FHDcrew

@PannySVHSdid you shoot with your Sony F3 at all?  🤣

Happy New Year, dear friends! My year was ambivalent and full of lessons. Film bizz in Germany is very rough and ungrateful if you are trying to enter the field of large narrative projects. I had an accident, a branch falling on my head. They immediately looked for a substitute for the rest of the whole gig and they still have not paid me yet due to some mushy accounting routines. Canceled jobs due to reasons intransparent to me. Got taken advantage by an upcoming director, working for free in advance of a contract. 😂 But I am happy about the things I learned and my passion for video and film is bigger than ever.

There were a lot of ups and downs.
I launched my own pro-wrestling company in May. It has been very successful so far.
I've continued my freelance video work and it has gone well.
I'm pretty content where I'm at gear wise. I'll probably upgrade my B and C cams to S5IIs but overall I'm quite happy with the L-mount and feel pretty good about its future.
I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Had my right kidney removed. No more cancer. If my scans look good in April I'll be officially considered cured. 
Flooding ravaged my community twice. It is still recovering.
So 2023 brought some real big highs and some real low lows. If it weren't for the election I'd almost be looking forward to 2024!
Happy New Year to all of you!

Good year!
 
Gear: I snagged an older Nikon 17-35 2.8 F-Mount lens for $350.  Works very well, stabilization and autofocus both work surprisingly well for its age, and it has been a welcome addition to my kit.  I also bought an Amaran 60d and snagged a Neewer RGB light for 1/3 its retail price from an auction.  No new camera upgrades; 2024 is the beginning of my 3rd year with my Nikon Z6.
 
Work: Started to get some good pay opportunities and get some nice consistent work.  Started working for a nonprofit with a great working environment, producing a lot of promotional material.  Enjoying this experience.  Second-half of 2023 I focused a lot more on broadcast than on cinematography.  Crewed some D2 College Football games and even did a basketball game recently.  Also tried to learn my way around a 4 M/E switcher.  I built a custom video switcher solution using OBS, Central Control, a Newtek Tricaster Control Surface, and a bunch of plugins.  I use a cheap Blackmagic Decklink Quad in the mix and it works great given how little I spent on the whole thing.
 
Skills: I feel that my style as a cinematographer became more established; when running and gunning I began to figure out what types of camera moves and whatnot I enjoyed the most and observed a level of consistency with my work which is always nice to see.  That being said, I need to push myself more.  I don't feel that I grew exponentially especially within the past 6-months.
 
My favorite work of 2023:
 
This one is a Baptism Recap Video I made, shot on my Z6 with the Tamron 45mm 1.8 and Nikon 17-35.  All 10 bit prores to my Atomos Ninja Star.  Graded in Resolve.  I feel that this was the one I pushed myself the most in recently, both in terms of effects but also in learning to get better at sound design.
 
A worship night hype video I made.  Funny story: was planning to use my Ninja Star and shoot 10 bit.  Accidentally formatted the CFAST Card in the Ninja Star (the ninja star itself formatted the card).  I had a lot of files on this card as its 256gb.  So refused to use it for the shoot because I had hoped to recover the data from it.  In addition, the memory from my XQD Card was almost full, and it was a lot of files I needed to hang onto (dumb me didn't transfer them yet) so I had to resort to 8-bit 1080p 28mbps from my Z6.  Video turned out fine, but I don't love the 1080p from my Z6.  Does not grade as well as even the 8-bit 4k, let alone the external 10 bit.  I will say I was happy with the final output.

I've been thinking about my own strengths and weaknesses too, and have started a project designed to let me focus on something that I'm quite weak at with the goal of improving in that aspect.  I think that focusing on something in particular and just practicing that might be a good way to build that specific skill.
I'm reminded that in sports the coach will have players run drills of the same thing again and again, presumably so they can focus on that one thing without being distracted by the chaos of a normal situation.  I imagine the situation is the same with film-making - trying to work on one aspect while also doing all the rest probably doesn't help much in comparison to just focusing on that one thing.

Good year!
 
Gear: I snagged an older Nikon 17-35 2.8 F-Mount lens for $350.  Works very well, stabilization and autofocus both work surprisingly well for its age, and it has been a welcome addition to my kit.  I also bought an Amaran 60d and snagged a Neewer RGB light for 1/3 its retail price from an auction.  No new camera upgrades; 2024 is the beginning of my 3rd year with my Nikon Z6.
 
Work: Started to get some good pay opportunities and get some nice consistent work.  Started working for a nonprofit with a great working environment, producing a lot of promotional material.  Enjoying this experience.  Second-half of 2023 I focused a lot more on broadcast than on cinematography.  Crewed some D2 College Football games and even did a basketball game recently.  Also tried to learn my way around a 4 M/E switcher.  I built a custom video switcher solution using OBS, Central Control, a Newtek Tricaster Control Surface, and a bunch of plugins.  I use a cheap Blackmagic Decklink Quad in the mix and it works great given how little I spent on the whole thing.
 
Skills: I feel that my style as a cinematographer became more established; when running and gunning I began to figure out what types of camera moves and whatnot I enjoyed the most and observed a level of consistency with my work which is always nice to see.  That being said, I need to push myself more.  I don't feel that I grew exponentially especially within the past 6-months.
 
My favorite work of 2023:
 
This one is a Baptism Recap Video I made, shot on my Z6 with the Tamron 45mm 1.8 and Nikon 17-35.  All 10 bit prores to my Atomos Ninja Star.  Graded in Resolve.  I feel that this was the one I pushed myself the most in recently, both in terms of effects but also in learning to get better at sound design.
 
A worship night hype video I made.  Funny story: was planning to use my Ninja Star and shoot 10 bit.  Accidentally formatted the CFAST Card in the Ninja Star (the ninja star itself formatted the card).  I had a lot of files on this card as its 256gb.  So refused to use it for the shoot because I had hoped to recover the data from it.  In addition, the memory from my XQD Card was almost full, and it was a lot of files I needed to hang onto (dumb me didn't transfer them yet) so I had to resort to 8-bit 1080p 28mbps from my Z6.  Video turned out fine, but I don't love the 1080p from my Z6.  Does not grade as well as even the 8-bit 4k, let alone the external 10 bit.  I will say I was happy with the final output.

It went OK…
I ended up doing 21 jobs instead of the previous years 33, but the 2022 year workload was insane and a necessity after 2 terrible Covid ‘work’ years (ha, 6 jobs in 2 years).
2024 I have revised it down slightly even further to 15-20 and I already have 4 jobs locked in for 2025.
Volume-wise, I have no concerns.
Client-wise, as in the type, ditto. I have always been quite picky because otherwise…
Kit-wise, struggled again all year long. As a solo, multi-day, hybrid destination wedding shooter, I have some very specific needs.
It’s been an evolving process over many years based on the available tech each year combined with my ever-evolving approach and needs.
By the close of my 2023 season, I finally cracked it regarding kit with the final conclusion that a 2, 3 or 4 body kit could work equally as well, but glass was the key.
L Mount does not give me it so it has been a case of either ditch it totally, or split my photo and video needs into 2 different systems.
For 2024, I decided to do just that and then we will see how that goes.
My ‘perfect’ set up is with Canon, based around a pair of R3’s, IMO, the ultimate current hybrid body, but I can’t afford so…
L Mount for video and Nikon/adapted Tamron for stills:
Static video = S1H + battery grip + 70-200mm f4
Roaming video = S5ii + Sigma 28-70mm f2.8
Candid photo = Nikon Zf + 40mm f2
All other photo = Nikon ‘X’ + Tamron 20-40mm f2.8 plus Tamron 70-180mm f2.8
The ‘X’ being either; Z8, Z9, new Z6iii if it is available in time, or even another Zf. 
Other than that final piece of kit, I’m sorted and happy with all my set up, cameras, lenses, lights, audio etc and I’m well set up also with my motorhome/RV as a home away from home and mobile office.
Bring it on ‘24!
 

Good idea to reflect on the year!
My highlights of the year:
Bought a Thunderbolt hub and radically changed my home setup
I use my MBP laptop for everything, and now have the following setup.  When I dock it at home I plug in a USB-C hub which connects it to power, my speaker system, the Resolve dongle, and a few peripherals.  When I want to use it "normally" I plug in a Thunderbolt-to-mini-DisplayPort cable that goes to my UHD panel, and the MBP switches to using the UHD panel as the main UI.  I can run Resolve in this mode, but it's not the best setup.  If I want to run Resolve properly I remove the cable for the display and plug in my new Thunderbolt hub.  The TB hub then connects a second 1080p panel I have on my right as the UI and connects the BM UltraStudio Monitor 3G, which is connected to the HDMI input of my UHD panel.  When I run Resolve in this setup the UI is to my left, and the UHD panel will be a pure monitor feed set to the correct resolution and frame rate (up to 1080p, which is my timeline resolution).
  My big purchase was that I did a course on using alternative colour spaces in Resolve with Hector Berrebi
It was pretty niche, but really solidified a bunch of concepts that I'd seen in passing or had some familiarity with.
There's another course from him coming up in Feb to do with skintones and beauty grading and retouching that I'm really curious about.
  I bought zero cameras and zero lenses
  I did two post-pandemic trips, one to Melbourne and the other to South Korea
The best investment in my film-making is putting interesting things in front of the camera, and this was definitely that.
  Discovered how to grade iPhone and GX85 footage to match with GH5
In preparation for the Melbourne trip I did a comparison between the iPhone, GX85 and GH5.  It was mostly to rule out the iPhone as a serious camera option.  I proved myself wrong and discovered the iPhone is actually incredibly good and useful in post.  I worked out a power grade to convert it to Davinci Intermediate and was able to colour grade it just as easily as LOG or RAW.
I also discovered that the GX85 is practically as malleable as the GH5 when it comes to small adjustments.  
  Really nailed down my understanding of Colour Management in Resolve
This is what enabled me to grade the iPhone and GX85 so well.  If you're not using Colour Management then you're basically fumbling around in the dark with boxing gloves on, you've got no hope of doing anything except accidentally discovering a few tricks that seem to work.  
  Discovered I prefer the GX85 over the GH5
The GX85 suits my shooting more than the GH5 because it's smaller, the tilt screen is so much faster/easier to use in busy public places than the flippy screen, and now that I can grade the files just as easily the image is just as good unless I hit the limits of the image (e.g. DR)
  Switched from MF primes to an AF zoom
This was a revolution.  I used to shoot with fast manual primes, but in Korea I discovered that the 14mm F2.5 was fast enough for having a natural amount of DoF and had good low-light, and the speed of the AF-S was a real upgrade to my shooting.  I have since switched to the 12-35/2.8 and will see how that goes on future trips.
  Learned a bunch of things about editing
I have a huge backlog of previous trips that I haven't edited yet.  In fact, the small percentage that have a "final" video edit, I am still quite unhappy with.  Overall I have felt like I didn't know what I was doing in the editing, or the colour grade.  This feeling isn't completely gone, but I have had a number of realisations about various editing challenges and I feel like I'm almost knowledgeable enough to edit something in a passable way. If I had to sum up, I feel like I'm almost good enough at editing and colour grading to understand what I'm doing in post, and I almost understand enough about post to know what equipment I need in prod.

I can dig both approaches. Some things having manual everything on a camera allows you to get the shot looking really nicely. (If the camera responds to that and gives a great image because of it.) It takes more time though and just won't be fast enough to record certain events. Other cameras that are automatic, have image stabilization, auto everything are great for events where you don't have control and just have to record stuff. It gives a different look but that's still appreciated footage.
We live in a golden age of so many very good cameras that for a relatively low cost we can shoot something. (It does also mean more people are shooting and producing so there's more competition at festivals, etc. ) The choice people have now is no longer whatever they can get their hands on or can budget for but what look they want or what type of situation they're going to be shooting in.

Today we had an early xmas lunch (to avoid the conflicting invitations on the 25th) and I shot it with the GX85 and 12-35mm F2.8.  Shooting was really fast and not under ideal conditions (massive window which is often backlighting people) but it did a great job.
Here are a few random stills, SOOC - zero editing.  




Standard colour profile, with -5 Contrast / Sharpening / NR and 0 Saturation.  People often lower saturation in-camera but I  push my grades to have lots of saturation so I prefer to have the camera do the 8-bit conversion and compression on stronger saturated colours so that I'm not boosting up a weak colour signal in-post.
When I grade it I'll be softening it up, fine-tuning the colours and adding some colour grading secret-sauce but for a someone shooting a family gathering with an 8-bit camera while also being part of the festivities, the images really speak for themselves.

I think the idea of nailing it in-camera is in and of itself not that big of a deal nowadays - if you have a basic color workflow and most importantly, know how to really nail the story you're trying to tell.
That statement isn't meant to dismiss the importance of nailing it in-camera - but to say that imo nailing it in-camera has always been less about hitting a fixed target dead on - and more about a ballpark. And that ballpark is so much easier to hit thanks to the aggregated knowledge base of spaces like this, and of course YouTube. To the point where asking someone with experience for assistance is usually not as prudent as simply typing the question in YouTube's search engine! But that ball park around the target of perfection is also much wider than ever before, thanks to the corrective tools we now have within Resolve, Premiere Pro, Finalcut, etc. Not to mention basic in-the -field tools like a color chart and/or Sekonic C-700 or C-800.
I was a deejay for most of my life, and I still pride myself on knowing the basic theories of bar-counting and melody-matching and taking the time to know the unique bar construction of every single song I was gna play, so that when I hit the party and got on the 1200s, my 'in-camera' settings were pretty good. But then Serato came along with other recent mind-blowing advances - and now in 2023, a deejay simply does not need to have/understand those 'in-camera' settings. 
Is it something deejays like myself lament? 100%!!! But the REAL deejays of those past generations also understand that the actual mission, first and foremost, was always: to tell a great story.
So while there are deejays I know and admire, who still love to do 'all-vinyl' parties as a way to exercise/show-off the skills they HAD TO developed in the past, as a means to the ends of telling great stories, again, the REAL ones within that cohort also understand they are doing those parties for the sake of nostalgia, which is also very important and life affirming.
All that to say, hopefully when we are in passionate pursuit of getting it right in-camera (as I am myself, to a degree) we aren't losing sight of the more important plot of getting the story right in our minds - which is a whole other skill that still demands that we strive to master it at the highest of levels.
 

I wouldnt highten one skill on the expense of another. I wouldn´t label a certain skill set as nostalgic just because off the point in time it was working wonders. But then you know about your art and skills of DJing and can put it into context, which both I am unable to. Getting things right in camera is not about story but about the ooc image.

Awful in my line of work as any change/changes mid scene is near impossible to overcome in post. Just a headache.
But otherwise yes, fixed WB of ‘5500’ works nicely and is my go to (not 5600) as it’s the recommendation for the conversion LUT I use.
I also meant 4500 indoors not 4000, so 4500 and 5500 are my two programmed default options.

There's a school of thought that says you just set a fixed WB of (IIRC) 5500K, which will make day seem on the bluer side golden hour / sunset warmer, blue hour cooler, and incandescent lights warmer.  The idea is that this is sort of intuitively how we experience the world on some subconscious level, so the final result will seem right intuitively.
Personally, I set auto-WB because it's more likely to get closest to correct than I will, because I don't shoot at a lightning pace rather than a snails pace, and gives me the least amount of adjustment required to do.
In terms of getting it right in-camera, you should absolutely do it if you have time to.  I don't, so adjust in post, but the better you can get it in-camera, the more potential your footage has in post.

Hopefully it’s reasonably priced!  While the ZF looks tempting I am not loving it ergonomically. I want a more utilitarian design personally. 

In a world where you can push and pull a camera’s image to your hearts desire, I’ve found that getting things nailed in-camera is not only under minded, it almost is becoming a lost skill. Shooting log and 10 bit made me lazy with white balance for example. I can correct it in Davinci Resolve to such a great extent that I don’t worry about nailing it on set. 
 
Let’s chat about tips regarding nailing things in camera. A lost art if you will. It’s something I’m trying to get better at. I shoot more and more in 8-bit internal on my NikonZ6 because of the convenience of internal recording. But I have to really nail my exposure and white balance to have a pleasant grading experience. 
 
Here’s my question:  what’s a good method to quickly dial in white balance that is as accurate as possible, when in a run and gun mixed lighting environment?  And you are stuck with 8 bit colors too. And you are doing it by kelvin only. I don’t find myself shipping custom white balancing very often during run and gun. 

Yes.  30p and 60p completely ruin the viewing experience for me - like if someone peed in my drink.  It doesn't matter what else the drink had in it, I'm not drinking it with pee in it.
You're not convincing anyone to like what you like, we're not convincing you to like what we like. 
Time to stop posting.

Has anyone tested BINNED 1080p resolution? Full sensor output is often around (above) 4K, but it can be saved in connected 2x2 pixels to get 1/4 of 4K resolution, i.e. 1080p.
Unfortunately, I noticed a problem with this binned mode - it is highly pixelated, when analyzed approximately it looks as if horizontally it was not two pixels combined into one, but 4 into one because it looks like it was actually 960x1080 and stretched again to 1920.
The photos are a recording in full 4K DNG and the same in 1080 BINNED and two examples of manual resize 4K to 1080p in PS - you can immediately see the colossal difference. Do newer versions of MotionCam RAW fix this?
I reduced the RAW DNG 4K in PS to 1080p resolution using two resize modes - nearest neighbor and best for reduction - in both cases the difference is colossal between pixels with 1080 binned mode.
 
1080 binned DNG:

4K native DNG:

PS resize 4k to 1080: (1)

PS resize 4k to 1080: (2)

 
1080p binned DNG (crop) :
It looks like the horizontal resolution was stretched to 1920 from 960...

 
4K native DNG resized to 1080 in PS:

i think the sensor design then was way more free going than now. now all sensors try to mimic alexa, not bad, but not much diversity. 

Honestly I’m holding out a bit longer, until 2045. Surely there will be better options then. 

In all seriousness though, very sad.  Such an iconic piece of photography history; I loved their stuff.  I just got into video right as Kye was in his last year with DigitalRev, but suffice to say I really enjoyed his content and still enjoy his independent reviews.

Looks like DigitalRev TV deleted 100% of their YouTube videos.  RIP the old GH2 and 5D Classic videos I used to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalrevTV

Happy R5C/R5 owner/user/hobbyist here.
I love the R5C's form factor and having the C-line video menu, along with the ridiculous amount of pro features squeezed into that dslr-styled body. I also love being able to build it out or barebones it depending on what I'm shooting. But then audio-wise the Zoom F3 allowed me to put down my bulky Zoom F4 and now I have a 2 camera run n gun setup that all fits in a Nanuk 935/Pelican 1550. 
And now that the battery power issue has been addressed with the R5C (I get over a couple hours easy with the grip) - and the overheating issue has been addressed with the R5, I've got two capable cams that are future proofed with 8K (yes, I have the Ninja V+ paired with the R5). 
Finally, the RF-EF adapter means you really don't need to go to the RF lenses. There are so many amazingly priced used EF-L lenses at your disposal. But also the VND drop-in filter is fantastic imo and never leaves my camera bodies!
Coming from using C300/C100s professionally as a producer - and then owning the 5D MKII/III, 1DC as a hobbyist, I honestly feel like the R5C is my final destination cam purchase. The only thing I might do is sell the R5/Ninja V+ and pick up a second R5C body... maaaybe get a C70 when the prices get to the $2K USD range, just so I have an all-in-one C100 type cam.
Either way good luck with whatever you purchase!
 

In all seriousness though, very sad.  Such an iconic piece of photography history; I loved their stuff.  I just got into video right as Kye was in his last year with DigitalRev, but suffice to say I really enjoyed his content and still enjoy his independent reviews.

I didn't catch that the videos are only 8-bit (he mentioned it partway through).  That's a real bummer.

Also, the fake motion blur that was shown near the end looks bad.