Yeah - as someone who mostly uses my GH2 to document performances and other one-time events, getting rid of the 4GB ceiling would make me soooo happy. I'm doubtful though.

But even just 1080p30 PsF AVCHD with sound for sync in the new firmware would be sweeeet. X-ing fingers.

@Vitaliy_Kiselev
>Problem with HDMI is that hacking it is extra risky.

Let me know your thoughts on HDMI when the new firmware is released...
I am interested in taking the risk to get the HDMI working!

Only problem is that if Camera bricks no one wins?!
(if this happens you don't know of any re-flashing service- or cosmetically damaged GH2 for sale on ebay?) :P

(As its the highest quality tap out of this camera ATM- and I can't see Panny using exFAT or 422 any time before GH3-4 :-(

(edit: GH6 maybe..)

@danyyyel

I couldn't agree more. We don't really need RAW if we could set some simple curves.

@johnnym
If they give us log curves they have to provide us also 10 bit or they'd be unusable

We should not be dreaming here. I don't think panasonic is ever going to give log or 10 bit to a $ 800 gh2. Remember they have the Af-100, they are not going to completely overshadow their official $ 5000 large sensor cam with the Gh2. What I am hopping is just that they implement a better idynamic range function which seems like a function to get the best DR from the sensor before it compresses the signal. This function is also present in Nikon bodies etc. It is not a true log ouptut, more like a much flatter curve, at the expense of some more noise in the image it seems.

The shooter uses that when he has a very contrasty lighting and here lies the problem with panasonic. It seems that some very smart engineer or so he thinks has but some algorithm that decides when it is needed. But it seems to be completely random and completely useless because you never know when it is going to kick in. It would have so much easier if you could just decide the level you want by yourself like Nikon implementation.

Panasonic should behave like red. Give us a 4:2:2 10 bit s-log dslr (the gh2) and turn the af100 into a real deal with 4k 120 fps, raw, hd-sdi, slr, and all the other things. They already have the tech, they could conquer the market. Now the af100 is completely unuseful and anachronistic.

10 bit 4:2:2 for a $800 GH2? Get real people! Maybe Panasonic will reveal a hidden 4:4:4 dual SDI link under your GH2 :)

I say a 25P firmware upgrade will probably make my day :)

@Elenion The problem will be what they will sell you afterward. I think the manufactures more or less know that what I would call the human threshold. Meaning that for a certain level the image quality is good enough so that even if you go higher the human sense won't be able to make a difference. For me a very good down sampled to 1080p image, 10 bit color info with about 13 stop start to get very very close to this. Some would argue that 1080p is too low but I can't see any pixel on the big screen. 4k has it use like better for vfx work and always better to get the best acquisition even for lower 2k delivery. Now perhaps someday when I will see some 4k projected image I will change my point of view.

As for red they start at $ 10 000 with a good shooting package more in the $ 20 000. On the upper end it is more like $ 40 000 to $ 50 000 for an Epic. I think you can't expect Pana to give something like that at the $ 700 gh2 price and $ 5000. I don't think that we will see something like 10 bit in a dslr in the near future (given the $ 20 000 Canon C300 8 bit output). Panasonic also will try to protect its AF line camera. I just hope that they put some sense in the successor of the AF100. Get a good sensor with good dynamic range and low light rolling shutter etc with 10 bit processing at the Af-100 price range and it will be a win. A camera like the C300 but at a realistic price point.

@alcomposer

The number of people who use GH2 as a professional video tools are relatively small compared to people who are using it as a casual still/video camera. You will probably be part of a very small pool of user willing to fork out $500 for a super duper firmware upgrade. For every GH2 sold to video professional, there are hundreds sold to hobbyist and soccer mom.

As for AF100, it is a dedicated video camera with many key features like sdi output, waveform, nd, audio input etc etc... targeted for the semi and professional market.
Even though the features might not be important to a GH2 user, they are basic requirement for AF100 users.

- Is pretty difficult to compare GH2 and AF100 images. Video shot by a good GH2 cameraman will always look superior to a crappy AF100 cameraman, and vice versa.

- well the opposite can also be true. Panny AF100 or even the Sony FS100 sales might increase because many have now realize that a fully kitted ready to shoot Red Scarlet is not as cheap as they once thought it to be.

Yeah, that came to my mind too, I think many have been holding investments back waiting for a cheap 2/3 Scarlet with a fixed lens. They may go shopping for FS100s now – or Panny has to do something about it…

@elenion
>If they give us log curves they have to provide us also 10 bit or they'd be unusable

Not really. The i-dynamic does some kind of curve on the 10-bit RAW data. If there would be a way to control the highlights/shadows, you could have the illusion of more dynamic range in an 8-bit file.

But i doubt there would be a way to control this curve. Maybe @Vitaliy_Kiselev may see some way to do this with the firmware, maybe.. but most probably not, i guess.