fuzzynormal

Work with the pilot before the shoot discussing the shots you want. As with drones, a simple "low and slow" is always a good bet, but that really depends on the location parameters. Show him/her with basic models what you want to do and they'll tell you what you can do during the flight. I've asked pilots to do gentle positive G swoops for me and they've agreed. Positive G's pretty gives you situational stability which helps. I did some volcano filming in a 3rd world country and they pretty much let me lean way outta the heli on a single strap to get clean framing. Pretty sure I wouldn't do that again. Yeah, don't do that. I would not choose to use a consumer gimbal unless you're going to be doing some straight cruising in clean air with no buffeting. Not sure how that would be a realistic assumption, really. Also, any banking during the flight would wreak havoc on the gimbal. BTW, I also just did some plane to plane filming this summer with the GH5 and slow mo. The GH5 IBIS worked good when the flight was decent. Honestly, it's really all about getting smooth air during your flight. --Which is typical on nice days if you're high enough off the ground.

One of the best collection of wedding videos I ever saw was a guy doing his stuff on the EM5II. Nobody would ever claim the EM5II has top-line IQ, but his videos were always amazing. He knew how to shoot fast and pretty, and the EM5II and the IBIS really harmonized with his workflow and skill set. A good shooter can do a great job with an old Rebel Ti. Ultimately, it's about having exceptional people skills and enjoyment of the work. You really have to be gung-ho about getting in there and helping people in a positive gentle way. Rapport with your couple is the absolutely priority, shooting skill second...I don't know where camera selection falls in the priority list, but it's always more than a few notches below everything else.

If that's your goal, I, personally, would take one of the Olympus cameras. Not sure what your'e ultimately going after in your long term goals, but as an example, when I finished shooting my latest doc this summer, I did a debrief session with my wife and we figured that we probably should have shot the film on EM5II's instead of GH5's. Yes, the IQ is wildly better with the LUMIX flagship model, but the EM5II is a much cheaper camera. That would have opened up a few grand for the other MORE IMPORTANT parts of the budget - and that's so, so much more pragmatic than an edge in IQ. Also, the EM5II is just more adept in crazy handheld situations....which 80% of the doc ended up being. The Oly cams have quirks you have to adapt to, but nothing that's sways me enough to avoid them. For instance, you have to set white balance. Auto-WB drifts too much. The image on the EM5II will alias when shooting super sharp modern glass. (newer 4K OLY models are clean) The on-board pre-amps aren't great, but when paired with my Sennheiser ew100 kit, it works well enough. So, I look at your photograph above and think, yeah, I could easily do a decent dolly/so-mo cheat in that situation with my old EM5II. The GH5? Eh, not so much. That's my anecdote anyway. Balance your choice with all you do. So many cams these days are more than capable.

That's what you'd get from these cams. Actually, I think the stabilization system on any brand will get you there. My wife has an X-Pro2 with some cool optical stabilization, but I'm partial to IBIS though because I like to use old primes.

That's right. It's for static shots. But static shots where the subject is stationary, like a building. I tried it a few times on an interview where I was static, but when the subject shifted their feet or leaned in their chair it created problems for the image. If you're taking a shot of a mountain or something like that, it's kinda neat. It's just not something I want, or need to, activate very often.

It's okay. Depending on what you're shooting, a shooter often has to skip it though. The algorithm will fail when high motion is present. Panning or tilting is not a good idea. That said, the GH5 under the standard IBIS will take the edge off of handheld shooting for sure. It's actually kinda nice that it "floats" a bit. Gives the frame some smoothness, but maintaining a nice kinetic energy. But the IBIS on my EM5II is still the best I've ever used. With that and a little practice, one could easily emulate dolly shots handheld. IBIS is not a gimbal though. If you think you can get it to work that way, prepare to be disappointed.

Oly stabilization has always been awesome for me. Not sure what lens you're putting on it, but if it's a manual lens you'll need to tell the camera what focal length it is or the IBIS won't function accurately. Sounds like you need to delve into the manual and menus of the cam.

Different lenses all have certain qualities aside from stop and FOV. I shot a short film a few years back on an Pentax A110 24mm 2.8. You can see the IQ shortcomings over modern lenses when you look for them, but the choice with the old Pentax lens was artistic. It fit the story. Even though most viewers won't pick up on my lens choice, it affects their perception of the story. Sometimes you want tack sharp, contrasty, and clinical, sometimes you want the flaws. These are considerations that are all part of the mix. That said, unless one's being extremely discriminating, I find it kind of hard to differentiate substantial lens quality between modern lenses at similar price points.

A good and fast 50mm is enough. I think I might actually shoot better if that's all I had.

Yeah, I guess so. It's fun in the sense that you're creating contemporary content, like friendly "How ya doing" correspondence, with an archaic medium and transfer/delivery system. The crazy is that 20 years ago the internet was still new enough that letter correspondence wouldn't seem odd. Now? Brave new world. But, hell, that's me. I have still have my grandparent's 78 record collection and a spring wound Victrola. Nostalgia works better on us old farts.

I'm still using a typewriter from time to time as a novelty. You ever send anyone a letter? It's fun.

Man you had the fancy Toaster 3000? Lucky guy. I had the 1st gen. Internal time base correctors I needed to buy in order to do live switching cost an arm and a leg. Still, I cut my 3D animation teeth on Toaster's Lightwave, which was cool. Actually, I still have the thing and the Amiga 2500 in the basement closet. "Star wipe, and we're out."

I see your videonics digital video mixer and will raise you a Toaster with Kiki wipes. It required a lot more pre-visualization. It was a skill that was part of the job for an editor.

If the market meets the level of my finances, I could see myself having a Medium Format camera mostly for talking head interviews. Until then, I'm good. Figure I might rent one in the near future to see how I like it. I'm kind of loaded with debt at the moment so I'm on a spending freeze.

I usually get these messages in my spam email.

I'd readily rent that Fuji for doc or corporate work.

In my experience, true and serious artistic types don't get caught up too much in the technical. I think we're more craftfolk here, so lots of public fretting about tools instead of creation.

I'm a fan of Leone, so the idea of doing audio overdubs in post is cool. Also, if you watch a lot of late 20th century films you'll hear the practice all the time. It was pretty common. It's a fun alternative way to do stuff.

FWIW, the feature film that won the audience award at the film festival I help run was shot by a novice on a FX-1000. It looked pretty lousy. Didn't matter to the audience though. The writing and acting carried the film. The only feature length narrative I've ever managed to shoot and edit was done on a Canon XH A1...no regrets. I like great IQ too and will pursue it, don't get me wrong, but just shoot your thing with whatever it takes. Nobody outside of other film people really care about the tools of the craft, just the results.

Eh, the contradiction was amusing to me, what can I say? Also, no. [sad face]

Spoken like a true camera enthusiast.

What will you want to have once you have what you wanted to have?

Eh. You want sanitized opinions, lots of other places online for it. There's drama here, but it's pretty innocuous stuff -- it's simply about cameras and the misc things around that. It's not life and death.

Still can't stop liking Oly. It's just...man, the things you can do easily with their stuff is just fun. The enjoyment factor compensates for the slightly-behind-the-curve IQ specs. Cant wait to see the Em5III.

"Why I won’t be buying the upcoming Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K" Ha! This is awesome and why this forum is legit. Warts and all. Andrew feels slighted, lets everyone know why, and lays it all out online. Don't have to agree or admire the guy, but at least he lets you know where he's coming from.