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I loved (and still do) the look of the XC10 plus…well plus nothing else, just how it looked.

I was surprised that it had enough exposure as I have told myself this is a "outdoors during the day" lens, but on closer inspection I think the ISO was working a bit on the images so it's not the best choice for post-sunset. One thing that got me a couple of times on the previous shoot (with the GF3) was that putting it into my pocket seems to adjust the focus to the "closed" position and pulling the camera out of my pocket seems to adjust the focus to the 0.3m position, so that's a trap for new players. Still, when I'm shooting MF with the GH5 focus is always a thing to adjust so I just have to keep that mindset that it's a manual lens and needs to have that attention too. I am contemplating doing a sharpness test of various cameras and lenses and I think that this lens might actually be in the sweet spot of sharp but not too sharp. I'm optimistic for that, plus the size is incredibly convenient. Your analysis is terribly kind in ways that I probably don't deserve, but I'll take it - thanks!! I like to think I have pretty good composition but to be honest I've been shooting for long enough that I don't really even think about it that much anymore, and my mental effort is more around anticipating what is about to happen. For example, with the bird shot, I was thinking that: the bird was chasing bugs and spent most of its time off-screen frame-right and down below the edge of the wall if I moved the camera to the right then that's where the sun was setting and the auto-exposure would be slow to react and would clip the sky, which isn't a good look on the GX85 (even in Cine-D) I don't know enough about bird behaviour to read it's body-language so I can't tell what it's doing, plus if it spots a bug then it all changes in an instant I could make a half-decent shot if it darted off frame-right by starting to follow it, stopping short of the clipping point of the camera, letting it leave frame, and then me lingering in an odd composition telling a little story of interaction and abandonment between the bird and the film-maker, but also giving me the opportunity to cut earlier than that and to just have a bird shot without the little drama Then I just went through the shots in VLC and found a good moment and did a screen grab, based mostly on instinct. In terms of light - I'm reminded of that old saying in film photography - "F8 and be there" 🙂 The lens isn't fixed focus, but it might as well be. It's got a little focus slider on the front that closes a little lens cover, and has stops for infinity and 0.3m (12inches). You can position it anywhere in-between, but you'd really be guessing... Theoretically you could manually focus with it, using peaking or whatever, but the DoF is super deep so it would be difficult to really nail the right distance. If you set it to 0.3m it certainly blurs the background though. This is a shot from the GF3 video I filmed the previous day with the lens set at 0.3m: It's got good flaring characteristics too (that's the sun in the background) but isn't so modern that it's clinical. I shot a few test shots of RAW still images on the GF3 and at 12MP (4K) it was pixel sharp, so it's a pretty decent performer and priced very reasonably (I think) for what you get. Yeah, I'd be inclined to summarise the shot more like "the shot of the bird flying around" rather than what @PannySVHS said!! 🙂

Speaking of the G7, I used one for a while and shot a bunch of stuff with it. Here's a little c-mount lens/FilmConvert test from 2017: I still love the look of this.

It will be available on youtube at saturday night around 20:30(UTC+8), I'll post a link to this thread then😉

It's all about a controlled setup (let alone production values, genre, etc.) versus when not... ;- ) In one of our latest productions, we've had... 7 (!) different focal lengths: Without mention, it's funny how press tends to put their emphasis on the director when the DoP has actually a determinant role on the choices of the glass to bring in order to couple (A) the director's vision and (B) the story. The way the so-called specialized press aka film critics (it's a former and award-winning one BTW who writes these lines) are often used to spread such narrative is beyond me. That's a collective craft for Christ's sake! :- )

@herein2020 All the Canon adapters are very expensive. I have ordered the MEIKE vND (plus Clear, plus 1/8 of Black Pro mist). Performed better in the reviews I have seen for almost half the price. The normal Canon supposedly is a gift with the camera (which I am not sure I am getting it, because I am still in "pre order" status), and I have heard the Viltrox ones are quite good also. Your equipment is the only thing you have in control in these circumstances! and it should be that way. From everything you have described, the less problematic is the use of a crop camera! In no way you have to change lenses all the time. When I was shooting photos I had 2 cameras left and right, and another smaller one with a fish eye or other unique/oddball lens somewhere near. I never changed anything. If you do everything alone, hire someone to help you and ease some of the burden. I read people's stories about doing video and photography and everything in between, but that is not my cup of tea. I prefer to give someone a chance for some work experience and money, and do me a favor to my self! You can be specific about the use of your equipment, and that would make everything easier. e.g you can have the 50 RF on the R7 as a short portrait solution of 80mm equiv..Ultra light setup to have always on you..C70 with the 24-105mm (as you do) and your full frame camera, with whatever matches your needs. Probably a 24-70mm for photography? There must be a way to organize most things beforehand. Or just change one for the 70-200 (maybe for interview?) and that's it.. By the way, the RF 24-105 is better than the EF in everything (something which isn't true in general about all RF lenses vs EF). It is smaller/lighter/faster AF and performing better IQ wise. Anyway, I was never a fun of the EF 24-105, I am not sure if I will be for the RF. Just some ideas. I am not trying to impose anything to you! Obviously we haven't been in someone's elses shoes. You know better your work flow.

I didnt talk about the bird. I enjoyed seeing it though. 🙂 @kye

Well... if you look at the best directors of the best films, they were very much in control of the visuals of the film. They ARE the filmmakers. It's their singular vision and the collaboration lies in the crafts that support their vision.

If I remember correctly the XC10 could AF in MF mode by pushing and holding in the Push AF button at will and it would lock on until you let go. I remember it being one of the cooler functions of the camera. In many ways, it was a semi-automatic camera. There was an impromptu element to operating it that made you feel like you were a character in the video you were shooting. It was a fun camera... even with its flaws.

A good shot with the XF 605... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm22jlRD60g

Yep, I was talking about the evolution of it, not the actual XC10! It had some serious disadvantages. @herein2020 As of the C70 and R7 situation, using EF lenses makes the most sense right now, and just a few RF or RF-S lenses in the future. Going 18-135mm EF-S for run and gun (that's what I was using on C100mkII) with the ND adapter is a solution. For tele I have the EF 70-200 4f (yes, 4f, mostly because of the lesser weight and size, and cheaper as a bonus). Then you can use some primes, the 16mm RF is my favourite focal length 24mm equiv..or a classic solution of an 24-105mm either way (RF or EF). I do not understand the crop agony..this is what it is, an X1.6 sensor, check your options and work with what you have. I wish there will be some pro level RF-S lenses on their way. I stayed with the NX system because of their amazing lenses, 16-50mm 2-2.8f almost 2f until 32mm (like having some 2f primes at the wide end), a ton of small pancakes (plus an amazing fish eye I use a lot). I hope they will feel the heat from Pana/Only/Fuji, even Sony is pushing APS-C lenses as of late and will release more RF-S lenses. After all these years, I feel that Sony has made for themselves the best situation. If some remember how much I disliked Sony for their sub par releases of the past (terrible ergonomics, menu system, lenses situation, overheating, spec warriors, terrible battery life), lately they seem to do all the right things I have to admit.

Yes, I agree about it being a team effort. I think the main thing is Auteur Theory (https://indiefilmhustle.com/auteur-theroy/) which is the culprit and has perpetuated, especially around directors who were popular when the theory was popular. I can understand the rationale for it, being that the director is sort of the head of the creative side of the film (as opposed to the Producer being head of the logistical side of the film), and it could be argued that the director makes the single largest contribution creatively, but that doesn't mean that they're the only ones that contribute. Yet another example of humanity trying to over-simplify something just because they don't like how complicated it is!

Yeah, I read a number of articles that talked about films shot on only one lens and one of the favourites was the 24-28mm on S35 combo, which was a ~35-40mm equivalent. It's wide enough to get a wide, but not so wide that it distorts too much on close-ups, so it's a good middle-ground if you're only going to use one lens. I ended up settling on 16mm, 35mm, 85mm equivalent focal lengths for my own work, and that was before I really read a lot about lenses and understood the implications around them. The 35mm focal length is great for environmental portraits, which is perfect for the work I do (family and travel) which is primarily about my family and friends being in and interacting with interesting places. The 85mm focal length is a great second option as it can give the impression of being far away. So a wide on an 85 seems very distant emotionally, a mid at 85 seems like a normal gaze at a normal distance, and a close-up at 85 indicates a combination of being relatively close physically with a very very keen interest emotionally (intense focus on that person). It's a great compliment to the wide/mid/close emotions you get from a 35mm.

I can see why, that was pretty damn dope.

And... locations to couple and compound the expressionist inorganic elements of the framing from his style without mention your framing itself : ) Ah and let's not forget the bird there! LOL :- )

Oh, I think the G7 was one of the best m4/3 cameras ever made, up there with the Olympus E-M1. Even though they are both older cameras now I think they still hold up in this day and age as way above cameras for what they cost, and output wise stellar. Overall, the G7 is better for both photos and video, but for photos the Oly E-M1 is amazing, I think it is even better than the MK II version output wise. More pure looking. The G7 probably would not be my top pick for a Filmic, Cine look but for a person that wants a pick a cheap camera up and shoot for not much money it Really gets the job done with little to no hassle. Throw a 14-140mm kit lens on it and you are ready for nearly anything. Killer combo. It has amazing color science.

Very nice atmosphere and moody colors! Yeap, the FD 28mm 2.8 is one of my favorite lightweight wide lenses.

I never got into the intuitive side of grading again as much as I did with the G6. It was a camera which only lacked one thing to me, a 100mbit codec without noise reduction. I have been saying this a dozen times on the forum, I know. 🙂 Still got my G6 laying on my desk, like a good spirit, though it gave up working. The 28 nFD is a gem of a lens, especially in lit scenarios but also outside. The G6 not haveng IBIS made me film very carefully. I might pick up my almost unused G7 and give it some run. Kinda exiting thought!

@kye It´s maybe Neo- Hitchock which evokes the master. I get really sucked into the images, due to use of perspective, focal length, how you chose your camera position and angle. It looks meticulously done. I could tell or imagine a story or scene for each of these shots. F.i. shot number five is graphicaly perfect, how the arc gets pulled down from top to toe by the lens and position. It evokes a sense of being there. The perfect example of physical position and optical distance (focal length) and the right choice of subject and framing. Telling filmic space is an art by itself. I don´t want to sound like I know the biggest deal about but a bit I do and a lot I recognize it, when I see it. The Hitch part would be the loneliness but alos the dreamlike palette, an peaceful setting but also one of the imagination coming true. It looks forecasting and unsettling. No3 f.i. the start of a scene with a downfall of a character to its end, not by its proposal of formal visual parameters but evenmoreso by its suggestive emotional power, which means that formal laws of visuality are applied, just additionally they also connect on a subconcious level. Frame No. 4 just looks out of this world. Love it. Light, time of the day, hues and tones are to the point as well. Never thought about this lens. It´s fixed focus, right? Very liberating to think of.

I have the same lens, yes it has a unique look to it. Good choice for that video Marty.

Yep, maybe I can do a custom crop on my ninja v to help with framing.

Ron Howard does that - I know he shoots a 50mm (on Super35 though - and he does it to get that tight, portrait type shot) and 24 to 35mm for most other shots.

Yes, I am big on the Olympus 15mm F8 pancake lens. The price is right and like you did you can just stick it in your pocket and not really even notice it. And as you stated it is pretty good output wise if you have enough light. The DOF is pretty good also. 😃

Definitely in the middle rather than in a corner, but all that matters far far less than having a quiet environment and getting the mic in close.

Sure with a $10,000.00 Cooke lens. I am talking about stuff we can afford, like 25 dollars or something, well I am retired you know ,on a fixed income... And not selling drugs, I need all I can get for myself.

I would think a 24mm manual focus lens would distort, especially involving Architectual shots. Seems too wide to me to use Willy Niley. On big time movie sets they use a set of lenses that are pretty amazingly close to each other stair stepped from like 19 to 85ish then pretty big jumps up to around 135mm. You wouldn't need that many, but 2 lenses seem pretty damn limiting. Sure, indoor shots 2 would probably work, but for outdoor not so sure.

Ucoming AFX v1.8 firmware upgrade on July 11 for compatibility with Blackmagic v7.9 camera firmware for the P4K and P6K/PRO series. From manufacturer's message: Don't upgrade your camera firmware to use with AFX until then. Thanks @BTM_Pix EAG :- )

I did indeed manage to pick one up from Camarthan Cameras in Wales! Only retailer in entire UK to have a couple of units. Glad I did though as the camera is a miracle in itself. Punches well above expectations. I am only scratching the surface compared to you Simon, but will get to know it better in coming days. Brought it to Berlin with me. Not even shot any C4K with it yet but in UHD I did play with it a bit and love that you can punch in 1.4x in the middle of a shot with little to no loss in detail. No need to stop recording, you can just punch in and out on the fly. The IBIS was out of this world brilliant. 1 second handheld photo PIN SHARP The menus and ergonomics are in top 1% of all cameras. Love the way it feels to use and that they didn't go crazy abandoning the small size advantage with fans and stuff. I have GH6 with me as well so will be interesting to compare the two. They are very different. GH6 has the edge for high frame rates and overall video specs. OM-1 has a significant advantage in terms of size, weight, ergonomics, stills features and a few unique abilities in video mode as well. The EVF on the OM-1 is superior to the GH6. Out of this world big and immersive, especially impressive for such a small body. Can confirm the lovely Olympus colours are still present and correct!