Papiskokuji

Time to reveal the cameras that we used ! 🙂 So I was planning on shooting the commercial on a small camera. It was the BMPCC4K that died on us ! The touchscreen went crazy, all over the place, like there were ghost fingers touching everywhere. By the way I contacted Blackmagic about it and although they are quite prompt to respond, it's always sad to behold a certain hypocrisy in their reply. I explained them that my pocket was from the very first batch of cameras (known to have touchscreen issues that led to the replacement of the touchscreen for the following units produced...). I also told them in good faith that I used the camera only for a handful of jobs in three years. And they told me like it is not a hidden defect from my unit but it is maybe from a normal use... I personnally have a dozen of devices having a touchscreen that I use WAY more extensively than the one on the pocket. Not one in my life has ever failed me yet. And if it is normal that in three years, Blackmagic touchscreens don't work anymore, then I'll pass for future cameras... Anyway, rant over ! So for the first morning we used the Canon R5 of my AC. First time using it for me. We shot in 4K HQ mode (with the dreadful overheating threat). It was all the shots in the kitchen and the appartment (bad last minute location, not planned). Then the rest of the video is shot with my A7S III (outdoors and bar). So what I can say about it. I'm not used to colorgrade Canon log footage anymore. Definitely there's a lack of DR compared to the A7S III which I find very easy to grade (although I was limited to Premiere color grading tools. I couldn't use Resolve for technical reasons here). The blacks on the A7S III, the roll off to shadows, never crushed, lots of lattitude. The R5 on the other hand, I was struggling with contrast, losing details in the shadows very quickly. Colorwise I wasn't especially blown away by the R5. But again, I'm more used to colorgrade Sony cameras. The image of the R5 has a bit of an orange tint to it. The Sony seems more balanced. Don't get me wrong, you can get great footage with the R5 of course. To answer the comment above about harsh highlights. There's only one shot with blown out highlights if I remember correctly : it's in the appartment when the man with the hat is pouring wine and there's a window in the back. The rest of the video has zero blown out highlights (I'm kind of a freak about it) except for a few specular highlights maybe. If the sky seems white and harsh at times, it's because of this "wonderful" summer we had in Paris, and the sky was litterally white with no substance in it (when riding the bicycle for instance). And for the depth of field question. Eventhough I initially wanted to shoot with the bmpcc4K for its smaller sensor to vaguely simulate super16mm film, we ended up shooting everything on a full frame sensor, at F4 for the R5 and almost everything else at F2.8 with the Sony. Mostly 35mm focal lenght except for the crash zooms. So that's pretty much it ! If you have any questions, don't hesitate ! I could have made a much better color grade in Resolve, the edit is too long and the music not punchy enough. But it was an ok outcome for the little prep we had.

Hi ! I recently shot a web ad for Wakaze, a japanese saké company in Paris. The morning of the first day of shooting, my camera mysteriously died on me 😕 So I had to use my first AC cam as a back up (he had it with him by chance !). The day before, one of the location (the appartment) wasn't available anymore, a nerve wracking start ! I then got another camera of mine for the rest of this two day shoot. So there are two cameras involved. Try to guess which camera shot what ! P.S. I had no say for the music... I'd rather have some good old rock music on a shorter edit to match the shooting style but they went with an electro vibe... Here is the video :

I had many Tokina APS-C 11-16mm, they all had infinity focus issues. Canon lenses for instance go past infinity focus, there's a margin of error, meaning you're sure to hit infinity focus. The Tokinas, they're right on the infinite or just before... They also have lots of chromatic aberrations which I can still see on your picture. Those problems with their lenses are a shame as I otherwise like their products.

Well I had a job today at the art gallery I regularly make videos for. First time there with the A7S III. So quick to work with. Funnily enough, the girl working there told me at the end of the session "You've never been so fast !". I guess it's just the habit of filming there, hehe, not the camera to be honest. So the experience was great, except for one thing. I was shooting the entire video with the Tamron 17-28mm. AF tracking worked like a charm when I was alone, filming the paintings. And then I had to film a few people in the gallery (the client !) and the AF started to mess around ! Even though the tracking was enabled and locked on what I wanted, the AF followed the general setting (wide or spot for instance). I've never experienced that and it seemed to be a major bug, It was not like there was hunting or something, just a complete override of the tracking... It might be related to the fact I used a Tamron lens. The two jobs I did before with the A7S III, I never experienced it but it was with G master zooms. That being said, for the first 90% of the shoot, the AF tracking was perfect, everything was fine. I also shot a bit with the Tamron 28-75 (not professionally tho) and never had a single problem. It's funny cause it's not the kind of bug you're used to with Sony or Canon cameras. It looked a bit like a beta issue you can experience with blackmagic cameras (not AF wise obviously).

Obviously I have an A7S III and a BMPCC 4K (I got rid of lots of cameras lately). I use the Blackmagic whenever I want a premium image (for digital ads mostly) and the A7S III for anything else, when I need convenience. I'm trying to sell my bmpcc (old gen) also ! 🙂 By the way, my question got lost in my first long post : can anyone confirm there are faint horizontal bars on the LCD rear screen when it's off ? Thx !

Well one forum member created LUTs to get these film emulations back from F-log. Very talented @Attila Bakos 🙂 You can purchase his LUTs. But I can assure you, I can white balance properly, expose a bit to the right or just spot on, I always get that magenta tint in the skin tones. Same goes for the powder texture on skins. But it's all gone now since I just sold my X-T3 😢 today

Well the actual skin smoothening was very well present on the X-T20, with the infamous waxy skin tones. But here, it's different. Whenever I'm filming someone with the X-T3, it's like there's make-up powder on the face, hard to describe, but something's going on. It can give some texture to the image but I feel it's just not the neutral representation I want from the camera. Also it's like the image is a bit faded with grey transitions from midtones to shadows. Sometimes I don't feel all that much, but sometimes it's not good. It's quite subtle and definitely you can get away with it for web content. It's the same with F-Log. I had wonderful results, especially at the beginning, but now, whenever I'm filming myself for testing, my skin is magenta ! But if you don't see it, don't look for it 🙂 And the X-T3 is still a wonderful camera ! You can chose everything ! Precise framerate, 4K, UHD, Data rate... It's incredible.

I shot a lot on a gimbal for this job. I tried stabilization a bit when I went handheld. Well, I haven't use the GH5 or any panasonic cameras much to have a point of comparison. It's totally fine for static shots, that I can say. It might be usable for slow mo b-roll with light lateral movement. Standard active seems good too (minding there's a slight crop). All in all it's good enough for my use (I just want to get rid of micro jitters with manual vintage lenses). I look forward trying post stab with gyro datas. And I think I'd rather have a lesser sensor stabilization but with less warping artifacts. I'll do further testings soon !

Hello guys ! I shot my first gig with my new A7S III. So far it's exactly what I expected : a formidable workhorse for corporate videos or digital ads and many more things. It made huge improvements in usability even though there are still some things missing (like loading custom LUTs) but not many. Image wise, it's very much a Sony camera. Its image is in line with the other alpha cameras (which is not a bad thing), only with better codecs. The codecs are good but not groundbreaking. It allows the image to show virtually no pink macro blocking and smoother gradation in the sky for instance. Oddly enough, the image coming from the X-T3 feels thicker, less processed (but I HATE the magenta shift in f-log and the skin smoothening effect, impossible to get rid of and never discussed !). The image of the A7S III is quite clinical. I feel the same about what I've seen with the C70 so far (that being said, I've never actually had the sooc footage on my computer). We are far from what we get with blackmagic raw or red cameras. This is not the camera to get if you're after the best organic thick image quality. I was curious to try prores raw to see if things would improve with less digital treatment. So far prores raw support in premiere is very basic but you still get an unprocessed signal. I was a bit surprised. Even though there's no noise reduction (I thought NR + H264 codec was the main factor for this clean/digital image), Prores raw image is very close to internal recording. Sure there's more noise, but the image doesn't feel "raw" at all ! Still very clinical. I'm sure you can make wonders with it, but right out of the box, it has no real "mojo" advantage over the h264 10 bit. Anyway, there are so many things to say about the camera, it is wonderful for anything delivered on the web. The colors have improved a bit (not by much) and are totally fine. I think I might make a video review of the camera since I think there are not many real world experienced user who have done one, but many gear reviewers. I respectfully disagree with the previous OP who shot the commercial for the massaging thing who said it's a totally different camera than the previous models. I think it's almost indistinguishable if you watch footage online with youtube compression. I watched a few old clips from ads I made with the FS7, and dare I say, I find the FS7 having something more, i'm sorry, "filmic". So does my 5d mk III ML Raw footage. I'm sure every manufacturer does something different when it comes to their cinema line. I always felt that way reviewing clips from all the different cameras. And I had a quick question for the other A7S III owners : can you also see faint lines on the rear lcd screen when it's off ? I can't really see them when it's on, I think it's normal, but just wanted to make sure. Thanks ! Feel free to ask anything if you have questions about the camera ! I'm surprised the camera is not much discussed at all ! With everybody waiting for it for years and buying it.

Did someone try the lexar v90 cards for the A7S III ? I bought two waiting for my A7S III to arrive but I read somewhere that somehow Lexar V90 cards are not accepted by the A7S III. But I also read it's only the case with the 64 GB cards. I have two 128gb. Hope they will do just fine for 60p Intra.

I also heard it in a FX6 presentation video. The Youtuber (can't remember who, maybe cineD) says he asks Sony why no IBIS, they told him they can't do it yet with an E-ND in the camera. It may be related to the room needed for the sensor to move around in the camera body and the ND filter being very close to the sensor...

Well there's the 120p in full frame mode to begin with. Even the 60p mode is cropped with the S1H (not saying it's a bad camera in any way). Then there's the XLR inputs, SDI out, E-ND as you mentionned, crazy AF, gyro data, probably better low light... just to name a few... Yeah it gets pretty absurd the reactions of people regarding camera releases. This looks like an incredible camera to me (it's all subjective but come on !). It is the perfect form factor for my use. It's actually a surprise release to me as it makes the FX9 a bad deal compared to this. Sony messed up the menus but it's not that annoying when you use a camera on a regular basis, you eventually know its menus. They also made (deliberately ?) a mistake with having the two XLR inputs on the top handle. Even though when I would use the camera stripped down it would be for gimbal use and I've never had to use sound on a gimbal (only b-roll shots or else there's a sound man). The form factor seems a lot better than the C70 to me. And if I want dslr form factor, I'd directly pick up an A7S III. I wish blackmagic was making a camera with the form factor of a FX6. And the two things that leave room for improvement is the LCD screen, a little too small and too low res. And the codecs... When we'll have something like BRAW or prores or prores raw directly in camera, we won't need much else. So image quality wise, I guess this camera is definitely not on par with cameras with better codecs (Komodo, blackmagic cameras, C300/500 raw...) but delivers good enough images for most of the mid tier video productions. Oh and on potato jet's video there's some nasty IR pollution. I hope it's because he uses not a final product but it can be a concern. Anyway, if people aren't happy with all those camera releases, I guess nothing will be good enough, and something also tells me they need to work more and read specs less :)

Nice work ! Funnily enough I was Place de la contrescarpe and right where you were in the quartier latin doing the same kind of shots with my X-T3 two days ago !

Hi ! The eterna LUT is to use if you don’t have a color checker. You could actually use it before applying the color checker correction nod but there’s no point to it. For the gamma question, I can’t remember what gamma there is in Resolve. You can try gamma input « slog2 » as it’s not far from flog gamma and I usually do a blackmagic 4k gamma output as rec709 crushes everything. But most of the time, I put the same gamma Space input and output so the color checker only corrects colors and put me back to some rec709 color Space, and I adjust the gamma curve myself in another nod, so I have more control. But overall, if you don’t have to match your XT3 with other cameras, I’d suggest You apply the fuji WDR lut (the one which only affects colors, i can’t remember the exact name) so you’re back to a rec709 colorspace but with fuji’s touch. And then in another nod, you apply a custom curve. I have gorgeous results with this simple workflow. and finally, another method is to use color transform and put « gamma input flog » « color Space input rec2020 » gamma output « blackmagic 4k (same as above) » « color Space output rec709 ». There You go, 3 methods to normalize your flog image. I encourage you to use the second one if you wanna keep fuji colors.

Hello there ! Hope everybody's doing fine during this lockdown. I just bought an UMP first gen on ebay (brand new) at the unbeatable price of 3500€. I'm familiar with Blackmagic cameras and all their hidden flaws. I took the risk of buying off of ebay + Blackmagic, so I have some legitimate concerns and wanted to know what were the known issues to look for when the camera arrives. I know there's a weird rainbow flare with the ND's on ? I guess it's on all the cameras. What else ? No more pink tint (I remember that from the very first ursa mini 4.6k) ? What can go wrong with the camera so I can test it ? Thank you for your insight ! Cheers

Yes, actually there will be a sound operator with HF mics, so we are fully covered on this side of things Sound guys always have better equipment than us at video hehe Thanks for your input guys ! I guess I'm gonna try to monitor with wifi (and also from the sound I'll get from the Sound OP), let the camera run and hope for the best ! I'll stick to the simple solution I'll make a call at the rental house if ever they have a miracle solution. And for the FPV, I guess it won't work. I think rental houses have the latest gopros. The hdmi multi viewer thingy seems interesting for future productions ! But I'll never receive it on time for this very job though Thanks again, I'll let you know how it turns out !

Do you think Sony RX0 II might be a better choice than gopros ? Has someone ever used one ?

Hello guys ! I need to do an unusual corporate video. The compagny wants a carpool video (see the youtube video reference down below) to introduce a live event (the video won't be live of course !). They will be probably eight people in a mini van. I'll install maybe five cameras in the car. So far I was thinking of using gopros and monitor it via wifi in a car following the main car. But I have a few questions that you might be able to answer to. First, do you think I'd lose the wifi signal of the gopro if I'm not in the same car as the talents ? Is the gopro wifi reliable ? And if it ain't, what kind of route should I go ? Is there a HF set up that wouldn't be too time consuming to install, not taking a lot of place and expensive to rent ? I saw that Teradek released new HF systems, lighter and cheaper. I'll be renting the gear, so I don't know if the rental house is up to speed with latest tech. Have some of you guys already done that kind of shoot ? I also want to be able to monitor each camera maybe from only one monitor ? Do you guys think of convinient cameras with hdmi or sdi out ? It's not a big production. What would matter the most is a reliable signal I guess. Then practicallity and image quality comes last. Thanks !

So after further investigation, I can say that my receiver unit drains power quicker than the transmitter unit. When I don't use them for a certain period of time, I can't seem to power on the receiver unit but the transmitter still has like 50% of its charge... And the only way I can power the unit back is by plugging it to AC. Once I plug it, it tells me it has 50% like the transmitter unit. But after a minute or so of usage, the receiver shows its true battery level and dies ! This behavior is quite weird. Has anyone experienced the same thing ? The receiver draining the battery quicker, or not holding its charge while not in use. As the sennheiser xsw-d dropped in price, I bought one. I thought the build quality would be better (it looks more professional to me though, especially with the locking jack), and the thing would be heavier. Anyway, if I had one real complain it would be the noise floor of the lav mic they provide in the kit. I find it not very quiet. Do you guys also have the sennheiser kit ? What do you think about their lav mic ? I'd be very curious to hear about your experience with both sets (and if you have the same battery "issue") !

Ok ! Great ! I didn't know that ! Thanks ! I'll try it right away

Hi guys ! I just downloaded the latest Resolve version to test out their interpretation of f-log. But I can't find some kind of "f-gamut" in Da Vinci input color space tab. I just have f-log in the gamma input/output. Am I missing something ? Because the gamma maping is nice to have but the most important part of the task is putting back f-log colors into a manageable color space like rec709. Whereas I can deal with a flat gamma myself, adjusting just a curve. I can put "V-gamut" instead or another one close to f-log colors, but I thought there would have been a specific fuji tab. Did you guys try this latest version ? I think someone posted a screenshot of color graded f-log footage without using fuji's LUTs.

I had the Fuji X-T20 and I always found the motion rendition a bit weird, stuttering... Or also like the OP describes, like the shutter speed is higher than it actually is. The X-T20 also had the fuji waxy skin effect. Now with the X-T3, everything looks great ! Eventhough sometimes those skins flirt with waxyness (to emulate film I guess, deeper, thicker skin tones, not always desirable).

Yes they get the job done for low budget jobs And I'll do some more tests before reaching out to Rode but I'll definitely do it if it happens again.

Hi guys ! Another bad experience with the rode wireless go... I finally found a cheap lav mic that has no hissing issue (the purple panda lav mic) so I kept using the rode wireless go for the moment (I think I'll switch to sennheiser either just for the lav itself or the complete package). I hadn't use the unit for a while and had an interview today. So yesterday night I turned on the receiver and the transmitter to check their battery levels. The receiver had a hard time turning on. I plugged it on AC and it worked. Then the levels displayed were fine on both (like 75%). So I thought it was enough for a quick interview (I know, lazy mistake). And today, the receiver unit died on me after the first take ! Two problems here : first, the unit displayed an almost fully charged battery for the receiver (did it drain at night ? or did it display a wrong level ?). Second, why would the receiver drain faster than the transmitter (faulty unit ?!). Maybe it's a user error. I'll do more tests in the days to come. Two jobs, and I don't feel 100% confident with the rodes. Thankfully, I had a spare mic with a very long cable that I plugged directly on camera...

Has someone tried to roll back from the 6.6 firmware to the one with dngs enable (6.1 if I remember correctly) ?