Tim Sewell

I have a couple of mini-docs to shoot soon and really wanted to have just one light that can fight daylight. I happened to come across the ZSYB 500w COB on eBay for an astonishing GBP206! At that price it's definitely worth a punt. I'll report back once it gets here.

My mate had one of these when they first came out and, although it was pretty useless for video, the stills it produced were lovely (and way ahead of their time). Extreme jealousy ensued as the price tag (even now, s/h) was eye-watering.

Hall monitor^^

I recall that it was said to have shocking RS, although others chimed in at the time to say that that was only a show-stopper if you classed it or used it as an action cam, which despite its size, it wasn't.

Thanks @kye. As mentioned, I'm looking for silhouettes so no shadow detail is necessary, which was why I was thinking of going down the HG route. I think you're right, of course, in that I should do a test.

If I want to capture a sunrise on the beach (leaning more into silhouettes than shadow detail) does the hivemind think I should stick with SLog/CineEI or go to one of the highlight-oriented Hypergammas? This is on a FS7.

I will be 60 in 15 days 🙃

It's hipster heaven. Will look great sitting next to my wooden headphones!

Having this morning taken delivery of a used Sony FS7 at an amazing price and in amazing condition, I'm going to throw a spanner in the works and suggest that getting something like that, initially, would give you the opportunity at little cost to find out if you actually enjoy shooting with a cinema style camera. It ticks most, if not all, of your boxes (especially the FS7 II due to the locking mount which would be great for adapting to PL) yet also gives a taste of the differences between hybrid and dedicated ergonomics etc.

Good point!

The only bugbear with this is the lack of aperture control on the lens, meaning you always have to have an active adapter. Also MF is a real pain on virtually all (esp Canon) EF lenses.

My Sony Walkman from 1986 would like a word with you on that one.

Crikey. I din't know you did Liverpool weddings!

Certainly has to be considered, but 'proper' video cameras are just so much nicer to shoot with. I'm a mere hobbyist, but I just far prefer the ergos of a decent dedicated video camera. In fact I'm currently eagerly awaiting the 370hrs FS& I just magaed to pick up for GBP695 (trading in my Lumix G9)!

An increasing amount of advertising content is now shown on large, vertical screens in public spaces so, although we might find it distasteful, it's definitely a thing.

For the money, this (and the many other versions available under different brand names) can definitely do a reasonable job: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00139W0XM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The well-known and much-revered products of another German company are available, used, for a somewhat similar price.

It's especially odd as, if one is particularly concerned about video, one can find far more effective and enticing ways of spending £5k than on this.

I must confess I'm always a little mystified that people are willing to pay the Leica premium for digital cameras. One of the most compelling aspects of a Leica film camera is that it's 'the camera you pass on to your grandchildren' - but how does that stand up for digital, given that the sensor etc in even the best of Leica's offerings will be obsolete in 10 years?

A truly beautiful piece of work.

^^ Anyone responsible for paying the crew's wages probably wouldn't choose to shoot a feature on a...

Hmmm. My understanding is that a major reason for the almost exclusive use of Arri for serious movie making is the fact that if the camera goes down the Arri network is so good that another will be delivered within hours. I should have thought that kind of protection against downtime would be just as important (if not more) on a low-budget production.

FS5 has autofocus but it ain't fast and it ain't great!

Well done! My current cam for video is a G9, which I love, but taking some pictures for a friend's daughter at her wedding celebration (she had a pro, this was extra) showed me that M43 just doesn't cut low light stills to a high enough standard; so I shelved plans to get another G9. I already have a full set of EF lenses, so Canon was a no-brainer, and my wife recently got a 5D mkiv, which I like. Didn't want to spend that kind of cash at this stage, however, and I reckon the mkii gets me 95% of the way there anyway. This was GBP290 with c35000 clicks, which isn't bad. I'm definitely liking the images so far, so once I get my first booking I'll pick up another (MPB - they've got loads!).

Well I just bought a 5D mkii, with a view to getting another, to relaunch myself into the wedding stills trade this year. Fairly impressed so far...