GH2 Hack - Start me out gently

On Sanity 5.1, 24L runs at a bitrate of 77% of 24H. This enables it to span on class 10 cards. The difference in picture quality is minimal. It looks great and significantly better than stock.
 
That is great to know! I can switch over to that mode if I'm shooting a long form event (ie wedding ceremony) and then back to H for the rest of the time :)
 
Just a word of caution - I tested Sanity 5.1's spanning using 16 GB Sandisk 30M class 10 cards. With these cards, spanning worked reliably every time. But I strongly recommend that you test every card you're actually going to use before you do a paying gig. Over the years, it's become clear that there can be individual stinkers, even among reputable brands.
 
Ralph B said:
Just a word of caution - I tested Sanity 5.1's spanning using 16 GB Sandisk 30M class 10 cards. With these cards, spanning worked reliably every time. But I strongly recommend that you test every card you're actually going to use before you do a paying gig. Over the years, it's become clear that there can be individual stinkers, even among reputable brands.
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Absolutely I will give it a test before real world use for sure :) And since I'm always manning the camera anyway, even if it didn't span for some reason, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
 
Hi Ralph, I shot last night some tests on Sanity X with L. I was able to shoot about 20 minutes for one clip.
 
Sanity X will span on 24H and 24L if you use a fast card. Class 10 cards won't work. People have reported successful spanning with Sandisk 95M, 80M and 45M cards.

The other shooting modes, 1080i and 720p and HBR will span on class 10 cards, with a few restrictions. Here's a quote from the patch notes:

"Spanning works in FH, SH & H modes. When spanning, do not go above ISO 5000. Spanning works in HBR mode with third party manual lenses. Do not go above ISO 3200. Spanning does not work reliably in HBR mode when using lenses with electrical contacts."

These notes refer to class 10 cards. If you use faster cards, probably none of these restrictions apply, but I have not had time to test it.
 
I just shot a 45 minute clip in 24H mode on a regular class 10 16 GB Transcend card... I'll keep testing it out, but this hack seems to be perfect!
 
Sounds like you got lucky with that class 10 Transcend card. I have one, too, but it won't span to save it's soul.
 
Brandon Rice said:
I just shot a 45 minute clip in 24H mode on a regular class 10 16 GB Transcend card... I'll keep testing it out, but this hack seems to be perfect!
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Transcend is likely the best of the "bargain brand" media cards but in 4 years of following "trouble" reports on media cards, Transcend still shows up with a few problems. Their QC is not up to SanDisk. For the higher bitrates that are used with the "firmware patches" for the GH2 I would take no chances with anything but SanDisk 45MB/s or 90MB/s cards, and be careful where you get them from, SanDisk is the most counterfeited brand. I order from B&H.
 
Bruce Foreman said:
Transcend is likely the best of the "bargain brand" media cards but in 4 years of following "trouble" reports on media cards, Transcend still shows up with a few problems. Their QC is not up to SanDisk. For the higher bitrates that are used with the "firmware patches" for the GH2 I would take no chances with anything but SanDisk 45MB/s or 90MB/s cards, and be careful where you get them from, SanDisk is the most counterfeited brand. I order from B&H.
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I am doing extensive testing with Transcend. When I shot 5D with CF it was my card of choice. Rock solid. I also have a SanDisk coming from B&H :) I'm pretty happy with how this hack has worked with just a regular ol' class 10 16 GB Transcend card! No problems whatsoever!
 
I was also VERY happy to fit well over an hour of footage on the 16GB card with this hack. Really pleased with that.
 
So I discovered that spanning works better at lower ISO. At 800 it spanned with no problems, at 1600 it did not.
 
Brandon Rice said:
So I discovered that spanning works better at lower ISO. At 800 it spanned with no problems, at 1600 it did not.
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That's entirely possible. In my testing, I got successful spanning up to ISO 5000, but 6400 did not span. But you're using different cards and shooting different subject matter. That's why it's so important to do your own tests. One question I have is are you using a lens with electrical contacts or a manual lens? In my testing I discovered that manual lenses without electrical contacts are sometimes better at spanning. It's something worth trying.
 
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Ralph B said:
That's entirely possible. In my testing, I got successful spanning up to ISO 5000, but 6400 did not span. But you're using different cards and shooting different subject matter. That's why it's so important to do your own tests. One question I have is are you using a lens with electrical contacts or a manual lens? In my testing I discovered that manual lenses without electrical contacts are sometimes better at spanning. It's something worth trying.
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I have been using with my 14-140 zoom, so with electrical contact. It is really the only lens I'll need spanning on. That's why I've focused on that one for all my tests :)

Thanks for the reply!
 
Which Sanity are you using? In my usage, Sanity 5.1 at 24L has been absolutely bullet proof in spanning. This is using a lens with electrical contacts, class 10 cards and not going above ISO 5000.
 
Ralph B said:
Which Sanity are you using? In my usage, Sanity 5.1 at 24L has been absolutely bullet proof in spanning. This is using a lens with electrical contacts, class 10 cards and not going above ISO 5000.
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I have been using Sanity X, but may go back over to 5.1 if it spans better.
 
I went ahead and loaded up 5.1 to test it out a bit. I'm trying it out on L mode first to see how it does, and then may try H to see if it spans. I noticed my record time available went WAY up compared to Sanity X. So am I to understand that Sanity X is about 2x better than 5.1?
 
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