Will going to a hacked gh2 ( owning a 7D ) improve sharpness and dynamic range?

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NextupMedia

Member
Im short, i want a better compression. I do a lot of grading and the files out of my 7D are not good enough, they just feel unsharp and grainy even at low iso.

Specially after watching this video a was shocked.
http://vimeo.com/30598805


So, will the GH2 do better for me?
 
Ow and why this is in general, if you guys know another camera that will do a better compression, please post it to. Thanks
 
GH2 can produce sharper images. If you search for the Philip Bloom christmas shootout you'll see the results. GH2 IMO is the DSLR king right now.
 
NextupMedia said:
I want a better compression. I do a lot of grading and the files out of my 7D are not good enough, they just feel unsharp and grainy even at low iso.
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The hacked GH-2 with high bit-rate recording is a very good low cost solution, but you may have to buy high performance SDHC / SDXC memory cards to work with these higher bit-rate recording speeds. Here is a good example of hacked GH-2 footage that has been graded:

Musgo : Trailer for Indie Film Shot in Spain

Keep in mind that GH-2 video is recording in an 8-bit 4:2:0 color space, so to get better than this you would be looking at a dedicated video camera like the Sony FS-100.

For low-light work, here is a hacked GH-2 sample shot at 10,000 ISO

GH-2 Color Footage Shot at 10,000 ASA ISO

The GH-2 camera can produce very good video, but you have to learn how to work with this camera to see these kind of results.
 
But how does it compare to the 7D? I already own a 7D. And low light is not interesting for me, i just want a good compression. And what will the 4:2:0 be different form 4:2:2?
 
NextupMedia said:
But how does it compare to the 7D?
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List of Hacked GH-2 Benefits When Compared to the Canon 7D
- Can use almost any lens ever made with the right adapter ( lots of old manual SLR glass can be bought for cheap )
- Higher resolution images ( more detail in images )
- Very very little aliasing ( clean detail in images )
- Very very little moire ( clean detail in images )
- Built-in 2.6x ECT magnification mode ( useful to simulate very long focal lengths, and for lenses that would normally vignette when the full sensor is used )
- Very good audio noise-floor ( I've measured -63 dB, which is the same as the XLR inputs on my HMC-150 camera )
- Higher bit-rate recording with the Hack ( much less compression, which provides for highly detailed images with smooth motion )

As far as color-grading goes, I don't think the GH-2 is going to be better than the Canon 7D, as they are both recording 8-bit 4:2:0 video.

NextupMedia said:
And what will the 4:2:0 be different form 4:2:2?
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The 4:2:2 format stores significantly more color information than the 4:2:0 format, but it often requires an external recorder to capture this video. ( very few cameras under $10K will record 4:2:2 video internally )
 
Don't own one, BUT the info I have seen would indicate the higher bitrate of the hacked GH2 does give you a little more leeway before color correction starts to fall apart on you, but as Dingo says it's still 4:2:0, it's only going to be pushed so far before it crumbles.

On a tangent, sharpness is WAY overrated, at least for narrative work. It's way down the list of qualities I look for in a camera.
 
the GH2 is definitely sharper, because of the downsampling method (no line skipping) and the higher bitrate

about dynamic rante, I'm not sure

in stills mode, shooting RAW, they're about the same at low ISO (100, 200), but the GH2 falls clearly behind at 400 and beyond
http://www.dxomark.com/index.php/Ca...2)/Panasonic/(appareil3)/483|0/(brand3)/Canon

in video mode, it will very much depend on the picture style you use: most of them will crush a significant part of the DR captured by the sensor
on Canon, there are options that deliver nearly the same DR that you get in stills mode (like my Flaat_4), but they do so at the expense of noise in the heavily pushed-up shadows (btw, if you're complaining about noise even at low ISO, you're probably shooting CineStyle; try my Flaat_2 picture style instead: same DR, just as easy to grade, less noise in final images)
on Panasonic, there's some software to create picture styles too, but I'm not sure how far people have got playing with it
 
Keep in mind you can hack the GH2 to record Intra which is better than the 7D's use of the h.264 codec.
 
Thanks all for the info. And to NormanBates, i use a self made picturestyle witch is very flat ( so close to cinestyle ). Ill be using your style for a shoot tomorrow, hope it helps and if not, then its probably gona be GH2.
 
NextupMedia said:
But how does it compare to the 7D? I already own a 7D. And low light is not interesting for me, i just want a good compression. And what will the 4:2:0 be different form 4:2:2?
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I had the 7D and dumped it as soon as I started shooting with a GH2.
I needed something that I could stick on a cobra crane that was light.
I started shooting these Motorhome videos with a 7D and the
moire & aliasing were killing us.


Look at this video.
http://vimeo.com/26185923
 
That's great that a stock setup can look that good. Your slo mo dog ftg was fun too.
One issue with Canon vs Panny that bugs me is that hired gigs tend to specify 5D/7d or sometimes 60D. It seems like Canon has the brand buzz. I wonder whether clients are open to GH2 or stuck on Canon..kind of like FCP vs ___.
 
Gweilo66 said:
hired gigs tend to specify 5D/7d or sometimes 60D. It seems like Canon has the brand buzz. I wonder whether clients are open to GH2 or stuck on Canon.
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This is where you need to have at least one kick-ass hacked GH-2 video to show clients what they are missing.
 
I dont think so, if i client is open to DSLR filming then the camera does not really matter. That's why i also do a lot of private projects, to build up a portfolio to back up your setup if they don't trust it.
 
Gweilo66 said:
So is the hack how the GH2 gets reasonable signal to noise in audio or is it in stock unit?
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The stock GH-2 has it right from the get-go. I haven't tried raising the audio bit-rate because the camera can't play these, and I want to review on the spot when necessary.

My guess is that raising the audio bit-rate won't change much at all.
 
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