Camera owning plans 2020

[Video Hummus]

10 hours ago, sgreszcz said:

GH5 4k 10-bit picture looks better

The Oly always looks really sharpened and Video like.

But I bet we will see 10-bit in the EM1.3 and EM1X in a firmware update. 

[mercer]

1 hour ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

Could just be a stylistic thing. Film forces you into a certain look pretty much, where as digital you have a lot more freedom to ruin the image lol. I believe that a very talented colorist could match digital to film and you'd not know the difference. 

Yes, Fear the Walking Dead definitely has a more stylistic look. In fact, in Season 2 (or maybe 3) they had a beautiful B&W color grade for some scenes/episodes. But the color grading adds to FTWD's budget and it doesn't lessen it.

Although I am sure a good colorist can do wonders with a filmic grade, I think a side by side would be quite telling... Tarantino, Spielberg and others still shoot film for a reason.

Listen, I know there is this new thought that digital is better than film and I suppose I am the dinosaur here, but in the end, it's all subjective. Besides, I love the look of the Alexa and I would choose to shoot a 2K Alexa ProRes movie over shooting film any and every day. But I still believe film has a superior IQ to digital. IMO. 

[Video Hummus]

21 hours ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

. 

 

Besides maybe cost, why would anybody do this?

LOL, it’s reminds of of something Wall-E would put together from all the junk he found.

[Thomas Hill]

54 minutes ago, mercer said:

Yes, Fear the Walking Dead definitely has a more stylistic look. In fact, in Season 2 (or maybe 3) they had a beautiful B&W color grade for some scenes/episodes. But the color grading adds to FTWD's budget and it doesn't lessen it.

Although I am sure a good colorist can do wonders with a filmic grade, I think a side by side would be quite telling... Tarantino, Spielberg and others still shoot film for a reason.

Listen, I know there is this new thought that digital is better than film and I suppose I am the dinosaur here, but in the end, it's all subjective. Besides, I love the look of the Alexa and I would choose to shoot a 2K Alexa ProRes movie over shooting film any and every day. But I still believe film has a superior IQ to digital. IMO. 

I didn't know about them shooting Walking Dead on S16 but, since you mention it, I wonder if they shot the first 3 season's of Fear the same way.

Fear started out a little slow but by season 3 was getting good and looked as good as TWD. Then they changed showrunners, the writers and at least half of the cast in season 4. They added more recognizable names to the cast which probably hurt the production budget and might have played a part in a camera switch because the look of the show changed and over time they implemented a really washed-out not very filmic looking grade.

The worst part is that the writing really took a nose-dive that season and hadn't recovered by the first few episodes of season 5 which was when I quit watching. The sad part (for me) is that I like Lennie James, Garret Dillahunt and Maggie Grace but the stories went from being pretty much on par with the original show to more of a Z Nation level.

[mercer]

42 minutes ago, Thomas Hill said:

I didn't know about them shooting Walking Dead on S16 but, since you mention it, I wonder if they shot the first 3 season's of Fear the same way.

Fear started out a little slow but by season 3 was getting good and looked as good as TWD. Then they changed showrunners, the writers and at least half of the cast in season 4. They added more recognizable names to the cast which probably hurt the production budget and might have played a part in a camera switch because the look of the show changed and over time they implemented a really washed-out not very filmic looking grade.

The worst part is that the writing really took a nose-dive that season and hadn't recovered by the first few episodes of season 5 which was when I quit watching. The sad part (for me) is that I like Lennie James, Garret Dillahunt and Maggie Grace but the stories went from being pretty much on par with the original show to more of a Z Nation level.

FTWD was always shot on an Alexa. However, I agree about the difference of the first few seasons. In fact, in the first episode of Season 1, they filmed in the abandoned church, with the blown out stained glass windows and it is some of my favorite photography of both shows.

It's funny you mentioned Z-Nation because I said the same thing last season to my GF. I still watch the show and although it isn't as good as TWD, TWD isn't that great anymore either.

[Thomas Hill]

46 minutes ago, mercer said:

TWD isn't that great anymore either.

Bite your tongue, young man! I think it's only gotten better since you know who was choppered away.

Yeah, those church scenes were amazing. But if the whole thing has been shot on an Alexa, I don't know what happened. Maybe Gimple replaced the DP and editors too.

[kye]

On 21 February 2020 at 12:16 PM, thebrothersthre3 said:

I agree though I like my Fuji XT3 better than the Pocket 4k/6k. The option of having a battery grip, tilt screen, and auto focus is big for me. Pocket 4k rigs get weird quickly. 

This looks pretty retarded not going to lie. Of course this is an extreme example but you get my meaning. 

None of those things are unique to the P4K - any camera body would require those things under similar circumstances.

In terms of how small a percentage the camera takes up in a rig, leave the P4K alone and go look at smartphone rigs they use to shoot the "Shot on smartphone" ads!

On 21 February 2020 at 12:18 PM, IronFilm said:

Do you have a regular need for greater than 14mm S35 FoV??
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1337244-REG/venus_optics_ve7520mftstblk_laowa_7_5mm_f_2_mft.html

This is a very nice lens.. well made, sharp wide-open, and wide as all hell even on my GH5.

In terms of lenses for the BMMCC, i'm thinking the above, a 12.5mm c-mount I have, and the Panny 14mm f2.5 are all great choices.  I don't really see the 2.88 crop factor as being that much of a limitation.  The battery life, need for an external screen, terrible buttons and ergonomics are a different story though!  Of course, then there's the image which might make someone forget about all the rest of those things....

[thebrothersthre3]

6 hours ago, kye said:

None of those things are unique to the P4K - any camera body would require those things under similar circumstances.

In terms of how small a percentage the camera takes up in a rig, leave the P4K alone and go look at smartphone rigs they use to shoot the "Shot on smartphone" ads!

This is a very nice lens.. well made, sharp wide-open, and wide as all hell even on my GH5.

In terms of lenses for the BMMCC, i'm thinking the above, a 12.5mm c-mount I have, and the Panny 14mm f2.5 are all great choices.  I don't really see the 2.88 crop factor as being that much of a limitation.  The battery life, need for an external screen, terrible buttons and ergonomics are a different story though!  Of course, then there's the image which might make someone forget about all the rest of those things....

The micro is a much better camera with 60fps to boot. Again you have to deal with the crop factor. I don't really want to get new lenses for an outdated camera which is why I wouldn't get one. Shot on smartphone ads are really dumb as well. Blackmagic really needs to put the Pocket 6k in a body that makes sense. Why they don't think internal ND's are important for run and gun is beyond me. 

[thebrothersthre3]

I pretty much decided not to get a third camera. Mainly because my friend has a Pocket 6k and I can pretty much just borrow that when I need it. The Pocket 4k will probably happen at some point but who knows. 

This seems like a decent solution. Combined with the custom tilt screen it wouldn't be bad ergonomically. 

I am happy with my Fuji though. Ergonomically its a dream. 

 

 

[Andrew Reid]

I have that battery too. It's decent, but a considerable weight penalty.

[independent]

 

I've found the best (cheap, light, etc.) solution is the Tilta Sony F970 battery plate. I mount it on the top right side of my SmallRig cage, above grip (buttons are still accessible).

I use 6600mah "Powerextra multifunctional" batteries that are $20 each on eBay.  I bought four and I don't think I ever used a third on a shoot.

These particular batteries are useful because they have a USB-out and DC-out, which can power a monitor.

I also got great audio straight into the phantom powered mini-XLR and 3.5mm audio jacks. Curtis Judd has a video on it. I've used wireless receivers, shotgun mics, etc. all with clean results. Make sure your settings are right and you feed it a hot signal (the new Rode NTG5 is great: light weight and hot). That is a major plus, to not have to mess with a separate recorder or mixer. 

If you have a relatively simple shoot, you can keep the package compact, light, and cheap.

 

 

 

[Video Hummus]

That is why I did not buy a P4K. I have no interest in bolting a battery to the side of my camera with a cage on it.

I’ll take the 0.5-0.8 DR hit with my GH5S and have an internal battery and weather sealing. 

[mercer]

19 hours ago, Thomas Hill said:

Bite your tongue, young man! I think it's only gotten better since you know who was choppered away.

Haha, I feel the exact opposite. I don't think there's a strong enough, or charismatic enough, actor or character that can deliver lines like... "Coral!" and sell it. And then they lost the other female character that could have done it.

Also, I know they loosely follow the graphic novel but I think they are missing out on some really interesting storylines in doing so. When they introduced the Whisperers, their initial theory about "Walker evolution" was a much cooler angle than a bunch of weirdos wearing skin masks heralded by an annoying character that can't even sell her own ruthlessness. Haha... IMO.

20 hours ago, Thomas Hill said:

Yeah, those church scenes were amazing. But if the whole thing has been shot on an Alexa, I don't know what happened. Maybe Gimple replaced the DP and editors too.

Well, it seems from this article...

https://library.creativecow.net/article.php?author_folder=kaufman_debra&article_folder=Behind-the-Lens-David-Boyd&page=1

The first, 6 episode season, was shot on an Alexa with Panavision anamorphics, by one DP. The second season they brought the Alexa Mini into the mix and added two more DPs to handle the workload. I imagine that after awhile, between different directors and DPs, it's easy for the original concept and visual vision to get watered down.

On a similar side note... I've been watching The Outsider, which is great by the way, and I noticed a distinct difference, for the worse, in the show when Jason Bateman stopped directing the episodes.

But I digress, although the Alexa footage is good in the first few seasons, I'm still unsure if it's as good as the S16 from TWD. And where they took the Alexa footage with the stylized grades in the later seasons, it almost looks like it could have been shot on a DVX100 and isn't even remotely comparable to the S16 film from the original show.

[mercer]

46 minutes ago, Video Hummus said:

That is why I did not buy a P4K. I have no interest in bolting a battery to the side of my camera with a cage on it.

I’ll take the 0.5-0.8 DR hit with my GH5S and have an internal battery and weather sealing. 

Same. I've been considering the Sigma FP, since it was announced, but having a separate SSD on the camera isn't appealing to me at all at this level. I'm still intrigued by the camera but at this point, I'd only use the internal recording options ... 8bit 4K raw for B&W delivery or the 12bit 1080p @ 60p for slow motion.

For now, I'm content with what I have, though and see no reason to make any changes this year.

I will say, if you need more power, that battery option is pretty cool. I wish I found out about that when I had the Micro.

[mercer]

21 hours ago, Thomas Hill said:

Bite your tongue, young man! I think it's only gotten better since you know who was choppered away.

Yeah, those church scenes were amazing. But if the whole thing has been shot on an Alexa, I don't know what happened. Maybe Gimple replaced the DP and editors too.

Sorry I posted the wrong link in my last reply. It's still a good article about TWD... and apparently I was wrong, they shoot TWD on 16mm, not S16.

This is the article about FTWD...

https://www.panavision.com/mcdonough-brings-anamorphic-look-fear-walking-dead

[Mako Sports]

Just another Sunday night of fucking around 😂

[ktfright]

It’s not the final look, but I recently picked up a Z Cam E2C, though I’m still waiting on a few parts.  I’m coming from an old EOS M, so this will definitely be a weird change. Unfortunately, this 28-200mm is my only EF lens, and it’s pretty crappy. 

[kye]

5 minutes ago, ktfright said:

It’s not the final look, but I recently picked up a Z Cam E2C, though I’m still waiting on a few parts.  I’m coming from an old EOS M, so this will definitely be a weird change. Unfortunately, this 28-200mm is my only EF lens, and it’s pretty crappy. 

Are you going to go fully manual lenses?  That would be a pretty sweet setup with some nice vintage glass, and there's a ton of M42 or PK lenses that are great and relatively affordable  

[ktfright]

4 hours ago, kye said:

Are you going to go fully manual lenses?  That would be a pretty sweet setup with some nice vintage glass, and there's a ton of M42 or PK lenses that are great and relatively affordable  

I have some FD lenses lying around, but those are the two mounts I wanted to get into more, since I already like going fully manual. Turns out converting FD to EF is super expensive 😅 so I’m looking at other mounts.

[thebrothersthre3]

1 hour ago, ktfright said:

I have some FD lenses lying around, but those are the two mounts I wanted to get into more, since I already like going fully manual. Turns out converting FD to EF is super expensive 😅 so I’m looking at other mounts.

I feel like most EF lenses are bad for manual focus as they are almost all made for AF cameras. Nice thing about the Zcam's is you can mount anything to M43.

 

On 2/22/2020 at 7:10 PM, Video Hummus said:

That is why I did not buy a P4K. I have no interest in bolting a battery to the side of my camera with a cage on it.

I’ll take the 0.5-0.8 DR hit with my GH5S and have an internal battery and weather sealing. 

Yeah looks weird to me. A battery on the bottom makes more sense. All in all my Ursa Mini pro is just so much more ergonomical, its made to have a battery on the back.