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GH4 firmware update 2.0 talk
  • GH4 FIRMWARE UPGRADE!!! VER 2.0 http://eww.pass.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/content/download/EN/ep2main/soft/upggh4_e.htm

    1. [4K PHOTO] mode is added which records 4K video exclusively for capturing a frame to save as a photo. •Settings can be adjusted as below when entering this mode. Rec Format : MP4 Rec Quality : 4K/30p/100Mbps (System Frequency 59.94Hz) 4K/25p/100Mbps (System Frequency 50.00Hz) Luminance Level:0-255
      1. In addition to 16:9 aspect, 4:3/3:2/1:1 can be selected.
      2. Exif information is embedded to the captured image from the 4K video.
      3. Marking function is available enables marker setting on the designated point while recording video and users can jump to the markers when playing back the video to capture the frame they want.
      4. Loop Recording function is added, with which the camera keeps on recording video while deleting the old footage automatically.
    2. 4K/23.98p/100Mbps mode is added in MP4 video recording.
    3. The upper limit of the ISO sensitivity can be set in the menu of ISO sensitivity setting and emission amount of flash light can be adjusted in the menu of exposure compensation.
    4. Focusing performance of 1-area AF in video recording is improved.
    5. Tracking performance of tracking AF when used with the interchangeable lens H-FS14140 is improved.
    6. Remote shooting via USB tethering is available by using PC software “USB Tether” supplied by Promote Systems.

    https://eww.pavc.panasonic.co.jp/support/en/dsc/fts/win/GH4_V20_ENG.pdf

  • 109 Replies sorted by
  • Downloading now. Lets see how this 4K photo mode works!

  • Nice!!! I need to fully charge my batteries 1st!

  • looking at the spec its somewhat disappointing that the 4:3 3:2 and 1.1 modes seems to be further crops from the 4k frame. Meaning wide shots in this format aren't going to work very well!

    [4:3] (Size: 3328k2496) [3:2] (Size: 3504k2336) [16:9] (Size: 3840k2160) [1:1] (Size: 2880k2880)

    Will do some tests once this has installed (not reading it at the moment).

  • 2880x2880 is an interesting new crop tele mode

  • Looking at these actually it isn't using the entire usable frame of the GH4, so its a crop but each aspect could have a use as a video format. Certainly using anamorphic lenses could be helped out by shooting the 4:3.

  • I've just put these together to show the relative formats. This is all sitting inside a standard 4k frame (4096 3112).

    crops_4k_photo.jpg
    4096 x 3112 - 548K
  • This is the second firmware update, right? Didn't we get the GH2 hack after the it's first firmware update? Just sayin'...

  • GH3 hack first :)

  • I am seeing an increase in the effective overall bitrate of 4k footage (mp4 and mov, using MediaInfo). With 1.0-1.2 it was rarely over 80-82Mbps, now I am getting up to 96Mbps (@25fps). This might imply an even better image quality.

  • New aspect ratios should make anamorphic shooters happy!

  • I have full battery, reformatted SD card (twice) and it still won't accept the update. Strange, I'll try another Sd card. I'm using the 32g Sandisk 95MB/s

    Edit: I downloaded the first file from here:

    http://eww.pass.panasonic.co.jp/pro-av/support/content/download/EN/ep2main/soft/upggh4_e.htm

    This one worked:

    http://panasonic.jp/support/global/cs/dsc/download/fts/dl/gh4.html

  • What is the difference (or benefits) of storing as MP4 rather than MOV? As MOV is just a wrapper for the streams

  • Interview with Panasonic – raw HDMI output may be coming to future GH4 firmware plus anamorphic aspect ratios in firmware V2.0

    http://www.eoshd.com/2014/10/interview-panasonic-raw-hdmi-output-may-coming-future-gh4-firmware-plus-anamorphic-aspect-ratios-firmware-v2-0/

  • Panasonic finally released the GH4 2.0 firmware. The major advancement in this release is the ability to easily take still images from 4K @ 30 FPS video for any aspect ratio and still retain the movie file with uninterrupted sound and video.

    I have installed the firmware on my GH4 and it works perfectly. Panasonic must have seen the video below that I made about the shutter speed issues with Program Priority mode because they resolved that issue as well.

    They didn’t implement the min shutter speed setting but they did the next best thing. They raised the minimum shutter speed to 1/100 even with wide angle lenses from what I could tell in my limited testing. It also appears that it will try to use 1/120 as the shutter speed if it can in low light in NTSC countries. That is the ideal shutter speed to eliminate flicker from fluorescent lighting.

    Please note that the Program Priority stills only mode is unchanged. It will still use entirely too slow of a shutter speed with Auto ISO and wide angle lenses. I have replaced that mode in my custom settings with the new photo/video mode.

    Basically this firmware update is solely geared towards novice users that aren’t looking for nth degree quality and control. It is setup so that anyone can take a very good JPG image of anything and never miss that critical moment.

    Basically I can set my GH4 to the photo video mode and hand it to anyone with a pulse and I will get exactly the image I want. They don’t have to worry about pressing buttons at the right time or adjusting settings. I just hit record and hand them the camera. Say point it at us and hold it there for a few seconds.

    Then I get to choose the high quality still frame that I think looks best. Basically this allows me to transfer my experience about photo and video settings to someone else without them taking a semester long photography class from me.

    When this new feature is combined with the excellent built-in wireless capabilities of the Panasonic cameras we finally have the ability to shoot and share near real-time photographs. I believe this new feature will revolutionize amateur photography. It should be simply perfect on the LX100. I can’t imagine recommending any other camera to people right now other than the FZ1000 if they really need that much zoom.

    I will do a full video review of how this feature works tonight. That is the only good way to explain why it is so revolutionary.

  • @mpgxsvcd

    Thanks, very interesting.

  • Testing 2/3" lenses now!

  • Nothing too earth shattering here for video. Best new feature in my opinion is true 4K (not UHD) at 23.976. That simplifies how I use my GH4 considerably.

  • GH4 tethered to Microsoft Surface Pro 3 using 'USB Tether for Lumix' from Promote Systems.

    Link: https://www.promotesystems.com/products/USB-Tether-for-LUMIX.html

    Download link to a fully-functional 14-day trial version here: https://www.promotesystems.com/downloads/software/usb_tether/usb_tether_lumix.exe

    gh4_tethering_to_pc.jpg
    2048 x 1365 - 273K
  • Just installed 2.0 on my GH4, and was disappointed to see that the changelog was misleading: they did not add true 4K at 23.976 in MP4 mode.... they added UHD in MP4 mode, just to catch it up with MOV mode. Disappointing.

  • This tethering seems also bullshit...pretty much cant do anything. I was hoping smth like 720p stream over usb and got "PC laptop shutter release".

  • Not sure how much use I'll get out of it, but I dig the 4K looping feature, plus the ability to shoot in 4:3 or 3:2.

    I'm also very happy that they've put back the GH3's second wheel control over Max ISO and flash compensation.

    Didn't do any scientific testing, but it does seem like single-area AF is considerably faster shooting 4K.

  • New feature to shoot 23.98 at 59.94 HZ. Would this be a better way to go vs the 24Hz original setting for UHD? Is there even a real difference?

  • @nobbystylus

    Nice crop image. Too bad these new formats increase the already big crop factor by a lot. It demands so much of the center resolution of the lens. I wonder if old full frame glass can still produce anything decent wide open. I see very little reason to be happy with the 1:1 resolution for anamorphic. With such a crop factor even a 0.7 speedbooster doesn't help much.

    A 4k resolution doesn't mean anything if the lens can't deliver this resolution on the required part of the sensor. It might end up between 1080p and 4k and gives you more detailed 1080p images but all the crop options are gone. I like the 4k for it's ability to shoot a mid and closeup in one shot, to switch in post between both of them and preserve continuous motion.

    I have a very sharp 400mm 3.5 Nikon AIS and it worked great on GH2 with normal 1.86 cropfactor and extele. And I thought the GH4 would give me normal and extele in one take. But the lens is not that sharp in the center that it can deliver full 4k resolution any more. And the post crop options are not as great as I would expect.

  • GH4 new photo 4K mode firmware in anamorphic 1.75x quick test Here is a quick test with the new firmware V2 "photo mode" 4K in 16:9, 3:2 and 4:3 Sorry I forget the 1:1, anyway for my 1.75x anamorphic... :p GH4 4K photo mode baby Berthiot Hypergonar 1.75x lens Qioptiq LINOS MeVis-C C-mount 35mm f1.6 @ f1.6 with the diopters and f4 for the others shot SLR Magic 1.3x + 0.33x diopters Vcine mode with EOSHD setting Premiere Lumetri 60's color correction + levels adjustments