Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking at DVinfo.net

Ben Edwards · June 27th, 2013, 10:12 AM

Ive heard rumors but nothing concrete, anyone know if it is likely soon.

Ben

Chris Duczynski · June 27th, 2013, 06:40 PM

The Sony NEX 5N has nice peaking - all different colours too - any news on Panny GH3..I doubt it will happen.

Les Wilson · June 28th, 2013, 10:47 AM

Last I read, the Panny product manager said that based on the engine they used, peaking wasn't possible. Sounds like an engineering tradeoff typical of Hybrid cameras. Even consumer camcorders now have the feature. But, the GH3 isn't a camcorder.

Ben Edwards · June 28th, 2013, 04:41 PM

Odd, they were originally saying it would have it and it has taken this long to say it does not seem to be feasible. Its just a feature of software and there are dual CPUs in the camera. Cant see how architecture would prevent it, but I only worked in IT for 30 years;).

Ben

Thomas Smet · July 1st, 2013, 01:50 PM

Because these things are not full computers with a full programming language. Peaking is a rather complex feature that would drastically alter how the camera functions. This is not just flipping a switch but changing the display to accurately show us changes in edge sharpness. The feature would need to detect these changes at a very fast speed to be usable for video. The next complex part is the feature altering the display to show the peaking for those edges. Again this is not a magical switch that can just turn it on but a rather complex piece of software.

The camera may have two CPUs but they are being used for many of the other task handled by the camera with perfect stability. The reason Panasonic may say it is not possible may be that it cannot be show horned into a camera it wasn't designed for without causing some form of instability. At no point should Panasonic half bake a feature that could cause other potential issues to the camera.

Newer cameras have been designed from the ground up with processing power put aside to make sure the peaking can be handled without causing issues.

Ben Edwards · July 1st, 2013, 06:28 PM

550D firmware hack managed it and the camera only has a single core processor (I would imagine the GH3 has twice the processing power having a moderner dual core processor).

"not full computers with a full programming language", The have fully functional CPU and the term full programming language is kind of meaningless, for this type of thing you need to code fairly low level language not with a high level language (I suppose you could call high level languages 'full' but they are bloated and not very efficient).

I do realise what is involved, I worked in IT for 20 years;).

Ben

Les Wilson · July 2nd, 2013, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Edwards

550D firmware hack managed it and the camera only has a single core processor (I would imagine the GH3 has twice the processing power having a moderner dual core processor). ....I do realise what is involved, I worked in IT for 20 years;).

When I was at the 20 year mark, I knew better than to make the first statement. I have more experience than you, including firmware development for custom hardware and as far as I'm concerned, Thomas' explanation stands. To wit, Magic Lantern finally implemented it on the 5DM2 after years and in the end, it was off (i.e. it didn't show the in focus area accurately).

Ben Edwards · July 2nd, 2013, 08:56 AM

OK, so what is it exactly, the Z1 does it well, does it have more processor power then the GH3 or is it something else? From what I can remember Panasonic originally had it in the spec (before they released it), not sure if there have need any official statements since.

In terms of 550D not sure if it was accurate technical but I found it very useful although the earlier Magic Lantern seemed to work better (cant remember exactly which version bit when they removed the lag it seemed to work less well).

Thomas Smet · July 2nd, 2013, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Edwards

550D firmware hack managed it and the camera only has a single core processor (I would imagine the GH3 has twice the processing power having a moderner dual core processor).

"not full computers with a full programming language", The have fully functional CPU and the term full programming language is kind of meaningless, for this type of thing you need to code fairly low level language not with a high level language (I suppose you could call high level languages 'full' but they are bloated and not very efficient).

I do realise what is involved, I worked in IT for 20 years;).

Ben

Working in IT for 20 years has nothing at all to do with camera firmware design. This is not like writing an iPhone app with Objective C where the hardware has endless hooks with the software. The firmware are designed to handle very specific functions and extra open hooks are generally not added in just so people can write new software features for the cameras. Take a look at most of the hacks for the GH1 and GH2. As impressive as they are they are not creating new features. They are just adjusting the encoding settings that are already built into the firmware. The extra ISO ranges were always there, they were just turned off in video mode. None of the Panasonic hacks have invented brand new features any of the cameras were not already somewhat capable of doing.

Every camera is also very different in how they implement firmware. You cannot expect one camera to be hacked the same as another camera. It will never happen and is the nature of camera design.

None of us can know exactly what is taking place with the processors in these cameras. But if the GH3 has two processors it is safe to say it has them because it needs them for its advanced image processing that takes place in the camera. Panasonic didn't just cram in a second processor for the heck of it. They are utilizing those processors for maximum effect and maximum stability. This is not a Intel server that has 4 core but at any given moment you may only use 20% of one of the cores. When you shoot video both processors are working hard to the point there just may not be enough left to add peaking.

I am not saying it will never happen for sure just that none of us can possibly know what the GH3 is capable of when it comes to firmware. Panasonic are the only ones that can know. There is no conspiracy here. I know people really want peaking but they have to except the fact that chances are it will never happen. If it does awesome but I really don't suggest holding your breath waiting for it. Enjoy the amazing camera you have or sell it and buy one that does have peaking.

Ben Edwards · July 2nd, 2013, 09:46 AM

Thanks for the great answer.

Sorry, its just comments like 'not full computers with a full programming language' get by back up (and other almost totally meaningless statements like proper, real....). And the fact that people seem to think there is no chance of something happening when they cant actually know that for sure. Was just looking for an answer that made sense;). Working in IT may not make me an expert on a specific type of development but it does help me know when a statement does not mean anything;).

June 27th, 2013, 10:12 AM	#1
Ben Edwards Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 85	Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking Ive heard rumors but nothing concrete, anyone know if it is likely soon. Ben

June 27th, 2013, 06:40 PM	#2
Chris Duczynski Major Player Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: sydney Posts: 304	Re: Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking The Sony NEX 5N has nice peaking - all different colours too - any news on Panny GH3..I doubt it will happen.

June 28th, 2013, 10:47 AM	#3
Les Wilson Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 3,014	Re: Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking Last I read, the Panny product manager said that based on the engine they used, peaking wasn't possible. Sounds like an engineering tradeoff typical of Hybrid cameras. Even consumer camcorders now have the feature. But, the GH3 isn't a camcorder.

June 28th, 2013, 04:41 PM	#4
Ben Edwards Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 85	Re: Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking Odd, they were originally saying it would have it and it has taken this long to say it does not seem to be feasible. Its just a feature of software and there are dual CPUs in the camera. Cant see how architecture would prevent it, but I only worked in IT for 30 years;). Ben

July 1st, 2013, 01:50 PM	#5
Thomas Smet Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 1,719	Re: Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking Because these things are not full computers with a full programming language. Peaking is a rather complex feature that would drastically alter how the camera functions. This is not just flipping a switch but changing the display to accurately show us changes in edge sharpness. The feature would need to detect these changes at a very fast speed to be usable for video. The next complex part is the feature altering the display to show the peaking for those edges. Again this is not a magical switch that can just turn it on but a rather complex piece of software. The camera may have two CPUs but they are being used for many of the other task handled by the camera with perfect stability. The reason Panasonic may say it is not possible may be that it cannot be show horned into a camera it wasn't designed for without causing some form of instability. At no point should Panasonic half bake a feature that could cause other potential issues to the camera. Newer cameras have been designed from the ground up with processing power put aside to make sure the peaking can be handled without causing issues.

July 1st, 2013, 06:28 PM	#6
Ben Edwards Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 85	Re: Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking 550D firmware hack managed it and the camera only has a single core processor (I would imagine the GH3 has twice the processing power having a moderner dual core processor). "not full computers with a full programming language", The have fully functional CPU and the term full programming language is kind of meaningless, for this type of thing you need to code fairly low level language not with a high level language (I suppose you could call high level languages 'full' but they are bloated and not very efficient). I do realise what is involved, I worked in IT for 20 years;). Ben

July 2nd, 2013, 08:56 AM	#8
Ben Edwards Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 85	Re: Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking OK, so what is it exactly, the Z1 does it well, does it have more processor power then the GH3 or is it something else? From what I can remember Panasonic originally had it in the spec (before they released it), not sure if there have need any official statements since. In terms of 550D not sure if it was accurate technical but I found it very useful although the earlier Magic Lantern seemed to work better (cant remember exactly which version bit when they removed the lag it seemed to work less well).

July 2nd, 2013, 09:46 AM	#10
Ben Edwards Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Bristol, England Posts: 85	Re: Any news on GH3 Focus Peaking Thanks for the great answer. Sorry, its just comments like 'not full computers with a full programming language' get by back up (and other almost totally meaningless statements like proper, real....). And the fact that people seem to think there is no chance of something happening when they cant actually know that for sure. Was just looking for an answer that made sense;). Working in IT may not make me an expert on a specific type of development but it does help me know when a statement does not mean anything;).