring ALSO brings up the displays the whole time you are doing it, and for the short duration when you stop. Depending on what you are shooting you may or may not have the luxury of that. In run and gun it is pretty common to be riding your focus manually, especially if you have a loupe such as the Carry Speed VF4.

But now, very important to me, as I am considering to buy a new pair of Etymotic ER4P ear bud / phones to replace my old ER6s that wore out with the wimpy cables. The ER4Ps supposedly do not need a lot of amplification. Which would be a good thing because I (think) the headphone jack even at full volume does not have a lot of juice. What do any of you that are monitoring with phones think about that?

I was at a very loud reception last night with a band and a DJ cranking high decibel sound and I was trying an inexpensive pair of JVC HA-FX35-B ear buds I had read very good reviews on, from Amazon for $32, which were supposed to have pretty good sound isolation. I had no prayer in that room hearing the sound through the camera. In years past in identical situations with my ER6 Etymotics and the jacks from my shoulder camcorders the sound was antenuated a similar amount but I could turn the volume up to solidly monitor my sound.

Maybe those JVCs in fact were not fitting me well enough with their tips which you compress first and then push in and let expand, compared to my old ER6s with the silicone baffles you push into the canal, but my impression even going to a different room to listen early on to some of my recorded sound, was that at full volume the phone jack's amp is not very strong.

I'd hate to spend well over $200 again for the supposedly better ER4Ps only to find that I still could not hear the camera's output, even with 32-35db attenuation from the ear buds, in a loud room. Are there any opinions on this please?


BTW, I want to clarify I am only hoping to hear from others if my perception is correct on the output of the phone jack not being very robust. I fully understand this is not a dedicated video recording device. To have stronger volume from the phone jack, if it is weak and not the fault of the JVC ear buds, would likely take more battery power as well.

The solution is either closed ear muff headphones, which don't really work in extremely loud environments, or just trust the microphone by occasionally checking the VU meters. Personally I despise earbuds and will use a cheap set of light open muff headphones in b-roll circumstances and a good pair of Sennheiser closed muff for music situations or interviews. Closed muff headphones will get you thru most circumstances although they are bulky.