@Vitaliy_Kiselev
>Rice blog is quite famous in Pentax world, mostly fo bad and stupid things he writes>
Yes you're absolutely right, he tells a lot of nonsence now and then but i.m.o. it's good to get Pentaxians informed properly about this creative/progressive GH1/GH2 vid. world (if they would not know it already) GRTZ Eddie

Thanks Vitally.

I thot there was a option for version increment and also a prevent version compare in previous Ptools.

I don't see a prevent version compare checkbox in PTool v3.6d. I only see a checked by default version increment.

My 2 questions. Please don't jump on me for this basic question :)

1) There's no more version compare option in PTool v3.6d?
2) If I use version increment 1, I should save my new firmware from my original firmware GH2__V10.bin to GH2__V11.bin and subsequent upgrade to V13. V14, V15 etc....

ok, maybe one more final question

3) to revert to the original GH2__V10.bin, do I need to check the version increment?

thank you!

@Vitaliy
I posted this on the Rice High's famous Pentax site, which get's a lot of hits:

With the release of the new Sony line insight we might say here that the i.q. of this new sensor combined with the algorythms of the software is all important factor here. Of course pro magnesium body etc. is a nice bonus! But @ the end it's the picture quality that counts!
The new AVCHD II videocodec is also promising since (despite of all the critic) AVCHD is a great codec!
So any improvement of that will be a huge bonus for Indie filmers!
I have been following the developments of GH1/GH2 from the start.
Especially through the stalin hack threads on Vitaliy Kiselev's personal view site/blog http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussions

Sony has to come up with something quite special to give better iq than the hacked GH2!
But maybe they'll do it with AVCHD II, who knows? For stills GH2 is nothing c.t. K-5! Zeiss glass in combi the new Sony line looks even more apealing!
I have been using Pentax fore over 35 years now and I might sell the whole collection soon!
Probably i keep alll the nice Pentax primes and buy myself a PK > Nex adapter!
K-5 is a great camera i must say, she is a true lowlight queen! Also for vid. it's pretty ok - better colors i.m.o. than Panny but less analytic: http://www.youtube.com/user/EddieBoschma?feature=...
Other points are:
* Absortion of almost 30% of the light by the translucent mirrors of the new Sony Alpha line, def. a con (i don't even use filters!)
* beautifull autoadapters for alpha>nex and a adapter with buildin translucent mirror, def. a pro http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-the-revolution...
So wait a while and see........

I would like to ask a few simple questions

Are their any changes to the menu once Hack is loaded ?

Has anyone had their sound disappear mine is not working at all ?

Do I reverse the process by just installing the V10 patch again ?

Thanks for your help

what are the best GOP settings in 24p Ptools 1.62 for steadicam and glideshots (which i use a lot)

Thank you Vitaliy. It was the SD card that didn't let me install the firmware, which is surprising because my 64 GB Lexar SDXC 133x speed was the one that didn't work and the 8GB Kingston SDHC was the one that let me install the firmware. I guess it was because it was a Lexar. I will start testing now. : D Woohoo

@snoopdogg49r

Check PM.

@driftwood

A few minor corrections specific to the GH2:

"Like JPEG, every video frame is broken into blocks of 8x8"

Because of 4:2:0 color subsampling the blocks are broken down into a 2x2 matrix of 4x4 blocks for Y - no 8x8 matrices are used. Cr and Cb blocks are 4x4 matrices.

"Blocks are grouped into "macroblocks" of 16x16"

A Macroblock consists of the Luma blocks and the Cr and Cb blocks; there are 16 4x4 blocks (as explained above) for Luma (Y), and the two sets of 4 4x4 blocks for Chroma (Cb and Cr).

"Macroblocks are grouped horizontally into slices which have similar average block levels."

The GH2 uses one slice for an entire frame unless it is interlaced, in which case it uses one slice for all odd lines and another for all even lines. Intra encoding doesn't only use macroblocks on the same row as references, it can use any macroblock that is neighboring that has already arrived; it doesn't have to be in the same line. In fact, if it were only using macroblocks from the same line there could only be one reference, the line above provides three more.

"Multiple slices form a frame, and these frames are the resulting "I" frames."

In the case of progressive, there is only one slice per frame. In the case of interlaced, each half-frame only has a single slice.

"In AVCHD H264 High Profile, the block units can use both 4 x 4 pixel and 8 x 8 pixel blocks in the same frame. Optimal frequency transformation is applied depending on patterns and movements: 4 x 4 pixel blocks are used for detailed parts, whereas 8 x 8 pixel blocks are used for flatareas in the same image.""

Not with the GH2 - it uses only 4x4 blocks.

"High profile improves image quality by processing relatively evenly patterned parts such as the sky, using high transformation performance 8 x 8 pixel blocks, allowing more information distribution (ie bits) to detailed parts in the same image. Compression rate is thus variable."

The GH2 doesn't use 8x8 matrices. Also, this has little to do with the variable bitrate. Variable bitrate occurs if the pre-determined quality level for macroblocks can be met without reaching the maximum allotted bitrate (assuming you use the VBR feature, which the GH2 does).

"The Ptool GH2 "Encoder Settings" look like scaling factors for quantisation tables. 720p and 1080i/p seem to be addressed each with 4 progression stages to control A kind of 4-step adaptive matrix. (tbc)"

There are no progressive stages, one is for I frames, one for P frames, one for B frames, and one as a falllback if the encoder can't use the previous ones without violating bandwidth constraints. Each scaling table has six components consisting of intra and inter tables for Y(Luma), and Cr and Cb (Chroma). The scaling matrices are fixed and used intact.

Chris

[EDIT - fixed up some language]

@driftwood You wrote good stuff. Definitely not basic stuff though. Prolly it will be buried here. Do you mind if I merge your writing to http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/456/ptools-questions-from-gh2vk-noob-tester? I will mention your name on the merged page. As you enter more advanced stuff into the linked thread, I will continue to merge and maintain the 1st post.

Edit: never mind. too much work. I created a link to your writing from my post.

While doing so it says STONEBAT, but still would like the normal controls: (

Focus ring doesn't work in AF. I turn AFContinuous OFF in the menu and AFSingle ON on the mode dial and then use the touch screen LCD to pull focus. It requires practice on such a little screen but works well. To pull focus manually is too much for my eyes - need a bigger monitor with a FF unit on rails, etc…which turns our tiny camera into something that may impress others but… is no longer the little powerhouse that is cheap and as capable as the operator. Or go on a buying spree : ) ??!!

@Nik_N You can use touch focus (ie touch LCD screen) during video shooting.