maxotics

Here's how I fixed it http://maxotics.com/?p=296

If you want a film/medium format look have you tried a Sigma (Foveon sensor) camera? Lots of controversy, as you know. You can often get them cheap because hipsters don't want to wait for them to write an image to the buffer (around 11 seconds on my DP1m). You can get good deals on them used. I go out with my dp1m. Shoot a bit, get frustrated, decide to sell as soon as I get home. Load the image in Sigma Photo Pro (another PITA), then get weepy-eyed that I ever considered letting it go! Here's a photo of nothing special I took the other day. Edge to edge sharp. Lighting captured perfectly. > And I'm with you. I have nothing against H.264. If I could get it to do what I want I would. I wonder about the Olympus. I bought my daughter the first one used and I thought the video very good. Imagine it is only better now.

Yes, you must be having a good laugh at me coming down from my RAW horse ;) There are times when I want some quick video, either because the d600 is all I have with me, or to shoot s a video of how I dremeled down my Chinese Focal Reducer to fit on the BMPCC :) However, I feel the lowly GF3 is easier to use than the d600, and the quality is not that much worse. So lately I've been looking at getting a g6, gh3, a6000 or gm1, just for h.264. These cameras would sit between the d600/dp1m and BMPCC. What's your take? I understand the Panasonic cameras will always be a bit sharper than the full-frame. That aside, if you had to shoot h.264 can you see picking the d600/800 over the gh3? I trust Appleidiot is right (how could one not trust someone who picked that screen name)? Maybe I should get a d5300 for h.264.

You want Canon for the Magic Lantern hacks (software). You don't need a 5D3 for animation because it will be overkill. If you shoot from a distance, which you'll probably want to do, to flatten out your subject, you'll get plenty of shallow DOF with any Canon APS-C size camera. You can get a 50D for under $400 and with ML it is a monster camera. Or a 7D, if you want to be more current. I also love the EOS-M. A seriously under-rated camera in so many ways. Also, any chroma key work you want to do, you'll want deep color. The Panasonic will be less flexible, from a programming standpoint. That is, you can program Canons do to all kinds of cool stuff, like 12fps RAW if you wanted.

I don't want to replicate anything Andrew might do. I have a d600 and am happy to hack it and do tests. The stills from the NikonHacker site seem to show real improvements in the video quality. @araucaria, are you using this hack now and find it worthwhile? BTW, I love that Jacek Dylag video above of Anna Treter. I would tell anyone not to waste their time with Nikon video. His video proves otherwise. Again, very exciting that Andrew is taking this up.

It's an irony to me that the d600/800 has the highest DR of any camera for stills, yet the video looks washed out. I don't know if it's my imagination, but the d5300 video looks better than my d600. If that hack could turn the tables, that would make me a little happy :) This is VERY interesting!!!!

Hi Richg101, My focal reducer looks exactly like the one in your link. My feeling is it is, and it is either a bit off, or the BMPCC. I tried screwing out the lens, but it makes no difference. However, I see that I can remove the Nikon mount part, then the lens, so could then file down the flanges a bit without worrying about the lens. So will try that next. And thanks for the tips! UPDATE THAT WORKED! I unscrewed the Nikon mount part from the MFT mount. I then unscrewed the lens and took it out. With a dremel I sanded a bit off the underside of all 3 flanges. It now seems to fit perfectly. As I mentioned before, the Nikon 24mm 2.8D, does not fit on until clicking into place, but enough that I don't worry about it. Anyway, THANKS richg101, your ideas got me to the fix!!!

After looking looking at it more closely, I believe the flange isn't quite deep enough so hits up against the BMPCC lens support springs. I see no way to machine it. The flanges are cast metal.

Andy, here is some tests using the GF3. Quick and dirty. BTW, the Nikon lens doesn't fully click into adapter either. I wish you lived in the U.S. I'd just send you this one.

Great videos. You really nailed the audio! I can make RAW look like H.264, but never the other way around. The first video is very rich and nicely flat. The second, with the FS700 just looks like video to me. Anyway, if you figure out how to get H.264 to look like your RAW, even for Internet delivery, please let me know ;)

If only I knew what to grind ! I looked at it very closely and can't figure it out.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/281242768029?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 It also doesn't fully mount the Nikon 28D, though enough that I can live with it. Doesn't click into place. Since lens is D, not G, I am a bit more forgiving. You can see a wide grooved ring on the adapter that does something to the Nikon lens. You can see oil in the section where it moves close to the silver release button. So the adapter has some build issues there.

I bought a Chinese Focal Reducer on eBay for $96. Shipped here to U.S. in one week. Tried it with with a Nikon 24mm 2.8D. Unfortunately, the focal reducer does not "lock" into the BMPCC, just turns enough to stay on gingerly. Mounts onto a Panasonic GF3 fine. Wrote the seller, waiting for response. UPDATE: see below, it can be fixed. You would need a dremel, some flat sanding disks. Naturally, would be best if you get one that works perfectly. HOW IF FIXED IT HERE :http://maxotics.com/?p=296 Upshot BEFORE YOU BUY ANY FOCAL REDUCER ASK IF IT SPECIFICALLY MOUNTS ONTO YOUR CAMERA. Optically, it seems good. Here are some DNGs. I started with f4 because that was what Andy wanted :) https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13097257/FocalReducer.zip Here's some rough footage. I show how the adapter doesn't mount onto camera at end.

i have a Nikon d600, for the same reasons you do. I too have considered selling all my equipment for a 5d3. I then did the math. I buy most cameras used, but will use new prices for this analysis. 5d3 body, $3,400. New D610, $1,900, difference, $1,500. With that one can buy a BMPCC and lens. So that's what I did. I bought the BMPCC new and a used 14.45 for $170. The camera is small. The big benefit is it is made ONLY TO SHOOT RAW, so it makes that as easy as possible (though it's still RAW). I can shoot Prores HQ with audio and get it into my NLE in no time. File sizes are smaller than ML because of basic compression. No compression in ML Canon. With Canon cameras you need very expensive CF cards and though I believe they can record audio now too, I bet there are issues. Every other day I think about selling my BMPCC. It has nothing to do with the camera. Video, in general, is a big distraction for photography, for me. There is a high probability that you would get the 5d3 and shoot RAW only once or twice. So my advice is to get the BMPCC (which wasn't available with I started with RAW on a Canon 50d) and see if you want to do more video. Even if you end up selling and take a few hundred dollar loss it will be well worth it. Also, with adapters you can use your Nikon glass on the BMPCC. The only problem is it has 3x crop factor. That's a drag ;)

The BMPCC is very close, though for H.264 video, like fuzzynormal says, those Panasonic cameras are near perfection. I'm not sure chromatic moire will ever be fixed on any bayer-sensor 1080p camera. The biggest surprise, for me, is how good 4K sampled down to 2K looks. As Andrew said, if you want prefect 2K you want 4K. o. Maybe a filter to improve moire on the BMPCC? o. Manual lenses (not focus by wire) for the BMPCC that are wide, with a range-finder like focus viewfinder attached? :) Or a focus box in the middle of the screen? o. Maybe a focus confirmation dot, like Nikon, when the BMPCC is in focus in a square you can move around? o. A smart hot shoe on the BMPCC where you could attached an EVF and/or external mic/recorder? What I really want is more people to buy BMPCCs so Blackmagic makes them a business/development priority.

The main audience of EOSHD is not the audience I think you have in mind when you work on it. In the end, most of the forum members will seem phony for you (and that will both sadden and annoy you). As others have pointed out, who you reply to, or don't reply to, say more about you than you realize. Are you a film-maker? A camera reviewer? A video gad-fly? How anyone could possibly support themselves doing what you do is a complete mystery to me (or, anyone with a family). I've been expecting you to one day shut the site down, or abandon it. I don't see how you can keep up this pace. Something will have to give. I don't know how long I will be following this site. I used to be on the Magic Lantern forum all the time. I no longer visit it. I will follow threads on DPReview, but I quickly burn out (for the reasons you mention). If I was making videos, instead of experimenting with equipment, I wouldn't have time for this forum (a catch-22). I'm very curious to see how you evolve. I see no way to "prioritize" content on the forum. Are there problems? Yes. But less than most other forums. Are the forums worth your time? My 2-cents is you don't really have the personality for it. You're neither warm nor fuzzy. You don't seem to want to charge for a lot of your original content. And you don't run adverts. Do you understand that money, beyond its monetary worth, also separates the serious from the frivolous. Money could be part of the solution somehow. Money talks and bull___ walks. As another posted, you can't have it both ways, tons of viewers and high quality. They are inversely proportional. What makes you happiest? What do you do best?

On the viewfinder. Since I need it like reading glasses it worked because it is a bit off the screen. If it fit perfectly, I'd need glasses because it doesn't have a diopter. In other words, @bioscope, it may work well for your BMPCC but not the 60D. Or the other way around. It doesn't show the BMPCC screen completely, but enough to see what you're doing. I find I can operate all the controls without looking away from the loupe. Contrary to many reviews, I find the camera very easy to operate. My only gripe is if you don't hit the focus zoom (ok button) fast enough, two clicks, that stupids slate screen comes up. Not sure why they have a video setting either. @Axel, thanks. Been changing the ISO. Thanks for the tips. I should know better.

I wish I could go back too. No I don't ;) On the viewfinder, I made an interesting discovery from a mistake I made. I'm 52, so need reading glasses now. I ordered a viewfinder http://www.amazon.com/Neewer%C2%AE-Screen-Viewfinder-Extender-Canon/dp/B0084LFED0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397073209&sr=8-1&keywords=view+finder+lcd-v3 for my EOS-M. When it came, the eyepiece was a third of the inch away from the screen. That actually worked well because it was enough for me not to buy an expensive one with a diopter. I use it on the BMPCC too. $20. On Resolve, you want to make sure you have the latest drivers for your card. If Windows, the latest DirectX. That's what it took for me. Resolve is overwhelming. Though once you get the basic hang of it pretty easy to do simple grading. The 7-14mm lens is perfect. You don't need a focal reducer. You might want to try shooting short clips inside. Axel's 16mm camera analogy is spot on. If you love film, the effort is worth it, and once you get into a workflow you won't go back. Here is an embarrassing video I did this past weekend. Like you, I'm not ready, but I'm forcing myself to start making videos ready or not. Lots of comparison to other video cameras. You'll see that when I got it set up right, the BMPCC just blows past the other cameras.

HI Andrew. Why don't you think Sony is putting in internal 4K? Cost, business, technical hurdles?

Was amused, recently, at some of the posts about Blackmagic ignoring their current users. Looks like laugh is on me. I don't know why they advertise Resolve 11 when you can only download 10. Noticed a new version from yesterday, 10.4.1 and downloaded it. Immediately I could tell there was something not quite right. Slow. Crashed. Wouldn't import BMPCC dngs as a clip. Noticed other bug reports on their forum. SO SUGGEST YOU WAIT UNTIL 10.1.5, or 11. I meant 10.1.4 in title, sorry. Maybe BM is over-extended?

@Alan, the camera isn't easy, but the quality of the image is spectacular when you have it set up right. I believe you'll get over these issues. Just press iris until you see the zebras disappear in the part of the image you want. That lens doesn't have OIS, but even at that wide angle, there is still shake noticeable because the images are THAT good. Also, those lenses are made to be corrected, in camera, but not by the BMPCC. My pains are similar to yours 1. Focus is very difficult to see. 2. camera is very susceptible to moire in bright light and stopped down. It's frustrating, but think before you return it. The image is truly cinematic and film-like. I bought a 14-45mm with OIS for about $170. Is a good inexpensive lens. I also have the 14mm like you (but wanted the OIS). HANG IN THERE! :)

@Andy, or anyone, will do whatever tests you'd like. My pleasure. In Nikon, I have a 24mm 2.8D, 50mm (both D and AIS), and an 85mm rokinon. I'm a bit stuck between the Rokinon 16mm cine and Nikon 16mm (which would work on my d600 I believe). No plans to get either but thinking... The 7mm Vivitar I have has too much barrel distortion on the BMPCC. Thoughts Andy? @ZEBRAWORKZ I would be surprised if the gx7 has better sharpness in good light than the GH3 because though the Achilles heel of APS-C size sensor is the amount of pixels they must skip to get a 1080p frame, and line skipping creates moire, pixel binning, while improving that, doesn't change the fact that you would probably get more sharpness from pixels that are physically closer to each other.

Andy's not going to cheat on his g6 with just any broad, so I'm thinking the a6000 might be a winner. I thought the 11fps burst very good. If you can get that continuous on a 95mbs card then you have a poor man's 4K. Unless you're filming people in dialogue, that kind of motion is often desirable anyway. I've noticed I can shoot continuously with my GF3 on newer cards (but 3fps). The only reason I sold the Nex 7 was the proprietary hot shoe and, admittedly, slow focus. Seems like both those have been improved. I don't mind the lower res EVF because the problem I had with the Nex 7 in that regard wasn't resolution but responsiveness. It would black out, hesitate. And getting APS-C size IQ. I wish it had all-I though and a higher bitrate, though, I have to admit, I can't see the difference between the g6 and Gh3 with the latter is shooting 70mbs. BTW, Andy, bought that focal reducer from China for $100. Going to pair it with my Nikon 24mm 2.8D on the BMPCC

Having a camera that does both stills and video is the Holly Grail. The a7s is exciting, if it is priced under $2,000 Anyway, I've been experimenting with all kinds of gear and this is where I'm currently at. I started with Canon for stills, was very happy, then bought a Nikon d600 on a lark, expecting to sell it after a few weeks. That was almost a year ago. When Nikon went digital they made sure you could use any old Nikon Lens. When Canon went digital, they changed lens mounts (though you can get adapters). Canon implements video better than Nikon (the locked aperture in video with Nikons is a PITA). As a stills camera, Nikon has really pushed in-camera RAW capture and currently has better dynamic range than Canon. Nikon has to be first-rate in stills. They don't have a significant video business. http://home.comcast.net/~NikonD70/Charts/PDR_Landscape_scatter.htm DR isn't everything. A lot of people prefer Canon because the images are warmer. Even I like them better. However, they are a tease. You can shift Nikon red in post and pick up a lot more detail. I read many people saying MFT is as good as full-frame, even very established photographers. But they all sheepishly admit that they shoot full-frame, except when they must go small. I guess what I'm getting at, is if you start trying to get the best photo-setup you're going to want full-frame. Something about the physics of it. So that's why the a7s intrigues me too. Although not great it low light, I'd take an original 7-year old Canon 5D for a portrait over a GH4 without hesitation. Anyway, I'm learning the hard way that a good set of manual glass is ALWAYS useful on any camera. So I can use all my Nikon glass on my BMPCC, d600 and even my knock-about GF3. That was one of the pointers I really bought into from Andrews 50D raw guide. Anyway, if I was you I might consider getting a used Canon 5D. I see them for about $500 now. I bet you could get one for $400. They take beautiful images. (Nikon, unfortunately, doesn't have old full-frames that go cheap, get got into the game late with full-frames) Or the d600 are often sold cheap because of the oil-spot thing. Ignore the panic. They monster cameras. I want a GH4 as a knock-about camera. As Andrew said, and you must know, moire is a big problem with the BMPCC, at least for me. However, when you avoid it the image to me, is Cinematic. More so than 4K, to my taste.

Today I noticed just that! Barrel distortion on the 14-45 at 14mm. on the BMPCC. Also, I'm finding the focus-by-wire more and more irritating. I don't know if I'm coming in or going out ;) Focus assist on the BMPCC is nothing to write home about. The great thing about manual lenses is you can use them on all cameras. I think I'm going to get a Rokinon 16mm cine. I also just ordered a $100 focal reducer from China. I think with that, and my 24mm and 50mm Nikons I won't have it easy, but at least I'll know what I"m working with. Thoughts?