LS300 for narrative filmmaking?

[William Hohauser]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

I still don't know what lens I would buy. For those that bought Panasonic lenses:

1 )Which lenses can have OIS activated from the LS300 menu?

2) Which will the LS300's zoom-rocker control?

3) Which will the LS300's AF control?

4) Which will the LS300's AE control?

My memory says that no lens will support all 4 functions.

These are good questions and I have a selection of Panasonic lenses but haven't discovered the answer since I quickly decided to only use the fixed lenses on the camera (the 20mm and the 45mm Olympus) to film in HD. If I have time today I will experiment with the other lenses.

[B.J. Adams]

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

I still don't know what lens I would buy. For those that bought Panasonic lenses:

1 )Which lenses can have OIS activated from the LS300 menu?

2) Which will the LS300's zoom-rocker control?

3) Which will the LS300's AF control?

4) Which will the LS300's AE control?

My memory says that no lens will support all 4 functions.

I only have 2 pana lenses.

the 25mm has no ois. i use the zoom-rocker to control focus.

the 35-100mm has ois and is automatically detected and switched on by the ls300. the zoom-rocker works as a zoom control.

i never use AF, but if you press the AF button it works.

[Jase Tanner]

Originally Posted by Earl Thurston

I wish I could, for that reason alone. Unfortunately B&H cannot sell JVC products to Canadians. There's a big orange warning, "Shipping Restriction: Ships to USA Only. Due to export regulations and/or manufacturers restrictions, this item can only be shipped to USA Address." That would create too many issues with warranty support.

It's odd because JVC does this to protect their Canadian resellers, but then does nothing to support them or their customers. Makes absolutely no sense.

Earl, just in case you're not aware of this, there a few businesses in Point Roberts, probably Blaine as well that cater to Canadians wanting to purchase items on line that won't ship to Canada, It won't solve the warranty issue and you will need to pay any duties/taxes at the border but at least you can order it. They don't function as post office boxes so that B&H restriction is not a concern.

[William Hohauser]

1 )Which lenses can have OIS activated from the LS300 menu?

Olympus 45mm - not applicable
Panasonic 20mm - not applicable
Panasonic 14-140mm OIS manual zoom - not available - unable to tell if it's working at all
Panasonic 14-42mm power zoom - not applicable
Panasonic 45-175mm power zoom - not applicable

2) Which will the LS300's zoom-rocker control?

Olympus 45mm - not applicable
Panasonic 20mm - not applicable
Panasonic 14-140mm OIS manual zoom - not applicable
Panasonic 14-42mm power zoom - yes - however it's very sensitive to rocker, jumps easily
Panasonic 45-175mm power zoom - yes - decently smooth control with rocker

3) Which will the LS300's AF control?

Olympus 45mm - yes
Panasonic 20mm - no (this is strange)
Panasonic 14-140mm OIS manual zoom - yes
Panasonic 14-42mm power zoom - yes
Panasonic 45-175mm power zoom - yes

4) Which will the LS300's AE control?

Olympus 45mm - yes
Panasonic 20mm - yes
Panasonic 14-140mm OIS manual zoom - yes
Panasonic 14-42mm power zoom - yes
Panasonic 45-175mm power zoom - yes

5) Other issues

Panasonic 14-140mm OIS manual zoom - vignettes with full sensor
Panasonic 45-175mm power zoom - vignettes with full sensor halfway into zoom


That's my lens collection. I have used other lenses in the past with the GH3 but I don't own them.

Right now I have been switching between the 20mm and the 45mm for my sit-down interviews and used the 20mm for a hand-held music shoot. The Panasonic zoom lenses cut the light down extensively and don't have as nice a DOF for the interviews anyway. At that point I can use my video cameras and get better sensitivity, a much more stabile aperture if I zoom in and constant focus.The Panasonic zooms seem to work better on the GH3 cameras in terms of aperture but I can't pinpoint why at this juncture. In the past I would have gotten the 12-35 2.8 if it wasn't still $1000 and I had work that justified the expense but the Prime Zoom feature in the LS300 means that now I am looking for a good 14mm fixed lens.

[John Vincent]

Hey guys, just wanted to pop in and thank everyone for the topic. Looking very strongly at the LS300 - just can't drop $5750 for the FS5.

I'd wait around for the GH5, but I hate using still cameras for narrative work. I had the original JVC GYU 100, and it could be a wee bit unpredictable from shot to shot.

But, despite having used Sony and Canon since, there's something about that JVC look that I dig - very realistic (at least to my eyes).

I'd be using it for my (6th) full length horror movie, so a bit worried about the ISO, but generally speaking I just open the lens up as far as it goes, then if it's still dark, it's dark (it is a horror movie after all).

Any way, good stuff.

[Steve Rosen]

John: I had pre-ordered the FS5, but needed a 4K capable camera for a job before it was released and bought the LS300 as an interim camera.

Since then I've used an FS5, with my EF zooms. Personally, I repeat, personally, despite what the Sony fans say, I think the LS is a way better camera design.

As I've mentioned before, for narrative filming these days 10bit would be the only issue, particularly in post. But for an affordable, versatile camera there is no better choice than the JVC.

(BTW, I've owned a C100, an HPX500, and HVX200, a Canon XLH1 among a whole bunch of others).

[John Vincent]

Thanks Steve....

Now I gotta start saving those pennies.

[B.J. Adams]

THE CHASE - YouTube

[John Vincent]

Looking good!

[Courtney Baynes]

UrbEx on Vimeo

[Jay P. Kaley]

That looks great, nice work. I'd be interested to hear any details on that shoot if available, what lenses and color grading was used and so forth.