[quote name='Axel' timestamp='1352842490' post='21565']
First of all: It's not the camera :P, it's you ;)
I think it is the lens. I couldn't find a specification how much it weighs, but it certainly looks heavy. Then the lens needs an adapter mount, and the cheap ones may have enough slackness (if that's the right term, I mean that they are not machined with highest precision). The two items on the plastic body of the GH2 add instability, more so if you focus by hand, because, the Vivitar being a photo lens, the ring is not designed to run smoothly. The most noticeable problem of your shots is the shivering, that even produces rolling shutter jello (as in ~6 - ~11). The shiver is amplified by the focal length, which makes all of them tele. With a lens like this, a rod support is needed and better yet a follow focus (a good one). Also the tripod should be good enough. Note, that zoomed in fully the lens has an aperture of only f5.3, which is pretty slow and explains why your shots are quite dark.
As you see, the lens, though cheap, is not exactly a bargain for this kind of task. The bokeh looks okay sometimes, but it's certainly not remarkable.
I advise you to look for a faster, lighter and wider lens. Some of the finest are discussed in Andrew Reids book for the GH2, but I'm sure you will find recommendations by using the forum search.
Yes, and the background at 20, you couldn't see anything through the compression artifacts of vimeo, so I downloaded your upload mov.
:blink: Congratulations! You found the *banding* that represents the GH2s biggest problem. Use the search again, but let me explain for now that it is most prominent in dark, blurred areas with slight gradients within.
> It can be avoided to some extend by avoiding dark, blurred areas with slight gradients within.
> It can be fixed in post to some extend by rendering fine grain in the highest possible quality ('de-banding', 'dithering'), by the way also a good trick to prevent vimeo from simplifying your video to a broth of macroblocks.
As you see, everything is fine.
Everybody who shoots sharp, clean footage with the GH2 has a good lens.
[/quote]
Thank you so much for your response. I'm sure it is me...i'm trying to understand what I'm doing wrong so that I can get better. Yes, the lens isn't the best, but I feel like I'm not getting good footage even with better lenses that I have (again, i know it's me). Yes the shivering is bad because I had the camera on a monopod and literally was freezing so I had a hard time getting my hands to stop shaking. But even when they aren't shaking...I feel like my images have shake, even on the monopod. (also lots of shake when I try to use a shoulder rig). Any advice as to how to get more stable images?
Also, I need help knowing if my work flow is okay or if I need to do something to get better quality. I am converting the original files to ProRes using 5DtoRGB, then importing that into FCPX as Proxy Media, then editing and exporting the video directly to Vimeo through FCPX. Is this workflow correct or should I be doing something else to get better quality?
Thank you so much for your advice and helping me realize what I'm doing wrong.