Lens suggestions for GH2 shoot at DVinfo.net

Jeff Harper · February 15th, 2011, 10:15 PM

I'm shooting a low budget single camera deal of a hip hop band on Saturday that was subbed to me by an associate.

I have the 14-140mm and the 20mm 1.7, that's it. I've still not been told what the video's purpose is or how it needs to be shot. I'm guessing it's promotional, but I have no idea.

Anyway, having never shot with this camera for more than five minutes, anyone care to offer suggestions on which lens to use, when, and why?

I'm thinking the logical choice will be the zoom for the majority of the evening, but I'm thinking that it wouldn't hurt to use the 20mm a bit. Maybe shoot a couple of songs worth with it.

Then using the zoom to shoot some cutaways later on, syncing it up to give the appearance of a multicamera shoot, maybe closeups of the DJ's turntables, etc.

Also, since final DVD will be 480i widescreen, would it be better to shoot 720p and downconvert, thereby giving me hi-def footage to archive and show off later, or shoot in 1080i for better quality? Which setting will be best after conversion to SD?

I'm going to edit the raw footage, then render out to DVD format. No intermediate codec will be used.

Jon Braeley · February 16th, 2011, 07:47 AM

The 14-140mm is a little slow for a concert and will present focusing problems in low light.

I would use the 20mm for 90% of the shots and only the zoom for cutaways, closeups and audience faces, etc.

Do you have permission for the shoot because if so, I would get as close as possible otherwise it looks like you are part of the audience - you want the viewer to feel they are on stage.
Then you need a shot from the rear of the concert toward the band showing the audience reaction - maybe just the heads of the audience bobbing around.

The big problem with live bands is that you need two cameras to keep the sound in sync. Also how are you handling audio? I use my Tascam DR-100 for this type of stuff or a Marantz which my audio guy has.

Shoot 720p - 1080p is what I would use myself.

February 15th, 2011, 10:15 PM	#1
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Lens suggestions for GH2 shoot I'm shooting a low budget single camera deal of a hip hop band on Saturday that was subbed to me by an associate. I have the 14-140mm and the 20mm 1.7, that's it. I've still not been told what the video's purpose is or how it needs to be shot. I'm guessing it's promotional, but I have no idea. Anyway, having never shot with this camera for more than five minutes, anyone care to offer suggestions on which lens to use, when, and why? I'm thinking the logical choice will be the zoom for the majority of the evening, but I'm thinking that it wouldn't hurt to use the 20mm a bit. Maybe shoot a couple of songs worth with it. Then using the zoom to shoot some cutaways later on, syncing it up to give the appearance of a multicamera shoot, maybe closeups of the DJ's turntables, etc. Also, since final DVD will be 480i widescreen, would it be better to shoot 720p and downconvert, thereby giving me hi-def footage to archive and show off later, or shoot in 1080i for better quality? Which setting will be best after conversion to SD? I'm going to edit the raw footage, then render out to DVD format. No intermediate codec will be used. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

February 16th, 2011, 07:47 AM	#2
Jon Braeley Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 528	The 14-140mm is a little slow for a concert and will present focusing problems in low light. I would use the 20mm for 90% of the shots and only the zoom for cutaways, closeups and audience faces, etc. Do you have permission for the shoot because if so, I would get as close as possible otherwise it looks like you are part of the audience - you want the viewer to feel they are on stage. Then you need a shot from the rear of the concert toward the band showing the audience reaction - maybe just the heads of the audience bobbing around. The big problem with live bands is that you need two cameras to keep the sound in sync. Also how are you handling audio? I use my Tascam DR-100 for this type of stuff or a Marantz which my audio guy has. Shoot 720p - 1080p is what I would use myself.