Kisaha

..and because they don't like Christmas trees; must be a religious decision.

Everything is relative these years; obviously we are living on a era that everything chances, and the world will be unstabilized for the next decade or so. Years ago I had the option to stay in London for work. For me London was the place to be career-wise, but the quality of life it is just terrible. Most of my friends have stayed there and now they have issues with Brexit (especially the ones working in universities are in limbo, and they are not sure if they will have permit to stay for the next year) and also, they have to work just to pay the rent. Also security and safety is relative as well. We all know what is going on with the world right now, and it is scary that not even in the greatest European capitals one can feel safe. The world is in motion, money and careers are not the most important aspects right now. I see it that we have to have a defence stance, to try to save some dignity for the next generations.

@Arikhan Where do you live? I am checking the forum mostly on mobile, so I do not know everyone's country, it would be nice to mention your country, city, so to get an impression of your market. Obviously is different to work in Greece, where there is 30-60% unemployment (depending the age group), and almost 10% of the higher educated work force is an economic immigrant, different to work in Finland, different in Mumbay e.t.c In the end, everything is a life choice, I choose to do what I like and what I have invest on (I have 2 diplomas on this field, a bachelor degree from a UK university, and 17 years of experience), and I was a mechanical and electronics engineer in the energy department but I couldn't pretend to be something I wasn't feel like. My choices were only 2, immigration, or staying put (unlike 90% of my friends) and try to do my best in a ruined economy. I would like to earn 100.000euros per year. Well.. this is unachievable! I try to be smart, not over invest, and try to cooperate with the "right" people and rent the "right" equipment, my wife does something completely different, and we both help one each other.

the money you are mentioning are just insane. A usual working day here is 12 hours, if you can charge 12 X 125 euros (I do not even mention the other crazy number just above) is 1250euros per day! while this is usually the pay for 2-4 WHOLE episodes of a TV production (for location sound) and with no pension/medical insurance/gear money. They just pay for your physical presence, expected to have most of the equipment, and you pay your own taxes. Of course we are talking about the poorest western world country, but still, 1250 euros per day for a technician that is not the chief producer, director, or dp, is unheard of.

Why in two weeks?

S2, S4, S6, S7, S8 are all different and offer different things for different users and cameras. Official prices in my European south-east country. S2 is the cheapest/smallest for a simple video tripod with a tension control system (very basic but it is very cheap as a kit, with leveling head and legs). 0.4kg and max load 2.5Kg 70-80euros S4 a little bigger, slightly more expensive, usually ok for a cheap monopod configuration. Looks more serious than the S2 a little better pan motion. 0.7Kg weight and max load 4Kg 120euros S6, here is starting get serious, actually I own this one. first of all illuminated leveling bubble (something I really miss on the cheap Sachtler Ace!)! Then, it has posi-step counterbalance (same as the more expensive ones), fluid drag control (like the more expensive ones) and some drag in the pan movement but NO other pan options, just the one it is. 1.2Kg weight and max load 6Kg 180-190euros S7 It also has fluid drag control for the pan movement 1.43Kg and 7 max load. 240-250euros S8 2.4Kg and 8 max load. 290euros The BV4 has 1.9Kg weight and 4Kg max load and it is bigger than the S series, and much more heavier! It seems (from reviews) there are some issues with the drag which I have notice in most Chinese tripods (E-Image included). My impression is that this kind of tripods are targeting more traditional video tripods (with old school video legs). All in all, S6 and S7 seem like the best options for me, for monopod and photographich style tripod legs. For heavier loads, I would look to something more expensive.

I have a DP that I have similar issues! He is 55 years old, a bit ild schiol(Old school)and before any job I am like "don't do this, be careful with that, don't talk like this" etc! The equipment is another thing though, I could never depend on unpredictable equioment. It is too much of a stress.

@DPC wrong camera choice/wrong people selection!

Hate to bring it back, but NX1 has a perfect touch screen implementation since a long time ago, just found in Philip Bloom's AF megathon as the third technology, just after Canon's Dual Pixel and a6300 and I have one year more warranty in my camera, and 20 months for my 16-50 2-28f lens, and the whole kit costed me 1500€. It is not like it is a mythic/cryptic creature of the old times to just ignore it in every sentence. I expect the next Fuji to have touch screen, and work better than Sony (which barely works anyway, also battery consumption, heat management were handled better by Fuji, even if you have to add 300-400€ for the grip and batteries), but let's face it, there is a camera that does most things right, RIGHT NOW (and for 2 years now) and some of us earn our bread from that! Just for your information, I go now!

Jvc LS300 is an excellent little(and cheap) camera. I woupd give it a look. Also, hiring someone cheap to help you is the most value you can get, he(or she) can come with their own equipment, and you help someone (and the evolution of the industry). Even with the state of the industry I described in another post, I try to have us much people involved as possible (second camera and post usually).

Here in Greece there are no contracts, except working for television, which again, there is no health insurance. People believe that a guy with a dSLR is a video professional, and that attitude has passed to the professional level. The contract I have now is for a documentary series. In the begining, they were considering not using a sound man (=me!), nor a field producer. Then, they talked to me about sound, the budget for sound was atrocious, but I cut a deal working for less hours and I didn't want to be excluded from TV for the first time after coming back from my Bachelor of Arts in Film amd Video. Then I learn from a producer inside the production company (it is a media group with TV stations in the while Balkans, press, music production companies, exclusive contract with Vice, e.t.c a huge organisation for East-Southern Europe terms) the company that took the first contract with the cable TV station (different media groups, by the way) willing to earn as much as possible, tried to do it without a field producer ("we will makenthe calls from the office"), a sound man ("you can do it with one wireless mic"), no lights ("with a couple leds you will be fine), and 2 Canon 5DmarkIII !!! When first conducted me were like "can you do a bit of field production too? You will get a few hundrends of euros per episode and we will be ok", I refused, because there was no possible in anyway, we found a very good and experiences producer (that earns more money than me eventually!), and we go with a full van, dedos, kino flos, a JVC LS300+the 5Diiis, a full sound kit and most of these for free. I also help with lighting, do a little sound post and the DP does color corection for free. You know what they asked us yesterday? "Can we do it 5.1 sound, and why we don't have 10 bit image?"! Right now, in the whole Greek market there are 2 good productions with 5-7 times our budget, and they are really doing a great job. The last 4 years were none such productions. Imagine what is going on with the small and uneducated clients. It is a massacre! I am starting to sell extra virgin oil of the Koroneiki varity in Europe, to bring some money to the family budget! I learned today that a guy(that I know) does BOTH video and photos in weddings, and he charges 300-600 euros for photo/video, ALONE! One friend does photography lessons, and there are 3 middle aged women, never hold a camera in their life "learning the basics to do video in weddings", and in his class, from the 15-20 people, almost all are going to work in weddings! Today I talked with a band for an event coverage and a small clip in the end, and they told me they paid the last 3 years, from 80-200€! It has become a hobby, and I am working since 1999, my first jobs were in film, have 1 bachelor and 2 diplomas, I feel I am overqualified!

IBIS/rolling shutter seem to be best in class. What are the cons though? I read that mic/headphone jack placement is really bad and I do not understand what the 3200/6400 iso mean. In GH4 the number was 800/1600, is the Olympus really that much better in low light? Fuji/Olympus are photo orientated cameras with acceptable (to good) 4K video. That is a first. I except much better video performance in the next try (especially from Fuji). P.s "good built-in audio quality" must be some kind of joke.

"Shaky footage I cannot capture, even if I am able" This is the riddle from the original post! I am not sure what it means, and I am a man of science, I do not do palm reading or looking to the stars for answers, if someone has the facts, let's state them!

So, it doesn't have IBIS, and has 2 codecs, a beefier one, and probably a lighter (H265?) one. Having 2 codecs will be interesting. 10 bit internal and the such. The 15th that it was indicated in the first post means that the tests will be concluded at the 15th of December? If yes, then it will be available from February or something? Can anyone recap all the info, certainties etc??!!

I didn't put it right; it will be more expensive I meant! Also, they lost the Christmas market for sure (ofcourse they don't compete with Xmas presents and cheap cameras, but it could a nice jump start).. ..and then it depends of the other possibilities when itneill be finally out.. e.g a LS300 in B&H was 2850 with 250$ rebate (2600$!), and is a real run n gun camera. Blackmagic should have an upgrade soon. I would rather had a great cheap Varicam awaiting, than a new mirrorless, something to compete with the C100markII, something better than the JVC, and cheaper than the FS5. Does anyone have any European price for the Olympus? They don't have one in my country yet, but if I can guess from other releases, it will be more than 2000€.

Fact is that BNC 2016 is: 1) Olympus 34.5% 2) Sony 24.8% 3) Canon (! With the EOS M2 mainly!) 13.6% So, the fact that is the first (second actually) try on video is a big thing for them, and the market. GH5 is going to be big, but after the X-T2, a6500, M5 and M1-ii releases, Pana is a bit late in the game. That gives Sony time to have a really good APS camera in the summer(September?) because they must be working on a new body for some time now (both APS and full frame). We don't even know GH5's release date, and I seriously doubt that it will be cheaper than the Olympus, here in Europe. Everyone's buying time to Sony, to dominate the market in a couple of years.

Where the NX1 was 500$?! I would take a second one for that price IMMEDIATELY. Seriously. NX1 just does most things right and is a work horse for me, something the a6xx gimmicks aren't. Ergonomics, efficient light codec (when I shot a 3 hours performance, I save half a hard drive with my NX1/NX500 combo), battery, no heating are things understated by the many, but when I work, these things become more important than one stop better iso, or the DR's absolute numbers, or a few kbytes difference in bitrate. If I want absolute image, and depending the job (time and control in set) I rent. I do not understand how people need 10-40.000$ image from 800$ cameras, that is seriously above me. Most of my clients, still ask for DVDs. When I offer 10GB files or more, for better quality, they say, "no, we just want to watch on TV", which that means, we have a DVD player, and we know no better than that (even thought they just bought a 4K, 55" for Christmas!). I go for the soft look my self for weddings/Christenings, a sharper documentary style for live/performances, and more artistically for other projects (depending concept, idea, emotions, etc). I am working with a lot of cameras/systems. NX is king for mirrorless/dSLR, C100mkII for run and gun, LS300 for the best compromise between those two, C300mkII for more, Sonys for slow motion (FS700 is cheap to rent and provides good slow mo). In our market Alexa's are for only very expensive tv adds that are out of my league (and most people here, the industry is non existent).

Your setup is a bit overkill, but the S8 price is a steal. When I consider equipment these days, I have weight and size in my mind, that's why I went mirrorless, that's why I went APS-C, that's why I prefer native mirrorless lenses than adapted EF and EF-S lenses most people seem to prefer. When I do some no budget things, I have to carry everything on my own so I become more careful about my sweet spots. How you level the head with the tripod's legs? You certainly need a "riser", for in between the tripod and your camera. I have one on my camera at all times, it also gives me more height to change batteries and sd cards without taking the camera out of the tripod, and gives me betternhandling and working height of the camera. Also, a bit height (5-10cm, depending the design) that I feel that improves my ergonomics. Also, you can build from there and put a cheap plastic matte box (around 20$) if you want a permanent parasoleil for whatever lens you put there, or more advanced stuff (real matte box, focus wheel, etc).

It says "panels and filmaking", with the Oktava one can do some filmaking, with dynamic mics, can not! This is the less I can think of.

You have to give more information. Usually it goes a mic per person, or you have a boomman do the work moving the microphone accordingly. If the people are close, you can use a cardioid microphone. You should check the Oktava 012 set, with 3 capsules, a cardioid (good for two people close together, instruments), a omni (taking sound from all around it, good for bad placement, but in our industry is a disadvantage, because it receives unwanted sounds) and a super cardioid, like a cardioid, but with narrower "beam", the most appropriate for our industry, and it could be possible good for what you want too. It is in your budget, but you will need a good Rycotte wind shield and a good Rycote mic holder with the Lyre system so you have to add 100-200$ to your budget. It is extremely sensitive to air, mic movement, and handling noises.

These are for C500 and Red and FS7. I do not thing that you need anything like this, and they cost multiple times the smaller ones. Check the S2 kit (the whole thing can be very cheap), and the S4 is just right for smaller rigs. I have S6 and it is a bit overkill, but maybe the right price/size/features if you want to buy something bigger in the near future (C100markII and LS300 are perfectly fits). If you can afford it, and you want something medium, buy the Sachtler, better than any Manfrotto combo for the price (only the lack of lighting at the leveling bubble is just stupid!).

The price was 4 times what you paid and I thought it was (and was) a bargain back then. Don't worry about it (shipped from Korea).

There is a Benro kit with the S2 head, cheap and handy (very interesting levelling system too). Even the S6 I have, is a bit overkill for bigger than a6300 dSLRs, so maybe you are S2/S4 territory.

Max is a nice kid, but doesn't seem to me as experienced. Obviously does some weddings, but everyone and their mothers(that is a true fact!) do weddings these days. It is much more difficult and demanding to stay in competitive industries such as TV productions.He will be dissapointed by both Ursa and Kinefity, but whatever, I am sure he will figure it out in the end, he is a bright young man! I am really impressed by Fuji, in just one generation has done what Sony hasn't in 3. The next one will be undeniably the best APS-C camera around, and we will see.. I am really tempted to sell everything NX and move to Fuji, but they are not there yet, and they lack a small B cam (NX1 and NX500), a native fish eye, and a few more things (touch screen, different ergonomics maybe, a couple of lenses improvements). Maybe I'll wait a year or two!

Sachtler and Miller are not at all like Manfrotto. Even Benro has some better cheap models. I have bought a bubble cube that goes at the cameras hot shoe, and I level throught that. I was considering this befree, but it seems to me like a very cheap construction not even worth its money. How's the head though? Does it have good friction for the price (and size)? The Ace is an ace (pun intended!) among low cost tripods, especially the head, but the very cheap model doesn't have a light in the buble, and it is a stupid omission for such an expensive-cheap tripod set. Also, it is multiple times the size of befree (when in its bag), so I wouldn't consider them as competitive models.