PANASONIC G7 ATOMOS NINJA ASSASSIN 4K

[Cinegain]

[mercer]

3 hours ago, andy lee said:

you dont want to be ever using auto white balance either , that is handing over one of the most powerful creative descissions to the camera's internal processor - not a good idea - always set your Kelvin manually - this is the great thing about the Panny cameras they have total control of the colour temperature you are shooting it , you can do this also on the RED and the Alexa .its an essential film making function.

I dont use the presets isos and I dont EVER use auto WB, dial it in manually to fit your scene you are filming , this has a massive impact on the colour of the image and its a creative tool so use your eye and set it so it looks good , all the Panny cameras work better this way ,I found out 5 years ago that they look better when slightly warmer in Kelvin than you would normally shoot.

EG shoot 4000k when you use 3200K Tungstan lights - you get nicer skin tones

outside I always shoot 6500k , if its sunny rainy overcast clouds  ...it looks so much better than 5600k which is your standard go to film in sunlight Kelvin setting .

Be creative and push the camera into good looking colours using the variable Kelvin of the Panny.

 

 

Distrubutors still want 2k masters so I edit 2k Proxy files and conform the 4k files for the master , grade in 4k the output 2K ProRes deliverables

Great wealth of info, thanks again. Another question though... I have been wanting to give proxy files a go, since I don't have the most powerful computer, do you use dci 2k, or just plain old HD 2K?

[Stab]

Hi guys,

Great topic. I just ordered a G7 and I was wondering how the 50/60fps 1080p mode compares to the same mode on the GH3. Of course the downsampled 4k footage will look much better, but as I like slow motion, how would these 2 stack up in terms of DR, noise, colors, detail?

I have also seen that the G7 is pretty darn good in low light and very clean at high ISO's. Is that also the case for the 50p 1080p mode? Or does that only apply to the 4k mode?

 

[andy lee]

10 hours ago, mercer said:

Great wealth of info, thanks again. Another question though... I have been wanting to give proxy files a go, since I don't have the most powerful computer, do you use dci 2k, or just plain old HD 2K?

plain old hd 1080p files

1 hour ago, Stab said:

 

I have also seen that the G7 is pretty darn good in low light and very clean at high ISO's. Is that also the case for the 50p 1080p mode? Or does that only apply to the 4k mode?

 

50p 1080p is only 28mb/s so its not as thick a file so be careful when you do heavy grades on it

[The Chris]

On March 10, 2016 at 7:01 PM, andy lee said:

Im shooting 16:9 and extracting 2.40 in post - framing for 2.40 in camera using the guide line and tape on the rear screen .

I always shoot natural profile saturation -5 , contrast -5

I put the colour back in with curves , no LUTS  no Cine d , no LOG profiles , keep it simple and it looks good . use your eye - its the only way for me

The police shot looks so good, thanks for sharing, thus has been a wealth of info, it sold me on adding a G7 to my kit. Please follow up when the production is wrapped so we can see the final result. 

Cheers

chris

[mercer]

On March 9, 2016 at 6:13 PM, andy lee said:

Now Colour grading is all in my eye - I shoot flat and add the colour in post - alot of my colour is on set I light always with coloured gels and get the look I want in camera - just on a flat profile so I get cleaner blacks with more detail - not crushed out

Andy, did you run these through Neat Video in post... Because damn those shadows are clean.

[Cinegain]

Maybe you should watch it fullsize, fullscreen with your monitor at full brightness, then you'll be able to spot a couple of things... but the grab with the 'Police'-guy. Dang. It really doesn't get any better than that. Such striking composition, lighting, color. Everything just falls into place on that one.

[mercer]

13 minutes ago, Cinegain said:

Maybe you should watch it fullsize, fullscreen with your monitor at full brightness, then you'll be able to spot a couple of things... but the grab with the 'Police'-guy. Dang. It really doesn't get any better than that. Such striking composition, lighting, color. Everything just falls into place on that one.

I am on my phone and only sit at my computer when I am writing or editing... What kinda things are you noticing? And yes his shot of the cop is fantastic... Of course I think that one may not even be the G7, or if it is... It is definitely before he started using the atmos. 

[Cinegain]

I'd rather not dramatize. It's fine footage and andy lee to me is a devine God. But if you want to pixelpeep you do spot these couple of things. Noise is never really in the utmost dark parts, especially if you push the dark areas down more, it's mostly in the grey zone, as it is usually for Panasonic (this is where the Sony A6300 for example seems much much better). But in those last three I see digital noise, compression artifacts, kind of checkerboard patterns with red and green blotches, I just can't deny its existance. But that doesn't say much and might not even be present in the actual footage, just the compressed grab and it's only if you go into pixelpeep mode. From what I've heard about the G7 with Metabones Speedbooster, there's not going to be a problem when you watch the whole thing and not focus extensively on a screengrab.

[mercer]

Gotcha, but I don't understand how the metabones is curing those ills? I have been reading that nothing is better than it, but other than speed what is it really doing for you... I know it's making your images wider, but you can always stand back a hair for that?

[Cinegain]

Didn't say that it did, as I assume these were already from such a set-up. But it's no grounds for actual concern. We only get to see just a hint of what's going on, we get an image, but not the full picture, if you know what I mean, so I'm hesitant to draw conclusions based on my pixelpeeping, which ultimately doesn't have to mean experiencing the footage in motion as it's ultimately envisioned will be come across like that.

You can always take a step back if you need to broaden your scene, sure, that will however change perspective and how far your point of focus is (and in turn how it renders fore- and background. With a focal reducer, you keep that same vantage point, yet widen and brighten the image. Which makes the sensor plane in-line with where a S35 would be. With the de-crop you get back to around the thing you'd see on S35. So it does have some special mojo to it for sure.

[mercer]

That makes sense, never thought of it like that. This is why I am not a cinematographer and just a writer trying to figure out how to get the cleanest image possible in the most affordable and interesting way.

and btw, I wasn't speaking specifically about Andy's footage... I'd be ecstatic to get half the quality he gets... I love the mood and composition of every piece he shares. 

[mercer]

Does anyone know what the native ISO of the G7 is?

[andy lee]

3 hours ago, Cinegain said:

I'd rather not dramatize. It's fine footage and andy lee to me is a devine God. But if you want to pixelpeep you do spot these couple of things. Noise is never really in the utmost dark parts, especially if you push the dark areas down more, it's mostly in the grey zone, as it is usually for Panasonic (this is where the Sony A6300 for example seems much much better). But in those last three I see digital noise, compression artifacts, kind of checkerboard patterns with red and green blotches, I just can't deny its existance. But that doesn't say much and might not even be present in the actual footage, just the compressed grab and it's only if you go into pixelpeep mode. From what I've heard about the G7 with Metabones Speedbooster, there's not going to be a problem when you watch the whole thing and not focus extensively on a screengrab.

AS I SAID EARLIER ALL THOSE IMAGES ARE LOW RES SAVED FOR WEB VIA PHOTOSHOP IMAGES SUPPLIED BY THE PRODUCTION COMPANY , just so you can see colour ideas not pixel peep for micro blocking - that micro blocking is from photoshop save for web .

9 hours ago, mercer said:

Andy, did you run these through Neat Video in post... Because damn those shadows are clean.

there is no de noiser used on any of these shots

its all natural profile saturation -5 and contrast -5 , at 800 iso some shots are 400 iso , never anything over 800 iso thats my limit I light for that , The Panny is very good upto 4 stops under exposed so dont be affraid of playing in the shadows the Panny can handle it perfectly well , all this rubbish I read about Pansonics being no good in low light makes me laugh , as thats where I use it all the time - UNDEREXPOSED!! , you dont need a Sony to shoot in low light , a Panny at f2 800 iso lit right is killer . all those shot above are at f2 .

[mercer]

That's amazing. Those shadows are inspiring. Part of me hates those images, because I know how far I am away from getting that level of image quality. 

[Nikkor]

2 hours ago, mercer said:

Gotcha, but I don't understand how the metabones is curing those ills? I have been reading that nothing is better than it, but other than speed what is it really doing for you... I know it's making your images wider, but you can always stand back a hair for that?

Well, your vintage glass was designed for 35mm photo, not for m43 crop. The speedbooster will cure some of the uglyness, hiding aberrations beyond the circle of confusion of 1080p.

[mercer]

2 minutes ago, araucaria said:

Well, your vintage glass was designed for 35mm photo, not for m43 crop. The speedbooster will cure some of the uglyness, hiding aberrations beyond the circle of confusion of 1080p.

Excuse my ignorance, but isn't the sensor getting the image from the center of the glass, which is the best part?

[andy lee]

8 minutes ago, mercer said:

That's amazing. Those shadows are inspiring. Part of me hates those images, because I know how far I am away from getting that level of image quality. 

the point Im trying to make is we all can shoot images with a Panny and Metabones and some good glass like the Nikon Bourne Lenes that is equal to any major movie images , its just a bit of thought into how you light it frame it and shoot it , everyone on this forum can do this without buying a Red or and Arri Alexa and some Arri Zeiss master primes .

[Nikkor]

29 minutes ago, mercer said:

Excuse my ignorance, but isn't the sensor getting the image from the center of the glass, which is the best part?

That's what they keep saying. The far edges of lenses usually are worse, by cropping a little you avoid showing this (1.3x) But when cropping 2x you are blowing up the image way too much, showing all the nasty stuff in the center. You don't see people shooting 6x7 on fullframe.

[andy lee]

the point is when you shoot Super 35mm film (and I shot pop videos on this in the 1990s) I used Zeiss lenses ...28mm for my wides 40mm for my mids and 75mm for my close ups

Now Im shooting a Panasonic G7 and with a Metabones XL on the front I can do the same lens choises and have roughly the same field of view as I had on Super 35mm film .  (The reason I harp on so much about the Nikon 2,8 28-70mm lens is that this one lens is so good you can do all the above focal lengths on one lens , 28mm wides , 40mm mids and 70mm close ups - Bingo! it works ! go shoot a whole movie on it )

So I know I have a similar look - bokeh depth of field etc it makes it all alot more ...whats the term we like to use....Cinematic ...because it is the same perameters as Super 35mm film .

The Panasonic G7 and Metabones XL is a stunning film making tool that we all can use to make great images that look Cinematic Andrew Reed brought this up in his article on this forum last year , it he was pushing this combination because it works , I read his blog and jumped on it and it works great.