If you want a 2-body setup, two G3s will be better than one GH2 and something else. The GH2 uses its own unique battery and charger, while G3 shares battery and charger with the GF2 and the GX1.

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As a truly great man, I hate people with delusions of grandeur.

Each of us has our own needs, likes, and dislikes. But for me my primary focus is motion picture and the GH2 is rapidly earning a reputation as being one of the best performers in the DSLR type arena (even though the GH2 is not a true DSLR).

I'm moving from Canon into mu4/3 for more compact gear, lighter weight, and the look of GH2 motion picture imagery. But one of the pleasant surprises was the "touchscreen" implementation. I've been no fan of touchscreen, could take it or leave it, but the GH2 implementation is hands down the best I've seen in anything I've handled.

Using the "quick touchscreen menu" I can access just about any operating parameter I need to without having use dials, switches, or menus. And there is even a "rack focus" capability there by "touching" on the LCD the subject you need focus to change to.

My choice was GH2, wait for the OMD E-M5, or stay with Canon. The Olympus had very appealing features, 5 axis IS, excellent high ISO performance, but limited frame rate options in video. So the choice I made was GH2.

Actually 2 of them so I can do a 2 camera shoot and not have to worry with color matching.

+2

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Andy Garcia
Google+ | Zenfolio | My Ramblings on Photography

Well, thanks for all the advice. I bought the second-hand GH2, but from a seller on Mu-43, rather than the camera shop, saving a very few pounds. I'll be taking it out this weekend for a test run.

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Panasonic G1 and GH2; 20mm f1.7; Leica Elmarit 45mm f2.8 Macro; Olympus 12mm f2; Nokton 50mm f1.1; Nokton 25mm f0.95; Samyang 7.5mm f3.5; Complete set of Pentax Auto 110 lenses and adaptor; large collection of Minolta MC/MD lenses and adaptor; various "toy" lenses.

I favoured the G3 over the others for three reasons: 1) Size. I carry it around most of the time and the G3 is small enough for that. 2) Cost. The G3 was less expensive. 3) I don't do much video, so the GH2's video qulaities were not as important.

Other, issues that I considered:

The button placements on the G3 leave much to be desired. The multi-aspect settings on the GH2 isn't a big deal for me. I address the absence of the eye detection in the EVF by keeping the LCD turned in (so that the EVF is always on). The IQ for stills seems similar.

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LX3 to GF1 to G3. Some of my photos are on Flickr, and my blog is at www.billdanby.com.

My wife has a G3, I use a GH2. The G3 is smaller and lighter. The GH2 is easier and more comfortable to hold because of the larger grip, has much better controls for a serious photographer, and the multi-aspect sensor which is more useful than I expected. Having three customizable buttons has also been very useful to me.

Initially, I didn't think the multi-aspect sensor would be that big a deal, since you can always crop, either in camera or later, from the 4/3 sensor, and 16 mp is enough that even after cropping resolution should be fine. But I discovered another advantage: when shooting wide-angle, switching to 16:9 makes a notable difference in the amount of horizontal coverage.

My opinion: If you'll mostly put the camera on "P" and leave it there, go for the G3. But if you'll frequently change shooting modes, focus modes, set exposure bracketing on and off or switch between single and continuous shooting, the GH2 is simply much, much, much easier to use. It's got better ergonomics than a great many larger, more expensive cameras, and definitely better than the G3.

While this is true, you actually CAN charge a G3 battery in a GH2 charger and vice-versa. The chargers are electrically identical, and the battery contacts in the same locations. The only issue is that one battery is a bit longer than the other. If you put the shorter battery in the charger made for the longer one, just stick a few pennies in to hold it in place. To charge the larger battery in the smaller charger, use a rubber band to hold it in place.

No, not ideal, but I've tested it and it works. When my wife and I travel together, it's my backup plan in case either charger dies on us.

Thanks for that. I do shoot in a variety of modes and I also have large hands - my own thoughts on the G3 were that it would be tough for me to use it with some of the larger legacy lenses I like to put on it.

I had never thought about the 16:9 giving wider coverage. As I just bought the Olympus 12mm f2, that will be interesting to try!

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Panasonic G1 and GH2; 20mm f1.7; Leica Elmarit 45mm f2.8 Macro; Olympus 12mm f2; Nokton 50mm f1.1; Nokton 25mm f0.95; Samyang 7.5mm f3.5; Complete set of Pentax Auto 110 lenses and adaptor; large collection of Minolta MC/MD lenses and adaptor; various "toy" lenses.

just waiting for soft hack for G3 as Vitaly from PersonalView works on it. We may then answer question above as video quality and features should be more similiar...

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MFourThirds my mu43 blog on facebook, like it

G3, P20, O45, O9-18, P14-42, P45-200

I just made the choice to go with a GH2 over a G3 for physical handling considerations. I actually use the GH2 99.99% for stills but love a couple of old Canon FD/Minolta MD lenses that are heavy. I bought a TP half case which made the grip a little bigger but also the camera a little taller on the G3 from eBay. It is a very nice case for $45 (although not the same quality as a Gariz case) but unfortunately taller and bigger didn't help with handling too much and my hands aren't incredibly big. The grip/orientation of the shutter button on the GH2 works much better for me. In the end the difference in cost, $220 more for a GH2 body has been well worth. Both are very good cameras.

One more thing, I don't find an advantage with the G3 in composition with the "part-screen" magnification setting when composing/manual focusing.