Today @ma1co (https://github.com/ma1co/fwtool.py) released an update to his fwtool.py tool that allows you to extract gen4 firmwares. The tool only allows you to decrypt the firmware at the moment, but I am sure it will only be a matter of time till he updates it to encrypt as well.

The method below was discovered by @vitaliy_kiselev and can be found here: https://www.personal-view.com/faqs/sony-hack/languages

NOTE2: this method is not only untested, it will likely brick your camera. Proceed with caution.

Preparation (for macOS)

1. Download the full source fwtool.py from the link above
2. Download the actual firmware for your camera, in my case for the A7III it was (https://www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/e-mount-body-ilce-7-series/ilce-7m3/downloads/00015677)
3. copy the .dat firmware file from the dmg to the fwtool root folder
4. sudo easy_install pip
5. sudo pip install pycrypto
6. sudo pip install pyyaml

note: if at any point you found any of these steps confusing or indirect, you should stop and not do this

Guide:

1. python fwtool.py unpack -f FirmwareData_ILCE7M3V210.dat -o out (this is on macOS Mojave, your OS might require something different)
2. cd out/firmware.tar_unpacked/0110_backup/SYSASTRA-DSLR/TI
3. Swap the files of your current language (I have J1, see below list section as a reference. note that there are now 2 ALLLANG files one with CX62200 and one with CX62201 choose the one that corresponds to your camera language) with the All Language file (just rename them)
4. cd out/firmware.tar_unpacked/0111_backup_sum
5. edit 'backup.sum' in your favorite text editor

6. Swap the checksums with what ever language you have with the CX62200_ALLLANG bin file checksum

   0,ae35017d,00113eba,000001a4,00000000,000003e8,root,root,-1,-1,SYSASTRA-DSLR/TI/CX62200_ALLLANG.bin, 0,782ddbc1,00113eba,000001a4,00000000,000003e8,root,root,-1,-1,SYSASTRA-DSLR/TI/CX62200_J1.bin,

   becomes

   0,782ddbc1,00113eba,000001a4,00000000,000003e8,root,root,-1,-1,SYSASTRA-DSLR/TI/CX62200_ALLLANG.bin, 0,ae35017d,00113eba,000001a4,00000000,000003e8,root,root,-1,-1,SYSASTRA-DSLR/TI/CX62200_J1.bin,

7. Wait till we have a way to encrypt it. I just cant thank ma1co enough for making this possible up to this level! you rock. I will update this guide with results once ma1co releases an update.

List:

• Region ALLLANG .. I mean you should know what this means otherwise you should not do this.
• Region J1(JPN) supports Japanese only
• Region U2, CA2, AU2 supports English, French, Chinese,
• Region CEE2 (CEE) supports English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russia, Sweden, Danish. Norway, Finnish, Poland, Czech, Hungarian.
• Region CEE4 supports English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russia, Sweden, Danish. Norway, Finnish, Poland, Czech, Hungarian.
• Region CEE5 supports English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russia, Sweden, Danish. Norway, Finnish, Poland, Czech, Hungarian.
• Region CEH E32, HK1, JE3, TW6 supports English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Thai, Korean, Persian.
• Region CN2 supports English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Thai, Korean, Persian.
• Region KR2 supports English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Arabic, Thai, Korean, Persian.

Tokina has a cinema line of zooms that come in MFT, but they are made for S35mm sensors. And JVC's LS300 can do their digital zoom in, but you need that specific camera. Panasonic's FZ2500 now has useable zoom motion w/ great range, but the lens is not constant aperture, nor is it fast enough, plus it's a 1 inch sensor. And yes there are plenty of broadcast zoom lenses, as well as C-mount zooms that can work with the right adapter & extender.

Something in the lines of 10-100mm, or 12-120mm with at least T2.1, has to be parfocal, but macro optional.
Kind of like the vintage 16mm zooms from Angenieux / Zeiss / Cooke.

I've been using the Olympus 12-40mm with gears for both zoom and focus, but it's not quite parfocal; was even dreaming of a full Duclos mod like their 11-16mm!

We are pleased to announce that we have teamed up with Shapeways who will produce custom accessories based on our designs for our complete range of Rectilux CinemaScope Follow Focus Adapters and Lenses. More about these exciting products can be found at the website

http://www.transferconvert.co.uk/cinemania/cinemascope.html

@rajamalik @thepalalias @Benibube thank you for the comments guys. @cjdincer

rajamalik, @coors thanks for testing the setting(s) guys; rajamalik Congratulations for your little b...

Releasing the setting, after very long time working on it, the name and some info see 1st alinea:

I know it was/is a challenge (AQ4 and Q8 in the same setting) for most detailed and lower compression setting and want everything constant bitrate-style and rajamalik asking for the most detailed one every time but here is the release of the "OBS AQ4-Q8 161M-setting exTReme-KAYSERI A-GraDetail" setting, the setting shows (due to using lower compression in the setting, but I believe so you see more), maybe say high ISO, a little bit more noise/maybe artifacts, I did not used 3rd party matrix, but the goal is to get every bit (in this situation pixel) what GH2 is seeing/recording, out of it and see everything yourself when playing back and in post too, and cbr-style bitrates too; (do the rest/editing in post).

Okay it's logical to say when you have an very detailed and low compression setting, on high ISO you see some more noise/artifact etc. but you get everyhing out of the gh2 I believe. But I believe, if an "matrix master" can make a matrix especially for this or similar setting then we get an setting with some reduced noise/artifacts directly on the sd-card itself. But matrix by the way is a subjective matter therefor it is up to you to judge or not judge things by matrix way but settings way. And I did not used third party matrix for the setting.

But, on the other hand: maybe there will be enthousiat users to get/shot/capture, you name it, this way and do rest in post, I think and believe it is maybe some personal taste and this setting is on paper very good for low detailed scenes or for someone always looking for it or exactly want details and seeing that little bit more.

The setting gives you constant bitrate-style bitrates and for example 720p50 give you around 100Mbit-range bitrates, this is high in comparison with some other gop-1 720p50 settings/ and some of the other gop-1 720p setting are not working reported earlier by others I though. Don't forget 1080iFSH(50) is available too and also to try for slow motion with deinterlacing in post for 1080p50, maybe this setting is better then other 1080i also, who knows. (This is for some of you as a fan of deinterlacing 1080i to 1080p50 in post, instead of 720p50 give a try too.)

Suggestion: Maybe, from scratch, a matrix master or a matrix maker can make a matrix to also temper some noise/artifacts, high ISO etc. especially for this setting, but also this setting is for people who get the most details out of gh2 and loves to do things in post...

Setting itself, "OBS AQ4-Q8 161M-setting exTReme-KAYSERI A-GraDetail":

(for me unbelievable to let the setting work with AQ4 and Q8 in the same setting at the same time, "All to detail and low compression" at a such high setting, especially when you know that settings for some mode influences the other mode, but I've got them work together for:)

• working (/or say, I tested) for the modes => 1080p24H, 720p50SH, HBR, 1080iFSH(50), 80%24L but, with such high bitrate setting it was not easy to get, all the modes above, working
• for all the modes I've written above, constant i-frames-style (+ b-frames for 720p50), cibf-style, except for 80%24L though it has high i-frames between around 360KB to max around 780KB, average around 600KB, and constant bitrate-style, cbr-style, for all the modes I've written above too, (including for 80%24L mode)
• tested with manual lens, (auto-lens check for yourself)
• there is a time-limit 3:45min but every mode is working for me with my setup (sd card and manual lens), so recording and also in cam playback available for, maybe including but not limited to (does mean other modes such as 720p60 needs testing, test for your country, I tested the PAL), the modes from above
• sandisk 8GB SDHC 95Mbits/s card

some bitrates I've got during testing, setting for 1080p24 is high to the 150M range, but see others very good ones: - 720p50 100M (for slo-mo see 1080i fsh(50) mode too, for using deinterlacing in post) - 1080i FSH (50i) 100M (especially for people who want 1080p slow motion with deinterlacing) - HBR 100M (I think very good one for hbr) - 80% 24L 100M

here is the setting as .zip file attached