Personal View site logo
Display calibration bars image on GH2/3
  • flabloflablo

    Hi, I'm trying to load a calibration bars image into my GH2 and GH3 so to output it to my field monitor (through HDMI) and use it for calibration. Essentially I have this jpeg and I have to make the camera "think" it is one of its photos, but I just can't can't. I tried by using an original photo, editing it (pasting the bars image inside), then savong it, but the camera doesn't recognize it on playback. I also copied metadata etc but nothing. Have anyone had luck with this and how? Or, can anyone just post a working calibration image file that can be read by GH cameras? That would be extremely useful. Thanks!!

  • 10 Replies sorted by
  • vicharrisvicharris

    Tried it. Couldn't get it to work. Though I did give up pretty easy cause I bought an Ikan D5W so I figured it was pretty accurate already for the price.

  • maxrmaxr

    @flabo if you search in the net you'll see it is not easy to come around. I had this hunch that substituting EXIF data of original photo into the chart one would do the trick. All apps I tried for mac didn't do the job (they could not entirelly copy the exif data)... and when I started to feel the grip of commands in P. Harvey's Exiftool I literally fucked my terminal, ayyyyyyyy

    Anyway, there are at least 6 free apps for windows you can try and that do support export and import of exif data: PhotoMe, Exif Pilot, EXIFeditor, GeoSetter, ExiFlow and ExifToolGui. But this is just a hunch I had... If you wanna give ExifTool a try, there are version for all OS, you've got this form their FAQ:

    copy all tags to preferred groups (no destination group)
    exiftool -tagsfromfile src.jpg dst.jpg
    exiftool -tagsfromfile src.jpg -all dst.jpg
    exiftool -tagsfromfile src.jpg "-all>all" dst.jpg
    exiftool -tagsfromfile src.jpg "-all:all>all" dst.jpg

    let us now if you find a way :-)

  • vicharrisvicharris

    Yep, good luck :) Made me miss my HVX200!

  • flabloflablo

    @maxr thanx, I'm gonna try them all. Just hope EXIF data match is enough @vicharris I have a Marshall LCD50 which is also known to be quite decent. Marshall support replied me that the monitor is calibrated at factory default. But it isn't! The image on GH2/3 screen is far more similar to the one that I get in the end.

    I hope I'll make it and post a calibration jpg here!

  • CFreakCFreak

    @flablo @vicharris Did you guys ever get this to work on the GH2? I resorted to this in a controlled setting, trying to find a true match by eye. I quickly realized the Lilliput was much better for color but couldn't be used for focus. The H056 ver.1 was never going to come close for color and was great for focus.

    Attempt at monitor set up.jpg
    2376 x 1584 - 824K
  • vicharrisvicharris

    @CFreak Nope. Just made my monitor look pretty on set. Since I was using the Ikan with all the scopes, I forgot about all that, trusted the camera and what I could get out of it, then used all the scopes to make sure I had skin tones where they needed to be and any contrast areas.

  • flabloflablo

    @CFreak @vicharris I gave up and used the tone and bars generator from Final Cut hooked to a miniDV camcorder ... quite a mess. Anyway, lately I found by chance a thread here on PV where a guy incidentally referred to some software utility which enabled the creation of images (or clips) suitable to be played on camera. Gonna search now and hope to find that thread

    EDIT: oh yes here it is http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/comment/155290#Comment_155290

    http://multiavchd.deanbg.com/tutorial.php It's only for Win and I'm on a Mac. If anyone tries it and succeeds in generating a color bars file playable on the GH2/GH3 (a 5 seconds clip would be enough) that would be nice to share (and even to keep as a downloadable resource here on PV)!

  • CFreakCFreak

    @flablo thanks, I will check it out.

  • maxrmaxr

    In the very little time I clumsily played with Dean's program, which seemed quite powerful, I couldn't make GH3 playback any "outside" file. BTW @flablo with Wine you can run this program no sweat on a mac =)

  • goannagoanna

    Maybe time to ask Dean for advice.

Add a Comment