Personal View site logo
Make sure to join PV on Telegram or Facebook! Perfect to keep up with community on your smartphone.
Please, support PV!
It allows to keep PV going, with more focus towards AI, but keeping be one of the few truly independent places.
It's Official: Firmware Update for DMC-GH2 / G3 / GF3 / GF2 coming
  • 372 Replies sorted by
  • TheNewDealTheNewDeal
    I hope Panasonic doesn't release even more frame rates without proper HDMI monitoring. Any frame rate the GH2 can shoot, should also output the same signal as clean HDMI for external monitoring or recording. Without this, Panasonic is just adding additional incomplete functionality, which equals even more user frustrations.

    Face it:
    - A hacked GH2 now produces better images than any AF100 can today.
    - With Red Scarlet out, the AF100 is now a dead product.

    Panasonic should leverage their code base and put the AF100 software features in the GH2 line as it can continue to earn Panasonic quarterly revenue now, and for another year or more. Why? It will grow Panasonic film maker market. And allow Panasonic time to work on a future AF100 replacement that can be a real Scarlet competitor in the future. That's just good business strategy.
  • PixCanFlyPixCanFly
    @alcomposer

    The number of people who use GH2 as a professional video tools are relatively small compared to people who are using it as a casual still/video camera. You will probably be part of a very small pool of user willing to fork out $500 for a super duper firmware upgrade. For every GH2 sold to video professional, there are hundreds sold to hobbyist and soccer mom.

    As for AF100, it is a dedicated video camera with many key features like sdi output, waveform, nd, audio input etc etc... targeted for the semi and professional market.
    Even though the features might not be important to a GH2 user, they are basic requirement for AF100 users.
  • alcomposeralcomposer
    @danyyyel
    I disagree a bit. (not too much) More about what Panny will do in the future... Panny have lost a s*#t load of money - and I think that the first thing that they are going to do is cut off the parts that are not making enough of the cash.

    This means getting rid of high end gear- as only the pros buy it- its expensive to make etc.

    If the GH2 is capable of achieving what the AF100 is - then what I would do as Panny CEO (mmm just think of it...) but anyway- for real what I would do is have a paid firmware update that would bring the GH2 up to AF100 (of course without the hardware- but you get the idea). (I would pay what?...$300... $400... $500... for GH2VKPRO?) (the name because they should pay VK to write the darn firmware)

    And then kill off the AF100. Simple. Then come GH3 make that a 10 bit killer cam. (not raw- but 422- global shutter (or less rolling) etc...)

    There is a massive market right now for high quality equipment at good prices- just look at the DSLR rails manufactures! So Panny needs to get real- cut costs (get rid of AF100) and push all those funds into GH2/GH3 development. Otherwise they will just disappear- seriously.


  • danyyyeldanyyyel
    @Elenion The problem will be what they will sell you afterward. I think the manufactures more or less know that what I would call the human threshold. Meaning that for a certain level the image quality is good enough so that even if you go higher the human sense won't be able to make a difference. For me a very good down sampled to 1080p image, 10 bit color info with about 13 stop start to get very very close to this. Some would argue that 1080p is too low but I can't see any pixel on the big screen. 4k has it use like better for vfx work and always better to get the best acquisition even for lower 2k delivery. Now perhaps someday when I will see some 4k projected image I will change my point of view.

    As for red they start at $ 10 000 with a good shooting package more in the $ 20 000. On the upper end it is more like $ 40 000 to $ 50 000 for an Epic. I think you can't expect Pana to give something like that at the $ 700 gh2 price and $ 5000. I don't think that we will see something like 10 bit in a dslr in the near future (given the $ 20 000 Canon C300 8 bit output). Panasonic also will try to protect its AF line camera. I just hope that they put some sense in the successor of the AF100. Get a good sensor with good dynamic range and low light rolling shutter etc with 10 bit processing at the Af-100 price range and it will be a win. A camera like the C300 but at a realistic price point.
  • alcomposeralcomposer
    @PixCanFLy
    I think we have more hope that there will be enough changes in the firmware so as to give VK more of an idea how everything works...

    (I also don't think that 10bit is coming- considering that AF100 is only 8bit this looks like a hardware not firmware limit)
  • PixCanFlyPixCanFly
    10 bit 4:2:2 for a $800 GH2? Get real people! Maybe Panasonic will reveal a hidden 4:4:4 dual SDI link under your GH2 :)

    I say a 25P firmware upgrade will probably make my day :)
  • driftwooddriftwood
    @chef Technically we've already cracked 1080i50/25p in a wrapper in AQuarius ver2. If you chart the 1080i50 in Elecard Buffer Analysis and any of their programmes, it shows one i frame then a interlaced P frame iPiPiP etc... Streamparser shows it as all i frames but it isnt true. Each of the P frames although very high in size are uniform but slightly less than the i frames in size. Therefore, PsF in theory should work with it. Its getting it out in the right order which I think people are having problems with.
  • ElenionElenion
    Panasonic should behave like red. Give us a 4:2:2 10 bit s-log dslr (the gh2) and turn the af100 into a real deal with 4k 120 fps, raw, hd-sdi, slr, and all the other things. They already have the tech, they could conquer the market. Now the af100 is completely unuseful and anachronistic.
  • danyyyeldanyyyel
    In Nikon it is called D-lighting but almost all others have there dynamic range optimizer mode.
  • danyyyeldanyyyel
    We should not be dreaming here. I don't think panasonic is ever going to give log or 10 bit to a $ 800 gh2. Remember they have the Af-100, they are not going to completely overshadow their official $ 5000 large sensor cam with the Gh2. What I am hopping is just that they implement a better idynamic range function which seems like a function to get the best DR from the sensor before it compresses the signal. This function is also present in Nikon bodies etc. It is not a true log ouptut, more like a much flatter curve, at the expense of some more noise in the image it seems.

    The shooter uses that when he has a very contrasty lighting and here lies the problem with panasonic. It seems that some very smart engineer or so he thinks has but some algorithm that decides when it is needed. But it seems to be completely random and completely useless because you never know when it is going to kick in. It would have so much easier if you could just decide the level you want by yourself like Nikon implementation.
  • mrbillmrbill
    I can't see Panasonic incorporating s-log into a firmware upgrade for a camera they obviously don't regard as part of their professional line, despite what some forum members here are using the camera for.
  • ElenionElenion
    @johnnym
    If they give us log curves they have to provide us also 10 bit or they'd be unusable
  • ShieldShield
    Question about this: "[EX.TELE CONV. (Extra Tele Conversion)] can be set ON/OFF separately in photo or video recording".

    Does that mean I'll be able to toggle this while shooting, or will I have to stop, activate it, and restart? Because you can already enable it for photo or video mode, if you have smaller picture sizes setup (Medium I think?).

    Anyway, bought another Gh2 as I miss taking pictures and futzing with the hacks. :)
  • johnnymjohnnym
    @danyyyel

    I couldn't agree more. We don't really need RAW if we could set some simple curves.
  • danyyyeldanyyyel
    A fixed idynamic mode would be nice like on Nikon cameras. You set it as you wish to the level that you want because you are the best judge. The Panasonic implementation is just useless, can't understand how something so simple is not done. Sometime wanting to be too smart makes something useless.
  • alcomposeralcomposer
    @Vitaliy_Kiselev
    >Problem with HDMI is that hacking it is extra risky.

    Let me know your thoughts on HDMI when the new firmware is released...
    I am interested in taking the risk to get the HDMI working!

    Only problem is that if Camera bricks no one wins?!
    (if this happens you don't know of any re-flashing service- or cosmetically damaged GH2 for sale on ebay?) :P

    (As its the highest quality tap out of this camera ATM- and I can't see Panny using exFAT or 422 any time before GH3-4 :-(

    (edit: GH6 maybe..)
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    @arvidtp

    They need to rewrite AVCHD encoder for sound to work.
    Because now all variable rates use 24p encoder setting, this is why they turn off sound.
    I turned it on and it either mess in 30p, or you'll have error because of audio buffers otherflow in low fps modes.
  • arvidtparvidtp
    Yeah - as someone who mostly uses my GH2 to document performances and other one-time events, getting rid of the 4GB ceiling would make me soooo happy. I'm doubtful though.

    But even just 1080p30 PsF AVCHD with sound for sync in the new firmware would be sweeeet. X-ing fingers.
  • stoneystoney
    4G file size limitation is so archaic. Geez... this is 2011, not 2001.

    Panasonic better support exFAT before Sony does. Don't underestimate the needs of prosumers!!!!

    But who can tell them about this?
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    @alcomposer

    Problem with HDMI is that hacking it is extra risky.

    @stonebat

    Someone needs to tell them that support of >4Gb files must be implemented.
    This means working exFAT.
  • ElenionElenion
    The real news would be if the mp4 is a more 'hackable' (because more open) mode than avchd.
    We'll see.
  • stoneystoney
    Memory price is falling. Sandisk 16GB class 10 was $100 in this Spring. It's $25 now. Less compressed clips look better and are easier to edit if drive read speed is fast enough. We don't need highly efficient codec anymore.
  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd
    @itimjim

    ? No humor involved in that post.
  • mpgxsvcdmpgxsvcd
    Panasonic has stated that the new mode is designed for easier editing. I still believe the mode is actually MP4 and not AVC-HD. There is nothing about 1080p @ 25 FPS AVC-HD that is easier to edit.

    I believe that NTSC cameras will get MP4 1080i @ 30 FPS PSF and PAL users will get 1080i @ 25 FPS PSF.

  • itimjimitimjim
    @mpgxsvcd ....sense of humour failure.
This topic is closed.
← All Discussions