64mulford

Hi all, Every 2 years I am involved in producing a DVD of a major dance competition featuring thousands of dancers in over 30 different teams. What I usually do is have a simple 2 camera set up, multi cam edit the footage together and put onto a DVD with a menu and ability to play all, choose to watch a specific night, or select a specific group to watch. On top of that there were bonus sections with photo slideshows, and bts footage. The DVD is vital to the financial success of the festival - they sell over a thousand copies, and without that they'd be running at a loss. We have reached the point now where maybe DVD isn't the answer. I have been saying for the last few years that we will need to find an alternative method for delivery due to the decline in the DVD medium, I feel that this is the year we do it but what are the alternatives? Is there anything out there (online) that allows menus, skipping, chapter selection, bonus etc AND is something you can get people to pay for!? And yes, I have thought about YouTube annotations but lacks that purchasing ability.

Don't forget to over expose a couple of stops to avoid the snow looking grey.

The million dollar question! Currently trialing Media Valet. So far so good but expensive so keen to hear of other options.

I've been in this film making game for a long time and it's only recently I've ditched ND filters. Talk about liberating! I'll never go back when run and gun filming ever! I'll usually stick to manual and not worry how high the shutter goes. Can hardly tell the difference between that and the old ND/180 rule despite what some of these old schooler's (I was one of them remember) tell you! For some projects I have even resorted to shooting in Aperture priority and just adjusting the exposure dial to suit the scene. Worked great for me. ND = dead to me. Well, not really. To be honest I'll still use them, but only for high detail, fast motion shots where the fast shutter really stands out.

Yep, get similar results with the 50mm, but that's it. The other lenses are no where near that quick!

I'm having limited success. I have the 24, 35 and 50mm Sigma ART lenses. The 50mm goes the best in regards to auto focus - quite fast. The 24mm is OK but the 35mm is terrible! Won't focus half the time and when it does lock in it's way off. Looking at getting the 85mm ART but worried it wont work even though it is classed as being compatible. What I'm really after is a 70-200 f2.8 (any brand) that will work. Have tried the canon version but didn't lock focus at all. I have heard this lens does work but on other cameras like the a7rii with it's superior auto focus. Anyone had success with the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 or even the Tamron on the a7sii via the mc-11? I'm starting to think the mc-11 isn't really made for the A7sii at all, unless one of you can convince me otherwise.

Hi everyone, After months of testing, trial and error I have come to the conclusion that I'm not only a terrible colorist, but also s-log on an 8bit codec isn't ideal. I've started playing around with other options, cine-gammas, PP off (using neutral or Autumn Leaves) among others, all with limited success. My latest combos is using "still" gamma and color mode "still", which I know is meant for stills according to the manual, but I actually think I have found "the one". To my eyes this setting provides the best color (very canon-like), maybe not the best dynamic range but the colors make up for it. Has anyone tried this combo? Can anyone tell me why I shouldn't use Still gamma/color mode?

I've had the A7sii for a few months now. It's a great camera but as we often hear in these forums it has it's quirks - white balance issues, odd colours, 2x crop for slow mo, poor battery life etc etc, but I have a couple of issues I'm hoping you folk can help with. 1) As mentioned we all know the battery life sucks. I do a lot of timelapses and one way to save battery life is to turn the LCD screen off while shooting one. But it seems when shooting with an intervlometer I can't turn the screen off! Well I can, but then the a7sii doesn't trigger the shutter. Has anyone else encountered this problem? 2) Picture profiles/Creative styles effecting RAW images - I swear the various profiles are coming through in my RAW files. Camera set to RAW, uncompressed etc but bringing into Camera Raw they are subtly different. They still have great latitude but the colours are effected. Anyone noticed this? I have a long list of other issues but these are my main issues. Would love to hear some solutions! I'm not complaining as I do think it's a great camera!

One use one depending on the project so never have to match - just cameras I have inherited over time - all EF lenses/adaptors. Yes, I understand 50% is sound, hence my question about sound.

I'm a long time dslr shooter (currently 5d mk3, a7sii and gh4) and I'm finally looking at getting an external recorder. Looking at the BM video assist, the non 4K version in particular (due to price). I have some doubts it'll totally transform my footage and make it more grade friendly - maybe it will, but my main question is about audio. Does the audio travel via hdmi to the recorder as there is no 3.5mm audio input on the video assist. If I have a shotgun mic or lapel plugged into the cameras audio input is that the audio that is recorded or is it just the in-camera audio? thanks for your help people.

How's the autofocus on the a7sii, particularly for photos if using third party lenses via metabones?

Just about to get the a7s2 with metabones smart adapter and a set of Sigma ART primes. Anyone know how the auto focus performance will be? Quite fast auto focus for photos is essential.

Thanks for your advice everyone. After a week sleepless nights of thinking about the next step I'm seriously considering sticking to the trusty GH4 and investing in a speedbooster and fast glass. To some of you that might seem crazy considering I could almost get whatever I wanted but I've been thinking about what I shoot, how I shoot and how I like to do things and what the GH4 offers is perfect. Let me explain why and why I ruled out the other options.... THE KNOCKOUT ROUNDS Canon 1DX mk2 - Ruled this out due to size and no stabilized fast primes which are absolutely essential for how I shoot (handheld mostly, no rigging as need to keep a low profile) Canon 5D mk2/3 - Same as above. If I was just focused on stills then this would be a no-brainer, but remember I'm after a true hybrid. Plus no slow mo. D750 - no slow mo (remember I want at least 100fps). Thant leaves the Sony's or the GH4.... A7r2 - Very tempting but no 100fps THE FINAL A7s2 vs GH4 A7s2 - Almost perfect. Stabilized, full frame, internal 4K, 100fps slow mo etc. Pity about 8bit out, short battery life and overheating issue (both of which really move it down my list as reliability and long battery life are essential to me too. Also, is 12Mp good enough for stills? GH4 - Long battery, crazy reliable, 4K, slow mo etc. Only downside is the smaller sensor. So here's what I'm thinking - invest in the speedbooster XL (this will get me closer to the desired look and increase low light performance). My only reservations about this is how good it will be for stills. From the research I have done it seems fine but keen to hear if anyone uses GH4 or M43 with speedbooster for stills. Also thinking to get some good fast glass like the canon 50mm f1.2, sigma 35mm f1.4, sigma 18-35 f1.8, all of which are exciting to think about on a GH4 with a speedbooster. I know they too aren't stabilized but I'm banking heavily that the GH5 will have the rumored IBIS which will solve that problem. I'll also add a Atomos Shogun to the list to boost video. Thoughts?

Really keen to stay with one. My GH4 is never rigged up, usually just a rode mic and an ND filter so I just unscrew it, switch to a photo mode and spin the dial for the correct shutter. Can do it all in 10 secs and means I can travel light with just one camera. Looking for a similar workflow. Don;t get me wrong, GH4 with fast lenses is amazing for stills. Like I said before, I'm a huge M43 fan and have said many times on here that I fully rate M43 for photos. However, working for a company with a pre-established style and look I have to maintain (which was the full frame look) I feel after a couple of years of trying I just cannot maintain that look using the GH4. If it wasn't for that I'd stay with M43 forever! No complaints about low light ability or anything from me. It's not just photos. The fact I now have to create high spec TVC spots also makes me want to 'upgrade'. While I have produced dozens of TVC's on the GH4 and its perfectly capable it would be good to take it to the next level. This company expects the best, so I'm keen to get the best tool possible that will meet my needs.

Good thinking. However I probably should have mentioned I do switch between both often do need to be very responsive. Two cameras would slow me down a little.

Hi everyone, I see a lot of these types of posts come up so I'm sorry to bore you all with another one. I did consider raising my question in the other posts but my situation is slightly different so I would really appreciate any advice to make this decision easier! I work for a large organization as their content creator. When I started the job 4 years ago my role was a little different to what it has developed into now. Back then my sole focus was on video as we had an amazing photographer in the team. I was basically given a blank cheque to get whatever I needed to get the job done. After much research and talking to people like yourselves I decided to buy into the M43 system with a GH2 and in recent years got a GH4 and all the best M43 lenses I could hope for such as the Nocticron etc. Over the last year or so my job has changed significantly. I now expected to produce our TV ads in house and have now picked up the sole responsibility of photography for publications, web etc. No problem I thought, as the GH4 has been an absolute workhorse on thousands of photo and video shoots, from TV to cinema to billbards and still going strong! While I love the GH4 for video I do find it hard to maintain the high standards left behind by our previous photographer who shot with 5Dmkiii and the fastest lenses possible. While I can get extremely close to those results with the Nocticron on the GH4, there are many situations I find difficult and shooting everything at 85mm equivalent is a bit restricting! Our photo style is all about shallow DOF portraits and while I can achieve that, there are times I can't. I would now say I am 70% photo and 30% video. I mentioned this in passing to the CEO who basically handed me a blank cheque and said "get whatever you need." I know, the best boss ever! While I'd love to stay with m43 as I am so familiar with it, and I'm actually a huge advocate for the GH4, I am open to the possibility of changing systems to increase my stills capability. I know, I know, it's not the camera, it's the user but in this case I do feel I have reach the limits of M43 for photography. Below are the things I value most in cameras according to the job and how I shoot: Compact and discreet setupSlow motion (very important - min 100fps)Great colour (GH4 has been a bit of a struggle but think I have it wired now)Image stabilization (very important)Extra functions like built in timelapse, high frame rate, wifi etcMust be equally capable stills and video camera.Great battery life and easy to work with codecGood EVF for shooting video, peaking etc.Based on this I think I can narrow it down to the below options (feel free to add anything). Sony A7s/r - seems obvious choice. Not sold on battery life and hearing negative reports about colour, overheating and terrible menus! Expensive and limited natives lenses but love the idea of IBIS.Canon 1DmkII - may break the bank and limit the amount of lenses I can get but it does look amazing. Not so small though and lack of IS.Canon 5DmkIII - Not really considering for some reason. Not too keen on the unreliable ML hack in a corporate situation but maybe you guys can convince me?NX1 - Looks amazing for video. Good enough for stills? Much of a future?GH5 - should I stay with the GH series? Maybe invest in a speedbooster and even better lenses. Do you think with a speedbooster this will get it closer to the stills performance of a 5D? How does the autofocus perform? I am hopeful the GH5 will be a beast spec-wise. If it has IBIS I imagibe I'll just get a set of voigtlanders and problem solved? (Although no auto focus arghh).Am I missing anything? Really impressed with Blackmagic too but really need that all in one video and stills camera of the highest quality! Thanks in advance for your help!

I shoot photo and video professionally and I'm heavily invested in M43. Had the opportunity to go full frame a month or so back but chose to stick with M43 (GH4). Just so dam convenient, compact, amazing battery life, easy menus etc etc. The key is good glass. I'm 100% native glass too (I have everything from wide to Tele and everything in between but the nocticron Basically lives on my gh4. That lens is the key to amazing photos and video on m43 and is the main reason I was convinced to stay with the system!

Hi team, just doing some research for a client around how to/instructional videos as they want to do the same to showcase their capability. For example, "How to turn your old denim into a ball dress". It is for an education institution and I'd like to have a teacher and student(s). Has anyone seen any examples of how to videos with more than one person, like a teacher teaching someone or a group, in a fun, fast paced video (it's going to be a 30sec-1min TVC)? Would love to see what's out there!

Should you switch from 4/3 to Sony? Hard to say. It's certainly tempting looking at the specs. I was was once a full frame user but switched to gh2 years ago. It's video features and small size really appealed but I did struggle for a while. I missed my full frame look and low light. But I stuck with the format. I've invested in all the fastest native lenses like the 42.5 f1.2, 50mm f1.4, 75mm f1.8 etc and it's really opened my eyes to the potential of m43 sensors. Now im using these lenses on gh4 which sensor-wise is a huge improvement over the gh2. I now don't see the need for full frame at all. I have all the shallow Dof I need and low light preformance is great, all without a speed booster which must be amazing (not being able to use a speedboosters is my only regret by choosing native lenses). Anyway, my point is I think with technology advances, m43 sensors in time will be able to produce very clean images at high iso which really leaves no reason to go back to full frame for me. I'd say stick with m43 and the lenses you have invested in.

Hi everyone. I'm torn between getting the voightlander 25mm and the sigma 18-35/speed booster for gh4. I'm leaning more towards the Sigma but keen to hear people's experience in using this setup for stills. Is no autofocus a problem? Video is easy with peaking but a little concerned about stills. For I shoot hand held in video mostly and a little worried about shooting with the sigma handheld. Anyone else use handheld for video? I imagine wider would be ok.

The 42.5 is incredible. It basically lives on my camera. At 1.2 is razor sharp and you can get very sharp depth of field. The IS is such an advantage to have too.

Yea I have the 42.5 f1.2 already but something a touch wider would be nice. The 25mm f1.4 is a great lens but poor build and gives me the jitters!

Will it ever happen? Plenty of fast 25mm (50mm FF) options out there but really keen to see a fast, stabilized version for video. Or is the general felling that stabilization is not needed for 25mm as it's wide enough to appear stable? In my opinion no. Keen to hear if anyone is aware of anything coming out. Even better, maybe the GH4 should get IBIS and solve this problem!

Just found this video modifying one for BMPCC. Anyone tried this with GH4?

Hi everyone, I have a GH4 with a bunch of native lenses. I have the 12-35mm but after something a bit faster and maybe a bit more range. One lens that stands out is the Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS. Doing the speedbooster math it works out to be a magical thing on the GH4 I think. Yes, I know, not as good as the sigma, but this has IS, which absolutely vital for me. It is EF-S though and having never used a speedboster I cant find any info or examples of this lens being used with GH4. I have heard it can be modified to work? Maybe you guys know of some other IS lenses similar to this? Thanks