CTRT

I got the free LUT Loader from Pixel Studios and now I am in flipping heaven... Crazy how easy it is to radically change - and improve - footage... Cine D is brilliant! May just have to spring for the LOG upgrade now. My kids are pretty tired of this new camera already, but I am having so much fun... first big job is on the 22nd... can't wait!

wow! Nice phone camera

So after a few days, and shooting a few dozen photos, and a handful of videos, I have to say I'm pretty blown away... it definitely feels a lot more "modern" than the Nikon, whether or not that's good in personal taste, but I dig it... it's not exactly intuitive, especially how the menus are so context sensitive, but that's just getting used to it... the 4K is AMAZING! But wow, the file sizes eh? Overall, couldn't be happier! Thanks again everyone!

ooh! OK, more rabbit holes Thanks

I have to get over the bias against CCTV I guess.... I also need to figure out how to track down the cine lenses as well... I found a bunch of companies - names the rest of you guys all know I'm sure: Kern, Angenieux, Kinoptik, Dallmeyer, Cooke, Hugo Meyer - and I wonder if those things can be found easily.. at least to look at online

sweeet! I need to start going to thrift shops again apparently as well... I need to get an adapter first, and just some cheap lens, so I can learn what to look for in the wild.... It's amazing how cinematic some of these c mount lenses look... can't wait! Thanks for the links!

I will! I am currently trying to figure out how to get a c mount lens onto the GH4 I am so excited at the moment if I'm honest.. and really glad to figure out enough - with everyone's help - to make a decision that's set me on the right path for growth... at least I hope so... :)

I have been kind of letting my vision gloss over when I looked at all these different names and numbers, but now - even against my will - things are coming into focus... including the model of my new camera...

Ha! thanks! I had put it into my head that it wasn't alphabetical order and actually switched it repeatedly! Because, I'm a dope!

BREAKING NEWS! I actually just bought the GH4 and the Lumix 12-35 f2.8 I think I'll also buy a BMPCC in the next few months, now that I know I can share lenses between them! That is a wonderful revelation, brought on by my own stupidity! As for the Nikon, well - frankly I wasn't hugely in love with it.. it was definitely a workhorse and got me a lot more work, but want 4K and want to have the same lenses as the BMPCC without buying an expensive adapter... I know I'll end up buy an adapter in the future, but... I can wait! I just watched that video you made and it's GREAT! I really can't wait to start using log and grading properly. Totally inspiring! Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate all the help, and dealing with my stupid! I will try and come by more often and maybe next time I can help out the idiot

First, thanks so much for all of this info! Second, one quick question, on your option two, do you mean I wouldn't have to use an adaptor if I use micro four thirds lenses? So that's the same as the HG4? So any lenses I bought for the HG4 would work for that? That would be amazing as I could skip the expensive speedbooster - at least initially.

I just went and looked at Ed David's stuff... wow!

yeah, I came to terms with that ages ago.. I think as long as you're happy and proud of what you make, as much as you can be at least, then you're probably doing ok... I would LOVE to be a lot better, and produce next level stuff, but I need to really learn a lot more - put in the hours - first... Then one day my bank videos will look like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KXqfXkKRA4

Wow! thanks so much for that information! Do you use a speedbooster or some other solution to deal with cropping? Or am I totally misunderstanding that as well? How about viewing the screen in the daylight? Oh and do you just grade in Resolve? Or edit in it? I'm used to FCP and wonder if it's worth investigating as an editor. I use a tripod, manual focus (or a autofocus before I shoot, but no continuous AF). I find the need to stabilise clips with the Nikon and handheld to make it pretty useless... I mean, you CAN use it, but things do get cropped so framing can end up being annoying during edit. I am really hoping that IS works meaningfully on the HG4, or whatever I end up with Probably the HG4 and that "LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm / F2.8 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S." lens. I am sceptical, as a rule, or automated stuff... autofocus, auto white balance, etc., but maybe that's just a hangover from the way I feel about audio gear, where anything "auto" is probably not hugely great... As for what people do... a lot of the clips I've seen since I started are so uninspiring... I don't know how these people get jobs, and it's kind of inspiring to me, because I know I can easily do better and I'm just some jerk. I look at the soccer clip posted by Fuzzy on the last page though and think... why am I even pretending... Then again, I never made a music video until I made one!

The first few jobs I did I rented lights, LED panels, and I often think that created a sense that I was a pro, along with bringing two cameras... so I bought the lights. And I bought lapel mics and an H4N. The overall quality is pretty awesome really, and quick to use, but most importantly it seems to make the right impressions... I am so happy that it was videography and not photography... those guys... ehh... talk about cultish! I guess it's a pretty small community here and tight-nit... I wouldn't want to have to try and get in with them!

that is true! but if you had a normal lens on it... it might look real to them. I was shocked about them being ok with a DSLR, then I started going to all these corporate events and meeting other videographers, and they're ALL using DSLRs! Shocking!

Thanks for all of this... I honestly need to read it a few more times to properly understand everything you said, but it's all very useful... I wouldn't mind a manual lens at all.. I tend to use a tripod, even for most cutaways/b-roll, and so I can take a minute and set it up properly and then just sort of tweak it quickly as need be... I didn't even use any of the auto stuff on the nikon for months as I thought it would probably stink... it didn't in the end, well the continual focus was useless, but the auto focus worked pretty well.. the hardest thing I found was trying to learn how to judge what the final image was going to look like based on the screen.. I can't really imagine not being able to use a screen, just a viewfinder! Props to people who know it all well enough to do that, but that's not me yet! I actually need to buy a light meter and learn how to use it, and a color card, or whatever you call those... I liked the footage here of a c mount lens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZXwzeSu-Hc at the end... Thanks for your help, it's appreciated! thanks for saying the thing about films... I LOVE films, and especially things like old Seijun Suzuki, Wong-Kar Wai, Sidney Lumet and on and on... 50s American, 60s Japanese, 70s American, 80s French, 90s HK, etc., etc. I just love movies... And I appreciate your encouraging posts! I actually think this is probably true... I showed up to my first shoot with the nikon and a big (also borrowed) older digital camcorder... it sucked, but it LOOKED good and they keep saying how professional and prepared I was compared to the COMPANY they'd been using... the "company" was using... you'll never believe this... the in camera mic to record interviews with banking professionals... I was shocked.. But to your point, yes, a bigger camera looks more convincing, as lame as that is...

That is actually a huge relief if I'm honest... trying to make sense of the minutia and decide between two or three cameras based on proprietary technology and bit rate and sensor size, resolution, codec, etc., etc., is pretty mind numbing. I'd love to just get something that is pretty simple, but that can give me a bit of scope to grow. I may just get an HG4, but I am going to look at all the other suggestions as well... if I could save a bit of money and maybe get a second lens, or a handheld gimbal like that nebula 4000 lite... though that thing seems to be dodgy... anyway, if I could get something else by saving some money on a camera body, well.. that's a good option too! Did you see that lens that comes with the HG4, the: LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm / F2.8 ASPH. / POWER O.I.S...? The reviews look good, but.. is it way overpriced? Is there something similar for a lot less? I saw those new Tamron lenses, and the sample images looked amazing, but were also probably taken by someone with 100 years of experience and a 20K camera. I also saw, looking at a Blackmagic video, those cool c-mount lenses... I'd love to experiment with things like that for video, but I don't know if any of the cameras we're discussing can be made work with them...

Thanks for this! I'll check out resolve Lite! I wouldn't mind getting into grading, really... I just don't want to not be able to work for 2 months while I figure it out And yes, I get a variable amount of work... I did 14 videos in the last 2 months, but 2 the month before that... next month I have 5 booked, including a high profile national event... but it's all mostly video for the web, etc. I know I probably am - to some extent - sending mixed messages, but that's because I am frankly pretty confused, not just about which camera, but about where exactly to invest in my business to help it grow. The whole videography thing taking off was a surprise, but I don't want to end up making wedding videos, etc. So I am basically biding my time trying to sort out where I can fit in and be happy. I am good (so clients tell me) at editing, and have a family member who is a very well known working RV editor in the UK. He is suggesting I try and develop that, and maybe find a way to transition out of the corporate work and into something more rewarding. Because of my connection to lots of creative people I hope to gradually get some better - as in more rewarding - work, but know I probably can't do that with my rinky corporate setup... so I plan to just do the corporate stuff, reinvest into better gear, find a niche I enjoy and see where that goes... but that makes it kinda confusing for me at the moment. I am also buy a new 27" iMac, and some better lights, and I have a nice audio setup, so hopefully, when I do get a nicer camera, I'll be in a better position to use it for good, instead of banks, and accountants and rugby teams... all very nice people, and easy to work with, but after years of just doing original music it's a bit... hard to be passionate about.

How do these compare to the HG4, quality-wise? I say this, because I basically am buying a few things, and so have the money for the HG4, at the moment, as part of a business loan yada. So if it's worth the extra I'll just get it and be happy with it for the next year or so... however, if I can get 99% of the same thing for 400-500 or 700 less, then I'd be stupid not to... owning no lenses and having no brand loyalty, I am a clean slate. Sorry for asking you guys so many questions!

Thank a lot! I think I will do that... I was looking at this package here: http://www.bpm-media.de/en/Sales/ENG-Live-Production/Cameras/HDSLR-Cameras/Panasonic-DMC-GH4A::368198.html The reviews of he lens seem like it would be good for video... but I'm sure once I start buying lenses I won't stop... Thanks again!

I explained it a bit more in my previous post, but in a nutshell: I was offered a corporate job based on some music videos I'd made. That has snowballed. I know the camera I was using, but not because I understood it - I knew if I did certain things, certain things would happen. I have no background in photography, and aside from a ridiculous obsession with film I never saw myself as connected to film/video. I am a professional musician, and own a mastering studio, but neither of those make very much money. So when the corporate videography work came my way, and I had a camera, I took a shot... surprisingly I was offered more and more and now I have pretty constant work with pretty high profile clients where I live. Now the loaner camera is gone, and I have to have something I can use to keep my work going... I asked on here a few months back and people suggested a variety of things... the RX10 ii seemed great as it was all in one, and good enough for what I need, but ... I have also come to realise that if I had better gear, and could produce better quality content, I would get more work. I am in no way trying to be a film maker.. I wish I was, as I LOVE film... my artistic idol is Chris Doyle... maybe he's old hat now, but back in the 90s I was obsessed with HK cinema, and saw literally hundreds of HK movies and became obsessed with that sort of film making... not the kung fu stuff, the dramas and art house stuff.. Anyway, if you wanna talk technical stuff about music I can do that alllllllll day... I am just wary of being sucked into the whole technical side of this as I just am not... music is what i have invested all my emotional and mental space in for decades... it's hard to even consider being willing to throw myself into this as an art... I just... maybe I will at some point, but right now I wanna just keep working... I hope that doesn't offend everyone; I LOVE this stuff as an observer, but just can't commit to trying to be anything more than a glorified technician at the moment. Saying that, making music videos is a great outlet for my arty side - which is my largest side - so to speak - and I love being able to just explore and learn when I get the chance to make those. Oh and yes, I have found that being good with clients and delivering things quickly has gotten me more work than anything else... I see people a LOT better than me losing work because they can't deliver on time, or more often, they can't deal with clients without their ego getting involved... which is absurd when you're making corporate stuff, IMO. Just make the client happy, get the next job, and try and enjoy it as much as possible. Thanks for your honest and thoughtful post though... I understand your position very well.

I think I could probably adapt to a higher end codec without much of an issue, over time... that was the thing that scared me about trying to make a quick transition though as clients (banks, sports teams, accountancy firm) can't really wait for me to figure out a new system... But I recently had to hire a second camera guy, to help me keep up with the jobs, so I will be able to expand to nicer gear I think, but maybe not for a few more months... Anyway, I'll check the G7! Thanks for your help!

Ohhh... so you're saying I would have a harder time getting a shallow depth of field... the blurry background? That might actually suit as I can do that in post if I need to.... it's a pain obviously, but I have done it in the past... A lot of the work I do, the clients want things - posters or signs - visible in the background... I think its ugly, but money is money... In 12 months I might try to add a BMCC 2.5, or whatever the equivalent is then ... lol. I would LOVE to have something I could use for higher end clients, as there's a lot of room to grow here in that market... as it is I could probably pick up an extra job a month if I had one... but... it's a big investment...

Thanks for this!! That's some great information... I hadn't ACTUALLY checked how much Resolve cost until about an hour ago... holy cow! I mean, a grand isn't that much, but on top of all the other costs it adds up quickly! I am thinking in a year I may just add something like this to my business, but the total cost is too much for me now... Thanks again!