thepinched Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 I've asked over at DPR for some feedback on cameras i'm considering...they are great with the stills side, but video not as strong. I'm a new father and take a mix of video and photos. I'm never going to produce a masterpiece video, but in due time i'll compile a video as i get more and more video/snippets of her. so when i hear about ibis/ois and video i get worried about the impact. i tried an rx100ii and just didn't like the camera. great video, stills i didn't like. i'm on to realizing i'm gonna invest a bit into a system - GX7, GM1, E-M10. This will be my only body. I plan on adding 1 or 2 primes (45mm/1.8 + one more). I know you guys are pretty high in skill...I'm just getting confused about this darn ibis need/benefits. then the trade-off when you get the stills involved...driving myself nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 89e2bdf5797fbbdc17c2cc6da1413fa0 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 I'm also a new dad and have been shooting a lot of my son (video and stills) with my Lumix G6 and Nikon D5300, and until a few months ago a Canon 600D/T3i. Personally I wouldn't worry about stabilisation too much if you're looking at MFT cameras (and not needing professionally flawless results). Being able to hold an EVF up to your eye while shooting video keeps the camera pretty steady. In your situation, if I was wanting to shoot 50/50 stills video, I'd probably go for a G6 or a GX7 (the GM1 doesn't have an EVF). They are great at stills, just not *quite* as good as Nikon/Canon DSLRs. And the video is superb and easy to use compared to DSLR's. They are also small and very versatile, which for family stuff I find very useful. Nikons are a pain to shoot video with. Canon video isn't very nice. I'd say if you don't KNOW you need pro-level stills, a Panasonic will keep you very happy for a long time. Having said all of that, the Sony RX10 may be the best camera for you, but is a bit beyond the price bracket of the other stuff. midloch 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepinched Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Thanks Matt...and congrats! We have a little girl...most amazing experience I've ever gone through. I've been doing research and the GM1/GX7 video should be very close (and based on the EOSHD charts) and pretty darn good. I too had a Canon T3i and sold it a few months ago. It didn't have nice video at all and it was getting too large for us to carry around. hence it was at home gathering dust. I bought/returned a rx100ii...wife hated the photo output and the 1/30 auto shutter speed. I mean she's a PS person and on full auto she couldn't do better than her iPhone. So it went back. And truthfully I figured any other camera would be ok in a PS full auto any ways for her. so Canon and Sony are out for me at this point. Looked at the Nikon D5300 and could pick up a few cheap primes (less than MFT lenses), but the size might put us back to a paper weight. The price point of the Olympus e-m10 looks interesting, but seems like a step down from the GX7. The JPEG stills have an advantage with the Oly and the smaller kit lens. I would probably do body only on the GX7 and pick up a smaller kit lens (GM1 kit lens) later. I think GM1 I'd have to rule out for now...this is going to be the only camera body for a while so the tilt, panorama, better video, and EVF all will come in handy later. not huge on EVF or viewfinders due to my glasses ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 89e2bdf5797fbbdc17c2cc6da1413fa0 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Have you actually held a D5300? They are extremely small and light for a DSLR. But of course lenses can get large. It sounds to me like MFT is the way to go for you. I can't say much about Olympus, but the G6 is really awesome for video and a good all-rounder in general. The GX7/GM1 are better in low light I believe, but otherwise fairly comparable. Lens options are of course vast ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepinched Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Thanks Matt. I have briefly held one. The body + lens would make it pretty good sized. The m43 seems to be a happy medium. GM1/GX7 low light given I'd prefer not to use flash with the baby are my leaders. GM1 if I had a second body...the flash sync makes it tough for day fill usage. so the gx7 seems to be where i'm leaning. going to the store for one final holding session. make sure i kick the tires thoroughly. the e-m10 would be my 2nd choice, but i'd have to wait another 1.5 weeks to get one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gj91 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 I have a gx1 and have debated the gm1 and gx7. I'm renting a gx7 this week to see if the focus peeking and ibis is worth it. I am using more manual focus lenses so I want better focus assist and peeking. For now it's for stills since I have a pocket camera for video. I'm also using the speedboost nikon mount more and more on the gx1 and pocket camera. Opens up the lens options greatly. Jim. fuzzynormal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 89e2bdf5797fbbdc17c2cc6da1413fa0 Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Note that IBIS doesn't work in video mode on the GX7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Your situation screams Olympus E-M10 imo. It's cheap, nice form factor, great stabilisation. Yes, it has downsides for video, like no 25/24p, codec not as good as Panasonic. But if you just want to enjoy filming the kids, I think the stabilisation is worth more. It's just pick up and shoot, you pretty much always have smooth shots. fuzzynormal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tosvus Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 There's good deals to be had on the GH3 now. Far better video than any of your other choices. Find one suitable zoom with OIS and you have no worries about stabilization either. For pictures, and pretty fast lenses (like it sounds like you are interested in), I don't see IBIS/OIS as very important for wide or normal focal length. For long zooms, it is more important. Your baby will shortly start moving around, and at that point, using IBIS in low light to take low ISO shots is not as efficient anyways as you will have subject blur, even if the rest of your scene is completely sharp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepinched Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 i think the gx7 gives me superior video but bigger form factor. em10 would have better OOC Jpegs for stills. i don't plan to do long zooms...maybe when she starts in school/plays/sports, but that's 4-6 years away (7 months now)...so by then i'm sure i'll have a new camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzynormal Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 if you just want to enjoy filming the kids, I think the stabilisation is worth more. It's just pick up and shoot, you pretty much always have smooth shots. For home movies (sometimes even professional ones) I think this 3 or 5-axis stabilization feature is far more beneficial than superior resolution. You should go try one in a camera store to really get a sense how powerful this ability is for your movies. Stable handheld shots without much effort? That's incredible. And your viewers will thank you as well. Julian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepinched Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 when i did have the rx100ii the video was super smooth and could see the steady shot symbol pop up. hmmm...fuzzynormal has thrown a small monkey wrench in ;) might be back to the em10 vs gx7 debate...albeit the IBIS is not probably going to help me on stills for the most part. only in video...i have a tiny one who even know barely sits still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzynormal Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 the IBIS is not probably going to help me on stills for the most part. only in video. Actually, the stabilization is better for stills. Of course, it's awesome for video, but it really increases your ability to get great shots while taking photos. After all, that's why they put it in their cameras. I can't stress it enough. You should try it for at least a few minutes to see how cool it is. I put Oly's 75mm on the EM-5 and was getting rock solid/sharp hand held photos in low light. Why does it help with stills? Well, if you're on a longer focal length, say a 150mm full frame equivalent, the photo rule of thumb is that your shutter speed should be double that full-frame number to compensate for motion blur created by the shakiness of a handheld camera. So, without good stabilization I would normally shoot a m43-75mm lens at a shutter of 300! Yikes, that sucks up a lot of light. And don't forget, longer lenses are more flattering for portraits, which is what you'll want to be doing. Thus, with Oly's superior stabilization (and it's really really really superior) you can lower that shutter speed to 50, 30, 20 even...on a long lens! All of a sudden you're shooting with available light, the ISO's aren't high/grainy, you get great naturalistic photos, the images stay sharp, all that good stuff. No one's more surprised at how evangelical I am about these cameras, especially considering I just bought a GM1 and GX7, but if a camera has a killer feature that's superior to everything else on the market, and it fits perfectly for your situation, it deserves to be touted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 89e2bdf5797fbbdc17c2cc6da1413fa0 Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 What about the RX10, which has internal (3 axis I think) + optical stabilization? That camera seems like a pretty good all-rounder in a compact size. And when you consider the price remember you're saving on glass ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepinched Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 the wife hates sony cameras apparently...rules them out. she was very happy when i sent back the rx100ii. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepinched Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 i looked at the nikon 1 system. i'm not sure i'm comfortable with where it's at right now. I also looked at the nex/fuji lines too. i think for size vs capabilities the m43 system is the most ideal medium. the em10/gx7 seem like my final 2 choices. i really need to decide and move on lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 89e2bdf5797fbbdc17c2cc6da1413fa0 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Someone on another thread just pointed out that the GX7 doesn't have a mic input, if that matters ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepinched Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 i've been seeing some sample videos of the em10 using the ibis...it looks way smoother than when it's off. with the gx7 i'd be fine as long as the lens is stabilized...otherwise it would be jittery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gj91 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I rented a GX7 and was pretty happy with it. The focus peeking and the stabilization helped a lot. At first I didn't like the size since it was thicker then the GX1 I have now. There are a lot of good software features too. So since the GM1 is basically a GX7 stuffed inside a smaller body minus IBIS, I may see about testing it out. I did have one issue where I think the IBIS when wonky and it would not boot up. So I had to use my finger to un-stick whatever motorized thing is around the sensor. I think it was the ibis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slatr Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 I am fairly sure the GX7 does not stablize video with IBIS. Stills only based on the reviews I have read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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