mercer

Here is my first attempt at a test... And this is only a test. Sorry, I'll have to update in a little bit, apparently I used copyrighted music from FCPX I shot the footage in Cinema 4K using custom profile with the sharpness dialed down to -10, and the contrast dialed down to -5. I want to experiment more to try and get a flatter image. I tried down sampling this to 1080p, in EditReady. FCPX recognized the imported prores files as 1080p, but I'm not sure if this is the proper workflow? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

The original comment that started this milky black, grey conversation was started because I said I loved one of the earlier video samples from this camera that was intentionally graded to look like vintage film.

Ok, so my adapters arrived in the mail this morning. First thing I noticed was how small they are compared to NEX and eos-m adapters... Obviously due to the flange distance, but that is a major plus for me. I like mirrorless cameras because they're small, but I also have only vintage lenses, so adapters are a must, but the adapter is usually so long that it makes the camera seem that much bigger. On the nx500, the adapters are half the size of the others. I, pretty much, immediately took a drive out into the Pine Barrens to take some test shots. I brought my Canon FD 17mm and 28mm f2. And my Tokina 17mm and 25-50mm. And a Miranda 28mm f/2.8 macro m42 lens I also got in the mail today. As soon as I got into the car, I threw the Tokina 17mm on and it looked nice. When I got out to the Pine Barrens, I was blown away by the iq of the camera and these lenses. Even with everything dialed down the image was so sharp and contrasty, in a good way. I'll have to mess with some of the profiles to try and get the flattest image, but for the first time out, just messing around... I am pleased. The crop factor is not bad at all and the movie standby mode is smooth, even going out of movie standby mode to use focus magnification and peaking is a breeze. I did have a card error in my second recording that worried me, it basically would not let me do anything with movie recording, but when took out the card and turned the camera on and off as instructed, it worked fine the rest of the time without any hiccups. When I got home, I tried converting the footage to prores, it worked fine in editready, but it was slow. About an hour and forty minutes to convert a half hours worth of footage. When they were converted, they worked fine in QuickTime, but when I imported them into fcpx, I had nothing but a black screen. The inspector recognized them as 4K h.265 clips but not as prores... Not sure why. Does anyone know the best workflow with these clips? I would rather down sample to 1080p and work in it there, but editready didn't give me an option to downsample, of course I very easily could have missed it. I will try and upload some of the clips to Vimeo over the weekend.

keep checking it... You never know.

yeah, I heard the Samsung lenses are pretty decent and go for a steal used. I saw that too. If they don't sell at that price, they could drop lower than 344 in a couple days.

And recently I have been watching some of the results J Spruill has gotten out of the a5100, so I am pretty happy with my recent camera deals.

I also have the a5100, which I like a lot, so you're right, the 45mm doesn't really bother me.

I've bought a camera from them in the past, and on occasion the price will drop even further, but then go up an hour or two later. Either way, I would expect it to hover around that price for a little while, at least. Oh lenses, that is the issue with this camera. I didn't buy it to shoot 1080p, so before I even considered it, I took a look at my collection. Luckily I have a 17mm FD lens, which will give me about 45mm in Cinema 4K. I also have the FD 28mm f/2, 35-70mm f/4, and the 50mm f/1.4. I'm a vintage lens guy, so I like to have more than one option, so I also have a Tokina RMC 17mm, and the RMC 25-50mm. None of my lenses will afford me proper wide angle, so I guess I will have to settle on stepping back a little bit... Or a lot. Eventually, I may look into one of the Rokinon cinema lenses... Maybe a 12mm. I think they make an 8mm fisheye as well, or one of the Tokina wide angle zooms.

good to know, that makes sense. There's not a lot of info out about this camera, so I suspect a good bit of trial and error. I'm gonna have to brush up on my grading and correcting so I can really understand how much I can push this camera. With my Canon's, so many people, before me, had already figured out the best mojo for them. Here's a stupid question... When someone says stops of dynamic range, how is that measured in an NLE?

Okay, the battery charged, in camera, fairly fast... Between an hour and two. The first thing I tried was updating the firmware using the onboard wifi. So, I set up the wifi, and that was pretty straightforward. Then I went to the "Device Information" option in the menu, but the "software update" option was greyed out. I tried signing in and out of wifi... It still didn't work. And then, finally, I realized I probably should insert an SD card... Yeah... That was it... Duh. Anyway, I selected "software update" and away it went. The whole process took about 3 minutes, and couldn't have been simpler. Now the camera has the "Pro" quality, and should have constant movie standby mode, but I can't test the Custom button until I have a lens attached. To Be Continued... Andrew, a little off topic, but do you know the best picture profile to use to get the flat look? I assume it's just custom with everything dialed down? Also, did you use edit ready to transform the h.265? If so, did you convert it to prores?

There's a USB charger that charges the battery in camera. I prefer an external battery charger.

I'll try and find the link to the other forum, so you can read it. Like anything else, it may just be hearsay. But, if Samsung has continued plans with this line, you would think peaking in 4K would be important to their customer base.

Somebody posted in another forum that Samsung reps said it would be available in a future firmware update.

Do you not want your wife to see it?

Yes. Why?

As some may know, I ordered the NX500 two days ago from the eBay seller that has the body only priced at $344. I have been itching to shoot 4K for awhile now, and at this price, I had to go into debt, and get one. Of course, now I have to sell off some lenses to pay for it. Anyway, I received the camera yesterday, which is pretty fast, even if the seller is in the same state as me. Yesterday afternoon, I only had time to open the box, and inspect the camera. Everything looked good, and new. The camera has a nice, balanced feel to it, and doesn't feel cheap... But most importantly... It just looks cool. The first "problem" I've encountered is that Samsung went the cheap route and didn't include an external battery charger... So if I decide to keep the camera, I'll have to order one, and a couple extra batteries... Good news is the batteries, and charger are cheap. So, I plugged the camera in to charge, and turned her on. Since it was a body only sale, and I don't have any NX lenses, I was only able to check out the menu, and set some preferences, until my adapters arrive... Hopefully by tomorrow. The menu is simple to navigate, and organized well. The first thing I checked is the firmware, and as I assumed, it is 1.0. From what I have read, it is a cinch to update the firmware through the camera's wifi. Once the battery is charged, I will giver her an update. I really like how they employed the FN button for on the fly changes. It's much better than some systems where you have to go deep into the bowels of the menu to make basic changes. From the FN button you can also set up, and customize your picture profiles, and they give you a lot of options for the customization... More so than the Sony or Canon cameras I have had in the past. Along with normal preset profiles like standard, and vivid, etc... you also have a few custom profiles, where you can adjust the RGB, sharpness, saturation, contrast, and hue. Without the ability to see the image, I dropped everything down to -10, except saturation. I'm sure once I get a lens on her, I will tweak them a little more to get the flattest image. But with so many customizable options, it seems like you could do a dirty and sloppy in camera "grade" for videos where you may need a quick delivery. Anyway, that's about all for now. I'll add to the post as I progress. To Be Continued

Okay, I received my NX500 today. It was not made of chocolate, or anything. I don't have a lens for it, so I will not be able to test it out until my adapters arrive, but it looks new and although the box was opened to remove the lens, it was resealed with a professional looking sticker. I will have time to charge it and mess with the menu tomorrow morning.

Here is a link to the article, it's mentioned under Dynamic Range. https://***URL not allowed***/lab-review-sony-a5100-video-dynamic-range-power/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lab-review-sony-a5100-video-dynamic-range-power

Thanks, I'll post when I get it. I ordered it yesterday morning, and it's supposed to be delivered today, but I am not home, so it may not arrive until tomorrow.

In the review of the camera by Cinema 5D, they found that setting produced the best, flattest results. That and either ISO 200 or 800 had the best dynamic range. But, as always, personal preference trumps everything. How do you like natural?

I think he sent the G7 back, so his review may be on hold. And yes, the crop factor can be a problem with the NX500, but for $350, I can deal with it.

I have the a5100 and like it a lot. The 50mbps codec is really clean and flat using the recommended Portrait -3, 0, -3. I haven't seen much footage from the G7, but on paper it looks good and I can see how that 4K down sampled to 1080p is alluring... It's the reason I bought the NX500.

I have FedEx confirmation that my shipment is on it's way.

I've purchased cameras from 6th Ave before, never a problem. They actually have a big retail location in North Jersey. So no worries.

hey, I don't disagree with you. I'm just relaying my experience, and I'm in the U.S. too, in the northeast.