I tested it on a tripod at its highest bit rates. It is definitely upscaled 720p. However, 720p on the GH2 is a lot better than 720p on any of the other m4/3s cameras.
Honestly, I couldn’t care less about 720p vs. 1080p on the GH2 for slow motion. Both are great. However, without 120 FPS slow motion just is not quite good enough.
Just imagine what could be possible with a GH2 in 1 months time? 720p @ 60 FPS AVC-HD, 720p @ 120 FPS MJPEG, 1080p @ 24 FPS I frame only AVC-HD, and 1080p @ 30 FPS MP4.
@Vitaliy_Kiselev Will the ini files for Ptool 3.62 work with 3.62? Example cbrandin setj (44/32). It looks like they do, are there then any improvments behind the curtains that will improve it further?
I can confirm that the new MJPEG FPS setting applies to both 4:3 VGA and 720p Content. I have Stable 1280x960 4:3 72 FPS working. However, I can't get any of the 720p settings to be stable over 60 FPS.
NICE work on the ISO unlocking! Still have to test, i have the impression that it needs some seconds after pressing record til it reaches the desired iso.. but then again- i could be wrong..
Nice! - i just recorded some footage at ISO 12800 and it works - not very pretty, of course, but should come in handy for night shots!
Except now the display switches to saying "AUTO ISO" as soon as I start recording, and switches back when i stop. When i drastically change the lighting, the ISO does not seem to automatically change, so it must just be a display quirk - one I can definitely live with. Or maybe the camera did this all along and I just never noticed?
ISO limit removal doesn't work on my GH1. It functions okay in live view mode but when I push the rec button it ignores any settings, says "AUTO" and always drops ISO to 100 regardless of what is dialed.
I'm really amazed by the ISO unlock too... With Driftwoods latest patch the grain looks cool! I find it better looking than (slightly) underexposed material at ISO 3200. :) The only thing that bugs me is this idiot line at the lower third that is present in darker areas.
But @sam_stickland had a fix. Mask out the line and composite two videolayers in After Effects like so;
"Create an adjustment layer over your footage, masking out the band - Raise the gamma in the adjustment layer until the band is less visible (I used Colorista, and it's a very slight raise in the midtones 1 -> 1.0321) - Duplicate the original footage, place it above the adjustment layer, then set the adjustment layers Track Matte to "Luma Inverted"
The final step is necessary because the band is more visible on dark areas than light areas."
I will try this trick for sure.
Really amazed anyhow!
The camera now sees better than me in the dark! :P
THANKS ALL INVOLVED!
edit: I tried @sam_stickland's fix. Works like a charm! I further fine tuned it by adding slight feathering to the mask, then adjusting the mask opacity to around 70% to get spot on.
Based on using driftwoods recent GOP1 settings with AQ3 (reAQuainted, and now AQuarius version 2 for ptools 3.63d, the low illuminance as we fall into black is simply amazing. > Noise is fine and natural looking not the typical compressed swirling blocks in the shadows.
Also, if you choose to remove noise, you will be amazed how well it cleans up in post. The footage coming off the GH2 now looks like it came from a different camera. Highend at that.
As @zigizigi reported above, the new ISO Limit Removal patch malfunctions on the GH1.
In addition, the new MJPEG Variable fps patch for the GH2 does not actually change the hardwired 30fps MJPEG frame rate. It only forces the encoder to drop frames as necessary in order to match the patched frame rate. It will also speed up the playback rate if you set it higher than 30fps:
The MJPEG Variable fps is useful for time-lapse videography on both GH1 & GH2: