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Do you need to reside in the UK for this? Is it okay if I buy it from any UK webshop and import it to the Netherlands?

Easy. 5D Mk II or III with a 50mm lens. Or a 7D / 60d / one of the rebels, they all have similar IQ anyway. Damn I'm good.

I definately will stick around then!! Anyway, nice topic. We should do more of these.

Yeeey! What did I win???

Smallish sensor look (of wide-angle lens stopped down a lot) and a lot of greens (if not colorgraded too much like this on purpose) Verdict: GH2 / G6

A used GH3. I'm sure you can get one for € 500,00 or less. Video is much, much better than a 550D! Check out one of my latest shoots with the GH3. I'm still impressed with what it can do and it is already 3 years old technology.

So with the Speed Booster XL, the GH3 turns into a APS-H camera. Maybe someone tried the Sigma 18-35 on a 1Dc or something?

Holy shit this really shows how far technology has come already. That 'cinematic' holiday video looks fantastic. Stunning even, when you think about it. It's a bloody phone which most people carry in their pocket everyday. It's way more detailed than my Panasonic GH3. Much higher resolution, almost no aliasing... It's unbelievably good. The dynamic range doesn't even seem to be that much fewer either, maybe 2 stops at most. The only thing missing is depth of field and long lenses. If that could be digitally achieved, then everyone has a cinematic tool with them at hand. Exciting but scary at the same time for us videographers and cameramen.

I'm using the GH3 since the day it came out and I'm still very happy with the footage. I am skipping the GH4 and might upgrade to the GH5 once it (ever) arrives. Anyway, I'm also using a Speed Booster (0.71x) and the Sigma 18-35mm. Even at 18mm, there is no vignetting with this setup. I am considering selling my Speed Booster and upgrading to the XL version. I know the difference is only 10%, but I always wanted the Sigma 18-35mm to be a tad wider. And here is the solution The question is, does anyone know if the this lens vignettes at 18mm with the Speed Booster XL while in 1080p mode of the GH3 / GH4? I know that it doesn't do it in the 4K cinema mode, but that has a crop factor of 2.35. I guess the GH3 in 1080p has a 2.0x crop factor so it might get tricky there. Anyone with this setup can tell me if it vignettes? Thanks!

Good news. I guess it wouldn't work with a GH3?

wow that example video is horrible. My nutsack has more dynamic range than that.

My advice is to buy a cheap camera and good lenses with that kind of budget. If you want to hold on for a better camera to come around, then why not buy a cheap camera for now to keep you busy and lenses that you will be able to use with the next-gen ultra 4000 camera that you will buy next year? Get a used GH3 with a Speed Booster (or Lens Turbo if you're cheap) and call it a day. Many people get dragged into the 'upgrade my gear' race that everyone seems to have with all these new toys being released. But those won't make you a better cameraman. A GH3 with a Speed Booster will do everything you want and more. It's the only camera I use since the day it came out. It's rugged, the batteries last for ages, reliable, takes a Mic + headphones + external monitor, almost no moire and generally gives a great image. People who complain about the low-light capabilities of M4/3 simply don't use the correct lenses to do so. I shoot a Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 which turns into a f1.2 constant zoom with the Speed Booster. Check below for my latest wedding film which features a lot of low-light shots. All done with the GH3.

Nice initiative. I am a musician myself. I have made many songs over the years (guitar / songwriter songs) but 2 years ago I decided to try something completely different and made an electronic album with just a MIDI keyboard and Ableton Live. Turned out pretty good if I may say so myself. I'm not sure if it is 'soundtrack material' though. Check it out here if you like:

A story that most of us will recognize, sooner or later. I hate to be the one who will say it here, but it has to be said. This is a classic example of something 99% of the people on this planet have to go through. There is no child on this planet who dreams about being a carpenter, garbage collector or street cleaner. Almost everyone aspires something like being an artist, a musician, a filmmaker, actor, having an own business, etc. If you ever watched Idols / Popstars etc you have seen how unbelievably many people sign up for such a thing, just hoping to be discovered. If you ever type 'short film' on Youtube, you can see how unbelievably many people work on things and publish them just to get discovered. We are living in an age with endless opportunities and we are told about these so often that we believe we never ever have to work again because we are so special. The next generation will have to suffer from this even more. You know why? Because to be able to make money with pure art, one has to be special. And special literally means that only a small percentage of all people can be it. We are flooded lately with mediocre singers, songwriters, films, painters, 'artists' so much, that most people have enough of it. I think it is even harder to be special now that it was 20 years ago. Now, I'm not critizing anyone's skills here specifically, most of us simply don't 'have' it and will have to give up. When we are young we are dreaming big and chasing our goals, but when we reach our thirties and more and more responsibilities show up (house, bills, girlfriends, childeren), we have to make a mentallity change. We can just 'fuck around' anymore, we have to get a stable income. It's that simple. It's easy to say 'follow your dreams!' Because deep down inside we would all like that. But unfortunately, money is more important than anything else to survive and most of us will need to let go. At least partially. That's what I did. In stead of pursuing a career as a director, I am now running and expanding my wedding film company. I'm determined to be the motherfucking best wedding filmer of my country and at the same time make well sure my website is being optimized for Google search etc. It's a good alternative for being a director of feature films in Hollywood. Is it as nice? No. Is it my absolute dream? No. Is it fucking 1000x better than working from 9:00 - 17:00 at Mcdonalds? Hell yes. I think this is all just a matter of 'growing up'. When I was 17 I believed I would be the next big rock star at a young age. I thought I had incredible song writing talent and that it would just be a matter of time before I was discovered. Turned out I was very wrong and I was just one of the million musicians who think the same and write mediocre songs. Hence, I gave up pursuing that career and music is now just one of my hobbies. It's hard, I know. But letting go and focus on your real skills and develop a sense of business are the most important things you can do in your life I think. That, and knowing how to communicate with people. Good luck everyone. I still encourage everyone to go for it, but also to keep a sense of realism.

I shoot weddings with the GH3 and most weddings I only have to swap out the battery once! I'm talking about 10-14 hour working days here with the camera being turned on most of the time. It's amazing.

Not that I want to turn this topic into a linkdump version of 'look what my camera can do', but I feel like there is one camera that is very underestimated which is the Panasonic GH3. The GH3 (and GH4) are great camera's in my opinion, but they have one major major flaw. When you use native M4/3 lenses you end up with an harsh, digital 'video like' image. Oversharpened, strange colors, 2,3x crop etc. All the character is taken out of the camera's 'soul' (sensor). My colleague shoots with a GH4 with the Lumix 12-35 f2.8 and I don't like the image out of that camera at all. However, the image out of my GH3 with adapted (Speed Boosted) lenses keeps impressing me, still after every shoot. I have no intention of upgrading to another camera just yet. Together with the amazing battery life (I use 2 batteries on a whole wedding day), small ready to edit files and 1080p 60fps I have not much to ask for besides a higher dynamic range. Then, the topic is 'motion cadence'. And that's why I want to post a (real) short film that I shot with the GH3 a while ago. Don't get me wrong, a Black Magic global shutter looks better, but is this worse in your eyes than Canon or Nikon DSLR's? I don't see it.

I think I have read somewhere that the Sigma is close to a t2.2 or something. What is possible is that the Leica prime is actually closer to t2.6 and thus the difference is only half a stop. I don't think there is anything wrong with your lens. Do you have the Nikon mount? Then you can push the small lever on the down side of the lens to the side so it opens up the iris completely. Make sure the lens is at 35mm, look into the barrel and push the lever. If the lens opens up full and you don't see the aperture blades anymore at all, the lens is opening up fully. The chance that there is anything inside the lens that wrong which is blocking the light, but still gives sharp images, is very unlikely to me.

I have the Sigma 18-35 also. (favourite lens in the world by the way) At f1.8 you get the DOF of a f1.8. Having said that, the light transmission is indeed not a full stop improvement over f2.5 but this might have to do with the fact that the lens suffers from vignetting at f1.8. To what extend this influences the actual light transmission? I don't know. I do know that my partner shoots with a Lumix 12-35mm f2.8. After we shoot in together in a dark venue, his shots are way to dark and unusable. Mine are miles and miles better. Mind you, I use a Speed Booster so my lens basicly turns into a f1.2. It might not be t1.2 due to the vignetting, but as sure as hell it's at least 1.5 times brighter than a Lumix f2.8.

​I think this might be it!!! It very much sounds like that though. I didn't even think about this because I always set that to 'off'. But, my camera has been repaired 4 weeks ago and had a factory reset. So yep, it was on 'auto' again. I turned it off now. I'm not going to test it now because I can't really mimic the specific cirumstances but I'm pretty sure this has to be it. Thanks a lot! Smart thinking.

I shoot weddings with the GH3. Last wedding I encoutered a new problem. When I record audio with an external microphone, there is no problem. But when I record audio with the onboard mics, I've noticed something strange. The first few seconds of the clip sound normal, but then suddenly it's like there is an EQ applied and the bass / low mids almost completely disappears. Also, it's a bit like it shifts from stereo to mono.... In other words, the audio suddenly sounds very different. This seemed to happen on many but not all clips in the evening after I unplugged the microphone. The music wasn't very loud so that's why I'm surprised that this happened. It doesn't really sound like it's clipping. Any idea on what this might be?

Good to hear! Good for you as well I use the Sigma 18-35mm on the GH3 with the Speed Booster and I'm still amazed at the results after every shoot. When shooting a medium close from someone with this beast at 35mm, there is almost an 'anamorphic like' distortion / perspective thing going on. It's by far the most beautiful lens I have ever used. If it only it was a 17-50mm it would literally never come of my camera.

Great OP and also great reply Fuzzynormal. I agree fully with your points. It will not take long before everyone will have a 4k FF camera in their pocket and everything will look amazing. But still, there is something about a well made shot that makes it stand out. It will always be talent which is the main contributor to great looking shots. And then there is storytelling. Not just putting decent looking shots after each other accompanied with some instrumental song. That will always be the hardest and takes the most talent, time and effort to accomplish. It's easy to get involved in the 'I need a better camera' race so that you will have 'an edge' over your competitors. But it doesn't matter if you shoot on a BM, Panasonic, Canon or NIkon camera. It doesn't matter to anyone but us technical camera snobs. My clients have never asked me which camera I shoot on and they don't really care. Sure, one of these years people will 'demand' 4K and you better get on the wagon once the time is there. But personally, I have no interest in 4K. I shoot a lot of weddings with the GH3 and that camera is more than sharp enough to get people to say 'wow what a sharp looking footage'. Also, don't forget most people watch our productions on a 50 inch TV from a far distance, or on their 22 inch computer monitor (1080p). It looks GREAT on those. And there is also something as 'too sharp' in my eyes. 4K often looks great on nature shots, panoramics and architecture. Not my favourite format for a narrative or weddings to be honest. The GH3 already reveals too many hairs coming out of the brides birthmarks. Conclusion: Yes of course new things are nice. Improvements are great. We all want a 15 stop DR 4K camera with great colors, easy to edit and a battery that lasts 6 hours. But at the end of the day it is about storytelling. I like Fuzzynormal's point also. How do you want your memories to look? In my business (weddings) that is really important. Too sharp and digitall harshness kills the mood IMO and makes stuff less believable. As tempting as new gear can be, it will not make you a better filmmaker nor a better cameraman. If you can't consistenly make great looking shots with a 7D, then there is no need for you to make the same crappy shots in 4K.

​Thank you so much! If you happen to plan your wedding over here, you know were to find us

​ Thanks JFR. First, would you mind editing your post and deleting the link that I've posted and you quoted? I just wanted to show it to you, not have it here online forever. Thank you very much. If people are interested in my work, they could visit my website http://www.cinematicwedding.nl . The video you posted is indeed 'the next level'. Great looking footage, editing, grading, etc. But that is nowhere near 'run & gun' like we wedding filmers do. These shots are prepared and prepared well. They used lights, production design, etc. I'm sure most shots are done in multiple takes. This is more like a short film. Although I get your point, this isn't really a fair comparison. When I bought my GH3 2 years ago, there wasn't an alternative that could shoot 1080p at 50 or 60 fps. There is now. Of course I will be upgrading along the way, but the camera is not my limiting factor at the moment. Neither in my creativity, nor in what my clients think of my films. Quite the opposite, they are often amazed by the 'clear image' and slowmo. Unfortunately, my business is not high enough ranked in Google yet to make enough money to constantly upgrade all my gear. As you understand, the camera is only one of the tools one needs to buy to make good films. And as much as I agree there are better camera's out there in terms of DR, colors and low light, the GH3 and GH4 are more than great alternatives. You are right that ISO 1600 is the maximum ISO one can use. We never go over it. But with a Speed Boosted f1.8 lens I've only once encountered a venue where it was slightly too dark and that was in the film that I posted here. Anyway, will check out more work of Delivery Men. Cheers.

Thanks Noa. Yes most of the shots are done with the 18-35. I shoot from a 'Camframe'. Maybe you could look that up. For the rest it's a matter of having a stable hand and post processing. I don't use native glass I you can read in the OP, because I like the look better of the lenses without all the electronic corrections going on that you can't shut off. My colleague actually uses the 12-35mm 2.8 and the 35-100 2.8 and I find his footage always more 'harsh' and digitally looking. On the other hand, they are sharper. Anyway, the problem is that 12mm is JUST not wide enough for the ceremonies so I would like to have something a tad wider. The Speed Booster works great on the Sigma 18-35mm but it couldn't get the Tokina 11-16mm to work great at large apertures unfortunately. Ultra wide-angles are hard to adapt. Literally. So I want to use somehing with a native mount this time. As I said, 12mm is just cutting it but barely. But the 10mm doesn't take filters, which is a big problem. Is there anything else around 10mm that does take filters in this price range? That would be great.