Abbas Ali

Thanks again for your valuable insights @kye - I've went ahead and ordered the GX85- newegg had it with the 12-32 lens for around $400 which is not a LOT of money in case it doesn't work out and I could probably sell it for a little less.

I have fairly steady hands and with a back that goes around the neck, I'm hoping I could capture just using my hands. I've also ordered the Yelangu L4 that @BTM_Pix has posted. If it has steady wheels, I should be able to get some good rotating and slide shots. All of the gear should (hopefully) arrive in two weeks!

7 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Speaking of small, cheap stuff. This is a pretty neat video, at least the first half of it. Sometimes that wide lens is a Plus.

 

 

This is awesome!

4 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

If it is just for product shots then I think you might want to consider a couple of cheap and cheerful non-camera items that might get you where you need to be irrespective of the particular that you shoot with.

First up if you were looking for 360 views of the product would be a simple motorised turntable such as this one. There are numerous ones like this on Amazon for under £30.

If you wanted to go for something to keep the product still but move the camera around it then you might want to consider the GripGear MovieMaker 2 set.

It is a combination of motorised multi-speed slider and lifter, panning head and skate dolly with remote control that can support up to 750g cameras and is usually available for just over £100.

The versatility it offers is great and as long as you aren't expecting to put heavy loads on it then it performs really well and is certainly a lot of bang for the buck.

This is a video of it against the five times more expensive Edelkrone unit and whilst it is obviously not as sophisticated it doesn't disgrace itself in terms of performance.

If you wanted just the motorised skater dolly part of the GripGear then for around £50 you might consider the newer versions of the Yelangu/Andoer L4. 

The original version was quite a neat little product but the new version has the advantage of remote control and adjustable speed.

As with the GripGear dolly you adjust the axles to control the arc that it travels on around the product but you can also straighten them to do a straight line and can also mount it on a regular slider.

 

As I say, with those options, the question of which camera to choose becomes less of an issue as they will enable you to get product shots with nice production values even from a smartphone.

If I was looking for a camera to go with these purely for product photography then I think I might be inclined to go for something like a Panasonic LX100 as it is the right sort of size/weight to best utilise them, has a great built in lens and whilst it lacks IBIS, its stabilisation will be more than adequate as it is mounted on the slider/dolly. It can also do 60fps in 1080 which will be useful when shooting longer shots of smaller objects etc

It can also of course be remote controlled (including the zoom) from the Panasonic app which will be a boon for setup.

Now that the mark II of the LX100 is out, the original version is popping up used at around £300 so with something like that and the GripGear set you are getting a lot of capability for £400.

Thanks- this set looks amazing. I'll look it up.

Funny you mention LX100 as that's what I've been using for the past 3 years and I love it but there's not much stabilization. The issue is when I travel and have limited capacity to take and set things up. That's the reason I'd prefer a camera that can negate the shake.

3 minutes ago, Snowbro said:

I mean.. technically you could get a gopro hero 7 for that price lol

I actually thought about that but NOT a fan of the fisheye lens!

53 minutes ago, kye said:

I shoot hand-held with my GH5 and it does a great job but it's not perfect.

It's important to realise that having steady hands is more important than the IBIS or OIS.  There are many videos giving techniques for how to get steady hand-held shots - three points of contact, use the camera strap, control your breathing, if you're walking then learning how to do the ninja walk, etc etc etc.

The better way to get a steady camera is to use some kind of rig.  A shoulder-rig, a monopod, a slider or a tripod.  I am perhaps the most ardent hand-held shooter on this forum because I shoot in situations where I have no control over what is going on, it situations where tripods are banned, professional shooting is banned, and I have to carry a camera all day and so I can't physically carry a gimbal as it's too heavy.  All that said, if you're shooting product shots then I can't imagine how you couldn't just use a tripod or a slider.  Maybe I'm missing something.

If it's a matter of budget then there are DIY sliders and things that you can make literally for free, and give 100% results.

It's also worth saying that gimbals don't give completely stabilised recording.  They don't stop the camera from moving up/down/left/right/forwards/backwards, so if you've got a shot with any foreground/background separation then the best gimbal in the world will still have shaky camera movement visible.  Just look at people walking with a gimbal and watch the camera bob up and down as they walk...

Thanks for your valuable feedback. I agree with you on gimbals- I have a DJI Osmo Mobile and recently got the Osmo Pocket and while they're great for stabilizing in fast moving scenarios or when the object you're shooting is far, they don't handle nearby, objects with slow hand movements that well- I can easily see the wobble/wave in the video. That's the reason I'm not much interested in a gimbal as it's not for the type of work I want it for,

The reason I would like to get something more portable is because I tend to travel once a month for such events and ideally, would love to just have my camera with me and maybe an extendable monopod that doesn't take much space or will weigh me down. But then, won't the monopod restrict me from getting a good shot panning around the product or closing in on it, or a reveal shot, etc.?

4K would be nice to have but a higher frame rate at 1080p is a requirement. Someone where I live is selling a G85 with 14-42 lens and a Zhiyun Gimbal Stabilizer for $800 in total. On the other hand, I can get the GX85 with a 12-32 lens for about half that much. Is the G85 that much better?

Hello everyone. New to the forum.

I was looking for a camera that can help record smooth video for product shots without the need for a gimbal- shots like panning left to right or moving 180 degrees around.

I mostly record videos about new phones for my tech website and would love to get some of the effects that TheVerge or MKBHD do with camera panning shots. They use robots and such so I understand I won't be able to get that great of an effect but I would like to get something similar just using my )not so shaky) hands. 

The Panasonic GX85 seems to be a recommended camera and that's how I found this forum. It's an older model but price is pretty good (getting it for about $450) - is that still the best camera to get for great stabilized video and around that much budget?

Would highly appreciate your help on this to make a better purchasing decision.