Oliver Daniel

Oh bloody hell. Now you've got me interested in ML 5D mk II. I've never used it for raw video. Kind of like the idea of using an "old dinosaur", adds to it in some emotional way. The manufacturers have skipped making 1080p near perfect in favour of brittle, highly compressed 4K images. What we are getting is insanely high resolution images with poor compression artefacts - when what we need is lovely 1080p with thick, chunky images. Ive got other raw cameras on my radar, and maybe this 5D II for fun!

Hello. I've got a Ronin M with all the bells and whistles, yet I'm seriously thinking of changing it to the Osmo Raw. The reason for this is because I've changed almost everything in my kit to be very portable, even all my lighting is battery powered now. I'm finding I'm leaving my Ronin-M behind, because it's too much of a ball ache for a lot of shoots. Especially as I'm looking for the freedom to shoot pretty much anywhere. So got my eye on the Osmo Raw as its small, very portable and very high quality. I'll be able to get those shots I want on most shoots, and not limited to near static camerawork. I don't want another pistol grip system - I like the integration of the DJI system and I'm not sold on them yet at all. As the A-cam, I'm looking at the Kinefinity Terra due to high quality and small size. Really going for a very high spec look over the next year with lots of freedom, and equal attention to the ideas, lighting etc. The reason for my post is to gather the opinions of other Osmo users, anything useful to say/share? Anyone with a similar idea? Appreciated.

Yes, if you turn a minus into a plus, you're basically fishing for justification. Being honest gets things done.

I use Apple, fully knowing I'll get a more powerful PC for half the price. However, I absolutely hate using PC's as a user experience. I find a lot of value in user experience enjoyment, and I really enjoy using Apple stuff. I have to enjoy it to be productive. You could also say the same about Canon. I find using their cameras a much more enjoyable experience then using a Sony for instance. I use Sony because my clients want the high frame rates, and that's the only reason! It's like the RX10 II vs the XC10. Using the Sony is horrible and ruins it. If I don't enjoy using the camera, the most monstrous specs won't change that. Serious video shooters have much better options to service them at the 5D budget. If you do stills, it would make sense - get your peaking etc from a SmallHD 501 on the hotshoe.

Terminator 2.

More people looking for that better image should focus on other things. I'd stick with your current gear and pay attention to other areas... lighting, composition, grading, ideas, style, feel. As this sounds like a business choice, ultimately the purchase needs to increase your ROI. If your current gear is fine for your business purpose, stick with it. Get something later when there is a demand. If it's an emotional thing, you need to have the disposable income to feed it. A lot of the time, my emotional relationship with certain cameras doesn't necessarily mean they are the right cameras for the business. That's why i haven't got a Digital Bolex. I can't justify the purchase at the moment when I have other more important business priorities. If it's just too overpowering, I'd sell the lot and go for a 1DX ii. Great stills, great video. Done!

Not me I'm afraid. I find Slog2 one of the best things about the A7S cameras. If you know how to expose Slog2 and how to grade it well, it's a fantastic feature to have. The dynamic range is much better than the Cine profiles, as is the rolloff from shadows to highlights. There's a huge difference. I echo the need for Clog. I find it much better than using other profiles and get the results I want. It's not for everyone though.

Give us a Super35 sensor with 10 bit, 4K, decent 120fps, DPAF and C-log in an improved XC10 style body with interchangeable mount and that would be gold! 5D Mk IV will never get Clog. Remember that the C100 Mk III is due within the year. They will want the dedicated video shooters to buy that.

One of the biggest issues with sharing great content is that it's much harder to do now on social media because the platforms have been monetised. You need an "advertising" budget so you can pay to boost posts that would otherwise not be seen by the majority of your followers and others. Alongside all the random clips of women slapping their ass, gifs, auto-play drunk people videos, cheesy meme's etc... the content you share gets over-saturated by all the other bollocks around it. Social media is SO distracting that when you are trying to find something useful, you end up going off on this great tangent where you end up watching a funny cats compilation instead. This is because we are bombarded by endless bollocks and the good content gets covered in shit. When I first started my video business, Facebook was a massive client stream for me. Everyone could see my content and I got bookings. I even had a weird fan club. Since the platform has become monetised... the only people that see my videos now is my mother. SEO is so over-saturated it's hardly worth bothering with on a limited budget, so I've had to reinvent my entire plan COMPLETELY just so I can adapt to this crazy online world. I have to be MUCH MORE than just a video producer. You have to be on top of everything. And most of it isn't even online - it's what you do in person. EOSHD has always been great place to post and read stuff. I've always had the ideas and drive to create. But I remember forcing myself to learn about as much video techie stuff as possible, and read forum posts over and over thinking "what on earth is this 10 bit 422 thing people are on about?" Second nature now. You can evolve the platform of EOSHD for sure. I'd definitely work on your shooters guides and LUTs and make an online store or something, with relevant articles and the forum. Get different members around the globe to make a themed video using the latest mirrorless camera, with your shooters guides and LUTS... put it together as one video and promote it. Make your video community as one that works together to create stuff FOR the video community. Allow users to upload their own tips/techniques/LUTS... create an online bible of everything you need for every enthusiast camera and the best lenses/devices. Every enthusiast camera has it's own EOSHD store and user resource!! Does that make sense? I wouldn't be afraid of making money the commercial way from EOSHD. Fuck it. There's no harm in it. You are spending your time helping the video community and you should be rewarded financially for your hard work. No need for gear adverts. Just yourself asking for money for your material. Like you do now but on STEROIDS. I would also re-brand. In all due respect, I think the name EOSHD and the logo now looks rather dated. I know shitloads of logo and brand designers, if you ever feel you need it.

In the commercial sense of the term, well no, this video is not a "music video" - something which is made to sell records, concert tickets, merchandise and generally promote the brand of the artist. I assume this video was not made for that function. For the purpose that it's made though - the filmmaker can call it whatever he wants. A short film, vacation video, visual poetry, video journal, experiment, music video, whatever. Does it really matter? I was more interested in the shots accompanied by the music track. I enjoyed watching both in unison. It's a music video to him whether we like it or not. And he did very well.

Didn't mean that to be unsupportive or negative towards you. You're right though - if the blog writing and gear purchasing isn't paying dividends for business or pleasure, that's when it's time for a change. By my own personal experience, this year I've had to spend A LOT of time completely re-doing my entire operation. Before, the time wasn't worth the money so I've had to reinvent to make circumstances more positive and fulfilling. A great avenue for you could be to focus on your shooters guides, custom LUTs, 4K stock, anamorphic overlays, grain overlays... Bit like a shop for editors and colourists. Sell packages by camera model and brand, plus some neutrals. You have a lot of cameras, like to grade and travel a lot, so could make sense. Just an idea. Another idea is to setup an Instagram account and take photos of yourself putting lenses down your pants with a cheeseburger in your mouth and topless models slapping their ass. You will be a guaranteed Insta celebrity!!

I wouldn't get depressed over a blog. You're right in saying that this year, the articles on EOSHD seem to be a lot less - and most being just a news opinion on Canon or whatever. But there might be a good reason for this - Andrew will probably be busy with other more enjoyable or necessary endeavours. I remember the days when Philip Blooms blog was the one to go to for the latest and greatest opinion. But his blog took a big nose dive in content because he prioritised his own filmmaking, and constantly uses Facebook and Instagram instead.

You've said this really well. I think it depends most on "implementation", how the codec and image has been designed to create the data for the image. For example, the FS5 is 10 bit but the codec is a shoddy XAVC-L. The FS7 10bit is astonishingly superior (XAVC-I). Meanwhile, the C100 with it's shitty AVCHD is an advanced implementation of wonderful engineering. That said, many people don't understand that 10bit, 12 bit etc isn't an "instant" image quality improvement. It's just more data. What you do with that data, and done correctly, see's the boost that everyone craves. So if you are crap at grading but want 10bit, forget it. Learn to grade first.

Do you know something we don't Ebrahim?

With the C100 Mk III expected not soon after (according to schedule of previous model releases), I do not expect the 5D IV to have anything other than the addition of 4K at 24/25/30fps and PDAF for video shooters. I expect the next C100 to only add 4K and a slightly higher bitrate, as to not ruin the C300 II (which according to my rental house is not in demand at all because of the FS7). This sounds negative against Canon, but the fact of the matter is that their models work better than other brands at standard frame rates and overall usability. You can absolutely rely on C-series cameras for that reason. A good comparison is the RX10II vs the XC10. The specs on the Sony are monstrous but in reality, it's a terrible camera for video. Very overpromised. It's unreliable and is awful to use due to nasty focusing. The XC10 specs don't look great, but as a video camera it works much better. It's a decent B cam for the bigger models. Anyway, while we all waste time debating what Canon isn't doing and all that fuzz, let's look to the models that work today, which are perfectly fine for many of our needs.

White balance on the A7 camera line doesn't work. No maters what you do, it's never right. Something in the image always has a compromise. That said, I setup a custom white balance for every scene with the A7SII as the presets don't work at all, and very scene is very different. Normally there is a shift down to magenta to take out the ghastly green cast on skin tones. In post, I find myself having to dial out a blueish purple out of the shadows. Just the way it is.

They are comparing two totally different cameras - the 1DX II which is great for those who want high quality video AND stills AND have EF lenses. The Sony FS7 (the most rented camera in the UK at the moment), which is ideal for experienced professionals who need high quality 4k, slow motion, use various lens mounts, like to grade their footage for best results and have an all-in-one package out the box. I can see the Canon bashing continues. Doesn't bother me really. The fact that so many people are bitter and frustrated proves that Canon is a wanted entity. Sure I'd like to see more ideas in their product line, but there's so many options, it's not worth spending too much time talking about it because we are spoilt.

I've done my research on this but I can't find all the answers. It's all a bit confusing. Since the end of last year, I've been replacing/buying new gear that's small, portable and compact. It's all very high quality stuff, I don't buy crap . e.g I've replaced my big Kino Flo's with LED panels and lamps with strong battery power. The trend follows through everything else. This is so I can decrease the limitations of where I can go, and increase creativity and opportunity with gear I can take anywhere. It's working out. The only thing that isn't is my gimbal. It's a Ronin-M and the package is a huge and can take a while to setup. It's being left behind on shoots where a gimbal could be wonderful, but it's juts too large and cumbersome for the conditions of the shoot (public places, derelict locations, fast paced, low profile). I always use the Ronin-M in controlled environments, but a lot of the time this isn't the case. I was filming an event last week. Had the A7SII as my camera. Got a load of lovely handheld shots. But time and time again, I wanted to 'pull off some moves' to add a different dimension to the not very interesting event. I had my Ronin-M in the van, but using it would of been a HUGE BITCH. Would of missed many key shots messing around. This brings me to the Osmo - which I believe can now adapt the X5 and X5R cameras, and also has some 4th axis spring thingy to get rid of walking bounce. That's right isn't it? The only thing I don't yet understand is the functionality of these Osmo combinations as compared to the Ronin-M. As a solo operator following moving subjects, dollying, orbiting, panning - how does the Oslo differ? Is it possible to replace the Ronin-M with Osmo + X5/X5R and get similar results? Examples? TELL ME. APPRECIATED.

Wow that's super cool. I'm pretty much stuck with a wide lens with deep DOF using the Ronin-M on my own. Most of the time it isn't the look I want. With the 1DX, it's way more achievable. That said, I'm trying to make all my equipment smaller and would rather transfer to a decent pistol grip configuration when it's decent enough. Curious about the X5R.

One word: Helios. Mir and some Takumars look sweet. Also SLR Magic. Canon FD are very accessible, but look almost identical to their modern equivalents.

I'm with you on the RX10 II - the video is very hard to deal with and get right. Sony over-promised on this one. However, I find Slog2 occasionally brilliant on the A7S II. I filmed a promo for an event last week, and I wouldn't of got the clarity and detail I achieved without it. In terms of the Canon 1DX II not needing a LOG mode, it comes down to a matter of taste. I'm personally confident enough to grade the footage how I want it to look, and Log gives me a nice rolloff from shadows to highlights, plus more dynamic range. If you are prepared for the lighting, exposure, white balance and grading challenges - LOG is great to have.

Nice shots Aaron. I love the image. What's the 120fps like? Get to try it out? Whats the weight like/handling? Move honestly skipped this prospect as I need a smaller body with high end features. Like the Terra. The 4.6k is too big for my current grip gear.

I wish this camera had a LOG profile. One huge benefit of log is highlight roll off. The videos I've seen so far have poor highlight roll off. The NX1 does that better. If they added a profile, I'd put serious thought into grabbing one. Although the 120fps mode quality doesn't particulary good. I'll have to rent one to find out.

The guys at the major rental houses in my area of the U.K. They said there's been a huge decline in the rental if Canon camera, most notably the C300. They said there's been zero demand for the C300 II, so they sold their units off. The reason is because of the FS7 - which is now the most popular and successful camera right now at the rental house. It has functionality the Canons don't. This is quite amazing seen as Canon literally dominated rentals the past few years (besides the Alexa of course). I like Canon products and the image. I think they should change their tactics to make more appealing products at more sensible prices.

Been thinking of using Resolve to edit with as well as grade. It's just that FCPX is marvellous and most of my plugins will only work in it. (Red Giant, FXFactory Pro, Pixel Film Studios, Motionvfx, Coremelt, Crumplepop and others). Who makes decent plugins for DaVinci Resolve?