mercer

I’m not a Hugh Drone fan either. I enjoyed his earlier work but recently he really started to phone in his performances... and it always seems like he looks down on everybody.

Yeah the nano coating is pretty amazing and it really helps keep the filter clean. I’d rather have the hard stops on the filter than a few extra stops of ND... it only becomes an issue with full afternoon sun at apertures faster than f/2.

I think Zomei also uses Schott glass, so that’s something. In the past I used the Ritz Camera Store Brand because their VNDs used Schott Glass but I just got tired of the freewheeling spinning and X Pattern, so that’s when I decided to give the Bower a try and for a cheap filter, I cannot complain at all. I think you get 8 or 10 stops of ND and since I film a lot down the shore, on the beach, I’m never worried about them getting sand or salt water splattered.

As far as VNDs go, I have always used them and have always been happy with them. But I have two points of criteria after testing a lot of cheap VNDs and a couple moderately priced ones... 1. I will only use VNDs that have hard stops. As most on here know, due to the nature of VNDs, if you push them into no man’s land, you can get the dreaded X pattern and in most instances you won’t notice it until after you get the footage into the computer. And strangely enough, there aren’t that many brands that offer the hard stops. 2. Color neutrality - most VNDs will have a color cast, especially the cheaper ones. With some cheap ones, like the Fotga, you’ll get a crazy greenish/brown color cast but you do gain a very specific look that is interesting in its own way, so for the price and a specific shoot, the Fotga is worth the $10. But most of the time I don’t want any color cast. So there are really only two brands I use now... • Bower - cheap around $30 a filter with neutral color and hard stops. These were shot wide open with an f/2 lens or faster and a Bower VND... • B+W Vario ND - they’re more expensive with less stops of ND but they are better built with a really nice coating... gotta love Schott Glass. And the less stops actually keeps me honest... forcing me to stop down my lens sometimes. These were also shot with an f/2 lens or faster using the B+W Vario ND...

What VND did you use... because I saw nothing in that video that would disappoint me with my narrative work. And I assume that’s from the GH5?

I watched it on my phone so I only had 1080p option but it still looked good. Don't you have a 5D4? If so, how does the M50 compare in your opinion?

@kye although I agree that the Pocket ii isn’t really for you, you could use your Sigma 18-35mm with a Metabones Speedbooster and gain a full stop of exposure or you could buy a Canon 17-55mm f/2.8 or Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 and have IS and a stop giving you an f/2 which would give you the f/4 FF equivalent you’re looking for. With that being said, I still think you’d be better off with a C100 ii or some kind of Canon. I know you’re worried about drawing attention to yourself but plenty of families get away using bigger cameras and just look like tourists... because they are. Just by having a family in front of your lens will give you a lot of leeway.

@docmoore nice video. Was this originally shot in 4K or 1080p? Either way, you gotta love Canon. Great color and pretty decent DR. I am fairly certain I am going to pick one up by the end of the summer. Thanks for posting!!!

How can anyone tell how many stops of DR this camera has or doesn’t have under the shooting circumstances? Between the gazillion reflective surfaces, the white roof, the most annoying cloud coverage for shooting a wide angle with people, and the awesome YouTube compression, I’d say the video turned out fairly well under the circumstances. I didn’t even mention the patterns that dominate the frame at every single turn. And if you look up the shooter’s web site, there is quality work there. If I have to guess what camera was used... the colors look like a Panasonic to me, but I’m unsure to be honest.

Don’t get me wrong, I love your Sony work, but there really was something special about your Nikon stuff... specifically that video you took on the beach with the Tokina (Angenieux) 28-70mm.

@squig what’s that shot from?

Yeah, unfortunately due to family health issues I was forced to sell my 24-70mm f/4. I’ve been using the 28mm 1.8 and 50mm 1.4 in its place and I am pretty amazed with the results but needless to say, I am saving up to buy another 24-70mm. I can go handheld with the 28mm pretty steadily but I really miss the IS from the 24-70mm and 35mm f/2. I may just end up getting the 35mm f/2 and hold off on the zoom... idk. However, this recent financial issue made me realize I really don’t need as many lenses as I used to think I needed. Basically a modern Canon zoom and a prime and then a small set of vintage lenses and I should be golden. I took a look at these on my computer and I enlarged them and they still look pretty clean... I don't even notice any JPEG schmegma... Do you think dropping the shadows and the desaturation eliminated the noise that well? In my shots, I would totally have a bunch of chroma noise in that shot... hmm... I'll have to do some tests because maybe the chroma noise is a byproduct of ETTR? Interesting... I will say that the top shot may need to be brightened a touch... he is really lost in the darkness... or is it just my screen?

Yup, I often refer to it as a point and shoot cinema camera and if you have a Canon IS lens, it’s even easier for certain projects... or mindsets. BTW, what lens did you use for those shots?

Personally, I am against anything that is a roadblock for me to make a film. Technology advances and in the not so distant future, all audio, at our level, will be captured in camera and it will be more than good enough for the intended outlet. I don’t understand why anybody who champions the DSLR/Digital Revolution would be against technological improvements in audio, color, editing, cinematography, etc... but in the end it doesn’t matter... technology moves forward and resistance is futile. Obviously, I would love to have a full sound crew, it would be one less thing for me to worry about. But you can’t always get what you want, so you deal with what you have. So, if these presets help to clean up some dicey audio... bring it on.

I wish I could just use Canon’s in camera meter and not have to worry about any of the ML aids. I will say the ML Histobar is pretty cool because I shoot in 2:35 and it is placed in the bottom letterbox of the screen, so it doesn’t affect any composition... but it messes up the audio meters... Oh, okay... a-doy... I get it now. Btw, I would buy that guide because I aim for lazy but usually end up with unprepared and just bad... I am kinda making it work though. But one of the best things about the 5D3 and ML Raw... you pretty much have to be color blind (or use a MacBook Air like I do) to mess it up... it really is the Dummies Camera for Cinematic Images...

I’ve been trying not to let anything clip, unless the light source is in the shot.

@kaylee so are you using zebras to show the clipping, or are your eyes that trained to see it without any exposure aid? I wish there was a way to set the waveform to a physical button, instead of it being on screen... with the tests I tried with it, I thought it worked well for skin tones, but it’s so small it’s kinda pointless. I find zebras distracting, so I use the Raw Histogram in the upper right corner because I tend not to compose any subject in that space of the frame. Can you elaborate?

Almost every actor I have thought I had for my film hasn’t panned out... it’s just the nature of zero budget filmmaking. But the ones I have gotten believe in the project and will do anything to help. I’m looking at them on my phone and they look good, I’ll go on the computer in a little bit and take a closer look. Well, it’s good to know you can go up to 6400, I try to stay at 1600 or less but I have stole a shot at 3200. I spent years in post staring at waveforms and vectorscopes but when I stopped relying solely on them and trusting my eyeballs, I started noticing an improvement. I still use scopes as a reference... you have to, but in the end if it looks good to the eye... Some of my favorite ML Raw videos have been exposed to the middle... or properly exposed. And then there are great ones that are ETTRd... I have been shooting high contrast scenes in available and practical lighting, so I have been getting a ton of shadow noise if I don’t ETTR. But I also notice a slight color shift by pushing it too far to the edge, so I usually drop it back a notch on the Raw Histogram and it seems to be working fairly okay. But I don’t really know what I’m doing... I just know I have better images now than I did with any other camera before... so whatevs...

@kaylee looks cool, very cinematic! Good luck!!! BTW, how do you expose ML Raw! Do you ETTR using the Raw Histogram and ETTR Hint?

This is where suspension of disbelief comes into play. Due to the stylized nature of the short, I buy it, but for a second, I did think how did she get into the back seat of the car so fast. Either way great directorial hand and ideas in such a small, simple piece!!!

Check out Noam Kroll’s work with the Fuji X-T2 on his website.

I’ve heard a rumor that a lot of Hollywood cinematographers own Fuji mirrorless cameras for stills and casual videos... if this rumor is true... there’s probably a good reason.

Very cool idea. I like how you followed her smoke to introduce the other character. My only critique would be to slow the pan up to sell the transition of time.

I just close my eyes and hope for the best.

@nigelbb I bought the RX10ii shortly after returning the RX100 V and found the RX10ii vastly superior in usability. I suppose if you only want the RX100 as an occasional B-Cam or for inconspicuous run and gun B-Unit shots, it will prove useful. However, I don’t see what is gained by trading up your RX10ii for the Mark III... especially considering the loss of the constant aperture and the internal NDs.