mercer

Life is like a Zoom F4...

Yeah... that is just a nice frame. Color and composition... what more does one REALLY need?

Why did he switch back to Canon? AF and the affiliate program, I’d assume.

Reading some of these comments is akin to watching the melodrama of Mexican soap operas. Of course Sony is number 1 when they have no competition in FF and just released a new camera that’s one of their best cameras to date... their next one will be even better. I’ve always liked the Sony image and I end up buying a Sony camera once a year, or so, and then I remember I’m horrible at grading sLog and I go back to Canon, Nikon or even Panasonic. But the Sony image is so detailed and crisp and modern, what’s not to love about them? Okay... their menus are annoying but it’s not like they’re impossible to figure out. Point being is that statistics like this are fun, and as a Canon shooter I like to boast that Canon is number 1 in mirrorless in Japan. But in the end, who cares? It doesn’t really matter or mean anything. Depending on the release date of the Z6, Nikon will win the fourth quarter. Next year when Casey Neistat is shooting with a FF Canon mirrorless, Canon will win. Sadly, brand ambassadors on YouTube or Instagram will sell more cameras than the tech, color science, AF capabilities, video specs, burst rates, etc inside the camera ever will. Also, if I was a stills shooter only, I’d probably own a Pentax... yuck.

Yup, there aren’t many fast options in that focal range for larger sensor cameras. So you may want to look into native lenses for the GH5. The Olympus 17mm 1.8 is a jewel of a lens and with the focus clutch, you can have your hard stops. And the Olympus 12-40mm, although not as fast as your Sigma, is a great little all purpose lens as well. And obviously there are the Voigtlanders that are unmatched in my opinion. And then of course there are the Rokinon/Samyang Cine Lenses made for m4/3... the 12 and 21mm, I particularly liked and they’re nice and compact. I don’t use a follow focus, but I assume you can set them up to have hard stops? But don’t quote me on that.

Yeah, you’re probably right. I figured the C200B would go on sale quicker, or be cheaper on the used market and then one could use an external recorder, their phone/iPad or pay the $600 for the official Canon monitor and still be under the C200 cost. But then I realized, that the cable is damn near $300... so at full price you aren’t really saving enough to warrant the piece meal... of course, I rarely/never use an evf, so the camera will be a little smaller by going the c200b route.

@Sage good to know, thanks! I’ve heard that an upressed file exported as ProRes does help to trick Vimeo and YouTube. Good luck with your film projects by the way!

Here’s another shot from the Canon 28mm f/1.8 I bought a few months back for a song. I actually didn’t expect a lot from it when I bought it, but it’s been my goto lens for my short film... But I really need to start investing in some lights. I got a great recommendation from Jon, with the Fotodiox Flapjacks, but does anyone else have any good suggestions for on camera lights?

That looks great! That 2K really adds some depth to skin texture that is lacking in most other cameras... that’s one of the reasons I went with the 5D3 to begin with. Do you put your 1080p footage on a 2K timeline to bump it up, or do you transcode before you bring it into the NLE? I’ve always transcoded all footage (even back in my t2i days) to ProRes before bringing it into FCPX. I had a FZ2500 a couple years ago and loved the all-i 1080p... and that was just 8bit, so I can only imagine how good the 10bit is. I didn’t know it is downscaled in camera on the GH5. Is the 60p as well? Honestly, the only reason I am even contemplating a second camera is for slow motion with 180 degree shutter and IBIS. I was adamantly against the GH5 until I saw your profile, deezid’s and wildranger’s work. I’m hoping the price will drop a bit for the holidays and if it does, I think I will probably pick one up. I have a small collection of c-mount lenses that needs some exercise and there’s no better way to exercise old c-mounts than with IBIS. But I have to get some lights and audio equipment before I even think about another camera... ugh... and I need to replace a lens I was forced to sell last year. And even if I don’t end up getting one, I commend you on a job well done and I enjoy looking at everyone’s progress.

Whew... I just read the entire thread... so I will say this, I don’t know what magic you’ve done here, and I still think the Alexa vs GH5 still is not a comparison but you’ve definitely done something amazing here. So congrats with that. I may be in the market for a second camera (still on the fence because I am SO happy with ML Raw and I’m afraid a second camera would see little use) but if I can find a GH5 for a really good price around the holidays, I could pull the trigger. If I go that route, I’d most likely shoot in CineLikeD at 1080p but I saw a really interesting rig on IG that keeps the portability of the GH5 but adds an external monitor. So... I kinda remember reading that the GH5 does an internal 4K to 1080p downscale when hooked up to a 1080p recorder... is this true and if so, would that all-I 4K downscale to a 5” BMVA recording ProRes HQ be worth the trouble and get even better color and quality than recording 1080p in camera and transcoding to ProRes with your color conversion? Or will the difference be minimal and hardly worth the effort?

That’s interesting. I thought I remember reading that the RawLite didn’t have the same leeway as CDNG files. Cool. How does the WB and exposure controls in Raw tab seem? Are they non destructive like regular Raw files or can they only be pushed so much?

Was that 1080p? I thought the 4K crop is 2.5x on the D7500? A few months ago I was in Target waiting for my GF, so I wandered over to the camera section and they had a D3400 on display. I had read they put the Flat Profile in the 3400 so I wanted to check it out. I had the 5500 a couple years ago and loved it... anyway it obviously had the 18-55mm kit lens on the camera and I was blown away by it. The zoom and focus rings felt great and the VR worked surprisingly well. Pair it with the 35mm 1.8 for dialogue scenes and you have a great 2 lens set up for any film. However, I’m not sold on the Z mount but it is what it is, hopefully they do right by the F mount while expanding the Z lens line up.

The Raw Panel is available in Resolve with the RawLite files from the C200?

A couple Minolta lenses can be converted by changing out the mount but not with a simple adapter... they require one of the adapters with glass. Same goes for FD lenses. Now I found a Minolta 35mm 1.8 that was converted that I use with my 5D3. It’s a lovely lens. Here’s a few Raw screengrabs from a test shoot... But honestly since you may need EF in the future, you’re probably better off with the Nikon Nikkor lenses. They are so well built and the IQ is simply gorgeous. Some of the ai-s lenses are still sold new today. Here’s a frame from my short film and a test shot from the Nikkor 35mm 1.4... If you can look past my meager color grading skills, you can still see the attributes of the lenses. Unfortunately I had to sell off some of my favorite Nikkor lenses but I may buy new copies. Or I may get a couple Zeiss ZF lenses instead and replace the mounts with Leitax EF mounts. Or if I do go with Nikkors, I’ll probably do the same.

Read this about Minolta lenses... http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92246-Minolta-Rokkor-Survival-Guide But I’ve had many many Nikkor lenses and you really cannot go wrong for value to price with Nikkors... the 28mm f/2, 35mm f/2 and 35mm 1.4 are excellent lenses. Are you making a feature with the GH5?

Watch him on a phone like everybody else... it looks great. It looks great on my 40” 1080p TV as well. Jesus Jon, I wasn’t making fun of your audience or anything about you. I was just curious about the need for 4K vs. 1080p for YT videos. I wasn’t aware that the majority of Dave’s audience watches his channel on a desktop... Obviously, I’m the lowest common denominator here, so relax... you win.

How is that gaslighting? You’re not a professional YouTuber so you don’t have an audience... but you were referring to people who watch YouTube videos on their phone as the lowest common denominator.

Sorry, but that’s just silly. I am getting way too OT, so this will be my last comment on it... YouTube videos are a business for some and in any business you want to maximize profits. In any creative endeavor you must know your audience... so if the majority of your audience watches YT videos on their phones and they will gain barely any benefit in 4K over 1080p, why spend the money on a 4K camera when you can spend a quarter of the cost for a 1080p image? When you add the extra time for post production, it hardly seems like a solid business decision. Now of course, this isn’t my time or money, so any excuse is good enough... even if it is “I want to.” But “lowest common denominator” is probably not the smartest way to describe your primary audience... good thing you’re just a hobbyist too I guess. Sorry for the OT.

Yup, that makes sense, but also out of curiosity, at what point do you decide, when the option is yours, to shoot at a lesser resolution for cost effectiveness? I imagine a 1080p production through post is more time consuming than a 1080p production, so are there some jobs that you will shoot in 1080p to maximize your profits?

It’s not the lowest common denominator when the majority of people watch YT on their phones and I assume it’s by a HUGE margin. Either way, I was just curious. Oliver made some great points. I’m just a hobbyist making some short films for fun... obviously I’m not as serious as most of the pros on here... carry on.

That looks nice. I had the ai-s version and I bought it, despite Ken Rockwell’s review, brand new for 60 bucks and let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up selling it for a profit but I may get another one. Btw, how do you like the D7500? How are you managing with the crop and your F mount options?

Most vloggers shoot themselves in a medium close up... so where’s the need for reframing? Idk, I think 8k or 16K could be the norm but you’re only getting so much from a 3-5” screen being held 12-24” from your face.

Out of curiosity, why do you need 4K as a YouTuber? Good AF, yeah I get it. But 4K? Most people are watching on their phones... what’s the benefit of having good 4K?

Camera divisions are all just divisions of larger companies. Panasonic and Sony are more diverse but Canon, Ricoh and Olympus are still diversified enough to lose their camera divisions and survive as a company... Nikon... I don’t know.

Yup, this is your most salient point, in my opinion. The manufacturers rely on the deep interest and pockets of enthusiasts and hobbyists to force unnecessary tech advancements down our throats and our wallets. Prosumers seem to pay the most for any advancement in the camera industry. And very little of these advancements actually filter down to the consumer models. I know Canon gets a lot of heat around here, but take a look at Panasonic. They have a high bitrate 1080p in the GH4 and GH5 but it never trickles down into their consumer models. Yet the same 100 mbps 4K has been floating around for 3-4 years. Sony has had the same 50mbps X-AVC 1080p and 100mbps 4K for 3-4 years. So it seems that the overall advancements in IQ have been fairly stagnant for nearly 5 years, yet there is zero funneling of even the modest of upgrades in lowly 1080p.