New firmware update for the Panasonic GH2 coming in December!
There is a good news for all current Panasonic GH2 owners! A new GH2 firmware update is coming in December. You can read the news here Panasonic website (Click here). There are many new features and fixes:
- - New video mode which is suitable for editing video recorded at high bit rate (24Mbps)
- - New functional option with Power Zoom Lens ([DISP FOCAL LENGTH (Display of Focal Length)], [STEP ZOOM], [ZOOM RESUME], [ZOOM SPEED] and [ZOOM RING*])
- - Full area enlargement of AF area setting
- - Improvement in the speed of consecutive shooting when shot with auto bracket
- - Increased number of recordable images in consecutive shooting
- - [EX.TELE CONV. (Extra Tele Conversion)] can be set ON/OFF separately in photo or video recording
- - More accurate light adjustment of built-in flash
- - Improvement in the AF performance in video recording
- - Synchronization of alarm volume for low battery with [BEEP VOLUME]
- - New [HALF-PRESS RELEASE] function
- - Improved NR (Noise Reduction) in high sensitivity shooting
- - ON/OFF control of the touch-screen
Just a reminder. The GH2 got a $200 discount at Amazon (Click here).
Max
2 years ago |hm….. but GH2 already have 24Mbps
admin
2 years ago |sorry, new “video mode” for 24Mps
Physica
2 years ago |is firmware , not formware
Bob Bowné
2 years ago |That would be a corset, right?
burnardo
2 years ago |lol
Bob Bowné
2 years ago |OMG …I just fell off my chair…Panasonic updated an old product!!!!!??????????????
david
2 years ago |They’ve done it in the past. I have an LX3, and I remember a firmware update that added significant functionality to the camera well after it’s introduction.
McSmooth
2 years ago |Agreed, one of the several updates did add some welcome improvements to the lx3. One allowed exposure bracketing at +/-3 ev instead of 1 (like the gh2 still has). Seems to happen to good sellers that are in-between 2 year hardware updates.
Wonder if the new video mode is just without b-frames for slow computers.
IcelandicBunny
2 years ago |The new video mode is very likely to be MP4…
McSmooth
2 years ago |As in, same video stream, different wrapper? I don’t see how that makes editing videos easier, aside from not having to dive 5 folders deep every time. Also wouldn’t be AVCHD compliant.
Hope that’s the case though! Breaking away from strict AVCHD rules opens the possibility of them offering new frame-rates/bit-rates in the future.
Max
2 years ago |update just for sell new lenses
Ranger 9
2 years ago |“Old” product, maybe, but still their top-of-the-line video-centric camera.
And it’s not just for compatibility with the new lenses. The ability to turn the touchscreen completely off will make a lot of users happy. (I like the touchscreen but want to be able to “disarm” it when needed.) Also, the ability to set the AF area anywhere within the frame will be useful (currently there’s a “dead zone” around the edges into which you can’t move the AF area.)
pbrooks100
2 years ago |Maybe the firmware of the new GX1 is shared with the GH2?
RebelPhoton
2 years ago |No 25p?
James
2 years ago |Every camera that comes out people whinge that there is no 25p. It’s like a cracked record. 25p is dying and Blu-ray does not even support 25p. I live in a PAL country and every new TV supports 60i, 50i and 24p, not 25p. It is played back as 50i. The new AVCHD 2.0 spec (Which should be on the future GH3) supports 60p and 50p so you can halve the framerate if you want and get 25p out of the 50p stream. For the GH2 record in 50i and deinterlace the footage or record 24p and convert the frame rate to 25p. The 4% speedup is negligible.
toby
2 years ago |Some people need 25P, like me, I need it, none of the workarounds are acceptable so I can’t use it for any work that might end up on UK TV. If you don’t understand why some people need 25P and why the workarounds are insuffient then I imagine it would sound like a stuck record. So, apologies in advance – Panasonic, for the love of god, where is 25P?!
Jim
2 years ago |Shawly its about time we stopped pissing around with video standards and just have an i/p toggle and a framerate we can set any where from 0.01fps (timelapse) all the way upto 60fps (p) or 30fps (i)… easy job done.
All these bloody tv/film standards are just holding back tech – 24fps, its a jerky slide show (and so is the cinima)…. 50i 60i… yeh like we are limmited by mains generating frequency these days? the whole lot is for the bin – leaving the only format standing any chance and covering all the bases in the future 60p 1920×1080… forget standards – those days are over… VLC player anyone – who gives a monkeys what the format is… its not hardware limmited nowdays! and TV is gonna be replaced with essentialy a PC… how long before terestrial DTV is cut to be replaced with the internet opening airwaves for mobile coms… not long, not long!
Ok for now I understand the issues but realy what I’m saying is cam makers should not do formats so much as have settings you can set!
XSVpro
2 years ago |I’m hoping the new 24mbit mode is 1080 25p for UK broadcast. The GH2 with the new power zooms is going to be a great camera system. We get some good results with the GH series of cameras. Just need a comfortable eyecup to put on the existing EVF and it’s the perfect camera ;0)
Duarte Bruno
2 years ago |Was about to pass on this FW (mine’s already @ 44Mbps) but there’s 2 things that are too good to pass:
- Improvement in the speed of consecutive shooting when shot with auto bracket
(yup, why was the camera a 5fps but only 3fps when bracketing?)
- Increased number of recordable images in consecutive shooting
(always handy)
Jim
2 years ago |be interesting to see the improved IQ at high ISOs???
amne
2 years ago |- Increased number of recordable images in consecutive shooting
Could someone explain to me what this is supposed to mean?
As far i understand the number of images is unlimited in jpeg mode, and in raw it’s approximately 7 before it slows down due to writing to the sdcard. Have they been able to increase that number (GX1 has 9 iirc, but isn’t this just the size of the buffer)? Or am i completely off here and they mean something else?
Duarte Bruno
2 years ago |I don’t know, but perhaps they’re flushing faster?
I find it hard to believe that the GX1 would have a bigger/redesigned buffer over the GH2.
mahler
2 years ago |Good news. And the currently best m4/3 camera gets even better. They have addressed some of the most important issues, I have with the camera (consecutive shooting).
Kjartan
2 years ago |Are they saying it will be possible to switch on/off EX TELE CONV mode WHILE the camera records video?
Mr. Reeee
2 years ago |I hope Panasonic adds some of the interface elements of the GF2/3 and GX1 like the editable and pop-up Qmenu.
Ivo
2 years ago |I wait to buy the GH2 until I know more about the update