GH2 Can Anyone Answer This??!

R

redman7t

Member
I have a big question to ask and I feel that some might think I'm trying to be inflammatory, but please I just want a honest answer.(please no "just don't do it if your scared")
I'll start from the beginning, I was planning to get the firmware to hack the gh cameras from ptool but then I noticed a License agreement before the firmware download. Honestly I don't usually read through the whole agreement but something caught my eye. Here at http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/index.html, right before the download option is what i'm talking about. "Article 2: Restrictions Customer may not modify, reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Software." then futher down "Panasonic may terminate this AGREEMENT if Customer fails to comply with any of the terms and conditions of this AGREEMENT or loses the possession of the Product. In such event, Customer must cease the use of the Software and Website.". I was very surprised when seeing this and I have always heard that doing the hack could void the warranty but not to the extent that you "must cease the use of the Software and Website." Now my question is if we must cease the use of the Software and website, then why are so many filmmakers such as philip bloom(panasonic even lets him preview their next gen products), b&h(shared the option in video form on the product listing for gh1 cameras), and many more promoting this? How are famous people such as Philip Bloom promoting this with no repercussions from Panasonic or media? Is there something I'm missing, please someone explain this to me.
 
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I don't know much about hacking, but it may be that their not hacking the panisonic firmware, they may be writing a complete new firmware. Though I may be totally off the mark, but it's just a guess.
 
In other words.. if you screw around with our software and your camera goes wrong, you're on your own. I think that's fair enough. I doubt the micro four thirds police unit will come knocking on your door.
 
AdrianF said:
In other words.. if you screw around with our software and your camera goes wrong, you're on your own. I think that's fair enough. I doubt the micro four thirds police unit will come knocking on your door.
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So how do philip bloom and so many others who promote it have no repercussions. Since there so well known?
 
It is just like with jailbreakng your iphone. If it breaks after hacking, panasonic will not replace your camera. That's all. They will not call the cops or anything. Philip Bloom is making so much publicity for the GH2 that they probably are happy someone is showing their camera as a great tool. Also he bought his own camera and hacked it himself. Panasonic had nothing to do with it.

Besides Ptool is doing something very smart. It distributes the original untouched firmware, and gives you a tool that will make the modifications to it automatically. You will only find *.seta *.seb ... files online, not the actual modified firmware. Smart and out of the user agreement.
 
That agreement was written by lawyers. That's what lawyers do. Nothing to worry about, except that you could be out of warranty if you install the hack and something goes wrong.
 
redman7t said:
So how do philip bloom and so many others who promote it have no repercussions. Since there so well known?
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What is Panasonic going to do about it anyway? The worst they could do is sue you but the agreement doesn't allow for that. So there's nothing they can do.
 
Jester2138 said:
What is Panasonic going to do about it anyway? The worst they could do is sue you but the agreement doesn't allow for that. So there's nothing they can do.
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Thanks for the answers, but could you please explain what you mean by panasonic cannot not sue me for this?
 
Voids the warranty. But it's your camera, you paid for it. It's no longer Panasonic's camera, since they sold it to you. You can smash it and kick it and play soccer with it if you want. It's yours. Me personally, I'm getting two GH2-s - one for filmmaking and one for soccer.
 
karapetkov said:
Voids the warranty. But it's your camera, you paid for it. It's no longer Panasonic's camera, since they sold it to you. You can smash it and kick it and play soccer with it if you want. It's yours. Me personally, I'm getting two GH2-s - one for filmmaking and one for soccer.
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You are a madman. Send your "soccer" GH2 my way, I'll trade it for a regulation soccer ball. Win-win situation.
 
redman7t said:
Thanks for the answers, but could you please explain what you mean by panasonic cannot not sue me for this?
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As a previous person stated, these documents are created by lawyers to protect a company and its assets. The first thing they want to state is that they are not going to be responsible if you mess with the camera beyond its intended use. Secondly, and more importantly for this discussion, is the issue of intellectual property. The functioning of the firmware belongs to Panasonic and only they can profit from it unless they grant someone a license. The operative word here is PROFIT.

Were you to take the firmware, adapt it to some degree and then sell it as your product, or even as their product without a license, they will come down on you like a ton of bricks. In the case of the hack, no money is changing hands as a result of someone getting and using the hack. You cannot BUY the hack. It is distributed for FREE. Individuals can pool money to facilitate certain aspects of the "experiment", but no one is personally profiting from such an endeavor.

Now, I'm not a lawyer and there may be case law that could be tested in the future. But this is not the first time that this kind of activity has been carried out and it won't be the last. If Panasonic or Apple had already prevailed in stopping people from altering their legally purchased items by prosecuting those who choose to work on them in unconventional ways, none of this would be happening. But they haven't, and I really can't see them doing so.

Think of it another way. If you decided to burn your camera or a smartphone, have you effectively altered the firmware? An argument could be made that yes you have. Will you be prosecuted by Panasonic or Apple for burning the camera or smartphone? Of course not. You might get a local citation if you did it in a manner that endangered the public good, but that would be the extent of it.

So stop worrying and get on with your life.
 
So stop worrying and get on with your life.
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+1

the problem is that you tried reading that agreement without having your lawyer-goggles on.
its not written in a language that we puny humans are meant to understand.

the worst effect the hack has is help them sell more bodies ; )
 
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The point is, there is no law being broken by hacking your own camera. If you were going to hack cameras and sell them on ebay, then you could potentially be on dodgy ground, I don't know. It's modification and then redistribution of the modified software that would be illegal.
 
The hack isn't even in the same class as Magic Lantern for the Canon DSLRs which is totally new reverse engineered firmware that replaces the original Canon firmware. PTools enables tweaking various settings in the GH2 like bit rate, GOP etc that are normally inaccessible.
 
karapetkov said:
Voids the warranty. But it's your camera, you paid for it. It's no longer Panasonic's camera, since they sold it to you. You can smash it and kick it and play soccer with it if you want. It's yours. Me personally, I'm getting two GH2-s - one for filmmaking and one for soccer.
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+1 haha
 
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