I bet the guy who bought that GH1 jokingly called a local retailer yesterday to see if they had any in stock and out of luck, the person on the phone says theirs one left. He could have been imagining himself recording a Sand Sculpture event on the day they announce the winners using a GH1 and thinking it‘s just wishful thinking.

They seam to be untouched MJPEG samples directly from the camera
Street on Vimeo
Revere Beach Sand Sculpture Competition 2009 #4 on Vimeo

He might post a whole lot more within the next few days.


Some of you who are looking for a GH1 should try calling a local retailer because you never know.

Paulo, did you shoot these? The first clip isn't working for some reason.
I'm just starting to shoot a little more with the PJpeg mode and think it's great, just wished we had the other framerates in this codec.

Yes, it was me who got it. Just having a little fun. They were all in MJPEG and I didn’t have any problems.

I was in shock when he said they had one left of the black one. I was expecting him to say that he has no idea when they’ll be in. I had to sign up for that store’s credit card knowing that I have to pay it off in 3 months no interest. 6 months wouldn’t have been a problem. Then again, I can easily pay the camera off taking photography gigs plus I’ve been dreaming that I can use a GH1 for that event and got pissed that it’ll never happen.

I have a theory that it was a preorder and since the place also had Olympus’s EP-1 in stock, he/she could have gotten that instead. I say that because I nearly changed my mind when I saw the Olympus on display.


Here’s a couple of videos taken today:
Revere Beach Sand Sculpture Event 2009 – July 15 a on Vimeo
Revere Beach Sand Sculpture Event 2009 – July 15 b on Vimeo
I was just fouling around with zooming. Doesn’t look that great but at least it’s native.


If anyone’s interested, here’s the 2005 event that I taped using a Panasonic 100a
2005 Revere Beach Sand Castle Event on Vimeo

So is the GH1 better than the MKII or something? Seeing a lot more posts on it now. What makes it so good?

You've already answered your own question in this post: (http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/1172227-post5.html) "everybody has their favorite for an unlimited number of reasons." There really is no such thing as one being "better" than another in a superlative way; ultimately there is only what's better for you. Those who choose the GH1 have done so because it's the right camera for them. Others choose different makes and models for the same reason. There is no one "single best" camera / guitar / car / truck / whatever. If there was, then we wouldn't have twenty-odd different camera discussion boards here. Please don't fall into the superlative trap.

Good point Chris.. I should have asked.. specs wise, does it shoot longer than 12 mins, better quality, better low light, less compression, stuff like that.

Good point Chris.. I should have asked.. specs wise, does it shoot longer than 12 mins, better quality, better low light, less compression, stuff like that.

Pros:
1) Shoots longer than 12 minutes.
2) Shoots 1080p24 or 720p60
3) Autofocus
4) $1500 vs. $3000

Cons:
1) Takes Micro 4/3rds lenses, not 35mm, though there's an adaptor for regular 4/3 lenses.
2) AVCHD bitrate limited to 17mbps.
3) Sensor size is roughly 1/4 (or 1/2 diagonal) the 35mm of the 5DM2. Low light performance tends to be roughly equal, but depth-of-field is doubled for the same aperture.

For example, at a subject distance of 5 feet, an f-stop of 2.4, and a focal length of 50mm, the total depthf of field is 0.42 feet (5 inches) on the 5DM2.

The Micro Four Thirds sensor requires you to halve the focal length to get the same frame, because of the smaller sensor. And then, at a subject distance of 5 feet, an f-stop of 2.0, and a focal length of 25mm, the total depth of field would be .86 feet (10 inches).

This is STILL much better than just about any consumer cam you can buy on the market at any price, and much better than most prosumer cams.

I have 5 new clips up and here is the longest one:
GH1 - Tour of Revere Beach during the Sand Sculpture Festival - July 17 a on Vimeo
It’s the only one out of all of my GH1 clips that isn’t native MJPEG so far. It was just too big for Vimeo to leave it as is.

I am afraid GH1 records in AVCHD,, right?

The GH1 records in AVCHD for 1080p24 and 720p60, but records in MotionJPEG for 720p30.

OK, one last clip for this thread.
Revere Beach – July 18, 2009 on Vimeo

The GH1 records in AVCHD for 1080p24 and 720p60, but records in MotionJPEG for 720p30.

What is the maximum AVCHD data rate of the GH1 ?

Kevin,

Another advantage to the GH1 that hasn't been mentioned here is the easy use of old, legacy lenses. Because the camera has no mirror that flips up like an SLR (Canons, Nikons, etc.) you can use old Canon FD lenses, Nikkors, Minolta, Olympus OM, etc. Old manual lenses with great glass that are dirt cheap compared to their modern digital autofocus counterparts. I even have a c-mount adapter that lets me use old 16mm Bolex lenses on my GH-1. They are wide-angle and very light sensitive (f1.4). The sheer variety of old lenses you can easily use has completely transformed my moviemakin/photography experience.
And if you're into telephoto shots, the 2x crop factor of the GH1 doubles the focal length of your lens. So a 300mm becomes like a 600mm!

Cool stuff.

I have been really intrigued by this possibility, but have to believe you must lose something here. Anyone shoot video with these lenses? Would it safe to assume, you'd have to go completly manual here? If so I would guess the DOF preview in the camera would be a great help.

--> Restated, what do you lose using old manual primes?

BTW, the concern I have is the stock F4 lens, I'd like a brighter option, as I always end up shooting in a dark place at some point. My thinking is buying a few bright "obselete" primes would alleviate my concerns with this camera.

I am an amateur, but have commercial video experience and grew up with a Nikon FTN.

What is the maximum AVCHD data rate of the GH1 ?

17Mbps. I'd rather have 25, but 17's acceptable, and it's about as good as you'd get from HDV tape.

[QUOTE=Paulo Teixeira;1173697]OK, one last clip for this thread.
Revere Beach – July 18, 2009 on Vimeo
OK, forget about what I said.


I shot an event yesterday and here is part one.
National Night Out - August 4, 2009 - 1 of 5 on Vimeo
All 5 parts are online.


They aren’t showing up in Vimeo’s search yet.

For the past few days, Vimeo is now AVCHD friendly. I just uploaded the original 1280x720 60p version to this page.
GreenFest August 22 #2 "Michael + Marisa" on Vimeo

BTW, the concern I have is the stock F4 lens, I'd like a brighter option, as I always end up shooting in a dark place at some point. My thinking is buying a few bright "obselete" primes would alleviate my concerns with this camera.

I am an amateur, but have commercial video experience and grew up with a Nikon FTN.

I'm a still photographer just starting with video, but do shoot quite a lot with MF lenses on G1/GF1. I like fast lenses--f/1.4/1.8. Great fun--I even tried my first video test with GF1 with a couple of FD primes. You might also consider the new Panny 20 f/1.7.

Diane

Thanks for the response Diane.
1) Alternate Lenses
I just picked up a Canon 200mm f2.8 FD lens for the Panny. I've only done some test shots, found the Canon 200 prime lens to be sharper than the kit lens at 140mm. Obviously not apples-apples comparison here, but it does IMO show the potential of alternate lenses for this platform. Even video looks razor sharp. Your focusing has to be pretty precise though.

Needless to say a 200mm lens combined with the 2x crop factor means tripod is required. Also added a 2x Canon FD doubler to get equivalent 800mm lens. I learned the hard way in Yellowstone I needed this magnification to shoot wolves. While I won't get into National Geographic, should make a very economical package for a non commercial shooter.

Here's some gripes/concerns w/ stills:
Speaking of focus, after three weeks and 2000 photos, I will say I am not as happy with the autofocus as I think I should be. For people, cities, and urban, even low light it's fine, but for nature, such as shooting deer in brush, it seems to get a bit confused, even doing a half shutter prefocus press. (I prefocus on a tree in same focal plane).

Shooting mountains in Program AE or other AE, SP modes in daylight also caused some disturbing focus hunt. However, usingthe mountain scene mode worked around this.

Curiously, I didn't see any of these issues shooting video of the same subject. I shot everyting in the quicktime 720p/60, "Intelligent Auto" I believe. Only video issue I had was shooting into a moulin or glacier mill (hole). The intense white of the upper part of the hole versus the deep blue and relatively dark hole confused the camera resulting in blown out whites. I guess global warming will make this moot eventually.

SOmetimes the camera would "gain up" and not come back. True especially in bright locations, such as the glacier I was hiking on. I found I had to roll to another mode (e.g. Program AE to SP and back) to get it to behave. Tentatively I will suggets the sleep mode may have something to do with this. In 15 days of constant use it only happend perhaps four times.

My biggest gripe is the playback zoom of stills is digital magnification and therefore you really cannot check your focus in camera. Manual focus is "juttery" (jiggles) so hard to use as it magnifies.

But all in all, I am sticking with it as I think part of the issue is I don't have a complete understanding of getting precise focus.

Just for kicks, here's some video on a zipline using the GH-1 720P/60 quicktime movie IA mode:
Last line, and a fast one on Vimeo
Whistler Zipline on Vimeo

2) M4/3 Adapters:
Nikon F: I bought the adapter from Steven at Cameraquest on a Saturday and had it in my hands on Monday. (Wow, thanks Steven!) I found the build quality of the Voightlander he sent to be excellent, everything mated up perfectly, no looseness or wiggle. Unfortunately, the old Nikkor 300mm f4.5 lens I was using was damaged and I could not get a sharp focus out of it. Obviously, not the adapter's fault here, so jury is still out.

The Canon FD mount I bought off e-bay from "hard-man" in Hong Kong. I like this adapter as it is slimmer (see photo) and again, seems to provide an excellent fit. Just beware it ships from Hong Kong, so can take awhile to receive.
I can recommend either one.

3) Other:
a) I attached a photo of both the m4/3 adapters for comparison purposes.
b) Also attached a photo of the camera compared to a typical 335ml soda can so you could have some perspective on size.

Incidentally, the rubber band around the lens helps prevent zoom creep when doing vigorous hiking or horseback riding. Part goes on the rotating part of the barrel, rest on the non-moving part. Simple and works well and does not interfere when getting a quick shot.

Here's a video - Beerfest! From the summer, shot in 60P (which is very obvious)! ;) Enjoy!

Victoria Beerfest 2009 Video: Great Canadian Beer Festival - Lumix GH1 60P on Vimeo

Not that I’m complaining, I mean it’s nice that I’m seeing my videos pop out, but since when did Dvinfo allow embeds?

Since last night at around 11pm. For Vimeo only.