Trek of Joy

I have someone looking for a video like the driving one linked below. My first instinct is Osmo Pocket. Any thoughts as to what the guy is doing gear-wise? Its floaty like a gimbal, but it also looks like its on the front of a vehicle on the open road. A gopro would be too jittery for something like this. This and his other videos have the phone/gopro sensor look, just trying to figure out a setup that could mimic this and gather audio. Anyone have any insight or maybe you've seen or done something similar and can share a camera setup? I've asked in the comments and on his IG to no avail. So have others. Thanks in advance Chris

That solves one of my issues with the Ronin system, since I'm not always shooting on a gimbal, or even carrying mine. I hate getting locked into closed systems like this. I'm mostly on a monopod or just handheld. Now if run-and-gun AF was possible with manual lenses and not on a Ronin... Chris

I've always shot Cine2 as well using the Leeming LUT. The guy that does Phantom LUT's just color matched the a7s3 to his Arri and released a series of correction LUT's that bring them pretty darn close. Chris

Bummer the TOF system its not compatible with the smaller one, I prefer the folding design, quick vertical mode and the adjustable handle to go from upright to low slung modes. I'm sure Youtubers will call it the greatest thing ever and hype the heck out of it. For now I'm fine with the smaller/lighter/cheaper Weebill S. Chris

I'm going to upgrade from my 2-year-old XS max to the Pro. HDR image looks great without the sun in the frame - which is especially tough on the small phone sensor. The new processor and Lumafusion/FCPx will be nice for editing h265 from my drone and a7s3 on the go. Any camera/video improvements are welcome since I do use my phone a lot for social content creation. Stabilization could come in handy as I'm tired of carrying a phone gimbal. Raw without using a 3rd party app is nice. But the hardware means more to me, and this looks like a real upgrade compared to the 11. I do wish they moved to a USB-c connector though. Not a dealbreaker since I already own lightning stuff, but would be nice to standardize everything across the lines. Chris

I'd check for how good the video AF is with the Batis, some are better than others. The Sony 20/1.8 G would be my choice over the Batis 18, its faster, has an aperture ring and AF is amazing. I've used the 16-35/4 extensively as my main travel lens for a couple years, I had a really sharp copy and it was great - plus is has OS so it should offer better stabilization over any other UWA option. I've since moved to the 12-24/4 to go wider, it was tough selling that lens since my copy was so good. Another to consider in that price bracket is the Tamron 17-35/2.8, from reviews its really great. I have the 28-75 and 70-180, both are great on the a7s3. Personally with UWA's I prefer zooms to primes as you're usually shooting in situations that don't allow you to take a few steps back or forward to get proper framing - but that's my preference. The great thing is every option you're considering is available used. Cheers Chris

Is it really obvious? I don't shoot astro so I've never really noticed the star eater problem - but I've seen the talk about it for years. I have a Ninja and I'm going to test this weekend if it doesn't rain - big if with another hurricane in the Gulf. I'd be happy to point it at the sky for a minute to check though. Chris

Thanks, I'm still trying to get a handle on where to push the contrast, with stills I push it pretty hard but there so much more headroom to push the files around, but I'm always really conservative with video. Beer pouring is prefect for 120fps stuff, close shots of foam and bubbles swirling around, can't wait! I'll be shooting that at the same brewery tomorrow along with more interviews. Gotta remember my CPL to kill reflections on the glass LOL! Got rained out this weekend in Florida, was hoping to shoot some sunset skintone stress tests with various codecs and bitrates to get a better feel for exposing Slog3 and to see how hard I can push the files. I'm still not comfortable with using Slog in a working environment (always used Cine2 and the Leeming Lut with the a7III) because I'm still learning how to get it right. Plus I want to compare internal to Prores in the Ninja and tinker with raw on some high contrast scenes. I saw a video that compared 10-bit internal/external and the colors looked better on the external recording. Maybe next weekend... Cheers Chris

The image is fantastic IMO. Looks really good on my MBP and my 65" TV. But as always YMMV. Chris

Frame grab from today's interview. Just made basic adjustments to balance the RGB parade, nothing else. WB needs a little tweaking and I feel like I never add enough contrast... Shot at 4k24p roughly 50mm and f/4 or 5.6, can't remember which one as it was getting brighter and my ND only went to 5-stops, so I had to stop down to prevent hotspots on the boats in the BG. Chris

Try 4:2:0 instead of 4:2:2, makes a big difference on my Mac. Chris

Looks really good. Nice job despite gear issues. chris

First couple shoots, a delicious Czech Pilsner beer canning (unsealed cans are free samples LOL!), and an interview. Both shoots I used 10-bit 4:2:0 h265 to keep file sizes manageable, and since 4:2:2 slows things down a lot it’ll make my life easier with the edit. So far loving the a7s3, IQ is beautiful and the AF is better than anything I’ve ever used. It’s flat out amazing, well worth it to me so far. So glad I pivoted from the R5 preorder to this. All in all very happy. chris

CaNikon isn’t leaving DSLR’s, they’re just focusing on mirrorless lenses. Both have a far more comprehensive lens lineup than Pentax and can keep cranking out bodies for a decade without producing another EF/F mount lens without a hiccup. Canon’s DPAF has them better positioned since it can be applied to bodies with or without a mirror seamlessly as we’ve seen with the 1dx3/R6. Than there’s Sony’s SLT 😂😂😂 chris

XQD only = DOA, just like the current cameras. Hopefully they learned their lesson and will offer SD as well. I would have tried a z6 with the crazy cheap used prices if I didn’t have to buy an overpriced card that’s single camera specific. I really dig the ergos and the lenses, plus I could have adapted the 28, 58 and 105 1.4’s. Now that I have the a7s3 it’s a missed opportunity for Nikon. I hope it does well, but like Panasonic’s feeble attempt at a competent FF system, it’s probably too little too late when you look at Sony’s ecosystem and the R5/6. chris

Everyone was hyped for a 70-200/2.8 to complete the DG DN trinity and all we got was an expensive macro. Sadhorns. Chris

I like the new fonts and overall look. Much cleaner and easier to read. Chris

I don't but I'm strongly considering getting it to make life easier with audio. @Hangs4Fun has one and talks about it in the other thread. I use a Beachtek DXA Micro Pro and Sennheiser MKE600 shotgun right now, which is bigger and even more clunky and very limited in comparison. If the Sony were half the price I'd have one, but its pricey and proprietary which is something I try to avoid outside of native lenses. Think I'm gonna bite the bullet with this one and the little vlogger shotgun for quick nat sound needs. Chris

Yes it is, the gave it to me after purchasing, apologies, please delete if not allowed.

Clear image zoom is not the aps-c crop, its a 1.5x digital zoom. I use it for quick punch-ins on the a73 all the time. Just haven't got around to trying it on the s3 yet. Chris

FYI the Prograde V90 cards are on sale, if you use the code ALPHAGVRD20 they knock 20% off. I bought two 128gb v90 cards for $188. I haven't found a better deal. Chris

As always an encyclopedia on info. I'll check the Kondor Blue cage out. I already have a bunch of smallrig stuff, that's why I kind of default to them. I do like having the camera on a QR, would be much easier going from a cage setup with the Ninja, audio adapter, wireless mics and so on to a gimbal. Just unplug the cables and pop the camera out of the cage. Nice find. Chris

Nice! The 24/1.4 is my favorite E-mount lens. Its awesome on a gimbal too. Cheers Chris

Haven't tested it yet, but Clear Image Zoom does a 1.5x crop in 4k and a 2x crop in HD. On the a7III there's no IQ loss.

Got mine Saturday. Agree about the EVF, its incredible. The larger grip compared to the a7III is really nice, still wish it was about 2cm taller so my pinky doesn't wrap under and a 1cm or so further away from the lens mount - its pretty tight with fat lenses. Touch tracking is amazing, it sticks to everything. 4k120p in something this small also nuts. And you can use v90 SD cards for just about everything, as opposed to something like the R5 which needs the CFexpress cards. Haven't tinkered with raw/Ninja yet either. There's so much to this camera. So far no regrets. Cheers Chris