initial thoughts on the GH3 (or, holy cow, this camera is good)…

Nice shots! Looks like you are having fun with the camera. I asked that question on another GH3 thread as well, but how do you find the still image quality of GH3 vs E-M5? Do you think they are about on par in terms of noise and dynamic range?

I suspect they are the same or near enough not to be materially different. At high ISO in low light the GH3 is almost identical the E-M5. Oddly enough the output from the GH3 seems both sharper and slightly noisier at base iso (perhaps something to do with the AA filter?) anyway, the IQ is really good.

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Thanks for your thoughts on this. Look forward to more of your work with the camera!

Nice work! Thanks for the excellent samples. Love the shot if Big Ben, as that shows the most detail I have seem from this camera. Very exciting!

Thanks for a great report and I love the photos. My gh3 arrives on wednesday. Questions...

You talked  about the electronic shutter for street photography. Can you explain this to me, I have never used an electronic shutter, I know it is silent but how is it effective for taking street shots, which is mostly what I love to shoot.

I have the Panasonic 14-140 lens but I am considering trading it in for the new 35-100 lens. Besides being a faster lens do you think this is a good move, is it faster to focus, and is iq better? I wonder if I will miss having the 14 mm on the one lens when I am out shooting on the street.

Thanks for any insights.

Looks like IQ has been improved significantly over the GH2 which is great news (I made the mistake of shooting my GH2 side by side with my X-Pro1 the other day in Manhattan, and the results weren't pretty for the Panasonic. Fortunately the video IQ of the GH2 slaps the X-Pro1 silly).

But excellent images from the GH3. London is such a wonderful city for photography. It's is a pity the EXIFs are stripped on some of them, but it's still nice to see the some GH3 samples with some good lenses (I have to think the 35-100 2.8 is one of the must have m43 lenses for sure).

Congrats, and enjoy.

The electronic shutter just allows for silent shooting. The drawback is bending and stretching of the picture if you move from side to side as you take the picture - not a problem if you walk directly into the crowd as I often do when I'm street shooting (I tend to stop from shots anyway).

I don't have the 14-140, but from samples of it I've seen and the output from the 35-100 it's no real contest, the 35-100 is sharper, more contrasty and an aperture of F2.8 is very nice for background effects. The other thing to mention is that both Panny constant aperture zooms are great to use in low light.

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You noted that you don't think this camera is for everyone.  Could you expand on that?

Thanks

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Sony F505(retired), Sony F707(gave to son), Sony
F717(gave to wife) Sony S85(great little camera that
was stolen), Sony CD 1000 (ancient but a great lens), Sony P93
Sony H9(retired) Panasonic LX3 that became an LX5 (small
enough to go everywhere), Nikon D5000 that grew into a D7000, Sony HX1, Pany GH2

That shot blew me away when I saw it. It's the basis of my comment that the results seem very sharp indeed.

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Would love to see some full resolution pics..

Cheers and sorry about the Exifs (flickr strips them). The photos (with exif info) are all on my Flickr stream which there is a link to in my signature.

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Thanks for the reply! I just looked at your flicker page, really great photos with you new camera! Can you tell me about what you did for PP? And what program are you using for all the vignetting? Are the black and white shots In Camera? Thanks again!

Sure. I'm an enthusiast, I shoot in A,S or M. I regularly adjust all sorts of functions which have dedicated buttons on the GH3. I haven't yet, but I plan to use the GH3 with MF lenses for video. I use the viewfinder and articulated screen regularly.

If this doesn't describe you I suspect there are better and cheaper M43s cameras. The E-PL5 would be a better choice for someone looking for similar IQ but a shallower learning curve.

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Here you go (view original):

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On the other hand, there is nothing stopping someone from using the GH3 in Full Auto like a P&S.  You'd then have a camera you could grow into vs a more basic model that requires more menu diving to alter settings.

And, IMHO, the dedicated EVF of a GH3 (or E-M5) would make better choices then those without, period. Shooting handheld with arms stretched is not very stable and trying to compose by squinting at an LCD no fun at all.

Besides, aren't most m43 shooters "enthusiasts"?

You mentioned from and IQ standpoint the OMD EM-5 and GH3 are pretty close suggesting that the GH3 is the one to get if you need video and ergonomics and the OMD for size I suppose.  I have the GH2 and find the size fine.  That said, there are moments I find the GH2 a bit too large (when i'm using it as a casual camera if we were to go out to dinner).  Is the GH3 that much larger that it becomes conspicuous to the subject?  I've heard that at sporting events/concerts that smaller cameras get through but DSLR don't.

I've really thought of going OMD but find it a bit uncomfortable in my hands and functionality seems a bit buried in menus.  But I also recognize how easy it would be to throw it in my work bag (I do that with the GH2 but it bulks it up a bit).

I recognize that I'm nitpicking here as a d600 in my hands was a deal breaker with the lenses and forget the D800.  My gh3 is ready to pick up at my local store and I was wondering what your thoughts are before I head out there later today (I'll play around with both OMD/GH3 and the XE1 before deciding but more info is better in my view).

Wow, thanks for those full size images. Very mipressive, I must say.

I have been planning on getting the GH3 + the XE-1 for resolution and high ISO, but now I'm starting to think that maybe I should just put the XE-1 money towards lenses instead. Seems to me like the sharpness and detail in the GH3 images are holding up quite well to the XE-1.. Hmm..

Electronic shutter or mechanical shutter?

First, definitely mechanical, second I'm not sure

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