Micro Four Thirds - the start of low cost shallow DOF videography?

Kurth Bousman · January 26th, 2009, 12:05 PM

seems I've read at dpreview it will be 1080i and avchd- we should have some more info in march- I'm holding off any camera purchases to see how the g1hd does- the g1 got a "highly recommended" at dpreview - whoever releases a $1000 dslr with good video implementation will cleanup the plate

Bill Koehler · January 26th, 2009, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurth Bousman

...we should have some more info in march...

Kurth, may I ask where you saw anything about more information in March?

Ok, I found it now. That's when PMA 2009 is: March 3-5, 2009

Steve Mullen · January 28th, 2009, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurth Bousman

seems I've read at dpreview it will be 1080i and avchd- we should have some more info in march- I'm holding off any camera purchases to see how the g1hd does- the g1 got a "highly recommended" at dpreview - whoever releases a $1000 dslr with good video implementation will cleanup the plate

I saw the Panasonic demo of HD video captured by the coming G1HD at CES. Unfortunately, it looked horrible. It was blocky/splochy. I'm surprised they showed it.

Livevideo mode on the LCD itself was fine -- so it must be the encoder. Perhaps that's why a Pana rep mentioned getting the quality to be as good as the other DSLR.

The camera was also on display in a case. Other than the video quality it seems like a great camera. BUT -- unless the OIS is perfect, it is way too light.

I'm hoping for the best.

Jon Fairhurst · February 5th, 2009, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Mullen

I saw the Panasonic demo of HD video captured by the coming G1HD at CES. Unfortunately, it looked horrible. It was blocky/splochy. I'm surprised they showed it.

I saw that video too. I would be a bit more generous about the quality, but it definitely looked more consumer than pro. That said, we need to wait for production models before making a final judgment.

BTW, I talked with the rep for a while. He's a photo buff who owns higher end cameras. I shared with him my frustration about the 5D2's lack of manual controls and 24p. The rep was pretty confident that they won't make those mistakes.

Dan Chung · February 5th, 2009, 06:15 PM

A few interesting lens options would seem to be available http://photofan.jp/camera/html/uploa...93afaa7db7.jpg

http://www.digitalcamera.jp/html/Hot.../20mmF17-L.jpg

Lets hope the video quality is up to it.

Dan

Liza Witz · February 22nd, 2009, 05:44 PM

I'm pretty keen to see this camera. Either way we'll know something come Tuesday. Since PMA starts on the 3rd, Tuesday is the day for them to issue a press release-- enough before the show to get reporters to stop by the booth, and yet close enough to the show to not be old news at the time.

So, if we hear nothing on Tuesday, I think the odds of the camera shipping soon go down. They might still make the announcement at the show-- and I bet we'll get some more info at the show anyway.

But I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a detailed announcement on Tuesday.

Adam Perry · February 24th, 2009, 10:01 AM

for anyone that saw the video at ces, did it look like they were using the whole sensor or just a cropped sensor for the video?

Jon Fairhurst · February 24th, 2009, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Perry

for anyone that saw the video at ces, did it look like they were using the whole sensor or just a cropped sensor for the video?

Most of the video that I saw was distant landscape footage shot from a slow panning tripod. I believe that they are using the full sensor, but couldn't be 100% sure from the footage.

Kurth Bousman · February 24th, 2009, 10:05 PM

If they didn't use the full sensor then the effective focal lengths of the lenses would be unusable .

Liza Witz · February 26th, 2009, 01:17 PM

Yeah, it seems from their statements about the camera in interviews that they are going to use the full sensor, and that the camera will probably shoot 1080p.

In an interview one of their guys said they were aware of other DSLRs that shot video and wanted to not have the limitations that the others have.

Jon Fairhurst · February 26th, 2009, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liza Witz

In an interview one of their guys said they were aware of other DSLRs that shot video and wanted to not have the limitations that the others have.

That's consistent with what I heard at CES.

This makes sense too. They don't have a tip-of-the-tongue brand name when it comes to interchangeable lens still cams, and 4/3rds has an uphill battle against 35mm. Rather than worrying about killing their pro video camera market, they're worried about gaining critical mass.

Liza Witz · February 26th, 2009, 01:46 PM

FWIW, this camera should be adaptable to any 35mm lens system-- since the focal distance is much shorter, there's a lot of room for an adapter to fit in there.

So, for anyone who already has lenses, they would just need to buy an adapter and thus preserve their lens investment.

I've already seen an adapter that goes to the Leica M mount lenses-- which are nice because they are rangefinder sized and thus smaller (and I hope) lighter than 35mm lenses. And apparently (according to Ken Rockwell) higher quality. Of course they aren't cheap.

Jon Fairhurst · February 26th, 2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liza Witz

FWIW, this camera should be adaptable to any 35mm lens system-- since the focal distance is much shorter, there's a lot of room for an adapter to fit in there.

That will be fine for telephoto, but you'll still want MFT lenses for the wide end. As I understand it, the sensor is half the size of a 35mm FF sensor. Your 24mm Nikon prime will have roughly a 50mm field of view.

The advantage is that by cropping the image, you'll get almost no light fall off, even a wide open apertures. The disadvantage is that you'll have twice the pixel density (in one dimension) of, say, the Canon 5D MkII. On the Canon, you can get great sharpness for HD with a modest lens. Lens sharpness will be twice as critical when you record 1080p with a MFT camera.

Paulo Teixeira · February 26th, 2009, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

4/3rds has an uphill battle against 35mm. Rather than worrying about killing their pro video camera market, they're worried about gaining critical mass.

Theirs obviously going to be a huge price difference between the G HD and the 5D Mark II. Plus, the G HD is a heck of a lot smaller. Its really 2 different markets.

Jon Fairhurst · February 26th, 2009, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulo Teixeira

Theirs obviously going to be a huge price difference between the G HD and the 5D Mark II. Plus, the G HD is a heck of a lot smaller. Its really 2 different markets.

I can't argue with that.

In fact, the G HD might be the perfect B-cam for the 5D MkII video user. Slap on an adapter, and use your 35mm lenses with both. As long as you have a high quality ~12mm MFT lens for the G HD wide shots, you're set.

In fact, I'd want a MFT to Canon EF adaptor. You can then add an EF to Nikon adapter and use MFT, EF, or Nikon lenses, as desired.

January 26th, 2009, 12:05 PM	#16
Kurth Bousman Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: san miguel allende , gto , mexico Posts: 644	seems I've read at dpreview it will be 1080i and avchd- we should have some more info in march- I'm holding off any camera purchases to see how the g1hd does- the g1 got a "highly recommended" at dpreview - whoever releases a $1000 dslr with good video implementation will cleanup the plate

February 5th, 2009, 06:15 PM	#20
Dan Chung Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Beijing Posts: 665	A few interesting lens options would seem to be available http://photofan.jp/camera/html/uploa...93afaa7db7.jpg http://www.digitalcamera.jp/html/Hot.../20mmF17-L.jpg Lets hope the video quality is up to it. Dan

February 22nd, 2009, 05:44 PM	#21
Liza Witz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 46	I'm pretty keen to see this camera. Either way we'll know something come Tuesday. Since PMA starts on the 3rd, Tuesday is the day for them to issue a press release-- enough before the show to get reporters to stop by the booth, and yet close enough to the show to not be old news at the time. So, if we hear nothing on Tuesday, I think the odds of the camera shipping soon go down. They might still make the announcement at the show-- and I bet we'll get some more info at the show anyway. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a detailed announcement on Tuesday.

February 24th, 2009, 10:01 AM	#22
Adam Perry Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Lancaster, PA Posts: 77	for anyone that saw the video at ces, did it look like they were using the whole sensor or just a cropped sensor for the video?

February 24th, 2009, 10:05 PM	#24
Kurth Bousman Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: san miguel allende , gto , mexico Posts: 644	If they didn't use the full sensor then the effective focal lengths of the lenses would be unusable .

February 26th, 2009, 01:17 PM	#25
Liza Witz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 46	Yeah, it seems from their statements about the camera in interviews that they are going to use the full sensor, and that the camera will probably shoot 1080p. In an interview one of their guys said they were aware of other DSLRs that shot video and wanted to not have the limitations that the others have.

February 26th, 2009, 01:46 PM	#27
Liza Witz Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 46	FWIW, this camera should be adaptable to any 35mm lens system-- since the focal distance is much shorter, there's a lot of room for an adapter to fit in there. So, for anyone who already has lenses, they would just need to buy an adapter and thus preserve their lens investment. I've already seen an adapter that goes to the Leica M mount lenses-- which are nice because they are rangefinder sized and thus smaller (and I hope) lighter than 35mm lenses. And apparently (according to Ken Rockwell) higher quality. Of course they aren't cheap.