MaxAperture Films

[quote name='Julian' timestamp='1350919321' post='20121'] That is because I mixed 25p footage (originals) with the 24p footage (edited in resolve) into a 24p project in Vegas... [/quote] Hi Julian, in Vegas you can simply right click on the clip in the timeline, select "properties" and click on "disable resampling." This will disable frame blending on all footage with a different native frame rate than the project. The 25P footage will drop a frame here and there and won't be perfectly smooth, but ghosting will no longer be an issue. You must do this for each 25P clip or subclip in the timeline.

[quote name='Zach' timestamp='1350589151' post='19942'] Depends on what you're filming of course...but in general because the lens is so wide its not a detriment at all. [/quote] Agreed! I really like the option of 1440P @ 48fps. Enough extra resolution to crop in for stabilization if needed, and a convenient way to properly conform to 24P while keeping a 50% slow motion option available in the back pocket. Is the higher ProTune bitrate available at all resolutions? Edit: Scratch that... 4:3 shooting is not my bag.

Glad to hear the hardware and firmware continue to be refined in the GH3. Did you happen to notice any moire present in video images with this version of the firmware? Edit to add: Panasonic definitely appears to be listening to some of the feedback they have received from the launch event and beta testers... very positive stuff that shows a less insulated approach to product development.

[quote name='mastroiani' timestamp='1349716822' post='19487'] Does anyone know when GH3 is shipping finally? I had high hopes for Sony A99 uncompressed footage, but after reading this article I have very little incentive to spend $5K and more on a DSLR camera + atomos + lenses to get moire and aliasing when I can clearly shoot pro quality footage on my hacked GH2 and FD lenses... What a bunch of BS from Sony... I'm also willing to buy Blackmagic Cinema Camera but their production woes are very disheartening. [/quote] Panasonic website lists an estimated ship date of November 30. No clue if the date is also for reseller release and if that date will hold.

I just read a post on m43 rumors that reminded me a significant amount of chromatic aberration is actually corrected in-cam on the 12-35 lens (and other Lumix lenses). Now I wonder if this could be the image processing bug that is giving a moire-like appearance in some of the GH3 footage in higher contrast areas (stripes, etc). It could help explain why there is no color moire effect visible, rather just the funky dancing pixels in areas of high contrast. Simply bringing the lens down a stop or two could possibly be the workaround that confirms it is in fact the root cause as that should eliminate the need for CA correction to be invoked in the software. It might be something to try under controlled conditions if anyone gets a chance to do an in depth hands-on review.

[quote name='zephyrnoid' timestamp='1348286815' post='18873'] Well. Andrew. I made some screen grabs. I wish you'd clarify the big variances in the Juggler's skin tones. Was that due to different angles/lighting or did you grade clips differently? [img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/zephyrnoid/Picture4_zps8ec7f448.png[/img] [/quote] Looks like the greenish cast is just as bad if not worse on the Genesis BTS video (shot on GH2) http://vimeo.com/49500954 between 1:06 and 1:09. Has to be either the ambient light or a similar white balance issue.

[quote name='bwhitz' timestamp='1348275121' post='18857'] The detail is horrible and it renders textures like a 7D (everything looks plastic). The GH3 looks, unfortunately, like a disgusting leap backwards in image rendering. It's just another fake 1080p camera like the rest now. Terrible job Panasonic, terrible. [/quote] Too funny... I've seen a lot of 7D footage on projects I've worked and it is mostly shit, this is not soft 7D shit. In fact it looks great considering some of the horrible ceiling lighting that abounds. The only area of concern I have is the last few frames where the guys shirt lights up with moire, that is not going to be acceptable on my shoots. If it is not just a bug specific to certain lenses they definitely need to upgrade that low pass filter or there will be alot of product returns on this model, mine included.

[quote name='tungah' timestamp='1348152772' post='18700'] A tear of joy streams down my face at this moment. Thank you Andrew. Thank you Panasonic. God bless America. [/quote] +1 Hopefully in Slow-Mo as well... Long live the Queen (and Pocahontas)!!

[quote name='sanveer' timestamp='1348074461' post='18608'] I noticed this, in the Panny lenses, too. Thee is some noticeable aliasing and monuments having straight lines are not handled properly. I wanted to see, whether it makes any difference with the 'lenses off (/on)' feature. [/quote] It's possible that aliasing may actually be related to a bug in the electronic lens correction used to adjust for distortion in lumix lenses.

After seeing the 686MB download file... wow, just wow. The resolution is not any greater than the GH2 but also not worse, about exactly the same. That being said, what is striking is the grain structure in low light, presumably higher ISO shots - exactly how I would like to see it rendered. It is uniform and sprinkled, with no harsh horizontal bluish banding (that my GH2 is known to produce even with the hack). With regard to color banding in the sky or on beige walls, there simply is none. That has always been a challenge for my GH2, requiring me to sometimes introduce grain to overcome it, which then squashes detail to some extent. Then add to the fact that this is a pre-production model and I have to say, way to go Panasonic. This is alot of bang for the buck at $1299, and we still don't have the full specs with regard to timelapse, slow mo modes, Log profile, etc. Only a few more hours until the reveal :)

[quote name='Astro' timestamp='1347758262' post='18182'] 1080P version is now up at Philip Blooms site! Hmmm Tassles are still there on the fan, field lines on the bag and the guy lying on the bed shot from above looks 5D Mk3 style soft (possibly out of focus) I dunno...I want to be excited...and parts look really good, but I have seen a lot better from the GH2...a lot better. Dont want to jump to conclusions tho, we will see what happens on Monday. [/quote] Those are not tassles, they are the fan blade overlaps of the vertical bands from the folded parts of the curtains (that were probably intentionally graded to look blown-out). The motion blur of the fan image slightly darkens and picks up the curtain folds in the trails of the blades. It just looks like sloppy grading to me.

JCS, if you want to pixel peep rez charts, that's cool, but the results seem very clear that the BMD image is light years ahead of [i]all HDSLRs[/i] - with superior dynamic range, color space, compression and Raw manipulation. And downsampling 2.5K capture to 1080 still seems far more appealing than upscaling Canon's 600 lines to 1080, but it's really apples and oranges anyway so who cares. I'm ready to move on from the baked-in sludge that mfr's have been serving up lately, especialy the ones that overprice their "evolutionary models" and tell us it's the next best thing.

[quote name='PAVP' timestamp='1344369725' post='15078'] I really think we're missing the point if we look at this footage and are critiquing the manner in which it was shot. It's a good thing that it wasn't a perfectly lit, steadycam'd, big production that accounted for every weakness the camera could have. What would we learn from that? With enough time and money you can make any camera look great and yet not know much about what the true character of the camera is. This is like a window into what the camera is really like minus all the trappings. [/quote] Exactly, couldn't agree more... John did us a huge favor by not inducing heavy grading so we can see an honest rendering of shadow noise, etc. I am stunned by the quality, it won't take that much work in post to really take advantage of this output.

[quote name='HurtinMinorKey' timestamp='1344364520' post='15066'] From a Y chromosome...duh. What part of my criticism do you disagree with? 1. The handheld was shaky throughout, starting with the very first shot 2. Sloppy focus at 0:15 3. Guys face mostly in shadow, with a bright spot ocasionally hitting his forhead (1:45) 4. Weird tracking shot swaying back and forth (2:40 ish) 5. Guys face is too dark in the last scene Look, it's not terrible, it's not even bad, but it's not what I'd put out there to show off new tech just weeks from the suposed launch. [/quote] If you want to judge a person's cinematography skills do it on your own time and critique their reel rather than some test footage from an unreleased camera. I would prefer that John continue to make appearances on this forum and answer questions related to the gear, and not have to listen to ridiculous jabs made toward his choices in composition which he decided to release for our benefit (and did not have to).

MH, Nice shots.  Post that trailer over at Zero Hedge and you may get a fair amount of exposure and even some financial backing for the feature.

Gamma shift is a known issue that shows up on both the LCD and external HDMI monitors after recording is started.

Good news!!  The Hobbit to be made available in 6 formats - [url=http://blogs.crikey.com.au/cinetology/2012/04/30/peter-jacksons-the-hobbit-coming-to-cinemas-near-you-in-six-different-formats/]http://blogs.crikey.com.au/cinetology/2012/04/30/peter-jacksons-the-hobbit-coming-to-cinemas-near-you-in-six-different-formats/[/url] Kudos to Jackson for accommodating everyone's taste in his latest rendition.

I don't see Star Wars as having ruined anything from a big-budget standpoint ($11 million film that grossed over $400 million!), but everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect yours.  Also, the frame rate wasn't butchered by Lucas and much of the effects simply involved using miniature models to project a much more massive and dramatic world... not so much a technological achievement as it was an artful and [i]technical[/i] one. Not trying to bash anyone who wishes to push technological boundaries, simply questioning those who seem to push those boundaries out of a desire to be more in line with "where things are going."  I don't like to see filmmakers give up the look and chemistry that made their prior films beautiful, artful expressions in favor of doing "what's new" or "what's next" at the expense of the aesthetic. I once thought Spielberg was a bit old-fashioned for shunning direct-digital acquisition in favor of film, but now I see where he's coming from with regard to the romance of film's overall presentation, [i]especially[/i] the frame-rate.  For me the allure of digital acquisition is only the high portability and exceptional cost-benefit reward, not the reinvention of cinema.  But to each their own, I suppose.

Tough to see the genius of LOTR replaced by 3D gimmickry.  Maybe they can drop every other frame and apply a 180 degree shutter in post to conform to 24fps... perhaps release it as a "2D cinematic version" for dinosaurs like myself who love the look of film and hate getting "flickered" by 3D glasses.

I commend Jan for taking her message "to the street" and engaging the camera blogging community, however this engagement seems highly combative and a bit of a turn-off from my perspective.  Followers of EOSHD and Andrew's well-reasoned perspective have come to trust his perception of the marketplace through knowledge of his exceptional cinematography work, in-depth equipment reviews (mostly favorable to Panasonic products) and thirst for VALUE in [capable] gear above all else. With all due respect Jan, Panasonic should not wait to respond to a changing market because "15 months is too short for a product cycle."  With that attitude and vision you'd be better served to instead welcome Black Magic into the m43 consortium to make a mount for their camera that helps you sell more of your glass, because when we shift our focus to a new camera manufacturer that is addressing our production needs we would be foolish not to go where the true VALUE is. After all, we are also professionals who have a market to compete in, and our desire is to meet the demands of our customers regardless of what we felt was good enough 15 months ago.  Disruptive technology beckons change and WE get it, do YOU?

Holy crap... check this out!! [i]"johnbrawley says: April 17, 2012 at 7:11 am I don’t see the sensor size as a letdown. EF mount gives a low cost lens option choice. They plan to do PL mount and possible m4/3 down the road. There are some lovely wide m4/3 lenses."[/i] WoooHoo... hold on to those Voigtlanders!!  I am 99.5% sure they went EF mount first because they will follow up the S16 with an S35 in 6-12 months (NAB 2013?).  I bet with enough pressure from the public we can get them to put out an m43 mount sooner rather than later!

I guess this means Red now has a [i]Black[/i] eye for failing to deliver on the $3K for 3K Scarlet it originally promised. Now Black Magic is positioned to scale up their fine little camera to S35 any time they choose for almost no increase in tooling costs and with a workflow that will have been fully established and mostly debugged.  A RAW cam with S35 sensor at $3-$5K should give Red something to pause at, even without the 4K, 6K or whatever rez they're pimping these days.  I like Red a lot for their disruption of the industry and creative vision, but they too are guilty of abandoning the Indie guys in this segment and will lose more than a few who will now decide not to take out a second mortgage in an attempt to experience RAW workflows.

Very Red-like in concept, which is not a bad thing IMO.  I hope the AF100 replacement (when it arrives) will be built on the same principles.  Kudos to Jim Jannard for disrupting the market to such a degree that competitors were forced to act.  Sony, Canon and Panny are all beginning to catch up finally, and are even willing to lower the threshold to market entry for 4K and high frame rates (FS700), which is good for those of us who seek to find good value (aka [i]thrifty bastards[/i]).

[quote author=Andrew Reid - EOSHD link=topic=567.msg3717#msg3717 date=1334160062] Good to see the GH2 in there. I'd have put the 5D in there instead of the 7D though. If the test is about aesthetics, then a full frame sensor adds a lot. [/quote] I was surprised by that as well.  It appears they're keeping this shootout as close to Super 35 sensor size as possible to help pull off the blind taste test.  The fact they kept the GH2 in the test even with the larger crop may prove they thought it would contribute enough to the conversation to justify it's small sensor size difference.  It's great theater to stun an audience with a $600 cam that resolves like a pro. By the way, love your site content and forum.  Great reasoning and perspective on uncovering value within the Indie film segment.  I purchased the GH2 Shooter's Guide a day after it was released and never looked back.  What a speed boost in terms of ramping up with the GH2, one of the best purchases I've made.

Looking forward to this shootout!!  ;) [url=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zacuto-announces-release-of-revenge-of-great-camera-shootout-2012-04-10]http://www.marketwatch.com/story/zacuto-announces-release-of-revenge-of-great-camera-shootout-2012-04-10[/url] The cameras involved are: Sony F65 -- Sony Representatives 2. ARRI Alexa -- Rodney Charters, ASC 3. RED Epic -- Ryan Walters 4. Sony FS100 -- Den Lennie & Mick Jones 5. Sony F3 w/slog -- Nancy Schreiber, ASC 6. Canon C300 -- Polly Morgan 7. Canon 7D with Technicolor settings -- Michael Negrin, ASC 8. Panasonic GH2 (hacked and non-hacked) -- Jonny Zeller & Colt Seman "'Revenge' is unlike any other camera test that I've ever been involved with," says Zacuto producer, Scott Lynch. "I believe that the tools available to us are all capable of creating great looking images, but only if you know how to use them. The big challenge for us was creating a test that would bring out the real world differences between these cameras. You can shoot charts which will give you scientific results, but that environment is not the real world. What we wanted to know was how cinematographers creatively solve the limitations of their camera. There are going to be some great discussions when this test gets released. People are going to be blown away."