Gx80/85 firmware swap

[Chefslot]

Hi all, so I have the gx80, and was going to put it into the 'service mode' so I can video 4k 30 / 1080 60, rather then the 25/50 respectively.
Then it came to me, if I updated with the gx85 firmware rather than the gx80 would this work and automatically be in the 30/60 FPS?
Regards

 

[KBeezie]

Two different cameras, and flashing a different model firmware will either not work or brick the camera. Firmwares don't work that way.

 

[Stanga]

I once flashed the Panasonic FZ50 with the firmware of the Leica V-Lux1 to get a feature that was only on the Leica but not on the Panasonic. The two cameras were supposed to be identical, except for the outer casing and firmware. It worked for me. But as a firmware code writer by trade myself it is a risky undertaking.

 

[KBeezie]

I once flashed the Panasonic FZ50 with the firmware of the Leica V-Lux1 to get a feature that was only on the Leica but not on the Panasonic. The two cameras were supposed to be identical, except for the outer casing and firmware. It worked for me. But as a firmware code writer by trade myself it is a risky undertaking.

This isn't a common thing, and as you said in that specific case the two was supposed to be an identical model. The GX80 and GX85 are not identical models.

I am also not aware of any firmware hacks for either, other than the Cine-D/V one which is a wifi setting hack (not a firmware one).

The Grand Nutshell : If the software allows you to flash a GX85 firmware onto a GX80, do not be surprised at the most likely outcome being an inoperative camera that cannot be reflashed. The best case scenario might still have functions and buttons being inoperative as the firmware wasn't written for a different body, internals, or layout (while they may possibly share the same chip, sensor, many other components are different, and just flashing over is not a magic bullet, no more than installing a USB 3.1 driver onto a 3.0 bus and expecting your system not to crash).

 

[Chefslot]

This isn't a common thing, and as you said in that specific case the two was supposed to be an identical model. The GX80 and GX85 are not identical models.

I am also not aware of any firmware hacks for either, other than the Cine-D/V one which is a wifi setting hack (not a firmware one).

The Grand Nutshell : If the software allows you to flash a GX85 firmware onto a GX80, do not be surprised at the most likely outcome being an inoperative camera that cannot be reflashed. The best case scenario might still have functions and buttons being inoperative as the firmware wasn't written for a different body, internals, or layout (while they may possibly share the same chip, sensor, many other components are different, and just flashing over is not a magic bullet, no more than installing a USB 3.1 driver onto a 3.0 bus and expecting your system not to crash).

Im sorry but just to clarify, the dmc gx80 and the dmc gx85 are the same cameras just renamed for a different region?

 

[Michael Meissner]

Im sorry but just to clarify, the dmc gx80 and the dmc gx85 are the same cameras just renamed for a different region?

They are 'mostly' the same camera, but there may be small details that are different. For instance, Panasonic cameras for the European market tend to limit video to 30 minutes (for most cameras designed in the past). In addition, because the A/C current has a phase of 50 cycles per second (compared to 60 cycles per second in the USA), the video speeds tend to be 25 and 50fps instead of 30 and 60fps. Whether this would affect the firmware, I dunno.

As I note, I tried to update my G85 with the G80 firmware, and the camera would not do the update. So I imagine Panasonic has a check for the specific model number in the firmware.

 

[Chefslot]

Brilliant, thank you. So just going to have to do the awkward button switch thing then.
Regards

 

[KBeezie]

Brilliant, thank you. So just going to have to do the awkward button switch thing then.
Regards

I assume you mean this PAL to NTSC trick (so others know if they didn't already)

 

[Chefslot]

I assume you mean this PAL to NTSC trick (so others know if they didn't already)

It is yes. Regards

 

[DJFlIX]

Hi! Sorry for resurrecting a dead thread but I thought you might find this interesting:

Being a bit of a tinkerer in terms of hardware/software I decided to take a look at the firmware update 1.3 that Panasonic provides on their website. At first I downloaded Firmware 1.3 for the GX85, extracted the ZIP and put the file (GX85_V13.bin) in the root of my SD card. When I pressed the "playback" button the unit did not go in to firmware update mode. I started to wonder how the camera determines if the update is valid.

So next I downloaded firmware 1.3 for the GX80 as well and decided to compare them in a Hex Editor. The weird thing is that they looked identical. So I ran a diff between the two firmware files and HxD confirmed my suspicions: the firmware file for the GX80 and GX85 are bit-by-bit identical. So lessons learnt:

* Hardware is practically identical between GX80 and GX85
* Firmware is identical between GX80 and GX85
* The limitations/region-specific customisation settings can not be hacked by flashing the update for a different model

Just for fun I changed the name of the GX85 update to the name of the GX80 update and the camera flashed it (as expected at this point). And obviously nothing has changed in terms of camera functionality