GH2 hack

[Colin Rowe]

I have just purchased a GH2, the camera has firmware ver 1.0 at present. I have downloaded ver 1.1, ready to install. My question is this, I would like to install the GH2 hack, but am really only interested in disabling the 30 minute recording limit. I have downloaded the GH2 hack pack, which includes ptools 3.63d and GH2__V10 bin/hack file. Should I install ver 1.1 then the hack, or simply install the hack with the camera in its present state, ie, ver 1.0. Also, do I simply tick the required components in pro tools, guess I just answered the last question myself.
Thanks for any advice.

[Nigel Barker]

If you want 25p & other improvements then you need the V1.1 firmware. Personally I am not convinced that the image quality of the hacked footage is that much better than the 24Mbps HBR available with V1.1 & having 25p is worth more to me than any marginal image improvement although the removal of the 30 minute recording limit might be nice to have I can live without that too. The hack is based on V1 so if you want to remove recording limit then you won't have 25p & other improvements (improved AF, quicker start up etc)

[Martyn Hull]

Exactly my thinking.

[Sanjin Svajger]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

The hack is based on V1 so if you want to remove recording limit then you won't have 25p & other improvements (improved AF, quicker start up etc)

Whoa! I was just about to order a GH2 to shot conferences and such... I need 25p (ass I'm in EU) and I obviously need more than 30 min of rec time! Are you saying that I can't have both??

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Sanjin Svajger

Whoa! I was just about to order a GH2 to shot conferences and such... I need 25p (ass I'm in EU) and I obviously need more than 30 min of rec time! Are you saying that I can't have both??

Until the hack is updated to be based on the V1.1 hack then you cannot have 25p & >30 minutes record time.

Personally I wouldn't use a GH2 for recording conferences as a traditional camcorder would be a much better choice. Consider something like the Panasonic TM900 which would be cheaper than a GH2 & can record for hours unattended.

[Sanjin Svajger]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

Until the hack is updated to be based on the V1.1 hack then you cannot have 25p & >30 minutes record time.

Now that's a bummer! Is somebody already working on updating the hack? With no 25p the hack is worthless to most of the PAL land...

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

Personally I wouldn't use a GH2 for recording conferences as a traditional camcorder would be a much better choice. Consider something like the Panasonic TM900 which would be cheaper than a GH2 & can record for hours unattended.

I need to pair it with my HPX171. I planed to use the GH2 for static wide shots because this small camcorders (ie. TM900, or even the JVC HM100) don't compare to the HPX171 dynamic range and flatness. It's night and day. That's why I'm looking at the GH2 + I'm also in documentary production and now also slowly going to narrative and this is where the GH2 would come in handy for certain shots. Especially for the documentary I'm doing now where I'm finding that I would need more shallow dof when doing talking heads 50% of the time... But with out 25p and with that 30 min time limit and with that weak codec...it's not going to happen! Why oh why did Panasonic have to put that time limit there!? What stupid EU regulation is this now!?

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Sanjin Svajger

But with out 25p and with that 30 min time limit and with that weak codec...it's not going to happen! Why oh why did Panasonic have to put that time limit there!? What stupid EU regulation is this now!?

The 24Mbps AVCHD CODEC is the same as used in Pansonic's AG-AF101 professional camcorder. It's pretty good. The time limit is there to avoid an extra 4.9% customs duty on camcorders. For the GH2 this would only amount to around an extra 40 Euros but presumably Panasonic don't want to be seen as more expensive than other compact cameras that are not classed as camcorders. Just like with the Canon DSLRs the overwhelming majority of purchasers will be buying this camera for still photography.

[Sanjin Svajger]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

The 24Mbps AVCHD CODEC is the same as used in Pansonic's AG-AF101 professional camcorder. It's pretty good.

Oh... isn't the codec a bit different. I have read that it doesn't use "B" frames. Or was that before the upgrade to v1.1.?
And even still, if it does make use of "B" frames it's still a 24Mbps codec! I've never shot professionally with such a low codec (actually I have for event's, but that doesn't matter - it's low budget).

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

The time limit is there to avoid an extra 4.9% customs duty on camcorders. For the GH2 this would only amount to around an extra 40 Euros but presumably Panasonic don't want to be seen as more expensive than other compact cameras that are not classed as camcorders. Just like with the Canon DSLRs the overwhelming majority of purchasers will be buying this camera for still photography.

I see. To bad. They would have sold more GH2s to people who need them for video if they wouldn't put that limit there. Me for instance:) But obviously they did the math and this decision came out to be the right one...

[Bill Bruner]

As of January 5th 2012, Vitaliy Kiselev, the father of the GH hacks, was still working on porting the hack to v1.1.

Bill
Hybrid Camera Revolution

[Sanjin Svajger]

He is? Great! Thx for the info!

[Roy Feldman]

For those that don't need the benefits afforded by the factory 1.1 revision: LPowell has posted a new hack on Personal View. Mr. Powell's hacks have, in the past, always provided me with the gold standard in terms of quality and reliability. Just sayin

[Steven Thomas]

Roy,
True Lpowell is sharp, no doubt.
But please remember, it's still Vitaliy's hack.
You're using Powells settings within the user interface settings within ptool (Vitaliy's software hack for the GH2).

Vitaliy will release the new version in the near future to support Panny's 1.1 software.

[Nigel Barker]

Don't forget also that unlike the Magic Lantern hack for Canon DSLRs this is not a full blown reverse engineered rewrite of the firmware with added functionality. PTools merely gives access to some controls over bit rate & compression settings etc in the Panasonic firmware. In comparison Magic Lantern is an amazingly innovative extension of the functionality of the Canons adding such features as peaking, zebras & even HDR.

[Steven Thomas]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

PTools merely gives access to some controls over bit rate & compression settings etc in the Panasonic firmware. .

merely...
I'll take the driftwood ptool 150Mb/s GOP1 (Intraframe) settings, thank you.
Though I'd pull the Canon out for stills for sure.

[Andrew Rowe]

Originally Posted by Sanjin Svajger

I need 25p (as I'm in EU) and I obviously need more than 30 min of rec time! Are you saying that I can't have both??

Why do you need 25p? To match with your other camera(s)?

European broadcast is generally at 50i, and if it's not for broadcast, wouldn't 23.976p (which the GH2 calls 24p) be OK? (Of course, a lot of TV is shot at 25p and then interlaced after the fact for delivery.)