Nex5n VS. GH2
- Thread starter Droider
- Start date
DucktileMedia
Drone Enthusiast
Im gonna say the Sony was my preference after owning both of these cameras. I'm no Jeff Scholl but my GH2 had soem really bad color banding issues. The image was very crisp and not having moire was nice. But the 1080 60p is the winning factor for me. The camera works great in Full auto without tracking issues. The PITA is having to use an hdmi converter for the video tx. Also, the lack of remote plug makes it awkward. The Gentled works well though. One other really great thing is the stabilization. It works so well i am pretty sure it contributes to the vibration free video I am getting. Cameras like the Panasonic TM series use digital tracking that locks onto the image and does not work for AV/AP at all. So this must be optically stabilized? dont know how that works but it is very nice. even my hand held shots are super smooth yet you can pan without it locking onto anything. The Kit 18-55 lens is just about perfect for the shots I have done so far. Not sure what else to say.
Just come back from Comet after buying a Nikon J1. I'll do a video with that on the weekend and let you see the results
Gunter the new Nikons look interesting. I can't wait to see some of your samples. While I like what I have seen from the Sony's, I can't ever bring myself to buy into their proprietary mess.
Gunter
Draganflyer X4
I have just fitted it to the heli and it's looking very good. It fits well but is probably the max. weight my highsight gimbal can take. The photos looks good, i just have to wait until Saturday until I can test the video
roll on summer and long evenings! Regards,
Gunter.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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yeehaanow
Member
I don't have experience with the GH2 in the air yet, but I can say that on the ground it is killing everything else I've owned. (7D and T2i) This is only true with the hacked patches that are recording at bitrates up to 176mb/s when the stock is around 24mb/s.
For us, with lots of in-focus detail like trees and leaves, it makes a huge difference to be recording with an intra-codec* at high rates, which some of these hacks are. So don't write off the GH2 until you've hacked it.
No experience with the NX5n at all, and 1080 60p would be lovely, but I suspect that the hacked GH2 might rival the 60p quality even when blown up 150%. I never use auto-focus, and can't imagine needing it in the air, so for me it's not a factor. The Image stabilization on the panasonic lenses is completely optical inside the lens and works great handheld. in the air....? remains to be seen.
Check out Philip Blooms test recently comparing many cameras.
*Intra codecs, or GOP1 is capturing each frame as it's own image. Non-intra or GOP2 through GOPxx compresses the file much more by basing the current frame off of frames before and after, which causes macro-blocking, "mud", banding, and loss of detail in shadows and areas with lot's of detail.
For us, with lots of in-focus detail like trees and leaves, it makes a huge difference to be recording with an intra-codec* at high rates, which some of these hacks are. So don't write off the GH2 until you've hacked it.
No experience with the NX5n at all, and 1080 60p would be lovely, but I suspect that the hacked GH2 might rival the 60p quality even when blown up 150%. I never use auto-focus, and can't imagine needing it in the air, so for me it's not a factor. The Image stabilization on the panasonic lenses is completely optical inside the lens and works great handheld. in the air....? remains to be seen.
Check out Philip Blooms test recently comparing many cameras.
*Intra codecs, or GOP1 is capturing each frame as it's own image. Non-intra or GOP2 through GOPxx compresses the file much more by basing the current frame off of frames before and after, which causes macro-blocking, "mud", banding, and loss of detail in shadows and areas with lot's of detail.
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yeehaanow
Member
You can load 1.1 (factory) and go back to 1.0 to install the hacks no problem. I don't know what the answer is if your cam came with 1.1 to begin with though, but I *think* you can load 1.0 on it still.
Droider
Drone Enthusiast
Interesting... Keep um coming.. @ IrisAreal have you trued the 16mm lens?
I dont like the idea of having to hack stuff to get the bet results but if that is what is necessary and the results way out do the comertition then I may be interested.. can you trigger the GH2 with a Gentled?
Dave
I dont like the idea of having to hack stuff to get the bet results but if that is what is necessary and the results way out do the comertition then I may be interested.. can you trigger the GH2 with a Gentled?
Dave
DucktileMedia
Drone Enthusiast
Yes there is a gentled for the GH2 as well. I have not tried the 16mm as I have no complaints with the stock lens. I am curious though how the GH2 with hack and an extreme data rate can produce more fps. From what i understood you need a separate recording device to actually record the output. It gets above my head with the way this all works. I dont understand why the damn thing cant come with whatever it is capable of from the factory.
Droider
Drone Enthusiast
@Up IrisAerial.. I agree. I have to deal with unofficial modifications in my job which cheeses me off when people try to re-invent the wheel. Saying that I am always interested to hear from people who think they can make our products more efficient.. mostly they cant and go away with our stock software!
Dave
Dave
yeehaanow
Member
The hack doesn't make more fps.
Think of it like jpeg compression. If you have a detailed shot and you save it with the quality on low you will get an image that has compression artifacts and loss of detail, but it will be a small file size. But, if you save it on high Q it will look nearly like the original, at the cost of a larger file size.
All the hack's do is enable the highest possible quality that the hardware can produce. But instead of getting 1.5 hours on a 16 gig card it will only hold 10-15 min. The reason that Panasonic doesn't ship it that way is because it's not practical for everyone to have such large files and require the fastest sd cards known to man.
Stick with what every mom and pop has for their vacation footage if you like, but if you want the ultimate image out of this cam, hacking is a must. Hacking is a loose term because this does not require any computer coding knowledge. It's the exact same process as installing the factory 1.1 update.
Think of it like jpeg compression. If you have a detailed shot and you save it with the quality on low you will get an image that has compression artifacts and loss of detail, but it will be a small file size. But, if you save it on high Q it will look nearly like the original, at the cost of a larger file size.
All the hack's do is enable the highest possible quality that the hardware can produce. But instead of getting 1.5 hours on a 16 gig card it will only hold 10-15 min. The reason that Panasonic doesn't ship it that way is because it's not practical for everyone to have such large files and require the fastest sd cards known to man.
Stick with what every mom and pop has for their vacation footage if you like, but if you want the ultimate image out of this cam, hacking is a must. Hacking is a loose term because this does not require any computer coding knowledge. It's the exact same process as installing the factory 1.1 update.
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DucktileMedia
Drone Enthusiast
that was put very well, thanks.
Nex-5 / GH2
We have both the Nex-5 and a GH1 and GH2. We've hacked the GH1 and are very happy with it. We're flying with the Lumix 14mm pancake lens and it is amazingly small and light (and reasonably fast at 2.5f). We'll be hacking the GH2 and using it soon. The Nex-5 is also nice. We fly it with the 16mm 2.8 prime, which is also small and light.
One thing that we particularly like about the GH1 / 2 are their ability to send composite video out. Of course, the video out turns off when you shoot (damn you Panasonic) but we do an awful lot of static shooting and being able to monitor through the lens and then snap your shot is very sweet.
We have both the Nex-5 and a GH1 and GH2. We've hacked the GH1 and are very happy with it. We're flying with the Lumix 14mm pancake lens and it is amazingly small and light (and reasonably fast at 2.5f). We'll be hacking the GH2 and using it soon. The Nex-5 is also nice. We fly it with the 16mm 2.8 prime, which is also small and light.
One thing that we particularly like about the GH1 / 2 are their ability to send composite video out. Of course, the video out turns off when you shoot (damn you Panasonic) but we do an awful lot of static shooting and being able to monitor through the lens and then snap your shot is very sweet.
Dune
Member
IrisAerial, could you explain what you're saying here? I think you may be incorrect about the TM series.
The TM900, the newest in that line, uses a hybrid "dynamic" (digital) with optical system. You can turn the dynamic stabilization on/off, and the results are supposed to be pretty good even with just the optical. Source: link. Also, the crazy mad scientist Denny Rowland uses a TM900 and I should say the results are pretty good, albeit with his one-of-a-kind setup.
Sorry to derail the GH2 comparison thread. I'm going to buy either a TM900 or a Nex-5n, haven't decided yet. I want to film at night, and both are excellent in lowlight. I've done a lot of photography but have never owned a camcorder, and for that reason am perhaps unfairly prejudiced against the TM900. I'm afraid the video will have that camcorder look, if you know what I mean. On the other hand, a camcorder's deep focus might be nice for aerial video.
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Bartman
Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
thank you for taking the time to explain the "intra codecs" term. i'm still trying to learn the camera language so it's helpful when people both comment on the topic being discussed and explain the terms they use
thanks!
bart
Bartman
Welcome to MultiRotorForums.com!!
dave,
i saw some interior real estate video from a NEX5N with the 16mm lens and it looked narrow. i'm shopping for a new video camera, need 60p and I'd like to have the weight below the 2lbs of my T2i. also need true wide angle view for video. i'm still considering the sony but, as someone mentioned the proprietary mess, i had a compact DVD handicam and not one video from the compact DVD's ever made it to my harddrive because the software was so horrible.
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yeehaanow
Member
Bartman, unless you go to the sony fs100 or panasonic af100, I think that's it now that I'm aware of.
But, just as you can't completely judge a still camera simply by the # of megapixels, you can't judge 60p only on the resolution it outputs. For all you know, it could just be up-sampling in camera to give you a 1080p file. I know the nex5n loses resolution when shooting at 60p. Check out pt1 of Philip Blooms christmas shootout and you can see the effects. I have no knowledge of the TM900, but it's a lot less interesting to me because of the smaller sensor, non-interchangeble lens, and no stills capability (like the dslrs). The larger sensor cameras have better highlight handling, generally speaking, plus the ability to control depth-of-field, both of which make your footage less like 'video'.
I'll be testing a new patch for the GH2 that reports say get's the same amazing quality in 60p that they made for the 24p. I'm willing to bet that even once you blow it up 150%, that it will match or exceed the nex5n quality. We'll see....
But, just as you can't completely judge a still camera simply by the # of megapixels, you can't judge 60p only on the resolution it outputs. For all you know, it could just be up-sampling in camera to give you a 1080p file. I know the nex5n loses resolution when shooting at 60p. Check out pt1 of Philip Blooms christmas shootout and you can see the effects. I have no knowledge of the TM900, but it's a lot less interesting to me because of the smaller sensor, non-interchangeble lens, and no stills capability (like the dslrs). The larger sensor cameras have better highlight handling, generally speaking, plus the ability to control depth-of-field, both of which make your footage less like 'video'.
I'll be testing a new patch for the GH2 that reports say get's the same amazing quality in 60p that they made for the 24p. I'm willing to bet that even once you blow it up 150%, that it will match or exceed the nex5n quality. We'll see....