Results may depend on your editing system as well, and external material you might want to intertcut. Why not try both with typical material you plan to shoot and see which way works better for you.

I shoot almost primarily weddings with my 3 GL2's, so I don't really have to worry about external footage.

I was going to run some tests if I didn't get the answers I needed here, but I wanted to try here first, since running tests takes away time from running the business, ya know?

4:3 to 16:9
 

Hi all

Shot footage with my Gl2 in 4:3 format. Was just wondering, is there a way to convert the footage to 16:9? If I keep the footage in 4:3 will it play alright if someone has a $5000 wide screen tv?

Thanks in advance

It will always play on a widescreen TV, but as a pillarboxed image to maintain the aspect ratio (make sure that ratio is set to "4/3" in TV menus or on something like autoscale, otherwise you'll get distorted images)

pillarbox: http://hairy.geek.nz/img/43-pillarbox.jpg (two black sidebars)

To convert to a 16/9 image you need to letterbox your image using an effect in a post-production softwaresuite named something like '16/9 matte' or 'letterbox'. Be aware this does cut off top and bottom of the image and replaces it with black bars. So you may lose important parts of your image if you didn't frame correctly for letterboxing (hence the setting on GL2: '16/9 guidelines' to help you frame). Then just export it to DVD/whatever and make sure the aspect in all of those settings is set to 16/9 (it will stretch out the image to fully scale the 16/9 screen).

Truth be told: the GL2 isn't a 16/9 camera.

16/9-lenz
 

Can someone give me some info on this one.. I'm a photographer and work with upper end Nikon and Canon Equeptment but this Video stuff is new to me. I bought the GL2 a couple years ago as a client wanted both still and video. only used it once but for the price he paid, the camera was more than paid for..
The GL2 has both the 4/3 & 16/9 settings on it but of what I've been reading, The 16/9 really isnt a wide angle. and the 16/9 lenz is needed for actual wide angle shots.
I'm trying to understand this before I buy the lenz.. Does the lenz give you a "fish-eye" or panoramic, approach to the viewing or is it just a standard viev (4/3) with the upper and lower areas cropped off.....
And if the 16/9 setting on the GL2 is a modified comp. setting, when the lenzis installed, do you still use the 4/3 setting or the 16/9..

4x3 to end up with 16x9, if you use 16x9, you'll get 2.35:1 big widescreen.

I'd keep it in 4'3, it will play fine, it isn't really worth all of the trouble to go through to "convert it" or basically "fake it" in 16:9, and since you shot video without having 16:9 in mind, I'm sure you will end up cutting alot out if you do letterboxing. Sometimes I wish I had a cam that did true 16:9, lol.

ive just asked a similar question

http://dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=111527

if your using vegas you can use pan and crop and there is a 16:9 in the drop down menu that will trim you footage without letterboxing

not sure about other software but i assume it will have a similar feature

ive figured if i render the file then crop the rendered file after its easier but it must degrade the quality slightly which is why i wondered if there was a way to do a batch of clips in the first render