GH3: Buzz buzz b-buzz

[Kevin McRoberts]

Panasonic GH3 presentation video on Vimeo

[vimeo]49437111[/vimeo]


Note the lens at 2:11. Arguably more exciting than the new camera.

[Jeff Harper]

The body is larger, and with increased dynamic range the camera might be a worthy upgrade, but for general video purposes, not sure it will be worth much.

Higher bit rates, nice. Can someone tell me why we would need 60p? It's not supported on any television, is it? Isn't that years away? Bluray doesn't support it, I know.

[William Hohauser]

I am ready for it.

[Evan Donn]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

Can someone tell me why we would need 60p? It's not supported on any television, is it? Isn't that years away?

You shoot 60p, play it back at 24p, and end up with very nice, smooth slow motion.

[Nate Haustein]

Sharp, dynamic, small and cheap B-camera with 1080p60 and a high I-frame bit rate that will sell for next to nothing. Yes please.

[Jeff Harper]

You can't play back 60p at 24p, you would have to convert it first to 24p. If I want 24p I would shoot in 24p, not 60p, unless there is something I am missing. Please explain. I have shot in 720 60p, which is fantastic, but I would never dream of converting it to 24p, but then there is a lot I have to learn also.

[Nate Haustein]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

You can't play back 60p at 24p, you would have to convert it first to 24p. If I want 24p I would shoot in 24p, not 60p, unless there is something I am missing. Please explain. I have shot in 720 60p, which is fantastic, but I would never dream of converting it to 24p, but then there is a lot I have to learn also.

You're right Jeff, it would be silly to record 60p then convert to 24p if you're going for realtime playback. What he's referring to, however, is a way to produce smooth slow motion in a 24p project by recording at 60p.

Normally 60p plays back at 60 frames per second, but if you use a program like Cinema Tools or an NLE to tell the 60p clip to play back at 24 frames per second, the clip takes 2.5x times longer to play out. The 60 original frames per second are distributed over 2.5 seconds yielding slow motion without any interpolation or blending.

It works just like the variable frame rates of a HVX200 or 35mm film camera – you use the 24p frame rate for the normal real-time content, then shoot with 60p for 2.5x slow-mo shots!

[Bill Bruner]

I shoot at 1080/60p all the time on my TM900 and FZ150 and render at 60p - not for slow motion, but for smoother motion. 24p looks jerky to me when I'm shooting fast action or following my kid around.

With the GH2, I use 30p, for similar reasons, but wish I had 60p. I used to shoot 24p, because I thought it was more "professional" (a hangover from Super 8 camera days 40 years ago, when the big deal was to upgrade from "home movie" 18fps to "Hollywood" 24fps :)).

That said, I don't shoot 24p much anymore - unless I'm matching frame rates between the GH2 and the GH1, where 24p is the fastest the old girl will go.

Needless to say, I'm saving up for a GH3.

Cheers,

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Chip Thome]

99% of the decision has been made for me, all I need to know now is the price. That is going to make or break it for me as there's only so much a camera is worth to me. Another variable is the GH2 close out, and what price point that will be at.

[Jeff Harper]

Bill the GH1 and GH2 both have 720 60p, which I love. I shoot with other cameras that do not have 720 60p now, so now I shoot in 24p so my cameras all match. I do like 24p just fine, but it does take getting used to. For weddings, 24p works out very well for me. Not perfect but it's 1080 and it's progressive, so I can't complain.

Nate, thanks for the explanation, I appreciate it.

[Christian Christensen]

I'm in if the price is sub $1000!

[Thomas Smet]

Recently bought a GH2 and still have my GH1 sitting around. If the GH3 really does have better better audio and a headphone jack I will sell both and buy a GH3. To me DSLR cameras still have a few areas lacking compared to video cameras. One is audio and the other is fast zoom lenses. If the GH3 really does have a 3.5mm audio jack, optional XLR adapter and an audio out jack for headphones I am sold.

There is also some discussion that since the GH3 for sure uses 50 mbits that they may be using AVC-LongG which uses 4:2:2 10bit. If that is the case then Panasonic just changed the industry again.

Still would love to see better options for us run&gun shooters for lens options however. We are getting there but it has been slow. Had to do a shoot this week where I had to follow two TV hosts around a park to interview people. Wanted to use my GH2 but it just wasn't practical. Had to use an old Sony Z1U and it was a breeze doing run&gun. Makes me kind of regret selling my HMC-40 now. Only a little. The thing was so bad in low light it had to go.

[Patrick Janka]

I haven't seen it confirmed that the 60p is at 1080. It just says 60p, which we already have at 720.

[Simon Wood]

Originally Posted by Thomas Smet

There is also some discussion that since the GH3 for sure uses 50 mbits that they may be using AVC-LongG which uses 4:2:2 10bit. If that is the case then Panasonic just changed the industry again.

Phillip Bloom shot a film with it with Bruce Logan. On his site he says the following about the codec:

"What I can say is it’s a massive step up from the previous model and has a superb 72mb/s All-I codec which is a world away from the compressed as hell AVCHD codec that we are used to on many cameras and on all their previous G series cameras."

[Thomas Smet]

It records with two modes. 50mbit and 72mbit i-frame only. It is confirmed it shoots in both modes. Since both are not AVCHD standards there is talk of Panasonic using their new avc-LongG they displayed at NAB. This encoding technology was listed as coming out early 2013 but perhaps the GH3 is the first camera to use it. 72mbits is right in between the 50 mbit and 100 mbit versions of AVC-Intra. Not sure what they are doing there.

We will find out for sure on Monday.