Panasonic finally broke its silence after the tidal wave of posts from EOSHD.com to FaceBook to Reddit revealed the monumental goof in the Panasonic App for the GH4 allowing users to have access to V-LOG. The word of the goof started in China and spread around the world.
The flood came only days after the official release of the long overdue V-LOG profile. The profile allows for a flatter image and increases the functionality of the camera by adding 2 -f-stops to the dynamic range.
But like parents scolding their naughty children for catching the mistake, Panasonic issued the statement below. The message is clear, we goofed, we didn’t mean it and no we are not just going to give this away. If you want to ever be able to update your camera or app or every have to do a reset, you ill gotten gains (V-LOG) will disappear!
So enjoy it if you tried it, but pay your $99 if you want to keep it.
Many thanks to those who have recently purchased the LUMIX GH4 V-Log L upgrade. We are aware of an oversight in our Panasonic Image App which allows enabling of V-Log L as a “custom” setting without purchase. This was not our intent, and our apologies for the oversight.
We appreciate the many messages of support for the continuing development of innovative new products and features, and Panasonic intends to stand behind your investment in V-Log L and the LUMIX GH4. Therefore, it’s important to know that future LUMIX GH4 firmware upgrades, including mobile app upgrade pushes, will disable unlicensed activations of V-Log L. In addition, it’s Panasonic’s service policy to upgrade firmware during warranty claims, thereby eliminating unlicensed features. Thank you again for your continued support of Panasonic and the LUMIX G camera system and innovations yet to come.
NOTE
A new firmware V2.4 will be available starting Sept 17th. Use of the V-Log L workaround associated with firmware Version 2.3 runs the risk of the Zebra Function not working and the Histogram reading improperly.