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@Andrew Reid - one of your favorite YouTubers is back. ( : Beware: this video is 50 minutes long.

Great video by one of Andrews favourite YT channels: It's 50 minutes, but when it ended I was so entertained I thought it would only have been half-way through and I would have loved for them to go deeper still. Great stuff, and answered many many questions people have, and many of the questions people don't know enough to ask! The sample footage from the f0.7 lens was particularly interesting.

Pretty sure a COVID-19 vaccine will be out before a new A7S. R5 sent Sony back to the drawing boards for the 28th time. Must be hard trying to exceed expectations in such a crowded industry.

Hope he has a good aim. He might break the neighbour's window. And the neighbour would be even more pissed off after they find it has no 10bit codec to protect the FX9.

@heart0less tasty treat, relaxing, educating, great visual presentation. Lens entertainment for all of us! Thank you! "..remove the senso out of the camera", entertainment that late time of the day should be recommended for any corona household. What a happy presentation of that cute german accent.:)

Doc shot mainly on RED cameras (90%+ of the film was shot on the Epic MX/Dragon), I am professionally involved throughout my activity as film producer and this unique endeavour with my veteran buddy Andrew Benz (Executive Producer and Cinematographer https://twitter.com/benzdigital) over 8 summers in Brasilia (Brazil) and the producer Sebastian Alvarez. Directed by Yoni Goldstein and Meredith Zeilke. One of 8 films selected by 2017 Dok.Incubator. Top prize, the Finishing Award, valued at over €12 000,00 to have credits and 2K SDR and 4K HDR color correction & DCP done in Luxembourg at Espera Studios. North American Premiere at True/False Film Festival 2020. International Premiere at Visions du Réel in their Burning Lights International Competition. https://www.visionsdureel.ch/en/2020/film/a-machine-to-live-in https://www.instagram.com/amachinetolivein/ https://facebook.com/profile.php?id=673829559432300 https://twitter.com/AMTLI2020 http://blog.ultrabrasilia.com/

oh yeah, I saw your video with Gerald ha ha! shame they haven’t fixed it. Ironic that the camera targeted at the most video professionals who would be most sensitive to and affected by this is the last to get fixed.

I found out that the brass adapter for the EF mount is best suited for the situation and I made a list of OM mount lenses I could use and these will be my back-up lenses and are a lot easier to replace than Edmika FD: OM 50mm F/1.8 (I already own) OM 85mm F/2 OM 28-70 F/2.8 (I already own) OM 70-210 F/3.5 OM to EF Brass adapter

Personally, I think FD lenses CAN be a bit of a pain due to the mount (same as some of the Minolta MC lenses) but optically they are fine, just as are all the old legacy lenses from Nikon, Pentax, Olympus and the third party lenses in those mounts as well as Minolta and Canon and others. The new FD mount lenses are better than the earlier ones (in ease of use). The FD lenses to get that make it worth while and a difference are the L versions and especially those that use a hand ground aspheric elements or Fluorite elements in longer lenses. The biggest factor in buying any old lens is how each individual lens has been treated as well as how it was made ....most likely more copy variation thirty or forty years ago plus many could have been dropped or thrown around ETC...has it got fungus ...all sorts of things.

They did at IBC 2019 before the ghosting fix on the S1 was available. Was talking to some engineers over there, they even knew who I was and knew the samples I sent. Sadly nothing really happened. Did a collab video with Gerald Undone on this issue and did some promotion for my HLG Lut as well, since HLG is the only way to capture the same amount of dynamic range and color volume using the S1H without having an image which breaks apart quite easily but isn't easy to work with on the other hand without a proper Rec709 conversion to begin with. 55M Advanced Lut for S1H

Honestly at this point I don't think it's ever going to be released. Its features will get rolled into the A74

I've heard that the Sony drug could only be used in arctic countries because it overheats in 5 minutes at moderate temperatures. And the the Panasonic one was very good to kill the virus, but only in stationary cells (the drug could not focus the virus in moving ones).

I'd only know through the relentless promotional mails I'm still getting off camera dealers. Seems particularly pointless buying anything here at the moment as any delivery courier would have to launch the parcel by catapult from outside our urbanisation to save himself from being hit by molotov cocktails hurled by the increasingly militant neighbourhood watch.

@Márcio Kabke Pinheiro

There is a F55 right now US$7K from Lebanon: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-PMW-F55-Camcorder-F55-4K-with-DVF-L350/223953143717 A very low hour F55 from New York for US$9.5: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sony-F55-Package-for-Sale/324078328587 (recent eBay sales show the F55 has gone for US$7K, but that was from a low feedback seller) Personally I'd go for an F5 instead! They're only $5.5K right now on eBay, and recent past sales shows F5 cameras selling for only US$4K!! :-o Which is bonkers cheap. I'd go for the F5, it has better lowlight than an F55, and better ROI

If they have a sense of humour they'll announce the A7S IV instead.

I've seen a few sony f55 going for 10k with EVF and accessories. Always wondered about this camera and it's global shutter.

To return to the original question in the post... Ultimately, of course, everything is about money and with the WTO saying today that we are likely looking at 1930s Great Depression era levels of financial crisis when we emerge from this then its not looking great. In such a time, you would think that realtive frivolity such as films, music, books etc would be the first to go but there has been a huge recognition during these lockdowns how much more difficult people would have found it to cope if they hadn't had those things to distract them so their importance has actually been amplified. Whilst that importance means they will go on, they can't exist in a financial vacuum so budgets will inevitably be tighter as a potentially bigger appetite for content will have to be served from a much reduced overall sum. As we are looking to financial times from the past then we might see TV processes from the past returning too such as when the BBC for example used to do a lot of live productions of drama etc. There is some interesting stuff going on in much lower cost emulation of the virtual production techniques showcased in The Mandalorian and that will become very important in cutting costs. As with everything, change will bring new opportunities. One of which might well be shooting background plates/modelling environments for productions using these virtual techniques to save on location shooting.

@kye I try to find some time this upcoming weekend and do a little test between the two and record 1080p25 in CDNG with the Micro Cinema Camera and 2.6k and 25p with the Pocket 4K in BRAW.

And I totally respect him for going on with it. For crossing the YT boundaries, for making something that is not your typical 'safe' kind of video review. I just don't get it, but that's okay - I simply skipped it and went on with my life. I wouldn't even have mentioned it here, if it hadn't been for Tito asking for some confirmation.

Evidently, the Octopus prototype with the Ximea m4/3 module has been up and running for awhile: Hopefully, the Octopus folks can get this camera into production.

I may go back to buying the Edmika mount lenses though. It's just that I'm sort of impatient with the guy along with many others. He recently brought back up his website.

Very good idea. It was with Nikon AI or AIS lenses on my Canon 550D (T2i) that I started shooting my short films in 2011. You get beautiful pictures. Here is a site to identify all the nikon lenses that exist. http://www.photosynthesis.co.nz/nikon/lenses.html

I thought it was cool. TBH I can barely watch equipment reviews any more as I find them too formulaic and too dull. Yours are on the better end of that spectrum, along with presenters like Kai W who keeps things light and entertaining. I'm coming from a different perspective. I'm not 'in love' with the anamorphic look and I find it to be much more hype than substance. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely salivate over gorgeous images, Peaky Blinders, The Crown, The Expanse etc all look spectacular. Then when lens reviews come out and they rave about this anamorphic look, followed by minutes of talking-head footage not shot with the lens that may as well be them reading the spec sheet, then 20s of derivative B-roll with the lens that whispers "anamorphic look" while simultaneously screaming "EITHER I DIDN'T GET PAID ENOUGH TO SHOOT NICE LOOKING FOOTAGE OR I DON'T KNOW HOW". These videos are basically useless because: I can read the spec sheet for myself thank you The amateur home b-roll of un-lit, un-composed, barely-graded footage does nothing to show me the potential of the lens What I liked about this video is that it wasn't the above, it had a go of making something, it held my attention for the whole video, it showed off the anamorphic look far more than most other "I accidentally hit record" sample footage in other reviews. Your videos where you've gone out and shot at sunset or at night are both visually nice and also useful, most don't even make that much effort. Could it have been better? Sure. Could it have been worse? Yes - at least he did something. The name of the channel is "Make Art Now" and it was art - most reviews are the minimum requirements for a pay check. It's art. I can tell because he tried something and some people didn't like it. TBH, that's something that's sorely lacking from YouTube camera discussions.

He's a nice guy. I personally dislike to see him in any circus, including those he's used to vastly fall in love and dream about. He's merely a dreamer. Harmless type.

Hah where to start. Somebody should do a documentary on the guy, Tiger King style.

Thank you all for your support. I have decided to go with trying out one Nikon lens and as an added note I already have a back-up lens, which is my 28-70 F/2.8.

I expect producers will be pushing further to reduce crews to save costs, with cover of the "health & safety" excuse. Making the cameraman doing sound as well, or getting someone unskilled locally to do the job cheaply rather than bringing in the right person from out of town who has the expertise. Already been seeing this happen in response to COVID-19

My newest Camera is the Pocket 4k, a really great camera for what I do. Nevertheless, I bought a cheap Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera last year and really like the images a lot. It´s maximum is 1080p60, but the images really look great and offer great options in the grading process. Combined with vintage lenses it creates really organic footage and there are a lot of situations I prefer this compact Camera to my Pocket 4k. Overall it depends on the look I want to achieve and the recording modes I need, but for a mid 2015 Camera in this small form factor, it´s insanely good.

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.

Wrote up a little guide for people new to this and looking to buy their first recorder. And is the way I see the world of low budget recorders is they're ranked like this (starting from worst/cheapest to best/expensive): Tascam DR22WL / Zoom H1 (I'd suggest skipping right over this tier of recorders! But hey, my first ever short film I did years ago was with a chinese shotgun running straight into a Zoom H1!! :-o Shocking but true... everyone starts somewhere!) Tascam DR60D mk2 (the DR60D mk1, before the mk2 came out, is what I myself started out using for no budget shorts as a budding location sound recordist) Tascam DR70D (the *minimum* I'd recommend for a location sound recordist, even if you're just a student / no budget guy. Although in desperate cases, you could scrape by with getting the DR60Dmk2, but doing the opposite and stretching for an F4 is very worthwhile. Certainly, I could travel back in time I'd just have gone straight for the Zoom F4 from the starts! *Except* the F4 didn't come out until a few years later... you live in a very lucky time with so many wonderful options to choose from!) or Tascam DR680 (these can be found at bargain prices secondhand, which is what I did before I then later on purchased a Zoom F4 once that came out & I spotted an F4 at a good price) Zoom F4 / Zoom F8 / Sound Devices MixPre6 (I skip right over the MixPre3, as the MixPre6 is very similar yet does so so much more at only a relatively small extra cost. Also I regard the three of F4/F8/MixPre6 as all on broadly the same level to each other, just varying slightly from each other in one area or another that ones might have a small lead over the other one. This is the tier where I'd see you're now reaching the semi-pro level) Sound Devices 633 / Zaxcom Maxx / Sanosax SX-R4+ (finally you have now got up to the "industry standard" when it comes to recorders people use for small shoots, especially when mixing from the bag. If you're doing this full time as your job or hiring someone who is, then likely this is what is being used. Either that or similar gear, or even something better above this) And if you considering ones priced above those last three.... you're surely doing this full time as a sound recordist and getting a healthy income from that, so why are you asking us here on Frugal Filmmaker? ha! :-P But yes, tonnes and tonnes more options exist at the higher end as well! Finally, if you're considering something in the budget range within what I just covered, but isn't one of those that I mentioned, then it probably is *not* a good idea to buy if you're intending to be a location sound recordist. Something else only might *maybe* make sense if you've got in mind some other purpose for it, such as perhaps you want to record a band in a studio (which has very different needs / constraints), or you're the rare exception which proves the rule, or you are getting lucky finding some amazingly priced deal which can make an otherwise bad purchase decision then make sense if "the price is right". For instance I didn't include the Roland R88, as I feel it is extremely poor value for money in 2017! However.... there was a time at the end of 2016 when the Roland R88 got a huge price drop because it was being discontinued. Even with that massive price drop, the Roland R88 probably still wasn't a smart purchase vs the Zoom F8, but the big drop in price at least made the R88 a somewhat competitive option worth mentioning in a round up of all the various choices. However, that sale is now long since ended, and the prices I see on eBay for a Roland R88 is even higher than what you used to be able to buy it new from B&H Photo! Clearly those eBay sellers are dreaming. Anyway, that was just one example which might have been applicable but isn't now, so I don't rule out the possibilities of something like that perhaps popping up again in the future especially if you very keenly look around for secondhand deals. But for over 95% of people reading this, that won't be applicable, and just stick to going with one of the main ones I mentioned earlier. http://ironfilm.co.nz/which-sound-recorder-to-buy-a-guide-to-various-indie-priced-sound-recorders-in-2017/

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 well

Impressive. Intensive test in many situations:

I always appreciated an honest point of view. Because it was just that: a personal opinion, which was not worse than mine just because of being different from mine. It becomes of course very unpleasant with obvious misantrophic and cyninc opinions. Some people and friends on this forum happened to have voted for the current president. They are awesome contributors and human beings, kind, helpful, gentle. I am sure that Andrew will not ban them! For the hateful commenters I would wish to give them another chance at showing their humane side. A very few self proclaimed liberal contributors have not been too well mannered neither, with a few stronger lacks of reason and logic in their argumentation, lack of the least amount of manners as well. Like I stated before a few months ago, I find that technology race for 8K kinda obscene, all the natural resources, all that power hungry streaming, all that for some lowest common denominatr of media content, subpar entertainment. We are all involved in that kind of 1st world obscenity and hypocracy. Let´s not get sucked into mob mentality. I would have loved a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5K with 60p mode and a 15ms readout and decent battery life. Enough camera for fantastic cinematic image quality and engough space for nerdom, lens freakery, diy stuff, behind the scenes footage... Andrew should repost some of his awesome blog posts of the past. They hold so much more inspiration for the future filmmaker than some dull tech reviews of current hyper, 8k, 2000fps camras on some gadget websites. I mean ladys stockings for lens filter, hallo, now we are talking and testing!:)

Here are a few frame grabs from the S1H with the Canon 50mm f/1.4 @ f/2.0. I didn't shoot the whole mini doc with FDs, but in some of the lower light scenes, I did use the 50mm a bit. 😊

Some time ago I looked at the skin tones from a range of demo videos from the camera manufacturers, including ARRI LF, Canon, etc and I found that the skin tones on those videos were almost always contained between the indicator line and the line of pure red. Canon was the most red, and ARRI had a few tones slightly to the left of the indicator line, but it wasn't that far, and their tones were very yellow. The profile above is very interesting to me because I can see that: skin tones are pretty good it's compressed in the G/M axis both through saturation as well as by rotating the colours towards those hues, which is common amongst film emulations that try and put more things on the orange/teal dimension it's shifted warm, which you can see by comparing how saturated the red and yellow points are compared to the cyan and blue points are Fun stuff, and great result I wonder if the client was happy with the results, I'd imagine so.

No, you won’t get any real benefits. The sony a6300/6500 1080p is awful. Worst than any other camera I own. Such a pity since it’s 4k is the better one. I had to buy a gh5 for work (long recording), and I can see that I lost something in IQ.