fuzzynormal

No, you're right. The comment my side-rant sprung from was certainly innocuous.

My go to lens is still currently the FD 55mm f1.2 on a cheap Chinese speedbooster. The longer focal length, the lower contrast, the imperfections of the booster... Certainly makes footage look less digital-y. It's a decent solution if it fits the look you want. Plus, if you really want to push into lowlight shots, it'll take you there. A f1.2 on a speedbooster becomes something like a f0.9 --Not with a super sharp image, but you can do it. I think it looks good to my eye stopped down to f2. I also appreciate the mass of the lens. It gives a welcome heft to the smaller M43 cams I use. FWIW, I shoot mostly doc footage and still wouldn't consider using autofocus. I get why it's handy, but I'm old school. I like the aesthetic of a camera operator actively trying to find focus as things are happening. That's not a flaw to me, that's an authentic cinema-verite look with contextual legacy. Finally, the one thing I don't like about FD, is the twist-lock mount system. PITA when trying to swap lenses on the fly. If you plan on doing lens swaps as quickly as possible, would recommend Nikon lenses instead.

Granted, but when most subjects on this thread tend to be IQ and skintonethis/skintonethat then people are knocking the handheld technique, I think it's a little unnecessary in the context of stuff. Like I said, I spout off on tons of info I probably shouldn't --but to be clear, I'm not opening discouraging anyone from sayin' anything, just projecting my own insecurities.

It's one of the golden rules of the internet: by posting contrarian ideas it offers those making such claims a sense of authority. i.e. they know something we don't know therefore they're smarter and better than you. Hey, if I'm being honest, I'm guilty of this too. I can't visit nofilmschool without this urge bubbling to the surface. It's a techniques that gives blowhards like me a shortcut to sounding (self) important. At it's core, I think, this sort of thing is a matter of insecurity. Haters gonna hate, imaright?

Panasonic GX85 or G85. Nice to have the IBIS. If you really want to stay cheap, pick up used old glass and a dumb M43 adapter. If you want better low light capability, you can get an inexpensive chinese speedbooster with a fast old prime.

My guess as well: Loupe burns.

I think I've settled on something similar. Not sure how long I'll be on Premiere, but utilizing the proxy function allows for a fast editing process even with a modest PC/Mac. If one needs to crank out numerous videos non-stop under heavy deadlines, the faster render times are nice. For others, a budget and efficient computer can be pragmatic.

I've been hearing the term "snowflake" and "safe space" a lot from the alt-right... Not sure what side of the political spectrum you're on, but regardless, c'mon now. At the least, you can just walk away from here and never return. If you don't like it, jump. Still, it's just one dude's thoughts for goodness sake. Even if you ignore the rants, there's other good info here. Besides, what's exactly wrong with hearing other's political opinions? I'm pretty sure it doesn't make one's brain explode. Does it?

I would have figured the threat of seeing my blurred nude body would be enough to deter the TSA's full body scans, but apparently I was wrong.

The real reason they're doing it is to be dicks to people they dislike. Basically, they're discouraging certain people from coming to the U.S. at all because they simply don't want them here. Bannon's philosophies about this are widely known. He loves "the Fourth Turning" and "The Camp of the Saints.” Wack-a-doodle stuff. The excuse for it all is "security," but it's pretty obvious what's going on. (at least in my opinion) BTW, this is nothing new for us. This is pretty much how it goes around here for lots of people. Sorry y'all! 'Murica's a big place, lots of people and ideas here. Sometimes the weird ones bubble to the top.

Well, I'm not going to claim Oly creates the best video. At all. I'm not sure I'm a true Oly supporter, so much as a guy that just likes the EM5 cameras for some reason. But, for this next film I'm shooting, with the lenses and camera I already have, plus the audio gear set up I use, and then finally the budget, it's the smoothest choice for me right now doing an A cam, B cam. Honestly, would have liked to have kept my GX85's, but I require a more convienant audio solution for this next gig. I also need all the $$ on hand for PR once the thing is done. The production is shoe-string all the way, so I'm doing it lean and mean. A used EM5II is cheap and the IBIS is great, so...

Shooting film can look awesome, but the delivery quality in theaters was a crap shoot. Heck, I watched the last Mission Impossible, shot on film, and the digital projection was merciless revealing flaws of the source footage. I watch a ton of films sourced on digital consumer gear (film festival stuff) and believe me, the things kids do with cheap gear looks incredibly better than film projections from back in the day. Everything stays clean 'til it hits the viewer's eyeballs. Not sure yet. I might get one for a tourism gig coming up in May. Otherwise, believe it or not, I'm thinking of getting a second EM5II B-Cam for a doc I'll be shooting this summer. Lots of reasons why (IQ not at the top of the list).

Oh, I will as well. I shoot a good chunk of "low-fi" stuff these days. Quick and dirty run n' gun stuff. But it's easy, fun, and pays some bills, so why not?

Yes, that old NTSC still looks great because those projects were co-lit by a colleague of mine that's really good at doing such. Also, most of it was magic hour shooting. Which is why, in my anecdotal experience, resolution and dynamic range ain't the main thing. It's wonderful to have, but when you got solid craftspeople on set doing a great job, any decent camera should look wonderful. Consider Arri. Everyone loves the Alexa, right? Footage looks awesome, etc. Well, why wouldn't it? Pros are using it. People that access the upper echelon of cameras tend to be people that are already pretty good at what they're doing. It looks great because it's shot great. In the up coming months we're going to see a bunch of mediocre footage from the GH5. (along with some crazily impressive stuff too) The weak footage won't be because it's a bad camera, but because it's affordable enough to be in the hands of people with rudimentary skills making mistakes and bad choices.

I've also shot and edited 1080, uploaded it to vimeo/youtube as 4K, and it holds up quite well. Looks good. Also made DCP's from 1080 and it looks wonderful on the big screen.

Yeah, my claim is that we've been there for a few years already with various brands, but it's nice to keep getting new tech that's even better. As much as I'd be loathe to admit, a lot of my best work was done 20 years ago on NTSC. The reason it was successful is not because of the dynamic range of the camera or the limited resolution.

Agreed. I've utilized IBIS effectively for my low-end corporate shoots. Unless one is a complete moron shooting video, ya figure out what looks good and what doesn't and make it work for your production. No, you don't use IBIS as a replacement for a tripod. If you're doing loooong-take event videography, (boring, but whatever) you most likely get a tripod. On the other hand, if you attempting to knock out a ton of quick but elegant b-roll shots, you can make IBIS footage look great. With decent IBIS I quickly and easily learned how to emulate a dolly/slider shot. I do this handheld with a simple technique. Doing that on the fly adds a level of quality I try to accomplish on my gigs. Back in the day, I'd have to set up track to handle the bulkiness of video gear. Then, as gear got smaller, I went to a slider to accomplish the same look. Now I can do an entire shoot handheld and still get that more sophisticated footage. What's not to like about that? Bottom line: You still need to be a half way decent shooter, nothing compensates for that talent. But if you got the chops and know how to make smart decisions, (IBIS is NOT a steady cam people) then the added tool of IBIS is a welcome capability.

On my EM5II I do find myself taking more stills because of this. I guess that's a big reason why I find the camera kind of fun and enjoyable to work with.

That's the thing about various gear or filmmaking "blogs" out there. Most often it's dipshits like me spouting off on our anecdotal and biased experiences. And there's nothing inherently wrong with that. But when a site purports to be some sort of authority on matters when all they're doing is elevating us fellow dipshits to assert some faux academia and generate ad revenue, damn right readers are going to be skeptical about that nonsense. "Don't bullshit a bullshitter" is the American colloquialism...or "dipshitter," if you prefer. I mean, god bless the kids at a site like nofilmschool for pissing into the wind with their tinkle of naiveté. I think even that sort of blog has a place, but to manufacture cut'n'paste "content" with the priority being the monetizing of it all? No thanks. Too smelly. Fact is, EOSHD doesn't play that "content" game. It's not trying to be something it's not. It has license to be aggravated, satirical, or dismissive because it's willing to pay the price to do so. When I was a kid we'd shorthand such an attitude by simply saying it's "punk rock." If anything, that's the minor-key vibe that keeps me around here. Expecting EOSHD to be otherwise, knowing what we know of the owner of this place, is also slightly ridiculous.

Yeah, butt how's the bokeh?

Camera X has better skin tones.

What's the context of that? I'm not up enough on the saga to parse it.

I used to have that glidecam. You just need a spacer to lift the camera a bit, yeah? Suggest going to a hardware store and pluck around in the bins for anything that'll lift your cam enough and then get a bolt to fit. You could get a machinist to fabricate something for you in a matter of minutes as well. Or, honestly, looks like a Manfrotto quick release plate might give you enough. If not, it's pretty easy to add a spacer to the Manfrotto receiver too.

Indeed. It suits my run/gun doc stuff quite well. Pany does as well, but the Oly feels more comfortable for the long haul. Of course, the gx85 is cheap too. Best value for $ I can think of right now. --And I do like shooting stills on the Olympus and the X-pro2. On the other hand, I took out the Fuji the other day for some motion picture shooting just for the heck of it, so it must be growing on me.

Contemporary aesthetic. Kids with their phone camera videos and the YouTubes.