Should I sell my hackable GH1?

A

Andor

Active member
I have yet to hack it, but I bought it in '09 before the hack hit, so I know it's hackable. I also have two Sandisk Extreme Class 6 16gig cards, kit lens, Canon 50mm, Canon 35mm, and recently added the pancake lens to my collection. I also have three spare Panasonic batteries (when I initially bought it, I had connections to an employee discount I no longer can receive, so I splurged).

I want peoples opinions and recommendations! I know I'd rather have a GH2 than even a GH13. Should I sell my GH1 though or wait a year for GH2 prices to drop? I'm pretty sure after I get a GH2 I won't use my GH1 again (or very very little)... I'm closer to a hobbyist of film I suppose. If I sell my GH1, should I go body only or include a lens? It's in amazing condition and I have the box and all the papers etc, but what could I expect to get out of it towards a GH2?
 
Well, this is a totally personal question you are asking. There have been a ton of threads asking this same question and some decided to sell, some have decided to keep.

It's going to be up to you and your needs. Do you *really* need to get the GH2? Do you need something it offers that you don't have now? Or do you just *want* it and are looking for an excuse to buy it?

I know I'd rather have a GH2 than even a GH13
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It sounds like you have your mind made up anyway.

Personally I'm waiting for vids from production units before buying. I need the HDMI out but I'm not going to get rid of my GH1(3) until I know that the codec is on par with my hacked GH1.
 
True, I'll admit it's a want. But you could argue that all materials are wants and not needs. I'm sure I'll eventually own one, but the two scenarios are like:

1. Sell the GH1 while it's possibly worth more. Get a GH2 that could be defective for all we know and have to return it multiple times. It's untested, lower peer support, etc.
or
2. Possibly lose out on the money I'd get from a GH1 right now by not selling and buying a GH2. I can wait a long time and get a GH2 body when they're cheap and well tested.

I suppose I'll finally install the hack soon since I'm out of the factory warranty anyway and see if handling it in person will help me decide. Thanks for the reply, Svart!
 
I suggest you to think about using GH2 as main camera in two cameras setup.
Despite main technical problems for beginners are bad lighting and bad sound, using only one camera, especially fixed on tripod is also very big flaw.
 
Again I have yet to see any mind blowing GH2 .mts files nati9ve 24p of forest or trees and complexity.... please someone point me to something and then I'll think about this question.
 
Sell GH13 if you can wait long for GH2.

Super fast AF, no banding at ISO 3200, HDMI liveview, 24pN, 1:1 cropping, good color, etc. I don't care about 80 Mbps from GH13. Hopefully the new 24Mbps is close to the reliable 40Mbps. I'm speculating Panny will make GH2 hackable. They don't have GH3 yet. I'm being hopeful.
 
stonebat said:
I'm speculating Panny will make GH2 hackable.
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Well, as someone with a GH2 on pre-order, I hope you're right. I have a suspicion, though, that Panasonic will ensure that the GH2 firmware is locked up more securely than a Sultan's harem :)
 
Framerate said:
...I have a suspicion, though, that Panasonic will ensure that the GH2 firmware is locked up more securely than a Sultan's harem :)
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If they lock it up they won't be able to do updates with out providing an unlock feature in the update file. So when the first update appears, that should give anyone the key to get into the original firmware. Unless of course they lock down the unlock code.

Just thinking out loud. :beer:
 
Vitaliy Kiselev said:
I suggest you to think about using GH2 as main camera in two cameras setup.
Despite main technical problems for beginners are bad lighting and bad sound, using only one camera, especially fixed on tripod is also very big flaw.
Click to expand...

I have to agree here. I have no plans on selling my Gh13 rather saving up so that I can have a GH2 as a main cam and Gh13 as my b cam. Having a second camera especially for documentary interviews is far more professional and give you a lot more creative options.

Also, is Panny still selling the body for $899 anywhere or has that gone the way of the dodo?
 
stoneinapond said:
If they lock it up they won't be able to do updates with out providing an unlock feature in the update file. So when the first update appears, that should give anyone the key to get into the original firmware. Unless of course they lock down the unlock code.

Just thinking out loud. :beer:
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I would be so surprised if the GH2 gets hacked easily, if at all. With the AF100 on the horizon, the last thing they want is a hacked GH2 providing a far cheaper alternative for people considering the AF100. They'll do everything they can to stop the GH2 getting hacked.
 
JimNastics said:
I would be so surprised if the GH2 gets hacked easily, if at all. With the AF100 on the horizon, the last thing they want is a hacked GH2 providing a far cheaper alternative for people considering the AF100. They'll do everything they can to stop the GH2 getting hacked.
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These are two very different products that serve two very distinct groups (with some overlap). So the extstence of one should have little effect on the other, IMHO. I don't think someone for whom the AF100 is a perfect fit would switch to a hacked GH2 because they felt the image was marginally better (if at all).
 
stoneinapond said:
These are two very different products that serve two very distinct groups (with some overlap). So the extstence of one should have little effect on the other, IMHO. I don't think someone for whom the AF100 is a perfect fit would switch to a hacked GH2 because they felt the image was marginally better (if at all).
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But someone would who wanted the AF100 but couldn't afford it yet... and then they might just say.. damn... are xlr inputs and a few extra nobs really worth $4500.00 more?

The HD-SLI out is really the only big deal..... ut if the hdmi out of the gh2 can be made to stay on and stay good.... it's not a $4500 deal.....

Remember, WE are insane people. Most people can't even see the resolution difference of 720p to 1080p - but that is because they are wtahcing on small monitors or small hd-tvs.

project it, and the difference is huge.
 
Blackout said:
But someone would who wanted the AF100 but couldn't afford it yet... and then they might just say.. damn... are xlr inputs and a few extra nobs really worth $4500.00 more?

The HD-SLI out is really the only big deal..... ut if the hdmi out of the gh2 can be made to stay on and stay good.... it's not a $4500 deal.....
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Well, respectfully I beg to differ concerning what you get for the difference. Just of the top of my head, two big features are the low pass filter and a built-in variable ND. And the smallest of details that has a peg on the housing that marks the exact location of the sensor, allowing an assistant DP to hook up a tape measure for measuring object to camera distances. Add dedicated audio controls, headphone monitoring....the list is quite long.

I personally have little interest in getting an AF100, instead waiting for the GH2. I don't work as a DP and my needs are for the small form factor. But for professional workflow, it seems the AF100 can't be beat if you can justify the price.

Blackout said:
Remember, WE are insane people....
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Well there I'll agree with you. Batty as hell.
 
If GH2 ever gets hacked, it would not be better than AF100 because of hardware limitation. Even if it never happens, I will stick to GH2. I freaking hate the banding. One time I did try the sensor burn-in for 3 days. Nothing happened. Then I read some posting... "The banding will stay with us long time." That was.. hmmm.. a sad day.
 
stoneinapond said:
If they lock it up they won't be able to do updates with out providing an unlock feature in the update file. So when the first update appears, that should give anyone the key to get into the original firmware. Unless of course they lock down the unlock code.

Just thinking out loud. :beer:
Click to expand...


Well, it's only my opinion - but there are two factors in this.

One is the commercial consideration - would a hacked GH2 cost them sales of higher end gear?, would it cost them battery sales?, would it make them complicit in circumventing EU legislation regarding higher duty on 'camcorders'?, that sort of thing.


The second factor is 'The Corporate Mindset' All large corporations tend to be a bit high-handed - 'we know what's best'. Remember, this is a Japanese corporation - seemingly a very traditional one at that.

That they took a dim view of the GH1 hack was evidenced by their surreptitious blocking with f/w 1.34. They saw what was going on, and they obviously didn't like it.

That they would make the GH1 so unattractive to prospective purchasers is an indication of just *how* much they didn't like it - particularly when it was coming to the end of its life, production was ceasing, and they had unsold units still to to shift.

For a time the door was open. They could have embraced the work done on the hack, either tacitly or overtly, but in the end, traditional Japanese corporatism triumphed.

There have been other Japanese companies who have been a bit more responsive to consumer pressure - Canon, and Sony's prompt response to concerns about the functionality of the Nex - but it appears that Panasonic will plough their own furrow, whether anyone likes it, or not.

That being so, I wouldn't expect them to make access to the GH2 firmware at all easy ;)

I remember, years ago, talking to a television dealer about Mitsubishi products. He had a customer with an obviously faulty set. The retailer duly returned it to Mitsubishi, and it arrived back fully repaired.

It also arrived with a note saying, 'no fault found'

Perhaps 'keeping face' is more important than we realise in the world of Japanese business?
 
Framerate said:
Well, it's only my opinion - but there are two factors in this.

One is the commercial consideration - would a hacked GH2 cost them sales of higher end gear?, would it cost them battery sales?, would it make them complicit in circumventing EU legislation regarding higher duty on 'camcorders'?, that sort of thing.


The second factor is 'The Corporate Mindset' All large corporations tend to be a bit high-handed - 'we know what's best'. Remember, this is a Japanese corporation - seemingly a very traditional one at that.

That they took a dim view of the GH1 hack was evidenced by their surreptitious blocking with f/w 1.34. They saw what was going on, and they obviously didn't like it.

That they would make the GH1 so unattractive to prospective purchasers is an indication of just *how* much they didn't like it - particularly when it was coming to the end of its life, production was ceasing, and they had unsold units still to to shift.

For a time the door was open. They could have embraced the work done on the hack, either tacitly or overtly, but in the end, traditional Japanese corporatism triumphed.

There have been other Japanese companies who have been a bit more responsive to consumer pressure - Canon, and Sony's prompt response to concerns about the functionality of the Nex - but it appears that Panasonic will plough their own furrow, whether anyone likes it, or not.

That being so, I wouldn't expect them to make access to the GH2 firmware at all easy ;)

I remember, years ago, talking to a television dealer about Mitsubishi products. He had a customer with an obviously faulty set. The retailer duly returned it to Mitsubishi, and it arrived back fully repaired.

It also arrived with a note saying, 'no fault found'

Perhaps 'keeping face' is more important than we realise in the world of Japanese business?
Click to expand...

Second that entirely!

This is more of a threat than a opportunity for Pannasonic. Now that all functions are mapped and most unsafe code areas identified, me and a couple of other developers could easily rewrite GH1 firmware to better implement AVCHD, including CABAC and b-frames, and that in only a couple of weeks, even in ASM. The hardware is up to the job, providing bitrate is keps under 30Mbps, whitch would render better results than GH2 (except for sensor related stuff, like high ISO performance).
However, there are not enough GH1 bodies out there for it to be interesting, and everyone has alredy shifted focus to the new GH2. Panasonic surely made a great job on stopping this hack wave as soon as they could, and made sure the first few and well tracked reviews on GH2 were absolutely spotless. That's a great move! Checkmate!

So GH2 firmware is going to be encrypted, that's for sure! It's already so in TZ7 and newer models. I don't believe they're going to limit firmware upgrades to service centers alone, as that would render them a lot of unsatisfaction from customers.
 
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