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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/04/2020 in all areas
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Quick overview of recommendations (very partial list! Just three for each) for anybody looking for low budget audio gear / videographer / cameraman grade etc gear: Wireless: Sony UWP-D21 (or previous generation UWP-D11), Deity Connect Wireless, or secondhand Lectro 200 or 400 series. Hypercardioid mics for indoors: Oktava MK-012, Audix SCX1-HC, Audio Technica AT4053B Shotguns for outdoors: Rode NTG3, Deity S Mic 2, Rode NTG5 This is the kind of gear which would be excellent for a videographer / cameraman, so audio isn't at all their primary focus, but now and then they sometimes "have to" do audio, and this will still give them acceptable results if used well. Or for student filmmakers, or broke/hobbyist indie filmmakers, or an aspiring semi pro just starting out, this kind of gear kit would also be an excellent starting point for them as well. Also suitable for professional sound mixers too, excellent back up gear on the cheap, or to supplement what they've already got.5 points
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From what I have seen, so many of these tests seem to involve waving the camera around and then saying, hey, look at how bad this is. Quite often, by someone who isn't into Fuji or does reviews from their bedroom in their parents basement. Perhaps a slight exaggeration but I have seen plenty of rock steady output which is what I am looking for and on Fuji lenses such as the 50mm f2 which will be my go to if this season ever gets going. And an XT4 appears in reality. I'm a longer lens kind of guy. I suspect any other warping issues will have been resolved by then as Fuji historically fix this kind of thing. Hardware, less easy/impossible such as if you hate the screen like I do, you either have to live with it or do something else, but I am pretty sure this warp/wobble thing won't be a thing in the second half of this year.2 points
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DPreview Pre-Amp Shootout
noone and one other reacted to David Bowgett for a topic
DPReview have just posted a follow-up video focusing on the A7iii. In short, the camera they tested wasn't defective; a second camera performed exactly the same. However... it also looks like the A7iii's audio performance can differ drastically based on the microphone that's being used. Some microphones end up sounding as bad as the initial test, but others end up in the S1H's ballpark. Not sure what's going on there - maybe Sony cheaped out on the camera's EM shielding or something? Also, based on what Jordan says at the end of the video, it sounds like they may have unwittingly tested the Z6 under optimal circumstances, and that with other microphones the results are much, much less rosy than their initial test indicated.2 points -
10 YEARS OF ANAMORPHIC
matthere reacted to Sebastien Farges for a topic
10 YEARS OF ANAMORPHIC (2010/2020) by Seb Farges Here is an editing of ten years of using anamorphic lens on my work. In this movie, the anamorphic lenses are : Baby Hypergonar 1.75x, SLR Magic focus module, Iscorama 36 non mc, Baby Isco Gottingen Anamorphot 1.5x, Bolex Moler Anamorphot 16/32 1.5x, SLR Magic Anamorphot 2x and 1.5x and Aivascope Pro 1.5x featuring Panasonic Lumix GH2,GH3,GH4, GH5, S1 and S1H Olympus OM-D EM5 Sony A7, A7S II and A7R II Primes lenses : Nikon E Serie 50mm f1.8 LINOS Me-Vis C-mount 35mm f1.6 Konica Hexanon 40mm f1.8 voigtlander nokton 40mm 1.4 SLR Magic 25mm f0.95 SLR Magic 50mm f0.95 Pentax-m 40mm f2.8 Hartblei Super Rotator T&S 80mm f2.8 Volna-3 80mm f2.8 medium lens Shift version Holga plastic lens 25mm f8 and much more...1 point -
First I'd like to say that I appreciate that the Lenses sticky thread is now it's own Sub-Forum. It really allows members to post more specific topics and it allows readers to ignore topics that may not be useful for them. With that said, @noone had a great idea creating a topic with one of his favorite lenses... so I figured I'd follow suit with one of my favorite lenses... Nikkor 35mm 1.4 ai-s As I started writing this brief, real world review, I realized that this lens represents a larger story of me as a filmmaker as it chronicles the highs and lows of my life since I started shooting my film... So what started as a brief review morphed into a much longer story. If you don't have the time or inclination, stop now. For those that are still interested... here we go... I love fast, wide angle lenses. They offer shallow depth of field while allowing you to get close to your subject. And a fast 35mm straddles a wide angle FOV and a normal FOV making it almost the perfect full frame, focal length for my style of filmmaking. This is my second copy of this lens and truth be told... I've almost sold this lens a half a dozen times over the past year. My first copy I bought when I started shooting my film. I had a simple game plan... the Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS lens for daylight and the Nikkor for lowlight. Here are a couple frames from the first shots I took with the lens for my film. For some reason I decided to go a different route for my lowlight shots and bought a Canon 35mm f/2 IS lens. In most ways, the Canon is a better lens, but it lacks the charm of the Nikkor even if it did match my zoom a little better. At the time, my film was moving along at a steady pace, so I decided to keep the Nikkor for a different, upcoming film... Well... Life had a different plan, like it often does, and some unforeseen medical issues in my family slowed production to a near grinding halt. With those medical issues came some unforeseen financial issues and I was forced to sell a bunch of lenses. For a brief time I thought I'd be forced to sell my camera as well, but I luckily made it work. Before I sold the Nikkor, I decided to take it out for a final spin. Here are a couple frames from that last day with the lens... By this time, I was also forced to sell my Canon zoom and my Canon 35mm f/2. Over the next 6 months I raided my closet to test any and every lens I had that could work for my film. Luckily, during that time, I found a Canon 28mm 1.8 listed on eBay "For Parts" for peanuts. Needless to say, I won the auction and found another one of my favorite lenses born from need. For the next 6-8 months, the Canon 28mm 1.8 lens became the only lens I used to shoot my film and at the time, I couldn't be happier with the results. But I still missed my Canon zoom and my Nikkor 35mm 1.4. Last year, I came into a little extra money and immediately sought another copy of the Nikkor and after a few weeks, I found one. With the extra money in my account, I took the opportunity to test a bunch of lenses I couldn't otherwise afford but always wanted to try. I tested some beautiful lenses but being a hobbyist, I needed to contain my obsession and build a couple logical lens sets. I used the end of my sporadic shooting days to test a lens. My method was simple, use my main actor as a model in the same locations I was shooting my film. Here are a few frames from those tests... After hours of deliberation and footage, I finally realized that I don't change lenses that often and I grew to like the idea of a single POV, from a single lens, as if the lens' FOV represents an invisible narrator's eye. I used my feet to zoom and put together a simple rig consisting of a closed monopod with a tilt head and a tape measure pouch clipped onto my belt. The bottom of the monopod fits snuggly inside the tape measure pouch giving me a stable image with a handheld-like flexibility. During these tests, I realized that I had way too many lenses and could easily shoot a short film a month, for well over a year, and never reuse the same lens... What was I thinking?! I am just a hobbyist with no delusions that I will make the next great indie film. This was getting out of hand. So I set up a final round of testing and narrowed down my keepers to a grand total of 5 lenses with the only "set" consisting of my Canon FD 50mm 1.2 L and my Canon 28mm 1.8. At the time, I even contemplated selling the Nikkor 35mm 1.4 one more time to keep with my minimalistic utilitarian approach. But after some careful thought, and some good advice from some other EOSHD members, I decided to keep it. Although I was still unsure if I needed the lens, after a recent go at some of the footage with my mediocre color skills and my crappy monitor, I came up with these frames from one of my test shots... Although, I realize that none of these shots are particularly spectacular, but each one represents something I like about cinematography and tells a story about my life over the past 3 years. Sometimes the gear we buy is more than just tools for the stories we tell... they become part of the story... part of the journey. Maybe I am being too sentimental but when I look at these perfectly imperfect images taken with a perfectly imperfect lens, I remember the moments that brought me from then to now and what I learned during that process... This lens taught me that my equipment is better than I am. I learned that I don't have to shoot everything wide open and that I probably shouldn't if I ever want to pull focus on an actor walking. I learned that some lenses have a vintage look when wide open, but when stopped down can look crisp and modern. But most importantly, I learned that I need very little to make a movie and gear is the least important. If you're interested in a more technical review, I recommend Ken Rockwell's review of the lens. He gets into the nitty gritty of the characteristics of the lens. I feel he's a little too hard on the lens but everything he writes is dead on accurate... https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35f14ais.htm For me, I can sum it up in one paragraph... The Nikkor 35mm 1.4 ai-s lens has a warmer tone and when shot wide open, the images are dreamy, a little soft with a ton of coma on the edges. Stop it down to f/2 and it cleans up a little. By f/2.8 it's like you're using a different lens and that lens is as sharp as a knife. It's like having two lenses in one with both being sharp enough with a bunch of character. So there you have it... thanks for reading.1 point
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We've got a buddha statue somewhere so I could put some wheels and a lead on him and claim I'm a dyslexic taking his dog for a walk.1 point
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We are not allowed out for exercise but you can go to the most local shop closest to where you live. You can go walk there but what with the pitchfork wielding vigilante neighbours shouting out of the window at anyone on foot and calling the Police on them its absolutely not worth it. The anomaly is if you are walking a dog then you are allowed out to do that. But of course we don't have a dog. With three weeks completely locked in already and now another three to go I'm sat here staring at a bunch of motors, servos, control boards and my 3D printer and my other half's faux fur hat and getting ideas.1 point
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In NSW, Australia we are not in lockdown.....it is just illegal to go anywhere! Nah, we CAN go for exercise by ourselves or with one other, we can go to work for those still working or for essential shopping...even though many of the business who still are open are not really essential we CAN still go to those shops but it would technically be illegal GETTING to them.....IE, if stopped by the police and asked what reason you have to be out of home, if you said going to buy a new camera bag because I want to add a twentieth, THAT would probably get you a thousand dollar fine (about 20 cents US I guess these days) but if you got there, that would be ok. There are a few other reasons to be out but can not visit friends ETC. I spend my days mostly on my bed watching TV getting fat(ter). Go for a walk with my camera daily and occasionally go to where i work as a volunteer at an op shop keeping an eye out out for interesting props for photographing and especially to use with a macro lens that i have not used anywhere near enough recently (yet).1 point
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Well the total lockdown has now been extended here in Spain again so I've officially got until April 26th to finish all those projects in my initial post that I haven't even started. Phew.1 point
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The replay is here for anyone who missed it. I've cued it to the start point.1 point
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Adding back motion blur after ReelSteady stabilization
kye reacted to heart0less for a topic
What is your editing software? Resolve offers some built-in tools that let you add motion blur to the footage. The results are okay, try it for yourself.1 point -
I believe the Zooms loose a lot of power when left inside. Also they need to be pluged occasionally, so not to loose internal clock and the such. I don't remember exactly, but after some time, both my huge NPF batteries AND the Eneloops inside, I find them dead.1 point
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Deadcat recommendations
FranciscoB reacted to Kisaha for a topic
I am using it with the Audio Technica 4025 and has been really good so far, better solution than a softie, as it creates the "blimp" effect, the size and shape can be problematic for camera placement. You need to hold the mic somehow too, it doesn't solve that problem, I am using it with the Rycote Lyre 7HGmkII, excellent product as well, but on a stick or a tripod. There is a similar Lyre for on-camera placement.1 point -
A few years ago I wrote up this overview of almost all sound recorders people on these forums might consider: Perhaps time for an update though! Although a lot of that is still applicable. I'd just need to cover some massive collapses in prices of secondhand gear (for instance a Zaxcom Nomad has become VERY affordable! Probably by far the best bargain buy right now I reckon), and also cover the MixPre Gen2 / firmware upgrades which mean a big change in my opinion of my MixPres, a mention of the Zoom F8n, and the latest Zaxcom Nova / Sound Devices 8 series as well1 point
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Sigma Fp review and interview / Cinema DNG RAW
Devon reacted to paulinventome for a topic
First just to say how much i appreciate you taking the time to answer these esoteric questions! So i have a DNG which is a macbeth shot with a reference P3 display behind showing full saturation RG and B. So in these scene i hope i have pushed the sensor beyond 709 as a test. Resolve is set to Davinci YRGB and not colour managed so i am now able to change the Camera RAW settings. I set the color space to Black Magic Design and Gamma is Black Magic Design Film. To start with my timeline is set to P3 and i am using the CIE scopes and the first image i enclosed shows what i see. Firstly i can see the response of the camera going beyond a primary triangle. So this is good. As you say the spectral response is not a well defined gamut and i think this display shows that. But my choice of timeline is P3. And it looks like that is working with the colours as they're hovering around 709 but this could be luck. Changing time line to 709 gives a reduced gamut and like wise setting timeline to BMD Film gives an exploded gamut view. So BMD Film is not clipping any colours. The 4th is when i set everything to 709 so those original colours beyond Green and Red appear to be clamp or gamut mapped into 709. So i *think* i am seeing a native gamut beyond 709 in the DNG. But applying the normal DNG route seems to clamp the colours. But i could just be reading these diagrams wrong. Also with a BMDFilm in Camera RAW what should the timeline be set to and should i be converting BMD Film manually into a space? I hope this makes sense, i've a feeling i might have lost the plot on the way... cheers Paul1 point -
Fuji X-T4
heart0less reacted to Django for a topic
The potential overheating issue is much more of a deal breaker to me. You got a link to that video? I was set to purchase a X100V as travel hybrid but the camera overheated after 5 minutes (!!!) during a basic 4K test at the camera shop. Even during still shooting I could feel the back of the camera get hot (now a known issue on the X100V). I'm sort of fearing Fuji is cramming too high specs for their compact bodies, a problem Sony got into around A7R2.0 points