Inazuma

I really think the "look" people talk about ultimately comes down to content and editing. Most, if not all, the GH4 videos released so far have been very documentary-esque, with deep focus and natural (maybe even muted) colours. Having owned a GX7 for a couple months now, I can tell the sensor (which is apparently the same as in the GH4) is very capable of being filmic. In the end it's more a matter of lenses and usability, At 7.5gb per minute of footage, ML RAW would just be a no-go for me and my amateur crew. So we'd rather have good quality from out the camera, and Panasonics have proven to be sharper and have more dynamic range in videos despite 5D3's sensor superiority. On the other hand, I feel that Canon has a lens advantage for the run-and-gun shooter. They have a stabilized 35mm f2 and a nice 24-105 f4, which in DOF & focal length terms would be a 12-52.5mm f2 for m43. To get that range with that DOF, we have to carry around several primes :(

I used the electronic readout (silent shutter) to do a timelapse of some artwork recently. It's superb because it's not distracting and won't wear into your shutter actuations :D

To calculate DOF I use this: http://www.dofmaster.com/dofjs.html It's extremely useful :) I am in a similar boat. I have MFT camera at the moment but would like to get a Canon 6d (compared to the 5d3 it has less noise at high ISOs and is smaller). MFT is very good, but that lack of DOF is always at the back of my mind.

I have used the 12-35 f2.8 in clubs and generally have had to use ISO 3200. If you can get away with using faster primes, I would do.

What do you mean by workaround? Its the same as any other video camera; set the shutter speed to the same hz as lights use in your country (usually 1/50th or 1/60th)

Thanks i will definitely check this out :) Would be awesome if there was a board here for this type of stuff tho

I think cache size is what ultimately helps with individual large files. I would keep the one that tests better across the board :)

At a guess id say because the buffalo has a larger cache size

AVCHD isnt really a codec though. It's a package right? Most avchd videos use h264 codecs, which in my experience (from animation renders to video encodes) is far better than mjpeg for both filesize and quality. PS. No offence but that photo from the Rebel looks like crap :P @Julian: That Sony footage is very detailed yes but the 1 inch sensor prevents it from doing really great low light stuff and dynamic range. I had an RX100 which was great in the day but at night fell apart. As for the FF vs APS-C vs MFT vs 1inch debate... Well that's just going to go on. I think it's silly actually to do what someone mentioned above and believe that MFT will get to FF level. Logic tells us that if MFT sensors were to get that good, then FF sensors would also improve by the same margin. So MFT will always be behind. However it is very impressive that MFT is almost as good as the Nikon APS-C line. I myself am currently going round in circles. I love my GX7. However I have looked at comparisons on dpreview, which show that the Canon 6D at ISO3200 has the same noise level the GX7 does at ISO1600. And the differences become more striking as you increase the ISOs. Further, the Canon has a stabalised 35mm f2 lens, as well as a 24-105 f4. The closest thing to that that MFT has is the Panny 12-35mm f2.8 (FF equiv 24-70mm f5.6). However the GX7 has got all sorts of advantages such as tilting screen, more video detail, 50p, silent lenses, non-imposing size etc. And of course, easier focusing. A lot of time, FF has too much out of focus anyway. You lose context of the scene.

I have been using a friction slider on a cheap video tripod. Whilst my results haven't been very good, I can see the potential of it. If you do go down this route, I would recommending spending the money to get a ball bearing slider that's over 60cm long and a sturdy video tripod. Currently I'm eyeing up a 80cm Konova K5 (imported via ebay for about 150 GBP).

The GX7 really isn't much bigger than the GM1. I shot an event yesterday with my GX7 where the manager thought I was using a compact camera until I told him otherwise! Further, the GX7 has dual control dials, more buttons, 50/60p, tilt screen, image stabilization for stills and a [crappy] EVF. All make it a much better handling camera. I really don't see why anyone buys the GM1 :/

Welcome :) Whilst I don't have an OMD or an Apple, I can give you some general tips. Final Cut Pro is the choice of a lot of enthusiasts. Adobe Premiere/After Effects is another one. The EM1 only does 30p (30 fps. Im not sure why a "p" is stuck on the end of everything these days). So make sure your timeline and output are at 30fps (unless you want to decrease it). 24fps is the standard for films. If you compare it side by side to 30fps, it will look jerky. However this is part of how you get the film "look". The Hobbit in imax 3d uses 48fps. Some people liked it, most don't because it looks too smooth.. like a soap opera. 60fps is similar to the refresh rate of most LCD screens (59 or 60hz). For this reason, most gamers want to get their games to run at this frame rate. So they can see every movement smoothly. When you export, you should export using Quicktime (.mov) or MP4. In both cases, you should use the h264 codec. Set the quality as high as you want or if it asks for a target/max bitrate, set it to 24mbps. This is usually the most optimal for desktop viewing. When you upload it to Vimeo, they will compress it to 20mbps. YouTube compresses significantly more. Hope this helps :)

I would definitely agree that the 12-35mm is an overpriced lens for its specs. The f2.8 DOF is only equal to f4 on APS-C and the range is only 24-70mm, whereas if you had a similar lens for APS-C lens it would be something like 25-82mm. And of course my biggest pet peeve is that the focus throw is huge (maybe 360 degrees?) and there are no hard stops. However it does have very good image quality and weather sealing (if that really makes a difference). The Olympus 12-40mm would be nice too but the lack of lens IS is killer. If Olympus brought out a camera with better video capability and a more professional user interface, I would go for that. But when was the last time a manufacturer overhauled its menu system? :(

What camera are you using it on may I ask? :) And is it difficult to balance that near 1kg worth of lens and adapter?

Has anyone else found that the focus throw on this lens is far too long?

No the reviewer would have changed the aperture to comepnsate for the exposure difference. I think the point of those videos is to show how clean the ISO 3200 of the Nikon is. I havent looked properly but it looks like the nikon at that iso is as clean as the canon at iso 800.

It's a shame because that was meant to be the whole point of the speed booster. Cheers

This is old news that some may not have figured out. The speed boosters for the APS-C and M43 both use the same magnification of 0.71x despite the difference in crop factor. This means a 35mm lens adapter with speed booster will work out as: 35 * 0.71 = 24.85 For APS-C: 24.85 * 1.5 = 37.275mm For M43: 24.85 * 2 = 49.7mm This essentially means that on Micro Four Thirds, lenses adapted with speed booster end up close to the focal length if you were to just attach the lens to an APS-C camera (because a 35mm lens on APS-C becomes 52.5mm once you calculate the 1.5x crop). Granted you still get the extra aperture stop from the speed booster, but it's still a shame that the focal length isn't closer to actual 35mm full frame. Do you think there will be a company out that will engineer a 0.5x magnification adapter? PS: Will the bokeh circles of a 17.5mm f0.95 be the same size as those on a 35mm f2 lens? PSS: Anyone have any recommendations on small manual lenses in 28mm, 35mm and 50mm focal lengths with apertures wider than f2?

If you are doing video with the Nikon you are gonna have to shoot with manual focus regardless because the live view autofocus is so terrible. And there are no focus aids to help you during shooting unless you bring a long an Atomos.or other EVF/monitor. The d5200's low light performance is better than the GH3's however it has not been tested against more recent m43 cameras (which I think Andrew has occasionally stated have usable image at iso 3200). And in any case, you have more options with m43 for fast lenses due to the f0.95 lenses and speed booster. The DOF of super 35 is shallower yes, but m43 isnt THAT far off. And again, if you really want to achieve this look you can use those 0.95 lenses or speed booster.

Why don't you picture for a moment that I am an extremely busy man that doesn't have time to read through the thousands of words you have written on that page. And just tell me why you have started an indiegogo for a product that has already been finished and can be released without any need for fund raising?

These are nice but why don't you just sell them instead of starting a campaign?

Check out my EP5 vs GX7 video quality comparison here:

Ok great tips Andrew. Thanks for all your help :) And keep up the great work

Phew. Saved me a bit of time! I'm on a Windows machine and since I can't use ProRes, I looked for alternatives and some people say Avid LE (DNxHD). Will this make any difference in editing or is it just another pipe dream?

Oh I see. Well in that case what are the benefits gained from higher bit depths and 4:2:2 etc compared to a normal h264 8bit recording? Also. Off topic, but I am about to convert hours of AVCHD .MTS footage from my GX7 in to h264 MP4's because I heard that editing programs (such as Premiere Pro) work faster with MP4. Is this true or am I about to waste hours of time rendering?