GH2 official discussion thread

So, in theory is it possible that through Rom Hacking (firmware mod or patch) you could "paint" the pixels of the on-screen indicators "transparent" or "invisible" color so that they would not be seen on the output?

I don't think it will be necessary, if what is going to my TV is what will be recorded then it will have NO icons or other junk on there. If I have time tonight I might make a video of it. By the way many of the same things apply to the EVF; in teleconversion mode the view of the image looks very coarse but when you hit record it suddenly clears up.
 
Here's a brief hatchet job video of what's going on when HDMI is hooked up on the GH2. The only other video camera I had was the one on the Macbook, so sorry about the poor quality of the video. Now the image on the TV feeding off from the GH2 is very good

http://vimeo.com/16554089
 
Here's a brief hatchet job video of what's going on when HDMI is hooked up on the GH2. The only other video camera I had was the one on the Macbook, so sorry about the poor quality of the video. Now the image on the TV feeding off from the GH2 is very good

http://vimeo.com/16554089

Thanks very much for posting that!

In your opinion, how does the live HDMI output (during GH2 recording) compare to playback of that clip from the GH2's SD card (both viewed on your HDTV)? Does the "live HDMI during record" look better, worse, or about the same as playback?

I hope my question makes sense.
 
Here's a brief hatchet job video of what's going on when HDMI is hooked up on the GH2. The only other video camera I had was the one on the Macbook, so sorry about the poor quality of the video. Now the image on the TV feeding off from the GH2 is very good

http://vimeo.com/16554089


Thank you very much for that video.


Great comparison video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXd2pfbE76Q
And again, persistent horizontal artifacts in lowlight... I really hope this is just a firmware issue :(


Thanks for that link. I must say, everything else aside, the 750 is noticeably sharper. Makes me wonder how much of that difference is lens, how much of it is sensor and how much of it is processing and compression. It would have been interesting to see that comparative test with the GH2 being recorded externally from the HDMI port.
 
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Does the GH2 come with an AC power adapter? ...

The GH2 kit includes a battery & charger, but unlike the GH1 it doesn't include an AC adapter to allow powering the GH2 directly from AC. The AC adapter will be sold separately.

See page 8 in the GH2 Japanese user manual (PDF):
http://dl-ctlg.panasonic.jp/manual/dm/dmc_gh2.pdf

Panasonic GH2 accessories are listed here (scroll down):
http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/systemcamera/gms/gh2/optional_accessories.html
 
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Thanks very much for posting that!

In your opinion, how does the live HDMI output (during GH2 recording) compare to playback of that clip from the GH2's SD card (both viewed on your HDTV)? Does the "live HDMI during record" look better, worse, or about the same as playback?

I hope my question makes sense.
It does make ALL the sense!
 
Thanks very much for posting that!

In your opinion, how does the live HDMI output (during GH2 recording) compare to playback of that clip from the GH2's SD card (both viewed on your HDTV)? Does the "live HDMI during record" look better, worse, or about the same as playback?

I hope my question makes sense.

The "live feed" looks at least as sharp as what gets played back from the SD card onto the TV. It's very close, I put some text off at a distance and the same letters that can and can't be read in one mode apply to the other, but the live view subjectively looks slightly cleaner. In fact it seems to get slightly crisper after I hit the record button. If I can get this old Canon Rebel working tonight (the battery is getting flaky), I may try and take a still screen shot of both modes. But in any case it's obvious that the HDMI-out feed while recording is very very good
 
The "live feed" looks at least as sharp as what gets played back from the SD card onto the TV. It's very close, I put some text off at a distance and the same letters that can and can't be read in one mode apply to the other, but the live view subjectively looks slightly cleaner. In fact it seems to get slightly crisper after I hit the record button. If I can get this old Canon Rebel working tonight (the battery is getting flaky), I may try and take a still screen shot of both modes. But in any case it's obvious that the HDMI-out feed while recording is very very good

Wow, that sounds very promising indeed. Thanks again, Richard!

I hope Philip Bloom brings his KiPro with him to Panasonic HQ in Japan when he tests GH2 cameras "soon"!
 
Thanks very much Rich, That is an amazing feature. Now the big test will be to see a shot at a higher ISO, recorded AVCHD and Mjpeg. and if the LIVE HDMI doesn't show compression banding that would be in the recorded file. Anyone have a shot that can cause the banding to test?
 
OK here are some still pictures taken of the TV from a Canon rebel, both as the camera is recording and as the video is being played back. This was quick and not scientifically exact, I tried to get the canon to focus on the same point every time. Nevertheless I think the results speak for themselves (and just for fun I brought the video into Photoshop and extracted a single frame to show what the file should look like)

http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i202/richtrav/Screen shots from GH2 playback on TV/
 
the starting fire shots look terrible ! is that the GH2 ?? that's how it handles low light + fire?
the rest of the test looks OK. why is the 750 so much sharper?
and how come the GH1 so much brighter? (not that it looks better)...

Agreed.

The sharpness difference between the 750 and the GH2 is quite disconcerting.
 
Agreed.

The sharpness difference between the 750 and the GH2 is quite disconcerting.

the guy answered me on youtube:

The GH2 I tested was a test model which is different from what is released now. So I think the current model has been improved. The test was done with auto mode throughout the shooting.

:)
 
the starting fire shots look terrible ! is that the GH2 ?? that's how it handles low light + fire?
the rest of the test looks OK. why is the 750 so much sharper?
and how come the GH1 so much brighter? (not that it looks better)...

Take a look at the mode he was shooting
GH2: Lens Lumix G VARIO HD 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8(Kit Lens) FSH mode(1920×1080/60i 17Mbps)

GH1: Lens Lumix G VARIO HD 14-140mm/F4.0-5.8(Kit Lens) FSH mode(1920×1080/60i 17Mbps)

TM750: 1920/60p(28Mbps)
So, I´m sure with 1080p24 we would get a much better image of the GH2...
 
Also remember the TM750 is a consumer camcorder with much wider DOF than a GH1 or GH2, esp in lowlight. The GH2 is about 1/2 a stop darker than the GH1 from all the comparison pictures I've seen, well at least from 800 iso up, that would account for the brightness difference in that video. Would be nice to get something a bit higher res and less compressed that a youtube video

Was going to post what I had found out about the GH2 HDMI output from some Japanese boards but it seems we have one of our own members now with the camera and has answered all the questions far more comprehensively than I could, given my information is secondhand.

Thanks richtrav
 
I will be pleasantly surprised if the GH2 matches the TM750 on resolution. The TM750's measured resolution is right on the limit of 1080p. And roughly double that of a Canon DSLR.
 
I will be pleasantly surprised if the GH2 matches the TM750 on resolution. The TM750's measured resolution is right on the limit of 1080p. And roughly double that of a Canon DSLR.

Agreed. The previous model the TM700 was great, I'm looking forward to trying to the TM750 out with it better image stabilization when I head to Japan
 
I will be pleasantly surprised if the GH2 matches the TM750 on resolution. The TM750's measured resolution is right on the limit of 1080p. And roughly double that of a Canon DSLR.

It is close to the vertical resolution limit but it is about half the horizontal resolution limit.
 
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