@Maya It refers to the level (version?) of h264 codec. It doesn´t mean that the encoder does a superb job automatically.

@driftwood I don't have a gh3 yet. but if its hacked I will sure buy one. Intact myself I am waiting for the first GH3 hack release. Anyway I will keep gh2 moon t5 for close and mid and drew net 8 for wide as u mentioned. Lol.

I will attest the detail the GH2 picks up on wide shots using Drewnet T8. Here's some rather poorly shot video I took in DC over the weekend. In the first two shots you can practically see every detail in the people on the steps and the people walking across the pond. The original/non vimeo footage in 1080P is even more detailed.

I really like the drewnet settings!

I'm curious why so many folks upload their 'sample footage' to a free Vimeo account, which only allows 720p. Wouldn't a free YouTube account (or at least a PAID Vimeo account), both of which allow the full glory of the GH2's 1080 image, be a better choice?

@Jim_Simon Google drive or Dropbox is the best alternative for video quality demo, because it only stores files, while Youtube re-encodes all uploads and reduces quality drastically, even at 1080 it is visible to much

@Jim_Simon I agree, youtube looks much better then vimeo with free account!

Crap. First "DREWnet V8" glitch. Was shooting in bright sunlight (not looking into the sun) on 1080i FSH mode and camera locks up with "recording stopped due to card speed... blah blah blah" message after about 20 seconds of recording. Card is the 64GB 95Mb/s SanDisk Extreme Pro. Tried it with my other SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB .... same thing. Camera and screen locks up. Waited a couple of minutes - had to turn switch off, pull battery and power on to get back into standby mode.

FYI: Doesn't record anything on 1080i FSH during the 20 seconds. 720p test vid I took right before was on the camera and OK.

Reran the same test inside with darker lighting conditions.... FSH seemed to work fine then.

Damn.... And this hack was so stable thus far.

towi - NTSC I've reloaded 'Moon T5'. Wanna live with it for a while. driftwood - I have to say that so far Moon is my favorite. Just a personal preference. While the file sizes are obviously quite a bit larger, the footage it produces is simply beautiful. Smooth, clean and great for grading. I've actually purchased another 64GB 95Mb/s card in preperation for a location shoot. My agency is doing a concept spot for client pitch. Museum exhibit about mythical creatures. "Beautiful day in the park" kinda thing. Couple looks up to be rendered speechless by the image of a dragon (professionally animated into the footage) gliding trough the air off in the distance.

Should be fun and I think Moon T5 will work wonderfully.

Is any of the driftwood patches recommended for documentary style 24p work, when I don't have budget for fast cards? I only have 2 x 32 GB Sandisk 45 MB/s card, and I would back them up to a laptop from time to time. Which spanning and diskspace-friendly hacks would you recommend? (possibly including other hacks as well, like Sanity)

@driftwood Spanning on HBR did work with DREWnet V8. BUT the sun had gone in by that time so i can't be sure since shooting during bright sunlight seemed to be the only variable that made 1080i lock up. Remember that 1080i worked fine indoors on on its high and low setting. Hope this helps. :^/

In part @zsero but you must remember I designed DREWnet to replicate other HI BITRATE Long GOPs out there so despite the efficiency I'm pushing the encoder still to the limit :-). This means it attempts to maximise 24p with extremely high i frames and decent prediction slices at extremely low (best) quantisation - QP8 is often reached in the coded picture - and subsequently, you can still expect very hi data rates on your sd card so it won't save you much! DREWnet T8* is equivalent to 180Mbps+ at Intra comparable bitrates when its at the extreme end of recordings (*DREWnet can sustain Long GOP at 88+Mbps at hi detail)

@zsero Im working on a low bitrate mini Cluster X - await.

Off to Espanola land now. Hopefully the hotels will have a good internet link :-) Cia for now all.

@driftwood "QP8 is often reached in the coded picture"

Damn, dude. You rock!