Olympus Pen EPL5 for video?

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MB NZ

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I'm getting there with my new camera setup (Olympus Pen EPL5/Panasonic 8 mm fisheye lens/fisheye domeport). Obviously, I got this with stills in mind, but it does shoot HD video. I've been using a GoPro (plus two Sola 2000 lights) for the last couple of years, I know what it can do, what it can't do and how to get the best out of it:


[video=vimeo;100580912]https://vimeo.com/100580912[/video]


It wouldn't take an awful lot of extra cost to get the Pen up and running for video, possibly just a red filter. Does anyone have personal experience of using this or a similar camera for video?
 
You won't find many people using any olympus camera for video
Their selection of format is poor (30p only even in PAL markets) and their codec ancient and low in bitrate (20 Mbps does not cut it since a few years)
Having said that if you are going to stick with the camera for a while and only do occasional video am sure it will be fine
When you see yourself investing in video lights etc etc it means you are ready for another camera with better video. These days Panasonic is number 1 in the camera space followed by Sony. This of course not including red, blackmagic and specialised manufacturers
 
OK, that's interesting. I'm not too disappointed to hear that.

I suppose what I really want to know is, is it better than a GoPro? I'm sure the gut reaction from many people is going to be yes, but wondered how this translates in to real experiences. I'm very happy with GoPro video. The video lights were bought with the GoPro in mind. The fact that they were four times the price of the camera is neither here nor there. I'm getting the results I want :)
 
For wide angle not really the higher bitrate of the gopro will compensate the worst optics

A real camera gives the possibility to frame the shots and do other things a gopro can't do. Once you are at that stage you are using your camera for video and not anymore for stills and probably you have moved on to a panasonic GH4 or Sony A5100/6000 not the EPL-5
 
Yeah, it's a still camera. Video would have been a bonus, but not essential. I'll probably stick with the GoPro for video.

Not sure what you mean by framing shots on the GoPro. I have an LCD which I find is essential for well framed shots. If you are referring to a zoom function, I prefer to get closer to the subject which makes lighting more effective too. Manual white balance? Yeah, thought this would be a real issue with the GoPro, but filters and good lighting take care of things from that perspective.
 
The Sony RX100M2 works very well for both stills and video.
It's a 20MP camera, lets you can take 17MP stills while taking video and it's got a dedicated video button that lets you start taking video with no screwing around. I've been very happy with mine.
 

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