[ New Gear ] Panasonic announces the GH3 (with images and FULL press release)

[RyanKhoo]

Hi all GH3 experts,

I have been taking food shots (quite near to the food) with the 12-35mm f2.8 lens and I usually shoot at f2.8 with the 35mm end and most if not everytime, I manage to get a shallow depth of blurry field effects of the background.

However, when I change to the 35-100mm f2.8 lens, when I keep the aperture to f2.8 and the lens to 35mm, I am not able to get the blurry effect when taking the same picture !

How come the 35mm in the 12-35 lens different from the 35mm in the 35-100 lens ?

Thanks

 

[spidey89]

Is your focusing distance the same? Focusing distance is a factor, try using the 100mm end and stand further and focus as close as you can

 

[kandinsky]

Pictures for comparison please, so that we can see what you're describing.

Shot from the same distance, there is a slight difference in the FOV, but not by much.

Edit: spidey89 is probably right. You need to be aware that the minimum focusing distance of both lenses are different (this was mentioned to you in the other GH3 thread).
You can get nearer to an object with the 12-35 compared to the 35-100.

 

[Wang TH]

Could be due to lens construction and hence giving a different rendering. It's usually the case that the wide angle end of the lens is sharper.

 

[RyanKhoo]

Is your focusing distance the same? Focusing distance is a factor, try using the 100mm end and stand further and focus as close as you can

Thanks spidey, your advice works !

 

[RyanKhoo]

Pictures for comparison please, so that we can see what you're describing.

Shot from the same distance, there is a slight difference in the FOV, but not by much.

Edit: spidey89 is probably right. You need to be aware that the minimum focusing distance of both lenses are different (this was mentioned to you in the other GH3 thread).
You can get nearer to an object with the 12-35 compared to the 35-100.

Thanks kandinsky for your effort to post the 2 pics. Really appreciate it

 

[RyanKhoo]

Hi all GH3 users,

Can I check whether do you guys buy a spare battery ?

Thanks

 

[jackwolf]

Hi all GH3 users,

Can I check whether do you guys buy a spare battery ?

Thanks

I have 2+1.. but hardly funish one per shoot.. lol

 

[shong84]

Hi all GH3 users,

Can I check whether do you guys buy a spare battery ?

Thanks

I got 2 DSTE battery and charger too.
hardly use 2nd battery for my shooting, just keep it as spare.

 

[RyanKhoo]

Thanks Jackwolf & Shong84,

Roughly how much you pay for the spare battery ?

U buy Panasonic original or 3rd party ?

Thanks

 

[Agrivar]

Thanks Jackwolf & Shong84,

Roughly how much you pay for the spare battery ?

U buy Panasonic original or 3rd party ?

Thanks

I have 1 original spare and 1 3rd party spare.. you can check ebay

 

[kandinsky]

Thought I'd give an update on my aftermarket/3rd-party batteries from ebay (@US$12 each/seller: smellflower68).
Performed well within the first two months, almost close to the OEM battery.

Have noticed more unstable behaviour recently after about four months.
The blinking red indicator to replace battery comes unexpectedly, maybe less than 50 shots.
But inserting that same battery into the camera at the end of the day will show that it wasn't really drained, at about 2 bars.

Definitely not recommended for mission-critical applications.
I'll probably get another original battery and use the aftermarket ones for casual/personal use, holidays, non time-sensitive shoots, etc.

Edit: For reference, rated OEM battery life:

Stills: Approx. 540 images with H-HS12035 / Approx. 500 images with H-VS014140*1
Continuous Recordable Time (Motion Image) AVCHD*2: Approx. 240 min with H-HS12035 / Approx. 220 min with H-VS014140
Actual Recordable Time (Motion Image) AVCHD*2: Approx. 120 min with H-HS12035 / Approx. 110 min with H-VS014140

*1 Shooting conditions: 23°C with 50%RH humidity; Monitor on; using a Panasonic SD Memory Card (4 GB); Using the supplied battery; Using the supplied lens; Starting recording 30 seconds after the camera is turned on (When the optical image stabilizer is set to [Normal]) ; Recording once every 30 seconds with full flash every second recording; Turn the camera off every 10 recordings. The number of recordable pictures varies depending on the recording interval time. If the recording interval time becomes longer, the number of recordable pictures decreases. CIPA is an abbreviation of “Camera & Imaging Products Association”.

*2 These are standard times taken at a temperature of 23°C (73.4°F) and a humidity of 50%RH. The time available for recording varies depending on the environment, the interval between recordings, and the manner of use. Actual recordable time is the time available for recording when repeating actions such as switching the power supply [ON]/[OFF], starting/stopping recording, zoom operation etc.



via http://www.panasonic.net/avc/lumix/pressrelease/gh3_hs35100/

 

[bousozoku]

Hi all GH3 users,

Can I check whether do you guys buy a spare battery ?

Thanks

I have 2 Panasonic batteries but rarely need second one, even photographing 2 or 3 basketball games.

 

[RyanKhoo]

I have 2 Panasonic batteries but rarely need second one, even photographing 2 or 3 basketball games.

Yeah I thought so too.

The battery at full charge last surprisingly very long ! Kudos to Panasonic !

Still thinking whether worth to invest to buy one for standby ?

Decision decision ...

 

[RyanKhoo]

Thanks kandinsky for the update.

Think better buy original Panasonic battery then ...

Thought I'd give an update on my aftermarket/3rd-party batteries from ebay (@US$12 each/seller: smellflower68).
Performed well within the first two months, almost close to the OEM battery.

Have noticed more unstable behaviour recently after about four months.
The blinking red indicator to replace battery comes unexpectedly, maybe less than 50 shots.
But inserting that same battery into the camera at the end of the day will show that it wasn't really drained, at about 2 bars.

Definitely not recommended for mission-critical applications.
I'll probably get another original battery and use the aftermarket ones for casual/personal use, holidays, non time-sensitive shoots, etc.

Edit: For reference, rated OEM battery life:

 

[Agrivar]

Thanks kandinsky for the update. Think better buy original Panasonic battery then ...

I beg to differ. So far all my 3rd party work ok. I don't use the 3rd party batts for anything critical. For that I have 2 originals. I use the 3rd party for casual shoots or when I'm carrying it for leisure. . Cost only 11.99 usd to 79.99 usd (orig). I can buy 6 3rd party batts for 1 new one. I don't feel bad if/when I need to throw the 3rd party in the trash. That's my thought process.

 

[RyanKhoo]

I beg to differ. So far all my 3rd party work ok. I don't use the 3rd party batts for anything critical. For that I have 2 originals. I use the 3rd party for casual shoots or when I'm carrying it for leisure. . Cost only 11.99 usd to 79.99 usd (orig). I can buy 6 3rd party batts for 1 new one. I don't feel bad if/when I need to throw the 3rd party in the trash. That's my thought process.

Thanks for relating your experience to us.

Cheers

 

[RyanKhoo]

Hi all GH3 users,

Can I know whether you guys experience the GH3 hang ? Especially after using wifi ?

This happened to me quite often especially when the wifi cannot get connected or when get connected, the pictures in camera do not appear in my iPhone.

Can I know what is the best way to disconnect the wifi connection ?

Sometimes, I tried to the menu to terminate connection but the whole screen freezes.

What got me annoyed is when I tried to turn off the whole damn thing (by turning the knob to OFF), the blue light remains blue and the Power light remains ON. And I cannot do anything as it hangs there. The only thing that left for me to do is to take the damn battery out & put it back again !

Any tips from fellow GH3 users here is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Agrivar]

Hi all GH3 users,

Can I know whether you guys experience the GH3 hang ? Especially after using wifi ?

This happened to me quite often especially when the wifi cannot get connected or when get connected, the pictures in camera do not appear in my iPhone.

Can I know what is the best way to disconnect the wifi connection ?

Sometimes, I tried to the menu to terminate connection but the whole screen freezes.

What got me annoyed is when I tried to turn off the whole damn thing (by turning the knob to OFF), the blue light remains blue and the Power light remains ON. And I cannot do anything as it hangs there. The only thing that left for me to do is to take the damn battery out & put it back again !

Any tips from fellow GH3 users here is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Are you on the latest Firmware? Gh3 is now V1.2
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/dl/gh3.html

V1.1 and V1.2 seems to fix some wifi issues. Maybe this will make your wifi more stable. I seldom use wifi and when i need its mostly to transfer photos to my ipad. Works pretty well

 

[RyanKhoo]

Are you on the latest Firmware? Gh3 is now V1.2
http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/dl/gh3.html

V1.1 and V1.2 seems to fix some wifi issues. Maybe this will make your wifi more stable. I seldom use wifi and when i need its mostly to transfer photos to my ipad. Works pretty well

Thanks Agrivar but I am already on the latest version. The first thing that I did after purchasing the GH3 is to update both the firmware for GH3 and the lens !

Anyone here has any tips on this wifi hanging "thingy" ? It usually happens when (it cannot connects) or (when it connects but cannot display the pics in the Lumix Link apps in the iPhone). and after that when I try to disconnect the wifi, it hangs !

Also, I am baffled as to why sometimes the GH3 can and sometimes cannot connect to my iPhone5 (via the Lumix Link apps) ?

Anyone experienced the same ?

Thanks