Panasonic G3 Manual video control (Question)

Hi,

Im planing to get a camera for video shooting, and G3 is at the top of my list (well, im in a low budget, so GH2 is not an option). But im a bit confused about the manual settings that the camera allows to set. Being an owner of a Nikon D5000, im used to pre-aply aperture, shutter etc, before entering live view. Im also used to the fact that i cannot change any setting during capturing video, and i dont have a problem with that.

So my question is this:

-Is there a way to set G3's shutter & ISO before you capture video, or the camera take control over the settings? Mind that im going to use Nikkor AF-S G lenses via adapter, so setting the aperture is not a problem.

Thank you in advanced
Kostas - Greece

p.s. Sorry for my poor English.

The G3 will not allow you to control Shutter Speed, or ISO during videos in any mode. The camera will select what it thinks is the appropriate shutter speed and ISO for videos. Usually it will pick 1/60th of a second shutter speed unless the aperture is stopped all the way down. Then it will start increasing the speed of the shutter.

Be aware that you cannot properly use MF lenses in full auto mode because the Intelligent ISO function does not work properly with MF only lenses. With the G3 videos can only be shot with Intelligent ISO.

Apparently, the Intelligent ISO will not let the shutter speed go above 1/320 of a second. For most situations this is fine. However, there are circumstances where it will severely overexpose the images.

If you are serious enough about video that you would consider using an MF only lens then you need the GH2. If you are willing to use MF then you can save a ton of money on lenses and splurge on the body that actually can work with them.

I have a hacked GF1 and the GH2 and full manual movie mode is the only mode that will meter properly in all situations with MF only lenses. The G3 lacks the full manual movie mode so it is not a good choice for full MF lenses.

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GH2, GF1, & ZS3 Sample movies
http://www.youtube.com/user/mpgxsvcd#play/uploads
http://vimeo.com/user442745
GF1 Pictures
http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/4222674355/albums

Another thing to bear in mind is that in Europe the G3 is limited to a maximum of 29:59 minutes recording time (for a single shot) because 'professional' video equipment is taxed 4.9% on top of VAT.

As far as I know this also the case with the GH2, but I have not tried that in person.

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Jonathan

Οk, now its perfect clear for me, thank you guys!

GH2 its beyond my budget (Greece is a debt country...), the other options is GH1 & Sony NEX-5N.

Thanks again!

http://www.eoshd.com/content/4279/how-the-gh2-is-still-top-dog-for-video-quality

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Jonathan

It is easy to hack the firmware on a G3 (and many other Lumix models) to remove the 29'59" video duration limit. It's an EU tax-avoidance limit, so non-EU versions (eg, US versions) are shipped without this limit.

See See http://www.personal-view.com/faqs/ptool/ptool-faq