@maxmontea & Beginners: 'How to Download and install a hack

1. Log in like you have done to post a thread comment, go to the Hacks And Patches' threads (you'll see a list top right of this screen under Categories and select Top Settings. Check out the Driftwood threads - goto one of these threads and select page 1 (at the top the various hack settings are attached to each 'Setting' thread Comment - to download by right click saving as (to a destination of your choice on your computer).

2. Download to the same folder where ptools is and extract the hack from its zip. Make sure you have the original firmware GH2__V11.bin file from the Panasonic site also in the same folder.

3. Now run and open ptools from that folder by double clicking it. Now Load the Panasonic firmware (the one you downloaded from the Panasonic firmwares site labelled 'GH2__V11.bin ' for the GH2) into ptools before you do anything else. Notice whatever setx.ini has been downloaded and unzipped into your ptools folder now appears along the bottom as a highlighted letter in Green.

4. Click that letter to load that hack setting then simply save the newly hacked firmware to your sd card by clicking 'SAVE FIRMWARE' button bottom-right of ptools. When you save it call it GH2__V12.bin (ie one increment up from 11)

• BEFORE CONTINUING TO THE NEXT STAGE ENSURE YOU HAVE A FULLY CHARGED CAMERA BATTERY BEFORE YOU FLASH THE FIRMWARE.

1. Insert SDcard into GH2 with the newly saved firmware and flash your camera with it by pressing the Camera's Play button and answering YES. DONT TOUCH ANYTHING ONCE YOU SELECT YES. LEAVE IT ALONE TILL ITS FLASHED THE CAMERA FULLY> Once finished it will return to view mode allowing you to record and try the new settings.

NOTE: Nothing changes in the cameras menus - but rest assured the bit rate and other encoder settings have been changed for better qualioty recordings.

@matt_gh2 that's a good news, but I usually patch my camera with topnotch patches, at present mostly using canis series and now into intravenus II. never tried low and mid range patches.i will try if it's Intra gop1 above 140mbit.anyway thank u for info.

Hi, I am new to this and don't understand what the heck to do. I have ptools, and have been able to install previous hacks, but I am trying to download the zip files but they are only coming up as images, could someone help me with this? Thanks everyone. Sorry for not understanding!

@driftwood, would you believe thats is possible to do a settings with HI detail and optimized matrix for B&W? all those bits in color allocate in the Y channel... when recording B&W in camera, maybe its not bad... what you think?

@weomck Nice work. Looks good.

@rajamalik If you haven't yet, don't forget to try Cluster X VK. Footage looks like it captures a ton of detail and looks beautiful. Check the video on the Cluster X thread posted by @keller42 to see what I'm talking about.

@Tomee21 Cluster v9 Boom will be adjusted shortly to cater for your problems.

@crowbar thanks for the tests. How long is the musical performance you are recording? I'd recommend recording straight off the mixer and syncing in post rather and using our onboard mics as a backup -- If the performance is less than an hour you could choose a patch that spans, and mark it. Plural eyes might also be able to do it for you.

@GravitateMediaGroup 20mm 1.7-iso400(?), smooth -2x4, custom wb, then: premiereCS6 , manual grading - rgb, contrast, etc (no plugins:)

@proaudio4 thanks! its the cluster8 really! ;) btw look at the white car and the wall behind it(or any of the solid colors in the picture), usually with so much grading and the banding would get crazy, but not here. It is becoming one of my favorite settings.

Cluster v8 grades so well! its a joy ;) I guess anything with cbrandin Cinema Smooth or Boom 4444 matrix will :)

@driftwood that's good info. It happens on both my PC and OSX systems which are both ATI.

@GravitateMediaGroup I'm not gonna lie, I was expecting "Chocolate Rain" when I hit play ;)