GH1 - Best settings for video

ajamils · Oct 21, 2009

I've been using GH1 for couple of months and being a complete newbie I am not only learning how to use my new toy but also the different jargon of photography world. I have seen many amazing videos and pics taken with GH1 kit but so far I have not been able to produce anything like that (been kinda disappointed with it actually). I know for sure that its not the camera but the user and I'm probably using wrong settings.

Currently I'm using "Smooth" film mode and I do not see the same HD video (almost 3D image like Blu-ray) effect that I see in videos on vimeo.

. Also pictures lack detail that I've seen on other DSLR. Some pics are even worse than my 3 year old Panasonic FZ5.

What are the recommended setting for videos and stills ??

Markr041 · Oct 21, 2009

The best settings will depend on the subject matter in part.

My experience and reading suggests that effective settings are AVCHD 720p. Setting contrast and sharpness to -1 is also recommended, and 'smooth'.

You want to go to movie mode and set the shutter to 1/60, or 1/125 (shutter priority mode or full manual) so you do not get jerky videos if there is fast action or you pan. I suggest you pan little and zoom less while shooting.

This is a start.

Here are links to videos made on the GH1 using the kit zoom:

Sports action, exploiting the 60fps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdSsiyVEdbs&fmt=22

And flowers and insects, showing off the bokeh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyWDhL3jc7s&fmt=22

All of these were shot in the first two weeks of having the camera, so I am just learning too.

G1Houston · Oct 21, 2009

ajamils said:
What are the recommended setting for videos and stills ??

Mark gave you some good suggestions which agree with what I have read. DVXUSER.COM is a good place to get advice for video related matters and it has a forum just for the GH1. What software do you use to convert your movies? If you can post some movies, we may be able to find out what you did wrong. However as a start, you have to shoot in HD (AVCHD mode) in order to get the "3D" effect so make sure that that is what you do.

There is no good setting for still. How much do you know about photography? You could set the camera to fully the automated mode to use it as a P&S or you could use one of the four exposure modes to fine tune the shutter, aperture, and ISO. You need some basic understanding for how these three factors can affect the look of the picture before you can use them properly. Photo.net and photozone are good places to find info about basic photography. Again it is not clear why you are not getting good pictures unless you post an example. Some may be camera related some may be photographer related ...

ajamils · Oct 21, 2009

Thanks for the reply guys. I've been a member of DvxUser forums for few months and I have definitely learned quiet a bit from there. As for my experience, my experience with photography and videography has been limited to P&S and consumer camcorders.

I always shoot at FHD in smooth mode. You can find some of raw videos pics that I took with GH1 here http://www.armjamil.com/gh1_videos/ ). I've been trying to use Vegas Pro 9 for the video editing but so far haven't had much luck with it.

Also here are some videos on Vimeo ( http://vimeo.com/7182035?hd=1 )

Markr041 · Oct 21, 2009

There is a lot to learn about Vegas 9 Pro.

First, you have to match the project settings to the specs of the GH1 video file. If you do not do that, you will get really bad-looking videos.

Then you have to choose a video type to render to. And the options are limited, even with customization.

I use 720p on the GH1, and I render to 720p wmv, which has a setting for 1280x720 at 60fps. I could not find any other template that could be changed to match best my original GH1 720p files.

Note that 1080i on the GH1 is actually 24p wrapped in 60i. To get to 24p, you need to use pulldown in another software program. If you do not do this, again it can look bad. Another reason to use 720p AVCHD on the GH1 rather than 1080i.

I noticed that you converted 1080i to 720p for your Vimeo video - so again, why not shoot at 720p to begin with? ABC and ESPN broadcast at 720p; it is perfectly fine HD.

mpgxsvcd · Oct 21, 2009

Great job with that version of the video. That looks outstanding!

There is one reason to shoot at 1080i 24 FPS. If you lower the video frame rate then you can also decrease the shutter speed. This helps a lot with low light shooting.

If you are indoors then the 1080i @ 24 FPS is ideal. For outdoor sports the 720p @ 60 FPS is the best choice.

Markr041 said:
There is a lot to learn about Vegas 9 Pro.

First, you have to match the project settings to the specs of the GH1 video file. If you do not do that, you will get really bad-looking videos.

Then you have to choose a video type to render to. And the options are limited, even with customization.

I use 720p on the GH1, and I render to 720p wmv, which has a setting for 1280x720 at 60fps. I could not find any other template that could be changed to match best my original GH1 720p files.

Note that 1080i on the GH1 is actually 24p wrapped in 60i. To get to 24p, you need to use pulldown in another software program. If you do not do this, again it can look bad. Another reason to use 720p AVCHD on the GH1 rather than 1080i.

I noticed that you converted 1080i to 720p for your Vimeo video - so again, why not shoot at 720p to begin with? ABC and ESPN broadcast at 720p; it is perfectly fine HD.

--
GF1 & ZS3 Sample movies
http://www.youtube.com/user/mpgxsvcd#play/uploads

ajamils · Oct 21, 2009

Markr041 said:
Note that 1080i on the GH1 is actually 24p wrapped in 60i. To get to 24p, you need to use pulldown in another software program. If you do not do this, again it can look bad. Another reason to use 720p AVCHD on the GH1 rather than 1080i.

Well, from reading Dvxuser forums, the "ideal" work flow that I got was the following

Open files on time line in Vegas
Output them as uncompressed avi
Remove pullldown via VirtualDub
Import the 24p file in Vegas and do the editing

Markr041 said:
I noticed that you converted 1080i to 720p for your Vimeo video - so again, why not shoot at 720p to begin with? ABC and ESPN broadcast at 720p; it is perfectly fine HD.

I was always told that 1080i captures a lot more information plus it is 24p so it will product better end product. Though I have not seen any difference neither between 720p & 1080i or between 60i (GH1 native) or 24p.

Markr041 · Oct 21, 2009

Your workflow is ok for 1080i, although with a good computer there is little gain from going to the uncompressed format as an intermediate.

The "movie" types favor 24p because it gives the same jerky motion as film. But that is not advantageous for action. Does have, as said above, the advantage of being able to use a slower shutter indoors. Most users of the GH1 favor 720p because it has less artifacts.

G1Houston · Oct 21, 2009

mpgxsvcd said:
Great job with that version of the video. That looks outstanding!

There is one reason to shoot at 1080i 24 FPS. If you lower the video frame rate then you can also decrease the shutter speed. This helps a lot with low light shooting.

If you are indoors then the 1080i @ 24 FPS is ideal. For outdoor sports the 720p @ 60 FPS is the best choice.

I also found that 1080/24 movies have much lower noise/artifacts when shot at high ISO so this is another reason to use 1080/24. Furthermore, when using iMovie to convert MTS files, the 1080/24 file size is half of that of 720/60. For these reasons I shoot at 1080/24 most of the time.

ajamils · Oct 21, 2009

G1Houston said:
I also found that 1080/24 movies have much lower noise/artifacts when shot at high ISO so this is another reason to use 1080/24. Furthermore, when using iMovie to convert MTS files, the 1080/24 file size is half of that of 720/60. For these reasons I shoot at 1080/24 most of the time.

What film mode and shutter speed do you use ?

Good to see a fellow Houstonian here

Markr041 · Oct 21, 2009

I do not understand the file size difference you get - as I do understand it, file size only depends on bit rate. The bit rate is the same on the GH1 for 720p and 1080i, so the file sizes are the same coming out of the camera whichever mode is selected. What are you doing in iMovie to make the files a different size?

It seems to me that file size cannot be a reason for choosing between 1080i and 720p. What am I missing?

G1Houston · Oct 21, 2009

Ah my name gave that away. Howdy!

As some said about the issue with ISO, I use as slow a shutter speed as possible. For 1080/24, I will shoot at 1/50. For 720/60, I will still shoot at 1/50 since I do not have the option in iMovie to drop in a 24fps time line. If you plan to do that, it is suggested to shoot at 1/125. A good starting point for shutter speed is 1/2x fps, if I understand this correctly. To make slowmo, I just change the play back speed in iMovie. I am new to this as well and not a pro. I have not shot anything outdoors yet and so far I use it to film my one year old in the house. I also have not thought too much about the video output. I am happy with the videos that I got and it is better than those created by camcorder or the D90.

ajamils said:
G1Houston said:

I also found that 1080/24 movies have much lower noise/artifacts when shot at high ISO so this is another reason to use 1080/24. Furthermore, when using iMovie to convert MTS files, the 1080/24 file size is half of that of 720/60. For these reasons I shoot at 1080/24 most of the time.

Click to expand...

What film mode and shutter speed do you use ?

Good to see a fellow Houstonian here

ajamils · Oct 21, 2009

1/50 ? Isn't that for PAL ? I was always told to shoot at 1/60, no matter whether its 1080i or 720p.

Since I do not have a Mac or iMovie...what's the next best solution for PC users ? Is there any video editor that does pulldown as well ? (So that I won't have to go through all the hoops) ?

G1Houston said:
As some said about the issue with ISO, I use as slow a shutter speed as possible. For 1080/24, I will shoot at 1/50. For 720/60, I will still shoot at 1/50 since I do not have the option in iMovie to drop in a 24fps time line. If you plan to do that, it is suggested to shoot at 1/125. A good starting point for shutter speed is 1/2x fps, if I understand this correctly. To make slowmo, I just change the play back speed in iMovie. I am new to this as well and not a pro. I have not shot anything outdoors yet and so far I use it to film my one year old in the house. I also have not thought too much about the video output. I am happy with the videos that I got and it is better than those created by camcorder or the D90.

ajamils said:

G1Houston said:

I also found that 1080/24 movies have much lower noise/artifacts when shot at high ISO so this is another reason to use 1080/24. Furthermore, when using iMovie to convert MTS files, the 1080/24 file size is half of that of 720/60. For these reasons I shoot at 1080/24 most of the time.

Click to expand...

What film mode and shutter speed do you use ?

Good to see a fellow Houstonian here

Click to expand...

G1Houston · Oct 21, 2009

ajamils said:
1/50 ? Isn't that for PAL ? I was always told to shoot at 1/60, no matter whether its 1080i or 720p.

Since I do not have a Mac or iMovie...what's the next best solution for PC users ? Is there any video editor that does pulldown as well ? (So that I won't have to go through all the hoops) ?

Not sure about PAL, 24x2 = 48 = 50 so that is why I use 1/50. Can I set the shutter speed to 1/60, I am not sure ...

I have very limited knowledge about the PC software. Hope someone can fill in. Many people use Adobe Premiere I think but it is expensive.

ajamils · Oct 21, 2009

G1Houston said:
Not sure about PAL, 24x2 = 48 = 50 so that is why I use 1/50. Can I set the shutter speed to 1/60, I am not sure ...

I have very limited knowledge about the PC software. Hope someone can fill in. Many people use Adobe Premiere I think but it is expensive.

What film mode do you use ? Also, do you have any sample video/stills ?

G1Houston · Oct 21, 2009

The same as you "SMOOTH" with -1 in contrast and sharpness. I don't have a lot footages yet and they are all about family members, some of them may be shy. You can check this one out, however. Note all of this was shot at 720/60, all indoors using the kit lens.

http://gallery.me.com/spombe7/100274

Do you live in Houston? Do you go to Chinatwon often? This was shot in Fung's kitchen ...

ajamils said:
G1Houston said:

Not sure about PAL, 24x2 = 48 = 50 so that is why I use 1/50. Can I set the shutter speed to 1/60, I am not sure ...

I have very limited knowledge about the PC software. Hope someone can fill in. Many people use Adobe Premiere I think but it is expensive.

Click to expand...

What film mode do you use ? Also, do you have any sample video/stills ?

G1Houston · Oct 21, 2009

BTW, I took a look at your videos on Vimeo. The IQ is quite good. Note that GH1 needs light and its high ISO videos are noisy. You need to use a prime lens with wide aperture to get more light in. The movement of the wheel in the theme park seems a bit off, however, but your videos are otherwise sharp.

ajamils · Oct 21, 2009

G1Houston said:
The same as you "SMOOTH" with -1 in contrast and sharpness. I don't have a lot footages yet and they are all about family members, some of them may be shy. You can check this one out, however. Note all of this was shot at 720/60, all indoors using the kit lens.

http://gallery.me.com/spombe7/100274

Do you live in Houston? Do you go to Chinatwon often? This was shot in Fung's kitchen ...

Ya I live in Richmond. No, I've never been to Chinatown. Where is that at ?

I've been shooting in Smooth mode also but there has been some discussion going on at DVxuser forum about the color shift issue that GH1 has and STANDARD is the only one that does not suffer from that so I might try that one out.

G1Houston · Oct 22, 2009

when using 1080/24, use 1/50. When shooting 720/60, use 1/60 or 1/125.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/gh1.shtml

ajamils said:
1/50 ? Isn't that for PAL ? I was always told to shoot at 1/60, no matter whether its 1080i or 720p.

itsmecass · Oct 22, 2009

I'm reading this in anticipation of picking up my GH1 tomorrow. From what I've read previously, I had been planning on recording in MJPEG but noticed a couple of the replies in this thread advocated AVCHD. I was wondering why you prefer that over MJPEG. I know AVCHD has smaller files and longer continuous recording capability but I've read it's less ideal for editing.

Thanks,
Cass

GH1 - Best settings for video

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