@rigs sorry man, didn't mean to be obtruse (I was propably more blunt than necessary), but really, I think it is a very common thought-lapse. Just look at comments concerning firmware development (for the gh2) or comments concerning what specs gh3 "should" have.

Specs are never enough. Yet, plenty put plenty of cameras to good use. Yet, the gh2 is a very good, and a very useful camera. Maybe there is even a bit more to get from it but that would be a bonus as far as I'm concerned.

Like I said, Quality is getting cheaper. The f65 is a good example as it weighs in at $65000 and has top, top specs all around. The "best" (here I discount a horses for courses principle) camera used to be more expensive.

"The GH2 is at the point where the audience won't be able to tell the difference between it... or an Epic or Scarlet."

yeah, whatever, this is getting silly

Like I said I'm not bashing the GH2 - I use them allot, The reality is the sensor is noisy, even at iso 160, it has compression artifacts (look at the red and blue chanels) plus colour banding issues from an 8bit stream. Sure viewers could care less of our end results, but you won't fool any DOP, GD or editor into thinking that the GH2 is on par with the scarlet or any cameras that offer better performance. The GH cameras are a great bang for the buck and sure there are some post work arounds such as neat video that can help with the noise a bit. But if you want cleaner, smoother images to work with, you need to consider other options. Lets not ignore these realities, I thought this community was in search of trying to make things better, that we'd strive to make the GH2 as good as it can get. Don't ignore these facts and place it in the same league as others. The above details that may seem minute to some, but they are all are very important non the less.

I'm excited to see this video, is it already posted somewhere?

I just thought it would be fun to see, really.

Guys.... stop... this.... flame, please.

I agree with @rigs

And I own a GH2, 5D, manage two RED MX's and an Epic (which is sitting in my lap right now, GH2 is on the footstool getting ready for some ISO testing). You're out of your damned mind if you think a GH2 + Hack is anywhere in the same league as Scarlet or Epic.

What IS true is that it gets pretty close @ 2K to Epic, but you only use 2K for slow mo on Epic.

The only fanboyism going on here is for the GH2, typical David vs Goliath. Get over it: you don't own an Epic, and you don't own anything close to it. You do own a damned good image for the price, one that should get you to wherever you need to go, and it will not make up for the lack of actually committing to creating content.

If I were David I probably wouldn't bother showing any tests, one way or another someone will say he did something wrong and it just opens up stupid conversations like these.

@kholi, Here it is again ! Another attempt to put a wet blanket on a fire that burning wild and open. What do you mean by " if I were David I probably wouldn't bother showing any tests .. " The only other Scarlet fanboy on this thread is also trying to keep David's test as " Dave's own discoveries ". What is it !? You guys are getting instructions emails from the head-office !? If I where you i would've put the Epic on the footstool and Keep the GH2 on the desk. But again that's me - i'm a GH2 FANMAN. In your own words [ What IS true is that it gets pretty close @ 2K to Epic, but you only use 2K for slow mo on Epic ] all I need is 2K and thank you for verifying that my footage out of GH2 ( hacked ) gets pretty close to a $20K and $60K camera and I just can - not -get - over - it. Thank you, this comes from a RED fanboy means a lot to me! If I were David I would conduct this test to the best of my ability and hold the results high in the sun for everybody to see.

I appreciate David's work and think it constructive to use the Scarlet as a solid benchmark against which improvements in the GH2 can be made... Am I missing something here?

Thanks David!

@kholi "I don't get stuck using a 700.00 camera when I don't have or want too"

I don't understand why you're bringing price into this. Why not just say "I like using RAW images when possible" or "the GH2's compression is not the best for what I do". The fact that you're even bringing up price, makes it a penis showing contest now from your end...

The GH2 may not be a head-to-head contender with the Epic or Scarlet. But it sure beats the pants of those F900's and ginormous HPX's from yesteryear... and those are still like $50,000 a pop. I know a few people who would even say that the GH2 has a better overall-image and look than the original Red One. Technology is slowly braking down the price-factor. If you're going to argue about cameras these days... it's probably better to use other merits besides price.

@kholi,

" Will minus intellect constitutes vulgarity." Arthur Schopenhauer

• For $700. GH2 -Hacked , a sane person can get almost as good of an image as a $20K ~ $50K image for small screen display. I consider this as a lot for very little investment - Dave's tests are going to show this.
• Your admission to the fact that the GH2 could be considered " A perfect substitute " to the " SEVERAL HIGH END "cameras is INVALUABLE. After all you are a self proclaimed expert in such matters. Thank you as i am appreciating this substitution in quality. Especially with a small investment in comparison to the small fortune many people have expensed for those HIGH END cameras. I assume you meant RED cameras by that.
• I'm not sure how you consider yourself safe from the dangers of Ignorance. Nevertheless i agree with you that ignorance is dangerous. The awareness of obtainable almost matching quality of RED cameras with GH2-Hacked saved me a lot of money.
• Open minded RED users are the best in this industry. GH2 users match that crowd proudly. There are just a few bad pricks gathered around the RED community with their penises in their hands running around comparing sizes and girth of each other, jumping up and down and making a lot of nonsense noise. Those people are making the big stink out of every little thing that may be considered an insult to the RED as the holy grail of the imaging industry. Other than that the RED users are just that, bunch of people discussing matters about a camera system.
• Did you get that Epic off your lap yet or still that scene is being shot !?

Stick around and check out Dave's test you may learn something. Perhaps you could teach others something you haven't thus far. Fear not.

Wow, holly crap. Is Panasonic making Red's sensors? :)

Thanks again for all your work David!

Great Job David, I am a bit concerned with the shadows on the Horizon. After grading those areas might flatten to no details. This is a fascinating side by side comparison. I think with careful grading possibilities are very exciting.

Thanks David for this.