About to shoot first wedding with GH2...advice?

[David Grinnell]

" 24p is considered by many, if not most, to be the poorest of choices for event work by it's nature."

Just curious as to why you feel this way?

[Jeff Harper]

I can't say it any clearer than a contributor to Wikepdia did:

From Wikepedia: "In general, 24 frames-per-second video has more trouble with fast motion than other, higher frame rates....It is therefore not well-suited for programming requiring spontaneous action or "reality" camerawork."

The production of 24p video that plays on a television at 60 Hz will not be exactly the same as theater film look. It may have some strobe or 'film effect' but lacks the proper film production and film screen viewing.

Most professional video cameras record the best quality at 60i before they output 24p video in their output settings. They do this so that their sensors and software can be calibrated for standard video use and yet the user can still achieve the 24p look." End Quote.

If you can make it work for you fine. I shoot, edit, and deliver dozens of wedding as a one-man operation, and 24p has no place in my workflow at this time.

I suggest if you have questions about 24p and wedding work you might pursue this further with those that know more than I do in the wedding forum.

24p done right requires more than putting the camera in Cinema mode, or whatever mode required. Again, if you know how to make it work for you, my hat's off to you.

[Jeff Harper]

More importantly than the above: knowing the limitations of 24p, why would I shoot paid events in that mode while learning the camera? Others may have the steady hand and understand how to implement the proper technique to do so, but I do not.

I should add that I am quite sick today, and very grumpy. I don't have anything against 24p, it's just doesn't make sense for me, and from my travels around here, I have seen it doesn't make sense for a lot of others.

I should add to Nigel, that my friend shot with a hacked GH1 at 60p at an extremely high data rate while I ran in regular mode on my first outing with the camera, and his footage was dreadful, because he was underexposed or overexposed the whole night. The higher data rate just meant it took longer to encode the footage.

A higher date rate would be fine, all things being equal, but for me I choose 720p for smoother conversion/resizing and ease of use. Many television shows are broadcast in 720p and they look pretty good to me.

[Jeff Harper]

I've done a quick check, and lots of guys are shooting in 24p now. One thing for sure, my 720p will slow down so much better than 24p, and I LOVE the slow motion on the footage from this camera. It is probably my favorite thing. I hardly use it, but when I do it is stunning, IMO.

[Corey Graham]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

I've done a quick check, and lots of guys are shooting in 24p now. One thing for sure, my 720p will slow down so much better than 24p, and I LOVE the slow motion on the footage from this camera. It is probably my favorite thing. I hardly use it, but when I do it is stunning, IMO.

Jeff - thanks for your thoughts on 24p. I didn't take your comments as being grumpy at all :)

This is something I've been battling with as wedding season approaches and I'm shooting them in HD for the first time. I'd love to stay in 1080p, but with the GH1 I can't record 1080/30p. Thus, I was going to shoot 24p and deal with a bit of the jitters, because I definitely don't want to go interlaced.

However, as you said, I love the slo-mo you can get from 720/60p. But I'm sacrificing resolution. Grrr . . .

When I think about it though, the only time the 1080 resolution would really benefit me is if/when I capture stills from the video.

I know this has been talked about/debated before, but I'm really struggling with making a final decision before my first wedding hits in about a month. Thanks for your patience! :)

[Jeff Harper]

Corey, actually I did not even see your particular post! I missed it.

Now, if I could shoot in 1080 60p, wow, I would be there SO fast. As for 24p, I should have just said if someone could make it work, great, and I think at the end of a post maybe I did.

If both of my cameras shot true 24fps, I would try it out on something for kicks, but they don't.

[Jeff Harper]

I'm just now seeing posts that were made yesterday, so strange. Yes Martyn, the 14-140mm almost seems made for outdoor use, really great for that. I wish I had it just for that purpose, but it would rarely get used, since I swapped it for a shorter faster zoom.

[Zhong Cheung]

Okay, basic question because Corey brought it up....the GH2 (ntsc version) can't shoot in 1080p at 30fps?

[Patrick Janka]

It can do 1280x720 at 30p in Motion JPEG mode.

[Zhong Cheung]

What about 1080p at 30fps?

[John Griswell]

Originally Posted by Zhong Cheung

Okay, basic question because Corey brought it up....the GH2 (ntsc version) can't shoot in 1080p at 30fps?

Only if you cheese it by running in the 80% slow-mo 24p mode and speeding it up in post by 125% (24p * 1.25 = 30p) and use an external recorder for sound and sync in post as talked about here:

GH2 Anyone successfully synced 80% slowmo up to sound?

[Zhong Cheung]

Wow, that's horrible. I would have assumed 1080 at 30fps is one of the most basic formats. And 1080p and 24fps is an add-on nice format.

[Jeff Hinson]

With the 1.1 update.the GH2 can shoot 1,920 x 1,080, 30p (sensor output is 30p) (24Mbps, 16:9).
DMC-GH2 | PRODUCTS | LUMIX | Digital Camera | Panasonic Global

jeff H.