How do you handle run and gun with a dslr?

[John De Rienzo]

IMHO the VG series is very much understated and underrated. For single shooters (for me personally) it is the best compromise of being able to shoot solo and still get those beautiful SDOF shots when I need them. The fact that it can autofocus with its large sensor is a lifesaver on many occasions. Not that I encourage auto but in a run and gun situation sometimes you just need the shot!:)

p.s. none of my samples online are from the VG900 as this is a recent addition, as is the Zeiss 24-70 but the jump in quality is great and dare I say, if I had to just take one camera on a shoot it would be the VG900 with stock lens, primes and Zeiss 24-70. The image quality from the zeiss is superb and dare I say better than any lens I have on my GH3.


Cheers

[Noa Put]

The vg900 is unfortunately outside my budget, what I also hate about dslr's is the lack of zebra's to judge exposure, that has always been a guessing game, with my ea50 my exposure is almost always spot on while with the gh3 it's right most of the time but also often under or overexposed a bit, there is a histogram and exposure meter but I can't expose accurately using those and have to use what I see to set the exposure. When you need to expose right and quickly in a run and gun situation a nex camera gives me much more control and confidence I got it right.

[John De Rienzo]

Peaking is also really good on VG20 and VG900.

My GH3 can be a nightmare to get critical focus, why they did not add peaking.....
oh, and don't get me started on the disappearing screen info on the GH3...that's another thread:)

Yes, for me the VG series ticks enough boxes for a single shooter. It's not perfect, but then what camera is?

The only camera in the range I thought was really poor was the VG10. Bought and sold very quickly. Very disappointing in low light..

[Noa Put]

Yes, focusing, another key element during run and gun, the weird thing is that if I use my 12-35mm lumix lens or lens that doesn't communicate with the camera, like my samyangs or my vintage tamron adaptall lenses I get a much sharper image on the lcd screen with the gh3 when using the non lumix lenses, not sure why that is but with the 12-35mm lens the resolution drops on the lcd screen of gh3. Last wedding I have been using the autofocus by just pointing the camera on what I need to be in focus (with the small cross hair in the middle) and have found that to be working pretty fast and accurate, unless it gets too dark, it magnifies the image during the focusing so you have a visual check if it got it right.
I too find manual focusing a bit cumbersome but only with the lumix lenses and less so with other brand lenses.

Another thing I noticed on the gh3 is that the audio it is recording is much worse in quality then the pana g6, it's usable but lacks any low tones, the g6 sound just sounds much better.

[Robert Benda]

Noa, you can get zebra stripes on a Canon DSLR via Magic Lantern.

In tricky spots, I'll setup one or two cameras with wider lens on a tripod if a know action will be within a certain space, just hoping to grab a few seconds worth of footage (like, say, during a B&G first look), as a sort of safety shot then carry around another camera, often using a tripod as a monopod. I'm pretty decent at manually focusing my 5d Mark ii, even at high f/stops. We picked up a 70D and can use that for run n' gun. So far, most commonly, quick shots like faces reacting to what is going on.

[Noa Put]

Noa, you can get zebra stripes on a Canon DSLR via Magic Lantern.

Ar there stripes showing or does it give a color to what is overexposed? I have used magic lantern once on my 550d and remember that it was something like that and found it totally unusable, the gh3 has that too but it's very annoying as it flashes.

[James Manford]

John

Are you using the LA-EA2 with the Zeiss ?

Or the supplied LA-EA3 adapter ?

Would the LA-EA2 and Zeiss be a good set up on the EA50 you think ? I have the opportunity to pick up the lens for £750 and i've seen it go for over £1000 on ebay on a regular basis.

[John De Rienzo]

I use the LA-EA3 adapter which came with the VG900. If you get the LA-EA2 adapter you will get full tracking autofocus as well. The caveat would be if using a full frame camera like VG900 it would crop to APS-C.

I was fully aware of this before purchasing the Zeiss which I have seen new go for £1800+!
It is a stunning lens and worth every penny. Pin sharp, beautiful bokeh and a really nice look!

If you have the stock lens then be prepared for a shock. The zeiss makes it look extremely soft in comparison and the look is very different.

If it is being sold for the price you say then grab it while you can, provided it is in excellent condition. You will not regret it...
For me, I bought new but at a competitive price.

cheers.

[Noa Put]

If you have the stock lens then be prepared for a shock. The zeiss makes it look extremely soft in comparison and the look is very different.

This is certainly something worth considering, I have got a old Tamron adaptall II lens which I love using on my gh3 and I only used it once during my holiday, after that I compared it to my lumix lenses and it looked way different, the images from my lumix lenses where sharper and colors looked more saturated, the tamron lens however had a flatter look, was a bit softer but had a more filmic organic look so I am not able to combine those two. The zeis lens might give you issues matching with other, cheaper glass.

[Peter Rush]

I use the VG-20 for steadicam and slider work and love it with my Samyang 14mm. I also use it with the stock 18-200mm lens for the 15 minutes up to the bride's arrival as my EA50 is at that point mounted on my tripod with Canon 24-105 ready for the ceremony.

I'm not a fan of primes for most of the time but occasionally try to re-educate myself - at last week's wedding I was using my Sony NEX 50mm f1.8 (with OS which is amazing) on the VG20 in a dark reception (dark receptions is the reason I bought the lens) for capturing talking head shots but every time something interesting happened involving a group of people I was pretty much unable to get it - I felt a little bit like filming with one arm tied behind my back as I couldn't respond quickly enough to the changing events.

So I'm looking for a fast - at least f2.8 - short wide zoom with OS - a tall order!

[Brian David Melnyk]

After a year or so of following Magic Lantern, I finally installed it on my 5d mkii and T3i. It has made them viable for video, IMO. I can actually focus R&G with the peaking and Magic zoom, and exposure is no longer a guessing game. Having zebras, histogram with alerts when individual colors are blowing out, and a waveform while filming is amazing. Also, white balance and better iso control on t3i is great. Monitoring and controlling audio on 5d while filming... Wow. Still waiting for a stable release for audio controls on
T3i. Two very different cameras now!!!

[Noa Put]

Having zebras, histogram with alerts

How do the zebra's look like with the current ML? stripes or does it gives overexposed area's a color?

[Andrew Maclaurin]

I'd love to know more about the VG30 as I'm also a bit bored of DSLRs. I just can't find much quality info, be it a review or footage. The idea of peaking, zooming through a prime lens sounds a real winner. Where are the VG30 users hiding?

[Noa Put]

When I was planning on replacing my canon 550d's I have been viewing a lot of sony vg30 and gh3 footage, I found a lot of impressive looking gh3 films and just a handfull of impressive vg30 which made me go for the gh3 and image quality wise it does perform, the very few good ones I found from the vg30 did look good though , below is one I liked:

Changi Jetty on Vimeo

[Andrew Maclaurin]

It's true that it's very difficult to find good reviews and footage of the VG30. I looked a t the GH3 but at the end of the day it's got the same form factor as any other DSLR. As I've got aps-c glass, the VG900 dosen't make sense for me although I've some nice stuff shot with it.