GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots?

Jeff Harper · May 27th, 2011, 11:13 AM

Nigel, see page 131, top of the page of manual. It works for sure. Camera comes with this on by default.

Jeff Harper · May 28th, 2011, 11:43 AM

Nigel, is it working out for you?

Nigel Barker · May 29th, 2011, 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Nigel, is it working out for you?

Yes & no. Thanks for the pointer to the manual but I just discovered in my testing that this PRE AF setting on the CUSTOM menus does not work in 24p Cinema in Creative Motion Picture Mode which is what I use all the time for best image quality. In fact it appears that it doesn't work in any Creative Motion Picture Mode either but it does work if you select M & then use the red record button to start & stop as you can press the shutter button halfway. If you are in Movie Mode the shutter button operates exactly as the red record button & pressing it halfway does nothing & pressing too hard stops recording. Is some other menu setting that I am missing? There are so many little irritations about this camera that I am sure could all be fixed in a firmware update if Panasonic were interested.

Jeff Harper · May 29th, 2011, 07:26 AM

It does work in Manual Movie mode, I think, doesn't it? I don't think the shooting mode affects focus modes, but I might be wrong.

Something sounds wrong/off. You might have to try using the reset button in the menu, see if that restores things.

Which lens are you using when trying this? And you are in AFS or AFC mode right?

Nigel Barker · May 29th, 2011, 07:29 AM

I did some more testing. Evidently for press the shutter button halfway to focus you need CONTINUOUS AF set to ON in the MOTION PICTURE menu. Unfortunately this means that the rather poor continuous AF will hunt for focus in between you pressing the shutter button halfway to focus. Unless of course there is yet another menu item that I missed:-)

Jeff Harper · May 29th, 2011, 07:35 AM

If you're in AFS mode (using the dial on top of cam) the continous focus won't bother you, so you should be good to go!

Nigel Barker · May 29th, 2011, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

If you're in AFS mode (using the dial on top of cam) the continous focus won't bother you, so you should be good to go!

I have it in AFS mode but that doesn't help. With CONTINUOUS AF set to ON in the MOTION PICTURE menu it still does continuous AF when in Creative Motion Picture Mode either Manual Movie or 24P Cinema even when the dial is turned to AFS. It's just the same as if you turn the dial to AFC. Turning the dial to MF does disable continuous AF but also disables pressing the shutter button halfway to get focus.

I am testing with the 14-140mm Panansonic lens that is apparently the one that is best optimised for video recording.

Jeff Harper · May 29th, 2011, 10:28 AM

Hmmm, I thought the hunting stopped in AFS, I might be mistaken. I use so many different types of lenses, most do not work with the continuous focus, but do with the shutter focus, so it is not a huge problem for me. I'll try and play with it later.

Nigel Barker · May 29th, 2011, 11:08 AM

I just checked with the 7-14mm F/4 Panasonic lens & that also does continuous AF in AFS mode if CONTINUOUS AF is set to ON in the MOVIE menu. It's difficult to know whether these quirks are bugs or intended behaviour.

Jeff Harper · May 29th, 2011, 04:21 PM

If you turn off continuous focus on the menu does it stop the shutter focus from working? They are separate settings, I would hope they would work indpendently of each other, maybe not.

Brian Luce · May 30th, 2011, 06:16 PM

PRE AF in the menu should be OFF, you camera won't hunt if it's off.

Nigel Barker · May 31st, 2011, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Luce

PRE AF in the menu should be OFF, you camera won't hunt if it's off.

Thanks! I seem to have it all working now just as I want with no continuous AF but with focus when the shutter button is pressed halfway. I have PRE AF set to OFF & CONTINUOUS AF also set to OFF. My only complaint now is that the focusing is not as quick or precise when you press the the shutter button halfway while recording. In standby the focusing locks & beeps instantly but while recording the focus hunts a little going back & forth before settling. It's quite precise when it gets focus & I suppose that I can cover the hunting with a cutaway shot from another camera.

May 27th, 2011, 11:13 AM	#46
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? Nigel, see page 131, top of the page of manual. It works for sure. Camera comes with this on by default. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 28th, 2011, 11:43 AM	#47
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? Nigel, is it working out for you? __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 29th, 2011, 07:26 AM	#49
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? It does work in Manual Movie mode, I think, doesn't it? I don't think the shooting mode affects focus modes, but I might be wrong. Something sounds wrong/off. You might have to try using the reset button in the menu, see if that restores things. Which lens are you using when trying this? And you are in AFS or AFC mode right? __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 29th, 2011, 07:29 AM	#50
Nigel Barker Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Posts: 3,531	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? I did some more testing. Evidently for press the shutter button halfway to focus you need CONTINUOUS AF set to ON in the MOTION PICTURE menu. Unfortunately this means that the rather poor continuous AF will hunt for focus in between you pressing the shutter button halfway to focus. Unless of course there is yet another menu item that I missed:-)

May 29th, 2011, 07:35 AM	#51
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? If you're in AFS mode (using the dial on top of cam) the continous focus won't bother you, so you should be good to go! __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 29th, 2011, 10:28 AM	#53
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? Hmmm, I thought the hunting stopped in AFS, I might be mistaken. I use so many different types of lenses, most do not work with the continuous focus, but do with the shutter focus, so it is not a huge problem for me. I'll try and play with it later. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 29th, 2011, 11:08 AM	#54
Nigel Barker Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Posts: 3,531	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? I just checked with the 7-14mm F/4 Panasonic lens & that also does continuous AF in AFS mode if CONTINUOUS AF is set to ON in the MOVIE menu. It's difficult to know whether these quirks are bugs or intended behaviour.

May 29th, 2011, 04:21 PM	#55
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? If you turn off continuous focus on the menu does it stop the shutter focus from working? They are separate settings, I would hope they would work indpendently of each other, maybe not. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

May 30th, 2011, 06:16 PM	#56
Brian Luce Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,290	Re: GH2 good for low light 2 plus hour shoots? PRE AF in the menu should be OFF, you camera won't hunt if it's off.