Yes I know exactly what you mean! So many things to consider. What it came down to for me, is what took priority, video or photo? What are the most repeated aspects of your shooting style? What sort of productions do you have in mind? As the previous posters have already stated, it's what you do that will determine the camera.
The Canon 7D is pretty sweet, and I think it's better than the 5DMKII. It offers a few extra video caps like PAL, HDMI out during preview and record, faster processors, 24p at 1080 and 60p at 720 for slow mo, and of course Canon is superior in glass and more accessible. It has a smaller cropped sensor, but it's closer to the 35mm academy size so cine lenses would be a decent match here. And its cheaper! It's at a good price point too, but I wouldn't get the kit lens, go for the L series, they are expensive, but better builds and glass. It does have a few drawbacks though, like the H.264 codec, which I am not a fan of for compressing full quality HD video, even though it has a higher bit rate but requires high speed expensive CF cards.
I got the Lumix GH1 before the 7D dropped. It's a good camera overall. It does have its various limitations for video though - many forums highlight these, such as no HDMI out for preview and record, AVCHD not the best implementation that Panasonic has done, no audio controls (if you are shooting cinema, you have to record to separate audio anyways, such as an H4N), doesn't do PAL, limited lens options, and few others. But alot of these issues could change easily with a firmware update, giving them time to come out with options/lens lines, and Panasonic letting go of their protection over their video camcorder lines. Except for Audio though, that's a redesign inside and out. Overall I am happy with this camera though, and have gotten really stunning footage with it.
Ever since the 7D was released, I've been obsessing over it and am waffling about selling my Lumix and getting the 7D. It would definitely give better images than the Lumix. But then there was one thing that stopped me. The 7D does not have an articulated LCD. I'm an indy filmmaker with a lifelong penchant for photography in all its forms. Not only do I set up sets with cameras on sticks and dollies, etc., but I also like to shoot from the hip and on-the-fly to capture different perspectives and feels. The fact that the 7D does not have an articulated LCD was a slap in the face from Canon. I'm sorry, but they dropped the ball on that one, BIG TIME. I guess everyone they interviewed for the making of the 7D were all photographers and not video/film people. Why come out with an almost fully capable video DSLR that blows all others in that class out of the water, without an articulated LCD? All videographers understand the utmost importance of the articulated LCD/monitor for the cameras they are using. Canon fully understands the purpose of this but didn't put it into the design on the 7D. A real shame honestly. You can't compose shots from the hip, low, or high, or even shoot yourself, because you can't see the LCD without being right behind the camera like a photographer.
So for me, since video came as first priority, and photo came as a very close second, the articulated LCD meant a lot to me, and thus I have been leaning towards keeping my Lumix GH1, until something else comes out that has all of these features.
Regardless the GH1 is great, it shoots great video, and great stills. There is room for improvement, and by then, I'll be ready to upgrade to another camera.
I'm hoping the online petition to Panasonic will get them to fix other issues such as no HDMI out, better AVCHD compression codec, etc. through a firmware update. This could happen, and it would make the Lumix even better.
Hope this helps.
