New wedding with the pana gh3 and sony nex-ea50

Just finished a trailer from a wedding I did yesterday, it was a beautifull venue, a beautifull bride ,it was nice weather, there where some meaningfull speeches so I had all the ingredients to make a great trailer and then I had a venue that had a crappy soundsystem, I was able to get a feed directly from their mixer but there was a lot of static noise. I heared it in my headphones but thought it would be ok but when I got here it sounded worse then expected.

Also some stuff didn't go as expected, when the couple did their first entrance they killed ALL the light leaving me with a candle lit venue and a pana gh3 on a steadicam that I quickly had to change from 1600 to 6400 iso. Luckely they did a long pass through the venue so I was able to get my shots.

The ceremony was outside but they had only chairs for half the guests meaning many people had to stand up and they blocked my way to get to my unmanned camera's, it was quite frustrating to each time try to pass to reach and check up on my camera's, I was also not able to place my camera's like I wanted so some views where not as optimal. The bride talked quietly when she did her vows and held the mike to far from her mouth so there I had to use the clipon mike from the groom as I could barely hear her through the venue soundsystem, luckely I had a mike on the groom.

But I have to say, even with those “issues” I”m happy with the results, this was shot with my pana gh3 and a 12-35mm f2.8 lens and my sony nex-ea50 with the stocklens and a 85mm f1.4.

I also used 3 sony handicams during the ceremony (in the video it are the tripod mounted shots, the handheld stuff during the ceremony, like the vows are with the nex-ea50 so I had 4 camera's running on my own :)

The panasonic gh3 is a awesome camera, I love the image it outputs, it's pinsharp and has great colour, I still need to get used to it as I only have it for a short while. I much prefer working with my nex-ea50 in run and gun but for steadicam work and if I have more time to set up my shots the gh3 is a perfect camera.

Everything was shot in avchd 1080p 50p and then slowed down 50% except for the last shots and the speeches ofcourse, I”m glad I finally can slow down my steadicam shots. (had a canon 550d before)

I still have to show it to the couple and hope I can place it on my site as demo, I hope they like it. :).

Private Video on Vimeo

Password: noa

[Noa Put]

Well I have to say you couldn't be more wrong, I have shot for 2 years with just my 2 handicams and 2 550d's, my nex-ea50 I started using this year and have been dragging it along at most of the weddings I did untill I felt the need again to shoot much lighter so I have been keeping it at home at a few of the last weddings I did. I used the handicams again an 2 pana dslr's at those weddings and no nex-ea50 in sight, picture one panasonic g6 with a 14mm f2.5 pancake handheld used to shoot a small Turkish ceremony on the dancefloor, the footage looked great eventhough the camera looks ridiculously small, I don't care and neither does my client.

In the wedding business size doesn't matter, you might think it does but it's all inbetween the ears, once you do corporate, then yes, the size of the camera matters, even if a small camera would do better.

[Dave Blackhurst]

Now I want to try a shoot with a pair of RX100M2's <wink>. Super nice image quality, pocket camera... hmmmm.

Increasingly, it's not about the size of the camera, it's about what "tool" is best in a given situation. Light small and discrete with high image quality, is a good fit IMO. Huge cameras, cranes, steadicams... maybe not so much.

The magic eyeball on the 730 (I've got the US 760) gives you a steadicam like image, but in a small handheld package, again, the "right tool for the job". Size is NOT important, functionality IS. There is also great advantage to being able to travel "small, light, and fast" if you can do it. As long as you can deliver quality results, what you shoot with is really a professional choice. There are plenty of good "image acquisition devices" to choose from!

[Andrew Maclaurin]

Noa,
I'm kinda hoping you take the plunge and buy the VG30. I'd really like to read a review by someone like you whose work I admire and whose opinions I consider very useful. Like we've commented in other threads, VG30 footage is hard to come by. Anything to reduce weight and bulk whilst shooting a wedding should be considered an advance if image quality is maintained.
As far as corporate clients are concerned, I think most now realise that cameras are getting smaller and if it means they pay less then they are usually happy.

[James Manford]

Andrew there will always be a need for ENG style cameras and DSLR bodies. Not because they're better in image quality. But because they are built like a tank to take a beating.

I think Sony would make a killing in sales if they removed the word 'Handycam' on the VG20/VG30 etc. I just don't feel comfortable knowing some one in the crowd im filming may assume he's got a 'Handycam' at home ... what's this paid pro doing here with a consumer camera.

[Andrew Maclaurin]

James,
I understand your point. If a client is picky or worried about his image I'll give them a choice of camera and explain the difference. They can pay an extra 100-200€ a day if the want a fancy big camera. They've always gone for the wee camera and cheaper budget,probably because the economy is so bad here that people just look at the price.

[Noa Put]

Originally Posted by Andrew Maclaurin

Noa,
I'm kinda hoping you take the plunge and buy the VG30

To do you a favor I just ordered the camera and will let you know how it is ;)

I actually made a wrong investment that left me in some doubt what I need to get next. I bought a samyang cine 24mm f1.5 nex mount for my nex-ea50 some time ago on Amazon in Germany where it was a lot cheaper then to buy in my country and I like that lens a lot, it was only till later that I found out no adapter exists to fit that on my other camera's, thank you Sony...

I have retired my two 550d's and sold my samyang 14mm and 35mm lenses (I kept the 85mm) and got panasonic gh3 and a g6 instead and I"m very happy with both of them, they are a worthwhile upgrade. I also got the rather expensive but very good Lumix 12-35mm f2.8 but the problem I have is that I need some longer reach where the lumix 35-100mm f2.8 came to mind but that's even more expensive. The sony stocklens is too slow for general use and it also only fit's nex camera's.

Then I see the sony rx10 coming out which is about the same cost as the 35-100m lens but it's a fixed lens. I also need a fast prime for those very shallow dof eye candy shots for my panasonic camera's and the initial plan was to use the samyang 24mm but that doesn't fit on my panasonics.

So to make along story short, I can either get myself a 35-100mm f2.8 and a leica 25mm f1.4 for my pana's which cost me 1600 euro.
Or I can get the Sony rx10 and a leica 25mm f1.4 which will cost me 1700 euro.
Or I can get the sony vg30 body only which will cost me 1600 euro but I could fit my samyang 24mm f1.5 on it including all my other lenses, except for the lumix ones but I still would need a fast enough lens with some longer reach as the nex-ea50 stock lens doesn't cut it when it get's too dark. So in case of the vg30 I"m looking at a additional cost anyway to get myself a faster lens that has a longer reach.

So from an investment point of view the vg30 is out of the question as it will set me back another 1000 somewhat euro for a fast zoom so that leaves me only with the rx10/25mm leica combo (the leica to be use don the pana's) or the lumix 35-100mm and 25mm leica combo and eventhough I have said to myself I don't want to get the rx10 as it will put yet another camera in my backpack it does sound like the better choice, if it performs.

I"ll wait till the end of the year when I need to make some investments to balance my bookkeeping :) so I have some time to look at some rx10 user videos and make a decission by then, if you want some vg30 footage from me however you need to find someone that wants to lend me his camera. :)

[James Manford]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

To do you a favor I just ordered the camera and will let you know how it is ;)

I"ll wait till the end of the year when I need to make some investments to balance my bookkeeping :) so I have some time to look at some rx10 user videos and make a decission by then, if you want some vg30 footage from me however you need to find someone that wants to lend me his camera. :)

I'm confused ! ! !

If you have indeed bought one, look forward to some samples :) I'm confident it isn't going to be any different than a VG20 or EA50.

[Noa Put]

The first line was a joke, that's why there was a ;) at the end :)

[Andrew Maclaurin]

Lol!
When I read the first line I thought the planets had aligned and my dreams had become reality!!!
It is hard to know where to go now as there really is a lot of choice and a lot of new innovation. I think I have decided one thing and that is that any new camera with a big chip and shallow dof needs a quality focus peaking system as that is what bugs me the most. At the beginning of a wedding my eyes cope fine but as the night goes on and the light gets worse my eyes begin to tire and I find critical focus harder to do, and I'm only 38! It must be really hard for those in their fifties and above.
The RX10 looks interesting but until there are real tests it's just speculation. I hope they make a camera with similar ability with video camera ergonomics.

[Byron Jones]

If there is a particular type of footage from the VG30 you want to see, just let me know. I have one for sale and I will be happy to shoot something with it for you. Now don't expect the skill of Noa, but you can at least see what the camera can do.

Noa, nice job as usual. I enjoy watching your films. It is also nice knowing you use a blackbird. Let's me see what is possible and give me a goal to strive for. I enjoy using it.