HockeyFan12

Forgive me if this is answered elsewhere. Planning to try out some zooms and anamorphic lenses with an S1H that I am renting this weekend and I want to use IBIS. Is it a no-go with zooms and anamorphic lenses? Thanks!

Anyone else had this issue? So it looks like it's focused past infinity. I can remove the set screws up front and it just takes off the part of the lens where the adapter attaches. But doesn't do anything to the optical assembly. I think I see two areas where I could turn the optical assembly with a spanner wrench. Is it as simple as that? It's front focusing by quite a lot. Thanks!

T* means multicoated, Sonnar is an asymmetrical (telephoto?) design that also means fast (f2.0 or faster), Planar references a symmetrical six-element design, Distagon means wide angle retro focus design, Biogon means wide angle angle but more symmetrical? I don't really understand lens design. They're mostly branding terms. Check this thread on RedUser: http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92044-Contax-Zeiss-Survival-Guide The Contax still lenses will all cover full fame. The cinema lenses won't, not all of them at least.

On RedUser there is a big thread on FDs. Not sure whether this topic has come up or not.

I think for someone in our position who's only gotten to shoot with an Alexa a bit it might feel underwhelming when you're shooting boring controlled tests with it–but as regards high end narrative work, I still think it's still the only game in town other than film. The way Richardson, Deakins, Kaminski, Lubezki, and Pfister light pushes even the limits of the Alexa to (or past) the breaking point not on every set up, but on perhaps even a majority of them. Granted, that's because they grew up shooting color negative film, which has tons of highlight detail. So I think that's untrue as a blanket statement, but if you know your own needs, you know your own needs. I can't afford one either and wouldn't want to use one if I could (would much prefer the flexibility of a smaller camera) unless were working on something with a huge budget. I have a camera similar to the 4.6k and am really happy with it. But I think that's because I'm willing to accept some compromises. I can't light like Deakins anyway even if I tried.

Yeah the irony of the Alexa is that its advantages would be most apparent on sets where they couldn't afford an Alexa. I was lucky enough to try one a year after they came out and I was absolutely blown away. Still nothing compares with the highlight dynamic range or exposure invariant color (also the minimal skew, noise texture, etc.), but I think the 4.6k could intercut almost seamlessly with good lighting and proper exposure. I've only used the 4.6k in post though but the image is good. I also found the Alexa pretty big and intimidating and very battery-hungry.

I've never actually used the 50mm f2.8 Iscorama taking lens with the Iscorama adapter, but I assume it's meant to be focused at infinity–like other lenses. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) It's way off. The image is very out of focus. And adding a lens mount adapter, as I plan to, has the potential to throw it even further off. I assume there's a way to adjust it? Using a spanner wrench or something? I really have no idea. Help.

In my experience, larger-scale and union shows use Avid while smaller production companies use Adobe. Resolve seems to be getting more and more traction, but primarily among individual users. Ditto FCP X seems popular among those who are one-man bands (both seem to be fast). What are your specific goals? From what you described I'd go with Adobe. And a 2017 iMac Pro is absolutely more than fast enough for virtually anything. I guess it's not ideal for raw online workflows, but those are pretty niche rn imo.

I agree. If all we knew of video games were choose-your-own-adventure movies, we wouldn't be so into video games. One key area where I think video games and VR differ is that video games can present a realistic simulation of depth and physics that can be more exciting than the real thing–but with VR you have to reconcile the game space and game physics with real physics and real space, and teleportation mechanics are the best we've got but imo don't really cut it. Unless someone comes up with a genius approach to locomotion, I think VR will only thrive when we figure out what the most interesting thing we can put in a small space is. And it might just be a lot of interesting interactive stuff (the Rick and Morty game is fun)–or it'll probably be other people. Like Skype but weird af. Or virtual office or virtual surgery, virtual manufacturing/remote piloting. Transporting people to other places. And so, ironically, the least effective VR mechanic (teleportation) might become, in effect, what VR is actually/virtually used for. Maybe the best locomotive mechanic is virtual VR helmets? I think they did this in Superhot VR, I'm not actually creative enough to come up with it. Superhot VR is amazing btw.

Thanks, I was tempted by the kit's lower price and figured I could stack. But 2, 4, 6 would make a lot more sense. Any brands that are affordable and good? I'm seeing surprisingly good reviews on those Haida NDs. I was disappointed in the Firecrest not being the neutral and B+W and X4 are too expensive. 10 stop is pretty useless for video maybe but could be fun....

I should probably just get an ND fader, but I'm looking into other options too. With most cameras around base 800 ISO in log profiles, you'd need something like a 13 stop ND to shoot wide open on f1.4 lenses in broad daylight, or maybe my math is wrong. Anyway, absent an ND fader, that would normally mean 13 different ND filters. But I'm okay working in two-stop or even three-stop increments... What are the best affordable 10 stop NDs? Something like this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1500970-REG/haida_hd4501_72_72mm_nanopro_nd_filter.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIrtme_o2x5gIVj4TICh20MwFMEAkYASABEgJU2fD_BwE ? And are any of these thin enough that you can stack filters? If I could stack 1, 2, or 3 stop filters on top of those three that would be all I need.... Also worried about stacking diffusion (or polarizers) on top of that, I might want to shoot with Classic Softs, which have very thick filter rings. Well now I see why people buy matte boxes. Or are there any really good ND faders? I worry about the polarization effects, still, even though I like most footage I see shot with them it concerns me still.

I think it's all subjective. Fincher adds barrel distortion to get the anamorphic look in Mindhunter. Otherwise I've never heard of it, but it's not a crazy idea. I wouldn't worry about it, though, these are relatively small differences. Adding it in post might mess with the texture of the image or soften it a bit too much, there's a reason Mindhunter is shot on 6k or 8k Red or whatever. But it's an interesting idea. Overall I think the Xeen holds up really well in that comparison even as-is, but there's no reason not to try it if it looks good to you. I do think lenses have different amounts of distortion at different focus distances but don't know enough about this to know if it would make a difference.

I don’t know that much about the Cookes but have worked with them a bit, primarily in post. In my experience the S4is are an ideal combination of modern performance with nice rendering while the S2/S3s are pretty wild with a lot of strange aberrations but they look great. I’m not entirely sure what he means in that video, but I think it’s a preference for slight barrel distortion. He’s expressed preferences for Cooke lenses over Leica lenses in the past because the Cookes have more distortion. That could be what’s going on here, too. At 3:43 on the square grid you can see that the barrel distortion from the Cooke does in fact “bring the center of the image forward." How does that have to do with a larger front element? I don't know.

From what I understand, Panasonic refuses to implement anything similar to DPAF because it messes with the noise texture. Anyway I wouldn't expect the S1H to get close to Canon or Sony in AF. I want to rent one of these soon to play around with. What are people using for ND filters? Fader NDs? Or are there ND adapters? Anything I should know about? I already have V90 SD cards, that's the only thing I can think of. Are there noise reduction settings to play with? Any necessary AKS to pick up or gotchas?

How do you find the image quality compares with the C200 otherwise? There's no "off" setting for noise reduction? Does the S1 suffer from the same issues? That's a shame, I thought this camera–specifically 6k–would be very good for low light.

Can you just turn down noise reduction to fix this or is this a problem still? Is it a problem at every ISO or just high ISOs?

I'm trying to install one of these (really really clever mod and great craftsmanship) but focus is VERY stiff between 3 feet and 6 feet. Is there an easy fix? Sanding down the paint/anodizing on the focus ring just a bit? It's smooth elsewhere. Thanks. I think this might be an issue with the particular Iscorama I'm attempting to install this on, as it may have sustained damage in the past... but it's not the helical within the Iscorama. Whether the screws under the name plate are installed or not, focus is VERY stiff between 3 feet and 6 feet. Thanks!

It's hard to know without seeing the location but bouncing soft light off the ceiling does seem like the best answer. @androidlad has a good point. If you go in for close ups and are lighting with overhead bounce you might have heavy shadows under the eyes and might want to bring a small reflector, though. If you have more money, a Joleko off the ceiling or a piece of bounce board is often useful but is more directional than bouncing off the whole ceiling.

It might? I've used it to smooth out macro blocking before. Sometimes the "temporal smoothing" setting, when you set it to 5 frames, is able to reconstruct detail so you can push your footage further.

Neat Video (and some practice with Neat Video settings, it's got a lot of settings). But it might also smooth out/get rid of macro blocking so then you need to export it again at a low bitrate.

That's true, I guess I was generalizing.

Really interesting analysis, I hadn't considered this but I think it's very true... But in Endgame I feel there was a conscious attempt (and a pretty overt one) to shoehorn in dramatic choices. It's just that they feel false. Iron Man's daughter (spoiler alert?) was meant to be a foil against the time travel plot. A "Frodo leaving the shire" moment. And it's meant to be a character arc that Iron Man (spoiler alert?) lets himself die in service of saving the world, when he started out as a war profiteer. A T-800 melting himself moment. But the thing is... that arc already happened with Iron Man (in Iron Man) and I think the bigger problem isn't the lack of choices, it's that the choices feel obvious or artificial. Of course they save the world. But, by the same token, of course Luke leaves Tatooine. And yet... that choice resonates with me. Nothing in Endgame really does. Why is that? Why do the choices in Marvel movies feel less like choices than the choices in the classics? Maybe it's because the morality is so black and white that it's difficult to empathize with the antagonists? I really don't know and I do wonder... But credit to the Russos for the effort, Endgame is a well-crafted movie and that goes down to the script imo. And I thought Civil War, which they also directed, had real stakes and real choices in it and a strong third act that was smaller and more personal, more about personal choices than it is about us vs them beat-em-ups. Sort of a revenge vs forgiveness thing with a huge second act that's a beat-em-up and a third act that's more personal and emotional. And with a real choice in it. I gotta admit, even though I don't really care for the MCU, Civil War had some interesting stuff in it. Same with Transformers 1, I agree. That felt like a movie to me, too. ....of course the broader subtext is I want to compare this tribalistic lack of empathy, lack of emotion, and lack of choice with today's political atmosphere and even the us vs them mindset with Sony vs Canon vs Nikon vs whatever... compared with how things were decades ago where it was more moderate and centrist. But I won't. ? Because that would be an us vs them comparison... And it is much more nuanced than that. For better or worse, I think Marvel movies are the right movies for our times. I just hope better times are ahead.

I think Marvel movies (other than Iron Man) have a similar style of storytelling to recent Spielberg movies (and Transformers movies). Instead of there being a character arc for the protagonist and that being the focus of the story, there's an external threat and then some elite heroic force stands up to that threat and stops it (could be Iron Man standing up to Thanos, could be Lincoln standing up against slavery). To that extent, these are movies about rejecting external change rather than they are about embracing personal change. That kind of story appeals to me less. (Not that I'm advocating for either slavery or for Thanos.) Even with older blockbusters like Armageddon where there is an external threat, it's about the "everyman" standing up to save the day when NASA can't. Or in Enemy of the State it's the individual vs the establishment–this is the trend in the 90s imo, populism. And there's usually an accompanying character arc. With recent Marvel movies, and recent Spielberg movies, and maybe just recent studio pictures in general.... it's the "elites" saving the everyman. And often the only arc is the everyman learning to embrace the "elites" while they expel whatever outside force threatens the everyman... But I also agree about MCU being extremely well made... I dunno, structurally it reminds me more of tv, which it basically is. Or sports–watching your team trounce the other team. But credit where it's due–you'd expect MCU fans to pile on Scorsese and vice versa, but it seems the discourse has been civil and intelligent. I used to think the appeal of MCU was watching your team beat up the other team. Maybe it's more complex than that and MCU fans are more sophisticated, and ironically it's Scorsese positing an elitist us vs them framework here.

Neat Video.

My guess: Paint out light sources. Track the background. Add smoke elements (normal transfer mode I’m guessing), adjust levels/blur/etc. Position/add fire elements, change to screen or add transfer mode. Adjust levels/blur. Roto foreground. Add embers/sparks. Maybe add haze, foreground smoke, etc. Color correct to add orange tint. (And of course track the camera motion so the elements follow it. Or that whole thing could be a still with shake added in post.)