Zak Forsman

I planned to get rid of the E2 when the F6 shipped, but the E2 has plenty of it's own strengths so I've decided to keep it as a B-Cam.

they're slooowly releasing footage. I graded this 6K clip in DaVinci. For fun. I have an F6 pre-ordered. Looking forward to getting my hands on it so i can start shooting --

16 is out of beta now. 16.1 is the version in beta currently. Another thing on everyone’s mind is if the discounted prices that B&H mistakenly published for the UMPG2, P4K, & P6K today, will be announced as a temporary sale or permanent price drop in anticipation of something new in the line-up.

Sorry for being a nerd: DCI 4K Scope (2.39:1) is 4096x1716. So there's actually a few more horizontal pixels here to play with. Their 4096x1728 and 6144x2592 work out to 2.37:1. So I think they're just listing 2.40:1 as a rough way of saying it's basically scope.

This is the Full Frame 6K camera. here's the breakdown of their cameras. E2 - M43 4K S6 - Super 35 6K F6 - Full Frame 6K F8 - Full Frame 8K

Maybe look at the Z-Cam E2-S6. It's a 6K cinema camera with a Super35 sensor and a MFT/EF/or PL mount for $4,000. These follow the "sensor in a box" definition of a cinema camera. It's like the next evolution of the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera. Due this October along with an F6 (Full Frame 6K) and F8 (Full Frame 8K), but those will be EF and PL only. I've got my eye on the F6. Sample clips look promising.

First clip from the full frame 6k E2-F6 was released in their FB group. I guess they’re going out shooting with it this weekend and will release that footage soon. This one was just a tease. Grade is me.

I have my eye on their E2 F6 (the full frame 6K variant) so I've been following developments in their facebook group. Took some time to grade new footage from their original m43 E2 and I gotta say, it's pretty good. I had to denoise some shots and they didn't clean up as well as my EVA1 does -- probably because my EVA1's noise is finer and tight, not "clumpy". but still, based on one of their engineers saying that the F6 will be their best performing (in terms of noise) I've got my fingers firmly crossed that it will be the "vistavision" cinema camera I've been longing for... and only $5,000. Here's that E2 footage I took a stab at grading. The last shot of the girl with the camera is my fav. Skin tones and highlight roll-off work for me.

I shoot interviews with an EVA1 and a GH5s. Both are connected to a 15.6" 4k production monitor. Toggling between the two, the EVA1 signal is dead-on while the GH5s shows serious lag. It's ridiculous, really -- maybe 4 to 5 frames of delay. I don't have a Ninja V, but it would be interesting to see if it introduced lag when connected to the EVA1, which again, has nearly none when connected to any of my monitors or EVFs.

work from the studios has been keeping me busy. have been traveling all over, shooting interviews and behind the scenes on my EVA1 and a pair of GH5s's. leaving again for New Orleans tomorrow.

I use a Brother label printer for most things. And a white ink Sharpie paint pen for things like Pelican cases.

I can run a 4K signal to it using the same HDMI cable from a camera (GH5s is what I tested with), and the monitor will properly display an image downscaled to 2560x1440 and indicate on-screen that it's receiving the 3840x2160 signal. but from the 4K Mini Monitor PCI card, when sending a 4K signal, it will work going to a 4K display, but will swap over to an HD signal if connected to a 2560x1440 or 1920x1080 display. This is something I've tried everything to get working (Display Port, etc) and the only explanation left is that the Blackmagic Decklink card thinks it's helping by sending an HD signal when connected to a display with a native res beneath 4k/UHD. I haven't been able to get any info out of Blackmagic support, but have run into other people in various forum that have the same issue.

I've got the BenQ PV270. It's great for a home color grading setup. Something to note, Blackmagic products (I have the Decklink Mini Monitor 4K) see that it isn't a 4K monitor and reduce resolution to HD, regardless of your settings.

Serendipitously, Panasonic announced a price drop for the EVA1 today. $6495 MSRP, down from $7345. I'm doing my best not to pull the trigger on a second one. but also wondering if this drop is in anticipation of an EVA2 (or EVA1 Mark II) announcement in the coming months.

One fun thing I did with it on a short film was to mount it to my Rock n Roller cart and use it as a makeshift dolly. The cart eliminated the z-axis bounce handheld gives you, while the Weebill absorbed vibrations from the cart. The combo gave it a very professional feel by eliminating those slight visual cues that it’s on a gimbal.

It has been a solid performer for me. I don’t use the app for anything other than firmware updates and settings so can’t comment on complaints there.The focus servo is awesome and a big plus to me because I prefer flying with manual lenses. I use it in underslung mode most of the time and it’s really well balanced when held by the rear/top handle. I’m usually following people/characters, or doing little moves, when i use it and it’s been very smooth turning corners, or craning up from the ground to the subject while moving. I’ve only experienced jitter once and fixed that by rebalancing quickly. I wanted something that would be more compact and lighter than gimbal setups i’ve had in the past because you do get tired quickly. With the GH5s and the Weebill, I find I can make it to the first meal break before really needing to rest my arms. And I credit that more to the new design. You can lock each axis with a flick of a switch and carry it at your side. Whereas before, I was always holding it out in front of me between shots. So yeah, between the axis locks, the weight, and the rear handle design, it’s my favorite gimbal I’ve owned. Makes my job easier, not harder. I don’t know if there are bad early units out there but I saw more of that kind of thing before I received mine. With no real evidence, I suspect there might have been problems with some of the first units shipped based on motor strength issues others have complained about that I’m not experiencing. But who knows?

My Weebill Lab weighs 2.5lbs, or 2lbs 8.2oz.

Wish I could tell you, but I'm not using the app for anything other than tweaking settings. I don't feel like I have as much fine control over what i'm doing. Beyond the controls offered on the handle, I just need to pull focus manually so this particular gimbal works well for me. I'm still running an HDMI directly from the camera to monitor what i'm doing. I don't want to worry about lag or skipping at crucial moments. Runs smoothly with the motors set to medium. Sometimes i bump it to high if I put one of my heavier Contax Zeiss lenses on like the 35/1.4. But the 18mm and the 25mm (pictured above) are pretty light. I also have a Panny/Leica 12-60 that's super light. I put the motors on low for that. Would love to share footage but they are for a short film that the director doesn't want anything released from, or it's behind the scenes footage for studio movies that haven't come out yet. On the short, I do remember the gimbal getting jittery at one point, but i shut it off and immediately saw it needed to be rebalanced. after I did, it was fine the rest of the shoot. Thanks for the great review by the way. I'm going to try your settings over the holiday break.

I'm using the Weebill with a GH5s, .64x Speedbooster and my (manual focus) Contax-Zeiss lenses. You asked how focus works. The focus wheel requires the use of the Focus Servo to manually control the lens. It will not control a native lens through the USB connection. I absolutely love this gimbal and use it in underslung mode more often than not. I think you'll be happy with it. If you want to run with longer lenses like say a Sigma 18-35, you may want to wait for the Crane 3 Lab. This won't hold it reliably.

just a heads up to read the fine print. this is a gray market camera. no manufacturer's warranty from panasonic. it looks like the retailer offers its own warranty instead. only mentioning so people can make an informed decision. I *am* tempted to buy a second EVA1.

True, not much EVA1 DNA, but plenty of human DNA.

***Warning: this video contains violent imagery*** DIRECT LINK > https://vimeo.com/294887322 As the cinematographer and editor, I was lucky enough to have a big hand in crafting this music video. It was shot in 12 hours, with every facet donated by friends and fans of the band, to coincide with the release of OLD BLOOD's new single "Enjoy. The Devil". Director was thrilled with what he saw from the camera on set. I used my Contax-Zeiss lenses modded with fixed 2x oval apertures, and with a Tiffen Black Pro Mist filter. This was also a great way to break-in two new Aputure 120D Mark II lights I'd just received.

Yeah, the Hoya IR Cut cleaned things up under daylight with heaps of ND in play. But the muddiness was always present under tungsten light, IR Cut or not. Something else was going on there. Or maybe the Hoya IR Cut wasnt strong enough.

thanks for the reminder. I still have my Hoya IR Cut somewhere. Totally forgot about that. Will dig it out for this camera test.

in the GH4 days, i felt BMD had the better color science. Now with the EVA1 and GH5s, I think Panasonic has the edge. BMD always seemed to "suffer" from a bit of brown-muddiness under artificial light. and i feel I'm still seeing that in the current crop of cameras, although to a lesser extent. But I'll have a chance to do a side by side comparison between my EVA1 and a UMP in preparation for a feature I'm DPing. Looking forward to that.