Trek of Joy

Curious about the IQ. Been tinkering with the Insta 360 Nano S and video quality is marginal at best, there's just no detail. I get 4k 360 is pretty low rez so I'm not expecting miracles. And for some odd reason files exported out of the Insta Studio get worse. Seems like I'd have to spend $1000 or so for something decent, like the new Ricoh with the dual 1" sensors. Chris

Sorry I wasn't clear about that, not for HLG delivery, just experimenting with another alternative to Slog since it seem to be capable of producing good results. I shoot all Cine2 or Cine4 right now. Chris Thanks for posting this, I'll take a crack at it to see how it works.

Anyone in this thread worked with HLG files in Resolve? Lots of googling doesn't bring any consensus on workflow. Chris

Perhaps the mobile team can return the favor and create a competent touchscreen experience on the Alphas? More cross-department pollination benefits all of their customers. There's a huge void as none of the camera makers have been able to create a more fluid experience of navigating settings, menus, shooting, app integration and so on. All have major flaws that could be overcome by breaking down the silos of development that separate various divisions. Sony being Sony, it likely won't go much further than this phone. Chris

Betrayed seems like a harsh assessment - its a shortcoming you'll just have to decide if you can live with, there were certain to be some hiccups with adapting F-mount lenses. Its not like they pretend PDAF doesn't exist (Panasonic), or IBIS (Canon), or anything beyond 8-bit 4:2:0 (Sony) and so on. It took Sony 3 generations to sort most of its issues and they still can't get everything right (touchscreens, video bitrates). If the Z6/7 were released a year earlier - I'd be shooting Nikon instead of Sony right now. Every time I pick one up my kit and my credit card starts to shake in fear. I love the ergos and the video options are just amazing, but the AF just isn't there yet for me. Hopefully the gap between Gen 1 & 2 isn't as long as the d800-d850 wait. Chris

There are Blackmagic facebook groups too, not sure if you've posted there yet, and of course BMCuser. Lots of places across the interweb to spread the message. Gotta get that blogger review hype like Sony with an Iceland junket, or maybe just get a bunch of them drunk. DPR seems to like Kickstarters that marry digital/analog tech, perhaps to can fuze a control tablet into an old tube amp. Good luck!. Chris

Amazing job! I'm going to rent a P4k to take it for a spin, I'll be buying the app to support the community and your efforts. Push it to all the rumor sites like 43rumors and Mirrorless Rumors too. This should be on the front page of DPreview instead of some of the goofy Kickstarter projects they spotlight. Do you have an IG or Youtube page for this as well? Cheers Chris

This would make the EOS R a VERY compelling option given the announced lenses and the EF adapters. I would likely move on from the a73 if such a camera surfaced. Right now the R’s aren’t that appealing as a hybrid shooter. IMO. Chris

How reliable is the cards’ connection? Have you ever transferred video with it? I had one of these a few years back and it was not very fast or reliable. Reviews are all over the place with the 4th gen and I’m not a software tinkerer. Cheers chris

The video from Matthew Staffords wedding looks like it was shot on a Red. I was at an event where they did this with an iPhone taking with a simple setup of a small fluorescent key/fill/hair light. They shot stills, boomerangs and recorded goofy slow mo stuff, sending it to an iPad through an app (don't know what the app was called, but guests were able to email the video to themselves), and broadcast with an Apple tv mirroring the iPad. In good light the iPhone 120fps looks good, and its fine for social. If you didn't have the app, someone could just shoot the video on a phone and airdrop it to an iPad or MacBook for a quick edit, and then it can be emailed or airdropped to other iPhones. I've attached a shot of the iPad that was used for review and emailing images/videos. Wish I could help with specifics, but a combo of iphone/ipad would be my solution. A ILC presents a lot of headaches in terms of file transfer, file size, edit/render speed and so on. I have the iPhone XS and XS Max (one is supplied by a company I work for, I'm not a two phone dink by choice) and the iPad Pro. I think it would be easy to pull off what you're looking for with my little setup with two people - a shooter and a editor to make quick clips and send them to guests. Five seconds of slow-mo video of someone dancing or throwing crap in the air could easily be edited in iMovie and emailed in less than a minute. Everything you need including lights and stands can probably be carried in one large bag/case. The days of the DSLR based photo booth are numbered, there's no reason to lug all that around for small instant prints or social when phones and a few lights will get you virtually identical quality. And you can probably charge a lot for the service. Hmmmm... Chris

That seems less likely than essentially mirroring the plastic DSLR Rebel line in EOS-R, which is the direction I think they're going to go. But they've sold a lot of M cameras and some sort of adapter would give them a bridge into the new ecosystem. Now whether its possible with a 2mm difference in flange distance is for the engineers to figure out. I'm just playing internet prognosticator. Chris

EF still has a long future, most of the workhorse lenses have been updated recently, and given the push into mirrorless it stands to reason the focus will be RF over the next couple years. There's no reason a company of Canon's size can't keep both alive and they'll still keep cranking out new DSLR's as long as people are buying them. The EOS-M mount seems to be the odd-man-out and probably won't see anything by the way of new lenses going forward. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a M->RF adapter at some point. They'll be similar to Sony's aps-c, new bodies, no new lenses. There has to be entry-level options because they sell really well, so Canon isn't going to abandon them completely. I do think we'll see the EOS-M line sunsetting and the entry aps-c line moving to RF in a couple years with a few plastic kit zooms. Then they can promote the mythical "upgrade path" to the more advanced bodies than few people buying plastic kit lenses will ever actually do. A RF mount cinema camera makes a lot of sense given the fact the lenses were designed for mirrorless. A ILC version of the XC10/15 with a s35 sensor would be awesome. Chris

Panasonic has painted themselves into a corner with the GH and S1 lines, video spec is class leading but its pretty clear by the reactions 4k60p with a paid upgrade to 10-bit internal isn't really moving the needle. Fuji offers a similar spec to the paid upgrade in the $1500 XT3, and we know it won't be long before all the pieces fall into place and we get those specs in an IBIS body - and it'll be sub $2000. The GH line is getting a lot of competition from all sides and the $2000+ market is a tough sell when you're not FF and not better than other lower priced options. Nikon is unlocking some powerhouse video with Atomos, Panasonic and the S1... meh. DFD isn't competitive on the stills side. The demos of the new a9 object tracking that enhances the eye-AF - which is already vastly superior to anything Panasonic - are just amazing. DPAF masks a lot of Canon's other shortcomings and the EOS-R can serve as an addition to an existing kit. Asking people to invest many thousands to buy into a new system that doesn't piggyback on a massive user base - like CaNikon does - or offer substantially more than the competition is a big ask. We've seen the spec sheets for the next gen Sony sensors, lots will wait to see what the a7s3 brings to the table before taking the S1 plunge. Plus Sony doesn't seem to be placing a high priority on 4/3 sensors, leaving them with the same sensor they've been using for years. The GH6 will need to raise the bar to give people a reason to upgrade. Global shutter? Chris

Only from a news desk, not so high on my wishlist....

Thanks for the heads up. Things are different since the last time I looked. Going to start checking job listings again. And while I'm at it, I'll check Australia, the UK and English speaking jobs in other places. I'd really like to work/live in places outside the U.S. Chris

The Fast and Furious franchise - as just one example - shows if the explosions are big enough and the story is an afterthought, people will still watch. Films like F&F are easy to translate to non-english speaking audiences, so they have the potential to reach a wider audience globally. Netflix is still relatively new as a creator, and they're certainly trying to cover a lot of bases with original content, some works better than others. But they're still cranking out a number of great shows and original films. Just like any studio, there will be duds.

Thanks, its a pretty simple setup, just a smallrig cage and wood grip with a sennheiser wireless on top - sometimes on a monopod, sometimes handheld. Everything else was in my backpack. After shooting this, there are a few things I would do different, but the a73 was exceptional and the Sennheiser G3 produced some great sound despite some really noisy streets - super impressed with their handheld mic. There may be another shoot like this coming up in a different cold city so I may have another chance to fix some of the mistakes of this shoot. But the powers that be are happy so I'd call it a success. Chris

With the M50 having 4k, I think its a pretty safe bet this one will too. With a lower MP sensor hopefully the crop will be less severe than the 5d4/R Chris

A few BTS shots. I used to live in Alaska, but walking around in the cold/wind all day while trying to operate a camera was tougher than I remembered. Living in a sub-tropical zone and spending a lot of time chasing sun while traveling around the world has left me with no tolerance for the cold. Chris

This plus the new lenses makes for an interesting option as I can get 95% of my stuff with a mix of F-2.8/4 zooms. I'm not a fan of the R outside of its grip, but if this has full DPAF capabilities in video and 10-bit through HDMI (seems like some of the R's halo features will be stripped, questions is which ones) its potentially a compelling alternative to the a73. Chris

Netflix is profitable and subscribers are growing, Apple is a little late to the party and we know it won't be cheaper/better than other options - just easier if you own an Apple device. There's 7 or 8 in my household and I'm not buying into another streaming service beyond Nexflix and Amazon prime. Meh... Chris

Still better than nothing or OIS, and better than Fuji's implementation IMO.

Sensor dust is one of my biggest gripes with the a73, its much more of an issue than with previous a7's including the a7s3/r2 combo I traveled with across 40 countries including some very dusty parts of Africa, SE Asia, and Central/South America. For some reason the a73's sensor is a serious dust magnet, despite constantly using my rocket blower, dust has still managed to ruin more shots with the a73 than any other Sony I've owned.

Shot a MOS spot in Toronto for VISIT FLORIDA with the a73 and a6300. Unfortunately I couldn't edit the piece as I've been traveling for other shoots. The pink scarf is a little hot in the YT upload for some reason. Lenses were the 16-35/4 and the Tamron 28-75, all handheld or on a monopod. All shots used the a73's brilliant AF/face detection and it only drifted out of focus once, then it smoothly locked on the talent again. We shot all day in the cold - about 15f to 25f - over the course of two days gathering over two hours of interview footage. The camera was on my monopod, slung over my shoulder the entire time we walked around. I never put it in the bag as I needed to be ready to shoot the moment someone agreed to talk to us. I changed the battery once. After walking the streets for about 6 hours and gathering over 90min of footage it was down to 9%. The second day I did everything on one battery. Love the Zed battery and the a73. Almost everything is the a73, there are a couple cutaways that were shot with the a6300. I'll post some gear porn shots of the camera with a smallrig cage and my wireless setup soon. Cheers Chris Edit: Everything was shot 4k 24p, not sure of the PP, it may have been EOSHD Pro Color.

The S1 is the one that sort of interests me, but not enough to consider moving away from Sony with the a73 - at least for now. The Sony IMO looks to be a superior stills camera (DFD, WTF?) and until the paid upgrade its competitive on the video side. Plus the a7s3 is looming. I do wish my a73 had the S1's EVF, that is the biggest upgrade for me, 60p with a heavy crop not so much. Like the Nikon Zed's, a solid first effort from Panasonic. Having Sigma as a L-Mount partner means the lens lineup will grow pretty quick. And like the Zed's, the Gen2 bodies will hopefully fix many of the issues of the originals. Panasonic continues to ignore PDAF, and that's ultimately the reason I can't give them a serious look, Sony's AF is still superior. The upcoming a73 FW update shows they're working to improve existing cameras instead of a continuing the furious pace of new bodies - all of the recent FF mirrorless cameras are forcing everyone to up their game. Competition is good. Will be interesting to see head to head tests. Chris