@jimbo1169 yes mate, I totally agree about GH1. It looks for my eyes very cinematic what this camera produces. I had to start my own productions 10 years ago, which includes several static cameras. GH1 rocks for me until today, I use four of this kind. I love its picture and I was taking care to store the batteries always around with 50% of charge when I'm not using the cameras for longer time. Even the batteries are still like new, but this will of course have to get worse at some point. I'm talking about Panasonic original batteries, all third-party batteries I've tried were PITA, it was a wrong place to save money on

I'm revisiting the Panasonic Lumix GH1. There's just something sweet about the image that this 2009 Lumix camera produces. Today, for less than $200 globally, the GH1 is an amazing bargain. The GH1 provides great colours and textures straight out of the camera. It may seem as though the M43 big brands are moving towards a more polished, digital looking image. While the GH1 does not have 4K or IBIS, it does possess a unique sensor which actually kicked off the micro four thirds 1080p revolution. There are some great programs available now that allow cinema buffs like yourself to upscale 1080p footage into detailed, vivid looking 4K video. Couple this with an OIS lens and the limitations of this camera can really work for you. I've reviewed and tested most (if not all) of the Lumix GH1 patches in existence since 2011. I've now created what I believe to be one of the most resilient "Native 24p/25p" patches to date. The "GOP Solid" patch combines low to moderate bitrates with long '15' GOP settings across the board to ensure maximum stability. This patch also incorporates settings from; LPowell's Blackout patch, Rigs' GOP3 patch and Tetakpatak's Varigop patch. It is only due to their time and effort I can hope to extend interest in the GH1. I have intentionally tested this patch in PAL mode on detailed, over-exposed, grassy and leafy scenes. Attached to my GH1 is the Panasonic Lumix 14-42mm (H-FS014042) lens at 14mm (the widest end). I am using a SanDisk Ultra 120MB/s SDHC 32GB SD card (pictured below). I got zero write errors or card lock-ups with this patch. Bitrates can vary depending on lighting and scene detail. Please download, stress test this patch yourself and let me know your results. N.B. I have not tested this patch in 24p or 720p40/50 modes. I chose the 'Nature' picture profile with the following settings: Contrast: -2, Sharpness: 0, Saturation: 0, Noise Reduction: -2. Please fine tune these settings to your liking and report back.

Links....

PTool: https://www.personal-view.com/gh1hack/ptool3d.zip

GH1 firmware: https://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/dl/gh1.html

https://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/27184/panasonic-lumix-dmc-gh1-gop-solid-patch

you used this in pal country? No issue with flicker if you use 1/25 or 1/50 shutter?

Hey, @zcream sorry, wasn't here for a while. Yes, I use it in a PAL country, but I shoot exclusively in 24p. I haven't had problems with 1/50 shutter (if the question was related to fluorescent light) however, some LEDs are very problematic. I cannot record with 1/25, 1/30 is the minimum in my own patch (BTW still working great for me, constantly in use)

cheers

@tetakpatak you used this in pal country? No issue with flicker if you use 1/25 or 1/50 shutter?

OK, well unfortunately no matter what reduced bitrate I tested, highly detailed scenes caused the GH1 to freeze. This is, of course, a well-known issue. By most accounts, it doesn't matter which patch is used. A limitation of the GH1. So the best workaround based on most forums relating to GH1 patching is to: (1) Reduce sharpness to -2 (2) Use a flat picture profile; Standard or Smooth with most settings to -1 or -2 (3) Format the SD card prior to recording (4) Reduce exposure compensation in well lit scenes. Long live the GH1!

Hi @juantonioconde, 2fps seems to be the most stable setting for time-lapse recording with the DMC-GH1 based on previous tests. This is an excellent patch which, in my opinion, provides a cleaner image than any of the hacks I've used on the GH2. This may also be due to the lower 12.1 megapixels (GH1) vs 16 megapixels (GH2) which provides the GH1 with larger photosites (better pixel density) over a similar/slightly larger sized sensor area. Essentially, this equates to better low light performance (GH1: 722 vs GH2: 655 DXO Mark) and slightly more dynamic range (GH1: 11.6 vs GH2: 11.3 DXO Mark) when all other variables are the same or as close as possible to each other.

The highest overall bitrate for the GH1 with this patch in FHD 24p NTSC mode is 120mbps. Using the recommended SDHC card; SanDisk 32GB Ultra 95mb/s, highly detailed scenes may cause the GH1 to crash/freeze. According to SanDisk, the maximum write speed of this particular card is 90mb/s. The less than ideal SD memory card bus performance of the GH1 is one of the reasons higher settings cannot be achieved. That's understandable given the technology that existed in 2009/2010. Still, Panasonic were ahead of the pack when comparing their specifications to what Olympus was providing at the same time (720p).

I'm going to reduce the bitrate of this patch from 120mb/s to 90mb/s to see if highly detailed scenes cause the GH1 to crash. I won't change any other settings at this stage. I'll post the results of my tests on here shortly.

@blues exactly, the bitrate depends on the subject very much. Also how big part of the sensor is in-focus. The more details- the higher bitrate.

I have discovered a crucial detail meanwhile: in the case that camera freezes (big problem of the GH1 in general by higher bitrate) it is very important to "stop" the recording as normal. The file can be easily restored afterwards in the PC by running chkdsk to fix the .MOV database of the corrupted file. It saved me last January!

Unfortunatelly, VK has removed the possibility to edit posts for some reason, even OPs, so I can't edit my first post.

@cardosokilas Definitely not normal. It has nothing to do with the setting, as it doesn't influent the functionality of the lens focusing at all AMAIK.

Check if you have moved the focus switch to "MF" (upmost left on the GH1). If so, you can focus only manually, by turning the ring next to the first lens element.

If your focus mode is set to AFS, it should work during the video recording just like in the AFC, continously focusing the priority area that you can see on your EVF as well as re-focus by half pressed shoot button. The focus doesn't beep during the video recording.

If this all didn't help, upgrade your lens firmware to the newest one. Otherwise it could be malfunction of the lens.

@tinbeo if you choose recording mode AVCHD, it is not possible to set the exposure beyond 1/30s value. But in MJPEG it is no problem, however the exposure mode (sub-menu of "motion picture") must be set to M to go beyond 1/30s.

I have no idea about Mac, maybe it's possible to run the "Timelapser" in the virtual machine with iOS. But isn't Windows also installed in the newer Macs? Check Jordan Noblet's website, he may has mentioned what to do with Mac.

@tinbeo I'm not sure if I understood your question. Your GH1 should be set to video mode / rec mode: Motion JPEG / rec quality: HD / exposure mode: preferably "M". Choosing exposure value to 1/2s will provide you smooth moving objects. 2fps is set by default for MJPEG recordings. By daylight you may need very strong ND filter (6-8 EV) and stopping down the apperture to f8-f4 respectively.

But also shorter exposures may look OK, here is an example (maximal recording time, 1h22s rendered by "Timelapser"), unfortunatelly I should have rendered myself from 25fps to 30fps before uploading on YouTube, the clouds move much smoother in original file:

For processing the MJPEG files best you can do is to download Jordan Noblet's "Timelapser" PC software which extracts, renders and cleans the files automatically. Final format is AVI 25p in good quality and it can be rendered later to whatever you prefer.

For maximal recording length of the single file (about 1h22min the way I did the setting in the zip file for 1920x1080 with 4:2:2 colors) you will get after the rendering the final video file total duration some 40sec.

If you need longer recording times, you can at any moment stop and start again the recording. Maximal file size for MJPEG recording is 2GB due to the formatting and it can't be extended.

@waquarch I've used for my own needs conservative 44Mb/s setting without any extras for PAL (25p) some years ago. Meanwhile, I use this "Varigop" 24p for it has such good motions and shadow details and I render afterwards to 25p.

I really regret for not being able to stabilize this setting yet. I've spent several full days by testing it last summer but no real success yet. However, also all other high bitrate settings for GH1 are unstable. It might be also hardwere limitation. There are still some unknown options in Ptool where I hope to find reliable solution.

thanks tetakpatak. it worked :) also can u please suggest best patch for PAL 25p. i use 75mb path but motion is not very smooth even using stabliser etc mayb becos its interlaced. Sort of jerks in movement. Solution is very much appreciated. also if u got any solution for 2x anamorphic in VGA tht is not clean like FHD.

im not able to download this hack file i can only download png image file instead. can someone help?