From Canon Rebel T2i to Panasonic GH3

Finally, two years after buying my first DSLR, it’s time for a change. I will be selling my Canon Rebel T2i (named 550D in Spain) and replacing it with a mirrorless Panasonic GH3 with a 12-35mm f2.8 lens.

The decision was really not that hard, seeing that after hacking the GH2, Panasonic decided that they wanted to do the same thing the hackers did, but themselves for the new model. Being video my primary use for the camera, it made sense to go for a more lightweight, video-oriented approach.

What do I like about it?

· All-INTRA: Up to 72Mbps datarate, unprecedented quality compared to other DSLRS, allows for more flexibility in post. Sure, it’s not a BlackMagic Cinema Camera that shoots RAW, but it will do for me. · 1080p 50fps: My rebel T2i only did this in 720p mode, so now we can do some great slow-mo shots on Full-HD. · Audio monitoring: Sure Magic Lantern allows you to see audio peaking in the OSD, but having a standard 3.5mm headphone jack is so handy. I had hacked my Rebel T2i’s RCA cable to monitor audio, but this way is just completely hassle-free. · HDMI Clean Output: Again, one of the features that Canon cameras had with ML (I think) is available out of the box in the GH3. Need something better than 4:2:0? Just throw an Atomos Ninja in the mix and enjoy 4:2:2 for keying and VFX.

Overall I think it’s a great addition to my toolset, I’ll try to pick it up tomorrow morning or early next week and give it a try 🙂