Like a moth to the flame... haha.

Do let us know how you get on with it. Hacked or not hacked? What are your thoughts.

Paul.

He who dies with the most toys, wins. J
;?)

I have a hacked GF3, but I've only been able to go up to something like 25Mbps with the Class 10 32GB memory card in it. Video at this bitrate looks great though.

What I want to do is limit myself to the micro 4/3 format. I'll have the GH3 for interviews and main camera stuff, but then I'll have my GF3 (and maybe a sensor stabilized Olypmus PEN in the future) for B and C camera stuff. The video quality on the the GF3 actually is probably as good as what I'll get out of the GH3 (aside from high ISO stuff). No mic input or viewfinder though, and too small to show up to a gig with as your main camera.

In this video, the food shots (aside from the waffle) and my son eating a cheeseburger were shot on my GF3. The rest was done with my Nikon D5100. The quality on both is about the same. On this ad, my wife and son and I ate after the shoot. I took shots of my son and our food, not even really thinking about using them until I saw how good they looked.

https://vimeo.com/51797556

With the Olympus 45mm 1.8 prime on the GH3, I'll be able to do the shallow depth of field talking head shots that I now do on the Nikon with a 50mm 1.8 prime. Everything else will look fine with the 14 - 140 zoom.

Looks clean.
So any reason to get the GH3 hacked? or stay as is. I have heard that its processing and functions are good enough as is.

Paul.

The bitrate on the GH3 already goes faster than you are likely to be able to handle on whatever SD card you own, so that motivation for hacking is gone. I'd hack it though to be able to access both PAL and NTSC and I would love to see a hack that added zebras and focus peaking. No such thing yet, but I can dream and hope...

Even as it is, it should be awesome though.

Laurence,
I'm also pretty interested in this cam. But going to hold off until I hear a little more feedback. Hope to see some samples from you w/ the new GH3.

Maybe you can verify if Panasonic has addressed the moire & aliasing issue w/ the production models?

BTW, The GH2 was the Consumer Reports, Best Advanced Camera for 2012! (;

An unhacked GH3 has a 72mb all-I frame codec straight out of the box. Those were the two main reasons I hacked my GH2, low bitrate and non-interframe. So you should be good to go. Just saying.

I sure do love its higher ISO too!

Still love my GH2 though, so going to wait a bit. Too many cameras coming out. And the BMCC is soooo raaaaaaaawwwww....... :-)

Enjoy, brother!

Darby

Did you see that there is a new Micro 4/3 lens mount version of the Black Magic Cinema camera?

http://nofilmschool.com/2012/09/blackmagic-cinema-camera-getting-micro-43-mountt-this-year/

Micro 4/3 is becoming an excellent lens format to buy into. :-)

Great,, now you blew it for your Christmas gift!!

Would also be interested in you assessment of how the GH3 renders skin tones. The GH2 was felt by many to give a slightly green cast to stills.

I always shoot still in RAW so things like that aren't baked in.

The GH2 is slightly more in the green range. That's why nature shots are so vibrant. the GH3 does appear to be more neutral, from what I've seen when compared to initial shots and video footage.

But the GH2's green-shift is very subtle, nothing you can't handle in post, and every camera has it's color space. I love it. That's why I'm holding off on the GH3. GH2 is plenty good enough. And it's tiny- a cinema-quality camera that fits in your pocket.

For those of us who might want to shoot an occasional lowly jpeg??/

Laurence, did you find it in stock somewhere in the USA? I can't find it at any of the usual sites, except for pre-order.

It's a pre-order from Samys in California. The price is the same everywhere, but I got free shipping and a five year accidental damage warranty was $200 which I thought was pretty good. Supposedly they are huge, have a number of locations and thereby a larger allotment, and they are really physically close to the Panasonic US headquarters, so it seemed like a smart place to pre-order. Who knows though. I don't expect to get it until sometime next year.

Ah OK. I was kind of desperate for one to use when I visit the UK over Christmas, but I'm not prepared to pay the UK price + have no 60p + be limited to 30 mins recording. Looks like I'll get a kit with the 12-35 shipped from the USA to Thailand early next year. They just dont do GH cameras here in Bangkok.

Waiting for the 12 - 35 kit is a good idea financially. I really want to make the transition as soon as possible though. I want move completely over to the micro 4/3 format. I want to use the smaller GF camera for things like like steadicam, slider, and more candid shots. What excites me most about this camera is that it doesn't need to be rigged. No need for a loupe because of the built in EV. No need for a follow focus rig because you can touch the person you want to track and have the focus automatically follow their moves. On my D5100 I have no problem getting steady hand held shots with just a simple handle:

http://studio1productions.com/steadybkt.htm

I have a feeling that holding the camera against my face with the slightly larger grip of the bottom battery pack will be plenty steady for handheld shots. If not, I'll just use the handle. I have a light Manfrotto tripod with a small leveling ball and simple fluid head and that works great. I go to many shoots on my Honda Silverwing (which has quite a bit more storage space than a regular motorcycle).

I also have this goal of having an entire setup (including tripod, lights, B-camera, audio, etc.) in a single flight checkable-case that is under 50 pounds so as not to incur extra baggage fees. That is so do-able these days!

There is a kit, or at least a discount on a bundle, available for pre-order here. If you attempt to order it will tell you out of stock.

Apparently there is some delay on a component in Japan. Amazon Japan has 13th December down as release date.

That simple handle probably helps a lot. I'm looking at cheap imitations of the Zacuto Target Shooter or Striker. Apparently Philip Bloom uses one a lot for handheld work. I'm used to having a shoulder brace since shooting whales telephoto from a pitching boat, the ultimate steadiness challenge.

Do you know the model numbers of your tripod and head? Have you got a slider or jib or steadycam and are you looking at them? There are some really lightweight ones around now.

I just found the 12-35 2.8 lens on Amazon for $1039 and ordered it (last one in stock unfortunately). That puts the combined price of the lensless camera and this lens within $40 of the kit price Nick linked to. The way I look at it, the sooner I get this camera, the sooner I can sell my Nikon and HDV gear. I am so ready to move completely into. The MFT format!

Here is a "5d MarkIII vs GH3" video:

https://vimeo.com/55060120

I just got notification that it is on it's way today! :-)

Even I'm excited...