Benjamin Hilton

Here are just a few of the projects I've created recently

This is a no budget show we produced with mainly using the S1 with a little a7C thrown in:

Just a solid camera overall. Better colors IMO than the lumix cameras, good auto focus, good 4k codec etc. The DR is a stop or two less than the S1, but probably similar to the GH5s. A little bit worse in low light than the S1. For me it's kind of like a GH5 with more solid color and auto focus and no need for a speedbooster. Also been using it with a ND filter lens adapter, so been digging that too. Mainly been living with a Sigma 18-35 on it or a Canon L 70-200. Technically I should aways go for the S1 because of the better DR and low light, but I keep finding myself go for the R7 because of the user experience

Doing tons of work with our two GH5s and an S1 still. With our current color pipeline in post, they hold up very well. I even through in a G85 every once and a while when needed and it holds up great in certain situations. We also bought a Canon R7 this last year to do a long distance doc when we just needed another body. Honestly I would trade out all my cameras for more versions of that if I could, it's a really solid system for the price. When needed we through in some gorpo and iphone footage for specific things.

Totally depends on your workflow. If you are shooting log and want the heavy grading workflow, in most cases 10bit is a must. If you are using a rec709 profile in camera and don't care a whole lot, then in most cases 8bit is fine. To me 10bit is simply an intermediate codec that gets us to an eventual 8bit final output, like log to rec709.

It's different lavs each time, just the stock lavs that come with the kits. Same kind of problem each time though

Gotcha. I'm using the stock lav that came included with the packs. Yeah it's the timecode kit.

Hi all, I'm needing some expert audio advice. Just for reference, I've been doing documentary and reality shoots for over 10 years now, so am fairly familiar with wireless mics and such. Although I'd have to say, in all my years of work in this industry, I've never run into a problem like this and it's baffling me. I recently had to put together some new kit for a doc shoot, but was on a bit of a tight budget. I picked up a Tentacle Track E since I could record internally and monitor via bluetooth on my phone. I was hoping to test it for larger film workflows on reality shoots where we run into RF interference all the time. When testing, I ran into this crazy electrical interference noise that seemed to be coming from the mic port. I figured it was a faulty unit and returned it. I ended up picking up a Rode wireless go kit, since I was just doing close interviews and had had good success with it in the past. Again, I had this similar electrical interference kind of sound in the background, although it was quite a bit quieter. I figured it was something weird with the Rodes, so I returned it and picked up a set of Deity BP-TRXs. I was really excited to try these, as you can record to and SD card internally while monitoring through the 2.4ghz connection to the receiver. You can even start and stop recording from the receiver, and change settings on the transmitter from the receiver. Well after using it in a couple of shoots, I really love the workflow! The problem is, I'm still getting that same electrical interference kind of sound. I can't figure out what's going on. I have tested it in a variety of conditions, States, phones turned off etc and can't figure it out. I've never come across a sound like this before other than maybe a loose wire or something. Although I don't have a lot of experience with 2.4ghz systems. It's just really weird that I've had similar issues with several different units recently. Any ideas? I'm attaching a sample file for reference. https://www.dropbox.com/s/b6lu5bgm11y9tq5/Deity Sample.m4a?dl=0 Oh and also, if I turn off the receiver and record internally on the transmitter, the sound goes away. But if I keep the receiver on and record internally on the transmitter, the sound is still there.

I haven't tried it yet, really want to though. I almost used a pocket 6k last year for a project, but didn't end up getting it to fit on my steady cam rig, had to bail and use a gh5 at the last minute. Really want to test b-raw though at some point, although I've heard it's really not the same as raw

I feel like for most projects the 150mb/sec on the S1 is about the biggest I'd comfortably go. I never feel like I don't have enough data to work with in that codec outside of raw, but it is big enough to really eat through some hard drives. I'm still editing off of small SSDs, doing all our long term storage on cheap 8 or 12tb HDDs. I really don't find myself needing more data compression wise on most cameras, but I do always use an external monitor with my color science LUT on it, so I'm getting pretty close to the final image in camera exposure and WB wise. I would love to shoot raw just from my experience with photography, but the file sizes make it not an option outside of Red r3d. I'd have to say, I've been shooting with a lot of cameras over the years on a verity of projects including a lot of high end cinema cameras. I am really really impressed with the image out of the S1 and the a7Siii. I've been shooting with them both recently and they are really gold mojo wise. Couldn't ask for much more unless I'm going for the specific Red or Arri look. Which overall doesn't matter too much because few people even know what that means outside of a small niche of cinematographers.

Yeah totally. It's just a tool, and like any tool, you have to learn how to use it, what it does, and more importantly what it doesn't do.

Andrew I think some of this is right, but it really depends on what kind of films you are doing and what kind of workflow you use. I shoot documentary films and for me most of these features if used properly are a Godsend. You are right though, the way most people use them they might as well be a potato. For me, I have a magic color science LUT I use for most of my projects. I load it up in my monitor and shoot 10 bit log on my S1. When I get to post, I drop the same LUT on and do some minor adjustments, pretty easy. This is a look I couldn't get in camera no matter how hard I tried. Again, 10 bit is necessary for this workflow as 8 bit falls apart in log on the s1. But if you are shooting casual films with a baked in profile, then 8 bit should work fine. Just depends on what look you prefer. I do a lot of tripod and steady cam work where IBIS isn't' necessary. But for handheld work, I just can't get over how useful it is sometimes. I can be in the middle of a 10 minute take where my arms are giving out. In the old days my footage would start to get really shaky, but these days I can depend on the IBIS to cover for me. For me it isn't that IBIS is a bad tool, it's just been a problem of people trying to replace traditional tools with it. IF instead of replacing traditional tools, people use it alongside traditional tools, then it becomes magical. Auto focus is another tool that all depends on how you use it. If you take the time to learn it properly and use it correctly, it is immensely useful. Knowing how to setup smooth subject tracking, manually stop it when needed, and tell it how hard to stick to a subject can produce amazing results. But same as the IBIS thing, it has to be used properly along side of traditional tools, knowing when to use it and when to let it rest, and putting the time into learning how to use it properly. I guess all that to say that all of of these tools are amazing in and of themselves if used at their full potential. But you are right, most people don't use them properly and they just become an excuse for laziness.

I went to an S1 from my GH5s, actually I still use both. The S1 has been amazing image and low light wise, although the slow motion is a bit aggravating. The GH5 could do really good down sampled HD, meaning the 1080p60 was really good. The S1 doesn't do HD very well, so you are kind of stuck with the cropped 4k60, which isn't as bad as I thought it would be, just have to be selective with what lenses I use. Other than that I don't have any complaints, the image is a huge step up from the GH5 for sure!

Yeah, totally agree with this. It seems to me that about 12 or so stops of dynamic range is needed if you want a high end look in bright environments. More is always nice, but not really necessary. Like you said, there isn't much of a point always being able to see out of the window. Less than 12 stops can definitely be doable, but seems to always be kind of frustrating, always just clipping out something I wanted to see. That was one of the huge things I noticed in the S1 coming from a GH5. I suddenly realized all most all of my documentary scenes weren't clipping any information I actually wanted. Anytime it clipped it was something I'd expect to be clipped, the sun etc. Pretty crazy stuff!

I played around with it a bit on some S1 and GH5 footage, liking the colors a whole lot so far. I think the contrast could use some more work though, to take advantage of the dynamic range a bit more. Tends to clip pretty fast

Both of those are great options, or the SmallHD Focus. Been using that one for quite a while and really like it.

What is your budget and prefered size?

So I get the whole bit depth argument, but have some questions for you Sony users on the practical side. I come from Panasonic cameras where there is a massive difference visually from 8bit to 10bit when shooting log. The 8-bit has splotchy blocks of magenta in places, and just seems way less clean. Do the 8-10bit comparisons on the a7siii mean that: A) The a7siii 10bit codec isn't a big improvement over let's say the a7iii's 8bit codec in log? B) The 8 and 10bit codecs on the a7siii are both improved quite a bit compared to the a7iii and such?

Any suggestions as to what would help?

Hey there, I am running a small home studio with several different weekly shows using Rode Procaster mics. For one of the shows we just started (two person conversation), aesthetically it would look better to use lavs instead of the Procasters. I tried setting up with my Countryman b3s, but because of the room acoustics and phasing of two mics it's sounding pretty bad. The room is fairly decent acoustically, decent enough to sound great with the Procasters. Other than completely sound proofing the room, is there anything I can do to get better audio with lavs? Wondering if a cardioid lav or something would work better. It should be possible since they use lavs in news rooms conversations and it sounds pretty good, couldn't imagine their studios are super acoustically dead either.

I have the old Glidecam HD2000, not recommended with a smaller camera setup. Something more like this would probably work fairly well though: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1398457-REG/glidecam_glhdpro_hd_pro_hand_held_stabilizer.html

Both gimbals and steadicams have their place for sure, very different purposes and looks with some crossover. I directed a TV show were we had to follow around hosts and guests doing things for hours at a time, never would have worked with a steadicam, but was great with a gimbal setup on a backpack arm system. But on the other side, steadicams and get a specific look that gimbals really can't...just depends if you want hyper smooth planned shots (steadicam) or more reliability for longer periods (good gimbal setup) If you are going for a Glidecam or something for your xt3 though, make sure you get one that will work with a smaller camera. A lot of the older ones are intended for heavier setups and won't really work for what you want.

I'm pretty sure the setup from Sony's video is just that, the initial setup for choosing framerate. (the same thing you have to do on a mirrorless camera) Once you have that loaded all you have to do is push the S&Q mode then the record button to be shooting your high frame rate. I don't see the clunkiness here but maybe I'm missing something. Seems to be about the same as most mirrorless cameras, maybe faster since they actually have a dedicated S&Q mode. To do that on my GH5 would take a dive into the menus to select basically those same options as on the FX6, only I have slow motion assigned to a custom function, basically like the S&Q mode. I do really really wish manufacturers would start giving us built in NDs on mirrorless cameras though, seems to simple to do comparatively and so incredibly helpful.

Have you given the GH5 or 5S a try? I think it would fit into your workflow very well personally, it has for mine for the last several years. Usability is very very nice with minimal rigging or accessories needed. The battery life is very good as well.

Yeah, totally😂 I also wonder if using a polarizing filter to take the reflections out of the skintone and such would help with the look, I know Shane Hurlbut did that for one of his period movies, gave a similar kind of look