Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: GH2 and Safari  (Read 6315 times)

dvinez

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
GH2 and Safari
« on: March 18, 2011, 11:52:37 am »

I'm a newcomer to the forum, although a long-time reader of luminous Landscape. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the forum.

In Michael's review of the GH2, he mentions that he believes the GH2 would be an excellent safari camera. Since I travel to Zambia and Botswana every summer for mission work, I have the incredible opportunity to go on safari every year in Chobe. Increasingly, I find that lugging my DSLR and equipment is annoying, especially since I have chronic lower back problems. The GH2 seems like a possible solution for me. I'd get the 14-140 and 100-300, as well.

I've scoured everything I can put my hands on, apart from the GH2 itself which is nowhere to be found in my part of the country, and I like what I've read. I do have one big concern, though, that is the ability of the GH2 to keep up with action because of the EVF, fps and RAW buffer limits. What do you think about this?

Last question. Is the GH2's high ISO/dynamic range similar to or better than my Nikon D80? My other option is to go with a Nikon D7000 and put up with the weight for another year or two.

By the way, I have no video experience so wouldn't know what to do with that aspect of the GH2.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Logged

David Watson

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 480
    • David Watson
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2011, 02:54:43 pm »

I have a GH2 and like it a lot but I do not shoot wildlife.  I would find the delay and loss of viewfinder display with an EVF camera (even one as good as the GH2) very frustrating.  It is however a great little camera for holidays like Michaels.
Logged
David Watson ARPS

stever

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1250
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2011, 01:20:11 pm »

i've been following the micro 4/3 camera development as the size and weight are very appealing

however, i have a couple serious concerns about the GH2 as a wildlife camera (without yet being able to use or test one)

the high ISO noise seems to be about a stop worse than the D7000 or Canon 7D (which i have experience with) - this combined with the light weight and fairly low cost 100-300 which may need to be stopped down to f8 for sharp images is a fairly serious limitation

i would also be concerned about the contrast detection autofocus for action - particularly birds in flight - compared to the D7000

you don't say what lens you're using or how large you want to print, so i'm not sure exactly what your expectations are

Logged

michael

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5084
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2011, 01:44:54 pm »

The GH2's autofocus is every bit as good as other cameras with Phase detection systems.

High ISO noise is not quite as good as APS-C sized systems from other makers, but I have ISO 1600 shots printed to Super A3 B size (13X19") and with a simple NR tweak in Lightroom these are very good indeed.

Bottom line, it isn't so much the smaller size and lighter weight of the camera body's that's the advantage, it's the lenses. They are much smaller and lighter than their APC-C or fill frame equivalents.

I would't buy a GH2 as the ultimate in image quality, but I would (and did) as the best compromise system for light weight travel, especially with longer lenses.

Michael
Logged

Jim Pascoe

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1131
    • http://www.jimpascoe.co.uk
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2011, 03:45:57 pm »

I bought the GH2 about six weeks ago with the specific plan of taking it on a two-week cycle tour in Costa Rica.  Though I am not a wildlife photographer, I had been told there would be a lot of birdlife there.  I already had the G1 and GF1 so was familiar with the M43 system.  The GH2 was primarily bought because I wanted to experiment with video and I just bought the body only as I already owned the 14-45, 45-200 and the 20mm prime.

All I can say is the camera was brilliant!  We cycled about 300 miles in total, much of it on dirt roads, up and down very steep hills in high temperatures.  The camera was strung around my neck and shoulder all the way with either the 20mm or 14-45 lens attached.  The 45-200 was in my camelbak on my back and weighed so little I did not notice it.

How did it perform?  I was impressed - especially with the wildlife pictures.  As I say, I am not a wildlife photographer so do not have any real experience with birds and monkeys etc, but the camera often had to shoot at ISO 1600 and 3200 in the trees, and at 200mm and maximum aperture just so I could get the shot.  I am pleased with the pictures and if you would like to have a look they are on Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/16330774@N03/

They are my holiday snaps, but if you look through there are all sorts of subjects including people, monkeys, birds, landscapes.  It was a cycling holiday not a photo trip, so the camera had to fit in with that fact.  Yes, my 1DS or 5D would have been better at the low-light stuff, but I would not possibly have been able to carry the bodies let alone the lenses.  The noise at higher ISO ratings was just not an issue - even up to 3200.  As I say, not as clean as the 5D mk2, but pretty good for what I needed.  Just wish I had bought the 100-300mm for the trip!

Jim
Logged

John Camp

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2171
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2011, 11:01:48 pm »

Jim: Nice shots.

I also bought into the Panasonics as a travel system, and have been quite pleased, specially after dragging a Nikon system around for years. The 100-300 is very nice -- that's a relatively short hand-held 600mm equivalent. My whole system, which includes three bodies and most of the lenses (I think -- no fisheye, if that's out yet, and I decided not to buy the 0.95) fits in a Kata bag that will go into the overhead even on regional jets. The combination of the GH2 and the GF1 is especially handy, since they use the same lenses (but different batteries, sigh) because the GF1, with the 20mm, is no bigger than a large P&S, and even with the mid-range zoom, it's very compact. From there, you can move to a GH2 which I find to be a terrific street shooter. And if anything goes wrong with either of them, you have a backup that uses all the same lenses.

I've also been testing the Pentax K5, which is fully weatherized, and not greatly larger than the GH2. Because you're not tempted to buy dual-purpose FF and APS-C lenses, as I did with Nikon, the lenses for the Pentax remain reasonably compact, although not nearly as compact as the Panasonics. I would say that the K-5 is a stop and a half better than the GH2 -- ISO 6400 cleans up nicely, and though ISO 6400 might not do for oversized art prints, it does well enough for my purposes. I also took a bad fall a couple weeks ago, almost broke my nose (with the camera) and cut my hands up. The camera took a heavy hit on one edge, by the battery door, enough to seriously groove one corner of the body, but it still works fine, which gives me some confidence in it. I think the GH2 would have been more affected by the fall. I do not think that I'll again be doing air travel with the Nikon system.

JC   
Logged

dvinez

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2011, 07:50:47 am »

I very much appreciate the comments. And, Jim, I enjoyed your photos. Looks like a great trip!

I've been shooting a pretty simple setup for the last few years, a Nikon D80 with 18-200 and 70-300 lenses. I know, this doesn't sound heavy or unwieldy, but I am looking to go longer and as soon as you look at an 80-400 or 150-500, you're looking at 3+ pounds or more. I rented a sigma 50-500 last year and was relatively pleased with the results, but the weight was oppressive. With the Panasonic 100-300, which appears to be every bit as sharp as my 70-300, I'd have a 200-600 equivalent at 18oz! Crazy!

So, the GH2 is quite attractive to me. It's just the follow focus issue, I think, with the EVF blacking out. Can it handle running giraffes? Or flying birds? It appears that it might be OK, just not great. On the other hand, my D80 is no great shakes either, but that's why I'm looking to upgrade to a D7000.

Thanks again. Any further insight would be appreciated.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2011, 07:56:21 am by dvinez »
Logged

rbs

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2011, 10:16:07 am »

 I recently completed my second photo safari in Tanzania (first safari was in Botswana). In Botswana i used a nikon D700 and a sigma 100-300 f4 plus a 1.4 teleconverter and some shorter glass. For Tanzania I used a GH2 (2 bodies) and the pana 20, 14-140, 14-45, and 100-300.
I am an amateur for sure and take my photos to record what I saw for family and friends. In my first safari I used a monopod for a while but found it cumbersome to use in an open jeep. I found the camera/lens combination quite heavy and while the photos were acceptable to me I never felt in control of the process. I should add that I am just over 63 years old.
For Tanzania, I knew the 300 f4 plus teleconverter would be too short as there is no offroading there unlike Botswana. My choice was to either rent a 200-400, buy a crop  sensor like a D7000 or used D300, or buy a GH2. I chose the lightest solution.
Needless to say the weight differential was huge and most welcome. I used the 100-300 on one body and the 14-140 on the other. I took a combination of still and video photos. For the stills I was very satisfied and used a beanbag. I felt much more in control of the process except for the things one is not familiar with in a new camera system. There was the occasional blackout probably once a day that was irritating but not a big deal. The viewfinder worked well for action shots but there aren't that many occasions where those are present except for birds in flight which I was not that interested.  The  multiple exposure limit is a bit restrictive. I also missed the minimum shutter speed setting as on the nikon. For video the GH2 is terrific. With the ETC I was able to capture wildlife that no one else in the group could photograph due to the their distance from the jeep. I would add that all others on the safari (11 in total) had nikon or canon equipment with very long glass ( which also generated the expected personal insecurities from time to time). No doubt, there were times that their skill and equipment captured more detail than my  GH2 and 600 could capture. This was evident where wildlife was camouflaged in trees and lens were of roughly equivalent focal length.
In terms of GH2 operation there were a couple quirks that were irritating. The most significant was that to move the focus point you had to tap the screen (not very intuitive) or engage Direct Focus Area. The problem was this disabled iso and white balance and you had to resort to the Q menu to get to them. The work around for me was to add DFA to the fn1 button and engage and disengage to access iso and white balance.
So would I take the GH2 on the next photo safari--for sure BUT I am only speaking for myself given my compromise between weight and quality. For me I did not see enough difference in quality between the two safaris to warrant  carrying the heavy equipment.
 
Logged

stever

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1250
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2011, 12:36:44 pm »

compared to your D80 and 70-300 you should be happy with the image quality of gh2 and 100-300 (and find the longer reach very useful)

i can't say how much better a D7000 and 80-400 will be in terms of IQ as the 80-400 will not realize the potential of the D7000 - and unfortunately there isn't anything of reasonable size and weight (or price) that will get you to 600mm equiv on Nikon and realize the potential of the D7000

(full disclosure - i use Canon 5D2 and 7D with 100-400 and 400 f5.6, the 400 f5.6 almost always on tripod and sometimes with 1.4x and liveview for birds and small animals that will hold still long enough to focus.  the 100-400 gets far and away the most use)

for action requiring significant focus change (e.g. approaching birds in flight) i believe the D7000 (or 7D) autofocus will get a higher percentage of good images.  from my experience i would find the low frame rate of the gh2 in high resolution RAW to be a limitation

after using center point focus on the Canon's for so long, i don't see the difficulty of moving the focus point on the gh2 as a deal breaker, just put it in the center

a camera/lens combination of reasonable size and weight for wildlife is a compromise and has been unfortunately been neglected by manufacturers
Logged

NigelC

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 583
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #9 on: March 21, 2011, 04:16:36 am »

Sorry not entirely apposite to what original poster was asking, but didn't want to start yet another GH2 thread.

Two things to date disappoint me about GH2 - shutter sound and battery life. The former being quite "clacky" and louder than it ought to be for mirror-less design - or is mine defective?
Pretty disappointed with battery life - irony is I have a spare battery for 5D2 which hardly ever needs it but not for GH2, which seem unobtainable in the UK at present.
Logged

Jim Pascoe

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1131
    • http://www.jimpascoe.co.uk
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #10 on: March 21, 2011, 04:50:59 am »

Sorry not entirely apposite to what original poster was asking, but didn't want to start yet another GH2 thread.

Two things to date disappoint me about GH2 - shutter sound and battery life. The former being quite "clacky" and louder than it ought to be for mirror-less design - or is mine defective?
Pretty disappointed with battery life - irony is I have a spare battery for 5D2 which hardly ever needs it but not for GH2, which seem unobtainable in the UK at present.

I would probably agree with both of these points - though after a while the shutter sounds seems to be about right.  The battery initially seemed to run down quite quickly, but now it has been charged perhaps 20 times it lasts a lot longer.  Not up to the life of my DSLR batteries, but then it does have an EVF to power and I also shot quite a few video clips.  The 5D2 battery discharges at a high rate too if you try shooting any video with it or use it in live-view mode.
Logged

Kurt Hoss

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #11 on: March 22, 2011, 11:05:35 am »

We came back last week from a trip in the swamps of Louisiana, principally to shoot birds. I used a 50D with 100-400L (my lite kit!) and my partner, Susan Shaw , the artist, used her new GH2 with 14-140 and 100-300. She is now on a medical mission in Vietnam and has added the 20 1.7 pancake. During the trip we basically had about the same success. Much of getting birds in flight is experience, catch them on a branch and follow as they take off and I didn't notice any difference between the GH2 and the 50D in that regard. The GH2 had it's burst mode slowed to prevent blackout, but the types of shots we were looking for , if you didn't get it in the first two shots you weren't going to get it. Honestly I was somewhat jealous of her kit as it seemed the whole shebang weighed less than my lens. I used her camera a bit and it felt every bit as responsive as the Canon and it doesn't seem to give up anything in AF. If I was given a choice to redo the trip switching systems I would take hers.
Regards,
Kurt
Logged

dvinez

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #12 on: March 22, 2011, 09:48:13 pm »

Kurt: Thanks for the insight, especially about birds in flight. I cannot find a GH2 anywhere to handle it and check out the EVF or the AF, but I did handle a G1 today to check for size and handling convenience. I loved the weight & size. Very tempting.

Any thoughts on battery life? In the African bush, I have had no way to charge my batteries (is there a solar option available?), and I've usually taken 3 batteries for my D80 and use them up over 2 1/2 days. What about the GH2?

Thanks!
Logged

Kurt Hoss

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #13 on: March 23, 2011, 09:38:30 am »

Battery life is poor compared to ANY DSLR, particularly Nikon. I am a bit surprised that you would be without electrical power for more than a day - this isn't an expedition with tent camping is it ? We have three batteries and can't see how 1 would last a day. Obviously there are many Solar rechargers that supply enough power but you'll need a days worth of good sun. You might want to check with whoever is putting this together.
Regards,
Kurt
Logged

stever

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1250
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #14 on: March 24, 2011, 12:00:08 am »

dpreview has just published their GH2 review.  the RAW framerate his higher than i had understood from reading the specs - 3.5 to 4 fps for 7 frames is not ideal for action, but not a deal breaker in most situations

as i suspected, af tracking for subjects moving toward or away from you is an issue - practically this should only be an issue for birds in flight (i'm not planning for rhino - charging images)

the iso 1600 performance is impressive - Michael is correct again

not going to hang up my Canons yet, but for general African wildlife this looks like a practical alternative to APSC.

you'll still have to use a tripod with fluid head, but the video mode completely blows away Canon and Nikon
Logged

dvinez

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #15 on: March 24, 2011, 08:46:07 am »

Thanks everyone. Yes, Kurt, I always do a tent safari in Botswana. Sometimes have had access to a working outlet in the safari vehicle for a car charger, but not always. Is a car charger available for the GH2? I guess I could take an AC adapter for the outlet.

I always go in the dry season so sunlight's not a problem. I could leave a solar charger set up in camp while we are on the game drives, I suppose. Can anyone recommend a good solar charger?

Does indeed sound like AF would be OK, but not great, perhaps not any better though than my D80, which is shaky at times. Good to hear that the viewfinder blackout can be mitigated by using the M setting. The 7 frames buffer limitation is worse than the D7000's 10 frame buffer. Neither is great, though, but again both are better than my D80.

High ISO sounds pretty good which is great. Of course, if this camera came onto the market five years ago I'd have been stunned. It's amazing what's available and what concerns I have now. ISO 1600 with great color? I remember all those years when the decision to push Fujichrome to ISO 200 was a nail-biter. I did it, but...

All in all, especially when you consider the weight issue, sounds pretty darn good all around...

Now for the final decision!:)
Logged

flaxseedoil1000

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #16 on: March 24, 2011, 02:09:51 pm »

From the DPreview..review:

"...we're confident in saying that it is the best mirrorless system camera that we've ever tested, bar none. With the GH2 Panasonic has finally demonstrated that it is able to compete with the APS-C format competition when it comes both to resolution and critical image quality."

This may interest you:

"High offers (on paper at least) the fastest full-resolution continuous shooting speed of any Micro Four Thirds model to date at 5fps, but the camera can't maintain a live view feed between shots; this is only available when using the medium and low continuous shooting modes."

Panasonic DMC-GH2 Review: 21. Conclusion & Ratings: Digital Photography Review

Some scores:

Nikon D7000 - 80
Panny GH2 - 79
Pentax K-r - 71
Olympus PEN E-PL2 - 71

Logged

feppe

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2906
  • Oh this shows up in here!
    • Harri Jahkola Photography
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #17 on: March 24, 2011, 06:23:22 pm »

Battery life is poor compared to ANY DSLR, particularly Nikon. I am a bit surprised that you would be without electrical power for more than a day - this isn't an expedition with tent camping is it ? We have three batteries and can't see how 1 would last a day. Obviously there are many Solar rechargers that supply enough power but you'll need a days worth of good sun. You might want to check with whoever is putting this together.
Regards,
Kurt

Excellent point. If there's no way to charge batteries you need to bring your own charged spares. From what I've read batteries for GH2 are even more rare than the camera itself, so this could become a deal breaker.

NigelC

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 583
Re: GH2 and Safari
« Reply #18 on: March 25, 2011, 05:20:36 am »

I'm increasingly unsure with GH2 which settings also affect raw files. For instance, I thought that aspect ratio was baked into raw, but now I'm not so sure, because the handbook implies you can change this post capture. But what about intelligent resolution and intelligent dymamic range? I assume film styles, like Canon's picture styles, only affect Jpeg.

BTW, is there a direct equivalent of Highlight Tone Priority in the GH2 menu, or is that what i. dynamic range is?
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up