Testing the video modes of the Panasonic GH1 and Canon 550D took me to the Graduate Fashion Week show in Earls Court

Yesterday I headed down to the final day of the Graduate
Fashion Week, held at London’s Earls Court exhibition centre. The show is the culmination of the graduate shows from University fashion courses across the country and is the place where young talent gets discovered and prizes won. My mission was to test the video modes on the Panasonic GH1 against that of the Canon EOS 550D, ready for our August issue, so what better place to test the low light, focusing and sound abilities of these two camera’s video modes than a catwalk show? Using a DSLR for video purposes is very different to how you would use it for still shooting. First of all, handholding is almost always best avoided, as its almost impossible to keep them completely steady, especially when tracking a subject; so using a tripod with a video head is ideal. Thinking about a sequence rather than is still image is also very different, and you need to consider the start middle and end sections at all times to keep your piece interesting. DSLR cameras also have limited clip lengths, unlike camcorders, so you have to cut your footage every now and again too. Overall I came away with some great looking results from both cameras – as to which one won, you’ll have to wait until the issue comes out. I couldn’t help taking some still images too though, so here are a few from both cameras.

View the images here