Panasonic GH2 general and hack info base

[MombasaFlash]

With the ever increasing momentum of change and development in the tech race it is easy to feel one is always playing catch-up. Internet and forums are all very well but the information you seek is always spread around and very time-consuming to collate and assimilate.

Having just entered the world of the Panasonic GH2 I am faced with a baffling array of expressions when attempting to discover what the go-faster hacks are all about. Those who have ventured into this insist that it is a must do for the added picture quality etc. But there is more than one 'hack' and they all seem to address different things and have their own issues and side-effects.

So, in order to gather all the relevant info in one place, and for all who would like to benefit from the frankly outstanding video quality of the Panasonic GH2 but are faced with expressions like 'Driftwood, cluster v1, Orion, GOP3, sedna .... ' and many more, would the more enlightened like to contribute to this thread and expand on the how, where, why and what in layman's terms for real world use, as opposed to theoretical tech for the sake of tech?

Precisely what do these various firmware modifications set out to achieve and do they manage it without inducing unstable operation or weird side-effects?

 

[BorisS]

Nice that you started it. Hope my 95 card is coming beginning next week than i will do some testing !

Boris

 

[quadcopters]

My 95MB/s card arrived today at a whopping cost of over £140.00 and on 720p 50fps even this card cannot keep up with the hack .
It hangs and crashes with the message "Motion recording was cancelled due to the limitation of the writing speed of the card"

Am I doing something wrong with the settings because I am thinking if it cannot handle 720p at 50fps 44mbs .. its no chance at 88 in 1080p

If anybody like Jeff who is using this hack successfully can you please post the settings to use .

Cheers
Geoff

 

[BorisS]

Hmm great wasted money once more



I am confused though about the data in jeffs video.: https://vimeo.com/39362183

There is not unified 44 mbit hack if then there it the 44 mb vanilla from the same source were the unified is coming from.
It has to work with the hardware though combo GH2 95 card. Otherwise its existence wouldn't make sense.

Maybe Kari know more

Boris

 

[jeffscholl]

You can modify the bitrates, gop, etc in the ptools.
Currently I'm using the Unified hack with a lowered 44Mb for for HBR and 720 60 SH with GOP3.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[BorisS]

Ah thanks for the info. I came across the GOP setting but not the MB, that clears it up !

Boris

 

[DucktileMedia]

for some reason this reminds me of this clip at 1:30.

 

[BorisS]

im out bar hopping tonite whenever i come to life tomorrow and i find the right settings ill make a video of it.

Boris

 

[BorisS]

who am I the chevy chase guy ?

 

[MombasaFlash]

I have a question for the experienced GH2 users out there. Are you ALL using an extra FPV camera for live preview monitoring or is anyone using the GH2 directly.

The GH2 composite feed is disabled for recording. It is for playback only (really bizarre decision - who wants to playback in analogue composite?). But the HDMI feed is supposed to be live all the time. It works with an HDMI equipped TV - IF you follow a very strict connection and switch on procedure - but I cannot get it to work with the HDMI-Composite converter that we are all using. The best I get is a few broad lines on a blank blue screen (see photo below of downlink monitor). NTSC/PAL settings are all set at PAL on screen, converter and GH2.

The Canon 5D and Sony NEX HDMI outputs work fine with the converter and what's more, neither are at all sensitive to the order in which things are powered up or connected.

The GH2 HDMI output seems to be very poorly implemented.

 

[yeehaanow]

Have you tried changing the hdmi output options on the gh2 menu? Are you sure the converter box is set to composite output (not s-video)? I'm assuming you're PAL? Is it set on that?
As I said somewhere else, you CANNOT use the hdmi output when you want to shoot 60p. It will revert to 60i 1080.

In regards to the 64gb Sandisk Extreme Pro, it is the best you can get, and there are certain patches that will still cause troubles, most notably 60/50p. They are still working on it, but our application is by far the most demanding because usually it's high detail, high movement, and high shutter speeds. 24/25p patches have the highest quality you can get out of the camera, so if you want the best, that's where it's at.
I can say that I'm using Sedna B Q1 at the moment, and while 24p has been 100% stable, I've had 60p recordings stop after a couple min. I'll be working on a patch that is stable for our application and still looks good.

 

[yeehaanow]

Also another tip when using some of these HQ patches-

When you record a long take, before you turn the camera off or switch to play mode, record a short clip. If you don't you won't be able to playback what you shot, and you may be prevented from recording anymore until you format the card.

Mombasa- I just tested my gh2 with the hdmi converter box and it works fine with no quirks. I know from experience that the HDMI cable itself can oftentimes cause problems. I would try another one.

 

[anaka]

hi boriss
you just need a extreme sandisk class 10, it widely manages the high bitrates from gh2, people recorded until to 120mbs!!
there is also someone that recorded high bitrate videos with a class 6 SD but i reccomend the class 10

cheers

 

[BorisS]

Anaka thanks we will see when the cards arrives, but Geoff is not getting it to work the the 88 mbit unified so i guess I also wont have any luck if i dont change some addtional settings.

Guys it this the right approach ?

I get the unified hack loaded than i tweak the setting for 720p60 GOP size and Videobirtae FHS/SH ? I am just wondering why 720p60 or p50 are not check after loading the 88 unified ? I am i misunderstanding something here ?

View attachment 3611

 

[yeehaanow]

hi boriss
you just need a extreme sandisk class 10, it widely manages the high bitrates from gh2, people recorded until to 120mbs!!
there is also someone that recorded high bitrate videos with a class 6 SD but i reccomend the class 10

cheers

If you want the most compatability the extreme pro 64g is the only way to go.

 

[MombasaFlash]

... I just tested my gh2 with the hdmi converter box and it works fine with no quirks. I know from experience that the HDMI cable itself can oftentimes cause problems. I would try another one.

I'll lay odds that I bought the one in 100,000 lemon GH2. That is my big talent! The HDMI converter works fine with the Canon 5D and Sony NEX-5 HDMI outputs. You just plug them in and up pops the image. The Blue bars on light blue background was 'the best' I could get out of the GH2 and only then by turning on the GH2 first and then the converter. I also tried it with two different HDMI cables and there was no change.

Yup, I have a lemon. Again.

If you want the most compatibility the extreme pro 64g is the only way to go.

I see that Amazon offer 95MB/s Extreme Pro SD cards in 16, 32 AND 64GB. I thought only 64GB was available.

 

[BorisS]

vid explaining the hack patch procedure :

 

[yeehaanow]

I see that Amazon offer 95MB/s Extreme Pro SD cards in 16, 32 AND 64GB. I thought only 64GB was available.

Yes, but on the super HQ patches, only the 64gb will span. In other words, it is the only one that will keep recording. The current patch I'm on will reach 4.3gb (max file size) in about 4 min and then moves on to the next file. I also have the 16gb extreme pro and I have had it fail once that point was reached. It's all dependent on what you're shooting. A white wall would probably work fine, but aerials are a different story.

 

[MombasaFlash]

Yes, but on the super HQ patches, only the 64gb will span. In other words, it is the only one that will keep recording. The current patch I'm on will reach 4.3gb (max file size) in about 4 min and then moves on to the next file. I also have the 16gb extreme pro and I have had it fail once that point was reached. It's all dependent on what you're shooting. A white wall would probably work fine, but aerials are a different story.

Gotcha. Actually, I now see that the 64GB is an SDXC whereas the others are SDHC. I guess that has to mean something.

1GB per minute is about as much as DVCPRO HD on P2 fer chrissakes! Man, I didn't know these GH2's were being pushed to that level.

I am still mystified by the HDMI monitoring - or rather, lack of it. I mean how complicated can plugging in a cable be? The HDMI menu offers four options, none of which made any difference and it would normally just be left on Auto anyway. The camera has now gone back so I cannot verify which recording resolution was selected. I don't think I ever changed it anyway so unless the camera defaults to 60p (or 50p over here), HDMI should have been output.

No matter, I have ordered another one. The first had to go back anyway because I found the second at 95 euros less, which means there is less to pay on the 64GB SDXC. I really hope that the HDMI will work because I so don't like separate framing cameras.

All this is to save a kg off the weight of the 5D and thus gain four or five minutes battery time.

 

[BorisS]

Anybody any success with the 88mbit unified hack. Try this a couple days now always spending when time a couple minutes and re-flashing the camera with a lower mbit setting or GOP. But i just cant get my camera to be stable. Most of the time when the GH2 is actually in movement it crashes. Anybody got it to work at what mbit setting and GOP or someone willing to share their firmware build they used for it.

using the extreme pro 95mb/s 64gb in all my tries.

Thanks

Boris