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GH1 4:3 Ratio Settings
  • AlbertZAlbertZ

    I am going to shoot my next work in 4:3 ratio with my GH1 (I love this ratio) however it seems to me that the only "native" 4:3 mode is MJPEG 640X480. Too low, indeed. Of course, I could record in 16:9 HD and then crop in 4:3 with software...however it would be great to record watching directly through the viewfinder in 4:3 in order to frame each shot.. can you suggest any patch for 4:3? Both MJPEG and AVHCD... Thanks!

  • 8 Replies sorted by
  • AlbertZAlbertZ

    Anyone can tell me...is there a patch with good quality and 4:3 ratio? And if there aren' t ssuch pathches, can I attempt to make it myself or it isn't possible?

  • OedipaxOedipax

    It's a very badly wanted feature, but no, unfortunately it's limited to 640x480 30fps.

    Your best bet is AVCHD 1080p24 and cropping the sides if you want something less extreme than 3.56:1 (in the case of 2X anamorphics).

  • StylzStylz

    Just use some painters tape or something and mask off your lcd.

  • CRFilmsCRFilms

    It's possible to change one of the mjpeg hacks to a 4:3 HD ratio, but I don't know how stable it would be. I did it once and shot a few seconds just to test it, but I never pushed beyond that because there are other anamorphic hacks out there. You're best bet is to use Lpowell's anamorphic hack. It can work with 2x and is stable.

  • AlbertZAlbertZ

    the only patch I've seen is a 30Mbit patch for gh1 optimized for ipad...however 30Mbit is very low bitrate for gh1 guys ;) I think the only solution should be buy a mattebox and use a 4:3 filter...in fact I have discovered that even directord shooting today (in film) with a 1.33 ratio use 1,85 film and crop them...sounds strange on film, but...

  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    What's wrong with @Oedipax's advice? So you would get 1440x1080. And if you don't like @Stylz's idea to mask off the LCD by painter's tape, choose in the custom menu the lowest guide line and place the vertical one on the 3/4 position of your LCD. After that, just remember to crop the proper L/R side :-)

    Try my "varigop" setting if you shoot in 24p, it has very high bitrates and excellent IQ then (3gop in 24p)

  • AlbertZAlbertZ

    thanks for your help, @tetakpatak: using the grid instead of tape would be much better, since I prefer looking into the viewfinder than into the LCD screen when I am shooting.

    It would be great to increase the bitrate of 30Mbps MJPEG 960x720 VGA mode @ 30 fps *, present in 75Mbps Peak Reliability Patch

    • (30Mbps MJPEG 960x720 VGA mode @ 30 fps This iPod-compatible video mode produces HD-resolution 960x720 videos in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio. Its bitrate averages around 30Mbps. ) The patch works fine, increasing the 30 Mbit bitrate to 50-70 would be very very interesting ;)
  • tetakpataktetakpatak

    It would be great to increase the bitrate of 30Mbps MJPEG 960x720 VGA mode @ 30 fps *, present in 75Mbps Peak Reliability Patch

    To find the proper settings of the MJPEG mode on the GH1 is really the hardest part of the patch development. I was trying to find some rock stable 30fps with very high bitrates (I am still on it) but sofar, IMO LPowell's settings are still unmatched, the benchmark.
    Therefore, I've decided to use Jordan Noblet's amazing timelapse settings in MJPEG (2fps) instead and if I some day reach some really good results in MJPEG 30fps, I will release another variant of the "Varigop", though without timelapse then.

    Mind that the recording quality in MJPEG mode on the GH1 in general isn't as good as its AVCHD. It produces more noise (even with 100 ISO) and the image is considerably less sharp. In general, GH1's in-camera sharpening isn't tuned as high as GH2's (which is IMO exaggerated) For that reason, I leave sharpness setting in my GH1 on zero position with vintage, -1 with panasonic lenses. But it is matter of taste.
    But for your needs, I would probably void MJPEG and crop AVCHD instead.

    I've rendered with Magix Pro X4 from "Varigop" 24p to 30fps and the results were excellent, no problems.

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