GH1 dilemma of an Indian

Lumix GH1 is not coming to India before April 2010 (talked to the marketing guy of Panasonic India).Even if it comes,I am afraid the price would not be less than RS.95K.I have been waiting for this cam for last 6 months.I cant wait anymore... (I know Sony may come up with something better).The retail price in US (Adorama,B&H etc.) is $1299.But my problem is the NTSC code there. The PAL version in UK has 30 min time limit in movie recording and highly priced.Custom and warranty issues also are dogging me.

Is Singapore/Malayasia/Hongkong better option (no recording time limit,PAL& cheap)?
Is NTSC 24p/60p is better than PAL 25p/50p?
If I buy the NTSC version now, can it be changed to PAL later on?
Is Panasonic giving international warranty for GH1 and at what additional cost?

Please help....

Bob
bangalore.

The GF1 lets you choose between the "video out" options PAL and NTSC.
I bet the GH1 is the same. Should be no problem then. Best of luck to you!

Hong Kong used to be the best place for DSLR buys, but Malaysia enjoys duty free status for Cameras.

Panasonic GH1K + 8GB SDHC + Panasonic Case = RM 5500

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/1163398

5,500.00 MYR = 74,551.81 INR/1,603.26 USD

The poster has a stall at BB Plaza, KL, Malaysia.

You can't switch from NTSC to PAL.

Hope this helps.

--
Full Disclosure: Equal parts gadget freak and photographer!

Although I live in PAL teritory I imported GH1 NTSC model from Amazon.

I've no problem at all since most of my pictures and videos I watch in Picasa on my computer. The Panasonic ask you for the preferable TV system during installation, so in my case I've had to choose NTSC 5.58 one.
Summing up: I'd in my life many cameras, but I find GH1 as the best one.

Adam
--
http://www.pbase.com/adam3544

Jeanadriane said:

The GF1 lets you choose between the "video out" options PAL and NTSC.
I bet the GH1 is the same. Should be no problem then. Best of luck to you!

Click to expand...

.... I have a U.S. (NTSC) GH1 in Australia (PAL) and it works just fine. If I plug it into my 1080P Sony LCD with an HDMI cable, the images are perfect. If I burn the videos to a DVD using either the supplied "PhotoFunStudio" software or Nero, they play just fine on a PAL DVD player. I think the NTSC/PAL format may only apply to "component" out. There is no option on the U.S. market GH1 menus to change the video format, but it doesn't seem to matter. On page 107 of the manual it states that MJPEG movies can only be recorded up to 2 GB in size, but AVCHD can record until the card is full. As well as an American market GH1 in Australia, I also have a Japanese market G1 (with all Japanese menus that can't be changed) . Hope this helps.
--

Judge: ' This image may be better in black and white - perhaps even just black! '

Quote

I wish it can do that but unfortunately it can't. That’s usually a feature found in expensive camcorders like the HM100 for example.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/panasonic-lumix-gf-gh-series/236942-lumix-gh1-pal-ntsc-regions.html

Th GH1 can be bought in the UK for 1000 GBP, but has a 30 min recording time limit.
--
Full Disclosure: Equal parts gadget freak and photographer!

Two things,

1) Why would you care about PAL/NTSC? Surely you would be recording video at 720 or 1080? In either case, computers will work fine and a HD tv will play either. In fact virtually any 4:3 tv made in the last 10 years will play pal and ntsc footage fine.

2) Are you really planning on recording a single clip longer than half an hour, non-stop? You can have as many video clips under half an hour as you like.

thanks a lot... few things to clarify still..

...but it is clearly mentioned in Panasonic UK site(eshop) GH1- full HD 1080/25p or smooth HD 720/50p in AVCHD... That means it is PAL only... nothing sort of that for GF1- 720p in AVCHD lite or MJPEG...

so is it better to take the NTSC version?...as it is 60p(better than 50p for slow motion as told by some) and it seems cheapest in USA...

If I would get it from Malaysia, will I have to pay duty here again in India?what would be the approximate duty in India? what about Singapore?

I think it is absolutely necessary to have maximum possible recording time for street and wildlife shoots. For home videos 30 min limit is not much problematic though.

Wouldn't it be possible to just select a moment when you can be pretty sure not much happens to stop and start again and thus have a next 30 mins? That's how up till now I worked my way around such limitations.

imashination said:

1) Why would you care about PAL/NTSC? Surely you would be recording video at 720 or 1080? [...] HD tv will play either. In fact virtually any 4:3 tv made in the last 10 years will play pal and ntsc footage fine.

Click to expand...

Simple case. You live in PAL country. You have NTSC GH1. You want to give your video to family on Blu Ray.

• if you burn Blu Ray in NTSC , their PLAYER, not TV must recognize it
• if you want to burn Blu Ray in PAL , you need to have software for that, one more step in workflow, quality - some say about jerky results as outcome of not-regular cutting of frames

Anyone performed 2nd step?
Any idea what % of PAL players recognize and support NTSC too?
--
Best Regards,
Jerry_R

thanks..

If I get it from Malaysia, will I have to pay duty here again in India?what would be the approximate duty in India? Do you aware of the Singapore price?

Is NTSC version better ? 60p Vs.50p in PAL?

bobboo said:

thanks..

If I get it from Malaysia, will I have to pay duty here again in India?what would be the approximate duty in India? Do you aware of the Singapore price?

Is NTSC version better ? 60p Vs.50p in PAL?

Click to expand...

100,000 yen in Tokyo NTSC version with Japanese menu (non switchable!)
2400 Sing Dollar in Singapore (PAL version no time limit)

25% duty at Bangalore International Airport on the excess amount over 25000 rupees duty free allowance.

Buy PAL version and use Final Cut Pro software.

I travel a lot, but never picked up the GH1, as getting the most out of GH1 is going to take too much of my time.
--
Full Disclosure: Equal parts gadget freak and photographer!

Thank you so much sir...

but you have confused me a little.. didn't get that "time consuming" thing..would you like to explain?

from your experience, what is disadvantageous with 60/24p NTSC?

I am asking this, because US is cheaper, 24p is more film like and 60i is a higher fps.

Is there any problem with power adapters(AC 60 Hz in USA) used in India(50 Hz AC)?

Thanks & regards.

bob.

bobboo said:

thanks..

If I get it from Malaysia, will I have to pay duty here again in India?what would be the approximate duty in India?

Click to expand...

my suggestion is quite sneaky, but buy it from malaysia, then throw the box away and bring it home.

customs wouldnt know if it was brand new or used right?

Hi

I am quite ignorant about this and GH1 will be my first major camera if I get to buy it.

I am going through the same dilemma. I am in Dubai and GH1 is not available here now and list prices are pretty high when it become available.

I just asked the B&H live chat person of they recommend NTSC for Pal regions and they said NTSC will look poor on PAL TV. This is contrary to what every one said here. I have 1080p plasma with PS3 and I was thinking this is not an issue. Is B&H right about it?

The major problems that I see from reading around are

1. PAL lights will cause flickering in NTSC models, unless shutter speed is 30, 50 or 100? PAL version in NTSC cannot use this solution either.

2. Pulldown issues if video is to be written to PAL discs/bluray. Or will output to PAL option available(?) in GH1 take care of this?

I am also looking to buy this from Malaysia when I plan to visit there two weeks later. Apparently official rates are 6605 MYR. Now has anyone bought from the Malaysian guy mentioned earlier? At MYR 5500 with an 8GB card and case look like a good deal.

Anyway I will keep posting about what I decide and what more information can be learned. Please do the same for me too

Thanks everybody

hydroburn said:

bobboo said:

thanks..

If I get it from Malaysia, will I have to pay duty here again in India?what would be the approximate duty in India?

Click to expand...

my suggestion is quite sneaky, but buy it from malaysia, then throw the box away and bring it home.

customs wouldnt know if it was brand new or used right?

Click to expand...

HaHa!!! Hard cheese:

Quote

In addition to whats already been said one more point to add regarding the Dutiable items. I specifically had issues when returning to India with my old camera and some other stuff.

They were adamant that I had to pay duty for my camera which I had taken from India. So as a proof you'd need to provide the original bills from India.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/27575-yetiguide-airlines-airports-domestic-air-travel-46.html
--
Full Disclosure: Equal parts gadget freak and photographer!

bobboo said:

Thank you so much sir...

but you have confused me a little.. didn't get that "time consuming" thing..would you like to explain?

from your experience, what is disadvantageous with 60/24p NTSC?

I am asking this, because US is cheaper, 24p is more film like and 60i is a higher fps.

Is there any problem with power adapters(AC 60 Hz in USA) used in India(50 Hz AC)?

Thanks & regards.

bob.

Click to expand...

The point in buying the gh1 is the 24fps native mode. With this you will have pulldown issues if you want to burn to ntsc bluray/dvd (60fps) but not if you want to burn PAL, since that is 50fps. If you have a Mac, its easier because you can use cinetools or vegas. Can you tell this is about five times more time consuming than photoshopping still images?

Unfortunately, Phil Bloom's video site is tagged as virus-fested so I can't get you the exact workflow...

Of course, you can always pop the sd card into a Sony PS3 and watch the clip through its HDMI output on an attached TV.

You should be okay with the 50hz/60hz power adaptor issue as most adaptoras are switchable, or get one from Panny India.
--
Full Disclosure: Equal parts gadget freak and photographer!

Okay, this is a workflow that should match your requirements:

Pal land 24p from 50p and 25p
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=187302

Hope that helped.
--
Full Disclosure: Equal parts gadget freak and photographer!

Thanks..

Did you mean to say if it is a NTSC version it will be problematic(dropdown issues) while writing to a DVD/Blue-ray in PAL ?

Thanks a lot for GH1 work flow link ....I will go through that as well as Wiki....

regards.