Simco123

Andrew, I think you are the Piers Morgan of camera bloggers? Can see why they avoid you now. I would'nt though because all publicity is good even bad ones.

Even marketing people would have known most of the blogging sites including vocal ones like EOSHD. Writing to them sounds like a begging letter and make you look small.

They are not gonna go to Manchester or may even have turned down the invite, unlike Andrew who is in Manchester.

That "Bubble Gum" girl look like my sister.

LUTS and lens are all part of creating image quality. LUTS are processing baked into an image to provide it with a look. If you use a lens that is flat and low in contrast would you not use a LUT that has more punch? Likewise a contrasty lens would look too clinical with a LUT that is already has a lot of contrast dialled in. My reference to Deakins choosing sharp clean lens comes from the man himself. Deakins avoid using vintage lens because he got the look from lightings. Vintage lens are flawed lens that help mask harsh lightings. There has been a number or articles out recently showing how "relevent" vintage glass from 100 years ago can look when mated with a RED Monstro, the result is it look like it was shot with any modern lens. This does not come as any surprise as it is a modern digital sensor and the LUTs are digital process. Likewise if you mate a modern Zeiss Milvus or Otus lens with a film camera from 60 years ago you get a vintage looking images. Just because you use a vintage lens over a digital sensor does not give a you a vintage look.

You may find the greatest DoP in the world Roger Deakins won't agree with you. Those who are against the "clinical look" tend to look for excuse of not able to light their scenes properly and pick a soft or vintage lens to diffuse the image. Some people are fooled by the look of some LUTs into believing that the image is too clinical when paired with a sharp problem free lens when the problem is the LUT itself. A good sharp clean lens is as good as it get in what is being captured through the glass. How it looks after it is saved in your memory card and loaded onto your computer are interpreted by design.

I like single fixed Firecrest NDs while shooting in wide angle lens but when I shoot in telephoto I was shocked to see how much it softened the image. I sent them back to Hitech and got them to send me a new set that was checked over but the softness is still there. The sharpness are not near as good as the SLR Magic MkII and Hoya Solas VND but better than the GenusTech Eclipse. I will try with a Hoya fixed ND to compare but I seem to have misplaced it.

I use VND with Hoya UV & IR Cut. Did some more test this morning. Actually the SLR Magic is equally as sharp as the Solas but it back focus slightly while the Solas has no such issue. This suggest the glass on the SLR Magic is not as even as the Solas. The Solas VND has higher filtration to 8.7 stops while the SLR Magic MkII is 6 stops. The Solas has no hard stop but that does not bother me and it has a minimum and maximum markings.

Had a quick test with the Hoya Solas VND. It is exactly what it claims, there is almost no polarization or colour shift. It also maintains the sharpness as if there is no filter. It is better than the SLR Magic MkII in every way.

My Hoya Solas VND has arrived. Wil be doing some test soon.

Not the one with polarizer. I have the normal Genustech Eclipse VND but not very impress. I have SLR Magic mk2 VND which allows you to change the orientation of polarization but does not rid polarization globally. It is one of the better VND that retains sharpness even better than some fixed ND such as Firecrest when using long lens but do colour shift slightly to warm at higher density.

Variable NDs especially the more expensive ones are getting better. I always consider fixed ND because they don't polarize but I was shocked to discover that some fixed NDs reduces contrast and colour shifts compare to some varable NDs. I'm hoping this Solar Variable NDX not only convenient but also perform in the IQ department.

Do you mean people using varaible ND are hobbyist who prefer convenience over IQ vs professionals who use fixed NDs who needs the IQ?

Has anyone used the Hoya Solar Variable NDX? It came out a few months ago but not seen many reviews yet. http://solasndx.hoyafilterusa.com

John Brawley comes from Australia, the land of Crocodile Dundee, Castlemaine XXXX. Argueably one of the lesser PC country on this planet. Regardless the word 'sissy" does not exclusively apply to genderbase. We all know Jonpais did not meant to imply sexism but those who are soft living when he used the word "sissy" but somehow Mr Brawley wanted to out him as some kind of enemy of the #MeToo movement . It was pretentous and immature.

I may not be a fan of how some of the conversation but you do come across as somewhat prententious just for the sake of winning an argument. You sound Petty.

[quote name='HurtinMinorKey' timestamp='1351777586' post='20780'] I agree with you. But I also think it's okay to think Andrew [b]earned[/b] the right to move up the list. [/quote] In what way does someone earned the right to move up the list? Everyone should be treated the same, just because someone blogs a lot does [b]NOT [/b]mean they earned more right to move up the list.

[quote name='galenb' timestamp='1351716516' post='20732'] Well, I think it's to our benefit that Andrew gets his camera early. [/quote] No. It is to my benefit that I get my camera early. Does'nt benefit me at all if someone else bar myself gets the camera.

[quote name='EOSHD' timestamp='1351709331' post='20721'] Nothing fishy at all as it turns out. When they called, they explained that I was number 1 on the list in terms of time of order. A glitch at the checkout meant the order wasn't fully secured and deposit paid until a bit later. Of course if anyone is resentful of me getting the camera, feel free to seek your coverage and Blackmagic book elsewhere. [/quote] From what CVP is saying it was not a glitch but they have an alternate list to go by. When did you find out you were number 1? At least one person who pre-ordered from CVP was told his position went up and down despite people switching to MFT. He was finally told today that he is lot further up the list after they were brought under the radar of transparency. Just shows you cant take resellers word for it and certainly not CVP.

[quote name='Max' timestamp='1351709590' post='20722'] Stunning. [/quote] Won't go that far

I got the 135mm f2 lens. It is one of Canon vintage EF lens. The best lens is the 100mm f2.8L IS. It won't out blur the 135mm f2 but it has much better bokeh.

Very fishy indeed.

Depend how good Canon files looks with clean HDMI. We know that D800 clean HDMI out does not deliver any sharper or more detailed image, only marginal improvement in colour space. We know that 5DMkIII files takes grading and sharpening better in post.

Small sensor aside it looks promising. Highlight roll off and DR much better than GH2 or GH3. I like to know how well it handles lowlight?

[quote name='EOSHD' timestamp='1350463245' post='19842'] I can't wait to use this stuff on the Blackmagic MFT. By the way the aspect ratio on this project is an experimental one, it isn't technically correct nor is it meant to be... Rather an intentional creative decision to have a slightly stretched image. I'll write more about this once the music video is done. [/quote] You going to have a long wait by sticking with the EF and not switching to MFT when you had the chance a month ago.