Gh3 emergency - please help

[Luc Spencer]

I have a wedding TOMORROW and for some reason I decided to upgrade the firmware on my GH3 to v. 1.2 which was released in 2013. About midway during the update process, the screen shut off and the power LED started flashing, along with the AF light that kept staying on. This continued to happen for 15 minutes, I tried pushing buttons but nothing. I tried turning the camera off but it remained on. I got the battery out, put it back in, then when trying to start the camera, absolutely nothing. Not even a single noise.

As you can imagine, I am desperate, any ideas please? Thank you so much!

[Luc Spencer]

since there are over 100 views on this thread, I guess I owe you guys an update.

I am lucky to have an awesome friend in my city who loaned me his Canon C100 to film my 2 events this weekend. While others would have been made ecstatic by such a thing, the C100 turned out to only make me miss my GH3 even more. It is not the camera for me, and it's made me feel happy and sad at the same time when I realized how absolutely AMAZING the GH3 is by comparison, especially when you consider its price. So much so that I could write a dissertation on this, it's not that I'm biased. I generally have an open mind.

This being said, I KINDLY ask you from the bottom of my heart to share any info you might have regarding a solution to this. If you know anyone within Europe (preferably) who might have experience regarding reflashing a GH3, PLEASE let me know. My only alternative is to take a huge loan and buy either a used GH3 or a GH4, since I already have 12 events booked this year.

Thank you guys.

[Bryce Comer]

Sorry to hear about your issue Luc,
Have you tried contacting Panasonic in your area? You may be able to have them fix it for you at a cheaper cost than replacing it.
Good luck whatever you decide to do.
Bryce

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Luc Spencer

I am lucky to have an awesome friend in my city who loaned me his Canon C100 to film my 2 events this weekend. While others would have been made ecstatic by such a thing, the C100 turned out to only make me miss my GH3 even more.

No magnified focus assist, peaking, and terrible noise levels always trump the C100.

[Luc Spencer]

The GH3 does have magnified focus assist, it just doesn't work while shooting. It does not have peaking, but peaking on the C100 did not help me much, I turned it off. I was using a 24-105mm f/4 lens, which combined with a 1.5x crop factor brought a lot into focus, so it was very hard to determine EXACTLY where the focus was. As for noise levels, I can't defend the GH3, the C100 is clearly better. However, if you have the right lens on it, such as a Voigtlander f/0.95, noise is not an issue anymore.

As an update, it turns out that my GH3 is still covered by warranty, even though Panasonic says on its site that for Lumix cameras the warranty is only 12 months. I'm extremely lucky due to some pan European warranty which is 24 months. I shall be sending it to the UK soon and hopefully the problem will be solved. SO relieved.

[Noa Put]

If you would have lived in Belgium I would have lend you my gh3 until you got your stuff sorted out, the 2 year EU warranty can come in very handy at times :) Good to see you managed to get it sorted within the warranty period, repair cost would probably be not that far from a new gh3 which is almost half the price of a gh4 right now. My gh4 has been a good upgrade but I still use my gh3 as a fixed cam on my steadicam and if it would die I probably would get another gh3, it's a bargain at it's current price. I don't miss peaking on that camera, I use the autofocus to set focus once and that is very fast and reliable with the 12mm f2.0 that has a permanent spot on my gh3, one thing I do miss is the internal audio which is much better on the gh4 but sounds like crap on the gh3 but have that solved with a small external mike mounted on the camera.

[Luc Spencer]

Oh really, much better audio on the GH4? So much better that you don't need an external mic on it?

I thank you for your support Noa. As you can imagine, it's not easy when something like this happens, especially psychologically. I had to smile all day at that wedding even though I felt like crap. At times I was looking for a whole few seconds at the C100's body to find the buttons I needed, like a true pro. Just a horrible feeling.

By the way, I sent you an email on your hotmail address regarding your Samyang 7.5mm. I still want to buy it :) I know we're offtopic here, feel free to let me know if you still have it. My email is luc.biz@gmail.com - thank you!

edit: Gary, Noa made another very good point - you focus VERY QUICKLY using autofocus on the GH3 before you start shooting. even though the 24-105mm Canon lens is a very good lens, my 14mm Panasonic lens which cost me $200 focuses at least 3x faster. Noa's Olympus 12mm probably focuses almost instantly I'm guessing, as I also have a 45mm Olympus lens and it's just unbelievably quick.

[Noa Put]

A external mike is always much better but for ambient sound the gh4 is fine without having to add on a external mike, the internal mike from the gh3 is pretty bad in comparison.

The autofocus on the 12mm is instant and accurate, even in very dark areas, but to be honest, I wish the GH camera's would have a better constant autofocus like the dual pixel autofocus on the c100, it probably is not accurate when it gets too dark but in good light it would be great to track a subject with a fast lens. The GH series are just not that good in continuous tracking focus.

If find the time this week I"ll show you a sample of the audio difference between the gh3 and 4

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Luc Spencer

The GH3 does have magnified focus assist, it just doesn't work while shooting.

When it matters most.

It does not have peaking, but peaking on the C100 did not help me much, I turned it off.

Then you don't know how to read peaking.

I was using a 24-105mm f/4 lens, which combined with a 1.5x crop factor brought a lot into focus, so it was very hard to determine EXACTLY where the focus was.

Crop factor has nothing to do with it. You're used to m4/3 and were shooting on S35. You're not a full frame shooter, so you don't think in full frame anyway.

As for noise levels, I can't defend the GH3, the C100 is clearly better. However, if you have the right lens on it, such as a Voigtlander f/0.95, noise is not an issue anymore.

Except now you get CA.

[William Hohauser]

He's happy with his GH3. Why begrudge him that?

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by William Hohauser

He's happy with his GH3. Why begrudge him that?

I don't begrudge him anything. I have owned every single GH model since the GH2 (currently have the GH4).

It's simply not up to the level of the C100 and that's objectively. The C100 is better in lowlight, has better tools, and a better overall image, especially in 1080p mode (which is all the GH3 has).

Not that the GH3 is a bad camera, but come on, now. If he said he thought the GH3 was a better camera than a Dragon or an Alexa, that would be objectively wrong. There's simply no way that comparison works at all. The gulf isn't as wide with the C100, but it is most certainly there, as someone who has owned and used both and seen the results side-by-side.

He shouldn't be ashamed that he can't run out and buy one, but that doesn't mean this comparison is in any way apt.

[Luc Spencer]

I can't run out and buy even a GH4 for now, but I'm not ashamed because of it. I live in Romania and people here don't pay that much for wedding videos, or any other kind of videos for that matter. Most videographers here do their job with second hand 5D Mk2s. And even they make fun of my little camera with its little lenses. But that's okay, because I have the last laugh when I see what their 1080p footage looks like in comparison to mine. And speaking of 1080p footage - I tend to use a bit of slow motion in my wedding trailers. I had to shoot in 50i on the C100 because hey, they didn't bother to implement 50p on such an expensive camera. And as a GH owner, I'm sure you'll agree with me that the C100's 50i looks significantly worse than the GH's 50p.

I have shown my clients weddings filmed with both cameras (5D Mk2 and GH3), and without me telling them anything, they said "why does the video look better here than it did 5 seconds ago?" - and sure enough, they were referring to a clip filmed with the GH3.

I never said I was ashamed. I just said that if I were given the money to buy a C100, I'd use it to buy 2 GH4s without even thinking about it. And I swear it's the truth. I have 2 more weddings coming up in May for which I won't be able to use my GH3 (it will still be serviced), and while I could ask for the C100 again, for free, I'm thinking more and more about renting a GH3/4.

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Luc Spencer

I had to shoot in 50i on the C100 because hey, they didn't bother to implement 50p on such an expensive camera. And as a GH owner, I'm sure you'll agree with me that the C100's 50i looks significantly worse than the GH's 50p.

If you're comparing 50i to 50p, then yes, it does lose quite a bit of resolution, and that what was what my GH3/4 combination with my C100 Mark I was for, shooting HFR. I upgraded to the C100 Mark II so that I wouldn't have to lug two camera systems around, and the 60/50p out of the Mark II is far better than out of the GH3.

Of course, you could have stated that it was the slow motion that made the difference and I wouldn't have had an issue with that, instead of a blanket "the C100 turned out to only make me miss my GH3 even more." Plus, the autofocus thing is also not accurate. The C100 not only has magnified focus assist while recording and peaking, you can also get it in Dual Pixel AF, which stomps hard on the GH3's autofocus. Not even close, especially because I have it on a toggle right under my finger.

Setting your focus once and not adjusting it works okay if you're primarily shooting wides. I, on the other hand, strive to deliver a variety of shots that have to be pulled off in one continuous record. I even had a client pick my current C100 Mark II over the GH4 with a Shogun simply because Dual Pixel AF will allow shots with a small crew that my GH4 simply cannot do as easily.

I have shown my clients weddings filmed with both cameras (5D Mk2 and GH3), and without me telling them anything, they said "why does the video look better here than it did 5 seconds ago?" - and sure enough, they were referring to a clip filmed with the GH3.

Not sure why you switched gears here to the 5D.

I never said I was ashamed. I just said that if I were given the money to buy a C100, I'd use it to buy 2 GH4s without even thinking about it.

You actually didn't say this.

[Noa Put]

Luc, the email you send me never arrived? I also tried to send you an email but you don't have that option enabled in your profile.

[Luc Spencer]

Just send me an email, address is luc.biz@gmail.com - thanks Noa!