FINALLY!! AF100 HACK Pledge

The fact of the matter is that no-one besides Panasonic knows what a hacker may find in the AF100. It's a different chip than the G-cams. It may have very little room to be changed, or it may be chock-full of deactivated features that were to be rolled out on future cameras. The only way to find out is to get someone a-hacking.
 
I think getting the nod from the hackers is the priority first rather than going overboard putting together a treasury for it. Other than money (which they dont seem motivated by) what other incentive is there?

Personally I hope it comes off and becomes available to all, not just a clique.
 
Well, the money's not even actually there, as far as I can tell. This so called "pot" is merely an addition of what people said they'd donate, not any cold hard cash that they've actually parted with.
 
someone mentioned a Kicktarter earlier in the thread. Great idea, get hacker on board and it's set up to see if the pledge can be reached through the crowdfunding, then I'm in.
 
I don't care about hacking the AF100 (beautiful image IMHO as is).... but I'd sure love someone to hack the chips in my vehicle so I can get killer gas mileage.
That's a hack I can get behind! :beer:

but I digress.....

I don't think Kickstarter would allow a hacking project?
 
ZazaCast said:
I don't care about hacking the AF100 (beautiful image IMHO as is).... but I'd sure love someone to hack the chips in my vehicle so I can get killer gas mileage.
That's a hack I can get behind! :beer:

but I digress.....

I don't think Kickstarter would allow a hacking project?
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We can call it a modification project. Improvement project. But don't worry. I've been contacted about the way to gather funds, that isn't a problem right now.
Here's the order of things, Vitaly says yes - then we get the money - buy the cameras - send them and money - wait, and then wait.
 
GanEdenVideo said:
I think getting the nod from the hackers is the priority first rather than going overboard putting together a treasury for it. Other than money (which they dont seem motivated by) what other incentive is there?

Personally I hope it comes off and becomes available to all, not just a clique.
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Couldn't have said it better! Exactly. That's what were doing.
 
PopcornFlix said:
The fact of the matter is that no-one besides Panasonic knows what a hacker may find in the AF100. It's a different chip than the G-cams. It may have very little room to be changed, or it may be chock-full of deactivated features that were to be rolled out on future cameras. The only way to find out is to get someone a-hacking.
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Yes sir! That's the only way to end all speculation!
 
Ignore the naysayers buddy, cant speak for anybody else but i'm happy to lay down hard cash if this gets the go ahead
 
Tim Joy said:
The GH2 was built for stills and video, so it stands to reason that the OLP filter is not as strong as the one on the AF100, so there is more sharpness/ resolution to be gained on the gh2 by increasing the recording quality. If the AF100 effectively has a 'blur' filter over the sensor, then there's only so much resolution you can get out of it, right?
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Actually, I think the opposite is true. I believe that the GH2, to capture 1,920 x 1,080, employs binning, which in effect creates "superpixels" out of groups of photosites. Unfortunately, the OLPF is not optimized for 1080p video but allows through finer detail than the superpixels can adequately handle. This may result in some undesirable aliasing/moire, although it's generally less pronounced than with the Canons (which line-skip). The AF100 also bins, but its OLPF is optimized for 1080p video. Where the hacked GH2 shines is in its ability to capture at far higher data rates, although at this point it's still at 4:2:0 and 8 bits.
 
Shooter said:
@dtzfilms

You appear to be confusing bitrate and resolution. (in your response to Ipowell)

High bitrate and high resolution are both related to high Image Quality... but they are independent of each other..until they come together as a data file. The combination of both will accrue into file size... and that is where compression becomes a factor.

You state that you wish to keep expectations of any AF100 hack realistic but then you continue to speculate what a hypothetical AF200 will offer with some degree of certainty. You have even lowered your own expectation of what the hack may achieve.

Sorry but... (and with all due respect) ...I now think this entire thread is becoming a figment of your imagination as to need for it and a degree of obsessive compulsiveness for something outside the realms of the purpose and design of the more than capable AF100.
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If it is his imagination, so be it. Imo a hack is possible. If pana wants to be a sport, supply Vitaly with 2 AF100's. It will cost less to nothing and it will prove you right and we will stop this so called imagination, but if you don't, you leave the door open for all sorts of speculations about the truthfulness of the remarks about the pathways. On the other hand i can imagine that if it is possible to hack and improve the camera, the spokes person of Pana has a big problem. In politics one can always say: " I was misinformed".
 
Why would any one think that Panasonic would give vitality a pair of af100s or support a hack at all?

They don't want their products hacked.
 
EndCredits said:
Why would any one think that Panasonic would give vitality a pair of af100s or support a hack at all?

They don't want their products hacked.
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If Panasonic starts supporting the hacking of their products, and a bunch of folks brick their cameras, that's a class action lawsuit on their hands.
 
Do not see the need to hack an AF100

Do not see the need to hack an AF100

I use the HD/SDI output and record at 4:2:2 100mbs. Also a firmware update is on its way and maybe Panasonic will do something for the AF100 that many are asking for here. Their GH2 update helped that camera out quite a bit.
 
How the hell is a group of random individuals going to legally collect money to pay a hacker to hack one of Panasonic's top cameras? I'm all for open source, but Im catching a faint whiff of a law suit in the air.
 
Any potential hack, and donors to such a hack, should also consider that if it's just a codec improvement you want, the Hyperdeck Shuttle offers fully uncompressed footage with 4:2:2 for only $350.

Not really sure what more a hack could offer (although I do like the idea of user-adjustable curves and such), but as far as codec improvements go, while a 50mbps 4:2:2 would be nice for BBC acceptance, I'm not entirely certain I'd want to shoot a BBC-level job on a hacked camera, y'know? I'd probably just use the Nano or reach for the Shuttle or something, so ...
 
Barry_Green said:
Any potential hack, and donors to such a hack, should also consider that if it's just a codec improvement you want, the Hyperdeck Shuttle offers fully uncompressed footage with 4:2:2 for only $350.
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If you want a more reasonable, compressed 10-bit, 4:2:2 format, the HyperDeck Shuttle 2 (also $350) does DNxHD.
 
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dtzfilms said:
It's good to point out impediments but let us not be circumscribed by perceived limitations.
Where there's a will there's a way: I heard someone say they saw an AF100 for $3000.
Okay, let's get it. That's $10 each from 300 donors. So here are the 10 steps:


1. We need a healthy response here that hopefully serves to convince Vitaly to announce that he'll proceed with the hack.
2. We initially get 300 pioneer pledges of $15 - Vitaly gets the camera and $1500 to start him off.
3. Alpha Hack v1. announced, AF100 gurus prescribe real world tests for guinea pig camera.
4. Test footage is posted - (call for more donors, new and pioneers)
5. Further versions released and tested, skew, moire, chromakey, etc, over a two month period minimum.
6. Brave souls try out the hack, or we buy and hack another AF100 from hopefully what is now a bigger pot.
7. See if AF100 firmware can be restored to factory initial settings.
7. Comments, suggestions, place donations, pioneers balance out donations.
8. Final stable version released, 50-100Mbs, 4:2:2, 10 bit.
9.Call for more donations, Bob's your uncle, your stepdad and your son in law.
10. General Release.

That's it in a nutshell, so go ahead, chime in, how much is this worth to you? Let's keep this thread on topic. How much is it worth to you? Two Benjies, three, four, what?
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If the camera doesn't output or record 10bit right now, you won't be getting 10bit at all. Well, maybe padded 10bit, but whats the point.
 
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