1/48th would sure make a world of difference.
I too have been filming with Epic latlely and is a great camera to use. Workflow is a bit tough. It sure is nice to have the small form factor and ease of a GH2 to play with every now and then. The hacks have sure gave it a whole new look. It would be nice to be able to dial in some new curves to help with some of the 8bit 420 limitations.

About burst mode - it is made in such a way that it is almost impossible to change anything.

>Any way to open up the picture profile (film mode_) manipulation?

I am working on this.
Unfortunately, this thing is quite hard.

>What's the possibility of opening up the shutter speeds to go from 1/40 to say 1/42,

Right now I can't do it.
I made some work in this direction, but problem is that it is quite complicated low level code.

Solutions like Magic Lantern Curves & LUT's or http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/1468/cinematographer-pro-for-nikon-guys for the GH2 would be awesome. Probably beyond the scope of the hack, but is there hope? Donated a few bucks.

>>Any way to open up the picture profile (film mode_) manipulation?

>I am working on this. Unfortunately, this thing is quite hard.

@Vitaliy, this is BIG if it ever happens! Appreciate you are working on it.

@balazer "I'll eat my hat if you can really tell the difference between 1/48 and 1/50."
Sure most people can't - but most cameras can. 180 degrees is propper for cadense. sure would help allot of things out if we could dial it in on these.

Would be helpful to also be able to tune for synchro-scan 1/50.1 etc, but I don't expect that to be possible.

I think people have taken the 180-degree shutter "rule" from the cinema world and turned it into some kind of gospel. In the cinema world, that rule is really more of a guideline - a starting point. Films are being shot with all sorts of different shutter angles. There's nothing magical about 180 degrees. If you can explain to me why a 180-degree shutter is important for anything besides your own magic eyes, I'd be interested in hearing it.

@kholi and @rigs, it would be nice if someday you bring your hack gh2 on one of the red shoot. At least just pointing at some scene so that we could get a idea of how the gh2/hack looks beside a red. It would be even better if we could get a true side by side test but I do understand that it will take time etc.

I wrote a thread about the need or lack of recognition for the gh2/hack. The problem is that, strangely this camera is the least tested one on the video side. I am sure that it will be beaten by a red, but it just needed to have some reference comparison.

I am no fanboy but I see all type of things written against it (some valuable criticism and many completely unfounded usually by fanboys hatters who can't like anything which does not have their brand sticker on it) it brings those endless discussion and we have no good example/test to use as benchmark for the gh2. I know that for some (in the know here) it is not important, but I think the gh2 in itself is a true landmark (the the dvx100, 5d mark 2) in the quest of cinematic motion capture for the mass and I would like it to be shared to a greater audience but unfortunately there are a lot of people that are in the dark because of other brand dominance and their fan boys.

The latest trailer of the movie Musgo by Vesubio is one of those benchmark that the gh2/hack really needs. It shows to the world that very good cinematic images can be done with this little camera. His micro budget film does not look out of place compared to what I have seen in the Canon recent Hollywood budget Canon C300 movie.

@balazer

Hey, if you can't tell the difference, cool. Just don't go around telling other people that they can't. It's silly. Some of us do this for a living, it isn't about being held over from "olden golden days". It's a specific look that we're after and we reproduce in real production environments, on stages, on sets, on locations.

If it weren't the case, and people didn't see a difference, then it wouldn't matter. Films are not being shot with "all sorts of shutter angles". You shoot 180 degrees as a standard for motion rendition and exposure, no different in a digital camera. You only shoot with lower or higher shutter angles for light or effect, it is not a standard.

Do it with home videos, nobody cares. Use whatever you want.

I shoot 1/40 with GH2 and 1/45 with 5D for this specific reason, 1/50 is ugly, has been since the dawn of 24p digital cinema, will be until it dies out.

@DouglasHorn

You mean a little MORE motion blur? 1/40 isn't going to give you less, the lower you go the longer the shutter stays open, the more motion blur you get.

@kholi
Is it the smaller amount of motion blur that 1/50 gives you that you don't like?

As a side note, I used to work with a Guy who could tell me what refresh rate my crt monitor was set to.
Even being able to distinguish 120hz from 110hz.

>I suspect I was simply born too late to develop an appreciation for the 180-degree rule.

:-)

@kholi Your saying " 1/50 is ugly, has been since the dawn of 24p digital cinema, will be until it dies out." isn't quite consistent with your to each his / her own stance.

I would of course like the 1/48 option. But I also suspect the fact that the 24p of the gh2 (and many other digital cameras) being actually 23.976 also matters to how motion blur is perceived. 1/50 is close enough for my tastes, and sometimes I prefer 1/60th. I think your on firmer ground with saying that it's a matter of taste as to what to use for "normal" shutter angle.

1/48th and 180 degree is considered normal, but I seriously doubt that any professional cinematographer would simply rule out as unprofessional using a tiny bit higher (1/50 or 1/60) or lower shutter angle (1/40) for "normal." In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a slightly higher shutter angle would be preferred as normal for certain shots if it helped with things like car rim rotation, etc.

Also note that some real film cameras (like some bolexes) actually have different shutter angles as their standard.

@lpowell interesting thoughts. Can you elaborate on or link to some good info about "double flashing" in theaters?

Frankly, I'm ready to ditch the chronic problems with 24p as well. Almost no one has a monitor set up to actually display video at 24fps - almost all of them telecine it into 60p! And the new 120-240hz monitors are even worse - they use frame blending to fabricate a super-high framerate, which no 24p-purist would ever stand for.

Once the GH2 v1.1 firmware is hacked, I'll probably step up to 1080p30 and not look back. Virtually everything in broadcast and on the web is 30p-compatible, and 60p footage is simple to convert. If you could reasonably expect 24p footage to actually be displayed at a genuine 24fps, I might have second thoughts, but realistically, it's become a thing of the past.

I've read the arguments about the special nature of the 24p cadence and I can see the motion blur difference in 30p. But to my eyes, once 24p is moshed into a 60fps refresh rate, it's no longer pristine, it's converted into video. Cinematic style involves much more than 24p and 180-degrees. It's lighting, staging, camera angles and moves, it's an art that is not constrained by rigid technical specifications.