@Dusty42 I use high speed burst to shoot Astro Photographs because it eliminates the shutter vibration. I wish I could shoot RAW images that way.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1041&message=41113079

@thepalalias, "The TZ5 does not have a silent electronic shutter" But it's all electronic. The sound you hear might be coming from the speaker? In GH2, you can set how loud this sound is in the setup menu; the sound does a pretty good job of mimicking a mechanical shutter. On the GH2, when the sound is set to low, you might think that it's a mechanical shutter. That might be the case on your TZ5. You can run the TZ5 shutter for many more times than 200,000 to 300,000 clicks. Try that with a mechanical shutter. A semi pro Nikon is only rated at 100,00 - 200,000 clicks. Do you think the GH1/GH2 are rated any higher? I have not seen an officially rated spec on these cams.

I shoot photos on my GH2 (RAW). But I am forced to use the "loud" mechanical shutter. Jpegs out of GH2 is worse than jpegs from my 10-year old Nikon D100. I kid you not. So I truly wish that Vitaliy removes the restriction on the High Speed Burst (SH) mode to shoot RAW. This will make GH2 a well rounded cam. Shooting nice video, RAW silently, timelapse without wearing the shutter, extending the life of the cam, etc.. Please, please Vitaliy, do you see any possibility that a hack to optionally remove the restriction will be in a future ptool?

"the difference between it and SH mode is 10 fps" From the above quote, you're saying that the Variable Move Mode is always based on 24p mode. I believe the it's dependent on what mode you're in (need to check tonight). So if you're shooting in HBR (30p or 60i?), 80% mode will give you 37.5fps; that 2.5fps difference between SH mode. In 720p mode, 80% mode will give you 75fps. And of course, if you're shooting 24p, 80% mode will give you 30fps. And yes, if you're always shooting in 24p, the difference is 10 frames. I agree with you in term of quality difference in jpeg from SH mode and AVCHD.

The point that I was trying to make, in the last post, was that if Vitaliy puts in a hack to remove the restriction on photo size (frame rate might be reduced per hardware limitation) in High Speed Burst mode, you can choose to use it or not to use it. It's a matter of simply checking a box like to ISO limit restriction. You can still use ptool and stay with the 40fps that you dearly love. It's nice, though, to hear from you using the SH mode for another purpose.

I am interested in knowing how many GHx owners shoot photos using the cam. How do you use the High Speed Burst (SH) mode? Do you use that mode at all? I am hoping to hear from others.

Thanks.

@mimirsan If VK decided that he was no longer doing this, I think a lot of people would understand and move on. We are lucky to have this community, but most good things in life come to an end. In the mean time, we can be happy that we have such a special and unique situation. In the end, VK most likely won't be the cause of the end of these hacks. Most probably world depression or some kind of corporate intervention will stop this.

Well at least you had a chance to be cynical tired. I think i would have been a believer had i not participated, for many reasons stated by others. Anyway, a little bit of bullshit never hurt anyone and if anything, it lightened up the atmosphere of PV somewhat. Vitaliy, you're a complex character, but most here would not own a GH camera if not for your talents :-)

@Dusty42 The TZ5 does not have a silent electronic shutter. It is very quiet, but discernible, while the SH mode shutter on the GH2 is truly silent. What was unique about it (for a compact) was that you could keep the burst mode going indefinitely until the battery ran out. The longest I ever ran it was around 90 minutes without stopping, and while I can do something similar on other larger and more expensive cameras, it is unusual for a compact (believe me, I had a heck of a time replacing it).

On the GH2 I am familiar with the 80% mode (and more recently HBR) - the difference between it and SH mode is 10 fps and a couple other minor things. The hacks have brought the two much closer than they were in the other areas, but as of the middle of last year, you could still tell the difference a lot more easily than now in stills.

But 40 fps 1080P vs 30 fps 1080P is a noticeable difference. And the resolution difference vs 60 FPS 720P is also noticeable.

In other words, 40 fps SH mode remains the highest speed available at maxmimum video resolution by a difference of 33%. And I cannot vouch for the newest hacks, but back in early December it was noticeably better in lowlight slowmotion with a 1/100 or 1/125 shutter than the 720P modes I tried at the time (and I seem to remember than the 24H ones too).

So specialized, but useful.

For me, the best aspect of this ruse is the title: The Big Thing. Fucking love it! And to hear Hitler say he wants "The Big Thing". LOL.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev

Maybe you could update your first post with a clarification? I read through 8 pages of rumors now and don´t know what to think anymore.

Now that I have watched both videos I can comment.

Freaking Hilarious!!!

"", be ready to marry her by how hot she looks""

That's where you fugged up!

svart 1:36AM "I'm not a fucking hipster!" I snorted out coffee all over my keyboard on this one.

svart, one of the brilliant things about the original Hitler footage is not just the outbursts and tragedy, but Hitler himself, he's so easy to parody for all the things he is not. Most of all the lines I came up with we're from this actual "Big Thing" thread, ESPECIALY the expectation and tragedy...hehe.. Sorry if it pissed anyone off.

Rambo

@thepalalias, I might have misunderstood your message that I responded to. Anyway, the shutter on the TZ5 is all electronic, I think. Most "compacts" use electronic shutter. Correct me if I am wrong.

Have you looked the 80% mode? The difference between the 80% and high speed burst is only 2.5 frames for NTSC. Maybe you had looked at that mode already but decided you did not like it. My apology in that case.

Base on the brilliant approach of Vitaliy to produce the hack so far, you can choose whether you want to enable a hack setting or not. For example, remove the ISO limit. If Vitaliy puts in a hack to remove the photo size limit on the high speed burst (SH), his approach of implementation will still be the same. I can check that box and my GH2 will instantly become silent "big" gun (or probably the first interchangeable lens cam that shoots RAW using electronic shutter). People will not stare at me in churches when I press the button. I will get an extra bonus as well because people will be more natural if I am in stealth mode.

Extending the life of GH2 as Vitaliy commented is "the Big Thing" from mechanical failure.

Thanks.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev I understand it conceptually, but while I have had to replace the shutter drive assembly on a Canon 50D, I have yet to have to do the same on a Panasonic TZ5, GH1, or GH2, so until I hear more reports of people having to do that, it still feels academic. :)

Nonetheless, I am all for an electronic shutter improvement for timelapse, as long as it does not sacrifice resolution.

Incidentally, I also would not mind any sort of improvement to the SH burst mode targeted at the existing slow-mo side. I love shooting with that under the right circumstances. :)

@Dusty42 I have said it before and will say it again - I really do not understand why people would do timelapse at 1920x1080 when they can easily shoot it at higher resolution with more felxibility on the same camera. But is beside the point: what I was referring to was using the mode for 40 fps slow mition segments that each cut perfectly to the tempo of the music used - 40 frames per shot.

As far as the flash, I just was not aware of that. I really literally almost never use it (as in less than 20 shots with a flash in the last 1.2 million I shot, and that is a literal number). I am sorry to hear it is an aggravation: I would think that people that wanted better flashes with gravitate towards the more compatible DSLRs, but I do not like being furstrated technically myself and would not wish it on others.