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GH2 Cake v2.3: reliability and spanning in 720p, HBR, 24p, and VMM at 2-2.5x stock bit rates
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  • not to derail, but you should try out sanity 5 for events - been using that exclusively for a few months now and spanning has been rock solid for me as long as i follow Ralph's guidelines (which are not that restrictive).

  • Rolling shutter shouldn't have anything to do with any specific hack. AFAIK it's a sensor issue.

  • @Daniel_R For extended-duration takes with 4GB file-spanning, try Flow Motion's 60Mbps video modes: 24L @1080p, FH @ 1080i, and H @ 720p. These modes will span reliably on Class 10 cards rated 30MB/sec and higher. The 60Mbps modes work exactly the same as their 100Mbps counterparts, delivering excellent quality with just a notch more compression.

  • Only a half-finished things...

  • Cake has spanned 100% reliably in my experience, and I don't recall anyone reporting a spanning failure on P-V. There are no restrictions on which lenses or camera settings you can use: Lumix lenses, high ISOs, and ETC mode are fine. The choice of memory card does matter for spanning. I designed Cake for SanDisk Extreme cards, though many people have used other Class 10 cards with success. The SanDisk 32-GB 95 MB/s card is the best choice. Performing several full overwrite formattings with the SD Card Association Formatter utility will put your card in better shape. 24L is a slightly lower bit rate than 24H. I think you'll find that Cake easily beats Sanity for quality, especially for low light and high noise, and comes very very close to the highest bit rate hacks.

    Encoder settings have no impact on the magnitude of the rolling shutter effect. Rolling shutter is a function solely of which mode you have selected and the ETC setting. 720p has less rolling shutter than 1080p, and ETC has less than with ETC off. You'll find a table of the GH2's video modes in the FAQ: http://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-usage/gh2-usage

  • Yep - agree with everything @balazer says above ^^. I use Cake all the time. Great for long takes.

  • "For extended-duration takes with 4GB file-spanning, try Flow Motion's 60Mbps video modes: 24L @1080p, FH @ 1080i, and H @ 720p. These modes will span reliably on Class 10 cards rated 30MB/sec and higher. The 60Mbps modes work exactly the same as their 100Mbps counterparts, delivering excellent quality with just a notch more compression."

    Will try that at a later date Lee. Thanks very much :)

    @Balazer I don't exactly know what this issue is. Rolling shutter has never EVER been this noticeable on my GH2. Unless I'm completely blind and it's been there the whole time... but I would have noticed it. A lot of my tests were handheld, so rolling shutter is no doubt worse in handheld... but it's not been this bad before. This is a bit worrying for me as I shoot on a shoulder rig for many of my gigs. But, I'll find a workaround. The worst of the rolling shutter is when I shoot HBR in PAL mode, using a manual lens (pentax 50mm 1.7) and Tele/ETC mode is OFF.

    Appreciate all your answers.

  • Cake 2.3 at 24H. GH2 with the Sigma 30mm f/2.8 EX DN.

    Some interesting faces at the fashion week in Milan.

  • I have tried to put a Youtube video here by embedding the code in the comment but the video doesn't show up..Can some body help me and tell me how to embed a Youtube video here...Thanks

  • Hope this works..

  • no, then maybe this..

  • @briangeorge

    Great work Brian, I love your style.

  • Another video shot with Cake 2.3. 24h settings

  • one done with Cake 2.3 HBR 25p settings

  • That are real good videos @briangeorge, you got all those moments that are hard to catch.

  • @briangeorge Nice acoustic version of the "old" dance song L'amour toujours (I'll Fly with You) by Gigi D'Agostino. It reminds me when I was in my early 20s :-)

    Great videos again.

  • @mozes it was my first ever wedding video. Having done a lot of weddings as a photographer I recognize the moments but I had to get used to capturing them on video which is very different from just catching and freezing that split second. Still a lot of room for improvement!

    @rikyxxx a little memory lane! Hope I didn't make you feel old..;p

  • @Brian

    just a little bit...

  • @thomisus yes Como Lake indeed

    @rikyxxx i'll try to avoid Gigi D'Agostino covers..;p Also think we are getting a little off topic...the great Cake hack!

  • I take it as a good sign that there is not much to talk about with Cake. The hack settings seem to be doing what they are supposed to do. Let us all talk less and shoot more. :)

  • Yep - agree. It's the one I use all the time. It just works.