[shoplink 29980 ebay]
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There is really no need to wait for the upcoming new GF5. Our star hacker Vitaly just announced the new PTool v3.65d (Click here). And for the first time you can hack your GF3 and that tiny thing has the same GH2 hack features except 24p recording!!! Yeah, you read it right…it becomes a shrinked GH2 -> UPDATE: I am referring to the features added via hack, not the inherit ands still for the GH2 only features like crop mod and so on!).
Oh and that little beats now costs less than a high end compact camera. You can get it for $359 only at Amazon (Click here to grab one). But the most super deal ever is the GF3 + tiny 14-42mm X pancake zoom that is now in Stock for $439 on [shoplink 29980 ebay]eBay US (Click here to check that superdeal!)[/shoplink].
And the hacking party is not going to end here. Vitaly is promising that “something big” is coming soon. What could it be?
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Now three cameras are hackable and here are the instructions:
GH1-hack.info
GH2 price check: [shopcountry 16254].
GF3 price check: [shopcountry 23109].
GF2 price check: [shopcountry 17361].
52 Responses
Something big? Must be Olympus hacked! I can’t wait for a retrofit multispot metering, which they seemed to have left of the E-M5 as well. Heresy on the OM legacy!
If you are scared to hack your camera and don’t want to lose any reliability then give the simple instructions in the video below a try.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wg_nsfdHe0
Admin there is one HUGE problem with what you said. The GF3 does not do 720p @ 60 FPS. It does 720p @ 30 FPS embedded in 720p @ 60 FPS. That is a big difference.
You should have said that the GF3 will do 1080p @ 30/25 FPS just like the GH2 with the version 1.1 software. Otherwise it can’t do anything else that the GH2 can do. It can’t do 1080p @ 24 FPS, 1080p 80% slow motion, 1080i, 720p @ 60 FPS, The ETC modes of the GH2, or manual video controls.
Your statement is completely misleading and incorrect.
Please read this: http://www.gh1-hack.info/wiki/VersionHistory
The hack adds all features from the GH2 hack. It doens’t add features that are exclusive from the GH3 of course!
“Something big”
Panasonic is going ALL PINK for its future m4/3 line!!!
multi-spot is just a manual version of ESP metering. It would be nice to get that last bit of control, but ESP combined with hi-spot and low-spot seems like a reasonable substitute.
But, yes, someone needs to send Vitaliy an E-M5 ASAP.
🙂
how long the prev gen hacked one will be better than the unboxed next gen one
Sometimes a lot is lost in translation. I don’t believe what VK wrote is what he meant. I believe that what he meant was that you can use all of the “Ptool” features from the GH2 on the GF3 and not that the GF3 now has all of the camera features of the GH2.
The Ptool features include B-frames, higher bit rates, and customizable Quantizers. Those do not include adding GH2 video frame rates, ETC modes, Manual Video Controls, and perhaps the GH2’s resolvable resolution.
Finally the answer I was looking for, thanks. Now I know that Ptool is useless for me.
Pretty much so. What is says is “Initial release with features identical to GH2, except 24p support” and the key words being Initial Release.
Maybe “that something big” is a hacked GX1 to better specs than the GH2?
Yes we are waiting for the hacked GX1 now 🙂
has anyone else had the double image/soft image problem at 42mm with the 14-42mm X pancake zoom?
Is there a difference in image quality between the GF1 and the GF3 or are they just the same?
Its been reported as an issue when shooting at specific shutter speeds. It seems the image stabilization and the shutter speed are out of sync, so to speak. I don’t think Panasonic has yet acknowledged the issue, but its out there.
Panasonic has acknowledged it. They even released a firmware to fix the problem but unfortunately doesn’t 100% fix all the issues. It’s still much better than originally where a majority of some people’s shots had the double vision.
I see nothing in the Ebay ad to give assurance this is not simply the std kit zoom rather than the X lens similar to an earlier ad where this was the case? Only Ebay says no returns so better be sure.
It says x-lens in description. If it is not shipped that way one can dispute the cc charge and keep the camera. The card company will side with the buyer based on the written description. Not sure why people don’t know they have recourse, just read carefully.
Waiting for G3 hack!!!!
Apparently the GF3 is in short supply as even the Amazon deal is for body only and very few left so one can assume that the Ebay one is with std zoom lens not the Xlens. This hack will make the GF3 even more popular. I wish it had a rear control wheel but then I guess the GF2 has that.
Question – what is the difference between the video capabilities of this hacked GF3 compared to the hacked GF2 if any?
What are improvements for GF3 with the hack except better quality video?
picture always with the 14mm lens, for that it looks smaler…
so, if it’s not 24p, what is it? 30p? 60i?
You must be kidding. Maybe they will have the same *features* but they do have different sensors, the one into GH2 being *much* better.
no 24p. screw that
If someone could post some sample 1080p video footage taken with a hacked GF3, that would be great.
(So far the only 1920×1080 sample videos from unhacked GF3s I have found show very ugly interlacing artifacts, which would render the recordings unusable for many purposes, even if the bitrate was much higher.)
The GF3 shoots 1080p @ 30 FPS. It is not true interlaced footage so it should not show interlacing artifacts unless your viewer is incorrectly trying to deinterlace it.
The GH2 shoots true 1080i/60 in its 1080i mode. That should show the deinterlacing artifacts you are talking about if it is not deinterlacing properly.
At least the video samples dpreview posted are definitely interlaced, and do show artifcacts, have a look at e.g.: http://s3.amazonaws.com/movies.dpreview.com/panasonic_dmcgf3/water05.MTS
Are there other samples that are not interlaced?
I looked at that sample and I see no obvious interlacing artifacts. What are you using to view it?
Just have a look at the water – the moving parts show clear comb like artifacts where every other line is in a different part of a motion.
(And I am looked at those frames by single stepping using mplayer, definitely without any additional filters.)
Sorry. Please don’t kill me for asking this, but I’m a little outside the loop as far as m4/3 cameras goes. Can someone explain “the hack” that is so widely discussed for these Panasonic cameras?
Thanks.
Essentially, they either unlock features in the firmware that were blocked by Panasonic (e.g. If you bought one of these cameras in Japan, I think only way to ‘unlock’ English is to download the hack. Think also can enable PAL/NTSC modes as well after applying hack.
And, then, the main one that gets most people excited, is the ability to change the settings in video recordings. This enables very high quality videos to be recorded, but, better have some large SD cards handy!
Interesting. Thanks, guys. I don’t quite see how the camera would have a shortened life from such tweaks, but perhaps it theoretically would have to do with the sensor running hotter if it’s recording at a higher bit-rate. But that would really be all about the processor, I would think.
So, is the point with these hacked G-Cameras that they can record video on par (or better) than the 5D and its lot? Are aspects like rolling shutter and the other defects in DSLR CMOS video less of a problem with the mirror-less systems? Is there a video hack for the GF1/GX1?
Thanks, again!
The main advantage of the hack is the encoding. A hacked camera encodes less compressed video. The downside is less reliable video function. Some scenes may be too detailed for the camera to keep up with and the video is lost.
A hacked GH2 can yield sharper, cleaner video than a 5d but the hype is misleading. If there isn’t going to be heavy post processing applied and the most elaborate screening is going to be an HDTV in a livingroom the hacked GH2 is simply going to be an alternative
Rolling shutter is less of a problem on smaller sensors. The hack isn’t a real factor.
Vitaly created a program, Ptools, that allows users to alter the firmware settings. The biggest result of this is that you can use higher bit rates (up to 10 times higher I think) than factory standard. In general this allows greater detail. Various other goodies are unlocked as well. Panasonic is ok with the hacking but says it can shorten the lifespan of the camera. I haven’t seen anyone saying the hack shortened their cameras life but maybe that happens. Updating firmware can damage your camera but that’s not related to the hack per se I think, that’s just if you touch any buttons when the firmware is updating.
Thanks for the additional information.
For me, that is one of the weakest links in some of the DSLR video I’ve worked with – that it absolutely falls apart the second I start pushing and pulling HSL curves.
I would love “something big” to be an AF100 hack. Finally using that sensor to its potential. The features of the AF100 still beat its competition but the problem is the compression. If Vitaly can hack it, an AF100 with the IQ of / better than the hacked GH2 would be another game changer.
At its price point, the AF100 is a dog, and it’s already past its prime. Panny needs to just release an improved AF200.
Has the g3 been hacked at all?
nope..still waiting too !
And im looking at d800 dxo score
They have just ordered the GX1, so that will be the next hack.
The Olympus E-M5 is the camera that at the moment deserves to be hacked the most:
in-body image stabilisation (brilliant!!)
autofocus
good lenses
less rolling shutter, aliasing and moiré problems…
Vitaly should take account of that!
All of your ‘less’ problems are compared to cameras other than the gh2 and as the bodies and internals are totally different, and no oly cameras have been hacked yet, chances are very slim that hacking would begin on it now, and be released before oly users attention stores have all dried up. The reason why these G cameras are being hacked is because theyve been working on and revising these hacks for years. Oh and the lenses are the same, obviously.
I wont hold my breath for an oly hack. As far as i know, VK has the knowledge of Panasonic’s firmware etc due to the time spent since the GF1 / GH1 hacks and the information gleaned from this.
For oly, he will need a huge learning curve to decode and understand how oly implements the various functions etc.. first he needs to have an oly body. AFAIK, he only has Panny bodies..
Also, AFAIK Panasonic appears to unofficially support hacking, while Olympus does not. That’s a great way for Panny to endear themselves to the enthusiast community.
I think the Nokia Pure View 808 should be hacked. Make it run on Android 4 and they will sell millions. But maybe that’s not a job for Vitaly, just like the E-M5…
Android has been ported to some newer Nokia smartphones, so it’s possible 808 will get its version in a couple of months.
Something big?
Registration on GH2 may be 1080p 60fps?!
or maybe 4K? I’m hoping for 60fps …
i just tried some settings on my GF3, here the results
– AVCHD 1080p @ 46mbs -> camera crashes due to SD card’s writing speed (Transcend Class 10, 32gb)
– AVCHD 1080p @ 30mbs -> filming works but stops recording after about 30secs
– AVCHD 1080p @ 24mbs -> works fine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YycFUbf_7Q4&hd=1)
– AVCHD 720p @ 16mbs -> works fine
I’m guessing his Big Thing is released quite close to april 1st. I’ll be the first to say HOAX!
I’m a little confused as a current NEX-5n owner and former GH1 hack owner. I got my hands on a GF3 body very cheap and saw there is a hack to have most of GH2 features. I am interested if GF3 can do “crop mode” or “crop zoom” like on GH2? If not with current hack, is there a possibility in the future as it seems like it’s just turning off parts of sensor except just the center 1920×1080 (i know it sounds simple, yet it isn’t).