mercer

Haha! Adding cinematic helped a little. It's a shame what YouTube has become and that Vimeo is barely even used any more.

Good to know, thanks. Yeah, I suppose. I've always liked the idea of good AF, but it has never been a make or break feature for me. And I think the videos that I'm missing, those filmmakers wouldn't care about AF either. This look wicked. Thanks for sharing!

Hey Kisaha, I've been shooting full frame ML Raw on a Canon 5D Mark iii for the past 6 years, or so. I've also had a Sigma FP for about 6 months. Yeah, this makes sense. Blackmagic offered a lot of features and a compelling image for the price.

After watching at @Andrew Reid's entertaining new YouTube video discussing m4/3, and more specifically, the GH6, I decided to look for some videos on YouTube and Vimeo. Strangely, I had a hard time finding many videos. I am mostly interested in the internal ProRes features of the camera, especially in 1080p and DCI-4K. 5.7K is not really something I would need right now. To my surprise, I had a real hard time finding many samples. The lion's share of the videos were ProRes Raw samples, which look very nice, it's just not what I find intriguing about the camera. I know times have changed and with that interests have as well, but when I saw a c-mount lens attached to Andrew's GH6, I was dying to see some footage of it. And I thought there would be a bunch of samples on YouTube of people experimenting with different optics on the most advanced m4/3 camera ever made... But nope. Obviously, a lot of videographers/filmmakers have moved on from m4/3 to the greener pastures of FF. Being a FF shooter, I understand the appeal, but I still find it sad. So that brings me back to the title of my post... what's the deal with the GH6? I heard there were some issues with pink streaking... has that been solved or has it been discovered why it happens? With all that said, are there any good or creative videos floating around? Have the Nick Driftwood's or anamorphic shooters moved on from GH cameras? I haven't owned a Panasonic camera in a while, but I really enjoyed the ones I have owned/used and I find it sad that the interest is waning. @Andrew Reid can you tell me your experience shooting c-mounts/s16 lenses with it? Do you have any samples you would share?

Interesting post. I really like the GX85 shots. It's a shame that Panasonic hasn't upgraded the GX85 and G85 with 10bit. But I think the biggest takeaway is that Canon sucks.

I'm still using my 5D Mark iii with ML Raw as my main camera for hobby narrative filmmaking. I recently bought a Sigma FP which I like okay enough. I also have a BMMCC all rigged out but I never use it. I think I'll sell it soon so I can hold onto the FP for a bit longer. I'm still unsure about the FP. I like it, but it doesn't feel like an extension of my arm like my 5D does. Here's a frame from the FP with the Nikkor 35mm 1.4 ai-s lens that I took recently while working on a short film... Otherwise, I have a few film cameras I enjoy walking around with when I'm out and about.

This was one of the films I watched right before I bought my 5D3! Great look!

I know a guy who has a film on Tubi and it cost him a few grand to make. I believe he has/had a distributor, so I don't know what kind of deal he has/had.

Regarding no budget features... I've heard of projects made for less than $10,000 that will get a streaming deal but I cannot imagine there is a lot of money to be made? What does the average filmmaker/producer make for getting a steaming deal with Tubi, etc...?

Honestly, I don't even know what we're talking about anymore. I am just a hobbyist who has been using a 5D Mark III with 1080p ML Raw for the past 5-6 years as I attempt to make a few short films in my spare time. I'm hardly chasing cameras. I picked up a Sigma FP a few months ago, on a whim, and I like it. It has a nice image, I can't say for sure that it's a better image than the 5D though. I assumed the 14bit color from the 5D may be evening out the playing field, but what do I know... as I said... I'm not a professional like you guys are. I've always been a writer first, so story is the most important thing to me, but I'm not delusional enough to think I am going to sell a screenplay or make a film that will have any impact on anything. I enjoy doing it, though and I suppose there are worse things I could spend my money on. Next year I may buy a camcorder, making movies was a lot more fun back when camcorders were the only option for zero budget filmmakers. I will end with this, though. Since we're all being so brutally honest... none of these cameras look that good. If you're shooting with a P4K and a Sigma zoom, or a 5D3 with ML Raw... they all look amateurish. So when you guys attack other people for their choices... remember your choices probably look questionable as well. Then again, I've never seen any of your work, so maybe you guy's are artistic geniuses, but how could anyone know... only a few people share any of their work on this forum and when they do, the posts about the next best camera gets way more attention... Good luck to you.

Yes, I believe uncompressed raw is true raw no matter how it gets down to the final resolution. Look at the difference between 1080p raw from the 5D3 and 1080p raw from the Sigma FP... there's no comparison. That said, I don't really care how it gets there, all I know is it is the purest image I have ever used... absolutely no noise reduction or sharpening added. You can change the WB from 2800 to 7500, in post, without any degradation whatsoever. It's as pure as it gets at this price point, especially considering it's full frame. With that said... since you have shown zero interest in the 5D3, then why do you care either? And finally... It's more raw than compressed BRaw.

1080p raw video with 12ish stops of DR is hardly an obsession in IQ. Isn't the goal to get more DR, more bitrate, more color information? I, believe, @TomTheDP 's point in this post is that a group of part time coders were able to unlock, and write, a fairly stable firmware which opened a zeitgeist of cinema settings and 14bit raw video on a prosumer camera, so surely official firmware from one of the manufacturers could easily match their efforts from 11 years ago 12bit video can display up to 68 billion shades of color, 14bit can display up to 4 trillion. Surely, those numbers will be closer when the image goes through the pipeline to an eventual rec709 delivery, but to say it will have zero effect on the final image just isn't true. If it doesn't matter to you... cool! It doesn't mean it isn't important to someone else. That said, I agree that story is king. But as you suggested, any aspect that supports the story and the director's vision is a worthy goal.

To be honest, probably 90-95% of the people on this forum should not shoot with the 5D3 and ML Raw. It obviously causes a strange behavior and response. There are so many other cameras out there that are probably more practical. For most people on the forum, I would suggest a camcorder. The experience will be much more enjoyable and the results will look beautiful on YouTube. You can even add a LUT and you'll have instant cinema. Turn the camera sideways, press record and you'll be the envy of TikTok.

I may have shared these frames before somewhere on the forum, but I'm in the middle of finishing this short film all shot with the 5D III, using a nightly build in 1080p and with a Canon FD 50mm 1.2 L lens I had modified by Simmod so it will work with EF mount...

The workflow is so simple now. MLV App is straightforward for correction and "CST" and you can export to ProRes so you can edit in any program you want. Or you can use MLVFs and open up the files right in Resolve as if they were any other video file from any other camera. Btw, I loved your B&W short film. I watched it on Christmas morning and it brought a smile to my face. I've been meaning to comment on it, but now I'm so far removed, I'd like to watch it again. The mouse was a whacko, cool idea that was done so well and made me think of the old Bass and Rankin Christmas cartoons.

Yeah, the 5D Mark III. Haha. I haven't checked the used prices, but I assume you can find one in great condition for around 1000 USD... maybe more, maybe less. I bought mine new, 5-6 years ago for around $2000. Now if you're referring to a new camera you can buy today that will look similar... I don't know. The Sigma FP has a nice image downscaled to 1080p and its full frame, but not 14bit. The R5 and R5C both have nice images, but I've never used them. I guess it depends on your needs.

No that was 5D Mark III with 1080p ML Raw.

I found too many issues with the experimental builds as well. I know you have to shoot 2:35 to shoot the 3.5K but, as you said, there's a crop and the Live View is wonky. The compressed 14bit 1080p raw files are good and doubles your storage but I found they too will freeze once in a while. I think there have been some advances since I tried it a couple years ago, but there seems to be more interest in the eos-m now. The stable 1080p 14bit MLV Raw files from the Nightly Builds are the camera's strong suit and all I shoot with it. It truly has a special image. If you can't see the difference between iPhone footage and raw video... then God bless you and roll with that iPhone. You'll be much happier. As far as lack of good, quality videos from the 5D3 ML Raw... I don't know... maybe you're not looking hard enough because there are a ton out there. But yes, it is a hack, and it became really popular 10 years ago when they figured it out but it was still very buggy at the time so a lot of people that tried it didn't want to deal with the storage or any other issue that arose so you see a lot of short test videos. The 1080p is completely stable now and works like any other camera does except for playback... which I don't really use anyway. This camera is for low budget filmmaking and personal projects. I don't think it would/could ever replace a dedicated cinema camera or mirrorless or even phone if you don't want to put the time into it. With all that said, a filmmaker named Pete Ohs has made a couple films using it and his recent release, Jethica, was shot on it, it premiered at SXSW and it received a theatrical release...

@TomTheDP I assume you mean an external monitor? If so, then I'm not sure, I've never used one with it. I know you need to use a different firmware for it... I think Canon 1.23 and then the coinciding ML Firmware. The LCD works fine for me. I use the Raw Histogram with Over Exposure Warning to judge exposure... it works good enough for my needs.

Not only can I notice the lower bit depth, I'm fairly certain there is some type of noise reduction occurring behind the scenes with the FP. The extra resolution from the FP is nice but I feel like it resembles a lot of other camera's images from compressed codecs with just more leeway in post to make some changes. The 5D3, on the other hand, has a higher end look in my opinion and the image is more malleable especially in the highlights, but the shadow detail is much cleaner with the FP. They also share a similar post workflow for me... bring the footage into Resolve, correct/grade, export as ProRes and import into FCPX for the final edit/grade. At first glance, the bump in resolution may make you feel like the FP has a superior image, but once you get into the files... let's just say that if I had to choose one, I'd sell the FP and keep the 5D3. With that said, I think people underestimate the benefits of 14bit color. In some ways, it gives a perceived bump in DR because it is capturing the minute differences in hues. I notice it in skies and in tree bark. I'm also a fan of shooting with DSLRs... especially chunky, full frame ones. If I could afford a 1DX iii, I'm sure I would love it.

Other than a quick test of an early eos-m ml build, the 50D was my first real foray into Magic Lantern Raw and the image was amazing. It was the first time I was getting an image I was pleased with after putzing around with cameras for a couple years. That said, the 50D has a ton of limitations which include overheating, the LiveView freezing at will. Usually the fix was as simple as shutting down the camera and ejecting the battery, but it became a major pain. Also the lack of audio made the camera kinda unusable for any real production because you kinda need a scratch track, at least, to synch audio from an external recorder. So, if you just want to mess around with ML Raw, then yes for the price, it's a great camera and an amazing feat since Canon's original firmware didn't even offer video. But if you want to shoot with ML Raw and have zero issues, the 5D3 is king. The 5D2 is also nice with a slightly different color science than the Mark III and also not too expensive. Beware though, if you're anything like me, and you get a 50D, you'll be selling everything else and saving up for a 5D3 very soon.

High bitrate h.265 combined with the high dynamic range of sLog3 does sound like a winning combo. I took the FP out for another spin yesterday, and I really do like the footage. It handles very similarly to ML Raw while also losing a step in my post process. Even a few years after its release, with the help of Sigma's continued devotion to FW updates, I think it's one of the best buys out there right now, regardless of its limitations. But again, it is very similar to working with 5D3 files, minus some detail that the 14bit ML files offer and the pure, unencumbered joy of shooting with the 5D3... so I'm still on the fence. I still prefer RAW to any other compressed codec. It really helps to fix both my mistakes and the inherent obstacles of perfect shooting conditions with run & gun/guerilla filmmaking. I've submitted to the idea that it's going to take a lot of storage space and a longer post-workflow getting the footage into FCPX. I'd love to see 5D3 ML Raw mixed into your test, pleas do that. If you do get a chance, I'd love to see some footage from the XH2 ProRes. There really isn't much online. Originally, I preferred the idea of the "s" model, but after more thinking, the XH2 offers a very unique feature set... plus I didn't realize that the XH2 also shoots internal ProRes... which is huge for me and would really delineate the purpose of a second camera.

@Andrew Reid Interesting test. A few moons ago, I briefly owned the a6500 shortly after I sold my first BMMCC, and I was surprised at how juicy the sLog3 files were. I felt they were the closest to raw video that I had seen. And when shot with the monochrome setting, in sLog3, the banding that plagued those 8bit sLog cameras seemed to disappear. So I'm not too surprised how well the A1 holds up against the competition. I recently bit the bullet and bought an FP. I've been having some fun shooting with it, but I also find it to be a miserable camera in some ways. Due to its size, I want the camera to stay small and stealthy, but I think that was the design flaw with the camera. If Sigma had just made the camera a bit bigger and allowed for internal 12bit, 4K raw, I never would have missed the smaller size and the overall experience would have been better. Like your disdain for external monitors, I despise external SSDs just as much, especially when only a select few have proven to work with the FP. That said, it's a really nice image and I am enjoying using my Minolta lenses with it. But at the end of the day, I don't know if it's much better than my 5D3. Sure it has higher resolution and doesn't need specific lenses to get a really sharp detailed look, but I believe the overall IQ from my 5D3 beats the FP and the cameras are a bit too similar in a lot of ways to keep both. With all of that said, I've noticed you mention the XH2 recently and am very intrigued. I'd be curious to see how the ProRes holds up in this test if you have the time or inclination. I've only recently gotten my FP rigged up to where I feel comfortable using it, so I want to test it a bit more... maybe with a short film or something, but unless something really clicks, I may have to look elsewhere for an upgrade. The XH2 is interesting, but so are some of the Canon offerings... R5, R5C and of course the R3 which I doubt I'll ever be able to afford. Thanks again for the test and I hope all is well with you and your family!!!

You know you can set the ae/lock button to one touch af on Panasonic bodies while in MF.

To be fair, I read this recently... "Panasonic cameras have cooties, but Canon cameras are anti-vax..."