Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

If the GH3 had peaking, you could judge focus. Case in point it doesn't matter how great the IQ is if the ergonomics cause you to bring home lots of blurry footage or fail to bring home footage at all from missed shots.

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

Or watch a bunch of youtubes and see how easy and cheap it is to build one. I am. What really matters is the cost, the total weight and most important, the final look in video. Spend time learning to to tune them for weight balance (all of them, including the ones Noa mentioned) need that and spend time learning to use them. None of them are real easy at first to get "good" results. To build one? Takes hardly nothing but to drill a few holes from parts bought at stores like Home Depot. You can also find DIY steadicams low priced online that someone else built and they look good too. I rather spend one hour and forty bucks instead of $800 for a Merlin 2 and I can get the same results. Watch the training videoss for the Merlin 2 and you can learn a lot and see how it all works. Amazon has the Traxxas U joints used for the gimbal at $6 and I saw it for $10 at a hobby store one block from where I live which I will buy since Amazon shipping/handling gets it up past $10 too. I can buy a jump rope at Walmart for $4 that has a handle grip with a skateboard bearing already installed. Or build your own handle and find a bearing.

If you got $600 or more and feel the need to impress other camera guys, then buy the name brand. You can build a nice looking one for less than $40 and get the same results. True for DIY sliders and jibs. You can make one look just as good. Doesn't have to look like plumbing. LOL Heck, paint a name brand on a DIY and fool everyone. I am not into ever trying to impress anyone with gear or name brands. I have always let my work and the look/sound sell my clients and none have ever complained. I am also talking here about my high end clients. Paint it black and no one even cares. :-)

Alex

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

Peaking is no holy grail either, it can be of help but depending on the situation it's not always 100% accurate, If it's too dark it won't help either. I have focus peaking on my ea50 but don't us it at weddings, I rather use my own eyes to judge focus.

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

Dream on, a steadicam is a precission tool that requires precission and high quality hardware and manufacturing. If you can't afford one, then sure get a 40 dollar one or build one yourself, if you are serious about results, get the real deal and pay for it.

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

I don't know man, I've seen DIY steadicams work extremely well. I saw a vid of a guy running down a pretty steep hill with his own DIY rig and it was unbelievably smooth :-/ it's just that I'm horrible at manual labor and generally at building things, so I don't know if this is a valid solution for me...

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

[QUOTE ..., from what I have read the merlin is not so easy to balance so maybe something to take into consideration.[/QUOTE]

Noa, I forgot to mention that I heard just the opposite about fine tuning the Merlin and the Gllidecams. There is a guy named Dave on YouTube, very well known for having better reeviews than most, and he has personally owned and used the Glidecam and he said he never did get it tuned good after days of trying. He said that other brands were much easier. I have heard this before. So, who knows unless you try them all and then even people can still have different opinions.

Alex

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

Let me guess, did he have a fisheye on his camera? :)

When you ever get to build one, put a 50mm lens on the gh3 and show me some moves and I will do the same with the blackbird, you"ll understand why the better ones cost more. :)

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

Might be true for the glidecam as well, I can only speak about the blackbird with my own experience and about what I read about the Merlin.

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

Yeah that's a well documented problem, but you do get a record red dot and a display timer when it disappears to tell you you're rolling - isn't that enough ?.
It's the audio meters disappearing that are annoying. Peaking would definitely make this a better camera as well.

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

no, he did not use a fisheye. he has more experience than assuming that. I have heard good things about the blackbird, too. Watch over 50 youtubes and see how some are really good. And I would not use a 50mm. It's OK, but wider is better. It makes things even more steady and it keeps everything in focus since you can't be fiddling with focus while walking and running around.

We are only talking here about a few bars that hold weights in strategic places to counter act the movement of the camera. It's not rocket science. I saw one guy online that had access to some really nice machine tools and he built a Merlin 2 copy that worked and look perfect.

Alex

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

I have seen a lot of good things said about the Blackbird.

Alex

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

This Steadicam =
Amazon.com: Steadicam SMOOTHEE-GPROHRO Smoothee with GoPro Mount and Belt Clip: Camera & Photo
would be perfect for my Canon EOS-M and it's 22mm f2.0.

Alex

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

and move the headphone jack higher to not interfere with the flip out oled. and a higher resolution oled from what people have said about it's low rez. And a user pref for audio limiter off/on.BTW, I just heard yesterday that the GH3 has Dc on the mic jack for phantom. True?

alex

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

Luc, some of these people also build and sell them for low prices online. It wouldn't hurt to write to them or make a comment on their youtube page and ask if they would build you one too. some also end up putting them on Ebay.

Alex

Re: gh3... any typical problems?
 

No. Everything is helpful. As you point out, the audio meters being one of them. The tilt and grid overlays stay on and so should the rest. I've had the overlays turn off even when configuring the camera if I think about something longer than 10 seconds.

And it has undesirable side effects such as the record button having to be pressed twice if the overlays are off, once it they are on.

Panasonic should not be given a pass on these things.