I think Rambooc1 may have a point here; the issue is the camera cpus get overwhelmed with all the focusing. A good test is to turn focus to manual when you next test your failure with any patch. I am glad your lens is OK; my guess is the blocking of the Assist lamp that caused your focusing problems... Al
75Mbps GH1 Peak Performance Patch
- Thread starter Lpowell
- Start date
GH1_newguy
Member
Using lpowell High Reliability Hack
Again, this ain't art. But, these two clips show what I was describing.
Clip 1: 720p/60. The clip breaks are where the camera stopped with the 'can't write to memory' error.
Clip 2: 1080/24p (in 1080/60i wrapper). Could never get the memory error, but the GH1 does a much poorer job of focusing during zoom.
Finally, just for fun, here is a video shot using the un-hacked GH1 720p/60. The slow-mo was created by simply using time remapping to 10% in PP. It would've been great to have the possible higher res by using the Hacked GH1 720p/60 mode, but this was from our one vacation per year last August. This was all hand-held withthe 14-140 kit lens with my daughter bumping me pretty often. The auto-focus of the 14-140 does a great job (when shooting in 720p/60). I've never been too high on the results of any action scene shooting the 1080/24. I sure hope the hacked 720p/60 mode will allow better resolution now (and still pull focus as quickly?)
Again, this ain't art. But, these two clips show what I was describing.
Clip 1: 720p/60. The clip breaks are where the camera stopped with the 'can't write to memory' error.
Clip 2: 1080/24p (in 1080/60i wrapper). Could never get the memory error, but the GH1 does a much poorer job of focusing during zoom.
Finally, just for fun, here is a video shot using the un-hacked GH1 720p/60. The slow-mo was created by simply using time remapping to 10% in PP. It would've been great to have the possible higher res by using the Hacked GH1 720p/60 mode, but this was from our one vacation per year last August. This was all hand-held withthe 14-140 kit lens with my daughter bumping me pretty often. The auto-focus of the 14-140 does a great job (when shooting in 720p/60). I've never been too high on the results of any action scene shooting the 1080/24. I sure hope the hacked 720p/60 mode will allow better resolution now (and still pull focus as quickly?)
So this isn't related to the posts immediately above, but to the thread itself. I just tried to film two people on a blue screen, with movement, but nothing that should be codec-breaking, and the MJPEG mode of this patch failed immediately. After less than 5 seconds of recording a well-lit scene of average detail. Help?
Unfortunately, neither the GH1, GF1, nor the GH2 have a fully implemented ability to dynamically track focus during video recording. While the viewfinder does show the focus crosshair tracking the target, the camera has only a limited ability to adjust the focus of the lens while you're recording video. This feature is fully functional only on the G2, and after seeing how it works, it became clear to me that the auto-focus systems in all G-series cameras are highly sensitive to both internal and external disturbances.
The "Check the lens mount" error message is caused by incorrect seating of the lens on the camera's lens mount. There is a small chrome button at the 3-o'clock position of the lens mount that detects the presence of the lens. If this button is even slightly depressed, the camera will report a lens mount error.
None of the auto-focus Micro Four Thirds zooms I have tested are truly parfocal, i.e. they do not remain mechanically in-focus when zoomed. In addition, while zooming the camera must also readjust the physical lens aperture in order to maintain a constant aperture setting. The Lumix 14-140mm lens is a particularly severe case, due to its extreme zoom range.
When you zoom the lens during a video take, the camera immediately detects the loss of focus-lock and attempts to correct it. However, continuous slow zooming will repeatedly invalidate the camera's attempts to regain focus-lock, forcing it to abort and retry its focusing sequence over and over again. It appears that this may increase the processing load enough to cause the camera to occasionally fail to maintain video capture and recording at the same time. This is inherently more likely to happen when using high frame rates combined with a bitrate that has been increased via PTool. If you add Optical Image Stabilization on top, you are demanding maximum performance from the camera even at lower bitrates.
One thing you may want to try is using the "H" instead of "SH" mode for 720p60 video recording. This will lower the average bitrate to a less demanding setting which may work more reliably while zooming. You might also consider turning AFC off before starting each video take. In normal use, I set the camera to AFS mode while framing a shot, and switch to Manual Focus just before hitting the Record button. This allows me to pull focus manually after using the camera to initially auto-focus the lens.
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Willyfan
Member
Many thanks to lpowell for this setting.
I tried t take a lot of very detailed scenes in my garden, without problem at all, on a class 6 card. I have some class 10 cards, but the setting work well with goos class 6 also.
Despite I'm in PAL area, I prefear take at 24 fps, so I removed the wrapper using avisynth and virtualdub.
During my test, I took my cat in funny action:
Video quality was very good: I can apply some color correction, stabilizations etc. without artefacts.
Many thanks again!
I tried t take a lot of very detailed scenes in my garden, without problem at all, on a class 6 card. I have some class 10 cards, but the setting work well with goos class 6 also.
Despite I'm in PAL area, I prefear take at 24 fps, so I removed the wrapper using avisynth and virtualdub.
During my test, I took my cat in funny action:
Video quality was very good: I can apply some color correction, stabilizations etc. without artefacts.
Many thanks again!
How?
Willyfan
Member
I used this script:
Set compression and setcompdata are for MATROX codec, if you want others codec you must change this line.
A.e., if you want a uncompressed AVI, you can use the lagarith codec http://lags.leetcode.net/codec.html
Change the lines with:
Obviusly, you need avisynth and virtualdub installed, and the codec you want. Pay attention to the line
you must have the exact location of virtualdub installation.
Code:
for %%f IN (*.mts) DO (
echo directshowsource^("%%f"^).AssumeTFF^(^).SeparateFields^(^) > %%~nf.avs
echo Assert^(width^(^) == 1920, "Not a 1080p24 source"^) >> %%~nf.avs
echo x0 = selectevery^(10, 0,1^).Weave^(^) >> %%~nf.avs
echo x1 = selectevery^(10, 2,3^).Weave^(^) >> %%~nf.avs
echo x2 = selectevery^(10, 5,6^).Weave^(^) >> %%~nf.avs
echo x3 = selectevery^(10, 8,9^).Weave^(^) >> %%~nf.avs
echo Interleave^(x0,x1,x2,x3^) >> %%~nf.avs
)
for %%f IN (*.avs) DO (
echo VirtualDub.Open^("%%f"^); >> %%~nf.jobs
echo VirtualDub.video.SetCompression^(0x3130376d,0,10000,0^); >> %%~nf.jobs
echo VirtualDub.video.SetCompData^(52,"aAmOAQC6jQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=="^); >> %%~nf.jobs
echo VirtualDub.SaveAVI^("%%~nf.avi"^); >> %%~nf.jobs
echo VirtualDub.audio.SetSource^(1^);
echo VirtualDub.Close^(^); >> %%~nf.jobs
)
for %%f IN (*.jobs) DO (
"C:\Program Files\VirtualDub\vdub.exe" /min /x /s %%~ff
)
for %%f IN (*.jobs) DO (
del /Q %%f
)
for %%f IN (*.avs) DO (
del /Q %%f
)Set compression and setcompdata are for MATROX codec, if you want others codec you must change this line.
A.e., if you want a uncompressed AVI, you can use the lagarith codec http://lags.leetcode.net/codec.html
Change the lines with:
Code:
echo VirtualDub.video.SetCompression^("Lags",0,10000,0^); >> %%~nf.jobs
echo VirtualDub.video.SetOutputFormat^(11^); >> %%~nf.jobsObviusly, you need avisynth and virtualdub installed, and the codec you want. Pay attention to the line
Code:
"C:\Program Files\VirtualDub\vdub.exe" /min /x /s %%~ffyou must have the exact location of virtualdub installation.
GH1_newguy
Member
Thanks a lot for the very good advice (and for all your work in investigating stable settings). I will try some of your suggestions (but probably not till the weekend, I have a 'day job' that keeps me from my hobby). But, I'm not sure trying to use manual focus would work for some of the clips I try to capture. The clip of the pelican diving for fish is a good example. If you watch closely in the slow-mo portion of the clip you can see some loss of focus but then a very rapid auto re-focusing as the pelican flies by (especially in "Clip 3"). This is readily apparent in the slow-mo, but, in real-time it is almost impossible to detect. But, that's my point. I would have zero chance to ever manually adjust the focus in response to the pelican's rapid flight, but, the GH1 with 14-140 lens does an amazing job at refocusing in a matter of a couple frames. This was one of the big differentiators of the GH1 Camera System with the 14-140 lens from other 'real' DSLRS available at the time: they could not zoom and auto-focus when shooting video. So: I agree in principle with the idea of just using the auto-focus as an initial aid, then using manual focus afterwards, but, that won't work well for rapidly moving subjects. Plus, I take all my clips just using hand-held, and adjusting the focus ring and tracking a subject would cause way too much camera motion, especially at any kind of zoom.
I really like your suggestin of using the [H] setting. I've only ever used [SH] for 720/60 (to get the 17 Mbps VBR), but, I notice that the max VBR in your High Rel "J" setting is still much higher at 24 Mbps, so...yes. I'll give that a try as soon as I return home from work.
Thanks to all. I just discovered this forum (even though my membership date shows a year ago, back then I saw this forum once on a late night, registered an account, then never came back till late Saturday Night Feb 19, 2011). There is an amazing amount of great detailed info here. I know I am just a hobbyist surrounded by a lot of pros, so I may ask some pretty dumb q's sometimes. But, I have a thick skin, so, looking stupid in on on-line forum is worth it when the payback is learning from such knowledgeable, experienced folks.
Thanks to all for sharing.
And, in the future, you'll hear much less personal gushing about what a great forum this is from me, and more q's (and maybe even an answer or suggestion or two).
Cheers.
lpowell, just installing your patch as-is with no modifications, I can still get it to break in 1080p24 using Pappasart's chart of codec death. Any suggestions? Is there a way to make the high-res MJPEG more functional? I think I'm going to go back to your 41 Mbps high-reliability patch for the AVCHD modes, since I can't get that to break, but having a 29.97 fps mode that is higher resolution than the 720p60 AVCHD would be helpful for broadcast use. Currently I just shoot 1080p24 and convert to 29.97 (Avid can do this and make the 29.97 visually indistinguishable from 24) but it'd be nice to have a 30 fps that's more than 720p, so that I wouldn't have to transcode the framerate. Do you have any other MJPEG patches that have the high resolution of this patch?
This is disappointing lpowel. I would think that if the lens aperture is such that DOF is wide enough for the target of the video, the camera shouldn't be wasting a lot of time refocusing. Also since Panny lenses have lens OIS, I would think this is a small load on the camera cpu's. I have a feeling that the 14-140 lens may be more fine-tuned to the GH2 than the GH1.
That pelican diving video clip should not need that much focusing. The pelican dives vertically and I can't see why there is a need for continuous refocusing. I would suggest that the 14-140 does not work that well with the GH1. You can experiment with AFS instead of AFC. When you observe the video needing refocusing, simply gently press the shutter to cause refocusing. An alternative is to use MF after the initial framing. Again, with good DOF on those ocean shots, or many other home video clips, one should not need constant re-focusing... Al
GH1_newguy
Member
aljudy: Thanks for the advice. I'll look into the option of using AFS vs AFC but I'm 99% sure that when recording video, the GH1 always auto-focuses in either choice (but I'm at work: lunchtime post, I'll verify when I get home). Yes, manual focus is a choice for slowly moving targets, and I'm jazzed about having the option to crank up the resolution of the video by using these hacks. It's really great that these hacks have opened up so many opportunities to customize just how you want your camera to behave.
I'm no pro, but, I assume some pros might have settings saved for different types of shoot on different cards. One setting for, say a wedding: Slow moving humans that allows for manual focusing and very high VBRs for great resolution. And maybe another card with settings for something else (say an air show: Lower VBRs to allow the camera to do its auto-focusing) while also maintaining 'improved' resolution over the factory defaults?
I'm just a hobbyist capturing moments of family life to share with my kin, so, I'll be seeking something more general purpose. Higher res will be good, but, I also want the ability to maintain auto-focus on reasonably fast subjects. But, I'm not sure that there is even an issue with maintaining auto-focus with the hacks as long as you don't change the zoom? The only errors I've seen are when zooming or panning way faster than anyone ever would (again only using 720/60 in the Hi Rel (and especially the High Performance patch).
I still think it is great that it is possible to tailor the GH1 to shoot video the way we want. Now I need another weekend to 'play', using these very well researched hacks as a starting point.
Cheers
I use my GH1 for professional work and I've never had a problem with AF. If you half-press the shutter in AFS while recording, the camera refocuses once, and keeps that focus until you release the shutter release. I usually either set focus before recording, or while recording, half-press and hold the shutter release, causing the camera to refocus once and hold that, and then hold the shutter release (halfway). If you don't hold it, the camera will refocus continuously. In my experience, AFC causes continuous AF whether you half-press or not.
You can also just press the AF LOCK button.
I am no pro either, but I have different hacks in different cards just for the reasons you cite.
I keep thinking about your findings and why I get no failures. Perhaps there are other camera settings aggravating your situation. I use spot focusing, and perhaps that also helps. I can't see why you should be getting refocusing on slow zooms, unless you have area focusing or other than spot focusing. I can see Panning requiring focusing, especially if done fast. Slow panning with shutter half-way press triggers should do this fine without too much re-focusing. Again, I think the "video optimized" 14-140 lens is probably paranoid about focusing... Al
Lumix auto-focus lenses do not function like manual-focus zooms which maintain precise focus and aperture settings by mechanical design. Native M4/3 lenses are utterly dependent on active electronic compensation to correct their inherent shortcomings. Even the slightest touch on the zoom ring will disturb both focus and aperture settings, forcing the camera to readjust its internal lens settings. When you zoom continuously, the camera must attempt to dynamically compensate both aperture and focus, not just once, but repeatedly. OIS likewise imposes a continuous demand on the camera to repeatedly compensate lens framing up to 60 times a second. It appears that if you activate multiple automated features during video recording at high bitrates, it may occasionally exceed the camera's real-time processing capabilities. While the camera reports the overload as an SD card "write-speed limitation", experience has shown that these recording failures may occur with even the fastest SD cards available.
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Thanks for your wisdom lpowell. Does this electronic compesation happen with all the settings? Like the A setting seems would not require aperture adjustment, the M setting? Creative Movie?
I find this camera so complex that it takes a long time to know all its features; add hacks and we have super complexity, don't we?
I find this camera so complex that it takes a long time to know all its features; add hacks and we have super complexity, don't we?
It doesn't matter what camera settings you use, the lenses always require active electronic compensation. The Lumix auto-focus lenses would be useless without it, as neither their aperture nor focus can be set mechanically.
GH1_newguy
Member
lpowell suggested: "One thing you may want to try is using the "H" instead of "SH" mode for 720p60 video recording. This will lower the average bitrate to a less demanding setting which may work more reliably while zooming. You might also consider turning AFC off before starting each video take. In normal use, I set the camera to AFS mode while framing a shot, and switch to Manual Focus just before hitting the Record button. This allows me to pull focus manually after using the camera to initially auto-focus the lens.".
YES!!! By the time I got home from work, it was dark outside, but I shot the same wall of books (and clutter) as last night, but this time using the [H] instead of [SH] quality setting. I never got a single failure. So...I will absolutely positively be keeping the 'Hi Reliability' patch in my GH1.
As an FYI the 'data rate' as shown in Win7 Explorer shows 33 Mbps for the SH clip (with the failures) and it is 22.5 Mbps for the H clip that did not have any failures.
Of course, now I'm wondering if there is an intermediate bitrate I can put into the hack for the [H] setting? The VBR for FHD/SH is 41 M, and the VBR for H is now 24 M. Are there any restrictions of values that can be used for the Mas bitrates? Do they need to be multiples of any number? I'd like to boost the 24 M for the H setting from 24 to ??, but, I don't know if any value is allowed, or whether it is related to any others?
I know, getting greedy, but....
I see that it the High Performance Patch you have set the Max BR to 29M. I think that I will reload the MAX PERFORMANCE patch, then try the [H] setting. If it has no memory write errors trying to zoom on the wall of books, I'll try keeping the HIGH PERFORMANCE patch in place and get the great resolution in 1080p/24, and use the [H] setting to get what I often desire (which is the fast auto-focusing that comes from the 60 fps). I'll let you know how that goes.
Thanks again for all the work you have done.
PS: I recall seeing a mention of where to download the tool that allows to view the VBRs. Do you have that link handy?
YES!!! By the time I got home from work, it was dark outside, but I shot the same wall of books (and clutter) as last night, but this time using the [H] instead of [SH] quality setting. I never got a single failure. So...I will absolutely positively be keeping the 'Hi Reliability' patch in my GH1.
As an FYI the 'data rate' as shown in Win7 Explorer shows 33 Mbps for the SH clip (with the failures) and it is 22.5 Mbps for the H clip that did not have any failures.
Of course, now I'm wondering if there is an intermediate bitrate I can put into the hack for the [H] setting? The VBR for FHD/SH is 41 M, and the VBR for H is now 24 M. Are there any restrictions of values that can be used for the Mas bitrates? Do they need to be multiples of any number? I'd like to boost the 24 M for the H setting from 24 to ??, but, I don't know if any value is allowed, or whether it is related to any others?
I know, getting greedy, but....
I see that it the High Performance Patch you have set the Max BR to 29M. I think that I will reload the MAX PERFORMANCE patch, then try the [H] setting. If it has no memory write errors trying to zoom on the wall of books, I'll try keeping the HIGH PERFORMANCE patch in place and get the great resolution in 1080p/24, and use the [H] setting to get what I often desire (which is the fast auto-focusing that comes from the 60 fps). I'll let you know how that goes.
Thanks again for all the work you have done.
PS: I recall seeing a mention of where to download the tool that allows to view the VBRs. Do you have that link handy?
The H setting in the 75Mbps Peak Performance Patch is set to the highest bitrate that will reliably record extended-length 720p60 videos (which require MTS file-spanning beyond 4GB). If you'd like to increase the H setting's reliability margin, you can lower the bitrate in 1Mbps steps until it meets your requirements.
rambooc1
Well-known member
Actually i made an incorrect post about focus speed, 60fps is faster to auto focus than say 24fps as there is more info for the GH1 to use, but if the data rate is too high i will rob processor speed.
Something that might also be of help to you, the 45-200 Panasonic lens is very fast in auto focus mode if you half press the shutter while recording and have the green square centered, it's virtually instantaneous. I use this lens for shooting surfskis moving on the ocean from the back of a jetski and it's very impressive. Also cheap ($250) with OIS.
Example http://vimeo.com/19926458
Something that might also be of help to you, the 45-200 Panasonic lens is very fast in auto focus mode if you half press the shutter while recording and have the green square centered, it's virtually instantaneous. I use this lens for shooting surfskis moving on the ocean from the back of a jetski and it's very impressive. Also cheap ($250) with OIS.
Example http://vimeo.com/19926458