Lumix Documentary Shooting

[BTM_Pix]

27 minutes ago, mercer said:

And weirdly enough, other than my first ML Raw video, the slow motion video, from the FZ2500 of my friend walking and getting shot probably is my most liked video.

That was a staged scene I hope rather than an unfortunate incident in those woods!

27 minutes ago, mercer said:

Yeah that camera is a blast... Definitely my favorite Panasonic I ever owned. And weirdly enough, other than my first ML Raw video, the slow motion video, from the FZ2500 of my friend walking and getting shot probably is my most liked video.

But compared to the RX10ii, I don’t know if it’s worth the price increase. And to be honest, if I end up looking for small event jobs, I think I’d rather have a Canon for its AF. An 80D seems like it would be a workhorse for little Billy’s 5th birthday party.

The Panasonic is quite a few hundred cheaper here. I picked one up for €720 in Germany a few months ago.

I use it for shooting fast turnaround pre-match build up films outside the stadiums (edited on iPad using the wildly good LumaFusion by the way) and its just a great shot getter in those circumstances with absolutely zero dicking around.

The issue with the 80D is that you fall down the rabbit hole again of lens selection, ND, no ibis and blah blah blah.

Their XF400/405 would give you the best of both worlds with the camcorder ease of use and DPAF but the price is, well, you know....its Canon isn't it?

At the risk of being flamed though.....I will say that this is an interesting little side by side and when you start adding prices up of lenses and so on...well, it makes you think really.

OK, there are things that it won't ever be able to do that the other one can but, for a lot of bread and butter things that can make you some money.....mmmm

 

[mercer]

42 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

That was a staged scene I hope rather than an unfortunate incident in those woods!

It was really just a camera test, but yes... no actors were harmed in the making of this video...

 

44 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

The Panasonic is quite a few hundred cheaper here. I picked one up for €720 in Germany a few months ago.

I use it for shooting fast turnaround pre-match build up films outside the stadiums (edited on iPad using the wildly good LumaFusion by the way) and its just a great shot getter in those circumstances with absolutely zero dicking around.

I can get one new for around $1000, maybe $850 for gray market. But you’re right, it is a self contained digital S16 cinema camera for run and gun filmmaking. But for a grand... there’s other options.

47 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

The issue with the 80D is that you fall down the rabbit hole again of lens selection, ND, no ibis and blah blah blah.

 

That’s true but I also already have lenses and NDs for my 5D3. So it’s a toss up really.

[mercer]

48 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

Their XF400/405 would give you the best of both worlds with the camcorder ease of use and DPAF but the price is, well, you know....its Canon isn't it?

At the risk of being flamed though.....I will say that this is an interesting little side by side and when you start adding prices up of lenses and so on...well, it makes you think really.

OK, there are things that it won't ever be able to do that the other one can but, for a lot of bread and butter things that can make you some money.....mmmm

 

Like most people, I watch 99% of online videos on my phone... which may be why I am always fighting for the cheapest of camera options. But on my phone, I could practically tell zero difference in quality between the Canon and the GH5 other than FOV differences and perhaps a hair more detail in the wide shots on the GH5. The color looked better on the Canon, though... so it’s really a toss up. 

Imo there is definitely a place for bridge cameras and even camcorders for low budget event or even narrative work. In a lot of ways they make more sense. Look at the Sony RX10... even the original one... that camera can be had for less than $400 now. If Sony/Zeiss even made a lens like that f/2.8 24-200mm, it would cost at least $1000 but probably closer to $1500. Now add in the built in NDs, the mic input (which is pretty damn good) and the headphone input and for less than $500 one can shoot a feature film on it. Will it be as good as a $2000 camera? No. Or even a $1000 camera? Probably not. But it should be better than what Friedkin used for this documentary and definitely better than what Soderbergh used for Unsane... so for the right project... these cheap bridge cams like the RX10 Mark I or II, or the FZ1000 or FZ2500, or the XC10 now that they’re coming down in price seems like the perfect choice for nano budget filmmaking and event work. 

[BTM_Pix]

2 minutes ago, mercer said:

Like most people, I watch 99% of online videos on my phone... which may be why I am always fighting for the cheapest of camera options. But on my phone, I could practically tell zero difference in quality between the Canon and the GH5 other than FOV differences and perhaps a hair more detail in the wide shots on the GH5. The color looked better on the Canon, though... so it’s really a toss up. 

We should probably clear town before the posse arrives but, yeah, I agree with that assessment!

2 minutes ago, mercer said:

Imo there is definitely a place for bridge cameras and even camcorders for low budget event or even narrative work. In a lot of ways they make more sense. Look at the Sony RX10... even the original one... that camera can be had for less than $400 now. If Sony/Zeiss even made a lens like that f/2.8 24-200mm, it would cost at least $1000 but probably closer to $1500. Now add in the built in NDs, the mic input (which is pretty damn good) and the headphone input and for less than $500 one can shoot a feature film on it. Will it be as good as a $2000 camera? No. Or even a $1000 camera? Probably not. But it should be better than what Friedkin used for this documentary and definitely better than what Soderbergh used for Unsane... so for the right project... these cheap bridge cams like the RX10 Mark I or II, or the FZ1000 or FZ2500, or the XC10 now that they’re coming down in price seems like the perfect choice for nano budget filmmaking and event work. 

Here's my tongue in cheek prediction about these cameras....

There'll be a wave of young filmmakers who pick up cameras like these from the bargain bins and just get out there and make stuff with them.

Great stuff.

New stuff.

With a new aesthetic.

Completely uninhibited by sensor size, bit depth and all the other hooha that ties everyone else up in knots.

It will be exactly like it was with music when kids picked up the discarded analogue synths and drum machines that everyone had written off while they chased the new digital dragons and they made a whole new type of music with it.

And in 10 years time we'll all be on eBay trying to buy back Panasonic LX100s at £2K a pop

 

[mercer]

1 hour ago, BTM_Pix said:

I use it for shooting fast turnaround pre-match build up films outside the stadiums (edited on iPad using the wildly good LumaFusion by the way) and its just a great shot getter in those circumstances with absolutely zero dicking around.

Hmm... interesting. I’ve always enjoyed editing with the iPad mini with iMovie. It’s very intuitive and almost feels like you’re cutting actual film with the touch interface. Of course, I never really tried much more than some silly stuff I shot on my phone. I guess with other footage, you import into the cloud through WiFi? And I suppose you can save renderings in the cloud as well? Thanks for the LumaFusion tip, I’ll check that out. Honestly, this is the stuff that excites me. Shoot video... pre-game footage or a short film on a cheap, small camera or even an iPhone with a Moondog Anamorphic adapter. Save the footage to the cloud. Edit in iPad. And upload to Vimeo or YouTube. I think that sounds like next gen filmmaking to me.

[BTM_Pix]

1 minute ago, mercer said:

Hmm... interesting. I’ve always enjoyed editing with the iPad mini with iMovie. It’s very intuitive and almost feels like you’re cutting actual film with the touch interface. Of course, I never really tried much more than some silly stuff I shot on my phone. I guess with other footage, you import into the cloud through WiFi? And I suppose you can save renderings in the cloud as well? Thanks for the LumaFusion tip, I’ll check that out. Honestly, this is the stuff that excites me. Shoot video... pre-game footage or a short film on a cheap, small camera or even an iPhone with a Moondog Anamorphic adapter. Save the footage to the cloud. Edit in iPad. And upload to Vimeo or YouTube. I think that sounds like next gen filmmaking to me.

I just import off the SD card direct onto the iPad.

Edit in LumaFusion and ftp it to the agency or export direct to YouTube depending on who the end client is.

Its really fast editing on it and it has enough tricks (like LUTs) if you need them.

[mercer]

5 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

We should probably clear town before the posse arrives but, yeah, I agree with that assessment!

Here's my tongue in cheek prediction about these cameras....

There'll be a wave of young filmmakers who pick up cameras like these from the bargain bins and just get out there and make stuff with them.

Great stuff.

New stuff.

With a new aesthetic.

Completely uninhibited by sensor size, bit depth and all the other hooha that ties everyone else up in knots.

It will be exactly like it was with music when kids picked up the discarded analogue synths and drum machines that everyone had written off while they chased the new digital dragons and they made a whole new type of music with it.

And in 10 years time we'll all be on eBay trying to buy back Panasonic LX100s at £2K a pop

 

I think it’s the middle of the night in Vietnam, so we should be safe for a few hours... just don’t mention the word model...???

And I completely agree with you about these one inch cameras. It is more likely some 17 year old kid will pick up one of these cams, shoot crazy shots with the camera duct taped to their car, finish the movie over Christmas break and it be a smash hit at SXSW way before I even finish principal photography on my thoughtful 5D3 Raw film.

2 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

I just import off the SD card direct onto the iPad.

Edit in LumaFusion and ftp it to the agency or export direct to YouTube depending on who the end client is.

Its really fast editing on it and it has enough tricks (like LUTs) if you need them.

Oh... I’m so tech impaired... I didn’t know there was a way to upload footage via card on the iPad.