TomTheDP

Yeah unfortunately its not uncommon for clients to request 4k. A job I worked on recently the client even requested 6k, though he was turned down as 6k on the Canon C500 MK2 is only in RAW and its simply wasn't feasible storage wise. Though there are certainly a good number of projects that only require HD. ALL-I is nice for editing without a doubt, though transcoding isn't too big of a deal. Its one of my favorite things about the Z-cam, I can record prores in camera at any frame rate. Really wish Pana would get a prores license. I am considering an Atomos Ninja but again the internal recording is so good its hard to justify it. But yeah storage...... 2.8k in prores HQ on the Z-cam is becoming my go to. In terms of youtube compression it doesn't love shadows, which there were many in that video. I am pretty sure in the Potatojet video his vlogging camera was a Canon M50 or something of the like, probably shooting on auto. So really not a fair comparison against an Alexa. His subject matter was a little more interesting IMHO than the video I posted. No doubt the image on an Alexa is superior to anything coming from any mirrorless or cheap "cine" cams. A Panasonic S1 or Pocket 6k with Sage's Alexa LUT is really quite something though. I've oddly become very attached to small form factor cameras. Well I guess there is nothing odd about it, who wouldn't like them.

Yes. He's got some good stuff on his channel. That video kind of convinced me I don't need or want an Alexa though. I could have shot that so much easier with my Panasonic S1. I don't think youtube compression is helping that video either. I have not seen a difference in 150mbps Long gop vs All-I 400mbps. Aside from easy of editing. Would be an interesting thing to test. The S1 and S5 will have an edge on the GH5 with internal 10 bit H265 4k 60p, while the GH5 only does 8 bit internally. For those who use 60p a lot. I feel like Panasonic will not add ALL-I to the S1 as its really the only thing separating it from the S1H besides the OLPF

That was the issue with Wonder Woman though, it was trying to be woke, it wasn't woke. It was phoned in. You can't fake authenticity. Of course not all hollywood films miss the mark but ones that are incredibly corporate tend too. I am not the type to think that the film industry is doomed and nothing of value comes out anymore. On the contrary there is more diversity in film then ever before. Not everyone in hollywood is a spoiled rich person but even if you didn't necessarily grow up in wealth its easy to forget where you came from when you get immersed in the upper class of society. At least it seems to be that way coming from an outsider viewpoint as I am in the lower class of American society lol. This is kind of besides the point though. The bigger issue is not the artists its the corporations who are hijacking the artists visions with their bottom lines. I think its very easy to see when a director and writer has been given artistic freedom vs when the film has been more or less directed by a cooperate check list obtained from some type of mathematical equation on what sells best. The easy solution is just not to go see these types of films as there are plenty of other options out there. More indie films are coming out then ever before. I personally enjoy mindless blockbusters. Wonderwoman was pretty cringe but I enjoyed parts of it still. The film is bombing though. I agree that DC is certainly all over the place with the tone of its films, at least as of late. The Dark Knight series was an enormous success but then they missed the boat on the whole Superhero universe that Marvel did so well. I felt the Joker was unique though. 55 million budget while grossing a billion dollars. In comparison with the justice league which cost over 300 million to make while only grossing under 700 million. I guess the Joker is a hard film to replicate though. As someone who is fairly young and spends a lot of time with youth I can tell that whoever wrote and produced the Joker was very much in touch with the youth of today. The film was able to cater to young friends of mine who are very liberal as well as ones who are in the opposite spectrum. Where it did seem to get lost was on some of my older friends, but I don't think that was the target audience.

I think this movie is a great example of how Hollywood just seems to be out of touch with everyone. They aren't in touch with the woke folks, not with the right side or centralists. But what can you really expect from people who pretty much live outside of the realms of the normal people they attempt to cater to. Its humorous how DC goes from something like the Joker to this.

Not very many purchased the S1 for video work. Honestly doesn't seem like many people purchased the S1H for video either. The S1H was marketed as a video camera though and has very video centric features. So you'll see better video work coming from it online. If you shot something with the S1 and S1H side by side they'd look almost identical besides maybe some very slight differences in motion cadence due to ALL-I. I think getting an external recorder for the S1 and doing prores or prores RAW is a better investment than an S1H as the internal footage on the S1 is going to be good enough for clients that can't afford something more. There's not a lot of more amateur stuff on youtube shot on an Alexa. I managed to find this video, which I think demonstrates that the camera is not going to do the work for you. Not saying the video is terrible but it definitely looks like it could have been shot on almost any camera.

Interestingly the S1 will get 6k 200mbps, but no mention of ALL-I. The only thing that might improve with ALL-I is motion cadence as well as of course editing performance. Can't comment on the S1H but there was no improvement in IQ on the GH5 in ALL-I vs Long GOP. You'd probably need closer to 800mbps.

Unless you get the URSA, Blackmagic is using the same Sony sensors that Panasonic and everyone else use. Even RED has been accused of looking digital. You can definitely get a filmlook if you know what it is you are trying to achieve. What type of film are you trying to mimic? I think having a direct example of a film shot that is similar to the shot you have would help really nail the look.

Depends on the project. John Woo used it a lot in Hard Boiled if I remember correctly.

This is very true. Subtle parts of a high quality picture are getting lost especially once theaters go down the toilet, if that hasn't already happened. Maybe there will be a push by filmmakers to have TV automatically detect a video game from a movie and adjust the settings accordingly.

You definitely bring up some good points here. I didn't think into it too much. My initial reaction was the that Maxwell Lord and his son's relationship wasn't developed enough for the climax to be satisfying or emotional. The beginning competition in Themyscira was one of the more enjoyable parts of the film to me, although it seemed to serve zero purpose to the plot. The initial superhero moment with Wonder Woman chasing down the baddies in the mall was pretty campy and had me cringing a bit. I do think Gal Gadot has a presence proper for Wonder Woman. I thought the first film was quite good. This one was definitely a mess. I fell asleep during part of it but I also enjoyed moments of it. It was good to be back in theaters regardless. Felt very odd experiencing something again that I've done so many times yet feels far away.

Focus peaking is pretty useless on the S1 and S5.

Blackmagic probably has better highlight roll off then. Though highlight roll off can be controlled in post as long as the dynamic range is there.

The 12 bit RAW makes a difference. Color holds up better. Now 12 bit Prores raw from the S1 should be just as organic looking tho.

I see the S1 regularly for $1500. It’s obviously a more dedicated video camera but you get way more lens choices and of course phase detect AF with the Nikon. I don’t think the video IQ on the S1 can be understated. Throw a decent LUT on (emotive color) and you just get a really stunning image. I wish Nikon would give an internal 10 bit recording option.

What about the Vazen ? Seems a step above the SIRUI

I won’t be shooting another film without it

Pondering cameras

The LUT is made so you expose at normal exposure. Exposing higher will result in cleaner footage though I would say it’s not necessary like it was on Sony cameras with Slog.

There are exposure conversions for -2, -1, -.66, -.33 and the same with overexposure. Of course you can expose lower it just doesn’t guarantee the same color accuracy.

If you want to match your camera to an Alexa it’s the best tool for that job. I personally love it on my Panasonic S1. Makes saturation and highlight roll off really pleasing.

Shooting S16 is a pain in the ass 😅 I am so spoiled I'd rather just use my S1 with the internal stabilization as gimbals and tripods are too tedious to have to carry and I don't want to have to rig anything up besides putting in a battery and SD card LOL That was my conclusion after filming a short on a C300 rigged up. My take away was I think I could have been quicker and actually got a better image off the S1 without any rigging.

I mean the Alexa comes close. RED Komodo is global shutter. I do think the Alexa surpassed film. It has great color rendition and amazing latitude. What I was saying is that there hasn't been a digital camera on the market that has matched the look of film in all its complexities. Of course shooting on an Alexa you can mimic it with post processing due to the flexibility of the files coming off that camera. Same goes for anything that can shoot RAW.

Depends in what degree you are talking about of course. Overexposed film and overexposed digital look very different. Overexposed film looks pretty IMHO. Of course with digital as long as you stay within the latitude of the camera you are fine. Ease of use obviously goes to digital but I don’t think that is what we are talking about. I meant film convert relies on you to expose properly for the color transforms to work. Even then it’s not going to account for every lighting situation especially mixed lighting. For a commercial look properly exposed footage will always be best. Over and under exposed film vs digital are two different animals though. Over or under exposed film has a really unique and cool looking aesthetic imo

It’s a camera that uses strong noise reduction. Not something you’ll see with Arri or RED or anything made for Cinema. Of course it works if you want a super clean image. Not very organic looking though.

Film convert isn't that accurate though and its relying on you nailing exposure and such. Its certainly possible to make digital look like film but it requires a good eye and a good colorist. Hard to nail unless you have a side by side or have seen tons and tons of film stock.