GH13 Does hacking a GH1/GH2 eventually lead to sensor damage?

L

LarryGopnik

New member
Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm graduating from film school after another semester and I think it's about time I get my own camera. I've used just about every Canon dslr (t2i, t3i, 60d, 7d) besides the 5d, and I really enjoyed shooting with them, and by now I'm very familiar with them. Just recently I saw a video comparing the Canon dslrs to a hacked GH1, and I couldn't believe how much sharper the GH1 was with finer details. After discovering that you could get a body for about $300 I knew I wanted to get one.

This was months ago, and now I feel as though more and more people are into the hacked Panasonic cameras, which has really increased the price of even the older GH1 bodies, I haven't found one for under $400 in some time. Also I feel as though they are getting harder and harder to find. On top of that I recently read something saying that hacking a GH1/GH2 eventually leads to sensor damage because of the frequent overheating. I hadn't heard such a thing until recently, and I can't find anything else to back the article up, so I was wondering if this is actually true?

So basically the rising price/difficulty to find/and the possibility of sensor damage is making me weary about buying a Panasonic camera, and it's making me lean towards getting a T3i.

If anyone has any input I would greatly appreciate it.

I already have what I think is a pretty solid set of lenses so if any of these work better on a specific model that could also be helpful:

SMC SuperTakumar 55mm f1.8
SuperTakumar 50mm f1.4
Nikkor-O 35mm f2
Olympus OM 28mm f3.5
Nikkor 24mm f2.8 (non ai)

Thanks in advance.
 
LarryGopnik said:
Hey all, long time lurker, first time poster.

I'm graduating from film school after another semester and I think it's about time I get my own camera. I've used just about every Canon dslr (t2i, t3i, 60d, 7d) besides the 5d, and I really enjoyed shooting with them, and by now I'm very familiar with them. Just recently I saw a video comparing the Canon dslrs to a hacked GH1, and I couldn't believe how much sharper the GH1 was with finer details. After discovering that you could get a body for about $300 I knew I wanted to get one.

This was months ago, and now I feel as though more and more people are into the hacked Panasonic cameras, which has really increased the price of even the older GH1 bodies, I haven't found one for under $400 in some time. Also I feel as though they are getting harder and harder to find. On top of that I recently read something saying that hacking a GH1/GH2 eventually leads to sensor damage because of the frequent overheating. I hadn't heard such a thing until recently, and I can't find anything else to back the article up, so I was wondering if this is actually true?

So basically the rising price/difficulty to find/and the possibility of sensor damage is making me weary about buying a Panasonic camera, and it's making me lean towards getting a T3i.

If anyone has any input I would greatly appreciate it.

I already have what I think is a pretty solid set of lenses so if any of these work better on a specific model that could also be helpful:

SMC SuperTakumar 55mm f1.8
SuperTakumar 50mm f1.4
Nikkor-O 35mm f2
Olympus OM 28mm f3.5
Nikkor 24mm f2.8 (non ai)

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

No.
 
It won't hurt the sensor.

For that matter, it won't overheat (at least mine hasn't in the time I've owned it).
 
Has nothing to do with the sensor. The sensor will capture more detail than any hack can. Only recording externally will match it. The processors inside are what the hack affects, and if the sensor doesn't overheat, I doubt the processors will. The sensor is probably the biggest source of heat besides the battery.
 
Canons heat up when taking video, so perhaps those are Canon fans saying the GHx heat up. GH1/GH2 do not heat up when taking videos hacked or not... Al
 
The only real problems with the GH1 is with FPN in high iso on some models. FPN is Fixed Patter Noise, it looks like plaid or checkerboard patterns in the image. If you get a bad model, anything over ISO 800 is almost un-usable unless you use B&W settings. The GH2 has much better low light performance in high ISO.

Word has it the GH3 will come out at the end of the year and the GH2s will probably go on closeout then. Around Oct or Nov would be the best time to get a GH2.

Another option is to get a GX1 or GF2/3/. Those are also hackable, but only do 30/25p, no 24p and no manual controls in video mode but that's on the "to-do" list for hacks.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I'm probably going to try and get a GH2 once the GH3 comes out, hoping that the price actually does drop. Part of me thinks the demand is still going to be pretty high.
 
Dont forget you dont need to hack a GH2 to get far superior resolution than canon dslrs,i have owned both and and am happy with my GH2 unhacked.
 
Okay thanks guys, you're all helping me get back into the mindset of definitely getting a Panasonic camera.

There is one last thing that I'm a bit concerned about, that being the screen resolution. I know it has about half the resolution that the canons have.
Does this make focusing a manual prime lens difficult? Or is it still manageable? I'm only going to be shooting manual so this is very important to me.

Thanks again.
 
From just looking at the LCD, it'll probably be a bit hard. I prefer using either the EVF or a magnifying loupe on the LCD. Even though the screens are low res, you can easily tell what's in focus when magnified. If you're using a fast lens wide open, you can click the wheel on the back of the camera to go into focus assist mode, which zooms way in, making focusing any lens a piece of cake. You can also adjust the area you're zooming into, and the magnification of the zoom.
 
Thanks for the quick response bomber.

Is the EVF just the regular viewfinder on top?

That focus assist feature seems pretty cool, as long as there is indeed a way to get an accurate focus I'm happy.
 
That would be very handy to have indeed, however I couldn't afford such a thing. I'm having a hard enough time saving up for a camera.

Paying for school/rent/car insurance is really destroying me financially right now.
 
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