Leaderboard

Damn someone got a sweet deal on an A7S3!! I agree though, I severely dislike Alpha bodies and rarely if ever use EVF for video. FX3 is the first Sony mirrorless hybrid that doesn’t look/feel like consumer grade photo camera. The active cooling is probably the most significant addition on such small high performance cameras. If Sony indeed adds a few missing cine features like DCI, scopes etc FX3 could be a bombshell!

Ditto except; Classic Chrome profile on the XH1, then Eterna profile on the XT3 and now Natural profile on the S5. Has there ever been a time I wish I’d shot log? Nope. OK, it’s the video equivalent of shooting Jpeg vs Raw, but for me and my needs, I’m comfortable with it and all about getting kit and process (ing time) out of the way as much as possible.

Perhaps. Although if you watch some less remembered media products from the 1960's or before --I really think you're going to see the same ratio of mediocrity and sanitized stuff we're all still complaining about now.

Surprised there's not chatter about this here. Anyone know how it gets around those transmission and recording patents? https://www.rode.com/microphones/wireless/wirelessgoii I also can't find exact details on recorded audio formats etc.

Where is the fire behind the eyes of today’s über-privileged actors and directors? Read the full blog post: https://www.eoshd.com/news/boring-content-is-the-film-industry-too-sane/

This has been a really helpful thread with thoughtful responses. Thank you. For now, I’ll be pushing myself with the D850 for a better real-world understanding of its capabilities. And maybe borrowing/renting another cam to feel the difference in similar situations, and in the edit.

I agree it gets cucumber some But gets job done , i do wish Sony will listen and include this feature(noise reduction) and true 24p😁 in next firmware update

I agree that maybe the Ninja V might be an ideal solution instead of buying a new old camera, but if you're set on buying something perhaps the GH5/s with a focal reducer/adapter to use your Nikon glass might be the way to go?

Unfortunately for someone like me who shoots real estate, I have found 10-bit LOG to be really useful 🙂 When you are trying to capture a dark bedroom with a beautiful, sunny view of the Pacific Ocean, that extra dynamic range comes in handy. And the color casts from mixed lighting are a lot easier to deal with in 10-bit footage. I mean, people are paying stagers $8,000 to $12,000 to have furniture brought in for the photos and videos, and the stagers are putting in bulbs of different color temperatures in the same small room 😞

@TomTheDP Canon R6 uses 1DX3 sensor and hence has abysmal RS in 4K25p (30ms) switching to 4k60p halves the count down to 15ms though, so for fast action better to shoot in that mode on that camera. R5 has much better RS performance. A7S3/FX3 are the FF mirrorless kings with a whopping low 8.7ms in 4K25p. This alone places them way ahead of the curve for fast movement shots. FX3 is growing on me, seems like a superb camera for stealthy run & gun.

Sure there is more crap than ever being produced these days, but I think there is relatively more good stuff also. It’s choice really and I choose to block out the dross whenever and wherever I can whether it be Netflix, Prime or ‘big screen’ releases. But then that is not always so easy when you have a teen who has different interests and tastes so I also get exposed to some right old shit 😶

I agree about lock-in, but look at how many thousand/million posts there are online that basically distill down to "hi, two years ago I spent $3000 on a camera body that has 5-bajillion pixels, and now I can't sleep at night until the brand I worship with my all my heart and will fight to the death online to defend releases a camera with 5.2-bajillion pixels that I can spend 150% of what I spent on my current camera body on a new camera body that will give me a 2.4% improvement over the performance of the one I already own". and if you want to talk about existential crisis', then don't get me started about vintage lenses.... 8-bit vs 10-bit is an interesting topic. I'm a big fan of 10-bit and I bought my GH5 over other options specifically because it had 10-bit. However..... a large (very large) percentage of the time, that difference doesn't matter. You can shoot in one of two ways. The first is to shoot LOG, which is best done by shooting fully manually, using technical methods to expose correctly (eg, grey cards, or even light meters), using a view LUT probably on an external monitor, and then spending significant time in post to colour grade the image to get the absolute most out of it. The second is to shoot in a 709-style colour space, where you can expose using in-camera tools like waveforms or zebras, and then the time spent in post is minimal, and you're just tweaking the existing colour science that the camera has already given you and you were seeing on-set. The first method will give you the greatest DR and best results, if you know what you're doing. However, the second method can basically be paraphrased as "Nikon has optimised the exposure tools in your camera to work optimally with the colour science that the Nikon colour scientists spent decades developing and optimising". So, the first one will only give you better results if you want something very different to what the Nikon colour scientists predicted you would want, or if you are a better colourist than the Nikon colour scientists. I swallowed the hype online about shooting with LOG and using LUTs and colour grading in post, and I spent years shooting and creating images that weren't as good as the default colour profile in the cameras I had. I now shoot in 10-bit, but I use a 709-style picture profile to give me a great starting point, and I adjust from there. Almost all the arguments online about shooting 10-bit are really about shooting LOG, and more than half of the discussion about shooting LOG is coming from hipster YouTubers who just want to sell you their LUT pack. Obviously you're free to do as you choose, and there's more to a new camera than just 8-bit vs 10-bit, but I would highly encourage you to dig a bit deeper into each aspect of the camera, each specification, and to really challenge the idea that you need it or that it will even help you. Shooting LOG requires colour grading in post that takes considerable time and effort. Most professional videographers I've seen who talk about productivity and efficiency and keeping their clients happy and *gasp* running a profitable business, rather than endlessly talking online about specifications, use an 8-bit codec and a customised 709-style colour profile, and either don't colour grade at all, or apply a preset look they've developed that just tweaks the image a bit. Their focus is on getting final videos done and out the door, rather than shooting LOG and arguing about DR on camera forums.

I agree with what you are saying, but if you are going to be doing client work, then there comes a point where you need to look at the gear and say, "Can I either 1) make more money, or 2) spend more time with my loved ones" with this new gear.

One aspect that is driving so many of us nuts these days in cinema (both for theater and streaming serials) is the excess of political correctness. It seems film studios have a Rule Book which requires every new series or movie to have a quota of actors which represent white people, black people, hispanic people, oriental-looking people, a woman, someone in the LGBT+ community, someone with some physical handicap, etc. This is simply ridiculous, the real world does not function like this and it drives me (and it seems, most of my friends and family) mad. And the worst is that if someone complains that James Bond should be played by a British White Male (as it was conceived by its author) instead of an American Black Female, we're called racists. This is getting ridiculously out of hand...

Well... the two things that stood out to me in your above elaboration are overall size and 10-bit color, which to me are totally legitimate concerns. Apologies if I am placing too much emphasis on those points. Also I know you had mentioned previously that you didn't want to blow a hole in your budget. So I guess if it were me I would be looking pretty strongly at the X-T3 and the G9 - used / refurbished if possible. Stretching for the GH5 would be tempting since around here they go for about $1,000 used with the V-LOG update. I don't know about adapting Nikon lenses for those cameras though. Be warned that a camera like the GH5 will have 108 different video parameters that you will want to adjust to your preference. Setting up my Panasonic S1 took a couple of hours, and in the middle of shoots I find myself cursing out loud and wondering why I didn't set parameter X to a custom function button / quick menu / my menu and have to dig in through the main menu to change it.

I think you make good points. The only issue is that buying a camera can "lock you in" to a certain set of compatible lenses. And then, once you have bought those lenses, you are kind of married to the system. Certainly metabones / sigma / viltrolx adapters make it easier to have affairs with other camera brands. I say this because I am shooting Panasonic L Mount now and about eight times an hour I have an existential crisis over the availability and cost of L Mount glass and wonder if it might not be better to give up being a photographer / videographer and take up painting in watercolors as a profession 😱

It's fine to have a preference but Sennheiser G3/G4s are the most popular wireless systems I've seen here in the US and it's not even close.The only thing rental houses care about is having what people want, and what most people want are Sennheiser kits. I don't think they particularly care about the brand, their only concern is meeting the demand of their customers. @AquilasfxI don't think you'll have any problems going the Sennheiser route if that's what you choose. They're popular for a reason. They're extremely common in the industry, last for a long, long time (I know people who've had their G3s for 10 years) and are easy to get serviced. Once you're in a position to do so I recommend upgrading the mic to a Sanken or Countryman, which I'd also recommend you do with the Sony. The mics they come with, while decent, are kinda big and could be better. I'd steer clear of the Deity Wireless Connect as I've heard a lot of people who've had problems with them, particularly when it comes to drop outs. I'm not sure why they were suggested, given that's a pretty well known and widely reported issue.

Welcome to the world of woke cancel culture. You can't take risks anymore. Can't offend people. Can't say un-PC things. It already destroyed comedy, especially stand-up acts. Used to be college campuses were where this thrived. Now it's shunned. Maybe we'll be able to laugh at ourselves again in another 50 years.

Was thinking about the exact same thing today after watching some of Herzog's very first films from the 70s. Dude was really "out there". Sadly, we're not even on the experimenting level of cinema of the 80s-90s right now, let alone the 60s and 70s. I swear the ratio of crappy-to-respectable movies and series on Amazon and Netflix is about 9 to 1. But hey...that's what the masses want 😶

I've had a bunch of fun with 35mm film camera bodies, a few rolls of film and my existing lens collection. Started with Olympus OM bodies that I used my manual focus Zuiko's on. Also shot a bunch on Canon EOS bodies with EF lenses. This is autofocus, auto everything, if you want it. Everyone has a Canon lens lying around, right? Give it a go! It's loads of fun. You can still get a crappy Canon for almost nothing. Check out the specs at: https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product_search_result.html?t=camera&s=film&s2=eos&a=E&sort=new

Panasonic should release a S5S (lol) with Sony's 12MP sensor in A7SIII but without a mechanical shutter and a internal ND solution. Throw in some kind of internal RAW of some kind and it will be attractive vs A7SIII even without Sony level AF. With a good telephoto it can take great pictures. But, I agree. Panasonic should make a future video centric camera more like a FX3 than the GH5S.

Every policy has its limits. Restriction for two months is very different with same restriction for two years. People calling it slavery or any other names, is completely natural reaction at this point. I live in a country that people simply gave up! Its not that only you understand the common sense. Humans are more complicated than that.. they're not coded with C++.