GH2 Comprehensive and clear instructions on how to hack a GH2

Sam Mallery

Sam Mallery

Well-known member
Over the weekend I wrote a how-to guide for hacking the GH2, and I figured I'd share it here:

http://www.sam-mallery.com/2011/11/an-ez-guide-to-hacking-the-panasonic-gh2/

I spent a couple days researching how to hack my GH2 in September, but I was never able to find a clear set of instructions. I was only able to confidently hack my camera after stringing together information from several different websites and tutorial videos. After that experience, I ended up leaving the hack on my camera for several weeks. When I decided to try out a new patch last week, I went to my desk and realized that I had completely forgotten how to do it. I was only able to hack again after researching for several more hours.

As I worked, I made a list of notes on how to carry out the procedure (so I wouldn't forget how to do it again). I decided to flesh out those notes and turn it into a post on my blog. It seemed like a decent amount of people could benefit from it.

If anyone notices any inaccurate information in my instructions, I would really like to hear about it, so I can amend the post and make it more comprehensive.

Thanks!
Sam
 
Much appreciated. I haven't gotten a GH2 yet, current in process of doing so...but I'll turn to this first when I try some of the hacks.
 
Just a quick note - you don't have to reformat the SD card after the update. The reason you're getting the message BODY VERSION UP? when you press the Play button is because the firmware file is still on the SD card. Just delete it and you're good to go.
 
Hey Sam
Thanks for this. I've never done the hack and have been trying to figure out. Very generous of you to share this. You were also very helpful to me once in regards to sound questions. Nice guy...
 
Just completed the step-by-step. I got to the end but got an error on my camera that I can't update without a full battery. So, it's charging. Excellent guide, followed it without a problem!
 
You're all welcome! I'm glad people are getting some use out of it.

Movie_Dude_3 said:
Is there anything to look for that confirms the hack worked?
Click to expand...

For me, I notice the hack by how my camera behaves. I used the 66m cbrandin hack for a while, and the video files were much larger than they had been before. I could burn through an 8GB SD card much faster than I had before. Also, the behavior of the camera was a bit unruly. Sometimes clips wouldn't playback inside the camera unless I turned it off and on again. My footage looked fantastic, but I'm not a true pixel peeper. I think the footage from a stock GH2 looks fantastic too. But I believe the folks who say the hack improves shadow detail and things like that. One of the main reasons I chose a GH2 over a Canon or a Nikon was the possibility of a hack (the other main reason I chose it was the amazingly helpful forum here at DVXuser). I find the hack intriguing, adn I was dying to do it. I'm glad I did.

I also shot a spec commercial with the 44m cbrandin hack. That one performed really solidly. My GH2 behaved like it does with the stock firmware, and my cards didn't fill up as quickly as they did with the 66m hack, but they filled up faster than they did with the stock firmware. As usual, the footage looked amazing.

I recently loaded one of Driftwoods latest 176m patches, but I haven't shot with it yet, so I don't have an informed opinion. I'm sure I'll notice how quickly my cards fill up once I shoot a project. It's kind of lame, but how fast my cards fill up is the main yardstick by how I can tell if the hack is doing its thing.
 
Thanks for the guide! just got a GH2 because of the hacking going on , now the question that I'd love to hear is the best hacks.. What I'm looking for is good reliability.. yet good results. User reviews for various setups would be awesome! Anyone know where if that exists?
 
MrHeavySilence said:
Do the names of the patches show up when you load the bin in ptools?
Click to expand...

The patches you load are .ini files. The bin files are the firmwares you load into the GH2 for the hack.

No, the names of .ini files don't show up after loading into Ptool. But you can check the video bitrate in Ptool to see which patch/.ini file you've loaded. So if you have loaded a 176M .ini file, you can confirm it under Patches for end users>AVCHD>Video Bitrate 24H. You'll see 176000000 in green in the Video bitrate field.

If you;re still in doubt, hover your mouse over a green Ptool button to reveal the name of the patch and click to reload it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top