Another GH2 Question.....Exposure

[Tim Akin]

Some good thoughts there Jeff, I gonna try and go into this slowly. I have a feeling within the next year there's gonna be a DSLR/video camera that we all will just have to have.

Question.....do you ever use the AC adapter with the GH's?

[Jeff Harper]

I don't. I have an battery pack made for this kind of thing too, and I don't even use that. I just have about 15 batteries. Seems simpler most of the time to carry a battery or two in my pocket than to worry about wires.

[Tim Akin]

Gotcha.

I'm headed home to test the GH against the FX to see how much better the low light is. I'm hoping I can do away with my on cam light at receptions....never did like shinning that light in peoples faces.

[Jeff Harper]

I can't live without light, but that is me. When I put the GH2 up 9 feet high with a light on top pointed downward it's not in their faces, and it actually adds to the ambience, and gives you a great light for highlight effects of faces and hair. The light puts sparkle in the eyes. Putting your light up high is the secret, it's kind of what everyone seems to be doing now. You'd love it.

[Jeff Harper]

Tim, for the cake cutting, etc, if you choose to use a light, you just will need much less of it than before and it will not be intrusive like it might have been before.

[Tim Akin]

Yea I agree. I always mount one light high on a light pole right beside the FX that's on the tripod....I really like the way that works. But I also would have to put one on my handheld FX too, never liked having to do that. I may just start putting it high on a pole on the other side of the dance floor. For the cake cutting I get my wife to hold the light which is way better than being on the cam.

Ok just ran a little test on the GH & FX.

GH 1.7 aperture - shutter 50 - iso 3200
FX 1.6 - 60 - gain +6.

Not only is the GH not as dark as the FX but the FX looks like it has mud smeared over the lens compared to the GH footage with no grain/noise to be seen. Even a +6 gain the FX has quite a bit of grain/noise. That's why I would never go higher than 6 on gain, I just can't stand the grain/noise.

I am very exicted!!!

[Jeff Harper]

Yes, your wife holding a not too bright lite is an excellent method, and you will love your images even more with the GH2. Glad you're happy!

[Tim Akin]

Thanks Jeff. I can already see I am going to need another lens. I've been following my wife around the house with the GH2 and the pancake (until she told me to please stop) and it's just not close enough for those close up prep shots I like to get of the bride (without shoving the thing in her face). The 14-42 is ok to get close, just waaaay to slow. Is there not one lens that will do it all and not break the bank.

Oh boy....here we go.....mo money. haha

[Jeff Harper]

Here you go is right....the zoom issue.

I think you want the highly touted Olympus 14-54 2.8-3.5. It's recommended by pretty much everyone that has used it, and Gary Hanna has recommended it (you can take his recommendations to the bank).

As Kevin M points out the faster Olympus F/2.0 zooms are the best, (there are two models) and there is no denying it, but they cost $2500. If you have that much to spend, it's one of those you want.

The Olympus is great, it's what I went with. Actually I went with a slight variation the Olympus 12-60 f/2.8-4.0. The first one I mentioned above is around $500 or so, the 12-60mm can be had for around $700 used, $900 new. I'm extremely happy with the 12-60, it's a great lens, the best quality I could ask for. Beats the Panasonic 14-140 for low light, of course, and as a wedding guy that is what you want, of course.

The only other option for a fast zoom that I know of, that works electronically with the GH2, is the Sigma 18-50 F/2.8, which I have, and it works very well also, but is nearly impossible to find, as it's been out of production for years, I believe. I may or may not be selling mine, if I do it will be posted in the classifieds. It's a great lens, but not wide enough for me. It is also a rare bird, a straight through f/2.8 all the way, and I'm pretty sure there is nothing even close to similar for the GH2.

The downside to all of this is Pansonic is rumoured to be releasing some day a fast zoom also, and I wanted to wait for it, but I couldn't. So there you are.

If anyone else has ideas for Patrick, please chime in. I just don't know of anything else to recommend. I don't think there are alternatives yet.

[Jeff Harper]

Tim, if you email me at: jeff at jeffharpervideo dot com I'll reply with some photos I shot with the 12-60 this evening. They show the width of the 12-60, and it's sharpness. In addition, the autofocus is very good as well. I love this lens, as much as the 12mm F/2.0, for outdoor work anyway. It works SO great with the GH2. I love that you can adjust focus manually even when in auto mode, which I've not been able to do with other lenses.

I haven't worked in low light with the lens yet, but I love the zoom range and IQ so far. Some say it is sharper than the 14-54 F/2.8-3.5, but I don't know.

[Patrick Janka]

Jeff, I did a search for the Sigma on eBay, and there are a handful available, like this one: Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 EX DC MACRO NIKON - RARE VERSION | eBay

It's piqued my curiosity. I think it along with the Panny 14mm f/2.8 would give you a pretty good range. How's the sharpness on the Sigma?

[Jeff Harper]

Sigma's good, Patrick. Thing is you would want the Olympus mount, because only the Olympus mount version will work electronically with the GH2. With the Olympus mount you will have electronic aperture control just like with a Panasonic lens, as well as autofocus. You would use the Panasonic made adapter (about $100-$150).

If you go with an electronically controlled Canon, Nikon or any other, then you will not have the ability to change aperture at all, cause the lens has no aperture ring, so you'd be stuck at whatever the previous owner left it at. You would also have no autofocus with a Nikon or other mount.

See, as of now, the only lenses that will function with the GH2 just like they were made for the camera are Olympus mounted lenses and Pansonic brand lenses. If you look at the compatibility chart, you will see the list of Sigmas that will work with the GH2. What they left unsaid on the chart, and confused me initially, was that the Sigma lenses listed are Olympus mounts. That's why my Sigma 30mm F/1.4 and the zoom we're talking about are Olympus mount versions, they are the only ones that work properly.

The reason you and I can work with the FD lenses are because they have an aperture ring. Same with old Nikon lenses with aperture rings, they work fine also. The newer electronically controlled lenses from Canon, Nikon will work (I have one) but you cannot change the aperture when using it on the GH2.

Now that I think about it, I believe there may be an adpater for the Canons that have a built in device to change aperture, but I don't know anything about them.

Birger Engineering is supposedly releasing some day an adapter that will allow Canon EF lenses to function with the GH2, but it is months behind and it is rumoured to cost around $800, and it is technically for the AF100, don't know if anyone's even sure it will work with the GH2 yet, but most think it will, but that's speculation.

All of the above is why Rokinon and Samyang, etc., lines of lenses are popular for the GH2 because they are fully manual lenses with an aperture ring, so no issues, but you're stuck with full manual, just like the Canon FD lenses.

Is all of this clear as mud?

P.S., I have the Sigma 30mm F/1.4 Olympus version for sale in the classifieds, but am thinking of keeping it. It's rather hard to find just like the 18-50 zoom, it's been out of production for ages. The thing is I have about 9 or 10 lenses, and I got to get rid of some of them. But the 30mm is very useful, so I am having second thoughts. I don't use it often, but it's great from the back of a huge cathedral, cause it's not so wide that you lose eveyone as little specks from the balcony.

[Tim Akin]

Email sent Jeff, Thanks

[Jeff Harper]

Tim, I sent photos, but message came back to me, I'm thinking it's the IT department policy to not permit the attachments, or that size of attachments (20MB)/

I then sent you a reply to let you know about the first message not getting through...did you get the second message? Do you have a another email address we could use?

[Tim Akin]

I got the second one Jeff. Our server is bad. I do have another email but it's with the same server. I had a photographer try to send a pic yesterday and we never could get it. I think it's the size of the pics.