Beginners: Guide to setting up stable settings

mpgxsvcd

NOTE: Please download and use the latest version of Ptools every time you update your camera's firmware. Older versions of Ptools may not support all features in the settings.

I created the video below to show new users how to update their Panasonic GH2 with the new customizable version 1.1 settings using Ptool. The intent is to get new users to try the extremely stable settings first so that they don't jump right into extreme settings that their memory cards can't handle.

Hopefully, this will reduce the number of threads that are created that say something like "Why won't XXXXX Settings Work For Me"? The settings used in the video will work with any card in any situation. Once they play with those settings then they can move on to other settings once they have decided what they want to get out of the camera and how much they are willing to spend on faster memory cards.

No adverse affects settings http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/953/gh2-patch-vault-most-popular-patches-in-one-place#Item_5

mpgxsvcd

Bump because I keep seeing the same question over and over again. if you want to know where to start. This is the place.

MirrorMan

Many thanks for the 1.1 update! I'm of course excited about the possibilities of Driftwood's new patches but really mostly need a super stable 32-42mb/s bitrate for everyday use.

mpgxsvcd

@MirrorMan

Just be mindful of what the settings you are using are intended for. Some of the extreme patches are intended only for specific use cases and memory cards. I have done a lot of testing with the settings lately and most of the settings that alter the GOP for 720p produce intermittent hickups that greatly decrease image quality over some segments of the video.

Here are some stream parser graphs for some of those segments.

Montwood41

Thx for video. I am primarily interested in improving low light performance at higher iso (1600, 3200). Would love to avoid constant clean up with neat video. In your experience, does jumping from 24mbs to 44mbs make a noticeable difference?

mpgxsvcd

Higher bit rates have the greatest affect with higher ISO values. Noise is the hardest thing to compress and it usually just gets smeared out with compression.

If you like the noise to be as accurate as possible then use a higher bit rate with a lower GOP. For instance Driftwood's GOP = 1 high bit rate settings will render noise very accurately. However, if your goal is to make ISO 2500 look more like ISO 1250 then using more compression(ie: lower bit rate) can actually give you better results than using noise reduction.

I have done tests on the new firmware 1.1 noise reduction and while it works very well for stills it simply is not good for high ISO videos.

Give the settings I listed in the video a try. Shoot 1080p @ 24 FPS high(42 mb/sec), 1080p @ 30 FPS High(36 mb/sec), and then shoot 720p @ 60 FPS Low(24 mb/sec). That will give you a great way to compare 3 very different compression rates.

sebasp1

Hi i just wanna support mpgxsvcd for his greats contributions i have been using his super stable patch for class 4 cards since i got my camera in December and it works outstanding, i may be getting a faster card soon but his setting really help to this day as i only have a class 4 Kingston card but i have been able to get very nice videos with it, even only using 24L! As it was my first patch and the only one i tried so far it gave me a nice first step before trying higher patches, so i would totally recommend this!

Thanks mpgxsvcd, keep it up!

mpgxsvcd

@sebasp1

Your situation is exactly what these settings are for. It is for the people who are unsure of what they need and just want to try it out in its most stable form. It also helps the people who have specific reasons to use a much slower card.

For instance the Eye-Fi memory cards offer a tremendous benefit in wireless instant uploading. However, their class 6 cards are horribly slow. These settings allow you to use the eye-fi cards for movies and stills in moderate quality and still crank it up a bit if you also use a class 10 card or faster.

That being said. You shouldn’t be using a class 4 card anymore. I use both of the 32 GB Class 10 cards bellow and they work very well. One is $36 and the other is $58. My personal opinion is that they are equivalent cards so the “Transcend 32 GB” card is a much better deal.

Get yourself one of the cards below and pick up an eye-fi card if your phone can act as a hot spot. It will completely transform the way you take pictures and videos. It did for me.

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-Class-Flash-Memory-TS32GSDHC10E/dp/B003VNKNF0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330349348&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Flash-memory-Class/dp/B002TQ6HT6/ref=sr_1_25?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1330349366&sr=1-25

Eye-Fi card http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002UT42UI/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details

islanders66

@mpgxsvcd.. Last week the 32gb Sandisk on Amazon shipped as 45mbs. B&H is the same price and they say 45mbs in the listing.

nod

I've tested this patch twice now with GH2, 1.1 firmware, 25 1.4 lumix leica prime, Scandisk extreme pro 45mb/s. If I swithc camera on and shoot 720p 50 SH the camera displays a write error on the screen and locks up. Other patches such as Cbrandin 44 I have no issues at all. I don't understand why I should be experiencing this problem if it is 'zero penalty'. I have tried another card and have the same problem. Is this specific to 720p 50

mpgxsvcd

@nod

I will try those tonight. I have the lens but I only have the 30 mb/sec Sandisk card. That should suffice though.

What were you filming(Indoors, Sunlight, High ISO)? Do you have an NTSC camera or a native PAL camera?

mpgxsvcd

@nod

I just tried it just now for 720p @ 50 FPS and I couldn't get it to fail at all. I tried it with a very slow Class 6 card. Can you give me more details about what the error message was? Are you using an NTSC camera and switching over to PAL or is your camera a native PAL camera?

mpgxsvcd

Here is the new Stream Parser image from my test. This is from an NTSC camera running in PAL mode.

pgpana

@mpgxsvcd

can I use this patch on gf2(PAL)?

mpgxsvcd

@pgpana

It has only been tested on the GH2. The settings are all tailored to the GH2 so I cannot speak to GF2 functionality. However, they are all conservative settings so it should work as well as any other settings would.

Give it a try and let us know what works and what doesn't.

nod

the error message is as follows 'the motion picture was cacelled due to the limitation of the writing speed of the card' it happens with all the cards I have. to create the error the following circumstance. remove and insert battery. switch on camera, set dial to normal P photo mode, iso set to 320, rec mode 720p 50, quality sh, any lighting conditions, press the red movie rec button and I get the above error message. remove battery to unlock camera. change rec mode to 1080i, quality fh, all other settings the same and press the red record button, it records perfectly. revert setting to 720p and again gets the above error message and locks

mpgxsvcd

@nod

Is this a native PAL camera? Did you buy this in Europe, Asia, or Japan? Are you recording with AFC on? Can you try using the "H"(low 720p) mode? It works in both modes for me in PAL mode. However, it might be different if you have native PAL camera. Mine is a native NTSC(USA) camera running in PAL mode.

mpgxsvcd

@nod

Can you try re-downloading the settings file? Use the link below. Also make sure you click the J settings button. And finally can you post a stream parser screen capture of the file that is recorded? That will let me know if it is using the settings I am using or something else.

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/uploads/FileUpload/3e/f042c98b46bfbcaf50d431e65bb200.zip

nod

The camera was purchased in Hong Kong. native PAL. tried H and SH in 720p and get the write error. all other modes HBR and 1080i and 1080 24p work fine. tried the file on the link which is the same as the patch i had. using j in ptools. don't know what a parser stream capture is sorry.

nod

patches such as cake and cbrandin 44 work fine in all modes on this camera so don't think the camera is at fault

balazer

@nod, the Extreme Pro 45 MB/s cards are not recommended for the GH2.

mpgxsvcd

@balazer

Why not? Are they defective?

mpgxsvcd

@nod

Can you post the stream parser screen shot of the video? You are the only one that has had trouble with those settings. I am not totally convinced that you have loaded the same file that we are using. I could tell by just seeing a stream parser file.

mpgxsvcd

@nod

Install this file and open the .mts file with it.

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/uploads/FileUpload/ef/97532fe524baff079205acb60d72f1.zip

Stream Parser help pages

http://www.personal-view.com/faqs/streamparser

http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/370/official-streamparser-topic#Item_36

nod

thanks for this. the mts file created in 720p mode is as follows File: F:\PRIVATE\AVCHD\BDMV\STREAM\00000.MTS Size = 0 Bytes (0 Packets). as crash is always instant there is no data to read. I also have a cheap kingston class 10 16gb card and it is the same in 720p mode

mpgxsvcd

@nod

Not sure what is going on. Can you check your video output settings in the tools/video out menu? Try setting it to PAL if it is not already.

I don't have a native PAL camera so I can't test exactly what you are testing.

Can you post your j settings file in a zip file to this thread. I will check it to make sure it is the same.

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