Videography beginner questions

[Pilotrob56]

Hi everybody, I bought a Panasonic G100 about three years ago and about a year ago I bought a G9. I have mostly taken pictures with them and have learned how to get pretty good pictures and macro pictures. The very few times I have shot video I would just hit the big red button and let the camera do its thing (I usually shoot in Aperture mode). Not sure if the picture settings would apply also.

Anyway I have gotten interested into taking more video. I am not trying to do this professionally. Just want to learn the video side of the camera, they are hybrid cameras after all, which I really like. I have learned a lot over the last couple of days with the help of some fellow members.

I want to film my friends and cats to practice with starting off. I will be fairly close to them. I am thinking of using 4K in MOV with 10 bit or 8 bit 30fps at 1/60 shutter speed. Not sure what F stop, maybe F3.5-F5.6? I would like to blur out the background to make some shots more dramatic. Not sure what to set the ISO to either, maybe iso200 or set it to Auto? I just got a ND variable filter to use. It has really helped. I have been using my Panasonic 14-140mm f3.5-5.6 when filming my friends or cats but I don`t use the higher focal lenght of the lens much. Is there a better and lighter budget zoom lens or prime lens that would be good to use for videoing such subjects close to me ? I find my Olympus 60mm f2.8 is too tight of a frame and mostly use it for maco.

I have been watching a lot of Youtube videos and that has helped a ton. There is a lot to learn on the video side of these cameras. Thanks for any help.

 

[alcelc]

Video is the strength of Panasonic. Your cameras should be able to lead you into the video world and should be good enough to serve your purpose (at least for the present moment).

Hi everybody, I bought a Panasonic G100 about three years ago and about a year ago I bought a G9.

Mind you that G9 is IBIS (so offer you good stabilization on using any non stabilized lens), DUAL IS 2 (5+ stops effective stabilization on DUAL IS 2 compatible lenses, 14-140 is one of it) or DUAL IS (just marginally less effective than DUAL IS 2 on using non DUAL IS compatible IS lenses). It is a lot more effective than lens IS only on run & gun style video shooting.

G100 is not IBIS, purely lens IS reliance on the stabilization side. It is not DUAL IS 2/DUAL IS supported too. A reason I avoided G100 because of it is the weakest line of Panasonic cameras on stabilization side. IMHO it is not a good idea to market G100 as a vlogging centric camera.

Panasonic has a few lenses made specific for video. You might start with lower cost lenses, 14-42PZ and 45-175PZ, which are using power zoom for more smooth and steady video zooming, to test the water. Their silent zooming will keep interference (vs manual zoom lenses) on audio minimal too.

I have mostly taken pictures with them and have learned how to get pretty good pictures and macro pictures. The very few times I have shot video I would just hit the big red button

Indeed the red REC button will use auto video if the Mode Dial is not on Creative Motion Pict mode (M-Video). Therefore I never use that REC button to avoid using auto video mode on a camera which I can have absolute control .

If you have selected M-Video on Mode Dial, you can start and stop video by using the shutter button or the red REC button.

and let the camera do its thing (I usually shoot in Aperture mode). Not sure if the picture settings would apply also.

No, you need to use M-Video as said above. There are Video-A, Video-S, Video-P & Video- M modes under the Creative Motion Pict mode, that are equivalent to A/S/P/M modes of still picture shooting.

Anyway I have gotten interested into taking more video. I am not trying to do this professionally. Just want to learn the video side of the camera, they are hybrid cameras after all, which I really like. I have learned a lot over the last couple of days with the help of some fellow members.

I want to film my friends and cats to practice with starting off. I will be fairly close to them. I am thinking of using 4K in MOV with 10 bit or 8 bit 30fps at 1/60 shutter speed. Not sure what F stop, maybe F3.5-F5.6?

I found shooting in Video S mode, using 1/60" for 30fps 4K, auto ISO (ceiling at 800 on G85) produce very usable footage for my uses (normal daily life or travelling).

On my G85, I set AF Sensitivity to -2 which has reduced the AF hunting (largely due to DFD?) a lot. I also shoot with Cine-V picture style too. Since I use AF Sensitivity @+2 on usual still shooting, I therefore setup a C mode special for video shooting.

ND filter is too trouble for me (because video is not my primary shooting) on light control. I am also happier to have DoF as deep as possible .

I would like to blur out the background to make some shots more dramatic. Not sure what to set the ISO to either, maybe iso200 or set it to Auto? I just got a ND variable filter to use. It has really helped. I have been using my Panasonic 14-140mm f3.5-5.6 when filming my friends or cats but I don`t use the higher focal lenght of the lens much.

Is there a better and lighter budget zoom lens or prime lens that would be good to use for videoing such subjects close to me ? I find my Olympus 60mm f2.8 is too tight of a frame and mostly use it for maco.

I shall suggest to make use the relationship of aperture, focal length, plus shooting distance to control DoF instead of aperture only for more effective control.

A wider aperture, e.g. f/1.7 or so, plus shoot closer to your subject or using a longer focal length could offer swallower DoF for background blurring.

Why not considered to add a low cost 25 f/1.7 to see the result?

Avoid the 20 because it does not support video, 15 is a little too wide not best for DoF. 45 could be great for DoF if knowing how to use them. Not sure how good the AF motor used in 60 f/2.8 for video since it is a lens special for macro.

If you have a very big budget, might consider the two Leica f/1.7 zoom.

I have been watching a lot of Youtube videos and that has helped a ton. There is a lot to learn on the video side of these cameras. Thanks for any help.

You might wish to visit M43 forum to meet with more M43 video experts there.

--
Albert
** Please forgive my typo error.
** Please feel free to download my image and edit it as you like **
About my
G85: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/63025800
GX850/GF9: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/65326127
GX9: https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/67648667

 

[Gato Amarillo]

There is a lot of helpful info in this thread:

Loading…

www.dpreview.com

I don't want to repeat too much from the other thread, but a couple of quick answers:

Personally I find A mode with auto ISO works well for general subjects. In bright light the shutter speed may go higher than the optimum, but very few viewers will notice. There's more info on this in the thread linked,

I like the kit 12-60 as a general purpose lens. I find the range covers about 80 to 90 percent of everything I want to shoot. Your needs may differ, but it works for me.

Gato

 

[Pilotrob56]

Thanks for your help everybody! I also got help from some members in the M4/3 forum. About a week ago I thought that just pushing the red record button is all you had to do for video, boy was I wrong. I am now shooting in movie manual 1080p, 30fps at 1/60 sec. around f5.6. I now have a grasp of what to do. Thanks to my picture taking practice it hasn`t been to hard switching over to video. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Mark Wintle]

It's always easy to spot stills photographers moving to video; nary a mention of audio which comprises 50% (some say more) of successful filming.

 

[Pilotrob56]

It's always easy to spot stills photographers moving to video; nary a mention of audio which comprises 50% (some say more) of successful filming.

I hadn`t gave the audio much thought, never had to worry about it before. Thinking of getting a shotgun mic and attaching it to the top of my camera top help cut out some of the background noise behind me. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[Pilotrob56]

There is a lot of helpful info in this thread:

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68311417

I don't want to repeat too much from the other thread, but a couple of quick answers:

Personally I find A mode with auto ISO works well for general subjects. In bright light the shutter speed may go higher than the optimum, but very few viewers will notice. There's more info on this in the thread linked,

Ok, I will give that setting a try.

I like the kit 12-60 as a general purpose lens. I find the range covers about 80 to 90 percent of everything I want to shoot. Your needs may differ, but it works for me.

That does seem like a very nice lens. I might sell my 14-140mm a get it instead. How about the Panasonic 50mm f1.7? That lens looks like a nice one too. Would that be a good choice for video too? Thanks for the link.

Gato

 

[HappyMartin]

It's always easy to spot stills photographers moving to video; nary a mention of audio which comprises 50% (some say more) of successful filming.

And it’s actually fascinating and deeply rewarding. A total surprise. I spent years trying to ignore audio.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

It's always easy to spot stills photographers moving to video; nary a mention of audio which comprises 50% (some say more) of successful filming.

Good point -- and my bad for not at least mentioning it in my post. I see many good videos ruined by bad audio.

 

[Off The Mark]

I hadn`t gave the audio much thought, never had to worry about it before. Thinking of getting a shotgun mic and attaching it to the top of my camera top help cut out some of the background noise behind me.

What exactly are you going to be capturing audio of?

You mentioned friends and cats. Do you have more specific situations in mind?

On-camera Shotgun mics are of limited value. They are great if you are vlogging and having them point directly at your face from no more than, say, 18-inches away.

Most shotgun mics record in mono and thus may sound really bad for music or for capturing the environment, or multiple people talking (unless you will whip the camera around so that you are pointing the mic at the person who is talking in the group).

In many instances, you could be better off just getting some wind muffs for the internal mics on your camera(s) instead of using an on-camera shotgun mic.

Anyway, there isn't a one-size-fits-all microphone / audio recorder solution, just so you know. Best to think about what you will be recording so that we can help you spend your money wisely.

 

[Pilotrob56]

I hadn`t gave the audio much thought, never had to worry about it before. Thinking of getting a shotgun mic and attaching it to the top of my camera top help cut out some of the background noise behind me.

What exactly are you going to be capturing audio of?

You mentioned friends and cats. Do you have more specific situations in mind?

Also just nature sounds when I walk on the beach or at the lake. I now have a Weebill 2 gimbal and I am learning how to use it too.

On-camera Shotgun mics are of limited value. They are great if you are vlogging and having them point directly at your face from no more than, say, 18-inches away.

Most shotgun mics record in mono and thus may sound really bad for music or for capturing the environment, or multiple people talking (unless you will whip the camera around so that you are pointing the mic at the person who is talking in the group).

I was hoping for a stereo shotgun mic.

In many instances, you could be better off just getting some wind muffs for the internal mics on your camera(s) instead of using an on-camera shotgun mic.

I switched my Panasonic G100 from surround to front two mics. I will see if I can find some muffs for my internal mics, thanks for that, didn`t know they made such a thing. As far as my friends, they will be around 4-6 feet away, same as my cats. I guess I will try my camera mics first. I did take some video of my cats and you could barely hear them. I might just try to film closer.

Anyway, there isn't a one-size-fits-all microphone / audio recorder solution, just so you know. Best to think about what you will be recording so that we can help you spend your money wisely.