GH2 Is any GH2 hack - so far - worth it in the real world?

[qap15]

I as european users, it was the 30 minute limit. I do dissertation presentation videos and in two occations i forgot about the GH2 limit, it made me feel like an idiot.

 

[Ian-T]

The devil is in the detail here. If you do grade your shot, the hacked gh2 (GH23) is much better. You don't see the typical macro block that usually pop up when the image breaks down. In shadows you will see marked improvement. Where it was a mush before now you can see details.

+1 and then some

..., it made me feel like an idiot.

Hmmm...I think that comment is probably more reserved for the engineers that decided to leave out 25p. jk

 

[Danielvilliers]

Big news today was the release of ptool 3.62. Chris Bradin and Vitaliy have been working more about how the codec works (not just putting high numbers in the birate etc) and be able to tweak it even more. For example the new quantization setting which can put emphasis on the details or motion. For example he says that we a certain setting the shadow details are stunning and he has been experimenting with very stable 66mbit bit rate.

 

[Dazza]

With the increase of shadow details you're effectively getting more dynamic range

 

[Danielvilliers]

Yes, I would really like to see a proper test of the gh2 compared to the other cameras.

 

[daihard]

One of the main reasons I invested in the GH2 line over most of the other cameras out there was the "potential" it would be opened up the way that the GH1 was (I bought mine in December before a hack was even available).
Its a lot to bet on as I was starting off a new business. Yes the hack is moving along slowly and its hard to tell the difference in many instances between a hacked GH2 verse un-hacked in 1080p.
With that said, the MJPEG so far has been really great for exploring what I can NOW do in video that I couldn't easily do before.
The fact that I can change the language and region of my camera (bought mine in PAL country). Not to forget, the 720p 60fps is much more of an effective tool for me, then with the stock 720p.
Im looking forward to the higher bit-rates and stable settings in 24p, 60p, and more MJPEG improvements. Until then, we cannot really compare the GH2 to the GH1 with regards to OVERALL game changing improvements.

720p is much better... even i60/i50 is now usable.
MJPEG is game changing
Lowlight is better
Region/language is a plus
...and more to come.

The potential for the GH2 I think can arguably be stated, it has more to offer then the GH1 (had when it was introduced)... its just a matter of time.