anchoricex

​What method would you use to make an image neutral?

Where can I learn more about that color spectrum? Is that a Davinci Resolve tool? edit: so that's a vectorscope. Curious, how come a tool like this isn't offered in photo editing software like Lightroom or Photoshop?

Kendy Ty is an excellent example of shooting on a 200-300 dollar camera with a 200-300 dollar lens and getting the job done well. He is clearly focused on the end result and does what he needs to do to get there using the few tools he has, akin to a sketch artist using nothing but a pencil or ballpoint pen. It's been covered many times on this site that chasing equipment will often hinder your ability to focus on the art of it all, and Andrew has quite a handful of blog posts that touch on the humility of this all. With that said, it's still exciting and important to embrace and use new tech when available, I see nothing wrong with it so as long as everyone stresses the importance of actually shooting and making things.

Hi all, I've been shooting for fun for a few years and something has consistently baffled me: skin tones. There's an abundance of tutorials on skin tones all over the net, but they don't answer a fundamental question that I'm after: What are skin tones supposed to look like or how do I know what skin tones should look like when I'm grading a video or photo? Instead all of these tutorials just go over how to adjust skin tones, but give me no real way to determine how they should look in the context of the composition. Even when shooting raw and have the most latitude to mess with in post, I've noticed minor adjustments will take your skin tones and throw them out the window, I know people often use mask layers to isolate the skin from the rest of the piece, but when I want to grade to give it a certain look, the isolated skin tones no longer fit the rest of the composition once the rest is graded. Ahead are a couple samples of grading to have a cinematic overall feel/look and the skin tones look exceptional (screen grabs from Anomaly). But how do you know the skin tones fall where they do to fit the rest of the composition? What languages do people use to describe skin tones so that I can better learn to imagine where I want them to be? These frames are brilliant, the skin still looks like skin even though the tones of the rest of the composition have been pushed to feel likely way different then how they were originally shot, but the skin ALSO fits within those scene colors. Typically if I grade something to have this kind of look, the skin tones go with everything else and end up not looking like skin anymore and my photos look like I have live corpses/zombies walking around. I don't know how you're supposed to determine whether or not your skin tones are supposed to be reddish/yellowish/gold/etc in the context of the grade you're going for. I really really apologize if this post is confusing as hell, it's just been frustrating me for a long time now and I'd like to work hard to clear this wall in my pieces. That feeling you get when you're laying on a grass field staring at the stars and trying to comprehend how big the universe must be and your brain just hits a wall, that's how I feel when I'm trying to figure out skin tones.

seriously have to tip my hat to samsung for giving a damn about their video consumer base and implementing better and better firmware releases, I can only hope for big things for this next one. if any samsung liaisons are reading this, thank you for listening.

Probably a stupid question... but how bad does 1080p stuff look on a 4k monitor? I'd like to get a 4k monitor to really view 4k content, but I anticipate doing a lot of 1080p work indefinitely still, and 4k here and there.

I would be so delighted if this little camera just had the option to take a still photo. I know you can always pull a frame from the raw video, but for ease of workflow, a still key combination would be so good, maybe pressing focus + record at the same time = still photo, I don't know. I love the thing and think I may pick one up.

If Ed could step outside his body and see himself objectively he'd see that he is indeed fulfilling an almost insecure part of him with the side he's taking. He's feeling validated by holding the "I'm good, I'm right because I'm standing up for a vocal minority in this issue" and I've seen him pull the "I'm a filmmaker, I see these things clearer" and uses filmmaking as an additional device of validation. It all screams insecurity, which is okay, but yes he has absolutely strayed away from rational fairness by chasing the delusion that he is simply right on this issue. Looking for other posters and tweets that reinforce your side of the story doesn't mean your standing is more correct. It simply is not fair to completely eliminate the possibility that there is another side to the story, but it didn't cross lines until his public postings/tweets that do nothing but damage before any facts are out. He turned it into a smear campaign.

the only time I personally want an external monitor/recording solution at the moment would be to pull 4k out of the a7s. Oh well

​anyone eye'ing the 12 stop version? 3k is an awesome pricepoint for hobbyists, but wondering if the 12 stop version would be considered money wasted

Holy shit this is the most deliver I've ever seen come in a camera package. And for that price point. Oh my god. It's like it was born out of what people want out of a video camera.

That is an insane deal. Insane.

I apologize in advance if this strikes you as extremely noob, because it really is, I know. I've actually never used a follow focus before but I'm looking to get a few Rokinon/Samyang cine lenses because they come with the declicked rings and teeth for follow focuses. My question is, are these teeth a "universal" size that most all follow focus systems utilize? Also feel free to throw out affordable compatible follow focuses that can attach to a standard rod system. Cheers

I am so ridiculously torn between this camera and the a7s

Ps I also often dream of a stabilized higher megapixel (for stills) a7s

Ah dang I misread it. Got too excited. Sorry everyone, feel free to edit thread title. don't suppose anybody's given it a go yet on the previous firmware update ?

http://esupport.sony.com/US/p/swu-download.pl?mdl=ILCE7M2&upd_id=10327&os_group_id=3 When Andrew reviewed the a7ii we were all on the same page about the IBIS being really underwhelming because it introduced a really uncanny microjitter that seemed to tilt and lightly stretch the image towards you and away from you, just saw this update. Anyone with the A7ii wanna install it and give it a go for us? Or maybe Andrew could revisit it? Curious if Sony even noticed the IBIS wasn't very well received for filmmakers. If they addressed this that would mean they're listening, which would be rad.

yeah NAB is right around the corner, but last I heard v-log was just experimental. It may very well be that even with a log profile they were simply limited by the sensor they're using and weren't able to get enough DR to deliver to consumers.

can someone explain this CIZ feature to me like I'm 5

I felt compelled to reply to this topic. I've been on many sides of the fence on this issue, I've been the guy who, when the fs700 was released, absolutely had to have 120fps for camera work. I was so enamored by the possibilities that I could implement with slow motion, then I actually used it and realized it wasn't too special and I probably overdid it (https://vimeo.com/109775095) but can definitely add value here and there SO AS LONG as you keep the idea/feeling you want to portray in mind. THEN I became the super jaded guy who was getting irritated with test videos all using slow motion, and tons of videos being uploaded in Vimeo all implementing their respective cameras slow motion. I would say things like "slow mo is cliche" or "slow mo is played out" and basically felt like it wasn't all that special anymore since everyones iPhone could do slow mo. THEN I realized I was merely projecting my insecurities on others. And just like that I didn't care anymore. It no longer matters to me if people are using slow mo, lifting the shit out of their blacks, the important thing is they're trying to make things. If it's slow mo that captivates someone into doing something creative, so be it. I like that. I like seeing people with cameras, trying to explore a side of themselves that pretty much all modern societies try to surpress. Is it overdone ? Absolutely. Does it *actually* affect me, and my ability to deliver ideas? No, the only thing that could ever affect that is myself. Overall it's a tool, and I think it's important that ALL camera manufacturers, at this point, include at least 120fps to be there when people need it.

That lens has optical image stabilization. Makes the handheld video footage considerably less shaky, and mirrorless cameras all suffer from really really bad micro-jitter. I personally haven't used it but have seen some videos that use it and it looks good. It's a really useful focal range and decently fast for it's size. I was personally looking into getting a nikon adapter and the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 lens and a cheap 50mm f1.8, and maybe the tokina 11-16mm f2.8 if I wanted to do wide angle stuff. No autofocus with adapter use, but with video I never ever pull focus automatically.

Value you sharing your decision with us. I absolutely love sony's a7_ cameras, but they have certain quirks that I'd expect to be gone at this point. You're right NAB is weeks away and I'm also waiting to see what manufacturers do (mostly Sony). I would immediately pull the trigger on any of the sony a7_ cameras if they offered 120fps in 1080p. Hopefully, they will release new bodies with 4k because 4k cameras tend to be able to process/write fast enough to do 120fps (hoping they dont cripple something like this to protect the fs700/fs7). The NX1 has been hugely appealing to me but I also LOVE photography and part of me wants to stick to full frame, so I'm really crossing my fingers for Sony to come through here. The NX1 looks excellent though, but I think they're going to be a key player in forcing the hand of other manufacturers to put 4k in sub 1500$ mirrorless cameras. We'll see how Sony answers.

correction on my original post, I meant "insist on samsung OIS*** lenses"

Ditto on the h265 from adobe. I've been hounding them on twitter and they conveniently ignore me every time

Anyone have any supply chain rumors or anything of what's to come at NAB? I wish someone would release an IBIS camera that does 120fps/1080. I'd kill for an a7ii with 120fps@1080p or the nx1 with IBIS. Everyone seems to insist on just buying IBIS samsung lenses for the nx1 to negate the dreadful shaky jitter you get from mirrorless video, but I've yet to see fast enough lenses for my liking on the platform. Too bad Metabones has deemed the speedbooster impossible on the NX mount, and nobody is interested in making smart adapters w/ electronics. Really love both cameras but each one has one huge tradeoff that I'd like to see come together in one camera. Since 4k cameras seem to be popping up every camera show, I anticipate to see more cameras include higher frame rates for 1080p since 4k cameras can process and write faster. Wish I'd see more people besides Oly and Sony adopting IBIS though, there's something really special about having IS on old 50 dollar lenses.