The Last Great Hacked GH2 update

Yesterday driftwood released what is probably the last and greatest update for hacked GH2 cameras.

Settings Here for Apocalypse Now

This group of settings is called Apocalypse Now and works to achieve a better and smoother color matrix that not only improves upon the native 4:2:0 h.264 of the camera, but also softens the natural sharpness of the Panasonic lenses when used in video mode.

If you have a higher-end monitor capable you should be able to see the subtle changes in color rendition to the blue channel in this still.

Quickly testing outside with the “soft” version settings, the difference on foliage is immediately noticeable in regards to sharpening. (14-140 @18mm LA7200)

These are just preliminary tests, but I would hazard to say that I would now recommend using Panasonic electronic lenses without fear of sharpening artifacts.

Hacked Panasonic GH2 vs Hacked GH1 @ 1080p and 720p

 

 

 

 

Here is my first preliminary test comparing the hacked GH2 vs the GH1. The GH2 was using the following settings

Ptool 3.61D
720p SH mode
48mb high
35mb low
GOP 15

This is not a recommended setting, but has been working just fine for me producing 720p footage with average bitrates over 40mb a second with out causing any errors on PNY cards.

1080p mode
44mb high
35mb low

 

Just a slightly higher bitrate than Vitality’s recommended settings. Again, Vitality is stressing not to mess with the GOP right now, as I did with 720p, so do so at your own risk.

The GH1 was using lpowell’s 75mb high reliability patch

Both cameras used the same lens, same f-stop WB kelvin and shutter settings. The GH1 was used at 100iso and the GH2 at 160iso accounting for the difference in ISO ratings between the cameras.