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GH2 Lens selection 14-42mm any good for my purposes ?
  • Outerspace78Outerspace78

    Hi All

    Very tempted to buy a GH2 currently discounted at £499 but with the 14-42mm Lens - im a beginner to DSLR video (have been using a high end consumer minidv camera Panasonic NVGS but the performance is just not good enough) my primary use is to video my wife's classical concerts (piano and she is the singer)

    See example here:-

    made by a pro we hired .......... not great he zoomed all over the place and we ended up with only one usable video from the concert ! and he was using what looked like one of the mid level pro cameras filming in HD - hence taking back control ourselves.

    Typically in the concerts the lighting is poor hence looking at DSLR route / higher ISO that can be achieved (hopefully without too much grain) / the hacked cameras extended recording time / quality level in the European models.

    The next concert in Feb will be in a theatre so will be on stage (about waist hight above the floor level and will be standing a little way back

    Final videos typically go on youtube as part of her promotion.

    Im tempted by the 14-42 + body offer as seems a very good discount as I am on a very tight budget ..... but have read reviews that the 14-42mm lens is not very good (the 14-140 kit price is out of my reach) for video.

    During videoing typically use some zooming /re audio use an external zoom recorder and sync later with the cameras audio.

    Have an old 50mm OM mount Olympus lens and a zoom (not a high end) OM manual lens (forget the f numbers(, but worried about manual zooming / focus.

    Is the kit worth it at that price / do you think I could get useable footage from the 14-42mm lens it comes with ?

    • roughly how long does it take to stop filming and start filming again

    Andy

  • 12 Replies sorted by
  • meemee

    The 14-42 is not so bad if using a hack like canis majoris night. The lens is at it's highest quality zoomed all the way out, plus the more you zoom in the lower the light level reaching the sensor. For concerts I started using 50mm F.1.8 FD lenses with very nice results, but I was pretty far back hence the need for the 50mm. A good solution may be to by the kit, sell the lens, and then buy a Panasonic 20mm f1.7 lens. This lens has great reviews, and can be picked up used for about $250. Plus you can use ETC mode which makes the lens something like a 50mm with no light loss. The 20mm has no Image stabilization though, which is worth considering if you are not using a tripod. For the record, I thought the video above was ok. Yes you can do better with a gh2, but I think the guy did ok.

  • Outerspace78Outerspace78

    Yes will be using a tripod - im a bit too shaky especially when holding it in one position for several songs - interesting to hear your thoughts on the video - maybe my editing skills need to improve !

  • libertaslibertas

    Try maybe using cutaways, of the public, the pianists expression, etc., then you wont have to use the zoom ins

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    Usual recommended concert lens is Tamron 28-75mm F2.8. If you want really one lens. I suggest to go to the stage you'll be shooting, make probes and take notes about required focal lengths.

  • Outerspace78Outerspace78

    Re cutaways good idea but only running one camera, guess could fake it by taking some general shots of the audience / pianist and work it out in the edit .. ummm

    Re checking the stage good idea but sadly its not in this country so taking it as it comes so to speak ! -

    Regarding zoom is it possible to achieve a smooth zoom (pardon my ignorance for the question / apologies if been asked before) with the 14-42... another lens would be great but money is an issue :C(

    Andy

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    For smooth zoom you need 14-42mm power zoom lens

  • MckiniseMckinise

    I have been able to get pretty decent results with it, so far. Then again, I am firm believer of doing the best you can with what you have. I am sure I will upgrade at some point.

  • Outerspace78Outerspace78

    Well sometimes constraints can encourage creative flare- just put an order in for a 2nd hand GH2 with the 14-45 lens + spare battery + 12 months warranty (they had sold out sometime ago on the new body with the 14-42mm .... last of the UK stock of the GH2 broken link me thinks shame)

    Maybe will sell the lens and put money towards the power zoom version - but will try it out and see how I get on with the 14-45 (thought better of according to some, but I wouldn't know ....) Ah for the simpler days of my old Practika SLR

  • jpbturbojpbturbo

    A lot of people say that the 14-45 is sharper than the standard 14-42.

    I know my 14-42 is really soft on the 42mm end of things.

  • meemee

    as for smooth zooming the 2 lenses are about the same, but it seems some come smoother than others, as I used another persons 14-42 recently and it was much better than mine. With mine the only way to get smooth-ish zooms is to either snap fast or do a slow zoom, and as soon as it catches stop. In otherwords a smooth zoom from 14 to 42 is all but impossible as the lenses simply have stickiness. I have a tamron 28-70mm and have to say it is extremely smooth zoom. Unfortunately mine had mold which I successfully removed.. however reassembling the lens is an ongoing struggle. And as for cutaways if you have an external recorder like a zoom h1 (for the budget) you can record superior audio, and then simply film whatever you like and piece it together later. Definitely get to know the levels of the recorder though, cause it is sensitive.

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    My main activity as videographer is to shoot classical concerts. It is very important to know how high is your quality demand for the videos you do.

    For good quality final product, the basic you need is external audio recorder and good lighting, better than in the concert where the embeded video was recorded. One camera is boring to see. If you would have two cameras of which at least one with zoom you can reach amazing results. There you change the shot selection of only one camera by time and in editing you can use the picture of the cam 2 until the moment you have focused your cam 1.
    Minimal equipment doesn't need big investment:

    If you are so tight on budget, within £499 should be possible to go for:
    two second-hand GH1s
    two cheap vintage zooms, or only one zoom and 2-3 primes
    External audio recorder like Zoom H2n
    And off you go.....

    In my practical experience, Panasonic lenses are problematic for your purpose: camera's CPU is very busy with in-camera correcting of the barrel distortion, so although they perform excellent on all GHx cameras this causes many difficulties. Fast zoom like Vitaliy suggested you is better choice, one 50mm prime which cost next to nothing and that's it.

  • Outerspace78Outerspace78

    Interesting ideas thanks all. Have brought the gh2 now but have 7 days once received to return no obligation. Getting 2 Gh1's for the 499 figure has been illlusive ( eBay / gumtree / UK camera dealers sites) but maybe I have not been looking hard enough and only at ones with the kit lenes ! Like the idea of 2 cameras .....

    Re lighting as its a theatre hopefully will be able to do something with their lighting. Regarding sound we use a zoom H2 ( earlier one ) which is ok (also looking for something with more channels / control and xlr inputs + a nice large condenser and a matched stereo pair oktava mic for the piano brought in Russia would go down well..... when money permits, but as you can see I have no problem spending the money virtually).

    Have to be very careful on levels as wife is a soprano (video cameras always clip with her) tend to set the zoom to mid and then adjust levels later on in audacity, think the h2 has an auto level setting but not sure I trust it !

    It's a journey of discovery, I will probably always be an amateur at this but can enjoy the process

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