GH2 official discussion thread

It "appears" that it is a go except for on screen nags thats why ther was a big pleaaaaasssssse to panasonic ......
Well at least phil does actually have some kind of dialog with them .....

I need in camera levels.....and better low light ...thats why Im there

Also no one has talked about it yet but wht about the Mjpeg...if the sensor noise levels are lower for that I could use that as well

Larry
 
That is not what the GH2 will do!

That is not what the GH2 will do!

This is pure crap. This does not simulate what the GH2 does at all. According to what Panasonic is advertising for this mode it will be able to use a 2.6x digital zoom with no resolution loss.

I am really looking forward to trying this with the 20mm F1.7 pancake. This might be our m4/3s answer for a fast 50mm video lens.

timo.vaino said:
Here is a test showing what we should expect from the new digital zoom "ext tele conversion" available in GH2.

Camera GH1, Lens Panasonic 14-140mm f/4-5.8, manual focus, daylight condition, slight underexposure.

Clip 1: OPTICAL ZOOM
Rec mode: Motion MJPEG 720p30
140mm F6.3 1/30s ISO 1600

Clip 2: DIGITAL ZOOM
Still frames in 16:9 mode (4352 x 2448 pixels), shot in a few second interval, center (1280 x 720) cropped, and put into a 30 fps timeline
40mm F6.3 1/30s ISO 1600

Result can be seen here:
http://vimeo.com/15482809
Click to expand...
 
It's supposedly a crop of the sensor and because of that, their might be less aliasing. Even if the GH2 cannot be hacked, that's one of the features that will cause me to "upgrade" to the GH2 from the GH1. Combine that with the slow motion feature, less banding at high ISOs and must faster focusing, I wont regret it. Still, I'll be looking forward to a hack since it would be wonderful to record to 1080 60p.
 
Obviously, we won't actually know what the tele conversion will look like until we can see some "for real" examples from a finished production model. Speculating on it and trying to reproduce possible results in advance, although fun, seems like an exercise in futility.

I have a GH2 pre-ordered along with the new 100-300 lens and can't wait to see what that combo will do at 520-1560! That said, I have to admit being highly skeptical about the quality of any digital zoom. In theory, the 1:1 crop sounds like it might just work without the quality issues normally associated with digital zooms. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'll be posting results as soon as I get my hands on those suckers. Can't wait!
 
Does anyone knows if gh2 + 20mm f1.7 lens, will autofocus in 1080 video mode ?
As i know, gh1 + 20mm f1.7 doesnt , only in 720.
 
toxotis70 said:
Does anyone knows if gh2 + 20mm f1.7 lens, will autofocus in 1080 video mode ?
As i know, gh1 + 20mm f1.7 doesnt , only in 720.
Click to expand...

Hmm...mine focuses fine in FHD. The 20mm 1.7's autofocus has nothing to do with whether you're shooting 1080 or 720.
 
Are you sure about that ?
Do you have a hacked gh1 ?
In all forums and videos i saw, they used the 20mm lens only in 720p .
Please, can you confirm this?
In video mode of course... maybe they mean Continue autofocus ?

Can you give us a sample video with gh1+20mm wide open in 1080p , focusing between 2 targets ?
 
toxotis70 said:
Does anyone knows if gh2 + 20mm f1.7 lens, will autofocus in 1080 video mode ?
As i know, gh1 + 20mm f1.7 doesnt , only in 720.
Click to expand...

The 20mm will auto focus in any mode. In fact it will also continuously auto focus for videos if you set the auto focus to continuous in the video menu screen.
 
I actually have both a hacked GH13 and an unhacked GH1. Just discovered that with the hacked GH13 you need to be recording for the autofocus to work. Whereas, on the unhacked GH1 you don't. But autofocus definitely works on both in either 1080 or 720. Like I said before, that has nothing to do with it. It's probably the different behavior with the hack that's confusing things. Never realized this before because all I'd ever used on the GH13 were primes. But I tested it just now and the 20 1.7 autofocuses on the GH13 just fine whether you're in 1080 or 720. BUT you need to be recording for it to work.

In summary, at least according to my experience, the 20 1.7 will continuously autofocus on an unhacked GH1 as soon as you turn it on. And it also works fine while recording. But the 20 1.7 just sits there on the GH13 when turned on. However, once you start recording, it works fine.

Maybe some people just didn't realize the lens was autofocusing because it's fairly noisy when not recording, but is pretty quiet once you push record.

I really don't feel the need to take the time to post footage to show you what I've just explained.
 
mpgxsvcd said:
The 20mm will auto focus in any mode. In fact it will also continuously auto focus for videos if you set the auto focus to continuous in the video menu screen.
Click to expand...

Of course, that explains it -- PRE AF was turned off on my GH13. With it turned on it behaves exactly as I've described the autofocus on the unhacked GH1.
 
tflak said:
Obviously, we won't actually know what the tele conversion will look like until we can see some "for real" examples from a finished production model. Speculating on it and trying to reproduce possible results in advance, although fun, seems like an exercise in futility.

I have a GH2 pre-ordered along with the new 100-300 lens and can't wait to see what that combo will do at 520-1560! That said, I have to admit being highly skeptical about the quality of any digital zoom. In theory, the 1:1 crop sounds like it might just work without the quality issues normally associated with digital zooms. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'll be posting results as soon as I get my hands on those suckers. Can't wait!
Click to expand...

I think part of the confusion with the Extra Tele Conversion function comes from the fact that people are calling it a digital zoom. While that is technically correct. What Panasonic claims the GH2 will do is entirely different than what the GH1 or GH13 can do and if done correctly could be extremely useful.

Until the GH2, cameras have done a digital zoom by taking a full resolution image, scaling it to 1920x1080 and then cropping out a portion of that image to narrow the field of view. Doing that not only reduces the affective resolution when you scale but it also dramatically reduces the resolution when you crop.

The GH2 is expected to crop out a portion of the native sensor image and bypass the scaling algorithm altogether. If it does that then you will get a true 1080p image with a lossless 2.6x zoom. Heck, it might even look better than the native 1080p video because it wouldn’t have to scale at all. It could have true 1:1 1920x1080 pixel mapping.

Just imagine being able to use ISO 100, 1/50th of a second shutter speed, and get a 50mm field of view in near darkness with the 20mm pancake. I honestly, think this could be the answer to not having a fast mid focal range video lens.

However, there is one thing that concerns me. I am afraid that this feature might only be available with the 14mm-140mm lens because of this statement on their website. Does anyone know if the Extra Tele Conversion function works with all lenses?

“The Extra Tele Conversion function virtually extends the zoom range up to 2.6x, thus the max.728mm is available with the LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm”
 
If the Extra Tele Conversion function works as I described above then the 14mm F2.5 and 20mm F1.7 will definitely get used in video a lot more.

I do wonder how the Extra Tele Conversion function affects stabilization though. If you essentially crop an image without actually changing the focal length will you increase the affects of camera shake or will it remain the same as it is at the lenses native focal length?
 
mpgxsvcd said:
However, there is one thing that concerns me. I am afraid that this feature might only be available with the 14mm-140mm lens because of this statement on their website. Does anyone know if the Extra Tele Conversion function works with all lenses?

“The Extra Tele Conversion function virtually extends the zoom range up to 2.6x, thus the max.728mm is available with the LUMIX G VARIO HD 14-140mm”
Click to expand...

I find it hard to believe this is a feature available only with the 14-140 lens. Seems more likely it would be strictly a function of the camera's electronics and the sensor. I think they're just trying to put it into maximum terms using the 14-140 because that's the largest zoom available as a kit. At least, I'm sure hoping that's the case.
 
tflak said:
I find it hard to believe this is a feature available only with the 14-140 lens. Seems more likely it would be strictly a function of the camera's electronics and the sensor. I think they're just trying to put it into maximum terms using the 14-140 because that's the largest zoom available as a kit. At least, I'm sure hoping that's the case.
Click to expand...

I think you are right. However, if it only allows it with the 14-140mm then I won’t be a happy camper. I don’t like that lens at all. It is just too slow for the footage I shoot.
 
mpgxsvcd said:
If the Extra Tele Conversion function works as I described above then the 14mm F2.5 and 20mm F1.7 will definitely get used in video a lot more.

I do wonder how the Extra Tele Conversion function affects stabilization though. If you essentially crop an image without actually changing the focal length will you increase the affects of camera shake or will it remain the same as it is at the lenses native focal length?
Click to expand...

Seems to me it should stay the same because you're working with the image captured by the sensor. And that should be the same as without the tele conversion, which I'm assuming is processed off the image captured by the full sensor.

Also read a post somewhere speculating that the light would be reduced -- just like it is when you zoom most telephoto lenses. However, once again, the actual image captured by the sensor shouldn't change - the sensor should still be receiving the same amount of light. No?
 
tflak said:
Seems to me it should stay the same because you're working with the image captured by the sensor. And that should be the same as without the tele conversion, which I'm assuming is processed off the image captured by the full sensor.

Also read a post somewhere speculating that the light would be reduced -- just like it is when you zoom most telephoto lenses. However, once again, the actual image captured by the sensor shouldn't change - the sensor should still be receiving the same amount of light. No?
Click to expand...

The light should not be reduced. Everything is exactly the same as if you were recording in normal mode except you don’t have to do the scaling because you have affectively swapped out the 16mp sensor for a 2 mp one with the same pixel density.

Try taking a 1920x1080 picture with the GH1 and then compare it to a still from the 1080p video. The difference is astounding. This could be even better since the GH2 doesn’t have to do any scaling at all.



I really think that this Extra Tele Conversion function will be a feature that Nikon, Sony, and Canon owners will be envious of.
 
I think the only problem you may get may be that every strength or weakness of a lens will be enhanced. All though the cropping will mean you use more of the sweet spot of the lens. But mechanical quality and quality of the glass may become a much more important factor.

The thing, if it works like we hope it will, is really something to be considered. My old Vivitar 600 - 1000 Zoom would become a what....?! 2600 mm lens? Oh-ooooh...... ;-)
 
tipota said:
I think the only problem you may get may be that every strength or weakness of a lens will be enhanced. All though the cropping will mean you use more of the sweet spot of the lens. But mechanical quality and quality of the glass may become a much more important factor.

The thing, if it works like we hope it will, is really something to be considered. My old Vivitar 600 - 1000 Zoom would become a what....?! 2600 mm lens? Oh-ooooh...... ;-)
Click to expand...

Just think about what you could do with an old c-mount 12mm lens. Some of those were around F1.0. If you found a good one that would make one great 30-35mm lens. They wouldn't even have to be the 1 inch variety since the crop would eliminate vignetting.

I have a 17mm-105mm F2.0 lens that will be incredible with this.
 
First test shots by a german video magazine (Videoaktiv) in vienna:

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I AGREE
 
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I wonder if this is 1080i or 1080p footage. You can’t tell very much about resolution from youtube. We need a Vimeo download of the original files.
 
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