DevonChris

Thanks for all the helpful replies. Your point, Don, about needing a dedicated graphics card hits the mark with my concern about the MCP. I just can't justify spending £2k+ on a MBP with a dedicated graphics card, when I have a good Windows Desktop that can handle 4k well, particularly when its transcoded to Prores. Whenever I need to purchase a new desktop or laptop, I go through a similar dilemma. The Apple products are just so much more expensive and lower specced than the Windows competition, so I usually go for Windows. However after plumping for the Macbook Air four years ago, I have been really pleased with it and it has never let me down, until now.

Thanks, Similar to what I'm thinking. Do you use your Mac for editing and what sort of specs has it got?

Thanks. yep, its good to see Thunderbolt 3 becoming more widely available. The Dell XPS has a Thunderbolt 3 port now whereas the 2015 Macs have Thunderbolt 2 ports :-(

My 2011 Macbook Air has just died - looks like the SSD drive is failing, even though I have repeatedly run fsck on it. I mostly use a Dell i7 desktop with 32GB RAM and AMD R9 GPU with Premiere Pro CC for video editing, though I have FCP X on the MB Air which I have used (and like) for basic 1080P editing too. I'm thinking of getting a powerful laptop to replace the MBA and have been looking into either Dell or Apple refurbs. Not sure which way to go, to be honest, so opinions gratefully received: Option 1) Dell XPS Core i7 6700HQ 16 GB DDR4 RAM 1TB SSD 15.6 4K UHD Infinity screen Windows 10 Price including three years NBD warranty : £1510 Option 2) Apple MBP May 2015 2.2 Ghz Quad Core i7 16 GB DDR3 RAM 256 GB SSD 15.4 inch 2880x1800 Retina screen Intel Iris Pro Graphics Price including three years Apple Care : £1639 Option 3 ) Buy a cheaper MBP (8GB RAM?) and stick to the Desktop for video editing. I only occasionally need to edit video on the road. Obviously spec wise, the Dell XPS leaves the MB Pro in the dirt, but I do get issues with Windows 10 (desperately hoping for a 10.1 release) on my desktop, and I have had a good experience with my MBA, apart from this very recent hardware problem. I am not going to spend more than this on a laptop so a MBP with dedicated graphics card is not an option. Thanks Chris

I've found Adobe downloads for 1080 and lower Prores presets for Media Encoder, but does anyone know where to find 4k Prores presets for AME? Thanks Chris

With a boss as good as that, put in a strong case for the Canon 1D X Mark II and a few IS lenses. That will sort you out for years to come for both photography and video

It sounds like you are running a successful production company, which is fantastic. Congratulations However it also sounds like the business revolves around your skills, dedication and sheer hard work. If you end up ill and unable to work for a lengthy period (as you said happened at Uni), then your business is really at risk. Should you be thinking about taking on some more staff to take some of the pressure off you? Sure, it'll involve more costs and management hassles, but it could be cheaper and preferable than losing your business through ill health.

The JVC LS300 looks good, and uses your existing lenses.

I bought a GX8 with the deal in December and received my cashback cheque from Panasonic last week.

Great comment. That really cracked me up :-)

I watched a drama shot in 4k and displayed on a Samsung 4K OLED TV last week. It wasn't an enjoyable and involving experience because you could see imperfections in the make up and see the actors sweating under the lights. Instead of being immersed in the story, I was distracted by these production issues ruthlessly revealed by too much resolution.

Nikon AiS lenses are excellent, but do focus the other way, which might be an issue for you.

Great interview with Rodney Charters. Thanks

Thanks for the compliments :-) The 5200's are very underrated, but the great SOOC images make the post prod work very straightforward. I've shot up to ISO 3200 with them but that is about their limit. Edit : BTW I have never had any issue with the hacked firmware, either with video or photography.

Here are a few test videos that I shot a year ago with the Nikon 5200 and 64Mbs hack.

I normally prefer to use primes, but I am blown away by how good the 12-35 F2.8 is on my GX8. I know that there is software correction involved, but I love the size vs performance and the combined stabilisation is really boosting my photography keeper rate because camera shake is all but eliminated. Like you, Matt, I have a number of AiS primes as well as the fantastic Nikkor 28-70 F2.8. These are all great on the GX8, but it is the 12-35 that stays on there mostly. I also have a GM1 with the 20mm F1.7 that I carry around with me. Its a bit fiddly to use, but it takes surprisingly good photos and 1080 video for such a small camera. For serious video, I am thinking of either a BMPC or BMCC as 10 bit 1080 with high DR is all I need at the moment, and I can use my MFT and Nikkors with it.

I have a GX8 with 12-35 F2.8 and I love it for the documentary style photography that I do. The combination of sensor stabilisation and optical OIS is fantastic, definitely making this a keeper. I sold my D810 and bought this combo instead, when I realised that my customers did not want 2 metre prints. MattH is correct about the crop problems for video though. I line the shot up in the view finder and then hate the fact that the image in the viewfinder (and being recorded) suddenly crops in 4K mode when recording starts. I very often have to reframe. Like Matt, I use 4K for enhanced 1080 output, but I have a range of manual Nikon glass and a MFT metabones speed booster so I am seriously considering buying a dedicated video cam such as a BMC in the near future. I am becoming more convinced that hybrid cameras are too compromised - they are either great for photography, and good'ish for video (GX8) or vice versa (GH4). For a beginner, though - they are fine . There are fantastic deals for the GH7 in the UK at the moment so this would be a great place to start, but try and buy used lenses in good condition. Investing in manual glass such as manual Nikors is also a great way of building an investment that can move from camera to camera.

Couldn't agree more. I was watching a BBC programme on a 60" HD TV last night and it looked awesome. Great colours, great detail, excellent DR. The image didn't need anything else, even though it was only shot in 1080, but in a 4:2:2 colour space and obviously compliant with BBC broadcast bit rate specs. That image would stand up to cinematic projection, no problem. It was the consistency and quality of lighting, skilled editing as well as superb camera skills that all contributed to that high quality material. The quality of their cameras and lenses help too, but they were using 10 bit 1080. Not 4K. It's another tired cliche that colour and DR are more important than resolution, but if I can achieve BBC broadcast quality standards, in a cinematic way, then I will be a happy bunny. http://dpp-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/specs/bbc/TechnicalDeliveryStandardsBBC.pdf

Interesting article about the FS5 codec here : http://www.xdcam-user.com/2016/01/my-response-to-all-the-fs5-artefact-issue-complainers/

Unfortunately it looks like you can't buy that product from Miraizon any more as they say that "their sales have now ended" http://www.miraizon.com/store/store.html

Great video. Thanks for sharing. That song is awesome - its been going through my head all day!

Interesting that you are favouring an MFT camera for stills. I recently sold my D810 and bought a GX8 for 50/50 stills and video. I was concerned about the sensor size, but for the commercial documentary style stills I take, its fine. The key is the stabilisation. My keeper rate has gone up and having such a small camera with a brilliant lens like the 12-35 is a joy. The video from the GX8 is excellent too!

Thanks for the comments and thoughts so far. It looks to be more an issue of the 4:2:0 to 4:2:2 interpolation that the recorders do, rather than converting the data from 8 bit to 10 bit. Heres a good explanation of Chroma sampling comparing 4:2:2 to 4:2:0 and the use of interpolation to create a 4:2:2 file from a 4:2:0 source using CineScene. He concludes that there is no benefit in interpolating from 4:2:0 to 4:2:2, but hopefully there are no disadvantages too. There does seem to be an advantage in using an intermediate Codec such as Prores and at higher bit rates, even if it is from an 8 bit 4:2:0 stream

I'm starting to understand it a bit more now. Prores is a 10 bit 4:2:2 Codec, which is why an 8 bit stream needs to be upscaled to 10 bits before the Prores encoding process, however I still can't see how the colour quality isn't being affected. By upscaling from 4:2:0 to 4:2:2 the system has to make up colour data that isn't in the original stream https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_ProRes

I'm seriously thinking about buying a Ninja Assassin, but may be using it with a Nikon which outputs an 8 bit data stream over HDMI. I've been searching to see how their recorders handle an 8 bit input and eventually found this Atomos brochure, but it's from February 2014 : http://www.atomos.com/downloads/ninja-blade/manual/Ninja-Blade-Brochure-PDS-Feb-2014.pdf The important bit is this : The Ninja Blade always records in 10-bit, even from an 8-bit source. We add color registries for incorporating higher bit-depth graphics from CG, animation and special effects. This avoids banding and makes editing and grading, in fact any precision effect, more accurate. I assume that all their recorders work like this and that this has not changed recently. So their recorders are adding data to create a 10 bit recording. Does this cause any issues with recording quality - colour accuracy? noise? Has anybody found any issues with 8 bit recording with Atomos recorders? Thanks Chris S