GH2 Can't record in Ex. Tele. Conv.

W

WhatAndGiveUpShowBusiness

Member
Still getting familiar with GH-2 settings logic, and I'm finding that i can't record video in Ex. Tele. Conv. mode. I've of course been setting Ex. Tele. Conv. setting to "on" for both motion picture and still picture, and although that generates the little "Ex" film camera icon, and gets me the expected extended zoom views of the image in the LCD viewfinder -- once I hit record to try to record video (and even when i depress the shutter button just to try to take a still picture) the image reverts to non-Ex. Tele. Conv. mode. Lens is the Panasonic 14-140 zoom lens.

I've scrutinized both the Panasonic GH-2 user guide and the "The Panasonic Lumix GH2: The Unofficial Quintessential Guide" by Matsumoto and Rouillard. Have made sure that quality on the still pictures setting is NOT set at RAW. But try as many permutations of settings as I might, I can't get the darn thing to record either still or motion pictures in ETC view -- I can only preview them in that view.

I wonder if there's some dumb thing I'm neglecting to do with settings logic. Anyone have any suggestions?

Got the camera used and with EOSHD "Vanilla" high bit rate hack. Camera came in great condition and all other features seem to be working very nicely. What gives?
 
First it will not work with iA, none of the RAW, must be one of the two JPEG. Picture size must be other than L (picture size with EX in front of the size). Read pages 66-67 of the NTSC Manual that I have... Al
 
aljudy said:
First it will not work with iA, none of the RAW, must be one of the two JPEG. Picture size must be other than L (picture size with EX in front of the size). Read pages 66-67 of the NTSC Manual that I have... Al
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Looking at pp 66-67 of the Panasonic Operating Instructions, and I do see that Ex. Tele. Conv. won't work with IA or any RAW setting or L still picture size. Understood (though note that my main interest in in recording video, not still pictures). Also, re: JPEG, page 66 of those instructions specifically talks about Ex. Tele. Conv. magnifications at 1080i, 720p AND JPEG settings, basically indicating that video in any of those settings should allow for Ex. Tele. Conv. recording.

In any event, even at M (not L) picture settings, not using IA setting, not setting quality at any RAW setting - I still can't record a still picture in ETC. Ditto for video. Can only see the ETC views in the viewfinder as a kind of preview - once I hit the shutter button or even depress it half-way, view reverts to non-ETC (regular) view and that's all I can record.
 
Ahhh - now I see what I was doing wrong. It's so stupid, it's laughable. I was confusing the touch-zoom-in feature (touching the LCD viewfinder gets you a zoomed in view, presumably as a focusing aid) which acts as a preview only and has nothing to do with the view for recording stills or video. In fact I was accessing, and always able to record, the Ex. Tele. Conv. views, all along. I just wasn't aware of it because I was (stupidly) failing to compare the image obtained with ETC set to "on" with the view obtained with ETC set to "off." There WAS a difference in magnification there. I just was being observant enough to notice it, because I was confusing the touch-zoomed-in view (for focussing) with the ETC view. What a dope! Getting the hang of the settings logic, slowly...
 
Don't be to hard on yourself, The Gh2 menus are setup very strange. I don't understand why they didn't just lay it out with normal terminology as opposed to their pani proprietary mumbo jumbo. This was at least fixed in the gh3.
 
Undoubtedly it's a corporate commitment to keep the progress on English language user manuals limited. Although grammar errors back in the seventies (for those of us no longer in the first blush of youth) were more comical than they are now, there must be some ongoing cost-savings policy preventing them from shelling out for better technical writing. Feel free to rebut this snarkiness, any of you fans of these manuals out there.
 
WhatAndGiveUpShowBusiness said:
Ahhh - now I see what I was doing wrong....
Click to expand...
Glad to read you figured it out. I recall it took me a long time to learn this camera (bought more than a year ago). I still learn something new once in a while; this is a complex camera with many options. I recommend you store your ETC settings into one of the C1, C2, or C3 settings; this way when you want ETC, just move your dial there... Al
 
I understand it's possible to assign a setting (such as the ETC "on" or "off" choice setting) to a button on the back of the GH-2 (maybe one of the arrow buttons), to save the operating time it would otherwise take to drill down through various menus to get to that setting. Haven't tried this yet, but that's what I've heard or read, possibly even on DVX forums.
 
aljudy said:
I recommend you store your ETC settings into one of the C1, C2, or C3 settings; this way when you want ETC, just move your dial there... Al
Click to expand...

It's funny, just this morning I figured out how to use ETC and set it on the Fn3 button. It's funny how you randomly learn obvious nuances of devices as you use them.
 
The reason I suggest a C1, C2, or C3 setting is that ETC requires a lot of things set correctly for it to work. Normally I shoot RAW, I have picture size large, etc. An Fn button only does one thing. The three Cx's affect all cammera settings which means the camera will be ready to do ETC when this is selected... Al
 
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