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Hacked GH1 vs. Hacked GH2
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  • LPowellLPowell
    @telkitachki Sorry, I don't believe the GH1's SD card controller can reliably handle bitrates faster than what we've already achieved. I've completed my GH1, GF1, and G2 projects and moved on to the GH2.
  • svartsvart
    Everyone has opinions.. Here's mine.

    I haven't bothered with anything but 24p footage.

    In every test I did, the stock GH2 beat a hacked GH1. We shot part of a movie with hacked GH1s and the rest with a stock GH2. Comparing the two while editing, while similar enough to cut together, was easy to determine a clear winner.

    The GH2 just looked better all around. Less noise, less banding, more sharpness. It was much easier to use too as HDMI out and higher ISO without noise allowed us to be more creative with lighting and using things like cranes. Unless you've shot a real production with the GH2 and HDMI out, there is no real way to express just how much easier it is to work using real external monitors.

    This, combined with the fact that i don't have to do pulldown removal anymore led me to sell my GH1. I loved my GH1, but I had to face facts that it just wasn't a competitor anymore regardless of how much effort went into making it a decent camera.

    When the testing gets to the point where we get a stable, higher bitrate, 24H and stable 720p60 with B frames, the GH2 will be a force to reckon with.
  • MimirsanMimirsan
    GH13
    i used 25p native 44mb- occasional crashes with static shots
    1080 p mjpeg 50mbps (looks upscaled) crashes with 75mb +
    Fpn above iso 800
    Image detail loss at high iso
    Unstable and this can be a hassle if you want 1080p native footage for shoot

    GH2
    I use 32mb settings (ITS NOT ALL ABOUT HIGH BITRATES!!)...no start frame corruptions videos look vastly better than GH13 both in 24p & all other film modes.
    720p 50 kills GH1s 720p in terms of image resolve
    Full Hd mpeg...actually looks like 1080p and around 130mbs with no card errors
    No crashes
    No fpn
    no hassles



  • telkitachkitelkitachki
    @LPowell ///3. SD card controller capable of recording video data reliably at over 100Mbps.///

    Do we have any chance to change this point on GH1? Is it software problem or we have hardware restriction?
  • SkeptikalSkeptikal
    The GH13 at least has 50i PsF which was very convenient ...edit on time-line as 50i (for Bluray) or auto-convert to 25p for Broadcast, etc.

    I'm getting 35-45mbps 24p with the GH2 hacked...but with bad start-frames...and 50i is bullshit old fashioned interlace type with problems. So far as far as I'm concerned hacked GH2 only major advantage is in low light picture quality...better than GH13. Until start-frames corruption issue solved my GH2 stays home.
  • bwhitzbwhitz
    I think the colors and dynamic range are much better on the GH2. It looks like a 2-3 stop gain in latitude...
  • LPowellLPowell
    At this point, the hacked GH1 has two unique features that the hacked GH2 lacks, and is not likely to acquire:

    1. Progressive 25p frame rate in both 1080p and 720p AVCHD modes.
    2. 4:2:2 color depth in MJPEG 30p mode.

    While the GH2 hack is still in its early stages, it already shows some promising advantages over the hacked GH1:

    1. Upgraded AVCHD encoder with highly efficient B-frames in both 1080p and 720p.
    2. Full-HD 1920x1080 frame size in MJPEG mode.
    3. SD card controller capable of recording video data reliably at over 100Mbps.
  • brudneybrudney
    yeah RoryB, that's the main reason why I got GH2. GH13 was perfect for me but the freakin FPN killed the whole damn thing...
  • RoryBRoryB
    My biggest issue with the gh1 was vertical streaking in certain situations.

    Even if my subject was properly exposed as the light falls off the areas under exposed by 3 stops would show the streaking pretty hard.

    So that alone makes the gh2 more worthwhile to me.

    But maybe your gh1 doesn't have the issue as much.
  • stoneystoney
    I'd invest in lenses, lighting, etc.
  • DrDaveDrDave
    The image quality is about the same, the GH2 has more features. Check out plasmasmp video, and see if the difference is important.
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