Ooops I did It again. Bought another G1 that is.

I sold my Panasonic G1 last year because although it was a fantastic camera in many ways I just hated the noisy sensor and I had just gotten a Sony NEX-5 so I put it up for sale on ebay.

Since then I have decided I would like a Panasonic GH2 not so much for still photography (although it's sensor IS much less noisy than the one in the G1) but because it's simply the best camera out there for video quality and that's before you apply the amazing hack!

So why have I got a G1? Simple, the 14-45mm kit lens is sharper than the newer 14-42mm and is better built too so I have purchased the G1 for the lens and in time I will replace the body with the GH2. I must admit though that while it is still noisy at anything above base ISO I did instantly fall back in love with the sheer usability of this camera, the EVF is still pretty good and the amount of external controls is fantastic. I'm also still impressed by the autofcus speed which is easily as fast as the brand new NEX-5n, not bad for a 3 year old camera that was the first of it's kind! It looks quite nice in red too! Time to play with those c mount lenses that don't cover the NEX sensor!

Next stop (when I can afford it!) GH2!

Latest Panasonic GH2 hack unlocks mind blowing ISO 12,800 Video!

Unless you've been living under a rock you'll no doubt be well aware of the fantastic work Vitaliy Kiselev has done unlocking features in both the Panasonic GH1 and GH2 and the latest version of his firmware for the GH2 has taken things one step further!

It was this article at EOSHD that bought the fact to my attention, the noise at iso 12,800 is obviously somewhat high but when combined with one of the high bitrate modes of the hack it is rendered like a fine film grain instead of being smudged by the high compression of the standard bitrate. The result while slightly gritty is very film like and amazingly attractive to watch, it also means that you can film under incredibly dark conditions!

The GH2 is a great camera on it's own but Vitaliy really turns it into something amazing, I never cease to be amazed at how far this little camera can be pushed! I can't imagine any of the expensive professional digital video cameras could give this kind of quality at ISO 12,800!

Just take a look at the amazing video! Credit to the talented Andrew Reid at EOSHD


Darkness Seeker from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

Then Take a look at this video using the same hack by John Twigt shot in colour at ISO 10,000 with some mild noise reduction applied, it's iso 10,000!!!!!! Not 1000, 10,000!!! Amazing!


Gh2 Color footage 10.000 ASA ISO test from John Twigt @ Workstation.nl on Vimeo.