Recommend GH1?
 

I'm a poor guy from the ghetto so nobody go around tellng me about spending $5k on a hd camera. I only have about £1000($1600) max to spend.

So it's about practicality and functionality. I don't want everything so I've narrowed it down to T2i or GH1.

Love everything about the T2i because it is better in every way except it only shoots 12 mins due to FAT32.

GH1 shoots 29 mins.

Looking for this for a wedding video cam.

Please advise.

I own both cameras you listed and they each have their own advantages and disadvantages.
In the USA the GH1 will shoot till the card is full.
Quick question... Is £1000 your budget for just a camera with lens, or for all you will need to use this setup for weddings? OR.. Do you already have the other lenses you will need to cover a wedding, as well as tripod, monitor, extra batteries, SD cards, Audio recorder, microphones and such?

All the Best!

Hi David

£1000 is for camera and lens budget. Anything else would be extra.

Like I said love the T2i and footage but unsure about it's 12 mins.

doesn't the EU model of the GH1 have a 30 minute limit?

What do you mean the t2i is better in every way?

The GH1 has a bad-ass electronic viewfinder as well as the swivelling LCD screen so you don't need to add on a LCD loupe. It aslo does not suffer from overheating and the aliasing is less severe. The kit lens can auto-focus continuously and it is adaptable to way more lenses than the t2i is. You can also shoot to slower SD cards (class 4 are sufficent and have never let me down) so that helps to offset the extra cost of the GH1 over the t2i.

On the other hand, the t2i has a larger sensor so offers slightly shallower DoF (this can be a pro or a con depending on how you look at it - it can make it harder to keep focus at wider apertures). It is cheaper and has a wider range of cheap native lenses. The t2i is larger and heavier (which I actually prefer but some may not). And your lenses will have less of a crop factor so your super wides will stay super wide.

Both cameras have positives and negatives but for any kind of long-period shooting, the GH1 kicks the Canon's arse. You may be limited by the 30 minute cut-off in Europe, but at least you know you can restart a new clip and keep going without worrying about overheating.

I have used the GH1 for a wedding in a test (registry office) and it performed well with the visuals. The image is balanced well when set to Ai setting, the brides dress and the grooms suit, both appear well with no blowouts or to dark for the suit. (it was a very sunny day when I shot it)

The audio is the only issue, it was ok'ish using a MKE300 mic, but did seem to pump a bit. With no headphone socket it really is I hope the mic is connected and working..
(UK)

Both are amazing, and once you get to know whatever one you choose, it won't really make a difference. Your skill and vision will be 1000x more influential than your choice between these two amazing cameras

Opinion: get the T2i first, then a GH1 later.

Reasons: Best quality 1080p, monitoring, low light performance, cheaper price.

I have a T2i, but I love the GH1 and would buy one if I had the money. It has many compelling features..

Hopefully a camera will come along soon offering the best of both.

The best in-depth appraisal I know of is between the 7d and the GH1, but 99% of what's relevant applies to the T2i:

DVXuser.com - Articles

I found that I preferred the handling of the GH1 to the T2i. Play with both for about 30 minutes each, and you will fall madly in love with the articulating screen on the GH1. Then you will start wondering why you have to go into the menus for so many things on the T2i, and finally, you will discover that there is not that great a difference in image quality. You probably won't want to use either of these cameras to shoot anything where there is a lot of camera motion.

Thanks all. Especially James. I think I have made my mind up. GH1 it is.Simply because overall it just fits into what I am looking for.

There isn't a significant difference in image quality, so I will go for it.

Food for thought... The T2i is a 1.6 x crop and the GH1 is a 1.9 x crop when using 35mm still glass.

Hand on heart I can't suggest a GH1 is a good wedding camcorder. Stills camera; sure. Video camera - no way. I've used the GH1 fairly extensively and it's not a run 'n gun machine, yet weddings are just that, all the time, all day long.

What would you think of a video camera that bumped the exposure visibly by a half stop when you changed the aperture and at the same time recorded a click on the audio? Or how about a video camera with no motor zoom, and a manual zoom and focus ring that recorded as grunts on the audio? Or a camcorder with no NDs, or with a max telephoto aperture of f/5.8?

The spec sheet makes it sound like a video camera, sure. But it has miles to go to even touch the versatility of the 5 years older DVX100A.

tom.

I would mostly agree with Tom here. If you're going to be shooting mostly weddings or events, then their are better choices than the GH1, or any DSLR for that matter. As a highlights or b camera, it will be a great choice. I would say it can be done and if you are really set on a DSLR, then the GH1 is certainly the most versatile, with it's LCD/EVF combination.

As far as I was aware, all four exposure modes including manual are available during video recording. Perhaps I have read this wrong. Personally I don't use zoom or aperture during shot, but if I had to it wouldn't be a problem for me because I have lenses with silent zoom/ continuous aperture which I bought very cheaply that will allow this.

Personally if I do add a GH1 to my T2i, I will be buying the GH1 body only and adding my own lenses.

Neutral density filters? Just screw on a fader ND to the end of the lens. Max telephoto aperture? Again, go body only and choose your lenses.

The DVX100A has some nice features, but I'm not ready to ditch the superior HD images, low light, shallow depth of field and interchangeable lenses in favour of convenience. I'll work around the issues.

Let's not forget that people are shooting some pretty amazing wedding videos on DSLR alone.

While I agree that there are better choices, I wouldn't include many DV cameras among them, or for that matter, anything below 10x the price of a GH1 or T2i. I would always use double system sound for a wedding anyway

With a bit of adaptability, you can take your results to the next level with DSLR. I think it can be done with a DSLR as a main cam.

Where I also agree with Adrian is that I think the ideal entry level set up would include a camcorder. One that is capable of half decent 1020p, complemented by a DSLR with a proper rig and loupe. But if I had to choose one, I would definitely take the DSLR.

I will be shooting a wedding in July, my second one, with a T2i and an HF100, about 3 or 4 lenses and double system sound, and this works very well for me. All the gear fits into 2 small flight cases and I can lug it around myself quite easily. The added benefit is that you are equipped to shoot top quality stills with this set up.

I have 2 of them specifically for weddings, use them regularly - and I can!

I own a GH1 and I love it. However it is not my only camera. If it were, I'd probably hate it. It's simply another piece of equipment to have in a killer arsenal. It's priced about the same as a good DOF adapter, but does so much more.

If I had only $1600 to spend on cameras and was going to start a wedding video business, I'd go with a pair of Canon HV40s.

BTW, the T2i is not limited to 12 minutes because of FAT32, but rather because of EU restrictions.