GH2 hacks made Panasonic realize the GH series should be made for pro

[solovetski]

Panasonic manager admits that the GH2 hacker movement made them realize the GH series should be made for professionals

In an interview with the Chinese blog Xitek a Panasonic manager admitted this (google translated text):

Quote

"More than 10 years ago, some people in the industry became obsessed with improving the quality of image capture by increasing the video bit rate and so on. After the release of GH2 in 2010, hackers from all over the world turned their attention to GH2 and began to crack the GH2 firmware frantically, and it became more and more rampant. While this was not what we expected, we also realized that customers may indeed have this need. After comprehensive consideration, we decided to change the target user group of the GH series from home users to professionals. Since the GH3, we have been focusing on developing a comprehensive single-lens mirrorless camera to create Authors are better at video production. It’s the constant changes over the years that have made the GH series so well-received in the video shooting world."

Very curios Panasonic's opinion. I believe that the role of GH hacks in digital cinema history is as important as that of Magic Lantern.

[MurtlandPhoto]

It's nice to see this full admission, but I think everyone figured that out the moment the GH3 was released. Panasonic took massive strides to make that camera everything that a hacked GH2 was and more. Definitely seemed to have inspired them to big change.

[IronFilm]

I agree! 

So from this perspective, then the GH3 was Panasonic "first" attempt at a mirrorless camera for video users. GH4 was their second attempt, and GH5 was their third attempt. 

Panasonic has been making really big strides with big advancements each time!

[John Matthews]

I find it amusing how "hackers" are perceived by various companies. It sounds like Panasonic of 2009 viewed them as a potential opportunity to evolve whereas other companies (Canon, John Deere) try to stop them at all costs in order to protect their business model.

I'm really rooting for Panasonic to succeed in the long-run (game over if they get PDAF in their bodies IMO).

[FHDcrew]

23 minutes ago, John Matthews said:

I find it amusing how "hackers" are perceived by various companies. It sounds like Panasonic of 2009 viewed them as a potential opportunity to evolve whereas other companies (Canon, John Deere) try to stop them at all costs in order to protect their business model.

I'm really rooting for Panasonic to succeed in the long-run (game over if they get PDAF in their bodies IMO).

I honestly wish camera hacking could return to what it once was.  Just imagine, if people could crack into the firmware of modern cameras with their fast SD/CFExpress interfaces, we could have beautiful uncompressed RAW video on all sorts of cameras, instead of either having to deal with external recording crap, or paying a premium for a Canon R5 or Nikon Z9 to get internal RAW, or settling for something like a Sigma FP but then lose autofocus, image stabilization, etc.

[Marcio Kabke Pinheiro]

22 hours ago, FHDcrew said:

I honestly wish camera hacking could return to what it once was.  Just imagine, if people could crack into the firmware of modern cameras with their fast SD/CFExpress interfaces, we could have beautiful uncompressed RAW video on all sorts of cameras, instead of either having to deal with external recording crap, or paying a premium for a Canon R5 or Nikon Z9 to get internal RAW, or settling for something like a Sigma FP but then lose autofocus, image stabilization, etc.

Manufaturers will not allow it now, afraid of a massive lawsuit from RED.

[FHDcrew]

2 hours ago, Marcio Kabke Pinheiro said:

Manufaturers will not allow it now, afraid of a massive lawsuit from RED.

I mean uncompressed raw

[newfoundmass]

It is unlikely to ever happen, since these companies often build on top of existing code for new camera releases, but it'd be really cool if they opened up older cameras that are no longer available to the hacking community the way some developers have made older software open source. 

I know there have been some attempts, but a completely open source camera system would be really exciting.