Bungalow: extreme low light, Speed Booster 50mm f/1.4

[Rungunshoot]

Went out last night and had an amazing time at a place called Bungalow in Santa Monica. Brought my NEX-5n with an old Nikon 50mm f1.4 AIS lens and the Metabones Speed Booster.  It was DARK in that place, but the Speed Booster made me feel invincible.

 

https://vimeo.com/60971352

[riccardocovino]

nice one!

is it all handheld?

1.4 with speedbooster is a real killer.. can you tell us ISO values?

[Rungunshoot]

Thanks, all handheld.  ISO was usually at 1600 or 3200.  I kept the contrast set at 0 - this hides the ugly, compressed noise that the 5n generates at high ISO values, and attributes more shades of grey to the midtones.

 

It was really dark in that place and I'm amazed I got such a usable image.  I would love to get my hands on a FS100 + Speed Booster and film a black cat on a coal field at midnight at new moon.

[riccardocovino]

Thanks, all handheld.  ISO was usually at 1600 or 3200.  I kept the contrast set at 0 - this hides the ugly, compressed noise that the 5n generates at high ISO values, and attributes more shades of grey to the midtones.

 

It was really dark in that place and I'm amazed I got such a usable image.  I would love to get my hands on a FS100 + Speed Booster and film a black cat on a coal field at midnight at new moon.

 

Contrast at 0 is default, it ranges form -3 to +3 (I'm trying to remember..)

3200 ISO and such low noise.. incredible.. did you use some noise removal in post?

[Julian]

Nice footage, I love the Speed Booster... the whole concept keeps amazing me even after it's been out for a while. Can't wait to get my hands on a M43 version :)

 

But... iso 1600/3200 @ f/1 equivalent is not completely dark imo. A f/1.2 lens on a speedbooster (@ f/0.9) on a FS100 @ iso 12.800 by moonlight on a cloudy day, that would be dark ;) Would love to see that.

[Rungunshoot]

Contrast at 0 is default, it ranges form -3 to +3 (I'm trying to remember..)

3200 ISO and such low noise.. incredible.. did you use some noise removal in post?

No noise removal in post. The thing I've learned about Sony cams is that keeping the contrast at 0 results in very little visible noise, even at ISO 3200.  Decreasing contrast in-camera seems to lift not just shadows but increase chroma noise, even once I've applied an S-curve in post. And I haven't found that there's any increase in shadow detail by reducing in-camera contrast.  So there's no point to it.

 

So the trick is to get as close as possible your final look in-camera when shooting high ISO's, and keep the contrast at 0.

[sanveer]

I would love to get my hands on a FS100 + Speed Booster and film a black cat on a coal field at midnight at new moon.

 

Rofl. hahaha ... wud luv to see that test. Maybe u need a black cat, who has a very shiny coat ...  :P

[riccardocovino]

No noise removal in post. The thing I've learned about Sony cams is that keeping the contrast at 0 results in very little visible noise, even at ISO 3200.  Decreasing contrast in-camera seems to lift not just shadows but increase chroma noise, even once I've applied an S-curve in post. And I haven't found that there's any increase in shadow detail by reducing in-camera contrast.  So there's no point to it.

 

So the trick is to get as close as possible your final look in-camera when shooting high ISO's, and keep the contrast at 0.

 

The discussion around contrast, saturation, sharpness and the Creative styles (portrait, standard and sunset) seems to lead to the point that in the end there's no real gain in tweaking the camera differently from the standard setting.

 

I'd be glad to know your opinion about my short "Fusilli", posted in this forum section.

 

cheers!