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5 underrated cinematic images from "forgotten" cameras


Andrew Reid
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@rak_heri

Yes, it does very good. Now cameras records raw as magic lanterns own format - mlv files, it carries sound, metadata and other stuff.

Are there any apps to convert the 5dmarkiii raw files on windows ? i remember there being an app by rarevision for mac os x 

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EOSHD Pro Color 5 for Sony cameras EOSHD Z LOG for Nikon CamerasEOSHD C-LOG and Film Profiles for All Canon DSLRs

Of course they are, raw2CDNG, MLrawviewer, MLVProducer, MLVFS (for mounting MLVs and using "virtual" CDNGs - no need to unpack). I work on a PC and there is everything I need for comfortable work.

thank you ! Last but not least on a typical shoot how many and what capacity cards do you usually use

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Can anyone point me to a trusted source/online how-to for doing the post RAW process on an 5DII?  Not looking for anything generic, something you've used that you've relied on and has served you well; made things relatively easy during the post.

Never really had a desire to give it a go, but as cards and computers have changed, might as well see what's up.

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Can anyone point me to a trusted source/online how-to for doing the post RAW process on an 5DII?  Not looking for anything generic, something you've used that you've relied on and has served you well; made things relatively easy during the post.

Never really had a desire to give it a go, but as cards and computers have changed, might as well see what's up.

MLRawviewer is a good program. I have also used Raw Magic, a Mac app and that is a fairly good program.

Here's a link to a quick and easy workflow. There are probably some better methods, but this is what I used while experimenting with my eos-m. 

https://jason-bowdach.squarespace.com/blog/2014/08/the-easy-way-to-use-magic-lantern-raw-straight-to-prores.html

 

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These days working with ML raw is a breeze. Reqired CF cards are much cheaper than a year ago. I have 5d3 and love working with raw. I have bought 2 sandisks 128gb 160mb/s and they NEVER gave me dropped frames. Never unexpected recording stop. NEVER. It is very reliable. 128gb last for about 25min 24/25p 1080p.
My workflow now is:

-put CF card to the reader - 2 seconds

-use  an app called MLVFS which "mounts" the files from the card and makes them virtual CDNGs - 128gb take maybe about 30 seconds

-open resolve 12 and import files - 30 seconds

Color correct, cut, do everything and export  - there is NO need for any conversions at all.

Thats it. There is some nice app, all-in-one solutions in the making right now  - called MLVProducer.

On shoot i had 4 CF cards and nextodi 2730 with 2TB HDD onboard. Archiving 128gb takes about 25min. Then i can take HDD out, plug it to the PC via sata cable and work straight from it. Memory is getting cheaper very fast. Instead of investing 2-3 thousands $ into new camera (and cry about 8bit etc) i rather buy 8 new sandisk cards for 1300$ and have 200 minutes available without a need of copying it on set.

Thanks for the info.  So in terms of storage costs, two 128GB 1000x CF cards at around $150 each on ebay right now would be $300 and the Nextodi hard drive backup device (1TB included) is ~$500, so you're looking at around $800 for some entry level in-the-field storage (a bit more if you want to go up to 2TB i guess).  The overall kit is still a bargain with the 5D mkII for the quality you get but it's a bit of a bummer investing all that into storage that may not outlive the CF-based camera system.  I suppose if we ever get RAW video on some more consumer cameras then we may start needing a mobile HD backup storage solution.

It is truly stunning that it's been years now and the RAW quality made possible my ML still hasn't been delivered by any major manufacturer on a consumer camera.  So weird to see such a big technological advance get frozen in time like this..

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thank you ! Last but not least on a typical shoot how many and what capacity cards do you usually use

i use sandisks extreme pro 128gb 160MB/s and they never let me down.

They write 1080p raw 24/25 fps with NO stops (from 5d3, they are much more relialiable than komputerbay 1000x which i also have but not using now). You can also continously record 50 fps raw with 2,35:1 aspect ratio (with lower vertical resolution but very usable). You can do 65 fps for about 6 seconds, you can extend this time by reducing resolution (you can set whatever you like in multiple aspect ratios). With full 1080p quality with 2.35:1 aspect you can record 10-11 seconds at 39fps.

Back to the cards - having two of them where each one gives 23-25min of footage and copying takes about the same (~70-75MB/s with CF, ~20-25MB/s with SD) gives almost continous recording. I would say that having 3 or 4 would be just perfect. And those cf cards gets cheaper and cheaper (1/3 price drop from the last year). In my nexto i can swap HDD drives very easily, it supports up to 2TB so you can take couple of these with you :) It has an internal battery which lasts for copying about 400-500GB but can be also powered from te wall, car lighter or cheap USB powerbank :) The current model ND2901 can also make the second copy to external USB 3.0 drive. How cool is that?

CFast cards are still so damn expensive and devices like nexto which supports cfast cards are over 2000$.

If you need any information go to magic lantern forum

http://magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php

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Thank you Andrew that was a very intresting article but...

Please! can anybody do me a favour and just copy and paste:
 "The GH4 is such a great camera and suits all your needs. You don't need to switch to FF and buy an old clumsy and complicated Canon 5D II"

 

Or maybe should I sell the GH4? I am so confused. The world is upside down this morning.

 

 

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Which camera is the best, always depends on personal needs. 

But the taste regarding image quality varies occasionally.


Nowadays it is great to form an opinion with the help of webvideos.
For me, for example, only the image quality is important, which corresponds to my taste the most, the Handling is secondary. Concerning this, I also prefer 5draw and red1MX (over other Cameras) regardless of the weaknesses.

 

For me, the claim of a camera is, to be able to make a feature film with it.

For other needs, this cameras could be the worst of all!:).

 

That's a truism, but I think it´s worth to remember sometimes…

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BTW: To slow down the 5dIIraw euphoria a bit…


Moiré and Aliasing is unfortunately as bad as we know it from 5d-h264. 


The VAF Anti Aliasing Filter comes with the limitations that Andrew pointed out (a bit less overall sharpness, less sharp on the edges with wide angle lenses, focus point changes during zooming…anyway I would recommend it!).

Independently of this, the max. resolution with my 5d2raw setting is:1872x850 (aspect ratio 1:2,20).
So you have to upscale it to HD.
If you want to shoot in 16:9, the horizontal resolution is reduced even more.

 

Nevertheless I love the image quality, for several years.

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The love for the 5D RAW video image quality seems to underscore what the Imaging Science Foundation has been saying for years - resolution matters far less than other aspects in the overall picture quality:

http://www.trustedreviews.com/news/isf-contrast-still-the-most-important-aspect-for-picture-quality

Their top 4 attributes:

1) contrast ratio (dynamic range), 2) color saturation, 3) color accuracy, 4) resolution.

I'd easily give up the 4K resolution of my A7R2 if I could get 1080p raw with the quality of the 5DmkII / III.  I don't know if I would give up the size, portability, and ease of use features like autofocus of the a7 system for it though.  Just give us some tech from 2008 in our new cameras already..

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Does anyone know if that VAF filter affects stills in any way?

Hi Mercer, Hi Zach,
the Filter affects stills in the same way as described above: a little less overall sharpness, less sharpness on the corners, etc...
- but probably it is important to say: you can´t use the optical viewfinder! ... the mirror is always open
 while using the VAF!
So, with the VAF in stills mode, you always have to use LiveView.

As mentioned above: all in all there is a noticeable reduction in resolution when shooting stills...
But, as Zach pointed out: it takes a few second to exchange it...


 

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Thanks Volker, I am really considering picking up a used 5D Mark II. I have been drooling over that Raw image for years and the second hand price has dropped so dramatically, that now may be the time to say what the hell. But, I have always wanted to devote a little more time to stills and since it is a stills beast, I'd really like to know I can get the best of both worlds. 

Thanks again. Btw, I enjoy your work. 

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