Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black)

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I am beginning to use de camara, and I see that is easy to use. The catalog is a little complicated to understand by the form that it has in the chapters structure.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

First of all,..B&H's service was on point,..no problems there. as far as a camera this thing is awesome! the versatility is endless. As far as a video camera,..(which is what I bought it for) its incredible. highly unique unit. it's very organic looking for a [$] digital unit. And with it's ability to hook up to some crazy lenses,..the end product far surpasses your initial investement.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

Its features, light weight and sensor are ideal for travel. I will be taking it to Machu Picchu

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I have been hesitant to move into the realm of changeable lens cameras for years, I just really preferred the more compact super-zoom cameras. But with my last super-zoom, the Panasonic FZ100, having such poor quality images, especially in low light, I decided to step up. For me, my choice was between the Sony NEX-5n, and the GH2. I picked the Panasonic GH2 for several reasons -
1) It is compact, in fact the body is the same size and weight of my FZ100, though with the kit 14-140mm lens it is noticeably heavier, but acceptable.
2) It is compatible with the accessories I bought for my FZ100 (the shoe mount Flash, and the wired and wireless shutter triggers)
3) It has great reviews, especially in the low light area with it's high ISO. (though not quite as good as the NEX 5n)
4) Not much learning curve, as most of the menu system is the same a my FZ100.
5) It has a viewfinder, MUCH better that the FZ100. The Sony NEX-5N does not have one built in. (I know, there is the NEX-7, but that one is more $, and actually lacks some of the features that I like about the 5n and the GH2, like the touch screen)
Oh yeah, that touch screen ... I am actually mixed on it. For some functions, like selecting a focal point or setting some of the quick menu functions, it's nice. But it is a little clunky. One nice thing on the GH2 is that most of those functions are still available with physical buttons, and is the reason I removed the G3 from my choices early on.
All those buttons are nice, and with three programmable ones, it is even better. I just have to remember what I programmed them to do!
I am really happy with my purchase. This camera has so many features, settings and capabilities (not to mention all the video capabilities) that it should last me years. And as long as I stick with the M43 format, I can continue to use the lenses that I buy for it on future bodies. Win - win.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

Camera id OK for still image shooting, but not for video; the reason why I purchased it after seeing a demo at B&H in store.

The camera has very slow auto whit balance, and does not have normal gain features in menu or on camera, such as +3db, 6, 9 12, 18db etc.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

It is ready to go right out of the box.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

BEFOR MAKING MY DECISION ON PURCHASING A NEW CAMERA I LOOKED AT A FEW OF THEM AND RESEARCHED FOR ABOUT 6 MOUNHS AND DECIDED ON THE LUMIX GH2 I USE IT FOR SHOOTING SHORT FILMS AND MUSIC VIDEOS AND THE QUALITY IS EXCELLENT!!!!!! I LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT THE HANDLING THE FEATURES WAS EASY TO USE THE ONLY DOWN FALL IS SHOOTING IN LOW LIGHT IS OK NOT SO GOOD.THE BEST THING IS I GOT IT AT A GOOD PRICE.
THANKS B&H

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

This was my feeble first steps in changing my mode from SD panasonic DVC30 to HD DSLR and what a change it was! I'm now buying cheap adapters for my Nikon and Olympus lenses and everything works, and the files load into FCPX in about 20 seconds, and there is depth of field, a different way of looking at video(as art) and my God I'm having fun again! The Auto Focus seems to work really well in Video mode although I haven't put it through its paces in a professional situation yet where I have to get the money shot while moving, chasing, or being distracted by unforseen mishaps. I think the preferred situation will be to purchase a regular small HD video camera to compliment this marvelous little machine, although at this point I don't know if that will even be necessary.

But this little gem. I've hooked up a Nikon 50 mm 1.8 and a Nikon 180 2.8 ,primes, and the focus works only manually And the exposure meter works fine through the adapter on both lenes, a cheap thing I bought elsewhere for almost no money.

The electronic shutter gives some delay at certain modes and ISO settings, but the good news is this camera has a multitude of settings to accomadate almost any light or motion situation. Still getting used to the possibilities.

Will contribute another review in the future once I understand the limitations besides the obvious ones that DSLR video present.

dcbeemon

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

Airline's have made it expensive to carry around DSLR gear as carry-on, and the current convergence of stills&video now require photo professionals to offer video as well. Enter the Lumix GH-2, a very capable stills camera and one that is currently regarded as one of the best interchangeable lens cameras for video use. And with it's small size, it's even easier and no chore to carry-around for family events!
With B&H new price, the GH-2 becomes a steal w/ the 14-140 as it ends up as affordable as entry level DSLR's from other manufacturer's with a superzoom. But can those entry level DSLR's give you the big viewfinder, the impeccable video quality (with continuous video AF) and the articulated screen? Not to mention can their equivalent superzoom lenses boast the silent and quick AF for video?
And the image and video quality were not compromised for their size and compactness of the body and lenses. Other compact system camera's may offer better sensors or faster stills AF but their lenses are DSLR like in size, making handling a bit iffy and their compactness a bit questionable.
Handling is quite good as well, I was skeptical at first as I do have large hands (I can easily grip a basketball) but the ergonomics are quite good.
As good as the GH2 is, their are weaknesses. First is the battery life, you really do need to buy quite a few extra's especially if you're shooting video. The other is more of a weakness of electronic viewfinders. If you're used to optical viewfinders from DSLR's, you do have to keep in mind that in low-light situations, most EVF's will present the screen brighter that it actually is. The menu system of Panasonic isn't as easy to understand as other manufacturer's, you will need the manual handy even if you have read the manual completely for a few times.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I was a long-term Nikon user until I got my hands on this little wonder. I'll try to make it short: the video capability alone is worth the price. It behaves like a camcorder (easy, accurate focus tracking, automated modes for quick high-quality recording) with the quality of a DSLR (bokeh and controllable DOF!!!!).

As a DSLR its focusing accuracy easily surpasses that of my Nikon D300. Colors are better, too.

To fully enjoy this gem, get the Olympus 45mm, Olympus 12mm and Panasonic 20mm lenses. They produce truly astonishing images.

Drawbacks: clearly visible noise beginning at aroung ISO600. Anything over 2000 is un-usable (in my opinion). It takes a while to get used to the way it works.

I'm glad I chose this over the D7000.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

This camera is hands down one of the best all around DSLRs... paired with the right lens, you can achieve most any look you're shooting for!

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

Have only had the camera for a little over a week, and am very happy with the results. I mainly bought it for its video capabilities, and in this regard it has been great. I'm very satisfied with the photos as well.

Very surprised at how well stabilized shots are with MegaOIS. Excellent AF for stills. Not perfect AF for video, but it's still much better than having no AF in video mode. 1:1 mode when using MF is awesome as well.

Main complaint with the camera is battery life. You will NEED to buy one or more batteries if your shoot lasts more than half a day.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

After using the camera for some time i can report with more accuracy on what i said in my previous review. First, Focus is still a little inaccurate, but not as bad as it was at first...maybe i am just more careful about my focus. That having been said, i would upgrade my opinion on the af from a 2+ to a 6 or 7 after playing with it.

About the low light performance, i wrote that the camera wouldn't jump up to higher iso's and that because i didn't have the max iso set and so it preferences lower iso's. Setting the Max ISO in AUTO to 3200 solves the problem and i haven't had an issue since. Also, I discovered that the iISO feature is really nice, automatically upping the iso to increase the shutter speed to compensate for shake, really nice with the OIS off or with a non-OIS lens.

as far as video, im very happy with it, i still wish panasonic hadn't cheeped out and locked it to 60i as the max (i would have been fine with 30p) but i have figured out how to work around it. As far as external recorders. i will let anyone who wants to know right now...they don't work. I was actually able to get a live HDMI feed recorded with a black magic card but it was 1080i60 (not 59.94) and even in 24p mode it was 24p cadence with 1080i60 stream. I was able to successfully inverse telecine it to 24.00p and it looked fine, however it seems that the color space from the HMDI is 420 still though so its not all that helpful to be honest. its clear panasonic limited the HDMI stream intentionally to drive buyers looking for a cut price AF-100 to...well the full price AF-100. to be honest, if your doing video with your better off with the AF-100 anyway, it will have the right hardware and software to work properly in the field and you get this lens right now with it for free.

My harshness has worn off and i am really growing to love this camera. The 14-140 lens makes it just as big and heavy as any other mid price dlsr but the 20 mm price makes it stealthy and feathery and produces some absolutely amazing images, especially in low light. Overall i would give it a 8+ as a still camera and a 6+ as a video camera, though it sure is a lot easier to bike/ski with than an af-100 (or my hvx200 for that matter)

Don't get me wrong, the af tracking in video and the quality of the image are 9+ with this lens, its just that its not a video camera and i don't care what people tell you about DLSR's; They aren't cheap alternatives to real video cameras like the af-100 and you will pay the price eventually, either by living with the lack of true video features or buying gear to compensate for the missing features usefulness.

Lastly, this camera should still be less money, but thats the market right now.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I use this camera for both video and still shots. It's simple to learn and has very responsive features. The images are extremely high quality and very professional looking. I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone who is serious about photography.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I'm in charge of visual content for an international media organisation. I need a light-weight camera that delivers good quality stills and video clips. The Lumix GH2 with 14-140mm zoom meets the requirements more than adequately.It must be said that I bought the kit elsewhere [...] Being a loyal customer, I'd like to share my experience here.On locations, I use the camera much like a photo-journalist. I shoot fast to produce a wide range of shot sizes. My subjects are mainly people in their environment, mostly unposed and unaware.The auto focus of the 14-140mm zoom is smooth, quiet and very fast. This combined with rapid frame rates and image stabilisation suits my kind of work very well. The articulated screen is great when shooting above the crowds, at ground level, or in a tight spot.I like being able to switch between video and still shooting. One complaint is that the video button doesn't give much feedback to the finger; one must look at the screen to confirm whether the video recording is ON or OFF. There's also an annoying lag between pressing the button and the recording sign coming on. I sometimes used a hot-shoe mounted Rode video mike for better sound. The 2.5mm jack on the GH2 means I have to use another cable with a 3.5mm socket to plug in the mike. The dangling wires brushing against the camera cause noises and look very unsightly.I dislike the GH2 shutter noise in a quiet environment - the slapping sound is very intrusive. In fact, I've resorted to using a Lumix FZ100 when absolute quietness is required - which is a shame when you've got the GH2 with a great lens in the bag! To be fair, this is not a problem unique to the GH2.AVCHD video clips produced by the GH2 are stunning when viewed on a large monitor or as projected on a large screen.I've also bought half a dozen of favourite Rokkor lenses on second-hand market for less than half the cost of the 14-140mm. They work very well with GH2 via adapter. Without the benefits of OIS, I limit the focal lenght of these to around 200mm. I often shoot with wide-opened aperture to make the most of the narrow depth-of-field. The Lumix lenses delivers adequate sharpness wide-open with brilliant contrast, colours and bokeh.Ergonomically, the GH2 handles very well with all the Lumix lenses I have (14-140mm, 100-300mm, 7-14mm). The controls are well-laid out and the visual menus are well-thought out. Mounting the camera with the 100-300mm on a tripod is a bit tricky as the combo is front-heavy. I wish Panasonic will make a mounting kit for the big lenses.I now have four models of Lumic cameras and each one uses a different battery type and charger. This is insane as one needs to pack four sets in the bag. A small consolation: you only need to take one power cord, unless you need to charge more than one type of battery at a time.In summary, I really enjoy using the Lumix GH2 and wouldn't trade it for anything yet. I'd rather live with its quirks and enjoy the images it delivers.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I started out with a Lumix G1 18 months ago. I enjoyed using the G1 and captured many satisfying images with it. I also found a number of things to dislike. The GH2 fixes all those dislikes. Most importantly, it has much better high ISO performance, much faster and more accurate auto-focus, and much improved controls and menus. This makes it more pleasant to use and it takes noticeably better pictures. There are a lot of minor improvements, too, such as 16 mpx images rather the 12 mpx of the G1, but the first three I mentioned are the killer reasons to upgrade.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I use this as my point-and-shoot, my main camera being a 5DmkII.

It is light and small. Build is pretty good, but I am not a fan of the plastic knobs and switches - though ergonomically this camera is fantastic with the old school controls.

Performance I feel is very good - no high ISO is not it's forte, but I try to never shoot above 1600 anyway, even on my Canon. The AF is insanely good - lightyears ahead of my big camera, and it almost never misses a shot, very accurate. The ability to pick focus on a touchscreen is awesome, as well trigger the shutter.

This camera has a gazillion features - but the manual is terrible. Luckily the menu system is fairly good.

Image quality overall is very good - I don't like the white balance but that is a tweak, a little less blue, a little more green - easily changeable in-camera, and much easier to do than a Canon.

The 14-140 is a good lens, but not stellar wide-open. However it is very well made, quick to focus, accurate, and very practical. OIS is excellent, and for video of course it is great, the stepless aperture, apparent and works. My favorite is the 20, but the cheap 14-42 is actually a decent performer too.

Great for video - leagues ahead of trad DSLRs by every measure mostly, particularly in ease of use.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I previously used Nikon D90 for my stills and Sony HDR-FX7 for my videos. At some point I got really eager about getting something that can give me a shallow DOF for my videos.
First, I thought about buying Nikon D7000 just because I had Nikon already and liked it. I moved on to consider Canon D60 instead because of it's swiveling LCD which very handy for videos. Did some searches and comparisons and realized that the GH2 reportedly beats D60 hands down (the major drawback of the D60 for me was not having auto focus in the video mode).
Now how does GH2 compares to having D90 and FX7 for someone who is more into video than into stills, but stills are still important? The most important thing, yes - having a shallow DOF when taking videos is amazing, no doubts about it. It's like moving from a point and shoot camera to a SLR, only with video. Another important factor for me is the compactness: instead of hauling almost 6 pounds of weight now I get away with a bit more than two pounds. Interchangeable lenses is another exciting thing: I have 3 lenses (14-140, 40mm 1.7 F, and 9-18 mm wide angle one). Very nice when compared to my fixed narrow lens on my Sony FX7. The electronic viewfinder is a huge improvement over my FX7, even though of course SLR is still better, especially when the sun is very bright or when it is very dark.
Two disappointments concerning its video capabilities. 2.5 mm input jack does not make any sense. It was cheap to buy an adapter, but I wish I did not have to use it. More importantly, I realized that when I am shooting longer clips (10 minutes or so) the sound gets out of sync. (I am going to contact Panasonic to find out if my camera is defective).
As a still pictures camera GH2 does a very decent job. It took me a while to get used to its colors which look a bit too dark and muddy (a common thins for Panasonic cameras) - they probably are more natural, but I guess I am just spoiled by brighter colors of Canon, Nikon, etc.
Overall I think it's a great combination of two worlds - video and still pictures. When at some point large sensor camcorders like Panasonic AG-AF100 become more affordable I might get two different machines for my videos and still pictures, but at this point it is really nice to have this two in one camera!

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I bought the GH2 because i wanted the advanced video capabilities like so many other people. Now i didn't find it on B&H because, although they said it was in stock it actually wasn't. There are many things I like:
fast shooting
compact
amazing video quality
autofocus in video mode
fantastic built in mic

And lots of things i don't like
2.5 mm mic jack? seriously?!
1080i60 limited despite the fact that panasonic makes consumer camera's that do 1080p60. 1080i60 is unacceptable at this level or product, they knew full well what this would be used for and decided to dumb it down for cross compatibility reasons. Lame. Also, the lens mount isn't the greatest but it hasn't been a problem. I miss not having an optical viewfinder but i accept that as part of the deal, i just wish manual focus options were better in the viewfinder.

The biggest problem i have been having with it though is the auto focus. It kind of [word that rhymes with "mucks"] i will shoot a person, dead center, with center focus priority and the person will be out of focus and the background will be in focus. It seems to have a really hard time picking the correct focal point so you have to be very careful and play with the modes. Fortunately the mode dial for auto focus is a hard dial right on the body.

The image stabilization is great, and the 14-140 lens, though pricey and slow, is a great all rounder, especially for video. Low light performance is poor, mostly because the camera doesn't seem to want to jump up the iso chain. It seems to preference iso speed over shutter speed and so in auto iso mode it will hover around 1/60th for shutter and keep the iso at 400. fine, except i dont have a tripod with me all the time and its not possible to shoot in low light @ 1/60th and not get blur. Again, something you can change manually if you like, but its very strange, especially considering that up to 1600 ISO is still VERY usable. Im finding that as a point and shoot its not a very good camera, but for someone who knows what they are doing the images are on par with others in the space like the Rebel series or the 7D.

Video though is much MUCH better than those and as soon as they release a firmware update for 720p30 1080p30/60, i hack the firmware, or get an external recorder it will be something truly special.

The last thing i can say about it is price. Why is this so much money? needs to be about $200 cheaper considering the competition. Its better at video than the nikon or canon, but im not sure its a better still camera. I don't regret it though, its still a great camera, but the GH3 is going to be amazing.

Comments about Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Digital Camera W/14-140mm Lens (Black):

I bought this camera as a backup for video work. As a DSLR shooter I was really excited about this camera. The lack of time limit and focusing by touching the screen appealed to me.
When I received the GH2 i quickly learned that mechanical focusing does not have the same look as manually focusing.

Also I was not able to view thumbnails of the files on my mac without first converting them. Same with the AF100. A deal breaker when you need to find 1 out of 100 files for a quick edit.

The small body seemed a little fragile compared to a Canon. The screen is not as good as my 5D MK2 or my 60D.

Still photos do not compare. AF was fast but the image is not close to a 5D.

Overall the GH2's video quality is very good. I would recommend it for some uses. Weddings, interviews etc. For me it's not the answer to the 12 minute time limit on the Canon. If you need more than 12 minutes the GH2 is a good option. Just be careful with it and don't expect a live person to help you on the phone if you have questions.