GH3 B&H

Hi again, VideoMarker – yes, the GH3 is a great 1080p camera and the best value for your money below $1000.  I have the GH1, GH2, GH3 and GH4 (pictured here) – the first two cameras spend most of their time on the shelf, but I still use the GH3 and GH4 for both stills and video.

Here is the video image quality you can get from the GH3:

Narrative

Documentary

Travel

And it's a pretty darned good still camera too: https://www.flickr.com/groups/gh3/pool/

As far as B&H goes, they are certainly a reputable store – and their prices are competitive – but the GH3 has been around long enough that you can get a better deal if you shop around.

If I were buying one today, I would get one of these brand new USA model GH3 packages with the full one year Panasonic warranty starting at just over $700.

Hope this is helpful!

Bill

Hybrid Camera Revolution

Another option that you can take (and less expensive) is to purchase a GH2 and hack it … it is the equivalent to the GH3.  We use the GH1, 2, and 4 … we skipped the GH3 since it really didn't improve much from our hacked GH2.

     If I may throw in my 2 cents, the GH2 is still a very good camera, and you can pick up a used one off of e-bay for pretty cheap.  However, a hacked GH2 is not the equivelant of a GH3.  The GH3 can shoot at much higher frame rates than a GH2.  All the hacks for the GH2 provide higher bit rate, and some boosts in available ISO settings, but I've yet to see one increase the frame rate.  Some of the physical inputs of the GH3 are also improved over the GH2.  If you're looking at getting a GH2 or a GH3, go with the 3.

Granted, the hacked GH2 and GH3 are not exact matches but still they are pretty dang close.  As for the frame rate, most of the time you're be shooting at 24fps or 30fps … however you can still do 60 fps at 720.  So, depending on your project the GH2 can cover you.

BUT all that to say, if you have the money and you're starting off, by all means go with the GH3.  I was just giving an alternative (in case they needed to save a few more dollars).