Cinegain

Yeah, I love stuff like that! Director's takes on gear, techniques and ideas. Have seen Rodney out with the Newsshooter team getting a look at all the new stuff coming out at these tech innovation events and appreciating the somewhat lower end gear as well. Which I think is really cool that established cinematographers maintain to be grounded and open-minded about these things. Then there's the 'the full Cinematographer Roundtable will air on Close Up With The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday, Jan. 31, at 11 a.m. ET on Sundance TV' which I'm stoked for to see. There's already some snippets up at http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/cinematographer-roundtable-cons-cg-betraying-851551 . Those always give great insight on the way cinematographers approach things. Ooh, only just now I noticed the one with the directors already aired: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/video/watch-thrs-full-uncensored-director-851649 .

Well...

Cool! Andy had a good tip one time, the cheapish AI 35-70mm f/3.5 that renders closely to the Bourne ones (28-70 & 80-200mm f/2.8D). Perhaps your does too? Yeah, the Planars and Distagons do look damn sexy. Wouldn't mind a set of those. But then again, who would? Well, I guess the conscience, wallet and wife.

Even with the firmware upgrade the monitoring functions of the Video Assist are pretty minimal. It's very basic. You'd mainly get it for recording from your camera's video output. Can't say how it would work together with a Sony myself. Did you consider the Video Devices PIX-E5(H)? To me this is the most interesting monitor/recorder on the market out there. But I would say it's kinda pricey. Though compared to stuff like the SmallHD 502 monitor or Shogun and Odyssey monitor/recorders, in all reality it isn't really.

You know what they say... 'it's always nice to get yourself a Zeiss!'. Well, I'm pretty sure that's not what anybody says, but I guess you can add 'for a very good price' and there must still be some truth to it. I told somebody the other day that I really need to explore Zeiss for myself sometime. I'm quite interested to literally see for my own eyes how great these are to have. I always see people's footage with a certain soul and smoothness to it. Without having like that super vintagey flawed character. I don't know. There's definitely something unique to Zeiss lenses! But I haven't really convinced myself to get even more lenses when I have so many already. A Planar 50mm on the cheap doesn't sound too bad to get a little taste for it though.

Well, everyone has been saying how great these S lenses are and from what I've seen they seem almost unfaultable. I think they make sense if you for the NX1. Obsolete system or not. Price... that differs from person to person. I'd say 800 USD is not the craziest I've seen, seems kinda fair for a lens regarded o be of premium quality.

The tilt up on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre figurine had a really cool look to it. Enjoy it for many more days! I'm sure you will.

Which is a single focal length without electronic stabilization and autofocus... to add some perspective. Can't really fault photographers for picking a Canon 24-105mm L and 70-200mm f/2.8 L over (or to go with) a couple of fully manual primes either.

Yeah, according Tiffen there's 'Black Pro-Mist 1/Ultra Contrast 1, HDTV/FX' for 'Film Look On Video'. According a broshure found here , what they help to do is... So... I guess you'd get the Ultra Contrast for evening out exposure, ups the shadows and reduces contrast. The Black Pro-Mist does the same, but softens the sharpness and creates glowy highlights. The HDTV/FX does it without the blooming highlights. I actually don't get overly sharp images, depending on what lenses I use, so the Ultra Contrast works for me.

The Ultra Contrast 3 is great. I have it in the 77mm flavor, so that I can adapt it with rings to just about any diameter lens. Haven't actually thought about using it with an Olympus... I've mainly used it with Panasonic, to take the edge off the modern look footage tends to have. Olympus already renders quite organicly by nature. Concerning camera body and lens, that sounds like a fine idea. In the recent EOSHD video quality charts – 2015/2016 the E-M5II comes out in 2nd place for Ergonomics & Shooting Feel with the note 'superb stabilisation, wonderful body design especially with the Olympus battery grip' and 'This model features absolutely the best built in stabilisation by a mile, far better than the current Sony system in the A7S II and A7R II. You will obtain almost completely locked down tripod shots without a tripod, so a very good handheld choice for discrete documentary work. Image quality however is very mediocre with moire issues'. I also know other users (hi fuzzy) like it especially for the stabilization and although it's not 4K or killer at 1080p (it's ranked last in Andrew's charts), it does a more than fine job if you're not planning to shoot Hollywood productions on one and have realistic expectations. They've recently added new firmware which opens up some nice possibilities: http://www.getolympus.com/upgrade . Concerning the SLR Magic lens you want to use with it. You can try sending an inquiry directly to support/at\slrmagic.com. That's how I got mine back in 2013. Directly from them. Was one of the 1st 100 to receive theirs (with step-up ring and lens cloth as a bonus). Wouldn't make much sense having to buy it from the US when you're in Japan (sort of speak close to the fire (Hong Kong). Did you check Amazon.jp and Rakuten.jp as well?

Ah yeah I remember saying about that: ~ http://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/7955-kodak-celluloid-film-saved-by-studios-oh-and-by-the-way-whats-the-point/

I glued one with the 'lock' stuck in the wrong position one time... same differnce I guess.

It's not bad at all if you're okay with all manual use. Personally, I wouldn't be. The advantage to me is the system with the premium S lenses (C-AF, hybrid use). Without it, I'd actually rather get a Sony. Except for the fact that there's only expensive fullframe 4K Sony cameras... for now...

Yeah! Those filters can work some magic. We've discussed that a good year ago. Inazuma's post back then convinced me to get one as well!

Can't see anything saying that they actually ship internationally. Could be the case that they will, but you will have to check by contacting them. Just keep an eye on: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/zoeken/?keyword=nx1+s & http://geizhals.eu/?fs=nx1&in= , maybe more will follow. There were some dirt cheap in Switzerland... https://www.toppreise.ch/prod_388442.html . https://www.digitec.ch/de/s1/product/samsung-nx1-body-schwarz-28mp-fotokamera-2759475 & https://www.galaxus.ch/de/s1/product/samsung-nx1-body-schwarz-28mp-fotokamera-2759475 for 668 CHF ~> 615 EUR ~> 670 USD. But the Swiss have a different policy concerning import/export/tax, so no shipments internationally. But if you fancy a trip up there/down there... With a lot of difficulties I'd probably be able to score one... but I think it's pretty useless without the kit lens Andrew mentions anyways. Before I had an understanding with a shop that I could get a kit for 1299. But when finalizing the paperwork the employee got told that this was an error and the actual price had to be 1899. For that, you can get it anywhere now, so I'm not tempted unless it goes significantly down. And even then, now there are other fish to fry.

I'll have some LOMO 2x anamorphics! I found this to be a nice write-up: http://presynkt.com/tag/lomo-2x/ . Used to be a time we saw Andrew talk about these kind of things! http://www.eoshd.com/2012/11/lomo-anamorphic-goes-super-35mm-my-music-video-shot-on-the-fs100/

Intro reminded me of Dexter a little. *Which had gotten so bad by the end Pretty epic visuals!

Can't really go wrong with Olympus glass. They've solid rendering all around their line-up. I didn't go with Pana's 12-35mm f/2.8 OIS, I actually decided to go E-M1 for stills and then use the 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO kitlens (even though the lack of stabilization on GH2/GH4/BMPCC/Z E1). You can get quite stable handheld or just use a mono- or tripod anyways. Then I've added the Olympus 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO. Not really interested in the 8mm fish-eye or the just announced 300mm tele. But the 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO with MC-14 1.4x teleconverter would be a welcome addition and give you 3 flexible zoomrange lenses with consitent qualities throughout. Additionally I have the excellent classic which is the 45mm f/1.8 and last year I finally pulled the trigger on the 75mm f/1.8 ED which I had been eyeballing for the longest time (doesn't get much better than that for portraits). For macro the 60mm f/2.8 ED. Don't have the 12mm f/2 ED, because it used to be priced ridiculously high (they've first brought out a silver version then sold the black version as 'limited edition' :') ), it has come down a fair bit (about 300 EUR), but still didn't go for it. Other lenses would be the 17mm f/1.8 and 25mm f/1.8 of which I've heard good things. But this is a common range in which I have enough alternatives. They've got some pinhole-like body cap lenses, but I wouldn't mess with those. Nespresso, what else? Well, starting out with the Pana GH2 I had the 14-140mm kit lens. At first I adapted vintage glass in addition (Minolta, Pentax). Then added the must have 14mm f/2.5 and 20mm f/1.7 to have a really minimal set-up. Added the 100-300mm for wildlife (with custom r-roesch.de lens collar). Just. There's something about Panasonic lenses... they're very sharp, which kinda makes it brittle, very contrasty and punchy on the colors. It's a very modern and poppy look... which doesn't really help with the stigma that stuff shot with Panasonics looks like 'video'. Olympus just has that more organic rendering. OIS for primes used to be reserved for the expensive Leica branded lenses... the 45mm f/2.8 OIS Macro-Elmarit and the 42.5mm f/1.2 OIS Nocticron. Recently they've brought out the 30mm f/2.8 OIS Macro and 42.5mm f/1.7 OIS under the Lumix branding and priced them accordingly (that's also why I don't understand people saying M43 lenses are so expensive, they don't have to be at all! And recently I picked up the 25mm f/1.7 for 99 USD only!). They're actually pretty great lenses to have and seem to have lost a bit of that typical Panasonic modern look and render a bit more organic. Seems like they're heading the right way! But... I'm still not really in love with any of Panasonic's offerings. Sure, the 42.5mm f/1.2 is probably quite magical, but I see it go for 1249 EUR right now and there's just no way. It probably should've been priced roughly like the 75mm f/1.8 by Olympus. The pancakes are quite attractive just for their shear size. But other than that, Panasonic is not really all too exciting. What's exciting? Well, third parties. Just the lens manufacturers. Before Sigma renamed the 19mm, 30mm and 60mm f/2.8 to 'ART', these were availlable as 'EX DN' and actually featured proper grippy focus rings (now it's just one smooth surface). Managed to snap up the 19mm and 30mm for 100 EUR/each. Optically really damn good for the money. Build quality a bit iffy and rattles when powered off, but who cares. Had gotten into SLR Magic. Had seen a shootout here: http://3d-kraft.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=137:adorable-25s-25mm-f095-speed-lens-comparison-on-lumix-gh3&catid=40:camerasandlenses&Itemid=2 and decided the SLR Magic HyperPrime CINE 25mm T0.95 had to be the next to get. I don't regret it one bit, it's probably my favourite lens to throw in front of a Micro Four Thirds camera. It's just epic. That's the only SLR Magic I went for so far though. Another Chinese manufacturer is Zhongyi. I have their 24mm f/1.7 and 42.5mm f/1.2 (like the previously discussed Leica DG Nocticron). A good write-up can be found here: http://www.mirrorlessons.com/2014/11/17/the-zy-optics-mitakon-24mm-f1-7-and-42-5mm-f1-2-micro-four-thirds-mount-complete-review/ . Alan Besedin also has an impression on his channel. Basicly these lenses have some really quirky character, reminiscent of vintage lenses. It's a kind of you either hate it or love it situation. But I like it! Recently I've gotten their 25mm f/0.95 in, which fits right in with the other two and is just so damn small! These are not lenses you'd use for their solid politically correct qualities, but for their quirky creative bursts. Not for everyone, but I definitly appreciate it! I guess the only other native mounts are the Veydras, which I jumped on when they were still rather affordable on Kickstarter. I was send the 16mm, 25mm, 35mm and 50mm T2.2 right away, the 12mm took a little longer to get finished. It was a bit of a risk investment, but the risk paid off in the end! Very solid glass and construction, proper cinema primes. Detail rendering is on point and they're solid throughout. Not the most exciting lenses in terms of character, or in the words of Adam Wilt perhaps even 'boring', (solid write-ups: http://provideocoalition.com/awilt/story/first-look-veydra-mini-primes-for-micro-four-thirds & http://noamkroll.com/veydra-mft-cinema-lens-kit-review-rokinon-cine-lens-comparison/ ). But he also states they're basicly 'scaled-down Ultra Primes for micro four thirds cameras' and I can't think of any bigger compliment than that. Good thing now is that the mount is user swappable, which means I can get conversion kits and change the mount myself (to either E-mount (only S35 covering, and the wide lenses will vignette) or C-mount). So, that kinda of makes me excited to get a Sony A6100...

True that. Unless you can get one with the S lenses... say get the body w/ S lens kit for 1000. It's still a great camera with awesome image and features. And that autofocus, right? You could even make it your dedicated gimbal cam. But. I could imagine that in two years, or perhaps just one already, this is behind the curve and you're looking to upgrade to stuff with much better lowlight performance and dynamic range. What are you going to upgrade to? No more Samsung... And until then? You're relying on dummy adapters and adapted lenses? If you did go for electronic native lenses, then suddenly they're worthless to you on another system. It's not a choice anybody would lightly take right now...

I have invested in (and locked myself into (although I adapt quite a bit of Nikon/M42/Pentax/MD/FD glass)) the M43 system and can't wait to go APS-C mirrorless. So... ... sound like a solid plan to me! From what I've gathered we'll know more by CP+, http://www.cpplus.jp/en/ Feb 25-28. Nothing wrong with sticking to M43 either, though. Just. You got to be real sure you want to stick with it. I have 15+ or so lenses native to M43... so switching now is quite tough (even if there's a dumb adapter M4/3 to E-mount, although I wouldn't so much be switching, just when an upgrade is due, not go for the new GH5, but something like the A6100, there's still a place and time to whip out M43 lenses I think (E-M1/BMPCC/Z Camera E1/DJI X5R)). But I also have a Nikon system, D5300 and was already adapting Nikon mount lenses for the longest time, as well as M42, PK, MD, FD, etc (so, I wouldn't neccessarily be starting E-mount without adapting options). The D5300 was the first time I've gone up from a mirrorless interchangeable lens system with Micro Four Thirds sensor (having started out with the GH2, and later added the BMPCC, E-M1 and GH4). It showed me that APS-C is the way to go for me when it comes to hybrid shooting. Stills are just awesome and overall performance is quite a bit up from M43. Just, a D5300 isn't mirrorless, and being used to liveview from previous experience, an OVF (which also takes away the option to look through a viewfinder shooting video in sunny conditions having a hard time seeing the screen, or just for stabilization purposes bringing it in close to you and cradle it with your hands and keep it against your head for three points of contact) felt like a step in the wrong direction. Also, it just slams the mirror multiple times when you would shoot stills in liveview. Video mode isn't spectacular. The recorded image itself actually is way nice. But it's just a shame you're so limited with it. Mirrorless APS-C can be found with the NX1... which I would get, eventhough the system is appears dead, if you wanted to spend the money on the body + S lenses. Great image, features, autofocus. Just... it's quite a chunk of money still... and apart from the S lenses there's only a thin not so exciting line-up with no smart adapters of focal reducers. I wouldn't do it unless the price was too good to let it go, which for me, still isn't the case. Nah. Then mirrorless APS-C concerned we're left with Sony. And with them the only hing I'm not sure with with Sony is the initial (or persistent) bugs and how they handle color. Otherwise, they bring out exciting cameras with awesome features. I like what they've done with the RX10M2, RX100IV, A7RII and A7SII. I'd get the A7RII, but I can't really convince myself it's worth to splurge on. Especially because I care a lot about keeping things compact and travelable. A fullframe sensor would simply be wasted on me, as I wouldn't be too eager to feed it fullframe image circles coming from somewhat bulky lenses most of the time. That's why I initially went with Micro Four Thirds in the first place. But do think APS-C/S35 is where it's at. For hybrid, for the performance, for the aesthetics, which include making it easier to establish a shallow depth of field. And then there's still the option to throw on a focal reducer to get close to that fullframe look. And there's smart adapters for Canon and recently Nikon-compatible as well. So. An A6100 would be it for me. Especially if the rumors are true and it's basicly a mini A7RII.

Veydras are great. They don't have any funky stuff going with them which does make 'em consistent and have great resolving power. You can now user swap the mount to E-mount too. If you were to go up from that, without the need of fullframe, remember the Sony CineAlta set that has come down in price tremendously (as seen on: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/906631-REG/sony_scl_pk6_f_cinealta_4k_six_lens.html ). So you'd get a S35 covering set of 6 lenses, 20, 25, 35, 50, 85 and 135mm T2s for 2150 USD/each new. That's some proper glass! Still fairly pricey though, but I've seen 'em go up 2nd hand for 4850 GBP in the UK and 8500 EUR in France. And for that kind of money... that's pretty interesting for proper cinema primes. Personally I'd like to mess around with some C/Y Zeiss next... see what all that's about for myself. I like vintage vibe, but usually I go for the extreme ones which tend to flare and create crazy bokeh, yet aren't really solid go-to lenses to just use for everything. Another interesting idea would be to shoot stuff exclusively on the BMPCC and get the Zenit Optars... http://shop.zenit-foto.ru/kinoob-ektivy . Concerning Nikon Ai-s. The 28mm f/2.8 is a legendary one. Such a beaut.

Exactly! I like APS-C. You cut the costs by not going with fullframe tech, you got the compact formfactor, still a considerable enough bump up from M4/3 performance/rendering wise. But then give me something APS-C mirrorless. Like you said. Give it a flexible mount. Then you can add smart adapters and get decent performance out of Canon and Nikon glass. You can get near fullframe aesthetics with focal reducers. Keeping it affordable, keeping the option to keep things really compact and light and still getting enough out of it. I'm looking for a nice hybrid shooting solution... GH4 - nothing to fancy about its stills... ISO1600-6400 to be avoided, ISO not much better with Olympus, better on stills and color, but then video is meh D5500 - great, but not mirrorless, video mode bit iffy - D750 - not mirrorless either NX1 - dead system, thin native lens line-up, mount without availlability of smart adapters and focal reducers What does kinda look good is... the A6000 - mirrorless: check, stills performance, not too shabby, mount flexibilty: love it!, video features: could use a bit of an upgrade given the fact they've done intriguing stuff with the RX10M2, RX100IV, A7RII and A7SII lately So... I guess the A6100 is the camera that at the moment gets my most interest. If it turns out to be a mini A7RII, then count me in.

That's also a thing that always baffles me... ... either these users value their relationship too much to be critical or something... or these brands just don't want to give people an amazing camera that does everything right, because they then wouldn't be able to sell cameras to those people in the years to come.

... and still manage to cripple it enough not to make it worth while. Unless some certain people to do with Magic Lantern manage to bypass it. Anyways. Is the D5 even more cropped in, in FHD, than the D500???

Maybe they do take after Samsung after all... D500... NX500...