ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :(

Patrick Janka · April 7th, 2011, 12:24 AM

Jeff, Canons aren't much better. The 5D when hooked up to a monitor drops its HD output to 480p via HDMI. Lame. This last weekend I did a music video shoot with my Jag35 shoulder rig and monitor using the director's camera, a Canon T2i. First off, what a pain in the ass it is to do ANYTHING. You have to menu surf for every little adjustment. Need to white balance?...grab a Snickerz. Secondly, before you hit the record button the view in the monitor is tiny, it only fills the monitor about a 1/3 of the screen. Then when you hit record it maintains the vertical space, but stretches the footage horizontally. When you hit the record button the camera takes like 5 seconds before it starts actually recording. I now much more appreciate my GH2. I wouldn't sell your monitor if I was you. I'd be very surprised if Panasonic don't release a firmware update to resolve the 720p monitor issue. Just box it in the closet for a bit and wait it out I say.

Jeff Harper · April 7th, 2011, 02:53 AM

Patrick, what you experienced is why I said Canon's are so far behind. The t3i was rumoured to be a revolutionary camera, instead it was a slightly updated t2i.

For the money, the GH2 is a great value and I'm pretty pleased with it.

Matthew Roddy · April 8th, 2011, 12:51 PM

How very disappointing this thread is.
There's a good chance that if I had discovered it before I made my purchase, I wouldn't have done so.
I fully planned on shooting 720/60 for the majority of my projects, since the format is so versatile. But I largely shoot with Nikon primes, manual focus is hyper-critical, and without a good HDMI monitor (I was planning on buying SmallHD), life will be insanely difficult.

Is there any chance the problem is with the monitor accepting the 60p signal, or is it that the GH2 simply doesn't output 60p?

Jeff Harper · April 8th, 2011, 01:53 PM

Issue is documented across web, it's not a monitor issue.

Patrick Janka · April 8th, 2011, 06:10 PM

It's not just 720p60, but also ETC and display information. We need everyone to contact Panasonic so they hear our frustration and do something about it.

Matthew Roddy · April 9th, 2011, 12:49 PM

Absolutely nutty.
I'm not SURE I wouldn't have purchased the camera if I'd know, but I do with I'd found this bit of info a few weeks ago.

Is the best place to contact Panny here:
Panasonic USA Support - Contact Us

Is there a best choice of words to use, or just lay it out in my own? I want to be as effective as possible.

Now I wish i was going to NAB so I could talk to them there too.

Jeff Harper · April 9th, 2011, 11:21 PM

Well, looking at the options, I'd rather work with no monitor than to have to restart cameras every 12 minutes.

I ran four of these puppies last night, and it was hard enough as it was! Of course I'm one of the few idiots not using a conventional video camera along with it. A monitor would be nice, but I'm learning to get by without it. You learn to adapt to your circumstances.

Zhong Cheung · April 17th, 2011, 07:00 AM

Wait, so let's say I want to output 24p or 30p at 1080p to my 8" Lilliput external monitor (800x600 resolution). You're saying that my Lilliput will literally show the image only (basically as if it were a really small TV playing back a movie?), no display info whatsoever?

Does the LCD stay on in live view while preserving the display info when the camera is outputting to an external monitor? What about the EVF?

Patrick Janka · April 17th, 2011, 10:33 AM

The display information will be on the external monitor until you hit record, then it all disappears. Yes, you can view the info in the flipout lcd/evf while hooked to an external monitor while recording. This isn't an option for me because I use the monitor on my shoulder rig, and the lcd/efv are too far from my face. I'd have to strain my neck.

Jeff Harper · April 17th, 2011, 10:40 AM

The EVF and LCD stay on. If you are running in a mode where the monitor works, it is fine as it is, IMO.

April 7th, 2011, 12:24 AM	#16
Patrick Janka Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 623	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( Jeff, Canons aren't much better. The 5D when hooked up to a monitor drops its HD output to 480p via HDMI. Lame. This last weekend I did a music video shoot with my Jag35 shoulder rig and monitor using the director's camera, a Canon T2i. First off, what a pain in the ass it is to do ANYTHING. You have to menu surf for every little adjustment. Need to white balance?...grab a Snickerz. Secondly, before you hit the record button the view in the monitor is tiny, it only fills the monitor about a 1/3 of the screen. Then when you hit record it maintains the vertical space, but stretches the footage horizontally. When you hit the record button the camera takes like 5 seconds before it starts actually recording. I now much more appreciate my GH2. I wouldn't sell your monitor if I was you. I'd be very surprised if Panasonic don't release a firmware update to resolve the 720p monitor issue. Just box it in the closet for a bit and wait it out I say.

April 7th, 2011, 02:53 AM	#17
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( Patrick, what you experienced is why I said Canon's are so far behind. The t3i was rumoured to be a revolutionary camera, instead it was a slightly updated t2i. For the money, the GH2 is a great value and I'm pretty pleased with it. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

April 8th, 2011, 12:51 PM	#18
Matthew Roddy Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca Posts: 307	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( How very disappointing this thread is. There's a good chance that if I had discovered it before I made my purchase, I wouldn't have done so. I fully planned on shooting 720/60 for the majority of my projects, since the format is so versatile. But I largely shoot with Nikon primes, manual focus is hyper-critical, and without a good HDMI monitor (I was planning on buying SmallHD), life will be insanely difficult. Is there any chance the problem is with the monitor accepting the 60p signal, or is it that the GH2 simply doesn't output 60p?

April 8th, 2011, 01:53 PM	#19
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( Issue is documented across web, it's not a monitor issue. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

April 8th, 2011, 06:10 PM	#20
Patrick Janka Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 623	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( It's not just 720p60, but also ETC and display information. We need everyone to contact Panasonic so they hear our frustration and do something about it.

April 9th, 2011, 12:49 PM	#21
Matthew Roddy Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Riverside, Ca Posts: 307	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( Absolutely nutty. I'm not SURE I wouldn't have purchased the camera if I'd know, but I do with I'd found this bit of info a few weeks ago. Is the best place to contact Panny here: Panasonic USA Support - Contact Us Is there a best choice of words to use, or just lay it out in my own? I want to be as effective as possible. Now I wish i was going to NAB so I could talk to them there too.

April 9th, 2011, 11:21 PM	#22
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( Well, looking at the options, I'd rather work with no monitor than to have to restart cameras every 12 minutes. I ran four of these puppies last night, and it was hard enough as it was! Of course I'm one of the few idiots not using a conventional video camera along with it. A monitor would be nice, but I'm learning to get by without it. You learn to adapt to your circumstances. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."

April 17th, 2011, 07:00 AM	#23
Zhong Cheung Major Player Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 202	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( Wait, so let's say I want to output 24p or 30p at 1080p to my 8" Lilliput external monitor (800x600 resolution). You're saying that my Lilliput will literally show the image only (basically as if it were a really small TV playing back a movie?), no display info whatsoever? Does the LCD stay on in live view while preserving the display info when the camera is outputting to an external monitor? What about the EVF?

April 17th, 2011, 10:33 AM	#24
Patrick Janka Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 623	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( The display information will be on the external monitor until you hit record, then it all disappears. Yes, you can view the info in the flipout lcd/evf while hooked to an external monitor while recording. This isn't an option for me because I use the monitor on my shoulder rig, and the lcd/efv are too far from my face. I'd have to strain my neck.

April 17th, 2011, 10:40 AM	#25
Jeff Harper Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 8,425	Re: ETC and 720p60 disabled with external monitor :( The EVF and LCD stay on. If you are running in a mode where the monitor works, it is fine as it is, IMO. __________________ "The horror of what I saw on the timeline cannot be described."