Tagged with lpowell - Personal View Talks

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 GOP Solid Patch

jimbo1169 — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 01:48:51 +0000

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

Do I have to format scandisk 64gb 95mb on my gh2 with LPowell hack?

gh2owner — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 13:07:34 +0000

Hey guys, I'm a newbie here and for a while I've been trying to search if you have to format the 64gb 95mb scandisk once its inside the gh2 camera. I bought my camera used with the LPowell hack (seller said it has the100 mbs) and I MUST have this type of scandisk- so I just got it now.

My question is....and please excuse me for I am new to this all- once I put the scandisk into the camera, is there anything I have to do? Do I have to format it? Are there any settings I must do first before I can record?

Any input is appreciated--I feel I cant start until I know what to do first. Thank you guys.

One for the 14-140 lovers and a seldom used LPowell GH1 Hack setting

Rambo — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 06:08:26 +0000

Another nice render from the GH1 and 14-140 kit lens, ND8 filter, STD Profile 00+10. The patch for this video was the awesome but seldom used LPowell Fast Action 720p30 50Mbps @ 3-frame GOP AVCHD Patch. Shutter was mostly 1/60 but GH1 thumb dial occasionally gets knocked on the front of the camera and i find it on 1/80 at times. The lens can render some nice blurred backgrounds and pop the focus. All shot hand held.

The audio was a Zoom H1 internal mics with windsock placed on the ground in front of the performers and the commentator at the end had the Zoom stuck mid chest inside his shirt. This is the intro to the event, shot in Takapuna, Auckland, New Zealand last weekend.

One camera, One lens, One Hack

Rambo — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 19:34:53 +0000

This is the Full version of the video, all shot with one camera, one lens, one hack. There is an awesome Haka (traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand) at 3:20 immediately after the commentator.

GH1 and 14-140 kit lens, ND8 filter, STD Profile 00+10. The patch for this video was the awesome but seldom used LPowell Fast Action 720p30 50Mbps @ 3-frame GOP AVCHD Patch. The audio was a Zoom H1 internal mics with windsock placed on the ground in front of the performers and the commentator at the end had the Zoom stuck mid chest inside his shirt.

Hack for Feature Lenght Documentary Film for the BIG SCREEN - "Digital Cinema Package"

MisterJ — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 07:41:03 +0000

Hi!

It's been around a Year I signed in here for the very first time. So now, after many test shoots, I'm planning to choose GH2 for the next film project.

Film is about 85 minute long documentary. Films shooting style is mainly situation-based documentary (Cinéma Vérité aka Direct Cinema) with some "cinematic scenes". So some of the scenes are classic documentary and some more stylistic - fiction like - with lightning crew, dolly, directed action etc.

These situation-based events I'm going to shoot with GH2 attached to the Steadicam Pilot. And yes, no interviews. This means I don't have very long takes.

I really like Lee's Flow Motion v2 and Nick's Sedna (AQ1-A) or Cluster v6&7. These I've tested quite a lot. What I'm looking for is best combination in detail and in fluid motion (motion rendering - no strobo effect). And of course hacks reliability is a virtue too! =D

So does anyone has any extra pointers about taking a project to Big Screen? Or if You think there is superior Hack for this kind of project - please don't hesitate to speak out.

Thanx and all the Best, MisterJ

GH2 Flow Motion v2 - 100Mbps Fast Action Performance & Reliability for Class 10 SD cards

LPowell — Fri, 25 May 2012 05:16:54 +0000

GH2 Flow Motion v2.02

Reliable 100Mbps peak performance in AVCHD 24H, HBR, FSH, SH, and MJPEG HD.
Exclusive 140Mbps turbo mode boosts peak bitrate to handle 80% Slow-Motion 24H mode.
Records reliably with Class 10 30MB/s cards, with 60Mbps file-spanning in 24L, FH, and H modes.
95MB/sec SD cards support file-spanning in all video modes (except NTSC HBR 30p and FSH 60i).
Full support for all NTSC and PAL video modes and options, including ETC zoom mode.
In-camera playback of all AVCHD video files. (MJPEG HD videos not playable in-camera.)
Failsafe operation with any lens, in any video mode, under any type of shooting conditions.
Consumer-friendly auto-exposure features fully supported in 60Mbps 24L, FH, and H modes.
Fast Action 3-Frame GOP performance with B-frames visibly indistinguishable from I-frames.
Optimal motion picture quality consistently maintained in underexposed low-light conditions.

Flow Motion v2 is the culmination of over three months of investigation into the core encoding parameters of the Panasonic GH2 AVCHD encoder. The goal of this project has been to produce a unified patch that combines failsafe reliability with consistent, high quality performance across the entire range of video modes and options provided by the GH2. These criteria include not only still-frame image quality, but frame-to-frame motion picture continuity as well, evaluated perceptually at 24, 25, 30, 50, and 60 frames per second. Rather than simply maximizing the encoder's peak bitrate, Flow Motion v2 is fine-tuned to produce optimal motion picture quality with minimal degradation from undesirable aliasing and digitizing artifacts. The result is an unmistakable improvement in video quality with no significant drawbacks, using Class 10 30MB/sec SD cards and virtually any lens compatible with the GH2.

Functional Limitations of Stock GH2 Video Firmware

Although it offers a wide variety of video modes and options, the GH2's stock firmware is restricted in both functionality and video bitrate. Thanks to the dedication of Vitaliy Kiselev, many of these limitations can be overcome through the custom firmware settings provided by PTool v3.65d. Flow Motion v2 is an integrated set of patches that enable the following extended features:

Selection among all supported interface languages.
Access to both PAL 25/50p and NTSC 30/60p frame rates.
Extended low-light exposure settings up to ISO 12800.
Removal of 30-minute recording restrictions in EU locales.
Enlargement of MJPEG videos to 1080p FHD frame size.
Pasadena Pulse Audio Patch V2 B2, thanks to Per Lichtman.

Image Quality Shortcomings of Stock GH2 Video Firmware

The GH2's stock firmware limits its AVCHD encoder to a peak bitrate of 24Mbps in 24H and HBR modes, and to 17Mbps in FSH and SH modes. In addition, it uses long-GOP recording sequences of 12-30 frames that produce only about two keyframes (I-frames) per second. Flow Motion v2 boosts the AVCHD encoder's peak bitrate to 100Mbps in all video modes and uses a short 3-frame GOP in all 1080p video modes (and a 6-frame GOP in 720p modes), that produce 8-10 keyframes per second. These improvements enable Flow Motion v2 to capture highly detailed, fast moving images with far more fidelity than the stock firmware's restricted bandwidth can accommodate.

At a deeper level of operation, the GH2's AVCHD encoder uses built-in Quantization Tables designed to compress the video data as efficiently and compactly as possible. When shooting highly detailed subjects, quantization often produces undesirable rectangular artifacts ("macroblocking") which are then filtered by built-in Deblocking Tables. Unfortunately, the tables used by the stock GH2 firmware sacrifice image quality in favor of compression efficiency, producing consumer-grade results. In a further reduction of image quality, highly compressed P and B-frames are encoded with coarser quantization tables than I-frames, degrading frame-to-frame consistency within each GOP.

Flow Motion v2 replaces the GH2's Quantization and Deblocking Tables with custom matrices, hand-tuned for each video mode, that are crafted to minimize macroblocking and digitization artifacts. This enables the encoder to make full use of its available bitrate to encode genuine image details rather than wasting bits attempting to correct macroblock encoding flaws. In addition, Flow Motion v2 applies equal levels of quantization to all types of frames, producing P and B-frames that are visually indistinguishable from I-frames.

Below is an example of the digitization artifacts produced by the GH2's stock firmware, compared to results produced by Flow Motion v2. On the top is a 200% crop of a 24H mode frame grab from the unhacked GH2 AVCHD encoder. You can clearly see jagged macroblock encoding artifacts due to the stock firmware's inadequate bitrate. Below it is the same stream of water shot with Flow Motion v2 in 24H mode:

Support for GH2 Auto-Exposure Features

Flow Motion v2 works reliably with the GH2's consumer-friendly auto-exposure features in both 24p and HBR video modes. However, in 720p SH video mode, auto-exposure operation may cause recordings to fail sporatically and the camera may need to be restarted. To avoid this pitfall, I recommend using Flow Motion's 60Mbps 1080i FH and 720p H video modes when using any combination of the following features:

P, A, or S exposure modes or when shooting in iA mode.
Auto-ISO mode.
iDynamic auto-contrast mode.
i.Resolution mode.
Motorized zoom lens operation.

I've tested and confirmed these features to work reliably at 60Mbps in 1080i FH and 720p H video modes. The 60Mbps FH and H video modes also support 4GB file-spanning on 30MB/sec Class 10 SD cards, and produce excellent motion picture quality that is just a notch more compressed than Flow Motion's 100Mbps FSH and SH video modes.

Flow Motion v2.02 Patch Settings File

This zipped INI file can be used to apply complete patch settings to firmware loaded into PTool 3.65d. To use, unzip the INI file into the same folder as the PTool application. Launch PTool and load the firmware v1.1 binary file for GH2. The settings contained in the Flow Motion v2.0 INI file will automatically be installed in the "F" button at the bottom of the PTool main window.

Note that with the following PTool Settings File, you may at any time re-install the original Panasonic GH2 v1.1 firmware into the camera. You may also copy each patched or original firmware file to separate SD cards, and use them to quickly switch between patches as often as you like.

A+A's Wedding Highlights | GH Cameras

pchristoph — Sun, 23 Dec 2012 12:31:27 +0000

Weddings are challenging. The GH cameras are my field weapons of choice. Speedy setups, quality of image, and peoples ability to relax around the gear we shoot on. For this shoot I used 3 GH2's and the camera that started it all for me - the Gh1. I employed mostly Takumar glass, with the wide angle stuff shot on the 12mm SLR Magic. I really likethe asthetic of the 12mm magic, but she's a contrasty girl compared to the Takumar glass. With a little help in post - everything cut together nicely though. These are great tools. Once you learn their strengths and weaknesses - then the best part of knowing your gear is being able to forget about it, and instead keep your attention on finding the story taking place around you.

Monopods, Glidecam HD4000, PBPocket Dolly, and manfrotto sticks. LPowell's Flowmotion 2.02and 75mbit reliability settings were used in the cameras respectively. Post done in FPX. Continued thanks to Vitally for unlocking these cameras potential, and the pioneers who test and produce the settings we need for our work. And to Driftwood and LPowell to whom I've used the most settings. Merry Christmas to everyone here at personal-view.com. May there be peace on earth, and good will toward men. Paul Christopher (pchristoph)

If I Had A Kite.

workerb — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 01:31:02 +0000

This is a piece I recently finished using the Flowmotion v2.02 patch. Thank you Mr. Powell & everyone else here.

xB.

Another Codec Busting Vid shot in Hong Kong

Rambo — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 19:43:12 +0000

GH1 LPowell 75Peak patch, 720p50 1/100 shutter, 14-140 kit. GH2 Flowmotion 2.02 HBR 1080p25 1/50, 14mm kit pancake. Sennheiser K6 Shotgun direct into GH2 mic socket level 1setting. Exported 720p 25fps 10Mbps for Vimeo

This stuff really stresses the AVCHD codec and the poor bugger that has to shoot it :-)

Fall Gliding - Fieldtest Using Flowmotion 80% on Glidecam

pchristoph — Thu, 20 Sep 2012 20:25:16 +0000

Shot using Lpowell FM 2.02 80% slomo 24H - Thanks for this great work! I have many reasons to stick with my GH2, warts and all. Like great great images thanks to the wizardry of lpowell, cbrandin, driftwood, vitaliy. So much hard work...much appreciated. This is a field test of the 80% 24H in it's usefullness for some telephoto glide ideas I have for an upcoming wedding this October. Shot on a 35mm Takumar f4 1/250 Standard -2-2-2-2. Glidecam HD4000 5D2RGB. no color correction

GH1 hack question (may apply to all hacks too)

debuys — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:26:52 +0000

I've been shooting with Lpowell's reliable in camera patch for over a year. It's been great but I wanted to push it a little harder and get native 24p out of the camera. I'm using a Sandisk 45MB/s card. The Lpowell 100mbps 24p patch works fine but I loose the 60p with it. I tried unchecking the frame rate change, the GOP change and did a tiny bit more tinkering but couldn't get 60p back.

The Lpowell 75mbps retains the 60p but is a lower bit rate (duh) and doesn't feature native 24p.

Then there's also the 50mbps patch that has what I want with the exception of the screaming data rate.

Since the Video Bitrate of FHD and SD modes is shared is it impossible to get native 24p, 60p and 100mbps in one patch?

Also I'd like to have access to a mode for quick, unedited uploads to the net. I was thinking of using the MPEG modes for this but I haven't gotten past the thinking stage.

I apologize to anyone who thinks I should have toiled more before posting.

My latest video

bming1 — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 19:51:35 +0000

Hi everyone, I shot this last week with a hacked GH2 using lpowell's Flow Motion 1.1 patch and Minolta MC and MD lenses. Would appreciate any feedback. Thanks!

LPowell Max Latitude hack for GH1, but 30p?

Maximalist — Mon, 28 May 2012 23:33:24 +0000

I love my GH1, I love LPowell's Max Latitude hack. I need to shoot something for a client, and it needs to cut together with other 30p footage - is there a problem with changing the frame rate in AVCHD to 30 frames? Will the chip handle that? Or should I switch to his maximum reliability hack? Either way, it has to be 30p (I'll switch back to my beloved 24p max latitude hack afterwards).

Also, do I have to switch back to the factory settings before installing a new hack, or can I just bump up the new hack to a higher version number? Thanks in advance for all your help!

Stunning Video of Live Event - Lpowell Settings

Rambo — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:20:38 +0000

This was shot handheld with GH1 hacked with Lpowells 75Mb Peak reliable Settings. 720p 50fps, shutter 1/50, Panasonic 14 -140mm with ND8. The color and clarity blew me away, the broadcaster doing the "live to air show" could not believe the quality from this little camera.

How to: Step by Step GH1 hack videos.

pixelphile — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 05:11:56 +0000

Vitaliy,

I recently bought a previously unhackable GH1, and thought it would be cool to make a couple step by step, how to hack videos. These videos are intended for first time hackers, or for newbies who have recently purchased a GH1. It is also great for professionals who need to get the most out of their GH1's.

I have included some GH17 test footage, camera settings, shutter settings, film mode settings, custom PTool settings, a hacked GH1_136 file, and much, much more.

Please check it out if you get the chance.

http://pixelphile.blogspot.com/2011/06/gh1-how-to-hack-guide.html

Cheers,

Michael "Pixelphile" Eggert

GH2 MJPEG 1080p 25 fps.

Athiril — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:00:37 +0000

Odd. Last time I tried the Change fps function for MJPEG it just fubar'ed all the time.

Now I went to stock settings (original GH2) for MJPEG with 25 fps, worked. So loaded the LPOWELL 100mbps/night 1080p settings, added 25 fps changed, works on my GH2. I'm not sure if it's merely dropping 5 frames out of every second (don't think it is). But if you shoot 1/25th, not sure if that it'd matter?

I'll try to examine it at some point with some linear motion at fixed speed, and look for 'jumps' in space.

My test file is reported as 75,697 kbps. Or 74 mbps. Which would be 88.7 mbps @ 30 fps, at the same average size/compression per frame. Available recording time is reported as 3m 12s. Recording on a Transcend 32gb class 10.

Test file was shot at ISO 2500, probably a stop underexposed still by the looks, just messing around in indoor light.

I'll do some slow panning on a monopod tomorrow with shutters @ and greater than 1/30th, and upload that.

Also I have gotten sizes a bit above 1080p working fine before too, which is useful I think for stabilising software if (such as deshaker) if you can shooter slightly wider than you want/need, so you don't have to blow up (or blow up as much) back to 1080p frame size for a 1080p output workflow. Combined with 25 fps would be great.

How to get higher bit-rates and true 24fps with Gh13?

kronstadt — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:57:42 +0000

Howdie comrades,

(long time reader, first time joiner/poster)

So I came back from London with 4 hours worth of lens-test footage - mostly night-shoots and hand-held. This was my first shoot with my Gh1 re-born as a Gh13 after I applied the hack with LPowell 100mbps settings, with Overall Bitrate set at 108,000,000. I shot everything in FHD AVCHD, on 32GB class 10 Transcend cards. As far as I can remember, my Gh13 never crashed or frose.

The footage looks great, but it's not as "mind-blowing" as I expected.

Once I came back I got a software called Mediainfo (free from SourceForge), so as to check bit-rates, fps etc (great simple software). And I was pretty upset to find out that most of my videos are in 25fps (NOT 24fps or 23.976fps as I expected) and have bit-rates ranging from 15 to 20mbps. Is this normal??? I mean where's the 100mbps? or at least the 50mbps? Am I missing something?

So , how can I make those videos be capturing in TRUE 24fps with bit-rates as high as 40, 50, or even 86mbps, or even higher???

Many Thanks in advance for your advices and suggestions.

PS: a personal message to Vitaliy Kiselev:
Vitaliy, ti GENIJ!!! Molodchina chto smog vzlomat' Gh1, Gh2 itd. Ti dal mnogo vozmozhnostei massam, snimat nastoyaschee KIHO. Tak derzhat', bratuxa! Salyut ot byvshego Sovka. i ogromnoe SPASIBO!

Hacked GH1 and Final Cut Pro

gohanmj — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 21:31:05 +0000

I am starting this thread because I have done a lot of research on the GH1 hack but I cannot find any information on what should be a common real-world problem with the hack. Here is the problem and all relevant information:

1. I have hacked my previously unhackable GH17 with all of the popular patches and a couple of my own modified patches using ptool 362.

2. Of all patches I have tried, lpowell's max latitude 100mbps patch seems to have the highest average bit rate according to Media Info.

3. Media Info says the max latitude patch has a max overall bit rate of 108 Mbps and averages 20.8 Mbps

4. Media Info says that footage from my unhacked GH17 has a max overall bit rate of 18 Mbps and averages 11.8 Mbps

5. Once my footage is transferred into Final Cut Pro 7 using Pro Res 422, the data rate in FCP7 of my unhacked footage averages 17 MBps while the data rate of my hacked footage averages about 13.5 MBps.

6. This discrepancy makes no sense to me. And moreover it would seem that if you edit in FCP7 that you are better off not hacking the GH1. Is this assumption correct? Can someone share more information on this issue?