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As bad as this is, in my opinion you should hold a bit back @Ed_David. I get the feeling we get back to medieval age when I read that we should "embarass him" and "destroy his reputation", especially since I get this dejavu with Philip Bloom.

I love this place as I find inspiration and positive energy here, so I don't like posting something negative, but I feel you need to be warned. A month ago I paid @Ebrahim Saadawi for a SLR Magic Rangefinder he offered for sale both on this site and on dvxuser. He had previously done an extensive review of the Rangefinder, also posted on the EosHD forum. I assumed he was selling this unit; he told me he had no use for it and no interested buyers in Egypt. As he claimed there were no other payment options in Egypt than Western Union money transfer and knowing his excellent track record on the forum, I decided to give it a go. Yeah, really stupid me I guess. He went totally silent after my payment confirmation on June 17th. I sent four update requests since then through the forum's message service, which he all read (the site shows you this). Also messages through Instagram and email. Still no reply. Being certain (and baffled) that I was scammed I was considering what to do. Then I read @Tito Ferradans cautionary tale in Facebook's anamorphic shooters group of a LOMO scam he barely escaped (he also posted that on this site). On Facebook, another group member, Tomas, mentioned he also bought a Rangefinder from Egypt. Same seller, same story. So we have the second highest rated EosHD account ever (second only to Andrew himself) through which at least two people have been scammed. Now here is the catch: the account of Ebrahim is used by two people. Ebrahim senior, and his grandson Ebrahim junior (the profile signature also mentions this). The other buyer did get in contact with the seller, which turned out to be Ebrahim junior. It looks like Senior has build quite the reputation with posts I myself have also greatly enjoyed and learnt from. Junior pisses all over it now with this crap. We'll see if this post helps him reconsider, at any rate, other forum members may be prevented of becoming 'fools' (as Junior so sympathetically described me).

At least give him a chance to give his side of the story The guy with the facebook post only has 9 posts and the OP 35 posts, yet it is all being taken as gospel (i'm not accusing either of you of lying, but it can happen).... I'm in no way taking sides here, If he did do it ... He deserves plenty of abuse, but think rationally first. It is not too hard to imagine that there are scammers out there who actively seek out these sort of "For Sale" sub forums and hack the account of the person in their country with the highest post number. It is also not unfeasable to imagine that someone could get pissed at an online user for something and set up a couple of account to destroy his reputation around the internet. (Again, not accusing the OP here, just playing devil's advocate).

Another quick test (this is one of the first test) the lens still is not perfectly aligned, and this creates a little blur in the lower part. Nevertheless, it also corrects distortion, behaving in the opposite way to the way a wide angle. Also, you can see the brightness gain of 1 stop in dark areas.

I think the op needs to now reach him again and point him to this thread. He has 7 days to reply before I go medieval on him. And that wont be fun.

Ban him. Definitely goes against the grain of what this forum is about.

Gritty

Loaded up A3G3 on the white balance and Neutral -2. Looked good. Then I pulled out My A7s to refresh my memory what Brandon Li's Autumn Leaves -3,0,-3 looked like. Had to do some major grading to emulate the Sony. May have de-saturated the lemons a bit and the over-exposure of the auto ISO on the Panny didn't help but I thought the handheld stabilized sensor held up pretty well against the gimbal. All purely unscientific. Don't try this at home kids!

Hi Liam, Yes, I'm working on it. I need a week to post the work and the first Nx Speed Booster adapter. Thanks John, It depends on what you want to achieve and what you are willing to pay. The film makers prefer manual control, this is possible with Nikon mount, this does not mean that you have to use only Nikon lenses, also sigma and many other brands use Nikon mount. You imagine the Samsung Nx1 With speed booster and Sigma 50mm 1.4 DG HSM Art lens...

There's always going to be something more to buy. I don't know that you "have to" buy a new system to get the look you want. I'd use more light, but in the same proportions, get the iso down. With 8-bit footage, I try to fill in the blacks a bit more, just a big source of fill to bring everything up a half stop or so. Sort of like "lighting flat" vs. a flat profile, and then push up the blacks in post. I never mess with faux-log or anything-log with 8-bit though, just seems to noise everything up in the long run. By the way, on my screen at the posted resolution, there was no noise that really jumped out at me. Full screen there's a lot of noise in the mids, which is odd. But nothing neat video wouldn't work well on.

For the record PayPal is accepted in Egypt... Here's a list of the 202 countries where PayPal is accepted. So someone claiming it is not accepted where it clearly is should raise a red flag.

Hi all, OP here. Thanks for the support. Healthy scepticism also always welcome, I know that would be my approach as well. This thread is not intended to just burn the seller down, I am not a hateful person and believe revenge is a dish best left unserved. Justice and taking responsibility are a different matter though. I am truly, truly baffled by what happened. Can't get my head around the fact anyone would do this for this amount of money. Whether it's junior (ab)using his shared account or if they're both in the know; both bizarre. Exactly because (Senior) Ebrahim's contributions have been so valuable for the forum I was hesitant to put this out, but this couldn't stand. Hopefully this gets sorted out.

This is a great question. Walter Murch told me that the first time he watches the footage he treats pretty sacredly and he just tries to not think about anything like structure prematurely. He's editing it for someone whose first impression is key (the audience) so he holds his first impression with respect. He'll observe his emotional response to footage, then try to work around the right emotion, stringing the rest together, and making compromises for continuity etc. along the way. There's no map of the coverage. It's just wow that show has emotion. We'll use it. If you're not prepared to throw it all out (not all of it, but any given shot), hire an editor. I mean you need some structure to get things done reasonably quickly so chances are you won't throw every single good shot out. But never consider the time on set because then you'll feel you need to do penance in post spending equally as much time making it work when you can just... delete... Getting notes can help. When I feel like I'm up my own ass I get notes. Someone recommended getting client notes often so they feel like they're on the same page. As soon as it's presentable, but make sure it's presentable. For personal work, if I watch something with family members in particular (they're usually by some margin the most critical audience, I've found) I can tell when something is working and it isn't. But they're usually so mean I just give up so I only show them the best stuff and instead I ask friends who offer more constructive criticism generally.

I say it sounds about right. I did a side by side with the D750 and the BMCC 2.5K Raw and the Nikon isn't to far of. But I dont think this has jack to do with the topic, total low ball to take the opportunity just because some guy didn't agree on some random spec of a camera.

Everything is already in place for that. This is the last chance to make it right. I also have some contacts in Cairo that are willing to drop by.

Imo, you can read this as primer and closer. Not, because it is so insightful or inspiring, but on the contrary, because it analyzes something that should be quite obvious for someone who wants to learn how to tell a story. In recent years, it has become hip to refer to The Hero's Journey, deducting the roots for all narrations in mythology. Quite interesting read, but if Syd Fields "findings" actually repeat what Aristotle had found some 2300 years before about the nature of drama (completely with 3 to 5 acts and what have you), these books (i.e. The Hero With A Thousand Faces) don't help to understand story, let alone let you find your own narrational structure. Reality proof: good stories don't fit those "receipts". Moby Dick, just for instance, would never have been approved by any lector infected by those dogmata. There is a hereditary need for human beings to tell stories. In the office between colleagues, to your children, around the campfire. They may be personal, educational, reassuring, unsettling asf. But they have to be interesting. The content as well as the form. Someone offers you a formula? Fine, but someone wise once said the form should follow the content. Find something you find worth telling to the world, and the best way to tell it will be revealed to you by your muse.

Hallo John! loving your findings. Went for the A3G3 and A3M9, but on my G6, outside in the late afternoon sun with WB at 7200 Kelvin, shot at Natural all -2. The image out of cam looked so lala. I don´t know if the Canon FDs "attract" IR polution. The 28mm definately has not its strengths in strong sunlight compared to the 20mm 1.7 Pana Lumix lens. Paired the FD with a China Booster. But what amazed me was what kind of color I got from grading the footage, as always with my G6 I am amazed by the "hidden" color in that 24Mbit codec. Curiosity enough, I shot 50fps for slomo, so only 28Mbits for twice the frames per second. Still, codec holds up amazingly well. So can you explain your reasoning behind the A3G3 a little bit more. I don´t think I completely understood the technical aspects you were explaining. By the way, grade is from the 28Mbits for 50p, so almost half of the 24p bitrate per frame! Thanks a lot for your awesome contributions!

Hey guys, so I know there's a lot of traffic right now in another thread about some unfortunate dealing in the film community. Want to ask a positive question during my afternoon coffee break. I've been working non stop all week on editing a big project I shot for a few months early this year... I want to ask the community out here: To all who are both cinematographer and editor on their projects what helps you edit your footage objectively? What do you keep in mind to help separate yourself from the footage you shot and know in and out? This is a very subjective question as there is no 'right' answer. Do you just need time away from it? Curious how you all deal with this phenomenon. I definitely am attached to my footage and feel a connection with many 'good' shots that I want to use but may not be necessary to the true story of the project.

I put up a slightly more detailed review at my site, but wanted to share most of my thoughts here too. http://zakforsman.com/a-solid-13-3-field-monitor/ I've been kicking myself for not taking part in the Osee 15.6" Field Monitor group buys that were running a month or so ago. The current $995 price tag is a little hard for me to swallow, so I started hunting for a more affordable alternative. I found this 13.3" 1080p panel, called the Yiletec 1303MCPT. It had some crucial aspects: 1080p, full size HDMI port, built-in VESA mounts. So I pulled the trigger. It arrived today. I set up my rig with the Odyssey 7Q+ sending a feed over HDMI, powered it up, and my initial reaction was: nice detailed image, black blacks, but the colors are wrong. I went into the monitors's Picture Menu and made some quick adjustments: pulled down the color saturation, set color temp, turned of noise reduction, and so on. Within seconds I had pretty closely matched my Odyssey's screen. The second I knew this was a keeper, I ripped off the protective film covering the screen, and mounted it to a Kupo VESA light stand mount. The listings for this monitor neglect some key details. I knew some specs before buying it. Brightness: 350cd/m2, Contrast: 700:1, Resolution: 1920×1080. But there were no reviews for it anywhere. I couldn't tell how much it weighed or how much control I'd have to dial in the image. Happy to say it met most of my hopes. It's bright with good contrast and reminds me of my MacBook Air screen in many ways. Color rendition is good. In all likelihood this is an 8 bit display. I'm guessing it weighs about 3 pounds. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the glossy finish. But it's no different than the screen of my Odyssey 7Q+, or SmallHD 502. That being said, I am on the hunt for a suitable sunshade now. Another concern I had was if there would be an issue with 24hz frequencies because only 60hz and 50hz were listed. So I ran through all the framerate settings the Micro Cinema Camera had to change its output and was glad to see the monitor black out and sync up with each of the 60hz, 50hz, and 24hz signals. It even displays the incoming signal frequency in the bottom left corner, confirming its compatibility without a doubt. I also can't detect any additional lag when viewed side by side with the monitor I'm looping the signal through. Granted I've only had it in my possession for half a day, but I don't have any hesitation in recommending this monitor to budget conscious filmmakers who want a little more screen real estate on set. I bought the version housed in a plastic casing -- it's solidly built, don't let "plastic" make you think it feels cheap. However, there is also a metal version, but I was concerned about its weight. Either way, it's priced at $339 on Amazon. A steal. When I bought it, an additional $17 was taken off in the cart as a promotional discount. Even better. And a worthy addition to my arsenal. Here's the link to the Amazon listing. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DFZFYKW/

Thank you very much! I have two layers, one with 7 nodes, another one on top duplicated and in Hardlight layermode- with two of the nodes altered. I think one of the main things is one of the nodes of the lower of the two layers as seen on the Davinci screenshot below. Also attached a framegrab of a duck with colors I was really exited about to find in that 50p 28Mbit codec, with additional twixtor like slomo added! cheers and regards

Thanks for the input everyone. I will add Screenplay by Syd Field and David Mamet's Three Uses of the Knife to the list as well! I'm very interested in learning the pre-existing structure and language of screen writing, so that I can better articulate the nebulous ideas I have in my head, for myself to flesh out concepts and for clients when I pitch and the rest of the crew and talent to inspire better performances and spontaneity. I came across this interesting concept (I really wish I could credit this to where I found it) where you write a script with the intention that everything gets ad-libbed, but you use very evocative language to guide the spontaneity thus getting very natural performances but getting your direction without having to overbearingly direct. Carl Jung sounds like a great idea, I have read derivatives of his work and found them to be really interesting so I will add that too! IMO Psychology, philosophy, sociology and the like are in my opinion incredibly important to understanding and then telling stories about people, their behaviours and decision paths. There's so much to learn from Ancient Greek texts. It's too bad that Hollywood has bastardized many of the ancient myths. I have been trying over the last 2 years to revisit Plato's republic in its entirety, but it's pretty dense and often puts me in a sleepy trance. Which is great, because I used to have terrible insomnia. I agree that form follows content big time. When I was studying interactive design in school, I hated the "designer" connotation that came with it thanks to fashion. Style over substance is a serious piss-off. That being said, learning doesn't stop with a sentence. Things aren't accidental, and studying and learning how to better do one's craft is a constant pursuit. The music that I compose now isn't classical, death metal, punk rock, hip-hop, downtempo, minimal tech-house etc... but I ingested all those things. I also studied music theory, composition and history when I was younger. I don't open any of those books or actively revisit any of that learning before I sit down to write music but it definitely has helped me a lot and I am glad I had that opportunity. In the future here on EOSHD, I'd like to encourage more discussion on non-gear related things, is that something that you guys and gals would be interested in too?

Lol Yes, him, Dougdale, Chris and Jordan are all in it to make couple of quick bucks on lens scams. All the videos they made are just a front. And they would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for those snooping forum people. Sorry for the off topic, I will now sit quietly until Ebrahim replies.

Yeah, I also feel that I need more info. I'm not saying he is innocent, but nor do I have enough to say guilty. Even that message posted earlier is just one side and out of context. Philip Bloom looked a whole lot guiltier than this but was still defended by the forum under the "innocent until proven guilty" principle. I will hold on to my stone for a while. (BTW, if it was a planed scam, where are all the others that also bought it?It sounds to me like a deal gone wrong. Ecatly who is to blame is the question. But it doesn't seem to be a big planned scam on any large scale. Again, not defending anyone, just thinking out loud.)

Im not a rich man but if I ever get scammed by someone like that, I would VERY happily spend the $1000 or whatever to fly there and find the guy and scare him VERY well. That is not a threat, it is a promise. Scare/beat the shit out of/take every dollar he has and then enjoy my holiday. We had a recent Tax scam here where I was called by 'the taxation dept' saying there was a warrant out for my arrest for tax evasion. This happened just after I had made some purchases and perhaps the sellers did not declare the full value on customs forms (naughty sellers!) At first my heart sunk. I thought it was legit. My wife googled around a bit and discovered it was a new scam. They leave you a phone number to call to sort out payment (to avoid further legal action of course) so I called and pretended I was really sorry and wanted to make it right and can I come in to their office with a cheque right away. Geez I wish he gave me an address... Not too many instances when I believe in violence but if you steal from me I will hurt you and take everything you have and leave you crying on the floor naked. This kid needs some time on the floor naked and crying. Whos keen for a trip to Egypt?

The other problem - from a video perspective - is that few Fuji sponsored shooters do anything on the video side. A vast majority of their beta testers are pretty much exclusively still shooters. I think there'd be a good chance of a FW update unlocking Flog internal after people outside the narrow group of beta testers start beating that drum. The Xt2 is certain to bring more video shooters into the Fuji camp, so there will be a shift in feedback.

It seems that they are making an effort to keep artifacts and banding in check. Here is a saturation map of XT2 compared to a clip buy fuzzynormal from the original files thread of the GX85. I could not fine the same amount of contrast/punch tho, so comparison is a little stretched. To make a saturation map you shift hue by 180*(0.5 in fusion) with the color corrector node, then combine with difference node to the original. You then desaturate the result to grayscale. I gained it by 2 here to make it more visible. The XT2 clip appears to be dithered and a bit smoother compared to the GX85 which is showing a bit more blocks. It is not without blocks as something have to go when compressing. But how these artifacts behave and how much effort goes in to handle them determines how much the file can be pushed around before it breaks up. This is also why flat profiles are not always a good thing. btw saturation map works great as a mask for things.

Sorry to hear that but the douche is right with one thing: never use Western Union, only paypal since you can dispute the transaction there and get your money back. WU is a big red flag in any transaction. If it was me, I'll go full scale against him on social shaming via FB, Twitter, his school, friends and all I could find to corner this little piece of shit.

I think the kid is just young and stupid and probably wants a new camera really bad or something. It comes across as an impulsive deed, not something structural, because we have all of his personal information (address). His confessions online. I found his brother and sister online, all of his friends and three of his professors at school. He comes from a good family and a good school. Right now it's still contained to this forum, so he can still make it right before it spirals out of control. PS what happened with Philip Bloom @jase?

For me the built in monitor is very useful. The pocket can be shot as it is. The Micro Always needs arms, cages, multiple batteries, etc. Pain IMO.

It shocked me too. Astonished to read this thread, as is an account which has been such a valuable contributor to this forum for such a long time that previously I'd have had no hesitation whatsoever to ever make a transaction with such a person if I'd seen something here I wanted (not that I have ever made a purchase via this forum, but I have a few times on a few other forums. Including when I purchased my first ever camera..... a hacked Panasonic GH1! :D ). Timotheus, I recommend you making a warning post like this to dvxuser as well. http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?347115-SLR-Magic-Rangefiner-Low-Price!

Heres my "latest" (a few months old, but the client wanted to change some stuff and only finished now) event coverage :

This might not be the advice you want, but I really like the theory of not learning how to tell a story at all. Learn what others do, sure, like watch as many films as you can, behind the scenes type stuff all day, but mostly just do whatever you want, and then you've got something original. You make it "wrong", and it could be the best thing ever. A lot of great filmmakers have basically given that advice - Robert Rodriguez, Orson Welles - anyway, just a thought. I know a lot of filmmakers know the rules too, so it's not gospel. I'd still suggest a book if I could think of one, sorry, but good luck!

Truby's Anatomy of Story is a good book. Truby is a great analyst of movies. A good primer for screenwriting is Screenplay by Syd Field. Another great, quick read is by American playwright, screenwriter and director David Mamet called Three Uses of the Knife.

Thank you Lucabutera, I will definitely fund a fundraiser for that adapter, Nikon mount probably the best mount ever invented, its so universal. It would been cool if some of the people who tried working on an electronic Canon adapter for NX would join in the project if they are still around.

Yes Marco, it's a speed booster prototype selfmade. It's possible. In the nex time I post my full work on it, and begginning the test on NX1 camera.

What the hell!?!?!?! This just made my day! And he already has some footage, this is stunning!

I just have a quick test on the XT2 at Fujifilm square in Tokyo. No FLog menu at the moment, cameras on display are with beta firmware, asking for it they reply that Flog seems only for HDMI output, but is not confirmed. Rolling shutter on 4K 30p is present and seems like on a6300, on 1080p is very low but I see and compared it only on viewfinder and Lcd. Asking to connect camera at a display they reply "is not possible" :). Overall impression is good, and in my opinion the camera is not to be compared to the a6300 (very different construction, rock solid and better viewfinder and ergonomics) but at the a7 series...Friendly employees (and very patient at all my questions) as usual at Fujifilm square

I was about to link to this. Keep in mind Gordon himself will tell you he has very shaky hands, so take the "shakiness" with a grain of salt.

I'm a Vimeo Plus member and I just saw that the statistic page has been completely changed today. The new interface is very annoying to navigate and some options are now removed (or I can't find them anymore). Now some advanced stats options are greyed out with many pop up proposing to upgrade to a "Pro" membership in order to benefit what was previously part of the package in the Plus membership. For instance, I could check the exact URL source of traffic and this is now only part of the PRO. I hope that I'm missing something here because that would be such a dumb move from Vimeo. Not only I will not get a Pro membership but I'll simply cancel my Plus account and go with Youtube only.

And from a pragmatic point of view, just how long do you want to spend in post? I try to find settings that get me as near as possible to my final result without compromising shadow and highlight detail. These aren't raw files. I work the way I would with JPEG stills. The biggest mistake I made on early jobs with a GH4 was filming too flat and not being able to acceptably restore contrast in skin tones.

Agreed.. something really weird about the motion. Will have to wait for real life tests to get a proper idea. Right now it's looking way too 'video'. Also am I the only one to find Fuji film simulations a bit over rated? Never been a fan of heavy baked in looks. It is an interesting concept, at least for still photography but the film simulations have nothing a proper LUT would give you imo. No IBIS, External F-log, Rolling shutter issues, limited/expensive native lens ... meh.. It sounds to me like Fuji is just jumping on the filmmaker bandwagon, but do they really have the chops? I guess it's still nice Sony finds itself a competitor.. Hopefully a real non-sponsored test will give the full breakdown, I certainly won't be the beta tester for yet another compromised new hybrid system.. hyped up solely on the premise of 4K and some "cool" retro picture profiles..

No, you're not the only one! I can't really see what folks are getting so excited about. Very clinical and video-y to my eyes.

This footage looks terrible. Sooo video-y.