New Firmware Available!

[Roy Feldman]

The High bit rate is 30p or 25p wrapped in an interlaced form so that people can plug the camera directly into their panasonic TV (they do sell those) and play it.It is indeed 30p/25p but has interlaced flags attached. I am using 5dtoRGB (a free program) to conform it to a true progressive 4.2.2. file,(prores or dnxhd) works very quickly on a computer with a decent video card.Why 30p not 24p? If I end up making a DVD I think the transformation is easier getting to 60i without inserting a 3-2 pulldown.

[Patrick Janka]

Originally Posted by Jeff Hinson

Yes Jeff we are on the same page
The only business that pays anything for me right now are
weddings.
I need to get that going first and the P mode seems like the solution

Music videos my first love will have to wait until I master the manual mode.
Please keep me informed on your wedding set ups

Jeff, I saw you say you have an XHA1. That and the GH2 are my cameras, as well. I get a fair amount of corporate work using my XHA1. A lot of corporate shoots require tape based cameras, where they hand you the tapes before the shoot, and you hand them back at the end. A lot of shoots are done in SD, as well, which a GH2 won't do. I'm trying to steer my business into weddings, too, but as of now I make more money doing corporate and other shoots. I'm a lifelong multi-instrumentalist musician, actor, and stand-up comedian, so I have a lot of contacts in those industries which gives me a lot of work creating performance videos and demo reels. I use my XHA1 as a wide cam and the GH2 for closeups, interviews, B-roll. The footage matches up nicely with the help of color correction.

There are a lot of good companies that hire freelancers. Last night I did my second job for Become a GeoBeats Filmmaker!. They're good people, you should look into them.

As far as P mode, I don't care for it. I only shoot M, and I would highly suggest you learn it and shoot with it instead.

[Jeff Harper]

Hi Patrick, re: manaul mode, if you go back to Jeff H's original predicament, he had a new camera, and had no clue how to start. P mode is typically recommended for anyone new to DSLRs. Eventually we all learn how to set exposure and shutter speed, but we must remember this is a process, not an event. Learning something as complex as photographic principles such as shutter speed and exposure is much more pleasurable when taken in stages than being force fed advanced techniques.

If Jeff takes the time to visit a photography forum and ask for advice on how to begin, he'll read that the majority of veterans encourage newbies to use P mode to start out, and then encourage them to venture into other modes after they have become proficient focusing. You then typically try Aperture priority, or S mode, and as you learn the relationship between exposure and shutter speed you can branch out and do more. In the meantime, you are able to capture images from the beginning. That's what I found when I got my first DSLR several years ago.

Learning the relationship between shutter speed and exposure can take a fair amount of time, and to become proficient in manual mode under the pressure of a paid gig can take months. For shooting video you need a continuously usable image, particularly when shooting doc style. When all else fails, P mode can be used to get you though rapidly changing lighting conditions or other run and gun situations.

Stories of DSLR shooters missing shots because they were fiddling with their exposure and shutter speed are plentiful. When you are shooting a wedding it is much more important to get the shot than to be concerned with the ideal shutter speed. During a ceremony, and for static cameras during the reception there are plenty of opportunities for using manual settings, but even then you must be careful.

Jeff H wants to shoot weddings. Say he has his two GH2s and his XH-A1 and he's running his GH2s in manual mode as static cameras, and he's set up a the reception for the first dance. He's 50 feet from his GH2s and then suddenly the house lights are brought down without warning, and the couple begins their first dance. What does he do? No choice; he must abandon his main camera and go adjust his two GH2s, separately, all the while his main camera is unattended.

If he had been in P mode, he would be golden with no worries. Shutter priority is technically better, but the in camera adjustments in S mode are abrupt when the lighting changes, and it looks terrible as the exposure abruptly changes, which happens constantly as people move in and out of the frame making S mode is useless. Aperture priority is better, I suppose, but why bother? P mode solves most exposure problems, as much as can be solved on an unmanned camera.

Manual settings, as well as a camera's automated settings, all have their place.

[Jeff Hinson]

Originally Posted by

There are a lot of good companies that hire freelancers. Last night I did my second job for [url=http://production.geobeats.com/filmmakers/register

Become a GeoBeats Filmmaker![/url]. They're good people, you should look into them.
.

Thanks Patrick for the tip. I "will" check into it.

Like you, my passion is Music/entertainment videos, but they don't pay the bills....at least right now.
Weddings videos in this part of the country (Rural IN) are an afterthought to most new couples. They don't mind spending a fortune on photographs, but shrug, when you quote them the video.............go figure. Guess it's up to me to change that attitude. ha.

PM me, I'd like to know what a typical assignment with GeoBeats is, and the rate they pay.

Jeff Hinson

[Jerry Neal]

Hello,

I have tried several times to access Panasonic's webiste to download the new GH-2 firmware update. However, it keeps telling me that the page does not exist.

Here's the page I'm accessing and the link I'm TRYING to access:

Joint update service for Four Thirds body and lenses | Download | Digital Camera | Digital AV | Consumer Products | Support | Panasonic Global

Can someone provide me with the correct link to download the new firmware? I greatly appreciate your help!

[Jeff Hinson]

Jerry...it works for me.

Try this...then look for the GH2 1.1 download
Joint update service for Four Thirds body and lenses | Download | Digital Camera | Digital AV | Consumer Products | Support | Panasonic Global

jeff

[Jerry Neal]

Thanks for your reply... just tried again and no dice. To clarify, I'm clickin on the download under the PC category on the following page:

Update Contents for DMC-GH2

When I click "download," it tells me the page no longer exists.

Not sure what I'm missing here. I've tried this on two, different computers.

[Jeff Hinson]

I guess I have it somewhere on my computer...I could email it to you if I can find the download.
Maybe others have it too.
Jeff

[Jeff Hinson]

GH2__V11.bin . I can email to you but can't guarantee anything.
Jeff