Mark Romero 2

I am shocked - SHOCKED I say - to hear you got a gimbal!!! Is the Apocalypse upon us? Do I need to keep an eye out for aloft swine??? 🙂

Thank you for the reply. Yeah, I am thinking of getting back in to shooting weddings / events if, you know, the plague ever ends. So having consistent AF performance is going to become a priority moving forward.

I would be very happy with that, although i really like low light performance as well. Unfortunately for my real estate videos I find myself shooting on full frame S1 / S5 at f/4 and ISO 4,000 (second native ISO for V-LOG) at 16mm. So I would need something like an 8mm f/2 lens WITH lens stabilization in m43 world to get the same field of view and get the ISO down to about 1,000. Don't think there is an 8mm f/2 with built-in lens stabilization. (Yes, I have a gimbal, but without lens stabilization the IBIS-induced corner warping is horrible, and if I don't have camera stabilization on, I get some horrible micro-jitters).

I don't have any experience with it but heard that the ZV-E10 is better (think it has a bigger sensor so better for low light / indoor shooting). Don't know about pricing though, probably more expensive but you do tend to get what you pay for.

Does anyone have suggestions for a follow focus or something / anything else to help with manual focus, either when shooting on my Weebill S gimbal or when hand holding? I can do manual focus pulls "ok" (better than the AF-C can do them), but then the camera gets shakey because I am supporting the weight of the body with only my right hand and using the left to focus. And I have noticed that when shooting with my S1 in 6K mode, the stabilization isn't as effective. Saw a video by Paul Byun where he suggested using a nucleus nano on a weebills s, but that looks like you would really make it even harder to keep the gimbal and camera free of shaking. Anyone have any success with either plugging the gimbal directly into the camera body and using the wheel on the side of the gimbal to pull focus? or by mounting the available motor to the gimbal and using it to pull focus? Thanks in advance.

Yes, I would / do sacrifice AF first. The major drawback for me though is that my manual focusing skills are still suspect and the weight of the S1 means that my footage is shakey if only one hand is concentrating on supporting the camera and the other is pulling focus. I'm not sure if the answer is shooting more on the weebill S and using the wheel on the weebill S to pull focus or not. True, I think that most of the work i do (and hope to do) falls under videographer. Or... they get a real sharp lens for shooting commercials, and then fill the room with haze ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Well... I don't know if I can blame you. It's a little hard to get excited about the whole L Mount system because the lenses are pretty expensive and can't be mounted on other cameras (heck, you can now mount Sony E-Mount on to Nikon Z Mount cameras). I don't mind paying a lot for a lens, but I expect it to autofocus. And the L Mount ultrawides don't have lens stabilization, so using five-axis IBIS leads to some pretty nasty corner warping when shooting ultra wide. In the meantime, i gotta keep work on improving my manual focusing skills when either shooting hand held or on a gimbal... without shaking the camera all over the place.

If the a7 IV had full-frame 4K 60p, I would probably have gone for it. Despite my experiences with Sony aps-c cameras. Keep us informed how it works out. I am a bit concerned about the low-light noise patterns though. And the inconsistent overheating stories. Hopefully whatever is causing the overheating for SOME users can be fixed in firmware.

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear it is working out for you. Had a pretty rough day with my S1 today so I am definitely envious of Sony autofocusing (pretty hard to focus the S1 when one's glasses keep fogging up due to wearing a mask).

Good to hear it is working well. Wonder if the majority of issues are caused by problematic batteries???

Thanks in advance for keeping us posted. One thing regarding overheating: I know your first experience occurred during menu setup. When the second overheating warning incident occurred during the ceremony, was that camera setup different than the others? In particular, were the others in manual focus while the camera that was giving the overheating warning using autofocus? I only ask because I have seen some people talk about overheating of the a7S III and it seems like one can leave an a7S III recording for hours in direct sun as long as it is pointed at the ground or a wall, but once the af system is having to track things in the same situation, it might be prone to overheating.

Do you know if it was the same BATTERY that you used for setup that led to the overheating as the one you used in the Ceremony that gave you the overheating warning?

I don't know if this will work with your workflow because it is all for big budgets and well planned out sets and lighting, but I find Studio Binder to be good at explaining different looks, from the cinematography to lighting to sound design to blocking, to costumes, to set design and I think also to the script / dialogue. They have a lot of videos, so it might be a bit overwhelming deciding where to begin. Maybe just look for a video covering your favorite director first In particular, maybe start with the series of "The Directing Style of ..." videos at this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEzQZpmbzckUl3P1gqpM5Awa9U-CxdhVy However... If I understand a lot of the shooting you are doing, it is mostly run and gun / one man band / capture the moment / document the place, right? Or am I misunderstanding what you are mostly shooting? If it is the former, I wonder if maybe trying to learn from event videographers (like wedding videographers) might not be helpful? They usually have to work in scenes that look nice but they can't control, with lighting they can't control. Maybe some documentary filmmakers as well? (I think wedding photographers might be chasing a lot of the latest trends in their shooting as well, so maybe not a good fit for you.) Anyway, I love White in Revery , although they haven't released much lately. The other thing I would recommend are look at classic street photographers, as they will give you an eye for working in environments they can't control as well. A lot of them just made the best of whatever opportunity presented itself. Hope this helps.

I'll be getting one of the new Macs... once they figure out how to run Linux natively on it and I can erase the whatever Apple OS is on there.

Thank you for all the excellent info. Really appreciate it. One more quick question if I may... I know there are C-Stands with sliding big legs (to deal with things like stairs or uneven ground) and then stands without a sliding leg. Is either one "stronger"? Meaning, if someone gets a C-Stand with a sliding leg, will it be rated for less weight than a stand with a non-sliding big leg? Thanks in advance.

Not trying to dogpile, but there were a few videos out there about people complaining that the a7 IV overheated when they weren't even shooting, just going through the menus to set up the camera the way they want it. Something weird is going on...

Sorry to everyone for taking this off topic, but I have to ask something @tupp : Can I interrupt and ask you a question about c-stands??? Since I know you have experience with such things, do gaffers actually hang lights from c stands on grip arms and gobos? I have to ask because so many people on youtube say that the "proper" way to boom lights is use a c-stand and a grip arm, but I have also seen a few people say that is completely wrong. since C-Stands have a narrower footprint than spreader stands are are more likely to tip over (even with sandbags). I thought that most gaffers would mount lights either on a spreader light stand, or if they were to use a C-stand, they would mount the light on on the baby pin of a c-stand, and then use a grip arm on a separate c-stand to hold diffusion in front. I though booming lights was supposed to be done on a light stand with a (counter-weighted) boom arm. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

The lantern will spill light everywhere (unless you flag it). An octabox will be more focused with the light throw. Ideally, you would want an octabox (or round softbox) as a key light and maybe a lantern as a fill light. If you want to light from overhead, then maybe the lantern is the best.

Yup. Kind of like being a drummer in a world full of drum machines.

Thank you for the elaboration!!!

Wasn't the image quality the main selling point of the EVA1 when it came out? (And the cheaper price compared to the Varicam.) Meaning, wasn't the reason someone would get an EVA1 instead of, say, a Sony FS camera or a Canon C camera was for the image quality? (Not saying the EVA1 was better than those lines, but I guess some people really wnated the Varicam look in a cheaper package.)

Thanks for the heads up. You have mentioned "line out" a few times and I just want to make sure that on the Zoom h6 you are changing the output level from line level to mic level output, right? (Page 85 of the h6 manual)

I have found AF-S to be pretty reliable, even in low light shooting V-LOG profile or in otherwise challenging situations. This is with my Canon EF 16-35 f/4 L on the Sigma MC-21 (along with my native Panasonic 24-105 f/4). I basically rotate the switch on the back of the camera to MF but leave the AF / MF button on the lens set to AF. Then I use back-button focus on the S5 (and S1) using the AF On button on the back of the camera. With my eyesight is a challenge to check focus on the screen, but it does seem to work pretty well. Or I just use my rather inexpensive Portkeys monitor to help.

Great video. Liked it a lot.