Asleep At The Wheel

David W. Jones said:
??? Why do I need a rig to shoot with a GH2, I use the camera stripped down, that's my whole point in using it???

??? Are you seriously going to compare the cost of a class 10 card against the cost of the Hyperdeck shuttle/cable/mount/SSD/and SD card which you will still need???
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Well, if you like jello, then shoot with the GH2 handheld. To each his own I guess.

Number one, I didn't compared the cost of hyperdeck+cable+mount+SSD. I compared SSD vs Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB, which pretty much buys you a 128GB SSD. Please read my post again, this time without skipping forward.

Number two, why do you still need a class 10 SD card with the AF100 if you're using a Hyperdeck?

Number 3, why is this board so sensitive? It's much like being in a school for girls only, but I have come across girls with thicker skin than some here. Jesus! It's a tool!

If you are going to really compare, it's not a matter of if Hyperdeck shuttle/cable/mount/SSD/and SD card is much more expesnive than a GH2 +hack. It's really a matter of Hyperdeck shuttle/cable/mount/SSD/and SD card/Waveform/Vectorscope/Real Zebras/ND filters/HD-SDI/better LCD/Larger more useful proper videol EFV/Uncompressed 16 bit audio/XLRs/Real VFR/Timecode/Extensive image control vs whatever the GH2+hack is. If you're really going down that road things can get quite complicate and boil down to buy what you need and what you can afford. All I said is if you're going to compare image quality, comparing a non stock product vs a stock product is not really any help. It's a bit like buying a Yugo, dropping a V8 in it and trying to compare it to a Mustang. It may go faster since it's much lighter, but what's the point? It is still a freaking Yugo! Apples to Oranges and you can also modify the Mustang. Of course it will cost you more if all is added up. It's a higher end model.
 
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I get Adam's inquiry; I don't think he's trying to give anybody any guff. On price and compactness, the AF100 clearly isn't going to win anyway. Conversely on flexibility and utility, the GH2 clearly isn't going to win; it's a "one-trick pony," needs more ancillary equipment to achieve the same overall results (ie sound, power endurance, etc), and some capabilities it can't match at all (VFR, TC, clean signal out, etc). If the test, then, was to compare image alone, why not see how it compares when its video signal is fully unleashed vs. hampered by AVCHD (if you have the hardware to do so)?

That said, LPowell is absolutely right, and the AF could clearly do a lot better INTERNALLY through a firmware upgrade or hack... but (so far) Panny and/or the hackers don't see the numbers in the effort. More's the pity, but I can't rightly fault them - there are a lot more settings to mess with and mess up, and even then, one big attraction of the AF100 is dead-on no-cares-or-worries reliability - which a hack might kill. For my uses, the current internal AF codec isn't great, but "good enough," and money for the external recorder was better spent on a good lens - or a GH2.

For some situations the AF makes sense, for others it doesn't. For some situations the GH makes sense, for others it doesn't. Often times, concerns are about much more than image quality. Some folks have both and use either as the situations warrants.
 
Adamsenoj said:
...my reasoning was that if you are going to compare, it should be out of the box vs out of the box. If you are going to do something to improve the GH2, even if it's for free, you're still not using the camera as it came from the factory. If you are going to do something to improve the GH2's results, there are also things you can do to improve the AF100 results, like the Hyperdeck.

It's a bit like buying a Yugo, dropping a V8 in it and trying to compare it to a Mustang. It may go faster since it's much lighter, but what's the point? It is still a freaking Yugo!
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In hot-rodding terms, upgrading the GH2 with an after-market firmware patch is like plugging in a custom ECU chip to boost your horsepower. Once it's done, both camera and car continue to operate as before, but with significantly improved performance.

By contrast, bypassing the AF100's built-in encoder with an external video recorder is tantamount to a complete engine swap. In both cases, you have to make a significant investment and understand how it's going to affect your workflow (or maintenance costs in the case of a car). If AF100 + DNxHD recorder is a realistic option for you, I think the relevant comparison would be with the upcoming MFT version of the Black Magic Cinema Camera:

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccinemacamera/
 
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lpowell said:
In hot-rodding terms, upgrading the GH2 with an after-market firmware patch is like plugging in a custom ECU chip to boost your horsepower. Once it's done, both camera and car continue to operate as before, but with significantly improved performance.

By contrast, bypassing the AF100's built-in encoder with an external video recorder is tantamount to a complete engine swap. In both cases, you have to make a significant investment and understand how it's going to affect your workflow (or maintenance costs in the case of a car). If AF100 + DNxHD recorder is a realistic option for you, I think the relevant comparison would be with the upcoming MFT version of the Black Magic Cinema Camera:

http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/blackmagiccinemacamera/
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Fair enough. But I would say the recorder has got to be the transmission. The engine is most definitely the sensor block. ;)
 
I don't get jello in my shots. But then again I pay attention to what I'm doing.

I own both cameras by the way.

School girl? I thought I was more like a grouchy old man!

Sorry, been editing TV commercials since 4:30am this morning & just finished up.
 
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