BTM_Pix
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Posts posted by BTM_Pix
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I don't mind Steve Huff's site.
Might not always agree with him or particularly rate a lot of the contributor content at times but I never get the feeling he's phoning it in even though I imagine trying to keep the site going is no picnic.
He's wrote an interesting piece this week about cameras reaching a bit of a plateau that chimes with some threads on here too. Good enough really is now more than good enough and the rest is just nuance.
From that perspective, which I agree with as nothing for example is going to floor me like the D3 did for example as a leap forward, it might suit the bricks and mortar places more as expertise will be valued more than bells, whistles and how cheap you can get them.
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The best thing about the MBSB is that it gives you the opportunity to mount big pro Canon L lenses on a small M43 camera.
The worst thing about the MBSB is that it gives you the opportunity to mount big pro Canon L lenses on a small M43 camera.
Invariably they completely unbalance it and the AF on the MBSB just doesn't cut it as far as I'm concerned.
Is there a compelling enough Canon lens in my collection that I would simply have to have on my GX80 for example?
Not really.
The Sigma 18-35 is probably the one thats it worth having for but there are enough native lenses that I'm more than happy with and if the AF isn't up to snuff and you are manual focus anyway then Veydras, Voigtlanders etc are a bit more compelling anyway.
What its good for is acting as a universal reducer for my Nikon, Contax Zeiss and M42 lenses via the additional cheap converters to EF and its also good on the JVC LS300 for putting longer lenses on where its a bit more appropriate use case.
I was expecting the AF on the MBSB to be significantly better than the cheaper alternatives. It might well be but its still very lumpy as far as I'm concerned so I'd go with the cheaper adapter and put the extra money towards native stuff.
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48 minutes ago, Anaconda_ said:
Damn man, you're really going for it with these cams.
I don't own the Tascam mic, but how can you ensure that another sound, say someone clapping, wont stop the camera from recording? Also, I know it depends on your usage, but wouldn't you say the DR10X is a better option? That way you could get a wired lav and still have the recorder on camera for the slate tone or plug in a shotgun for camera mounted audio. It just seems more versatile to me, so wondering why you'd go with the DR10SG.
The slate tone can be set to high and its duration is around one second so a combination of measurement and timer will stop transient sounds from tripping it.
Probably
The DR10X doesn't have the slate function unfortunately . The recommendation of the 10SG was also for ease of use of it being a self contained unit if someone doesn't already have a shotgun microphone and/or to reduce complexity of setup with cables etc. for things like GX80 to keep it stripped down.
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The solution to that problem for Panasonic cameras is that the Tascam mic has a slate tone it outputs when you press record on it which can be used to automatically put the camera into record.
I just haven't released it yet .....
- jase, Georgios and tomastancredi
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10 minutes ago, Arikhan said:
Yes, there is an outlay out there. I would prefer the spectacular Nikkor 14-24mm, but this one has no stabilisation. The optical difference between the Tamron and the Nikon wide zoom is NOT noticeable, excepting flare of the Tamron. Test it if you get it in your hands, you will be thrilled (from photographic point of view)...
Yep...After excessively testing, I prefered to buy the Tamron 70-200 2.8 VC G2 over Nikons counterpart. First, i could NOT believe the reviews saying, it's better than the Nikkor and usually I prefer to use native lenses. But it is better....
I've had the 14-24mm for years and to be honest I've always felt a bit odd because I've never loved it as much as everyone else does. It took a really big smack when I was shooting the Tour de France one year and was locked at 14mm for a long time because I only ever used it at that focal length anyway! For that reason, if I had to buy it again today I'd probably take a good long look at the Sigma 14mm f1.8 prime.
The Tamron hasn't been on my radar though and I could probably part ex my 14-24mm and be a little bit ahead of the deal....
I'd have to polish out the tyre marks on whats left of the lens petal first though
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42 minutes ago, jase said:
Ok guys, I need you guys to help me with a decision:
I am desperately in need for a Mic-in. I am not willing to switch to sth like the A6500 because I went the Sony route twice only to return back to Panasonic (although the form factor is appealing...). I am also not in the market for the GH5.
Leaves me at two options:
1. Go for the G85 as an addition to my GX80 (I wont sell it, because size does matter to me).
2. Go for the Atomos Ninja Star to combine with my GX80.
Advantages for 1: still being able to record in 4k, no clumsyness, no HDMI cable, weather-sealing.
Advantages for 2: ProRes recording could yield better quality, I dont need to own a second cam and can totally decide whether it is worth it to bring the Ninja Star for a certain job or not, (might be a) cheaper solution,
Although I love 4k, when watching it in comparison with 1080p on a 65" TV, I didnt see a mind-blowing difference (of course this differs for everyone!) - so 4k isnt a must for me, for now. Also, as long as the ETC mode with 4k wont trickle down to something like G85 mk.II, I would prefer to wait. On the other hand, a used G85 can now be had with some luck for 500 euro in Germany. An Atomos can be had for arround 270 + CFast.. mh, tough decision.
My real concern with the Ninja star is that my GX80 will look like a spaghetti monster, when the star is attached next to an external mic with HDMI + Mic cable
Any thoughts?
What I would say about the Ninja Star is the same objection you've come up with yourself which is that it'll undermine the rocket in your pocket aspect of the GX80. Its a compact solution for a DSLR like a Nikon D800 etc but not for a GX80! The other drawbacks are carrying an additional battery (though it does only sip power) and charger if you're traveling and although the CFAST cards are cheaper now but still not without cost.
There is a third option if all you want to have is your GX80 to have a mic input for a small shotgun mic and that's to get a Tascam DR10SG integrated shotgun mic and recorder.
If you want to use other sources like lav mics then its obviously not going to do the job for you (although they do a version that is exactly that as well) but if you are just looking to get a G85 or Ninja Star to record a small Rode shotgun with or some such then this is a much cheaper solution (about £130). As it automatically records two streams at different levels, it will also be a bit easier to use if you are running about solo grabbing shots on the GX80. Quality wise its much of a muchness with the cheaper Rode ones IMO.
It can be used without the additional mount arm if you want to keep it lower profile by the way.
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Just now, Arikhan said:
Thank you so much for your tip!
BTW: Are you experienced with 4k shooting with this lens? Your impressions? Thanks again...
No, I've never used it.
My few experiences with Tamron lenses has been that they are very good optically and great value for money but a bit rough AF wise and build quality wise but they look to have upped their game with that one. I can see why it would appeal with that range because of the 4K crop on the D500.
The filter situation is a killer though.
Don't get me wrong, its no bad thing building a collection of the square filters because they'll last you a lifetime and grow with you but they are adding so much outlay if you are only going to use them with this one lens and will make things a lot less stealth
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The Fotodiox WonderPana system will let you mount filters on it.
https://fotodioxpro.com/products/wpcore-tmr1530
If you get the FreeArc Core package you can then put 6.6 square filters in.
Welcome to the world of expensive filters though
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1 hour ago, Thpriest said:
Does the aperrure lens regain communicate the focal length of the zoom?
No, the electronics to drive the lens are external (the little attachment that looks like a PocketWizard) so the camera thinks its got a manual lens attached.
With the 18-35, I set the IBIS to 24 and it works effectively enough for both ends. With longer focal lengths, especially those with much larger zoom ranges, that isn't as effective. An example would be a neat lens I picked up at a bargain price recently for the JVC LS300 which is a 35-350 Canon L. With a focal reducer, its a brilliantly versatile lens but that versatility of being 3 lenses is offset by having to change the IBIS setting every time if I use it on the GX80. But I'm not going to be doing zoom pulls with it so its not really an issue for me to go in the menu and quickly change it when I change focal lengths (as I say I'm using it more or less as 3 fixed lenses). And the flip side to that is if I use it on the Metabones (which saves me having to do that) the AF is erratic and it is fond of hunting so, for me, thats worse.
You can speed up the process significantly by assigning the IBIS control to a function key so when you change zoom position you can press the function key and change the focal length much quicker than burrowing round in the menu for it.
As @Jonesy Jones says in his post though, for how he works this is non negotiable and thats why you need to try them yourself to see what suits.
The other frustration because there is no communications between the camera and the lens with the Aputure is that you need the handle to change aperture on the lenses whereas the Metabones does this through the thumbwheel like it would with a native lens.
So, neither solution is without its issues !
Its really frustrating actually that a company like Sigma which has all of the pieces of the puzzle optically and electronically to make speed boosters doesn't make them as they'd be far more readily available in stores for people to try.
Whereabouts are you in Spain?
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Maybe you might want to look at the Aputure Lens Regain system as an alternative. It'll give you the lower light and FOV reduction and aperture control of the EF lenses and if you're used to manual focus only anyway then the focus control might be a good halfway house for you.
Yes its essentially manual but the two programmable hard stops might work well for you for zone focusing as well as being creatively useful for focus pulls. If nothing else it will give you hands off focus control of the Sigma which is no bad thing for a few reasons with that lens.
Its a lot cheaper than the Metabones as well but its a bit bigger because of the wireless interfaces.
I have both and if I only had to have one then, for me, the AF of the Metabones isn't impressive enough to choose it over the Aputure.
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2 hours ago, Georgios said:
I'm pretty sure it's already 16-235 in gx80/85 by default
Yes, sorry I misread the question as it being switchable to and from 16-235
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Its an inoperative command so won't yield you anything
But its
http://192.168.54.1/cam.cgi?mode=setsetting&type=colormode&value=vlog_gamma
3 hours ago, Nathan Gabriel said:@BTM_Pix Do you, or does anyone else, know if it's possible to get 16-235 luminance recording on the gx85? I followed the steps for the basic cine profiles and it worked fine, what would I need to do to check for 16-235? Many thanks!
No, this is set internally in the camera and not by app control so there isn't an external command for it.
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I think there'd be a pretty big market for it.
For people with LX100 or GX80 you're getting edit ready ProRes and an audio recorder. That takes both of those cameras to another level, particularly the GX80.
For everyone else, the edit ready ProRes would be very attractive even just based on how many threads pop-up on here recently for workflows/computer requirement headaches to handle 4K. Having ProRes from the get go takes care of a lot of that pain. Well, until you have to buy all of those hard drives !
The drop in CFAST prices since the original Ninja Star appeared also means the timing is better for it now as well.
As far as I'm concerned, BM have the right spec with the wrong screen size with their VAs as 4K on 5" would be better for compact cameras and Atomos have the right spec on the Ninja Assassin but the wrong screen size too as maybe it shouldn't have one at all like the Ninja Star.
So for me at least, whichever of them does 4K on a 5" screen or 4K on a no screen will win.
- jase, Chris Oh and Andrew Reid
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My experience with the specific Metabones that you are after for M43 cameras is mixed.
The work I'm doing on my hardware focus controller for Panasonic cameras has involved me creating a calibration procedure and the number of focus points for a native M43 lens is on average around 200 depending on the lens. On an EF lens via the Metabones its less than half that. And often much less than half that. This doesn't mean that it doesn't focus necessarily just that its very coarse in its points and the camera is returning some errors from it when trying to drive it too quickly between points.
Now, all that might not seem to necessarily matter in terms of normal operation because I'm doing something completely different with it but it does tally with what I'm seeing from it when I am using it in normal operation where it is being a bit skittish. And this is using it with a variety of lenses from Canon including some short and long L lenses as well as more lower end ones like the nifty fifty and EF-S lenses but also the Sigma 18-35 1.8.
Optically its fine, the aperture control is fine and the AF is generally OK but I would definitely advise that you try one out with the specific lenses that you will be using it with and see if it is right for you. Unfortunately, thats tricky depending on where you are as even in London I found nowhere that I could demo one.
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I stil have no idea what its all about.
Some speculation on Reduser that the screen might be similar (if not actually based) on this.
Even if its not, its worth watching for the very cool intro tune, the older presenter's strange safari suit and the outright contempt he and the co-presenter appear to have for each other.
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33 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:
Let me know if you're in town again. I was in the UK when you were last here getting rained on!
It wasn't much better there !
I'll be back late November for about a week so I'll give you a shout.
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2 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:
So in my personal experience...
Just in Berlin two great stores I regularly visited have simply disappeared in the month I was away!
So sad to see Photo-Stade go. He was always a true enthusiast and owned an FS7
In the bigger retailers for the first time the camera sections have been shunted to the back of the floor or in some cases an upper floor instead of ground/first.
Even at Manchester airport I noticed the cameras had been moved to the back.
If Canon and Nikon don't get their finger out soon and start innovating and winning back smartphone users the whole industry is going to suffer, not just the corporate giants (who can move into medical and other profitable sections and survive just fine). It's the whole ecosystem that's at stake.
Its interesting you should mention this as I hadn't been to Berlin for about 18 months and when I was there a couple of weeks ago, I was in MediaMarkt at Alexa thinking "I'm sure the camera department used to be much bigger than this". It seemed the same story at their other places and Saturn as well and it was quite a stark difference in such a relatively short space of time.
The nosedive of the exchange rate during that intervening period wasn't helping the vibe either !
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At that price, if you hate it, you'll get your money back on it all day long.
Oddly enough - if as most 1DCs its got sub 20K clicks on it - you could probably make a profit selling it to someone who wants a 1Dx as you won't get any change out of £3K for a similar one of those. And the 1Dx is likely to have had a much tougher life so the 1DC would be a much more attractive proposition.
I have a rapidly expiring Nikon D4 and the at these prices the 1DC is batting its eyelashes at me as exactly that sort of proposition. I have enough short to medium Canon glass to use it for work alongside the Nikon for long stuff and of course I get a massive bonus feature thrown in with the 4K.
I already get some open mouthed reactions from other photographers when covering games with a combined Nikon and Fuji setup but its nothing compared to doing it with an unholy alliance of Nikon and Canon! I did it a few years ago and people looked genuinely frightened at what might happen
- mercer, TheRenaissanceMan, Nikkor and 2 others
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Read the spec sheet, saw all of the things it doesn't have, saw the price, know full well I have zero lenses for it.....
Still did this
- jonpais, Andrew Reid, kaylee and 3 others
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The only thing to bear in mind with the lens throttles are that there is no ND0 setting so you'll always be losing some light. If thats going to be an issue for you (doubtful with the camera you're putting it on!) then you'll need to carry 2 adapters.
I only have the dumb version for M43 so I don't know about the AF aspect with the smart one you're looking at but the ND performance is very good and its a neat product.
As an aside for anyone looking at one of these for M43 mount, its actually an EF to M43 converter and they supply it with the converter to EF of your choice. So when I ordered it as M42 to M43 it actually is two separate pieces which is great because to use it with Contax Zeiss or Nikon lenses, I just take the M43 to EF part off and replace it with the C/Y to EF or Nikon to EF. Without any adapter I can of course use it with EF lenses as well so essentially its 4 adapters in 1 for me.
Plenty of reviews on YouTube including this very nice one from our very own @Mattias Burling
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OK.
This is a Nikon 200-400mm f4 on a Nikon D800 and a Panasonic G7 via a dumb adapter.
Not exactly inspiring content but its too hot to venture out beyond my balcony at the moment !
The top right frame is the D800 at 400mm f4, the bottom left is the G7 at 400mm f4 and for comparison the bottom right is the D800 frame cropped to the same FOV as the G7 is giving.
So the answer in terms of absolute quality I suppose depends on the lens but, comparatively speaking, this should be a good yardstick to show you whats possible. The cropped D800 is still a fraction better but we are comparing two radically different cameras here (let alone price difference) so I wouldn't let that put you off and certainly not in terms of resolution for video.
For what its worth, I have actually experimented with an M43 camera (an Olympus OMD10)on a long lens during a cricket test match. For the uninitiated, a cricket test match lasts for 5 days so leaves plenty of time for experimentation to relieve the long periods of tedium covering it
In actual fact, I had it on the Sigma 300-800 so it was capable of a ludicrous amount of reach and the images were competitive but the lag was too much to deal with but with something like a GH5 I might be tempted to give it a go but it'll be manual focus only for me as my long stuff is Nikon.
Anyway, what I would recommend is to put it on a decent tripod (as opposed to this junk I've just had it on for this quick test) with decent adjustment as it will be completely unbalanced having such a tiny camera hanging off the end.
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59 minutes ago, BLACKOUT said:
Do you loose any clarity of your footage if you use 35mm lens to MFT for the doubling of the telephoto effect as I would like to get to 600mm to 800mm (35mm equivalent) for some surfing footage.(using 100 / 400 35mm zoom using dumb adapter).
Trying to come to a rational understanding if "sweet spot will still deliver a well defined footage in MFT body with the usual crop for a GH4 in 4K delivery.
Many reports of wide and normal conversions with dumb adapters,not that much when you start going very long.
Sorry to double up but did accidentally post in anamorphic topic.....sssssorry
Give me 15 mins and I'll do a couple of frames for you.
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4 minutes ago, robbino said:
Although I would like the big one, I would also really like the full blown midi version (not an option for that in the poll
). Looking forward to trying this out
To be honest, there'll be a version for that too as its just a remap exercise.
Bit trickier in terms of getting one that has the right combination of switches, pots and faders and also that is a) readily available (these things drop on and off the market) b) a reasonable price and c) compact.
The target price for people to pay to source all the stuff is less than £40 and the bluetooth ones fit that perfectly.
The middle ground is an XBOX type controller that I've sourced which has nicer sticks (two of them) and might be more appropriate size wise with bigger cameras like GH5.
There won't be anything stopping people having both though so they can use the bluetooth ones for stealthier setups and the XBOX type one if they're using a rig etc.
My Thoughts Canon 1DXMK2 vs Panasonic Lumix GH5
In: Cameras
Posted
I particularly like how you've managed to connect an HDMI plug to what looks like some super 8 there.
Its one way of getting the film look I suppose
If you want something a bit more flexible (in both senses of the word) I was looking at the coiled HDMI cables from Atomos for the Ninja Inferno and having palpitations at how much they wanted for them but found an off brand one at a much better price
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Definition-Female-Adapter-Digital-Reflex-Stretched/dp/B0713XMLPN/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1500136856&sr=1-1&keywords=High+Definition+HDMI+Male+to+HDMI%2FMicro%2FMini+HDMI+Male+and+HDMI+Male+to+HDMI+Female+Spring+Cable+Adapter+use+for+Canon%2FNikon+Digital+Single+Lens+Reflex-Stretched+length+50cm+to+2m+(HDMI+Male+to+micro+HDMI+Male)