BTM_Pix

During my 2nd hand lens buying frenzy last week, I picked up one of these really cheap. I know its only really for Sigma's own lenses and the only EF mount Sigma that I've got is the 18-35 ART but I thought "well, even if it only works with that then its a cheap way of getting it onto the A6500" Turns out from the testing I've been doing today that that is just about all I'm going to be using it with. It pretty much performs as a native lens with the 18-35mm but testing it with non-Sigma EF lenses that I've got around (a 17-50mm f2.8 Tamron, a nifty fifty, and a couple of L zooms) its kind of OK in stills mode (reasonably good with a long L zoom actually) but unusable in video mode. It makes an attempt to focus but then backs up, goes forward, backs up and then gives up. So..... As a novice with Sony cameras, is there anyone who has this adapter that has it working in video mode with non-Sigma lenses that could perhaps point me in the direction of exactly which of the 827 menu screens the magic settings are lurking ? Or does it really just not work?

Excellent As a reluctant late joiner to the E mount party, I'm very interested in this adapter.

If you've still got any of your Hasselblad HC lenses around from the H3D then this is a used bargain for the H to G adapter for them to go on the GFX https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-accessories/used-photo-and-video-accessories/used-other-photo-and-video-accessories/fujifilm-h-mount-adapter-g/sku-698888/ It only allows you to use them in manual focus only (with metering and aperture control though) but there are beginning to be some real deals kicking around for those lenses. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-photo-and-video/used-lenses/used-hasselblad-lenses/

Haha...Don't sound so shocked that it works Hope it does the trick for you anyway.

Yeah, there's no way you won't be able to reach this one. You could operate it with boxing gloves on and still get it into record Mmmmm....operating in boxing gloves as a gimbal shock absorber. Now theres a thought !

I'm presuming it will be the same protocol as the Z-Cam so it is actually pretty comprehensive in terms of what can be controlled. Its implemented in much the same way as the Sony so porting to my current controller would be a quick job. I'd need a donor camera though to test it and it will be behind Sony and BM in the queue for the port but as I say it wouldn't take long to do.

Well, thanks to a bit of jet lag boredom, that escalated quickly and tomorrow is now today. I have an Alcatel Pixi 4 (4) which is a cheap 4 inch Android phone which you can get for £36.50 off Amazon. They also do a 3.5 inch version as well. As a phone its not going to give Samsung or Apple any sleepless nights but its a good little tool for stuff like being a pocket hotspot or running custom remote control apps This is it running an app I've just made will basically turn it into what you want which is a big record button for the GX80 (or any Panasonic camera). You just press the screen to toggle between record and stop (red when recording). Cheaper and easier than knocking up a piece of hardware for a task like this. App is here if anyone needs it. https://mega.nz/#!5mpXTB4J!4v8WNh1l8E7HpqO9piV43LdL5NPWECVH694ye2ICDVw

From the hardware point of view, you'd need a wifi capable Arduino or similar, a switch, an LED (optional) and a power source (either USB or Lipo). Software is obviously all custom from scratch so you'd need to write that too For something like you are trying to do though, I think I might be tempted to look at a cheap generic 3.5" or 4" Android smartphone and an app. They have the advantage of being an integrated solution so you wouldn't have to mess with wiring and powering options and a case and at £30-50 they'd work out to be not much more expensive than buying the components. I'll knock a quick app up tomorrow to show you what I mean.

You could argue that the DVD player may be more likely to be attached to a big screen and surround system so viewers are getting more the experience you intended. There is also the piracy issue in that it's far more convoluted to copy than if its already a readily playable file. The best hybrid solution is to have a simple app that plays the file from a host or has the film embedded in it if it's a short. You can add a few more DVD extra type stuff like BTS etc to add value and it's a very simple transaction system hosting it on the app stores so you get paid and have worldwide distribution.

Now with added Sony https://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/27182-sony-a7-iii-first-impressions-what-is-going-on-with-metering-in-video/?do=findComment&comment=237887

A bit of a live update... A ride on the bullet train has given me an opportunity to move the port along and... It lives! More functionality to come obviously over the coming weeks but the foundation is there now. Apologies for the dodgy phone pic

I'm probably going to get the 19mm version of it while I'm at it as they are just over £80 which is not far off half the UK price. I still don't get on with the A6500 though!

Sony do, although it's not totally comprehensive. I'm in the process of porting my Panasonic hardware controller to Sony so watch this space.

A quick test of another @jonpais Sigma recommendation as I could get one really cheap here today is the 60mm 2.8 in E mount.

Maybe they can fix the record lamp issue while they're at it and try and make FLOG come out of the HDMI port while you are recording it internally.

I thought they'd released a bug fix version, didn't realise they'd pulled the new stuff out completely. Here you go, here's the V4. FWUP0010.DAT

I will definitely knock something up when I get back. Providing EU customs don't seize me. All of them are able to stream to anything with an output to the internet via a router so its just a case of if you want to avoid that extra step. Its good practice if you're using cellular that you have sims for two different networks to ensure you get coverage so having the inbuilt modem is ideal for that. The Terradek versions from the Vidiu Pro up have a bonding capability which lets you use several different iPhones as one combined high bandwidth streamer. It was completely undocumented for one thing! Its done via a web browser but the unit reboots every time you make a change (which is fine) but sometimes it was uncertain about if it was actually doing it and there are a lot of different parameters to tweak regarding the ip address and ports for streaming. Yes, the stream can then be viewed by anything that can read a stream so VLC is the most ubiquitous one. For my purposes, it can also be read by network capable switcher apps like Terradek's Live:Air for a mobile wireless multicam setup. There are a ton of variables that could be causing that with regard to his network infrastructure (its better to use 5.2ghz wireless) to his selected resolution, frame rate, bit rate, stream type etc etc. All of these systems have an inherent delay but its a case of choosing your poison depending on what your application is. If its live monitoring then you'd lower the bandwidth, if its broadcasting then you might favour the quality etc. For things like Live:Air each camera input has its own delay compensation control so its not a problem. It is certainly bigger than the Terradek units and the battery and enormous aerials don't help. It can be run off a much slimmer USB power adapter though and the aerials are detachable. Yep, there are a bunch of variables involved that mean people can get wildly differing results. Which is what makes something like this solution a bit easier, though less flexible as you need a monitor at the other end rather than a phone/tablet. And of course the network based solution using the encoder also means that multiple people on set can tune in simultaneously. The hybrid solution is the one that I've been playing with which is an HDMI to FPV video converter which can then be picked up by either an FPV monitor (which are cheap) or via a UVC compliant FPV dongle for an Android phone (even cheaper) with similarly low latency but with very long range transmission. Currently, I'm having issues with the Android end of it but I'll get back into it when Lens Frenzy is over.

That's the one I've got and I've threatened to do a separate post about it. Which I will do when I stop emptying Tokyo lens shops. It's an arse to set up but works good as gold when you do. There is a version of it with 4G built in but it can tether to your phone for live streaming if not. One thing I will say about LukiLink is that for Android the UVC(which I suspect it uses) support is not an exact science so not all phones will work. I've been experimenting with a generic £50 HDMI input without any joy with my devices. I've also got an issue with a wireless link based on an FPV transmitter (which will give you wireless latency free video from HDMI over long distance for less than £100) due to the same problem. I'm not saying that's why the LukiLink is delayed but it may be a factor as they need to guarantee compatibility.

Some frames from my first day out with a Sony A6500 and a Contax Zeiss 85mm f1.4 (top) and Contax Zeiss 35-70mm f3.4 macro (bottom) on a Metabones CY to E Speedbooster. I am not fond of the camera or the rain.

I went back to the scene of the crime and relieved them of the 35-70mm as for £170 its just nuts. Its a constant 3.4 so a tiny bit slow for your requirement but I'll have it on the speedbooster so no biggie for me. I'll have a run out of it tomorrow and post some stuff up in the lens section if I get a chance. Its a bit of a funny range I suppose for many in that they'd prefer it to be 24-70mm or 35-85mm but I wouldn't let that put you off trying it. Like its other Sigma brothers, its a bit of a quirky bugger, it likes light and hates AF but if you work within its limits it makes a fine image. It has 21:9 mode which I've been messing about with here today. Thanks for the tip. I'll try that tomorrow with the stolen Contax Zeiss lenses The porting is going very well. Its a bit limited at the moment with regard to replicating everything the Panasonic lets you do (though in some respects its more comprehensive) but all of the core stuff works fine. I just need some time to probe about and try and see if there is anything that can be done with focusing and to optimise the speed.

I must admit, I did make a sharp exit as soon as the transaction was concluded. I'll be putting the running shoes on for an even faster getaway when I go back in there for the 35-70mm

It was just over £300. Its about 30-40% off what I could get one in the UK for but the bonus in Japan is how good a condition its in. There is a 35-70mm from the same place which is about £170 that I'll be going back for tomorrow. Same shop has your 55mm f2.8 Nikkor for $90 if you want it! I got a Sigma SD Quattro with 30mm 1.4 ART lens and a 17-50mm f2.8 Its a laughably good camera, especially with that 30mm lens. Just astonishing really and built like a brick shithouse with nice solid controls. As I said about buying used here, they are in such mint condition that they might as well just be described as unboxed. The other camera and lens was a bit more vanilla which is a Sony A6500 with the kit lens. I needed a more elaborate test platform for porting my controller over to Sony than the RX100 so its not a love purchase but more of a necessity and a temporary one at that. The good news is the jet lag means I'm quite a way along with porting it over! One thing I did get for it though which may make me keep hold it for a while is a Metabones C/Y to E Speedbooster, which makes it a whole lot more interesting. I didn't actually know Metabones made one of these but, like their other adapters, they go for really low money second hand here for some reason (certainly compared to the UK at least). Sony do international versions of their cameras that they sell here for a premium so buying new isn't that much of a bargain but because of this there is good value in the used ones as they are locked into the Japanese menus so are much cheaper. When I say they are locked in, thats obviously the theory but as long as its not the A9, A7Riii or the A7iii its not that difficult to hack it so my A6500 is now very much an English language version but with the 30 minute time limit removed as well Total price for the SD Quattro with 2 lenses, the A6500 with kit lens and C/Y to E Speedboster was just over £1300. Against the US prices thats possibly not even any great saving but against the UK prices it will certainly do for me.

They seem to have a vision for it to be a bona fide retail product to compete with the iPhone and top end Androids so they'll need to start ordering up some industrial quantities of that Kool Aid they currently use for communion How much extra value (i.e. free stuff) they throw at the other modules is going to be proportional to how much compelling content (and improvement in performance) they can pull together for when it properly launches. If the hologram stuff just doesn't wow enough they'll need to pivot it into the cinema camera aspect being the selling point otherwise it could just bomb as a system completely. When I see people on Reduser who are invested in it and desperately want it to live up to the hype saying its more or less reminiscent of a Nintendo 3DS as an experience then I do worry what the reaction to it is going to be from the average consumer to it if it doesn't blow them away. I am barred from 02 after a "misunderstanding" about a very large bill in 1996 so I wouldn't worry on that score. Its when I say I'm in Cash Converters looking at one for £199 that you need to be concerned

Off my list, thus far, I've only managed to get the Contax Zeiss 85 f1.4 But, erm.... I've also, thus far, managed to get 2 cameras, 3 more lenses and one lens adapter that were absolutely nowhere near being on my list ! I'm here for a while longer yet though so I'll do post the final score up when I'm done.

Wow. By the standards of the usual responses on there to anything that RED does its not just a lukewarm reaction but positively icy isn't it? I imagine the response to the phone's USP being less than adulatory could do you a favour there and the bolt on modules might end up delivering more for less to compensate. I suspect they don't want the (by their standards) very mediocre response from the flock bringing the vibe down in the main hall of worship. That will likely only get far, far worse as it reaches the hands of normal consumers who tend to have a different perspective on the appropriate response to a missed deadline and/or a less than promised performance or feature set. You don't want the general public showing up with their torches and pitchforks on reduser. It would be a bloodbath !