Zacuto shootout: Francis Ford Coppola votes for the GH2 (and GH2 beats Arri and Sony!)
Image on top: Francis Ford Coppola looking into his top options. And he picks the GH2 
Zacuto (Click here) posted the second part of the great Camera Shootout. It worked like that. An audience (including Francis) saw five short movies each made with a different camera, the GH2, Sony F65, Red Epic, Canon C300 and Arri Alexa. The audience had no way to know which movie had been made with a certain camera. At the end they had to pickup their favorite choice. The most voted camera was the Panasonic GH2!
Andrew from EosHD writes: “For digital theatre screenings in 2k or 1080p, extremely high end cameras simply don’t look that much different to the lower end ones. It is therefore the lighting and the skill behind the camera that makes a larger percentage of the difference. As the level of skill involved here behind the camera was all very high, each scene was similar butthe GH2 was still able to overcome the F65 or Epic, mainly because -
A) It was handled better
B) The lighting was most creative
C) The technology inside the GH2 was advanced enough to deliver on this shoot relative to a $70,000 F65”
Yep, as I always try to remind you it’s your creative skills that do matter. The camera you use “almost” doesn’t matter anymore! And again, a long hand clap clap clap to all Panasonic engineers for delivering us such a great camera. And we really can’t wait to see what you guys did with the GH3! 
P.S.: If you need a great hybrid camera for a low price you may don’t care about the GH3 which will be priced at $1,500. Go for the much cheaper GH2! Price check and search links at Amazon, Adorama, B&H, J&R, eBay.
AdventureRob
12 months ago |I really hope Panasonic don’t hold back with the GH3, it’s such an important camera to get right now the OMD raised the game in photo stills. If they’ve taken features out and other tricks like that I might be forced to buy a GH2 myself.
jules
12 months ago |OMD is currently better in several features, but it won’t make it up for lesser skills.
GH2 is good enough in those features and with proper care, you’ll be hard pressed to tell which out put is which.
Thats what the article says and thats what I think about the difference between GH2 and OMD.
Don’t get me wrong, the OMD is a specifically cool piece of camera and rightfully the current king of m43. My beliefs is that anyone having a GH2 or a G3 and now needing the OMD, odds are on that he created that need. If at all, in his imagination.
Mr. Reeee
12 months ago |+10
Agreed. Samples comparing both the GH2 and EM5 are awfully close. Each has different strengths.
Panasonic has had 2 years to work on a new multi-aspect ratio sensor for the GH3, as well as improving the rendering engine, so it will be very interesting to see which direction it’s being pushed.
Hopefully they won’t mess too much with the GH2′s handling and ergonomics. The menu interface could use a real cleanup, but there have been some solid improvements in the G3 and GX1, so hopefully we’ll see that pushed further.
Nico Foto
12 months ago |Well, I for one don’t find the GH2 ergonomics that great. I find myself consistenly hitting buttons while handling the camera (and I don’t have large hands). So, i need to re-check all key settings very often to make sure everything is as it should be. Time consuming and frustrating.
Mr. Reeee
12 months ago |The GH2′s ergonomics aren’t perfect, but aren’t too bad, either. The grip is the right size and it’s pretty well balanced.
I agree about hitting some buttons accidentally, like Display and WB. I also hit the dedicated Video fairly regularly, but luckily it can be disabled. I kept finding accidental videos on my memory cards.
I also wish the 4-way buttons had some sort of bumps (or were arrow shaped) so it would be easy to tell when (and which buttons) you’re hitting when using the EVF. Those are really the only problems I have. It would be nice if the Control Wheel were a tiny bit bigger, too.
mpgxsvcd
12 months ago |They really could have selected a better picture than that. They all look like a bunch of condescending creeps.
Sqweezy
12 months ago |This sounds like a condescending comment.
mpgxsvcd
12 months ago |All I need from the GH3 will be the 1080p @ 60 FPS for higher quality slow motion. What I really need is a longer focal length large aperture lens with image stabilization.
The 35-100mm F2.8 lens will give me that. I would much rather have a new lens than a new camera body. However, I will probably have to buy both to get the lens knowing Panasonic’s distribution methods.
Jimbo
12 months ago |I’m continually blown away by the GH2 video capabilities. Forget the failed Red Scarlet “3K for $3K” promise, Panasonic nailed it and should be hailed as the company that democratised film making in the digital age.
Cannot wait to see what the GH3 can do, and although I’m hoping for some natural, incremental improvements on the video front, I’m actually hoping the biggest boost comes in the picture department.
I bet the GH2 camera operators on the Zacuto shootout are over the moon. Congratulations to them.
st3v4nt
12 months ago |If only GH-2 as cheap as PEN or GX-1 I will have the two currently most exciting camera of m4/3.
Paul Alexander
12 months ago |excellent characterizations!
Rinaldo
12 months ago |W O W ! !
If you don’t have time to watch the whole video, simply play it until six seconds to know Francis Coppola blind choice between the nine cameras, knowing (now) that GH2 is letter B. The test itself starts at 13:50. IMO the guy in green shirt shows the most impressive difference.
urgs
12 months ago |video….. pfhhhh
you can have your video stuff.
as long as it´s not porn or accidents on youtube nobody will watch your homemade videos anyway…
pictures.. well i can put them on a wall for everyday pleasure…..
Mike
12 months ago |I really don’t understand this mentaility. If you love making images, how can you dismiss video?
urgs
12 months ago |i can hang pictures on my wall.
sure i made videos.. but how often do you watch them?
they sit in the drawer waiting that you took them out once a year.
80% of the videos made and presented on youtube for example made more fun MAKING them then watching. most of it is boring crap.
look at all the videos.. mostly useless, meaningless crap.
sure not every photo is a masterpiece either … but when i shoot one masterpiece a year i can hang it on my wall to enjoy it every day.
video … for me.. is a waste of time.
mpgxsvcd
12 months ago |What most people don’t realize is that “Those boring crap videos” are what a lot of people who like video want to watch.
There is a lot more money to be made on youtube than there is selling still images. I have paid for all my m4/3s gear with videos on youtube.
Those images that you hang on your wall will only be seen by the few people that might come to your house. Videos on youtube are seen by 100s of thousands of people. If even 1% percent of those people click on an ad then you are making money.
wtf
12 months ago |You shoot 1 masterpiece a year? Ha….haha…..hahahahaha. You know why that’s funny? Cause you said it on the internet. What else do you do? Give yourself nicknames?
Paul Alexander
12 months ago |I’m HUGELY disappointed, though not so surprised, by the poor return on investment of the bigger cameras.I think Sony, RED and Canon had really better start re-thinking their game plans. Panasonic will probably now price the GH(x) out of the ball park for some of us.
john
12 months ago |Francis ford Coppola is a director, not a cinematographer. He clearly doesn’t know shit about how a film should look as the gh2 was awful in this test: The most fake digital video kids tv show look you could get. It was bright and colourful which is probably why it caught the attention of laymen who completed the surveys. It didn’t “overcome the f65 or epic”. That is a ridiculous statement.
Ranger 9
12 months ago |Coppola doesn’t know shit about how a film should look? Okay: on a film set, if the cinematographer doesn’t make the film look the way the director wants it to look, who gets fired, the cinematographer or the director? Q.E.D.
Mike
12 months ago |A director has a lot of say in the look of their films. While being shot and in post. That’s one of the reasons why feature films are called a directors medium. I know this because I’ve directed a feature film, several short films and many more corporate videos.
Personally I would take Coppolas opinion over yours. I have no idea who you are and what your qualifications are, but I have seen many of his films.
john
12 months ago |Your opinion doesn’t matter. I don’t know who you are and neither does Francis Ford Coppola. Of course a director can have a say in the visuals, but some just let the DP do their magic. Hitchcock for example.
What I should have said is that Just because he has a big name does not mean that his opinion is absolute proof that the GH2 was superior. Many other people there correctly saw that the GH2 looked poor in this test.
T3
12 months ago |John, could you please be far, far less stupid when you post?
Hey, thanks in advance.
urgs
12 months ago |copola maybe has an idea how it should look.. but created is the look by others.
urgs
12 months ago |copola gets old.. he may loses his eye sight.
coplola has NOT done the look of godfather.
he was the director. he had a vision… but it was not him who created the look.
i know it´s a fine line but still it´s a line.
i can imagine a rembrand.. but i can not paint it.
MikeH
12 months ago |John, you really need to lay off the recreational medicine after comments like that.
Ivan Lee
12 months ago |Wow! that was very easy! I picked 2 that were the worst by a good margin (Canon 7D and Iphone) and 1 that was the best (Alexa) the rest was hard to pick! GH2 was comparable to RED, F65, FS100…etc
Very nice!
Atle
12 months ago |Dammit, times are getting harder for skill-less gadgets-freaks like me. It less and less viable too compensate for low skill with fancy equipment
mister_Roboto
12 months ago |Heh, it’s also probably the best movie he’s made in quite some time
Ranger 9
12 months ago |Was this a “stock” GH2 or a “hacked” GH2?
Mike
12 months ago |It was a hacked GH2. I believe the name of the patch was Quantum v9b.
pn
12 months ago |… which is a pretty old patch setting by now, with a more recent patch setting the GH2 may look even better, now, if only by a little
Juhani
12 months ago |GH2 is great camera, but it did not overcome anything.
If you take two race cars and then compare them USING DIFFERENT TRACKS, do you really get correct results.
There will be third part in Zacuto tests, which is also the only real camera test in series. All the cameras will use same setup, no changes to the lights or scene are allowed.
There is one camera that will simply crush the competition. And it is not GH2, or Alex or Red.
But damage is allready done. Internet is full guys who think that “revolution has happened” and moronic statements will continue to fly how camera companies are cheating customers etc.
Mike
12 months ago |Does it really matter? The purpose of the test was to prove that a film could be made using any of these cameras. It’s not like when you walk into a theater you’re doing camera comparisons. Filmmaking is all about illusion. If cameras like the GH2/hacked can trick the eye of even some higher end people in the industry, then it will completely trick the eye of the average joe who doesn’t know what to look for.
At the end of the day filmmaking is all about telling a good story visually. People who get too hung up on the tech specs and the little things are people who will never make it in the industry. Beause they aren’t focued on the things audiences really care about.
jim
12 months ago |What it proved was that any of these cars are fast enough for M.Schumacher to drive!
Rinaldo
12 months ago |One may have his own opinion, but should accept the result of a blind poll. That is fact. No doubt GH2 is THE BEST camera for the money… this is unanimous… or not?????
Igor
12 months ago |The professional filmmakers have confirmed that the amateurs were talking about for the last two years, the GH2 is really a decent camera for shooting video considering its cost. Congrats to Panasonic, and I’m looking forward to see your new good value-per-money cameras and lenses.
Nikku
12 months ago |Dear haters,
Francis Ford Coppola made The Godfather. You did not. If he says the GH2 looks good, it looks good. Any arguing to the contrary just makes you look stupid.
Sincerely,
Nikku
Art
12 months ago |How do you conclude GH2 looked good? He liked the lighting by GH2 operators (I didn’t), but had Canon 7D had lit the scene that much, he would have picked that one too.
This says nothing about camera’s capability
jim
12 months ago |Other than it does not get in the way.
Federico Roitberg
12 months ago |I find it interesting that younger DP have been those who used a hacked GH2.
On the other hand, the problem is they used a camera at $ 1000 with light, lenses, grip and other equipment of several thousand $, the same for all cameras (regardless if they were cameras $1000 or $30000), so the price of the camera is a minor percentage in total spending. “Minor”, well, if you leave $30000 will not be so minor, but I mean it’s not the only stuff that has its price, there are several actors that must be paid, studio, lights, expensive lenses, monitors, assistants, post-production in a professional environment (and not on your home computer), etc…
urgs
12 months ago |they are “experts”.. some even liked the iphone.. that doesn´t tell you something?
yortuk
12 months ago |Ok, I watched the whole video, and my conclusion is that based on the most important criteria, i.e. shaving habits, I qualify as a world-class filmmaker!
Art
12 months ago |This test proves nothing. People picked the camera that was using most lighting. GH2 operators had used extensive lights to compensate for inferior DR ..
Wait for Part 3 when all cameras will be using the same light.
Zonkie
12 months ago |But we already saw in the previous shootout what happens when the lighting is the same: Alexa wins. Though now there is the F65 there too….
Art
12 months ago |There was no GH2 in previous test either. F3 was not using S-Log in previous test. There was no C300 and no FS100. There was no Red Epic.
Of course F65 is the biggest fish that wasn’t in previous test.
Let’s wait for Part 3 before proclaiming GH2 does well. People who watched it say GH2 DR was worse than even Canon 7D in part 3
Art
11 months ago |Part 3 is up for 2 days now, but for some reason 4/3 admin refused to link it.
http://www.zacuto.com/shootout-revenge-2012/revenge-of-the-great-camera-shootout-part-three
Part 3 was more objective test where all the cameras had to use the same lighting ..
admin
11 months ago |Me refused??? I am grouping all GH2 news in one post. That’s why I didn’t link to it. No patience?
Anonymous
3 months ago |[...] von Francis Ford Coppola hat die GH2 gewonnen und selbst 70.000 $ teure Videokameras geschlagen. Zacuto shootout: Francis Ford Coppola votes for the GH2 (and GH2 beats Arri and Sony!) | 43 Rumors Es ist die Frage wie der Nutzer mit welcher Kamera am besten zu recht kommt. So wie im Fotobereich [...]