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Beginners: Basic hacks questions
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  • New here and looking for some info before I decide which camera I'll buy.

    I'm currently working on an art project for which I'm making photos with a particular composition. I'm making series of pictures all based on 4 different geometric constructions. Since I've started this I've dreamt about a firmware hack that would enable me to use custom grid lines. Last week I found out Magic Lantern allows you to make custom crop marks and grid lines in their hack for canon 600D and the likes. But the 95% OVF doesn't fit my shooting style and the live view is slow and cumbersome. And the 7D is too big to take anywhere (I always carry my laptop and drawing stuff as well) I'ld rather go with m43 and EVF.

    For the GH2 I only found this quote from Vitaliy:

    is it possible to create a custom gridline overlay?

    In theory, yes. Right now - no.

    So my question - if anyone can answer this one: Do you think custom grid lines will be available within the next months on the GH2? If the G3 gets hacked, will it also get the same functionality?

    I could keep working with transparent film with marker lines. But since this is a long term project, having these grid lines in camera would be awesome. And I'm willing to make a donation for this of course!

    cheers, pitrak

  • @csync thanks! Any idea on the greyed out iso choices or the viewfinder darkening when i hit record?

  • Thanks for all of the hard work and great utilities for making the GH2 a phenomenal camera. I love the results!

    I'm using spanmybitchup v2b settings by @driftwood with the new ptools and firmware 1.1. I shot almost two consecutive hours of video on 24L last night, and I noticed that time remaining seemed very unreliable. I've read that some of the VBR settings will cause the time remaining to change depending on the type of scene shot, but this dropped much faster than it indicated even while shooting a static scene. Is there any reliable way to determine time remaining on a card or should I just test my settings and cards and see how long I get?

    Also, I'm obviously interested in settings for shooting long continuous shots and I was thinking about testing out Rocket, but I can't figure out what the differences between it and spanmybitchup are, any info or recommendations on that?

    Thanks again!

  • Thanks for all the great work and info on here, guys, but this really is just a monster amount of a thing for a newbie to wander into.

    Looking for VERY STABLE (lots of people involved, and it would be a nightmare to have to reshoot) solution for highest practical quality indoor studio greenscreen work. Output will be youtube.

    Recommendations are: Video Format : AVC Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec Bit rate mode : Variable Bit rate : 5 500 Kbps +++ Width : 1 920 pixels Height : 1 080 pixels Display aspect ratio : 16:9 Frame rate mode : Constant Frame rate : 29.970 fps Scan type : Progressive

    Audio Format : AAC Format/Info : Advanced Audio Codec Bit rate mode : Constant Bit rate : 256 Kbps Channel(s) : 2 channels Channel positions : Front: L R Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz

    If it matters for matching gh2 patch codec with NLE, I have FCP available at a friend's place, and I think he has AE as well.

    I've read up as much as I can about quantum 9b, orion, short GOP, etc, but think I need a bit of a step back to absorb the big picture before comitting to the details. Correct me if I'm wrong, but for greenscreen, it would be preferable to go with GOP 1 since the key requires getting the crispest edges possible, and longer GOP are by definition blurring the very edges I'm trying to sharpen. Right so far?

    Also, it would seem that shooting in 1080 gives more total color information, so even if it gets dropped down later to 720, I started with more color info, and key should be better. Right?

    I can either buy memory cards, or a blackmagic card... will do whichever gives best results, but the more I read about the hdmi output, the less I'm sure it's worth the issues that come with it.

    So, am I on the right track here? Is the basic direction I want to be going to shoot 1080p with GOP 1 onto spanning class 10 cards? If not, I'd appreciate any pointers as they will help to determine the exact patch that fits my optimal workflow. If so, what about the framerate? Don't really see 29.97 being discussed much.

    thx.

  • Q: How can I revert my camera back to the original Panasonic firmware?

    Copy the Panasonic firmware file to the root folder of an SD card formatted by your camera.
    Make sure there is only one firmware file on the SD card.
    Make sure the camera battery is fully charged.
    Turn off the camera and insert the SD card.
    Turn on the camera and press the green Playback Mode button.
    Select Yes in the Version Up screen and press the OK button.
    

    Is this still work with the new Ptool? I tried but it won't. Also I have to bring up the number like Now GH2__v15.bin, next change settign should be Gh2__v15.bin. Worry abt I will end up with GH2__v20 then it won't work any more! Any one could explain?

  • Can somebody please explain to me the logic behind the patches names? I see names like, Pictoris, Quantum X, Orion, Rocket, GOP6 AQ2 'AQUAMOTION', SPANmyBITCHup, Flow Motion, Zero Gravity... and the list goes on and on. I noticed different flavors of Quantum X with different version numbers. Do these names have a real meaning? Who name the patch, the tester that creates it?

  • @tinbeo, try flashing a hacked v1.0e image, and then the original v1.1 image named GH2__V11.bin.

  • @mjfeliciano Its difficult keeping uptodate especially for new users I know. But you have to appreciate settings have names and versions, there's been a lot of settings over the last 6 months, A certain setting attributed to a certain tester together with the title of the setting and its version number is not so bad to follow and understand. Its generally dated anyway. Settings are optimised for different user requirements like top quality, spanning quality, etc... You'll either have to read the threads and keep uptodate or ask someone whats the best setting for your requirement. In my settings, Quantum X is for ptools 3.64d, Rocket is a VBR style setting, Orion is a CBR style setting, and other names are given to settings with lower bitrates for spanning etc... Each of the settings as they progress in time will go from version (v1) to higher like v3 or v3b if its a very minor change to the previous setting of that name.

    That probably won't help you !!!

  • @tinbeo To get back to stock, uncheck all boxes alongside patches in ptools or click on a red (A to J) button in ptools so that it does this for you. Or close and reopen ptools open panasonics v1 or v1.11 firmware so everything is unchecked note - then save the firmware as GH2__V12.bin. Done youre back to stock settings.

  • @driftwood Thanks Driftwood... I'm new here (have been reading quietly for a while though), but one thing I learned early is who the leaders are on this community. I know that Vitaliy (Hacker13) is the mastermind that created PTool, the software hack that started the "revolution"; and you, cbrandin, LPowell and others, are the codec and patch masters (half techs/half artists). Without you guys this powerful technology would have been available to many, but only used by a few. You guys are doing for the GH2 and the PTool what Steve Job did for the personal computer, making it user friendly. I've been a GH2 owner for 10 months now, but was a little bit intimidated by the techno-jargon and all the different patches and levels of SD card compatibility. Now I'm getting ready to hack my GH2 for the first time (a little overwhelmed by all the information available at this site); trying to catchup and learn as much as I can. Thank you again for your dedication and continuing work.

  • @driftwood So, whoever created the settings (patch), name it with a somehow arbitrary but catchy name that everybody can remember, and then the version numbers and letters are added as they evolve and get improved?

  • @mjfeliciano I understand your confusion...I just hacked mine yesterday with orion v4(or whatever version was newest as of last night). I did breakdown and buy new class 10 cards (sd extreme hd video as per the recommendation). I opted for highest quality I could ascertain (orion) and will back it down from there if/as problems arise. I'd rather have quality than spanning, which it seems like the choice I have to make considering I use 1080 24p. I'm shooting a trailer for my novel, with some greenscreening and set extensions. I read a review of the hacked gh2 that said it wasnt hot for greenscreen, I hope that is just because they keyer they were using (adobe ultra) is not a good one!

  • I read it some where, forgot where, cannot find it anymore. Why is the new PTool limited to ISo 3200?

  • @bullet2 I would like to keep the same functionality/stability I have now with the unhacked GH2, but at a much higher data rate, something in the 66-100mbps range. That means, that it needs to span. Picture quality is my number one priority but reliability is my number 2. What I've seen on vimeo and youtube so far, anything under 66mbps doesn't have the Wow! factor, and anything above 100mbps is a waste of storage and kind of tricky when it comes to memory cards. I know that people say not to judge the picture quality by the compressed online video but ultimately that's where my videos are going to be distributed mostly.

  • @mjfeliciano it sounds like rocket maybe the one for you, but then I am totally new to this myself. I would not be here at all, but no one developed a hackable hx9v ;) followed that little cam to a nex5n, now I find myself here!

  • Oh and I mentioned the hx9v for a reason...but I forgot to state it...I am mounting my hx9v to a hotshoe, with a 32gb class 6 card, and letting it run the entire time in 1080p 60p I film with the gh2...gives me good slow motion capabilities, though its not as good as the gh2, it is superb with twixtor!

  • I'm probably over simplifying this but maybe someone can answer this newbie question. Is there a reason to choose the Driftwood hacks (Orion or Rocket) over the LPowell FloMotion hack? From reading those threads, it seems like LPowell is more for fast action and Driftwood is for maximum image detail with portrait work.

  • @superset, short answer: for most things, Flow Motion will be more efficient, and Driftwood's will have more consistent frame-to-frame quality. But you might not notice the differences. You need to test for yourself.

  • Appreciate the response!

  • There have been various reports of the GH2 recording trash, or nothing to the card when a monitor is connected to the hdmi out. Can anyone specify under what specific conditions this happens, as it seems others have been able to use an external monitor? Thanks

  • never EVER had a problem recording while connected to a monitor. Not before the hack, and not after. I've tried 7 different hacks, mostly driftwood. No problems at all.

  • Says everyone: (Banding = Structure of sensor + defective product) Well, why clean photos? I suspect that the GH1 orginal software! What do you think this suspect?

    (My English is not good, i’m sorry.)

  • I need some advice. How do you normally expose the shot in camera? Do you properly expose according to the camera's reading on GH2? Or, do you under expose by -1? Or, do you over expose by +1 and then bring that down in post?

    The problem that I am running into is that the recording is too hot when viewed on TV with properly exposed clips according to the camera's meter. How do you experts handle the problem?

    Thanks.

  • @davidk while using the HDMI out, the GH2 will only record in 24p or 60i modes with V1.0 and hacks. With V1.1 and hacks it's possible to record in 24p, 25/30p, or 60i. 720 50/60p isn't possible while using HDMI. With V1.1 the unusable settings are greyed out, in V1.0 it's possible to select an unusable setting and the camera will automatically revert to 60i mode.

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