mercer

I'm actually looking for a light tripod set up. My Manfrotto is just a bit too heavy to trek around the woods, so I figured if I could get a head that was light enough, it could serve double duty. I'd rather it be a Manfrotto Bogen combo legs and head since I already use the quick release plates with my other tripod and I'll use the extra set of legs as a light stand in the studio. I did pick up a little 234rc2 tilting head that will probably work fine on the monopod.

The a5100 looked great! I have this camera and I was all ready to sell it and today when I was getting everything together I messed around with it a little bit and remembered how cool that little guy is and then I see this. It really looks great. If you told me this was shot on a 3000 dollar camera, I'd believe you. Btw, did they require it to be 30p?

eos-m raw looks so damn cool. i have messed around with it a little, but the workflow is so tedious. how did you get rid of the pink dots?

Vivitar did make a popular 28mm f2.5 lens, probably in the Minolta mount, but that's not the lens I am referring to. This one is a Minolta MC W Rokkor SI 28mm f2.5. Way better than the Vivitar, which isn't a bad lens either but not even in the same league as the Minolta. IMO.

Yeah, it's a great lens. One can be had on eBay for around $250. They also have an MD version of the 35mm 1.8, I think it's the same optical formula as the MC version, but probably with better coating. If you're looking for a dirt cheap Minolta, check out the MC 28mm f2.5. A real nice lens that can be easily had for less than a hundred, I bought my copy for $60.

So, I was reading the specs and some reviews of the 700rc, the specs say it weighs just over a pound, which is perfect for me, but it states that it needs to carry a minimum of 3lbs? I assume since the tension of the fluid drag is fixed, it needs a minimum weight? Have you noticed any issues with less weight than that? And since the drag is fixed, would you describe the pans as slow and smooth... Or?

I know you weren't asking me, but the MD 28mm f2 has been my go to lens lately. The bokeh isn't nearly as dramatic as the 35mm or the 50mm, but that's why I bought it... It's not as creamy, but perfect for rack focus in dialogue scenes. IMO. Other than a couple shots where I use the 24-35mm, the lion's share of this video is shot with the 28mm f2 on the NX500. With the 2.5x crop factor on the NX500, the 28mm has a FOV of a 70mm.

That's not bad. The 3126 weighs a little more than that, but not much more.

I think I owe you a thank you. When I first came across the MC lenses, that video sold me on them... Small world.

I have the 3126 head on my tripod, which I like, but it's way too heavy for this monopod, or for my purpose for a light set up I can take hiking out in the middle of nowhere. Is that 500 weighty?

I love Minolta lenses!!! And you have proven that the cheap 45mm f2 is a gem. That 3D pop is amazing. Was it expensive to have the mounts converted? I had the MC 35mm 1.8 and was probably my favorite lens. When I switched to the NX500, with its 2.5x crop, a 35mm didn't make much sense, so I found a steal on the 28mm f2 MD and sold the 35mm. I miss that lens. Here's a test I did with it on my eos-m last spring. I think there are a couple shots with the 50mm 1.4 MC lens as well... Another beauty. Actually, here is a video with the 35mm on the NX500, if anyone is interested in seeing how these old lenses, from the early 70s, resolve in 4K.

Well, yes. I should have been clearer in my mini review and subsequent comment. There is both a fluid movement function on the upper shaft of the monopod, and one in the ball joint at the base. By loosening the locks, you can get some tension but it isn't as precise as a fluid drag head. As is, I found the monopod great for small movements, but not great for a proper pan. So, yes butter smooth without tension. In my example video, I do one pan towards the end of the video, that is smooth but fast due to the lack of tension.

Depends on the camera I am using... With my NX500, I use either a set of Minolta MDs: 24-35mm zoom, 28mm f2, 35-70mm macro zoom, 50mm f2 or my Tokinas: rmc 17mm, at-x 24-40mm, at-x 35-70mm. When I shoot b&w on the NX500, I use my Zeiss M42 lenses: 20mm f4, 35mm f2.8 or 50mm f2.8. I have been messing around with ML raw on my eos-m and with its 3x crop, I was able to use some vintage Cosmicar 1.9 lenses and a couple Canon c-mounts. I ordered a zeiss 10mm tevidon from some guy in Russia, but he has been giving me the run around, so I don't think I'll be getting it. Anybody here ever use it? And finally, I have a small set of Nikkor non-ai lenses that I don't use often but I am keeping to use with the D5500 I plan on getting. I have never owned native glass for a camera, so it will be nice to not mess with adapters. Unsure of your budget, but with a Nikon G adapter, you can mess around with IX-Nikkor lenses. They're kind of cheaply made and do not have a constant aperture, but they have the traditional 7 blades, uses the same Nikkor glass and are dirt cheap. With patience, you can find a 20-60mm brand new in box, for less than 50 bucks in eBay. http://maketimemove.com/nikon-ix-no-budget-lenses/

So, the Sirui monopod doesn't come with a head. I picked up a used Manfrotto tilting head, but I'm thinking about getting a Manfrotto 700rc, does anybody have any experience with it? Or what video heads do you guys use with your monopods?

I was looking at the Benro as well, but I already have Manfrotto plates, so that's why I narrowed it down to those other two. When Zak, recommended this and linked to that comparison video, by CheesyCam, it was a no brainier for me. I think with some more practice, I can get some pretty stable, albeit slight movements with it. In the video I posted, it looks a little stuttered thanks to Vimeo, but in the original it's fairly smooth.

Right now I have been using the NX500, but I come from a Canon background. I am mostly a writer that has picked up video as a hobby and a possible outlet to produce some short films when my skills get better. I am definitely going to sell it, in fact I should have it listed on eBay by week's end. I bought it in the middle of the summer as a manufacturer refurb and probably used it for a few hours testing it out and then I found a great deal on the NX500 and I have been pretty much obsessed with figuring out that camera, which is so different than the canon line. I don't have a native lens for it, just the body, a separate battery pack and a couple batteries. I also had a butt load of adapters and some vintage lenses I'll probably throw into a bundle.

One day last week I was reading a post about the Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera, when I read a comment by @Zak Forsman regarding the Sirui video monopod. It was perfect timing because I was in the middle of searching for a good monopod. I had narrowed my choices down to a model by a company name Cinetree and a Manfrotto model. I had heard of Sirui but never read any reviews on it. Zak gave it a glowing recommendation, so I headed over to eBay to check it out. Luckily, I found a "New Other" model for sale at a 30% discount... Sold. The monopod arrived 2 or 3 days later and I was immediately impressed with the build quality and how lightweight it was. The fluid pan function is butter smooth and the tilting, swivel base is just as smooth as the panning. The built in foldable feet are sturdy. But when I extended the legs, the top and bottom section was tight, I could barely extend them. I figured that this is why it was sold as new other... it was probably a return. I, immediately, went over to Amazon and read some reviews and the tight leg seems to be a common flaw of this unit. Apparently, when the sections of the leg are extended with a lot of force, the female metal end digs into the male plastic guide cap and scrapes off shavings of plastic, the leg gets clogged and it becomes very tight to open and close. Some buyers received their monopod that way, others had the issue occur over time and others never had a problem at all. I had two options, pack it up and return it, or take it apart and fix it. Since every other aspect of the monopod: the price, the fluid pan, the swivel, tilting base and oversized feet were exactly what I've been looking for, I chose the latter... take it apart and clean it. In less than 10 minutes, I had the monopod sections apart, cleaned, relubricated, with WD-40, and reassembled. It works just as new. Perfect. I attached a video of some clips I took yesterday down the shore. After about a half dozen cups of coffee and a half a pack of cigarettes... I realized I need a little more practice with it... or less vices that cause uncontrollable arm spasms. But either way, I am extremely happy with it and it is worth every penny I paid for it. Does it replace a tripod with a good fluid head or a steadicam? No. But for run and gun shooting with a small footprint, it's exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks, I have had more failures than successes with that camera... It's a love hate relationship. I just recently found its sweet spot as far as settings go. And I have some nice lens sets that pair nicely with the camera. I convert the 4K to 1080p prores before I do any post, and I agree there is a really nice weight to 4K downscaled to 1080p image that isn't quite replicable with a straight 1080p camera. Why can't you get good over the shoulders with the 70mm? It seems like the perfect focal length for that shot. I use only vintage lenses, so my lens budget is waaay smaller than that, but I get your point. I tend to prefer a practical lighting set up with a overhead China ball and a couple led panels to boost. Of course, I'm poor so I work with what I have.

I have an a5100 I am going to sell. Not because I don't like the camera, it's actually a pretty cool, tiny camera that is pretty amazing for the price point. It can be configured that everything you need to access can be assigned to a physical button, anything that kept me out of Sony's clunky menu set up is much appreciated. I love the zebras and the magnification, the focus peaking is not as good as the nex cameras, but still very usable. A 64gb SDXC card is the minimum card you can use, but for your purposes that seems like a logical choice anyway. With ClipWrap or EditReady, the conversion to prores is practically instantaneous. Like I said... Many pluses are checked off. At the native ISO of 800, the camera had a good amount of dynamic range, but in the end I only need so many cameras and I just do not like what it does to skin tones. And I felt the image felt a little thin or brittle.

Max, I watched your test, and of the cameras tested, the two best in my opinion, are the BMPCC and the LX100. I understand the production concerns regarding the pocket, so my final vote is for the LX100. I am encountering a similar question as I too am in the early stages of developing a web series, so far my 2 options for cameras are my NX500, or a D5500. I am leaning toward the D5500, for ease of post and I just like the look of the flat profile. Anyway, I hope you update us with the series' progress! Sorry to the OP for OT.

I have on my nx500 and they work nice. I think the older optics takes the harsh edge off the 4K. Here are a couple handheld clips, sorry for the shakiness, I just pulled over and took some quick sample shots. I used the zeiss jena 50mm f2.8. Everything was shot wide open, with no correction in post. I've also used some old Taks that look nice. BTW, I convert everything to 1080p prores LT, in EditReady, before I do any post work.

That is some Frankenrig you have there. I think the shots looks really organic. Good stuff! Look forward to seeing some exteriors.

I usually just go with Fotasy adapters, they're inexpensive, they ship quickly from Rainbow Imaging out of NYC and they are a tight fit. The only issue I have ever found with them is that the lens focuses a hair past infinity... Which is annoying, but I have never bought a cheap adapter that didn't focus past infinity a hair. http://m.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-G-AFS-Lens-to-Samsung-NX1-NX3000-NX300M-NX300-NX-Adapter-Aperture-Control-/221804455384?nav=SEARCH

What are your render settings at on FCPX? I had a similar problem and realized I had my render settings set to h.264, so I guess (I'm not really much of a tech head) with FCPX compressing it and then Vimeo recompressing it, it is creating an issue.

That looks pretty good!!! I wonder what it would look like with a point and shoot like the LX100 or FZ300?