Hacks and Patches

I need an answer. What is the best hack for the GH2?

airchase — Wed, 24 Aug 2016 14:55:37 +0000

I realize there are several threads in the same vain as this, but the conclusion in every single one of them is "try a bunch, use what you like".

Unfortunately, I don't have the time or ambition to try loads of different patches, and I would really love if someone could give a solid answer as to what the best patch is. The answer of "it's a matter of personal preference" is a cop-out, and in my opinion is incorrect. A better image, is a better image.

I've done a lot of research, and it appears Moon T8 is a popular option but I've also seen this video on Youtube using the Intravenus hack which looks absolutely stunning.

So, let's put an end to the ambiguity. What is the best hack for the GH2?

GH2 - MJPEG resolution findings and Myth Busting

duartix — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:07:41 +0000

Tackling MJPEG for 2fps timelapses, I drew some conclusions that are less than obvious, and that I feel that should be shared with the rest of the community.

For this I filmed a resolution chart on my computer screen from a distance, using Quantum 50-100 settings which use quality settings that are already over the line for 2fps be it AVCHD or MJPEG. I loaded the MOV files into AVIDemux and extracted 100% lossless snapshots to compare the various modes. Shot on M Movie Mode, aperture and shutter speed were both fixed.

Note: I'm only showing the relevant 100% screen captures but all the files generated in this test (and I tested both HD and VGA modes) weight in at 38.5MB and can be d/l here: http://www.mediafire.com/?u2h8ycc2c6vmj0a

Unless marked as AVCHD all other files are MJPEG.

Myth 1 - MJPEG 1080p is MJPEG 720p up-scaled.

Result: Plausible.

It's too close to call, really! Even though there is evidence of a very very small resolution advantage to 1080p, it is hardly noticeable and it could be a consequence of the input-output workflow of 720 being done in a smaller resolution.

Evidence: (look at the second image, I can't delete the first which is similar)

GH2 Hack for intentional glitch art and general video-art destruction?

lordgord — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 21:08:08 +0000

I'm curious what video art potential is possible in camera by utilizing the GH2 hack? I've got a lot of life out of my GH2, but my interest in milking the best image out of it are long gone. I never delved into customizing my own hacks, so what parameters could be leveraged to break the image in interesting and beautiful ways? Finding guides is almost impossible do to all the generic ptools tutorials out there.

GH2 hack HDMI output testing

EOSHD — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:57:32 +0000

Did some testing today with the GH2's HDMI output and existing PTools AVCHD patches, here are the findings:

- When a monitor is connected to the HDMI port, camera switches to an interlaced mode both on LCD / EVF and HDMI output
- When progressive 1080i -> 1080p patch enabled, camera can record without the usual hang if HDMI monitor is connected
- However AVCHD encoder still writes garbage to the card
- Garbage AVCHD files will playback in camera and not crash, if HDMI screen was connected at time of recording
- The output to LCD and HDMI is not garbage - seems 100% unaffected by current PTools AVCHD patches
- Pulling HDMI cable during recording ends clip, camera switches to live view mode
- Output is always 1080i on 'auto', never progressive regardless of camera mode or PTools config (I am now testing with HDMI option in menu set to 720p)

@Vitaliy_Kiselev has interesting comment - "Good thing is that some HDMI related functions names are present is some debug messages as well as their arguments names"

I am using a SmallHD DP6 as monitor, we can also use TV or PC screen with HDMI, be sure that it displays reported input signal type (i.e. 1080i or 1080p).

Aim: clean high bitrate progressive video instead of current bad cadence 24p -> 1080i.
Or even uncompressed signal. 1080/60p would also be great target but let's start small!

Testing continues...

BEST GH1 HACK FOR TRAVEL YOUTUBE CHANNEL??

juantonioconde — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 04:17:04 +0000

Hi all. I would like to know which is the best hack for a Youtube travel channel, using the GH1. I need to make selfies record, quick shots in hand with movement without losing much quality. Thank you!

Download PTool v3.64d in 2020

JimmySuarez1981 — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 10:31:50 +0000

Hey guys! I want to hack my GH2, but I'm struggling to find links to download PTool v3.64d? I have searched the forums and the web, but I getting linked back to a link that no longer exists. Any help with this would be most appreciated. Thanks

Nikon d5600 video limit hack

dima_mak — Sat, 16 Nov 2019 11:56:08 +0000

Trying to find a hacked firmware for nikon d5600 to allow unlimited video recording. Someone have or can help? Thank you!

Is it my GH2 or 64gb san disk?

overheadthealbatross — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 15:08:58 +0000

wondering if anyone has ran into this issue.. Im using the driftwood drewnet patch and a san disk extreme pro 64gb 170mb sdxc card purchased in amazon. I used an sd card formatter before formatting to the camera. I can take video just fine and the camera does not stop recording but when i go to play the videos back in camera some of them will stop between 1-3sec and then give me a "read error please the card" There does not seem to be any pattern to when this happens and it doesnt happen everytime im shooting. Not sure what to do. Any advice would be welcomed :)

Who owns a NX300 i need your help!

Dobbie — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 17:59:45 +0000

I need to know what disabling the 30minute video limit has on the video features? Is video then unlimited? do files still span at 4GB. Is the feature restricted to 4GB? are there any issues/errors or bugs to consider? many thanks ... and please help!

GH2 Hack Technical Tests

cbrandin — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:12:57 +0000

Lately there has been much debate about whether the hack actually improves image quality. Following are the results of a controlled technical test. Measuring image quality with AVCHD files can be a daunting task, The codec operates in subtle and unintuitive ways. Because most processing is done in the frequency, rather than RGB domain, improvements will not often not make sense with ordinary pixel peeping (because that is in the RGB domain).

To accurately measure quality improvements you have to see how footage reacts to the processing that takes place when it is converted to the RGB domain - in other words, when it is rendered. For these tests I used this chart:

In order to make the effect of the raised quality reatures most visible I set AQ to 4 (all to detail) for these tests. Frame grabs were exported in a lossless format to Photoshop. In Photoshop, I used levels to examine image portions in a restricted range in the shadows. Photoshop interpolates values within this range to produce the final image. The quality of that interpolation is very dependent on the quality of the image. It's very similar to how any kind of editor will work. As a reference I also took a still image of the chart using the highest quality the GH2 can prduce and processed the raw file. Following are histograms taken from these processed images. The lines in the histograms show quantization artifacts - you can actually see how fine (or coarse) the quantization is. This relates directly to image quality, and how far you can go with post processing and still have a good image.

Still Image:

Factory Firmware at 24H:

24H set at 44M with AQ=4:

24H set at 66M with AQ=4

As you can see there is a significant improvement at 44M and an additional, but not as big an improvement at 66M (mostly in the deep shadows).

Chris

GH5 - impossible to unlock VLOG?

GHuser — Sat, 20 Oct 2018 01:26:43 +0000

I remember the GH2 and Ptool hacks back in the day. With all the great features built into modern cameras like the GH5 there is less of a need for hacks, but it is curious that no one has hacked the GH5 to enable VLOG. Is that because it is impossible to enable VLOG using a firmware hack, or because no one has sufficient interest in creating a hack?

Can't get GH2 to go to "BODY VERSION UP"

murphy — Thu, 02 May 2019 07:06:04 +0000

Hi, really like this website, I've been looking at it for a good while but today I've finally decide to hack my GH2. I've followed all the steps but just at the final part I cannot get it to update.

I have the hack on the freshly formatted card but when I turn on the camera and press the green play button, it just says "NO VALID PICTURE TO PLAY", when I should really get the option of "BODY VERSION UP". I know it must be something simple I'm missing but any help would be great.

Thanks a lot M

firmware gh2 1080 60i

Panasonicovich — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 04:34:17 +0000

Please tell the newcomer good firmware for 1080 60i or 50i. I would be very grateful

Sony A7III hack

monks19 — Mon, 25 Feb 2019 10:06:40 +0000

Hi. Sorry if this has been asked before (feel free to close the thread if it's the case), but I was wondering if the existing time limit hack(s) that predate the Sony A7III can be use on this camera or if there is a way to bypass the recording time limit (without resorting to an external recorder) ?

Thanks to answer

How do I Make/Get a prism for a three sensor setup?

mei — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 05:23:04 +0000

I couldn't find a hardware hack/maker specific category here, so I hope that this is the right one.

I've come across some pretty nice sensor chips related to one of my cameras. So, I'm curious about getting a 3-chip prism I could attach them to. I literally could buy three devices that used them, strip them, and attach them to the prism. I've heard about making them many years ago, so which ever is easiest.

This is a curiosity.

Recording a sensor feed directly from chip lines?

mei — Tue, 29 Jan 2019 05:27:05 +0000

Hi. I saw years ago, projects to directly tap sensor image data from a camera chip output lines and record it. Does anybody know where these are now?

You could convert a normal camera direct output.

How to Hack an Expensive Camera and Not Get Killed by Your Wife

libertas — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 09:26:21 +0000

This might be of interest for some :

https://alexhude.github.io/2019/01/24/hacking-leica-m240.html

Convert any camera to mirrorless

DrDave — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 13:18:46 +0000

Tired of the mirror clanking away in your camera?

G85 hack possibility?

Ashley_James — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 06:25:22 +0000

Any chance that might happen? Thats a great camera with lots of users and it would be so awesome if someone would start working toward a hack! I have so many ideas how to improve this baby. Not only bitrates\framerates, but manual focusing as well (which would solved huge pia with panasonic autofocus). I would gladly donate money for such a project and participate as a tester and ideas generator.

canon eos m vs panasonic gh2 vlog

disease8 — Sun, 02 Sep 2018 04:11:40 +0000

I know its rough and essentially me just whining about cameras. But I was interested in the results and you might be to:

A little bit confused "gh2 hacks"

disease8 — Fri, 24 Aug 2018 09:58:26 +0000

Hi there I wanted to try out the driftwood hack and I am totally confused. I installed what should be the 176mb version and the footage looks so bad its worse than before the hack. It has terrible aliasing everywhere and looks much more compressed than default. I then looked to try and download it again but after looking through all the pages and hacks I am totally confused.

What is the quantum x patch? Is that the same?

I just want the highest possible quality but also I need it to be stable as I intend to shoot some b roll for my documentary with it. I also wanted to have the audio patch on there and I tried to add the mjpeg one to. I blended the different patches with ptool on my macbook (you have to press CMD instead of alt). I thought maybe the patches were somehow conflicting with eachother but I checked in ptool and it seemed not.

Am I missing something obvious?

I have attached a clip from my apparently driftwood hacked gh2, as you can see it looks very compressed with really back aliasing and mud.

GH2: MJPEG 100Mbps Low Light 1080p Settings

LPowell — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:53:31 +0000

UPDATE: This MJPEG patch is compatible with the latest version of PTool 3.65d. The standard non-anamorphic version is also included in Flow Motion v2, which is available for download here:

http://www.personal-view.com./talks/discussion/3337/gh2-flow-motion-v2.02-720p-reliability-in-auto-exposure-modes/p1

As numerous GH2 owners have discovered, Vitaliy's recent updates to PTool have enabled the newly hacked GH2 to sustain remarkably high bitrates in MJPEG HD mode. What's even more impressive is that the GH2 maintains error-free recording stability at bitrates significantly exceeding those that can be used reliably on the GH1. And where the GH1 struggled to produce FHD-size videos in MJPEG mode, the GH2 can be readily patched to record in any MJPEG frame size, all the way up to 1920x1080p.

The MJPEG encoder's most valuable asset has always been its ability to record each video frame as a JPEG-encoded key frame. This enables it to track high-speed action at 30fps without any of the smeared motion artifacts that plague low-bitrate AVCHD videos. To produce high-quality, detailed key frames at 1080p, however, an Intra-frame encoder must work at higher average bitrates than the GH1 was able to sustain. With PTool's support of the GH2, it is now possible to use MJPEG HD mode to produce reliable 1080p videos at an average bitrate of 100Mbps in sharply-focused, highly-detailed scenes.

The MJPEG encoder also excels in difficult low-light conditions where the AVCHD encoder cuts down its bitrate to minimum quality levels. On the GH1, MJPEG HD mode could be relied on to produce bitrates over 24Mbps even in dimly-lit scenes. With patch settings optimized for consistent bitrate production, the GH2 can maintain high bitrates of up to 100Mbps across the entire exposure range, producing high-quality images under any and all illumination levels. Combined with the GH2's low-noise image sensor, MJPEG HD mode can render clean, gradable images in conditions that the GH1 would have found hopelessly underexposed.

MJPEG image quality with exposure bracketing

Below are 100% crops of two series of four bracketed exposures I took in MJPEG HD mode, patched to 1920x1080 resolution. For each shot, I set up the GH2 on a tripod with a fixed aperture at ISO160, and varied the shutter speed from 1/60 to 1/500 second, producing videos bracketed at one-stop exposure steps. Frame grabs were then composited in Photoshop and saved at maximum JPEG image quality. These scenes were selected as typical outdoor subjects shot in natural lighting, as opposed to shots of extremely detailed foliage. The GH2 exhibited no reliability issues whatsoever, and recorded all videos at impressively consistent bitrates of around 90Mbps.

iPad compatible MJPEG VGA video mode

In addition to MJPEG HD mode, recent versions of PTool have provided patches for adjusting the frame size and image quality of MJPEG VGA mode as well. Unlike the HD 16:9 aspect ratio of HD mode, VGA video mode records with an SD aspect ratio of 4:3. I've optimized VGA mode to produce 960x720 videos at consistent average bitrates of about 30Mbps. These videos are compatible with the maximum-quality download specifications of the Apple iPad, with its 1024x768 screen resolution.

GH2 Patch Considerations

Patches for the GH2 are currently in active development by numerous testers, and Vitaliy has updated PTool several times with exciting new features. The patches in the downloadable PTool INI settings file below have been systematically tested using PTool version 3.61d and have produced no reliability issues to date. This patch is designed and tested only for the fastest Class 10 SDHC cards currently available.

Additional points of interest:

* The 100Mbps GH2 Low Light MJPEG 1080p Patch is compatible with all GH2 cameras, and is switchable between NTSC and PAL modes.

* I recommend using the camera to format your SD card at the start of each shoot, to guard against SD card memory fragmentation.

* Peak bitrates are obtained only with sharply-focused, highly-detailed subject matter. Average scenes will produce average bitrates.

* High bitrate MJPEG videos may not play back reliably in-camera or on low-powered computers.

* If shutter speed is set longer than the frame rate (e.g. slower than 1/30 at 30p), low-quality video files may be produced.

*** WARNING ***

The 100Mbps GH2 Low Light MJPEG 1080p Patch will not work properly with previous versions of PTool. My thanks once again go to Vitaliy Kiselev, for his pioneering work on PTool, and to cbrandin for his invaluable Stream Parser tool.

The best way to insure that you have the latest PTool release is to download it directly from the following link:

Download PTool here: https://www.personal-view.com/faqs/gh2-hack/ptool-software

100Mbps GH2 Low Light MJPEG 1080p Patch Settings File:

For use with PTool v3.62d and above, I've prepared anamorphic as well as standard aspect ratio settings files:

* For use with standard lenses, the standard patch will produce two types of MJPEG 30p videos:

HD mode: 1920x1080 HD videos, with peak bitrates up to 100Mbps.
VGA mode: 960x720 iPad-compatible videos, with peak bitrates up to 30Mbps.

* For use with anamorphic lenses, the anamorphic patch supports two different squeeze ratios:

HD mode: 1920x810 videos for 1.33X anamorphic adapters, with peak bitrates of 100Mbps.
VGA mode: 2160x810 videos for 2X anamorphic adapters, with peak bitrates of 100Mbps.

These zipped INI files can be used to apply complete patch settings to firmware loaded into PTool. To use, unzip the INI file into the same folder as the PTool application. Launch PTool and load the firmware for GH2 v1.0. The settings contained in the INI file will automatically be installed in the "C" button at the bottom of the PTool main window.

Note that with the following PTool Settings files, you may at any time re-install the original Panasonic GH2 v1.0 firmware into the camera. You may also copy each type of patched or original firmware to separate SD cards, and use them to quickly switch between patches as often as you like.

Does the hack still work after latest firmware update? GH2?

disease8 — Thu, 16 Aug 2018 05:34:15 +0000

I tried applying the hack but consistently get the same error: Very recent firmware change: 2018/07/25 Has it knocked ptool out? I will try an older firmware from somewhere. Pretty sure I have the latest Ptool? 3.66d?

GH2 new firmware for "battery compatibility"?

Greg_E — Mon, 30 Jul 2018 12:46:09 +0000

Anyone looked at the newest firmware for the GH2? Says it fixes a battery compatibility issue but I'm wondering if it breaks our current hacks.

And yes I am still using GH2's for things, don't really need anything "better" right now but would like to get the camera so that it might show the battery level with third party batteries (or possibly even the new Panasonic batteries are a problem???).

new firmware at http://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/dl/gh2.html

Recommend GH2 patch with working HDMI out

radikalfilm — Sat, 28 Apr 2018 04:22:15 +0000

Guys. I currently have one of the patches on the GH2 (don't remember which one, they look the same to me) which doesn't allow for Live HDMI out at all, either recording or previewing. I was incredulous when I first discovered it but since I had to shoot the next day I left it as is and shot without external monitoring.

This time around I want to capture the HDMI output to a recorder (1080i50 on Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle 2), so I need to improve on the situation. I would like to also record on the SD card for backup, though I don't care much for the bitrate.

Should I revert to the Panasonic firmware? I seem to remember there are pulldown issues with that firmware (but HBR, which I will be shooting, is good maybe?). Is there a recommended patch I should load which gives solid HDMI out AND SD card recording?

Hacked and Unhacked Photo Comparison

Watership — Tue, 08 May 2018 21:40:44 +0000

Doing a photo comparison with a hacked GH2, and then formatting the SD and and then taking pictures with the same GH2 but this time unhacked

Beer:

1. Helios 44-2, No hack.

2. Helios 44-2, FlowMotion v2.02

3 Minolta 28mm, Driftwood Quantum

4 Minolta 28mm, FLowMotion v2.02

5 Helios 44-2, FlowMotion v2.02

Windowed trees:

6 Minolta 28 mm, No Hack.

7 Helios 44-2, No Hack. -

8 Minolta 28mm, Apefos THE END

Dog shots:

9 Helios 44-2, No Hack.

10 Minolta 28, No Hack

11 Helios 44-2, Apefos THE END (flash)

12 Minolta 28mm, No Hack (out of focus)

Patio umbrella:

13 Helios 44-2, No Hack

14 Minolta 28 mm, No Hack

15. Minolta 28mm, Apefos THE END.

I'm having trouble seeing that much of a significant difference, though the lines from the paneling on the side of my house are clearly more pronounced when I used FlowMotion as opposed to the unhacked version.

THE END seems to restore a lot of the color, but not much else.

Was there something I was supposed to instantly recognize in the images that were hacked? Still really good quality, but I'm unsure if I actually used them correctly. After successfully installing the hack to my camera via SD, it gave me that notorious message, and obviously I continued with the installation, and waited roughly 30 seconds to a minute, as everyone says. I know it must have worked because my camera straight up froze several times while trying to shoot.

Recording clean pre-processed HDMI image or USB, ambarella chipset based cameras?

mei — Fri, 13 Apr 2018 08:54:41 +0000

I'm interested in recording clean HDMI from ambarella chipset based cameras (many), pre processing for compression. Is it possible or has anybody done a mod with the development tools out there?

Such a mod can have a neutral picture with 10+ bits and 4:2:2 maybe.

A similar mod, would be to output raw video frames to a flash drive via USB (3).

Australian Panasonic G6 - Can anybody upload a ROM-Dump?

Scyte — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 05:25:14 +0000

Hey guys, can anybody who ownes a australian G6 (PAL without 30min Limit) upload a G6U.TXT with the contents of the USER-ROM?

I own the european version: If a change the Version between european versions The ROM-Dump changes at position H017/Ld( the last 2 bytes changes)

eg,e -> 02
ef -> 08
eb -> 09
ec -> 11

the other number can be found in the service manual.

May be it is posible to remove any recording limit with such a ROM-hack.

Can anybody upload a australian ROM-DUMP? Has anybody tested to change the region code over ROM? The service manual discribes 2 MainPCBs: one with suffix A(Rest of the World), the other with suffix B(Europe). Does anybody know if these are different or have only other ROM entries?

Yours Scyte

Checking in on GH2 1080p HDMI Output

genepensiero — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 15:02:52 +0000

I've spent the better part of today reading old posts and hunting around the internet.

Any hacks that led to a progressive output from the HDMI port? 1080p or 720p, rather than 1080i.

Thanks

Eoshd Hacks

nicholsonRUIZ5 — Wed, 24 Jan 2018 23:03:23 +0000

Greetings folks! Does anyone still happen to have EOSHD Unified Patch and Vanilla Hack? The files are no longer accessible on Andrew Reid's website.

Ruiz