GH1/GH2 RAW sensor tap............feasibility. Vitilay?Anyone

HKO

HKO

Well-known member
I remember this being discussed a few months ago and then the thread died somewhere in the process. I am sure that this is not a simple matter but what about the idea of intercepting the sensor signal before it gets to the board and diverting it to some kind of RAW capture module.Of course one can allow the camera to operate as usual as the Andromeda did but have this tap to go offboard recording.

The Andromeda was based on getting a feed of the sensor - sending it to a daughter board and then sending that output via USB to a computer.

So I was thinking. With USB3 around the corner and pci express 2 it may have enough bandwidth to pipe all the sensor data through and then record that to Cineform RAW on a Laptop.

I saw this thing a while back and wasn't sure what it was all about.

http://www.siliconimage.com/iplicensing/product.aspx?pid=114

I remember seeing from the pictures of the sensor cable that it plugged into the board with a special clip. If one could fashion a similiar clip that had a female on the one side and male on the other with a built in feed off the cable could we technically then siphon off the RAW data and store that to a laptop via a processing board? This would make a camera as good as what - the Red One perhaps?Dreaming out loud here and this may be pie in the sky but has anyone else thought this?Any software/hardware gurus willing to give this a try.I am willing to experiment with my GH13 to see if this is even a possibility guys.:happy:
 
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I think it's pie in the sky to be honest. Unless somebody who is extremely good at electronics and has a passion for video quality comes along, I can't see it happening.

Would be amazing if it did, though. I think it's impractical for 99.9% of GH owners however.

It would probably be easier making one from scratch. Large sensor USB3 RAW webcam anyone? Like an upscaled PS3 eyecam (which is RAW on PC).
 
Oh well - one can dream. But imagine - RAW sensor data is what separates the high end from the low end whether it is S-log or Red RAW, Arri Raw etc. The Gh1 sensors are capable of course...........okay how how about intercepting the signal post processing pre compression off the board and piping that somewhere else. Disclaimer - I know nothing about electronics he he he. Just intrigued at how the Andromeda project went and how the developer was shut down/ bought out. Now we have full HD sensors and no wizz kid has surfaced yet to take on this challenge. I guarantee that there is money to be made with this mod. Some guys do it in pro audio - get your crappy hardware and replace the cheap components with higher grade ones. I would pay even a few thousand for such a mod if it existed. It would save me having to go up to an S35 Red just for the larger sensor. Oh one can dream - of course I know I will just have to save and stop this DIY nonsense............Anyway - one can dream.
 
Bandwidth issues are primarily why most cameras cant record in raw. It currently records at around 2-7MB/s with the hack but raw would shoot it up to around 50-150MB/s. The camera would have to be attached to a raid to be able to handle that.
 
I was never suggesting to do it in camera.I can capture to my portable intensity to my laptop at up to 250 MB/s through the expresscard slot if it is compressed after the fact to Cineform. That means 1920 X 1080 Dual Link HD-SDI at 4:4:4 if available.

I guess bandwidth issues aside is this feasible. I mean USB3 is 5 Ghz isn't it? Plenty bandwidth. No takers then - Imaginebeing able to do an after market mod to a GH1 that unleashes the RAW capabilty?

No-one trying to do a Silicon Imaging type cam witht he GH1 as the body with a feed off the sensor?There has to be a business plan in this somewhere
 
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