Trek of Joy

Because photo/video hybrids sell in numbers many times greater than dedicated video cameras, and get far more coverage than something like a Varicam or EOS Cinema camera. Plus the two worlds have been converging for quite some time, its a natural progression. If you shoot stills and video, in many cases carrying two different kits really makes no sense these days. With the S1R/H combo, you have both bases covered and there's easy backup/B-cam capabilities with each. I just worked with a a couple guys from the Matador Network, one was carrying a FS5/28-135 for video and a 1dx plus the f/2.8 zoom trinity for stills. The other had the a73 and a few GM lenses, plus a Ronin S mostly for video, but also grabbing stills. I know which kit I'd rather carry. If Panasonic had a competent AF system, I'd be all-in on the L-mount since I fall into the photo/video camp. As it stands I'm waiting to see what Sony does with the a7s3 before doing anything, since the various E-mount bodies serve my needs well. Chris

The mirroring apps have been around for awhile, but various OS updates impacted their functionality. This will be native and looks to be more featured. Plus its free. As far as release date, they say "fall" -- most seem to think it'll get rolled out in September with the iPhone 11, or X+1, or whatever silly naming convention Apple comes up with next. Chris

My projects are pretty simple compared to many - edits, transitions, grade and some titles, occasionally a few simple motion graphics, usually no longer than 3 minutes in length. I can do a lot with my iPad and Lumafusion too. I go back and forth, the new i9 iMacs also look pretty good and you get the 5k screen - it'll be one or the other. I have a dock with a fan that does a nice job of keeping things cool when working on a laptop. I just need to increase the speed of all time-sucking tasks like lightroom exports, video exports and so on, one of the i9 machines is in the cards sometime in the next few weeks. Cheers Chris

Direct file transfer through USBc and a revamped file management system are huge - same for the new multitasking setup. It now seems to behave like an actual computer in that regard. Apple wants the iPad pro to replace a laptop, for me its been tough giving mine up because of the workarounds to simply get a track from Artlist into iMovie or Lumafusion. If the new Files folder is open to move content to any app or dump cards into, then my beloved little Macbook's days are numbered. A mouse would be a welcome addition as well - but I do like working with the pencil. This can't come fast enough for me. Steve Jobs must be rolling in his grave, but this is what the iPad pro needs in order to fulfill Apple's marketing claims. Chris Keep that on the downlow. iMovie is amazing, and Apple doesn't need to poach Luma in any way... yeah....

A 6k iMac seems logical for the next iMac Pro refresh. But if the display alone costs $5000, what's the whole machine going to cost? Ouch. I'm about to order one of the 8-core i9 MacBook Pro's that was quietly updated just recently and a $600 LG 4k monitor to replace my 2015 iMac. I just can't justify the cost of the other Pro models. Chris

The computer starts at $5999, 6k panel starts at $4999. Plus iPad OS fixes many of the gripes about iOS when trying to replace a laptop. Nice. https://techcrunch.com/2019/06/03/apple-releases-the-6000-pro-display-xdr-a-32-inch-6k-display-available-this-fall/

I've found Blackmagic's tutorial videos on youtube to be an excellent way to get a grip on Resolve. I went cold turkey since I didn't have anything critical looming and just worked my way through them, ignoring what I normally do in PP and FCP. After a few small projects I'm starting to feel really comfortable with it. I have an 8-day travel shoot starting next week, that will be a series of 2-3 min pieces and a longer wrap, all will be done in the new Cut tab. So far R16 has been really stable for me. Love it. And its free. Amazing. Chris

After watching the video again while tinkering with an edit I'm interested. The Blackmagic keyboard looked interesting as well, until I saw the price. My greatest source of frustration is setting in/out points on a clip in the preview window before dropping it into the timeline, and trimming the ends of clips in the timeline since it usually involves a lot of scrolling or pinching to zoom in and out - frame advance would really help there. And I could use the shuttle with my iMac. I'll keep an eye out for when its available. Chris

I use a monopod a lot, I have the older manfrotto video monopod with the fluid cartridge thingy on the bottom. Pros: more portable and easier/faster to move around than a tripod, can get cool jib-style overhead shots, lighter than a tripod, weight below the camera makes it a pseudo steadicam too. Cons: pans and tilts aren't as smooth, the head is crap, its kinda heavy compared to a photo monopod. Though mine is 5 or 6 years old, I'm sure some of the newer options are better as Manfrotto has updated its line and others like Benro, Siuri and countless Chinese knockoffs have since joined the mix. I don't shoot a lot of sports, but I was at a karting track a couple weeks ago and my Sigma 150-600 did the job nicely. I've shot lots of wildlife with it too. If its not a job, one of the consumer superzooms like a 24-200mm seems like a good option. I'm sure you could pick one up pretty cheap. Mako Sports' setup looks ideal and his reel is fantastic. Personally I've been debating just getting a regular photo monopod since the only thing I use the crappy tilt-only head for framing - its always locked down when I'm shooting because the drag is just friction - so its garbage. I feel like I'm carrying around extra dead weight at times, a photo monopod will be about 1/3 the weight and even less bulky. But I'm a one-man-band travel shooter, so I'm trying to cover a lot of bases shooting both stills and video with a kit that mostly carry-on sized. Interested to see where you wind up. Chris

Do you think it can speed up the workflow? I'm certainly willing to try anything that can make my life easier. I guess being bludgeoned by Steve Jobs for so long about a touch interface and Apple's previous resistance to things like external keyboards has impaired my thinking. I will say though, Lumafusion (and the LR CC app) does most of what I do on desktop, that along with the latest iOS hardware has made editing on the road a lot faster and more portable. It does feel like my desktop's days are numbered. Chris

Yikes! Mine chokes up a bit, lots of stuttering when scrubbing too quick, but its not that bad. It does take a second to think before playing every time I hit play as well. But I don't have anything with the bitrates the GH5 can produce. I can stack all the BM Raw sample clips on a timeline and mash through them much easier, it looks like the Vega and 8-cores will solve my h265 issues though. I'm still amazed at how easily I can edit footage on my phone in comparison. I chopped down 40 min of drone footage and 45 min of GoPro 4k60p footage into a 25 minute video in iMovie, complete with background music and it was fine. It also rendered out a 1080p final video in about 10 minutes, the 4k version took about 25 minutes. Unbelievable. Chris

So far only touch, no keyboard, as I'm usually editing on the go - like in moving cars, on planes, in a restaurant, or any other place I happen to be stationary while on assignment. This does look interesting, but the iPad Pro and Lumafusion has helped me shrink the size/weight of my kit as I no longer carry a laptop. I even went with the 11" pro over the 12.9 because its more portable. For me adding something else to carry is no bueno. But that's just me. As always, amazing work. I hope you sell a ton of them. Put it out to Henny Tha Business and The Art of Photography YT channels, they do a lot of Lumafusion videos and Henny was at NAB demoing v2.0. Cheers Chris

Works fine with the v16 free version. Here's a screenshot of h265 from my drone. My late 2015 iMac is starting to show its age with h265 in v16, my iPhone XS max is now much faster. Crazy. Gonna get one of the new 8-core iMacs with the Vega48 card to speed things up. Chris

Charles Pappert goes into great details about how he shot a number of the K&P skits on DVXuser, his stories from the set and how he got the shots are great reads. Chris

Big fan of the new Cut page, I'm all about the fast edit and this makes it easy to quickly splice something together, then go to Edit for further refinements or just color and finish. I have to cut 9:16 and sometimes 1:1 social videos for IG and FB, anything that speeds up my workflow is a godsend. I absolutely love the triple timeline. The method of scrolling through the big timeline with a fixed play head will take awhile to get the muscle memory, I keep trying to move it instead of dragging the timeline. So I'm not saving much time just yet, haha. Fingers crossed the Cut page will also find its way to a Resolve Mobile iPad app with color wheels, scopes and other grading tools. Haven't found an app better than Lumafusion, but I rely on the RGB parade to remove color casts and balance things out, I tend to push things a little too far if I just eyeball it. Its my #1 complaint with photo editors like Lightroom, I prefer scopes to a histogram. Alas. So far 16 is a big winner, so glad I took the plunge and dumped FCP/Premiere. Chris

I haven't done side by sides, but I do like the Hero7's 4k60p output and the stabilization is convenient. I just did a shoot on a bunch of roller coasters and the footage looks good, audio is surprisingly good too. I don't shoot in low light with action cams very often, so I can't comment on the difference there - they all look pretty rough with the small sensor. Part of me moving back to GoPro is just the simplicity of the mounts/accessories, no need for a waterproof housing, and the touchscreen - makes changes a lot faster/easier and I don't have to do the button dance through menus. I have a few handles, the orange GoPro floaty with the padded grip, a generic extender pole that doesn't float, a suction cup, chesty and so on. I have the session as well, its served me well, but IQ isn't great, the battery isn't removable, and its app connection is iffy at best - and I rely on the app for framing quite a bit. The square form factor is cool though, makes it easy to get different angles by just rotating the camera in the mount - like sticking the pole out a car window, just turn the camera 90 degrees and you're good. I wish the Hero was a square instead of the rectangle. I really like the RX0mkII with the selfie screen and the larger sensor, but the lack of 4k60p at that price point is a deal breaker. From an IQ standpoint, especially in low light, the RX0 is probably your best bet. Chris

As a one-man-band I use a GoPro a lot. Sometimes its on a gorillapod that I always carry. Sometimes I use a cheap, generic flash bracket similar to the one BTM_PIX posted with a GoPro mounted to my a73. Sometimes I use a small hotshoe ball head that I mount on top of the camera. Sometimes its on a floaty handle, and I just keep it in my pocket. I also use the chest and head mounts for POV, and a generic extender pole for crazy angles. I about to sell my Sony X3000 after getting a Hero7 to tinker with, mostly because of the mount ecosystem, the touchscreen, and the size/weight. The Hero7 does a nice job with its stabilization and its fast to fire up and start shooting. If you need audio, it looks like you've already found some samples of others using a similar setup. Chris

I just started using a current gen 12.9" iPad Pro with Lumafusion for mobile video editing, Lightroom for stills, Switcher Studio for livestream-multicam broadcasts, Canva for on-screen supers and a few others for random tasks. Still trying to find other great photo and video apps. If Lumafusion adds proper color grading tools and I can figure out a better system for moving and storing files on the iPad, I can see it replacing my desktop for all of my quick turnaround work. The one thing that keeps me tied to a real mac is the annoying file organization system of the iPad. Sometimes bringing in outside assets - like a music track from my desktop - can be an exercise in frustration it won't just let me create a bulk storage folder that i can dump everything in to. Though I'm still getting everything sorted, so I may be missing something obvious. But the Pro is incredibly fast, it cuts 4k stuff from the a73, GoPro and P4P with ease. As soon as I get all the workflow stuff sorted, my MBP is history. Chris

This camera ticks almost every box for me, great ergos, IBIS, 4k60p, 10-bit, weather sealing, etc. except possibly the most crucial one - AF - but it does give me hope the a7s3 or the next Nikon will get it all right. While its a step up from the a73/a7r3 in some respects, its not enough to push me out of Sony-land. Nikon came close with the Zed 6/7, but that single card thing and its battery life are not something I'm going back to, plus the Zed's AF is still way behind Sony's. The a73/a7r3 has served me well since I shoot tons of stills for paid work and I've moved from a mostly handheld video shooter to an everyday gimbal user. I don't think I'll ever own a Panasonic until they admit DFD-defeat and add PDAF, its just so much more efficient for run-and-gun shooters. The next gen Sony sensors Andriodlad keep posting spec sheets show the new Sony sensors will leapfrog everything currently available in a big way, combine that with a new processor and an updated version of the a9/a6400 AF and you'll have the ultimate hybrid. But I'm happy to see this and the S1r - and the Nikons for that matter doing raw externally - this should push Sony to finally go 10-bit internal and up the bitrate. Chris

Same here, not missing Premiere or FCPX at all, v16 looks like a huge update. Chris

I use this one a lot for quick and dirty stuff like Facebook live interviews through my iPhone, works great, you get a clean signal and the built in batteries last for hours. I keep it in my bag as a backup to my Sennheiser system in case something goes kaput as well, but I've never needed it in that capacity. Still for $50 its served my needs well. https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Microphone-System-KIMAFUN-Transmitter/dp/B074MBD643/ref=zg_bs_11974761_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=W4ZTF1WC1WVA49MC2H8H

+1 Most of the gear I've bought/sold through the years has been on FM. Its great for barely used stuff at bargain prices, lots of people take stuff for a test drive and then unload it cheap. If you're selling - post lots of detailed photos and be very honest about the condition. Chris

Osmo Pocket would be perfect for this.

The development of this app is fascinating since this kind of stuff is far beyond my skill set. Continued success. Chris

Its not just people on gear forums, we post them to FB and YT and get comments about the crappy IQ from viewers. The company I produce stuff for is hesitant to invest big $$$ in something that may just be a passing fancy from a social engagement standpoint. I shoot tourism content, and it is cool to take people to a beach 360 or to a unique place like a natural spring full of manatees. Seems like it'll be awhile before a decent 8k camera hits the sub-$1000 price point, which is probably the most they're willing to spend at the moment. Chris