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nahua

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  1. nahua

    Letus AnamorphX 1.8x

    nahua replied to solo's topic in Cameras

    $3500 + any options. I mean they really nickel and dime you to death with adapters, flags, filter holders, etc. I'd really like to see a demo of this and whether or not it's even close to any of the 2x adapters let alone Iscoramas. BTW thanks for the heads up @wallpaperviking!
  2. nahua
    The Sigma 30mm F1.4 is legit. My friend uses it all the time on his 7D. One of Sigma's best, next to the ART 35mm F1.4 and 18-35mm F1.8 zoom. Great footage and great use of ambient light!
  3. nahua
    Sometimes the focus shifts and the aspect ratio is different. There are a lot of adapters that say they are 1.5x or 2x but at minimum distance they might be 1.4x or something similar. One thing I do is take video of something you know is circular - hula hoop, exercise ball, bicycle tire. When you make a test, do it at minimum, middle and maximum distances. Then in post you stretch the video horizontally until you get a circle. It's not really the most "accurate" test, but at least you know by eye that you have the right aspect ratio. Again, it will be different for certain types of anamorphic lenses.
  4. nahua
    Actually it's really good. But if you have flat settings like low contrast and up the master pedestal, well just like any other camera it won't be able to find the contrast lines to show peaking. However if you have everything at stock settings it shows up really well. I had no problem getting rid of my GH3 because of peaking and zebras on the GH4.
  5. nahua
    I use Premiere Pro, but it's the same as any anamorphic project. I would just use 50% for the size of the footage. So I drop it in the timeline, scale 50%, then select resize to sequence (my sequence set at 1920x800). This can be done in After Effects too, I think it's conform to comp. I don't know what the command is for FCPX or Vegas, but I would assume that there's something similar in those programs. Then edit like normal - cut, add effects, render. I don't render to full size (like 3840x1600) because it's just too slow, and most delivery is for 1080P on Vimeo anyway.
  6. nahua
    Yeah I shot Cinelike D, Contrast -5, Highlights -5, Shadows +5, Master Pedestal +15. Way too flat, I had all kinds of weird color casts in the skin tones and shadows. I tried to fix it by increasing blue in the shadows, but that didn't help too much. I think it's easier to shoot at 0 settings and lift the shadows in post. Or not even lift the shadows, as stock settings seem to be just fine. But I think the color casts, especially skin, have to be shot normally, not a flat profile. Still learning what works best with the GH4.
  7. nahua
    There's no pretense of story here. In reality this is a camera and steadicam test. Also a grading test too. I don't think I'll shoot with a flat profile again.
  8. nahua
    I shot it too flat and I had to correct for the really dark yellow tints in the shadows. So I shifted the shadows to cyan and it might look purple too. I'm going to shoot normal rather than lift the shadows so much.
  9. nahua
    In my video I used the SLR Magic Anamorphot with the Panasonic 12-35mm X lens. I used all autofocus, and I set the Anamorphot to either Near or Normal, never in between. No diopters at all. I just couldn't risk dropping it into the water and losing it especially when it was getting so dark and there were so many people. All closeups were in the Near position. That is the key to using the Anamorphot especially for run and gun situations. I could never shoot this video with the Iscorama or any 2x projector behemoth lenses.
  10. nahua
    The SLR Magic is different. See it has a Near/Normal focus ring. I'm usually quite lazy, so I either stick it at Near or Normal, not in between. But to get accurate focus at F2.8 or larger, you need to get it right. This focus ring doesn't have any calibrating marks, it's different for each taking lens. At least with 2x projector lenses there's a solid distance gauge with accurate marks. But SLR Magic doesn't. So I have to guess depending on what I see on the LCD screen. It can get frustrating, but I find that most times I shoot close (under 5 feet) to far (20 feet+ or infinity) with little in between, so it doesn't matter too much. Using the Iscorama though, set the taking lens at infinity or close to it, and you can rack focus easily. Of course minimum focus distance is 5 feet so diopters are needed. But the image is so sharp at wide open apertures. SLR Magic is really sharp for 40mm to 85mm (FF). Over 100mm(FF) needs the +0.33 diopter to sharpen the image. I'm just debating if it's worth having the Iscorama. Although the image is so sharp, I can achieve something close to it with the SLR Magic. And for run and gun shooting, the SLR Magic is great.
  11. nahua
    I do all native edits for GH4 MOVs in Premiere Pro. No transcoding or ProRes conversion necessary. You could if you want real-time effects, but I find it a waste of time. 5D RAW is a real resource hog. RAW or MLV conversion to Cinema DNG is really time consuming, and then having to convert that with Davinci into ProRes takes forever. I haven't tried any of the other conversion methods since I haven't touched my RAW files in months. Really, the only thing I love about RAW is the 14-bit color. Just amazing color depth. So far I'm really loving my GH4. And the color is there, although not on the same level as RAW. However, you can get it close if you make your in-camera settings close to what your final look will be. That also goes for contrast/black levels, and white balance. There's more CC grading ability with the GH4, but it still is an 8-bit codec. I'm trying to change things up since I really like Davinci's tools. Also, Davinci works better with GH4 files. I didn't like how it graded GH3 files so I never used it, but now it works really well. So I'm going to do my edits in Premiere Pro, then export to Davinci for final CC and export.
  12. nahua
    My first test of using the GH4 with Cinema 4K setting at 24hz. Also my first test with my "new" Iscorama 36. I had a hard time adapting it to a rails system, but it's OK for now. I finally understand what it's like to rack focus, as well as how sharp it is. I have to do more tests though to see what I really prefer. I like the SLR Magic a LOT for run n gun, and it is just so easy, and I really don't need diopters. However it really isn't as sharp as the Iscorama. The other option is my Sankor 2x but that's way more bulky and heavy although just as sharp wide open as the Iscorama. I used diopters in this video, that's how I got close focus. +0.5, +1 and +2. I'll do a test using the SLR Magic Achromat +0.33 and +1.33 later. The fllter thread is different though, the Iscorama being 72mm and the SLR Magic 77mm.
  13. nahua
    My first real use of the GH4 with 4K + Steadicam + SLR Magic Anamorphot. Also I shot it super flat with Cinelike D, but I got some real weird color casts in the shadow areas. I had to do a lot of work in Davinci to try and fix it, and even then I don't think I got it to look right. I tried CC in Premiere Pro and After Effects, but Davinci was just so much easier and the tracker is just awesome. In any case, I'm going to start playing around with Andrew's settings and use Cinelike V and maybe less lift in the shadows.
  14. nahua
    The guy has so much style. And it's all about framing, and his use of natural lighting is crazy good. Goes to show that you don't need 30 primes or zooms, just one prime, one camera, all the story is in his head. Amazing.
  15. nahua
    It's a new micro HDMI port. So you should get a new HDMI cable since that's considerably cheaper than sending the camera back only to find out you don't have the right cable.
  16. nahua
    It's well documented that zooming while shooting with the 12-35mm X lens changes aperture and focus. Also the lens is not parafocal at all. If you want a parafocal lens, then the Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 is the one to get. And I have the Canon 24-105 F4L and it isn't parafocal either. BTW that Lumix 14-45 kit lens is crap. I had it and sold it. I highly recommend the Sigma, or one of the Panasonic PZ lenses (Power Zoom) if you want to zoom in and out while recording video.
  17. nahua
    Thank you for the kind words!
  18. nahua
    Honoring My Father is the story behind Keith Kadoyama attending the Lantern Floating Ceremony every year. The Lantern Floating Ceremony honors our loved ones who have passed away. Keith honors his father Mitsuo Kadoyama, and he tells his story. Thanks to my good friend Keith for doing this. I conceived of the idea when I saw the announcement just 2 days before, and I'm glad he was up for the challenge. I shot all of this myself, so it was a lot of hard work! Shot on a Panasonic GH4, 4K with Panasonic LUMIX 12-35mm X lens and SLR Magic Anamorphot and Tiffen Vari-ND Filter GH4 shot with CinelikeD Contrast -2, Sharpness -5, Noise Reduction -5, Saturation 0, Hue 0 Master Pedestal +15, Highlight -4, Shadow +3, 0-255 F2.8, 1/50 sec, ISO 200 w Vari-ND, ISO 800 without Interview Audio: Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic with Rode Blimp on a Tascam DR-60D Music by Escape Club - "I'll Be There"
  19. nahua

    5D III Raw video

    nahua replied to wolf33d's topic in Cameras

    The nice thing about RAW is that there is flexibility in post and that the depth of color is awesome. I really like the colors in this short especially the sky and ocean. Sure the highs are maybe too clipped, but overall I think this is a good start.
  20. nahua
    OK great I'll download it this weekend. I still have lots of ML Raw footage to process. Just been working on my new GH4 recently...
  21. nahua
    I like the tone and a lot of the shots. However I still don't understand the use of warp stabilizer when the whole picture is affected, worse than any jello movement. If you just had it like it was shot, I think it would have been fine.
  22. nahua
    This is exactly why I love shooting anamorphic. It gives such a different look and feel to shots. I also rue the day Ridley went spherical, maybe his creativity went with it too sadly enough. Was just watching Blade Runner again last night, just love that film!
  23. nahua
    Both the Histogram and Zebras are in the menus. The cool thing about the histogram display is you can also position it anywhere on the LCD. Use the touch screen and put it anywhere. Zebras are really good. Zebra 1 is 80% warning, Zebra 2 is 100% warning. Even with a little burnt highlights at Zebra 2 I can recover some. In my video, you can tell there's one step at F16 right before F22. At F16 zebras highlight the very edge of the clouds, yet I can recover hightlights well. At F22, no zebra warning, everything within the histogram, but the image is darker. Anyway, the zebras work very well, and the histogram is a lifesaver too. I'm really loving the GH4 over the GH3!
  24. nahua
    I did a quick test with my GH4, testing the histogram and zebras. You can download the original MOV file: EDIT: File is 800MB+
  25. nahua
    I just padded the adapter and put it in a lens collar like you describe for Canon 70-200mm F4. It has a hinge in the middle so it's easy to get in and out. It's not perfect but it works OK. I can mount the lens collar to rails like I did with my Sankor. I can't justify paying so much money for Zacuto products no matter how well built they are. And the Vocas mount would only be if I get PL mount lenses. I don't think it works for the Iscorama without the Van Diemen upgrade. I haven't had a problem with my Iscorama, it came with a Nikon mount 50mm taking lens. But I think it has to be 58mm or larger for other lenses. No problems with the Helios, and 85mm lenses are good. This is all Full Frame BTW.
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