test footage from the re-blown firmware of the Lumix GH1 (DSLR camcorder build - Part 3)

Here's a first test of the modified camera.

I wanted to check that the autofocus could be used as well as manual focus. The key part of this test is check that the focus changes will create a suitably blurred depth of field, which is not what you get from many regular camcorders. It seems to be working.

Next I'll try some footage to a better SDHC card, so that I can crank up the speed of the output. I'd like to shift from the 17 Megabit/second peak of the standard GH1 to closer to 50Mb/s.

I have't manually adjusted exposure or ISO yet, but I want to know that I'm getting the right shutter speed for video (The 180 degree rule etc).

Then I'll be looking for some sort of focus puller mechanism to support manual focusing properly and a few bits and pieces so that I can build it into a rail and cage system. And an external microphone, I suppose.

The orange box in the video seems to contain some rudimentary components that might be useful.

I realise that this camera is already a few years old, but it's fascinating to quickly make it into something dedicated and still useful. And, if it works, the body is still updatable and the lenses and other bits will still work.