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FM Lens rack focusing test ‪#‎FMLens‬ ‪#‎Anamorphicshop‬ Super Takumar 50mm f1.4, Isco Ultra Star Anamorphic Lens, Panasonic GH4 Did some tests with the FM. So far loving it, its working perfectly now that I've gotten used to it a little bit and also solved the slouching problem i had initially. It takes some time to get it configured to your rig and camera but oh man smooth rack focusing is orgasmic after a long period of painful double focusing. And I like the fact that it protects the anamorphic glass elements inside. Only downside I see is your rig becoming considerably heavier but thats not always a bad thing. Will do a review and full test at some point.

Samsung releases yet another NX1 firmware update 1.21 this morning. I've been accused of being a Samsung fan boy, which is ridiculous, but I will admit, I am definitely a fan of a company that not only listens, but acts upon it. You have to stop and wonder what they're going to do for an encore.

This is a test shooting the Samsung NX1 in UHD mode 23.98 FPS and 1080p 23.98 FPS - both in PRO mode to see how it handles rolling shutter and resolution loss. My test chart was one of those magazine insert things that always fall out of your magazine when you are trying to read in the subway and someone comes up to you and says, "hey you dropped your thingy." and they want you to pick it up because it's littering but they say it like maybe you want to hold onto the magazine insert, to avoid confrontation. I wonder if the world still needs these magazine insert thingies? Maybe it's time to stop littering, magazine people? Actually I shouldn't be so hard on the magazine people, I love magazines and I need them to keep existing and if it requires them to have these annoying insert thingies, let them be. I need to accept other people for who they are. I am working on this. But anyway back to the test. I transcoded using wondershare at -25 contrast - sorry guys I can’t figure out iffmpeg! Shot at 800 ASA, 1/60 shutter, 23.98 FPS Shot with Leica R 50mm f/1.4 lens at F stop 2.8. Focued on center text with zoom tool. I lit it with some weird LED light so that it would flicker a lot and cause even more rolling shutter shenanigans - to see what's going on with the rolling shutter from a scientific perspective. But I'm not a scientist, I'm mostly just faking it till I make it. Shot at Gamma DR with master per up +10 and contrast down -3. Then I increased resolution 200% then 300% then 400% Results - the rolling shutter is so much better in 1080p mode, and the loss of resolution is there - is it enough to bother me ? No, actually I’m not that into resolution anyway - I think rolling shutter is a much greater evil. How does 1080p affect the image beyond rolling shutter and sharpness - highlight handling looks similar from this weak test. Color looks similar too. Less resolution and maybe edges less defined might make the image more organic and smoother. Woo hoo - thanks to EOSHD.com and DVXUser.com for all your work on this matter. Especially Andrew Reid for telling the world about this camera and Samuel H for his work on rolling shutter! I think we can help make the world love the little Samsung NX1. The little engine that could. The outsider. Next test - Sony A7S 4k to Odyssey 7q in Full frame mode vs Samsung NX1 in 1080p mode. Resolution and rolling shutter and dynamic range and highlight handling.

Everyone is talking about the 4K on this camera, but they really should be talking about the amazing 1080p as well!

​That's interesting and I'm not knocking your opinion, but for some reason I'm compelled to think the opposite. I like awesome considerate shots on limited technology for some reason. Something flawed feels more real to me, somehow. Must be my inflated infatuation of French New Wave.

​I am here because I’m interested in the minutiae of technical camera specifications and capabilities. That was sort of the point of my response. That you are criticising behaviour that is the entire purpose for most people even being here. Its like going to an antique website and saying “What do you care how old it is”? It’s perfectly acceptable to hold that point of view, but then why go to an antique website? And you could hardly expect to go to an antique website with that point of view and not be told to fuck off. It doesn’t matter why I want to learn about the minutiae of technical camera specifications and capabilities. I do it for my own reasons. I certainly do not do it with any concern to providing you with material you may or may not care about. Your comment was supercilious and a pathetically transparent attempt to belittle peoples interests and curtail their passion for knowledge. Therefore, it deserved nothing but antipathy.

I'm interested in the techy aspects to an extent, it's part of the picture and is especially useful for those trying to decide which camera to buy. Talking about aesthetics and *art* is great too, but fundamentally more subjective. So, if we're going to talk techy, can't we be a little more scientific and apply some reasonable guidelines and methodologies? DR is a useful thing to talk about about, I use to shoot a lot of ocean sports, especially surfing, DR matters in those environments, but how about more emphasis and emulation on the approach of someone like Adam Wilt, where things are quantified in controlled environments. Saying "NX1 looks to have about 2 stops more than a RED1 according to my eyeballs" isn't particularly helpful IMO. That'd be my criticism.

​​Pro DPs have Alexas. They don't need to care about this stuff because the problem is solved. The DPs who don't know or care about the difference between a camcorder and an Alexa or even a C300 and an Alexa are not worth their day rate.

​Yes you will need some sort of lens support. If you think it sags down now, wait awhile and see... I really wish Panasonic released a firmware patch for external monitoring in 4K photo mode. Really frustrating to shoot 3:2 or 4:3 with no monitor support.

Might want to get one of these Vanguard Alta Pro's for that kind of stuff?

​https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3847/14851187693_0a0e74c4e9_o.jpg https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/15374165342_4824df6f9d_o.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7383/15762523763_c2f750fc18_o.jpg

Just another tool in the bag. Here's Caleb putting something together with both A7S and GH4: http://dslrvideoshooter.com/a7s-gh4-music-video-production-breakdown/ .

Just keep in mind that pans, tilts and punch ins from a 4k file don't have the same feel that you get from physically moving a camera. The perspective isn't changing and so the subtle visual cues that our brains pick up on with real perspective changes aren't there. The capability is still extremely useful, but shouldn't be treated as a replacement for an actual second angle, movement, etc.

It is kind of a given that down scaling UHD to HD in post is going to give better results than HD straight from the camera on the A7s even though that is exactly what the camera is doing internally anyway. The reason for this is simple, the A7s needs to read the data off the sensor, de-bayer it, downscale it, and compress it in real time at up to 60 fps were down scaling in post the footage only needs to be scaled and it doesn't even have to be real time during the rendering process. This means that better more computationally expensive scaling operations can be used compared to those used in camera. Here lies another advantage of cameras that can shoot raw, all of these operations can be done on more powerful machines at higher quality when done on a computer in post rather than in camera.

To add a bit more liveliness to your studio recordings, you could get the camera to move around a bit freely. So the E-M5II would be kinda nice for that sort of B-roll. Kinda depends if you have lenses with optical stabilization built-in or not if you could make that work with the GH4 as well. You could, alternatively, get the GH4 and lock it off on a tripod and cut down on the number of takes by punching in or adding smooth and subtle pans/tilts from the 4K footage. Eventually you can get both the A7S and GH4 to get you 4K footage for 4K projects as well... and worth noting is they can both shoot really flat. So... it depends. There's something to say for both. For added motion I'd go with the E-M5II. For the 4K flexibility and like you say a bit more videominded character, the GH4, that whilst keeping in mind that if you were to get an external recorder for the A7S, then you'd also have two 4K capable cameras on hand. Wild option: you could also ditch the A7S and get both the GH4 and E-M5II.

​Yes it's definitely not log. I wonder if they didn't allow log because since it's 8 bit 4:2:0 codec they thought it would add too much noise to the image. I spoke to the Samsung PR person about this - we'll see if they do include a log setting in a future firmware update.

​This sounds interesting. Anything that could speed up the process would certainly make a difference in my workflow. Raw takes too much time for me right now. Thanks for putting in the time and making it available to the community. Same goes for all your other tests and such.

I found this video yesterday and it made me think of this thread. It's kind of related to this subject, especially on the matter of archival and how today's digital footage will hold up in time. And it actually is also wonderful and kinda magical. Watch it, you're in for a very cool (digital video about lost, and refound film...

This topic is about the NX1 compared to the Canon C300 in terms of resolution, sharpness, dynamic range and colour reproduction. No one's saying that this camera will automatically make your movies better. Personally I shoot a lot of fast-paced action / sports stuff in forests, so to me dynamic range and highlight rolloff, rolling shutter, slow motion etc. aren't just geeky technical aspects but have a huge impact on the quality of my videos. Is there any option to record sound when shooting 120fps? I understand that the camera doesn't record sound internally when shooting at 120fps (only up to 60fps I think?). Sound recording doesn't have to be internal as long as there's a way to sync it in post. Any ideas?

I meant in my last post "hard to find", not "hard to hard." I obviously need to look harder, my eyes go fuzzy with all the letters and numbers. The general vote with my crew is to go Sigma ART in Nikon mount for the clinical, modern set. Corporate work and photography. Just don't know about 85mm though? I'm going to pick up these Rollei's, also Rich check your emails for FF58 queries What is a really good very wide lens option? I love the effect of using a wide to get a close-up and having a massive background out of focus, with some distortion. The SLR Magic 12mm on MFT is "magic" in achieving this look, the image gets bendy and almost fisheye like with its macro-like abilities.

That video makes the E-M5 II look very good for stabilization i would guess it is better then the NX1 but that video the GH4 looks so much better. I was shooting today thinking about this wishing i had the E-M5 II just to try out the stabilization i felt like i was getting shaky after some time so i went back to using a tripod. I tryed to drive and shoot holding the camer up into the froint window today - that did not work out i almost ran off the road into the water..lol I was the only on on the road.

There might be a way to correct the footage that you have already shot. You could make a reverse matte shooting a piece of black velvet/groovytene under the same/similar conditions.

That's the cheap speed booster. I tried one out and kept getting the blue spot. Bit the bullet and got theMetabones version instead.

The older cheap speed boosters have that problem. so much for reading. The mamiya is a medium format lens so maybe your adapter is reflecting light back on the lens and creating that flare, try another adapter with better anti reflection surface.

Looks like ambient edge flare. If so, you might be able to reduce it when shooting by using an aggressive lens hood/matte box. On the other hand, if you are using a medium format lens on a GH4 with a plain adapter, you might have all kinds of light bouncing around inside the GH4/adapter (especially with such a high-key image). Is the adapter matte black on the inside? I think that there have been reports on some of the focal reducers causing a similar problem.

​A7s need a recorder for 4k right? And HMDI interface? Man, if you're on the clock for money, never trust HDMI. It'll burn you down.

Rio de Janeiro, I live here (the last shot was made near my apartment). Brave guy to bring a Phase One to Rocinha (the first shot) and return with the camera back home.

​As it happens the majority of the 25mm distagons are non hft I have found! Of all the lenses in the system, the 25mm is the crown IMO. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carl-Zeiss-Distagon-25mm-F2-8-f-Rolleiflex-QBM-/161491656495?pt=DE_Foto_Camcorder_Objektive&hash=item2599a71f2f When I get dso lens users asking about wide alternatives I tend to point them towards this lens. It's the best vintage and non multi coated wide angle lens (for sharpness). This is full frame on the A7R. It's the only vintage lens I own that really delivers resolution suitable for the A7R

​You are right, I find it so hard to hard non-HFT Rollei lenses. Especially the 25mm. Looking everyday. It's cool to see what everyone is doing with their glass. I do love flawed vintage lenses, there is definitely some kind of tangible emotion coming from those barrels. Nikon released a 43-86mm which is meant to be their worst lens ever. I think it's great!

John, this sounds absolutely fantastic! To have the opportunity to change the lenses is great. It gave me a headache and I was thinking if the 3FF-S would suit my needs... Also I was convinced I had to buy one Rectilux for one or the other. The fact that it is lightweigt and you don't need all the support is just stunning. I love the image of the Möllers so much. I don't know any low budget/projection anamorphic that comes close in character (beside Lomos with its quirks). Therefore 3FF-S would make the Möller 32 more usable as focusing is a pain due to long throw. I am slightly concerned if the image is affected though. Otherwise I just can say now I am sold. I am impressed you still recall helping me (I think we are both not so young blokes any more ) And I hope I said thank you! Cause you solved my problem. Again thank you very much (also for sharing your knowledge several other times). I cannot remember mentioning interestring footage... at least not from me. I am not a filmaker/lenstester. Anyway here is a clip I made with the Möller 8/15 and there are a few focuspulls. I was not very experienced at that time. So now it works better. You just have to use a taking lens which focuses the 'right' way (non-Nikon) and grab both the Möller and the takting lens. It is that easy. However with 3FF-S things can be used in a more serious way I think. As I mentioned I am sold - just have to sort that out with the finance minister (my wife)

​Fuck off! That is my response to that. This is a gear head website, if we weren't interested in the minutiae of technical camera specifications and capabilities, then why would we be here?

The Sony A6000 and a5100 have very nice AF for video (I have the A6000). You need a system lens of course. You can set how long the camera holds the subject for, how quickly it changes focus, and you can assign custom buttons to lock focus with. It's the only hybrid system I'd consider using AF in video. The video image itself is pretty nice for close ups or shallow depth-of-field, but can be disappointing with detailed wide angle landscapes, where you start to see aliasing. I would say it's an issue with the way the sensor is sampled rather than a codec problem (though the codec could be better on the A6000, and is better on the A5100).

By the way, anyone else feeling that this website is starting to wander off its core audience? Who, besides professionals, can shoot with 1Dcs and C300s? Where's that old GH1/2 budget minded shooting gone? There are some seriously awesome cameras out there now, so much so that our (well, mine at least) shooting is defined more by features than absolute image quality. Can't there be more focus on the creative side of things, rather than tech specs? There's a lack of that kind of website at the moment, and EOSHD has the heritage and potential to fill it. Cameras are just gadgets without creativity.

​Please tell me more about the 3d printed focus and aperture gears? How do I go about getting them for my own set of lenses?

John, this all looks very interesting & I assume you don't need to modify your original anamorphics, which would be a complete deal breaker for me. The options for the Kowa for B&H & the Iscomorphot 8/x2 (Animex) really could knock the Iscorama out of pole position. Good Luck & hope to see some examples soon!

It appears Cooke's imperfections help create their magic: https://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2014/03/why-do-we-want-flat-glass/ .