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The D800 has re-emerged! We have the Mosaic Engineering VAF-D800 filter, compact $299 Atomos Ninja star ProRes recorder and now even a hack project based around the camera. So I've picked up a D800 and plan to see what I get out of it. Read the full article here

Personally, I can't compare any 4K image that i've seen to a full frame sensor DSLR camera. There's really nothing to a 4K image, in my opinion, that is cinematic. 4K is all about resolution, and a full frame sensor just has a look all of its own. I almost ordered the Panasonic GH4, but after listening to some NAB interviews, I completely changed my mind. I'm definitely in the market for a full frame sensor.

In case you don't now, rumor - Metabones is working on dedicated speedbooster for GH4. http://www.43rumors.com/ft4-metabones-working-on-a-dedicated-speedbooster-for-the-gh4/

Yesss Andrew, give this underrated beast a try!! You can install the hack safely, I'm using the 64 mbps in the last month without any issue, except the playback problem of course. I'm in Berlin too, I'm curious to see what will you shoot and what will you say!

This will probably go down as one of my worst filming experiences: 1) Ideal wide shot unavailable because the venue has loads of big support beams scattered around, which block everyone on stage. 2) The main act have so much equipment that the support band are scattered into small spaces (the drummer is behind some keyboards & the bass player is doing a balancing act at the top of the stage stairs - he does fall down them at one point). 3) The only available wide shot is the worst wide shot in the history of wide shots. 4) The band play the wrong song during their 10min sound check & so you get what you get as far as close ups go. 5) The band insist on recording their own sound (better quality) & they forget to record the first 1m48secs of the song, so you have to use some of the sound you recorded with the 60Ds internal mic. GOOD GRIEF! So this is what i managed to put together: Canon 60D (H264), Mir 1b & Iscorama 54.

So, a medium format DOF adapter? Neat. Get that GG vibrating/spinning and it should be pretty cool. What are you using for a transfer lens? That fellow Henry was using an 85mm I believe. I remember my M2 used a rather gigantic achromat. edit: this was also how the fellows who shot Bellflower got the texture and feel for their film. They used the tiny little SI2K and homebuilt 35mm DOF adapter. There are occasional shots in there where you can tell the GG isn't spinning.

https://vimeo.com/88964445 pass : IMAX IMAX from the Pocket:)

In 4k mode the GH4 doesn't use the whole sensor. It's a 4096 pixel crop of the sensor that is 4608 pixels wide.

it really is a wonderful stills camera, I just can't get that excited about it for video. I've moved on.

I think the D800's externally recorded image is really quite lovely. A couple examples (both can be downloaded):

Hi Richg101, My focal reducer looks exactly like the one in your link. My feeling is it is, and it is either a bit off, or the BMPCC. I tried screwing out the lens, but it makes no difference. However, I see that I can remove the Nikon mount part, then the lens, so could then file down the flanges a bit without worrying about the lens. So will try that next. And thanks for the tips! UPDATE THAT WORKED! I unscrewed the Nikon mount part from the MFT mount. I then unscrewed the lens and took it out. With a dremel I sanded a bit off the underside of all 3 flanges. It now seems to fit perfectly. As I mentioned before, the Nikon 24mm 2.8D, does not fit on until clicking into place, but enough that I don't worry about it. Anyway, THANKS richg101, your ideas got me to the fix!!!

Over the last few months it has been a shame to see such good information from level-headed people here on the forum being totally drowned out by poor quality posts, bullshit, rudeness and just general argumentativeness or stuff which has nothing to do with filmmaking or even reality.   Frankly it is becoming a real pain to moderate and I just don't have time for it.   All over the internet forums are the same, they are all a total PITA to read because of a disruptive few.   I am considering a change to the forum which would effectively see it closed but for a few selected members who have a proven track record of good posts. The forum would have a lot of exposure and readers. Like a 'second blog' to EOSHD that everybody can get something interesting out of.   In preparation for the potential change over the next few weeks I will name the top quality people on here. Those who contribute interesting and cool stuff to the forum...   This is so EOSHD readers can check their profiles and check their posts more often - essentially I want to start drawing attention to the good guys rather than them always being drowned out.   By quality content I also mean good attitude towards other members, not just regular posting of constructive and creative stuff. People who help other shooters out when they are in need of it... and people who avoid the inevitable mud-slinging when someone with 2 or 3 posts jumps in to stir things up for their own enjoyment!   To have so much good info here especially on the anamorphic forum, drowned out by a vocal minority of idiots is simply unacceptable.   I'm not going to start censoring and banning en-masse - it is a shit job and I won't do it. I will simply close the forum and when it reopens it will be a circle of friends and 100% constructive. No bullshit. Like a cool hangout before the tourists get hold of it and ruin it.   Some may feel this is undemocratic. I will listen to them and get feedback on the idea before I decide on it 100%.   I just really think a forum with fewer members but LOTS of readers would be more useful to the readers of EOSHD.   So to those who get a kick out of a fight or a kick out of annoying myself and other filmmakers on the forum, it's time to consider whether you want the forum to continue, or whether it will end up being closed but still readable. I am thinking this could be the most useful outlet for the good stuff on the forum and a way to assist me in running the site.   Cheers - Andrew

I have the bigger Moeller (16/32/1.5x) and I wouldn't swap it for the most pristine copy of any Iscorama ever. I'm getting buried with this thing :)

The rolling shutter that I really can't stand is on the GoPros. They are horrendous, and with the kinds of action people shoot on them, even more horrendous. It feels like the video is fed into some kind of hallucinogenic warp program. I know I am watching GoPro footage because I start to feel sick.

Hello, This is my very first post on EOSHD (although I’ve been following this blog for several years). I’m Antoine, I live in Paris and I’m 21 years old! (I would like to apologize for my pretty weak English, which is far from being perfect..) I decided to join your community to contribute to the list of compatible BMPCC- C-Mount Lenses. To introduce myself, here are some pictures of my actual BMPCC Rig (with Contineo Cage – Ginirig / follow focus – homemade external battery adapter to V-lock battery – Small HD DP4 – Speedbooster (Chinese version) + 20-40mm Sigma etc...) I also have some C-Mount lenses (otherwise It would be off topic :P ) : 10mm retrofocus Angenieux - f1.8 (That have already been discussed a lot here, a pretty weak lens as anyone must already know) Kowa Ultra Wide Angle TV Lens - 6.5mm – f1.8 Doesn’t vignette, pretty soft on the edge at every apertures, strong distortion, but has a lot of charm (according to me) – Flares are absolutely incredible! Angenieux - 15mm - f1.3 One of my favorite lens, sharp at fast aperture, beautiful bokeh and flares. Angenieux – 25mm – f0.95 A beautiful lens, although I’ve always preferred wide angles lenses… But that’s personal. I find it a bit chirurgical… But the fast aperture and the color rendition make it a beast in some shooting scenarios! Angenieux – 50mm – f1.5 – Type S5 Worths A LOT (of money) but imho, It doesn’t look terrific, but, once again – I’m not fond of telephoto lenses… And as is, It’s a very wonderful piece of glass! J That’s all for my C-mount contribution, But if ever you have the opportunity to grab one of them, at a fair price, don’t hesitate, they all have lots of personality, and as an object, they are just beautiful as hell, the aperture mechanism is astonishing (but don’t forget to declick them !) the iris blades seem to dances with each other when you stop the lens down… So much more attractive than a Canon 50mm 1.8… Nevertheless, I confess, I do have some modern lenses, and I do recommend 2 relatively cheap Sigmas (you can grab them for less than 100 dollars on the Bay…) The 28mm f1.8 and the 20-40mm f2.8… I own both of these (manual aperture models) and I DO recommend them, combined with a Chinese copy of the Speedbooster, It makes a pretty efficient combo, very polyvalent, you can easily mod them with a custom focus ring (with a 0.8 gear) and here you go, with your BMPCC Rig, you’re going to rock hard on small projects. A bit further than the original subject, here are a screenshot made with the Hypergonar Hifi x2 from Henri Chrétien, father of the Cinemascope !(That's me on the picture ! :)) "Hey all !" I’ve been following Anamorphic indie threads for like 2 years, without having enough funds to join the party, the Hifi 2 makes some really cool stuff, It’s pretty fun to use too.. But only once in your life time, It’s really too heavy, even when used with an “already heavy†rig (such as Alexa XT + Master Prime)… That’s why, I’m really after some small anamorphic adapters (such as the century one, the optex one or … my choice of heart… the Yashica one ! I believe I’m looking for this last one so much, since I’ve won an auction on Ebay, and finally, for god sake, It appeared that someone made an higher bid than mine, after the ending time… Sometimes I really can’t stand Ebay…) Anyway, If ever you’re planning to sell some small anamorphic adapters that suits my needs, don’t hesitate to send me a PM ! J Well, have a pleasant day, and see you soon. Antoine from France !

I agree with Inazuma... 35mm (ff) is a pretty sweet focal length I´d say get the Panasonic 12-35. The autofocus is very fast, excellent if you are in a hurry with either filming or photography. It has an IS, so you can do some dirty shots without looking too dirty... and the olympus 45 f1.8 for portrait reasons. Later on the Panasonic 35-100 to complete a good zoom range and the olympus 17 f1.8. If you have the budget, also as Inazuma said, you could switch the two olympus with the equivalent voigtländers 17.5 f0.95 and 45 f0.95...

Been following this blog for some time and also have seen the site owner being very rude towards some posters which ofcourse sets the tone for others to follow, you can't expect people to take you seriously then if you ask for "good attitude towards other members" :) Closing the forum and only allowing a handful of good proven users to contribute will also close the doors for any new users that might be providing any useful information, you might have contributors providing wrong information, but ofcourse no-one to contradict as you would rely solely on the knowledge of who you allow to speak up. I also think that the people you choose that will be able to contribute won't necessarily be the ones that provide the most useful information but the ones that don't disagree with you, it would be much better having other people help to moderate but be careful with moderation, I"d only delete content that has no added value, like personal attacks, but I'd leave every personal opinion in here, even if it's not your own. I think Bruno summarized it best with

One thing that needs to be said is that Andrew is often the one to lose it and resort to name calling and belittling people with different opinions. Whether justified or not, this behaviour opens precedents and passes the message that it's fine to act like that around here. You shouldn't put yourself out there like this backed by a forum and a "click to comment" button if you can't handle a few harsh critics. The "this is my blog I can do whatever I want" attitude needs to end for things to improve, or it will only snowball and get worse, that's actually why I've been here less and less, there's less and less relevant information amongst all the loud and uninformed crap talk. Many respected DPs run their own sites and forums themselves and I don't see this nonsense going on in there!

Just get a 5D3 then..... Honestly. If that's what you think will get you a foot in the door (it won't) but if you think it will go for it. There are reasons why 5D3's are recommended and it's usually down to ignorance (MOST -not all- of the time it's due to someone heard "this camera is gud".. NOT because it's regarded as the pinnacle of DSLR video performance............) In some cases people are still shooting Canon due to the popularity of the 5D2 (why change when you already own gear?) Canon also offers very good upgrade path with the Cinema EOS system. It's not like you're going to be covered in jobs just because you own a 5D3 (in-fact I'd say you'd be lucky to even get 1 job just because of the gear you own) That said, a good "camera operator" should be able t shoot with a whole range of cameras, any decent job will supply you with cameras and anyone hiring that has slightly more knowledge than just a consumer who's best friends uncles pro videographer buddy told him "this camera is gud".

I might be missing something by not knowing what IMAG is (is it live playback?), but no one has yet pointed out the obvious - if your output is 720p, then you will have a lot of crop options with the GH4 in 4K mode. Couldn't you therefore do without a long tele? The MFT cameras are not great in low light - even the new sensor in the GH4. I'd still choose a GH4 over a 5D3 for what you're doing, without hesitation. But I would buy a Speed Booster and some fast primes or the Sigma 18-35mm. If you're buying this camera to learn 'real' filmmaking, MFT lenses are not the way to go. You want to use manual focus. The only advantage of Lumix glass for you is stabilization. Personally I would go for: GH4 Speed Booster (Nikon>MFT) Sigma 18-35mm A couple of these Nikkor AI-S primes: 85mm f2 / 105 f2.5 / 135mm f2.8 / 200mm f4 Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 if you need a wide angle.

I carry a big bag with me all the time, with prime lenses. That means every time I think the situation asks for a different lens, I have to swap lenses. I carry an screw-on ND filter in my pocket all day, so whenever I move outside I have to screw it on. I do manual focus only so I have to stay sharp all day. On top of that I carry a Fig Rig and a Shoulder Rig with me and use an external monitor. On of our GH3's in on a tripod during the ceremony recording every minute of it, and we have to turn it back on every 30 min because of the recording limit. Life would be much easier with an camera that doesn't need a rig, has autofocus, a 16-100mm f1.8 zoom, build-in ND filters, no recording limit, a larger better screen with focus peaking, etc. Weddings are already tiring and stressful enough as it is, and I acknowledge that still-camera's with a video function in combination with prime lenses is not the best tool for the job in terms of easy of use. But, I do love the look of the footage, how long the battery last, the 1.4 apertures for shooting in dark area's, the slowmo, etc. You just simply can't have it all at this price point.

Some B-roll footage taken primarily with the Sigma 18-35 1.8, and some shots with the Canon 100mm 2.8 L macro as well.

  Glad to hear that, because the Optimo is $50k!   Got any samples from your test? Bring it on :)

Julian, just saw your video... very nice and atmospheric!