fps indicator disappeared

[Mike Wade]

Filming for the first time with the gh3 I had the .mov 50 set when half through the shoot the 50 fps display Indicator disappeared. I must have pressed the wrong button. Why did this happen and how do I get the fps display back, please ? I really need that indicator to keep a check on the fps as I often inadvertently touch the dial while filming.

[Les Wilson]

The GH3 turns the displays off after 10 seconds. To get them back on, you have to press the display button but be careful not to jiggle the camera. On a tripod, you can activate the Viewfinder sensor that is supposed to sense you putting the camera on your face. With that active, you can wave your hand to reactivate the displays for another 10 seconds. But be careful, you may trigger the sensor while operating the camera which then causes the whole LCD to go blank as the camera perceives you are putting it up to your face. Nice huh?

[Mike Wade]

Thx Les. But I didn't explain very clearly. When the display appears, on the start of a new shot, the 50fps is missing. The other displays, aperture, iso, etc are present.

[Les Wilson]

What mode is the Mode wheel in (on the top just to the right of the viewfinder)? If it's in Av mode, the shutter speed varies based on the automatic exposure calculation of the camera so it isn't displayed.

[Mike Wade]

The mode wheel was on the correct manual cine mode but another menu - an internal aperture one - had changed away from the manual setting. I imagine that caused the 100 shutter speed that I had set to disappear. I don't know where that menu comes from or how to find it again. This camera is a lot more challenging than my old EX1 !!
Just another query. Is there a way of locking the shutter speed on 100 - or whatever - ? Every time I check it seems to have changed - nudged by my thumb's proximity to the nearby wheel probably.

[Les Wilson]

I never found a way to lock down just the shutter speed and vary only the aperture manually as you would a proper camcorder. Always tell yourself: "Stills camera that takes video... Stills camera that takes video... Stills camera that takes video."

[Mike Wade]

Pity that, Les ! Never mind I'll get used to it - and the picture can be amazing, that's for sure.

[Noa Put]

My shutterspeed never changes once it is set, also can't see how you accidently can change it as you need to turn the dial. The GH3 has a lot of ways to change it's behaviour through the menu, maybe if you could take a snapshot from each menu and post it here we could see why your camera is behaving differenly?

[Les Wilson]

@Noa, Mike said he probably "nudged" the dial. Coming from a proper camcorder where the shutter speed is set in the menus and infrequently changed, the desire to lock down the shutter is normal.

[Mike Wade]

Yes, the dial is quite loose and my right thumb is alongside it. Pity it isn't a bit stiffer, more like the mode dial which is impossible to move accidentally. I'm surprised more people don't have this problem.

[Noa Put]

Another way not to miss a shot is to press the shutterbutton halfways so the camera autofocusses and then press further down so it's starts recording, no double pressing in this way, there are several ways to use this camera, just have to find one that suites you best.

Also, there is a way to lock the shutter, though I have not used the camera in this way yet and don't know if this is a good way to shoot video but might be worth a try, if you set the mode dial to "m" and then go to "motion picture" and "flckr decrease" in the menu where you can assign a few shutter values, when you then record in that mode the shutter doesn't change anymore, even when turing the dial.