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the "ignore user" feature on this board is really great

Except, not listening to someone just because we don't like them is why the world (at least the US) is becoming so polarized, hanging out in cliques only leads to an echo chamber. Obviously Polycar has been abrasive, but he did share some useful insights as well that you'd have missed if you blocked him. There are so many knowledgeable folks here, let's learn from each other...please.

I recently was looking for a new camera, and I, too, re-discovered a forgotten camera. It produces a truly analog, organic look. I got a Sony Handycam Pro Hi8 camera, with CCD sensor! and S-Video output! Just kidding, I got a BMPCC. Disclaimer: I'm not making fun of anyone, I just found that old broken camera buried in a box and couldn't resist the dumb joke.

thank you for pointing this out. didn't know the site had this. cleaning house.

Grabbed a zoom for less than $150. A bit pricy for vintage imo but It seemed nice.

I expect they were using the older System65 hasselblad lenses - and I expect most future productions using the alexa65 will also since the modern hasselblads that the new Arri65mm lenses are based on suck. Most of the newer hasselblad lenses don't cope with full frame medium format digital backs and will also be pushed beyond their capabilities on the alexa 65 when using the full sensor width. From the trailers I;ve seen it looks like they used the 50/2.8 and 40mm/4 a great deal. I know that dof rolloff of these like the back of my hand.

I used 5D Mk2 for three years and its poor resolution was a big problem. I wouldn't use it anymore (except maybe in Magic Lantern RAW mode, but I don't have experience with that). NX1 and GH4 are both good, NX1 is cleaner and has very bright, vivid and beautiful colors, but GH4 is more "filmic". GH4 is easier to post process, becouse it doesn't need to be converted to ProRes. If you have GTX960 or similar HEVC supported video card, you may be able to edit native NX1 files. It's really hard or impossible to get bright good colors from GH4, so you are forced to go with more "filmic" style. With NX1 the colors are superb, but you can't hide its digital look. GH4 may be better for conservative short films. For commercial stuff NX1 is superior in that group. Personally I wouldn't buy NX1 anymore becouse there seems to be no future for it. But after using NX1 I wouldn't be able to transfer back to GH-world either. I hate Sony colors, Canon lacks resolution, Nikon lacks resolution, GH4 isn't vivid enough, NX1 is perfect for my use but has no future. If I was forced to buy camera at this moment, I would be most interested in Blackmagic.

Sitting on the train home First impression is good. Lots of feelings. Feels wierd to rute for murdering basterds. And to feel sorry for the execution of a murdering basterd. Loved alot of the movie. It will definetelly be my favorite QT film for a while. If it stays number one infront of KB1 remains to see. KB is a film easier to rewatch imo. This might be a bit to heavy. But no doubt, will preorder a Blueray copy as soon as Im done typing this. The trip Regarding the experience it was top noth. Took a first class train to Stockholm. Met with some fellows I make films with from time to time. We had seats on the VIP balcony, first row, dead centre. Captains chair with plenty of leg room and a glass of red wine. Its no secret that Im a sucker for film. So yeah, an awesome night.

Just got the camera yesterday, and I'm already in love. This is only a test. BMPCC/Prores 422/HQ/Rokinon 16mm & 10mm. Quick, dirty spontaneous footage/lighting/grading. This is only a test. https://vimeo.com/151484715

Cliptoolz is the best for this, no fuss. Rocky mountain has good conversion, but cliptoolz is just as good and faster on my system, and has a wider range of options and codec settings. It also easily does the 444 with both UHD and 4K footage.

Honestly, the only reason I am thinking about keeping the nx500 is because the 4K downscaled to 1080 looks amazing in b&w and I may have a short in a month or two that it may be perfect for. It seems the over sharpness doesn't affect black and white footage as much... Either performed in camera or desaturated in post. And yeah, those Nikkors are work horses. So cinematically simple.

The A7Sii doesn't output 10 bit so the Assassin wouldn't be a good combo with it. I would pick up a 2.5K BMCC (MFT) with some accessories.

Cool! Andy had a good tip one time, the cheapish AI 35-70mm f/3.5 that renders closely to the Bourne ones (28-70 & 80-200mm f/2.8D). Perhaps your does too? Yeah, the Planars and Distagons do look damn sexy. Wouldn't mind a set of those. But then again, who would? Well, I guess the conscience, wallet and wife.

Yeah, there's been a few people casually talking about them around here. I had messed around with some of the Jena and Flektogon Zeiss' (not the same... I know) and loved the look but the build quality is just not there. I have learned a lot about taking lenses apart, but even when they seem repaired... A couple months later and they break again. They're just not worth the hassle, well maybe in Europe where they can be found in abundance for next to nothing. Anyway, I searched the interwebs and found a few videos of the 1.7 on a rebel and a few on a gh4. The strange thing is that it improves the canon image and softens the 4K... Very strange. So, I found one on eBay for pretty cheap and figured what the hell. I sure would like that 28mm Hollywood lens though. You're liking those Nikon zooms with the Red?

Lets not forget he was also a very gifted film actor. His most compelling roles in films by auteurs such as Roeg and Lynch. His unnerving cameo in the Twin Peaks feature film is at the centre of one of the most quintessentially brilliant Lynchian scenes ever: And of course there's the less high-brow but equally brilliant Labyrinth, for which Bowie chooses to play the role of 'Jared the Goblin King' as a deathly pale and emaciated Tina Turner tribute act: Yesterday I put together a Youtube playlist of some of my old Bowie favourites (for a year or two in the late 90's I literally listened to nothing but Bowie and Dylan): RIP Bowie. Thanks for falling to earth ...

FS5 will be getting internal RAW as well, not just external ones, wondering whats the sdcard requirement for that

Here's what I did: 1. Plug the NX1 into the VA and set output to 1080p 2. Hit the d-pad right once to get to video preview 3. Hit the d-pad up four times to clear the overlays from the monitor. Give it a shot!

You've listed three very different sensors and seems a big area of your choice is your editing setup. But you want to make films, not be simply an editor. I'm editing NX1 and Prores and have done raw on a 2009 Mac Pro (with transcoding steps, but I usually have plenty to do in the studio when that stuff runs). You can cut anything on any reasonable system; some systems mean you have to run your footage through something first. When I have to hand footage off immediately to another editor, I choose a camera for that situation. But that's rare for me. Get the camera that will produce the images you see in your head. For me, APS-C is right on the money, I tend to like more tele looks and it's close to super-35 which is a visual language I can connect to. I feel the full frame look is overdone and an overblown, a too-much version of "cinematic", and the super-16 sensor seems like a nightmare to me. YMMV. Every camera has pros and cons (the BMPCC has a great image but I couldn't imagine it without the $500 speedbooster, and it needs some rigging to make sense, the batteries suck). And so on. 4K has been really huge for me as I do a lot of one-man corporate shoots and I can punch in on 1080 edits as needed and still have amazing quality, and plenty of prettiness or "character" with a range of glass (just a kickass flange setup for APS-C, you can put about anything on it with glassless adapters). I also do motion graphics and do overlaid graphics with footage and green screen work - 4k is just a new era of sheer joy for that stuff. The NX1 has been great for allowing me to jump from interviews (old Nikkors) to operations/establishing shots (the cheap little kit lens, wide open, OIS and peaking and AF and I've gotten great handheld and steadicam-style walking shots with shoulder mounts, fig-style rig, or just the camera). Slowmo options for manufacturing, beauty, music vids, effect plates… it's as perfect a setup for my specific needs as anything out there, regardless of price. But that's me. Considering the NX1 camera with "no future" is silly - for my situation anyway. If it lasts 2 years, something better will come along by then. But I shot 3 years with a D7100 and I'm coming on 4 for my big Panasonic cam, which goes out for events several times a month and has been in helicopters and boats and in deserts and storms. But I don't have a huge reliance on AF or OIS, and there are thousands of NX lenses out there that will work natively when I do - if my NX glass dies, I expect I can find more and I expect it will be affordable. It's a sensor in a box with a lens mount that cost under a grand. If it lasts a year I'll have paid for it again and again. In the past I just dedicated another camera to the steadicam, I can always do that again. (Not trying to push the NX1, but it is the most modern and in some ways most capable of your list. If all I did were resorts and golf courses or boats or seaside real estate for millionaires, I'd go 5D RAW or the BM cinema cam and shoot raw.) (And why isn't the Cinema Cam on your list? Seems a much better camera in every way then the pocket and you can get one used pretty affordably). One thing though - I'd be leery of doing much doc work unless it's controlled. I have a big "video" camera with a big zoom range and XLRs and NDs and a great EVF for that stuff - if it's a situation where you can miss a key shot that's gone forever - I've watched too many DSLR guys sweating bullets while I got every. Single. Second. Not always as pretty as a DSLR, but that's a moot point if you miss half the shots.

You know what they say... 'it's always nice to get yourself a Zeiss!'. Well, I'm pretty sure that's not what anybody says, but I guess you can add 'for a very good price' and there must still be some truth to it. I told somebody the other day that I really need to explore Zeiss for myself sometime. I'm quite interested to literally see for my own eyes how great these are to have. I always see people's footage with a certain soul and smoothness to it. Without having like that super vintagey flawed character. I don't know. There's definitely something unique to Zeiss lenses! But I haven't really convinced myself to get even more lenses when I have so many already. A Planar 50mm on the cheap doesn't sound too bad to get a little taste for it though.

True. I picked up a Zeiss Planar 50mm 1.7 yesterday on the cheap, so I was looking around for a 28mm and realized I can't afford the "Hollywood," which is a beautiful effin lens. I guess I let my bitterness get the best of me... My bad Geoff.

some test shots with the bmpcc and the lumix 20mm 1.7 playing around with osiris 3d luts

Well, everyone has been saying how great these S lenses are and from what I've seen they seem almost unfaultable. I think they make sense if you for the NX1. Obsolete system or not. Price... that differs from person to person. I'd say 800 USD is not the craziest I've seen, seems kinda fair for a lens regarded o be of premium quality.

The tilt up on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre figurine had a really cool look to it. Enjoy it for many more days! I'm sure you will.

Which is a single focal length without electronic stabilization and autofocus... to add some perspective. Can't really fault photographers for picking a Canon 24-105mm L and 70-200mm f/2.8 L over (or to go with) a couple of fully manual primes either.

Saw it yesterday and enjoyed it. I felt Inniratu did a great job with subtext, stuff that doesn't show up in a script. Nature itself as a character, and the "reach" of nature, from the settings and power (rivers, storms, wind, animals) to the native "savages", to the barely-more-advanced trappers, up to the fort where one guy is trying to hold on to more evolved concepts of honor and compassion that are (ideally) the heart of a technologically based civilization. I was able to completely enjoy the movie as a visual commentary on humanity's rise from nature, with the sheer power of nature still having sway over technological advancements . Like some of you guys, my wife compared to to "gladiator", but to me Gladiator was a slick hollywood product; and I found this flick to be much more. I found the plot to be secondary to the experience, but… I kinda like Kubrick too. He also has a great way with action scenes, and a verisimilitude that action usually lacks - a more honest sense of the horror that, say, an indian battle would have been. I thought it was a great balance of a much, much larger story told with visuals that could weave back into dialogue or plot. Ain't never been to no college, but the film did work on me in a more between-the-lines way, and I found it one of the most effective things I've seen in ages at that level. (I'm always curious what the people who diss a movie like this consider a "good" film - I sat through like three Super-Hero-Marvel trailers and just thought "Who watches this lame-ass childish shit?? Six year olds??" But the world would be a dull place if we were all the same… and I thought "Batman Begins" was crap and "The Dark Knight" didn't deserve Heath Ledger, so what do I know anyway?)

From watching your video it appears that your taking lens might be flaring up too much and actually masking the effects from the Kowa. I'd be tempted to suggest looking for a optically perfect helios 44-3. like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-MC-HELIOS-44-3-2-58-58mm-f-2-M42-Vintage-Soviet-SLR-USSR-Lens-s-n-9059248-/172052522469?hash=item280f2125e5:g:Jb4AAOSwLN5WiSiW these are multi coated. most are green in their coatings but don't tend to show this in the flaring and the overall contrast from this version will compliment your kowa. and since it won;t flare up as much as your current helios 44-2 you'll seem more of what the kowa is adding to the party. a pair of clean uv filters positioned up front as well as between the kowa and the taking lens will also help to promote more streaks from the kowa. finally, be sure to clean your lenses thoroughly with some alcohol based lens cleaner. the cleaner the optical faces the more obvious the flares will be from the kowa.

Ive been very happy with the Tascam DR100ii + MKE600 combo. Use it in all kinds of configurations including running the MKE straight in a D750 for really nice ambience.

Not a problem, I see where you're coming from - it's definitely worse after JPEG compression but you'd see it with any kind of web compression anyway so better seeing it from post rather than pre compression. Either way, I'm still a massive fan of the SLOG 3 image. There's so much backlash and nitpicking online about Sony cameras (not pointing at you here, just seems to be a recurring trend, because of popularity perhaps), but I'm just really enjoying the A7SII. Yes, Sony could up the bitrate and add 422 or 10 bit, but until that day, it's such a great little camera capable of lovely photos and incredible video. love sticking a vintage lens on the camera, massively reducing it's size and getting those vintage characteristics.

Sure, you could put a 5" monitor onto of the camera but it then looses it's stealth quality. Not a solution. Seems ridiculous that the screen and EVF darken when hitting the record button. Makes all Sony cameras totally unusable for me ... I simply can not see anything on the LCD in bright light.. Must have something to do with overheating I guess. I hope this is fixed in the next round of A7 cameras. Doesn't happen in other 4k internal shooting cameras ... only Sony have this problem.

I think people who say that have never shot S8 and had it properly scanned… A huge factor is the awesome par focal lens and the frame shutter. I love it when people play up the whip pans, soft focus, etc. This seriously has a home movie feel that would be hard to replicate something else. They definitely do 4k scans now that would be better than this, but the content is cool.

You gave the Cliff's Notes version. Both are appreciated.

Hi Mercer, Hi Zach, the Filter affects stills in the same way as described above: a little less overall sharpness, less sharpness on the corners, etc... - but probably it is important to say: you can´t use the optical viewfinder! ... the mirror is always open while using the VAF! So, with the VAF in stills mode, you always have to use LiveView. As mentioned above: all in all there is a noticeable reduction in resolution when shooting stills... But, as Zach pointed out: it takes a few second to exchange it...

Thanks for the very comprehensive answer!! I'm shooting on a GH4, but with the speed booster, so I think I'm cropping at 1.7 ish... I'm also in anamorphic 4:3 mode, so not sure if that effects things too? I've attached some images of the Helios 44-2... Does the 1st two digits of the serial number reflect the date? That a good one you reckon? I'll look into all the lenses you mention! The lighting advise is VERY useful too..

I might be completely wrong but it looks like the Helios you have might be the more 'modern' type - has more flare suppression coating on the optics. But it could also be completely due to the light source in the setup. Also if you are shooting smaller than s35 sensor, you will only be capturing part of the Helios' potential for flare - as some of the charm of older Helios models are the 'secondary' rings and rainbows that tend to fall at the edge of the frame. When coupled to anamorphic front, this can greatly add to the overall impact of the 'streak flare.' I would expect more flare from an older model such as the 'Zebra' or pre '2' model called simply the 'Helios 44' (simple golden coating) - or the KMZ Helios 44-2 with green and yellow distance markings (this model should compliment your kowa 8z's flare colour the best). These are the better lenses to achieve flares with, as they are the earlier models that have less refined coatings and are more prone to bouncing light inside the optic edges when wide at f2. Having an older model such as the KMZ Helios 44-2 will greatly increase flare when opened up. Jupiter-9 is a good 85mm pairing to the Helios-44 58mm (again look for older model).Other lenses worth considering (not primarily for 'crazy' flares) are the Pentacon preset type, 14-15 blades ensure circular aperture throughout stops - resulting in constant oval bokeh when paired with your Kowa. The 135mm pentacon f2.8, Meyer Orestor 100mm 2.8 and TAIR-11A 135mm f2.8 are particularly good for anamorphic use. Older Nikkor's flare very nicely, but have fewer aperture blades - so they cut into the oval bokeh quite harshly.Older Olympus OM's are a very good choice too - as they are very sharp, flare is not so pronounced but can easily be acquired to make a nice matched shooting set. As for light source, the LED lights in squares will give a blocky diffused streak (as do fluorescent tubes/kino's), best to use a point source (such as the sun for exteriors) or for interiors - a single bright lamp such as a single chip LED desk lamp...or even better a tungsten/halogen light source. A very cheap light to use for some interior shoot's like your example video can be a 'pinspot' - a par-36 lamp that is very pokey and can be easily rigged on a stand or set on the floor to give a shaft of light that you can maneuver to lens in and out of : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pinspot-PAR-36-30W-Black-Lantern-suitable-for-Mirrorball-Includes-Lamp-Stage-DJ-/181599693906?hash=item2a482f6c52:g:y1kAAOSwGWNUV7Wo There are LED 'pinspot' versions out there that are also good - that have focusable spots, they are lighter to rig but can flicker at some shutter speeds. (but tungsten lamp tends to give a nicer/more natural look IMHO and almost immune to flicker at most shutter speeds).

@danreddingvideo You have all good old lenses there. I have owned all of them and they all flare well. In fact there's a ton of flaring in your video. But you're looking for sharp long streaks, and if you want more then you need to look at other lenses. The older lenses flare because of the old single-coating of the lenses. But the drawback is that they have a more "smeared" effect and not the sharp lines you're looking for. Those sharp lines occur more with double or more modern coating on lenses. But that drawback is you need to have a very very bright lightsource, like the sun. You can look at some old zooms, like the Tokina 28-80mm F2.8, Nikon 28-80mm F2.8, or something similar. The more lens elements, the more flaring artifacts there is. It's hard finding the right combination of taking lens with Anamorphic. Here's an old test I did with my Kowa B&H 2x (Same as your Kowa 8z). Strong lights will get the flares you're looking for. https://vimeo.com/108202883

Yeah, the resolution of this cam makes for quite nice frame grabs. As far as latitude goes, I guess you could do more with a flatter image but FilmConvert over the top of it and tweaked a little seems to give some good looks. I like the Astia and Provia presets with the Arri Alexa Rec709 profile. The Red / Epic X / Redgamma profiles seems to work Ok as well but you need to dial down the film colour. I'm just a hobbyist that enjoys learning video but I reckon this camera is not really designed for heavy grading. It seems to be at it's best looking natural or with just a light grade.

Can you tell if the NX1 is outputting 24 but the VA is recording 60? Or does the camera switch itself to 60 to match the VA? Also, can you record in the camera and to the VA simultaneously, like recording 4k internally and 1080 on the VA? Can you see a big difference between the internal 1080 vs the VA 1080? I know that's a lot of questions, but us NX1 people have to help each other out! I've also got an NX1 and was thinking of getting the VA. I asked Black Magic and they didn't have any answers because they don't have access to an NX1.

Saw the suggestion about uploading in 4k vs 1080 for YouTube for better results and wanted to give it a shot. I think it works pretty good. Below was all 5D raw and the last half was shot with the XC10.

Yeah they picked some wicked footage. The ones that @BenEricson or @Mattias Burling posted are much better examples. Here are some other examples:

Looks like footage shot on a vintage iPhone app

I don't want to be that guy and I am not sure if it is the jpeg compression, but there is banding in all of them. Its this color blocking that happens across a large area of the image that creates the banding on the uniform gradient of the sky too. Nice colors on the third one... I might be to sensitive for it cause I spent too much time pixel peeping my slog2 footage , so don't let me stop you from using s-log3.

I won't say too much other than I absolutely loved it and was in awe of the cinematography. One of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.

I vote NX1 because I love the image, and they are on fire sale right now. I personally love having a viewfinder on camera for doc work, so the GH4 and NX1 fit that bill. The 2.5K is great for narrative, and has some good used prices online, but I would hesitate using it for documentary work unless you rig it extensively.

I have been using this: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?327893-A7s-S-log2-too-noisy-Then-underexpose-cine4 My Go Cuba vid was all shot in this setting...

On the topic of Canon color… This is beautiful. Shot with the 5D3. Also professionally graded, I believe NR was applied. The canon greens are so nice, the skin tones in a practically lit interview looks so nice as well. A sony FS7 etc would take forever to get close to this. Going out and shooting test footage, the c100mkii probably won't wow you, but when you're paid to shoot all day and get coverage, the camera is just amazing to work with. Those two pieces linked above look amazing. The highlight handling on the canon is so great.

How sweet and funny to read all these comments. Yes indeed I created a very poor lens test. I should have shot a testcard and do a rack focus. Would have been so much easier as well.