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| Spots Fade on Calf Elk: Panasonic GH2-Canon 500mm F4 |
During August, most visitors to elk country may be
focused on the bulls and the shedding of the velvet and the first
stirrings of the pre-rut, but other important changes are occurring in
the herd as well. Like whitetail fawns, the calves are spotted at
birth, which creates a camouflage pattern that helps them escape
predators, but the spots start to fade in late July and this process
continues until the coat is a solid color. The process begins at the top
of the back and gradually works down. By mid-August most of the calves
are only partially changed such as the one in the photo above, but a
small number have only a few spots still faintly visible. By the time
the rut peaks in mid to late September most of the calves will have
completely lost the spots or will have only a few faint ones.
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| Cow and Two Calves at Gilbert Viewing Area- one with spots almost gone: Still capture from video Panasonic GH2-Canon 500mm F4 |
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| Two Calves at Gilbert Viewing Area- one with spots almost gone:
Still capture from video -Panasonic GH2-Canon 500mm F4 -extended
telephoto mode -35mm equivalent focal length approximately 2,000mm |
This is the second trip to elk country that I have
used the Panasonic GH2 as my primary video camera. I was very unhappy
when Canon did not include the 3x crop mode in the 5D MK II or the new
Rebel T4i. I have no personal experience with The T4i, but I am told
that the it does not have a better picture quality than the T3i. I do
have a fair amount of experience with the MK III in video mode and it is
significantly better than the T3i in either still or video mode. I am
very happy with it when one can get close enough to the subject, but I
missed the reach of the old Canon XL-H1 and the big L lenses, so after
extensive research, I decided to try the Panasonic GH2 hybrid camera.
The
GH2 uses a micro-4/3 lens mount and the sensor has a 2x crop factor.
The camera also has an extended telephoto mode, which takes the 2mp of
resolution required for video from a small central portion of the
sensor. This is how one can "really reach out and touch them" in video
mode. A decided down factor to this equation is that to use the Canon
mount glass, one must use an adapter, and one that will electronically
control the aperture costs almost as much, or more than the camera
body--depending on which particular adapter one buys. The bottom line;
however, is that the 500mm F4 , which is just that on a MK III becomes a
1,000mm F4 equivalent focal length on the GH2. This is true in either
still or video mode. It becomes a 2,000mm focal length equivalent in
video mode when the extended telephoto mode is engaged. The image is
degraded somewhat , but it is still very usable. I understand that
unlike the T3i, one can also use this mode while shooting stills, but it
will no longer utilize the full resolution of the sensor and as this is
primarily a video camera in my case, I have not tried this yet.
Although
one may not be able to tell from images posted on the internet, the
bottom line is the GH2 cannot compete with any of the later Canon DSLRs
as a still camera, but it is very usable and when one is concentrating
on video it is an acceptable option to switch to still mode and take
photographs. Stills captured from video after the fact will be only 2MP
resolution and will not be nearly as good as stills actually shot in
still mode.
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| Calf Near Winslow Hill Road: Canon 5D MK III: Canon 500mm F4-ISO 400 1/640 sec. F4 |
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A decided plus for the GH2 is that this is the first
DSLR with which I have been able to follow-focus on moving animals or
birds, in video mode, with any degree of success .So far manual focus
must be used in filming with a DSLR to have any hope of success and the
LCDs are simply too low in resolution to reliably maintain sharp focus
on moving subjects, even with the Zacuto Finder attached(the Rebel T3i
did work better in this aspect than anything I had used previously).
The GH2 works better, because it has a blistering sharp electronic view
finder in addition to a decent LCD. I prefer to shoot video with the
camera slightly above waist level and the LCD swiveled out and at a 45
degree angle, so I am standing above the camera, looking, down, and bent
slightly forward. This often gives a better perspective on the subject
than standing erect, and using the eye-level finer, and it is a good
position to follow action from as one's head is not bumping the camera
to disturb smooth camera motion, but the downside is of course the focus
thing. I find I am using the eye-level finder on this camera more and
more, simply because I no longer have so much problem focusing.
The
bottom line is that one needs to keep an open mind about some of the
options out there with the new high end Canon video cameras costing
$16,000.00 without lens.
Originally published at
Pennsylvania Wildlife Photographer by Willard Hill.
