Camera owning plans 2020

[thebrothersthre3]

3 extra stops of dynamic range isn’t useful if the scene doesn’t demand it and it’s pretty rare that it  does TBH. Is it a better camera sure but no where close to being worth 30,000 more or the hassle of using a cheaper Alexa imo for most projects at least 

[mercer]

But those 3 stops allows you to choose where you want to use that extra dynamic range.

[HockeyFan12]

35 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

3 extra stops of dynamic range isn’t useful if the scene doesn’t demand it and it’s pretty rare that it  does TBH. Is it a better camera sure but no where close to being worth 30,000 more or the hassle of using a cheaper Alexa imo for most projects at least 

I think for someone in our position who's only gotten to shoot with an Alexa a bit it might feel underwhelming when you're shooting boring controlled tests with it–but as regards high end narrative work, I still think it's still the only game in town other than film. The way Richardson, Deakins, Kaminski,  Lubezki, and Pfister light pushes even the limits of the Alexa to (or past) the breaking point not on every set up, but on perhaps even a majority of them.

Granted, that's because they grew up shooting color negative film, which has tons of highlight detail.

So I think that's untrue as a blanket statement, but if you know your own needs, you know your own needs. I can't afford one either and wouldn't want to use one if I could (would much prefer the flexibility of a smaller camera) unless were working on something with a huge budget. I have a camera similar to the 4.6k and am really happy with it. But I think that's because I'm willing to accept some compromises. I can't light like Deakins anyway even if I tried. 

 

[IronFilm]

1 hour ago, barefoot_dp said:

I'm hoping to get an URSA Mini Pro G2 this year.

I'll wait until NAB to see if they bring out anything new, as they've released some sort URSA update every year bar one since the original big URSA. I'm hoping they announce an USRA LF, not because I want full frame, but because then all the G2's will start hitting the used market and I can get one cheaper.

G2 is the only camera so far that ticks all my criteria to spend money on an upgrade: 4K120p, V-lock batts, proper audio controls/inputs, 10-bit 422 intra, easily shoulder mountable, and around ~$10,000 for a full package.

 

Personally I'm hoping for an URSA Micro. 

Would be like the FS5 is to the FS7, but even better. 

The URSA Micro would:
1) have the BMPCC4K sensor in it
2) be cheaper / smaller / lighter than the UMP G2
3) have a locking MFT mount
4) have all the good stuff of the UMP (lots of buttons / toggles, flip out screen, SDI outputs, full size HDMI, TC I/O, built in 4 stage ND, etc)
 

But yes, an URSA LF would be ok too, would push down prices of the UMP

[IronFilm]

2 hours ago, Video Hummus said:

I should note the circle in the bottom right is the best value for the money...its probably a Sony F3 or something....or some other older, used, cinema camera that has seen some shit.

I marked it for you:

 

[thebrothersthre3]

1917 yes most commercial work no

[thebrothersthre3]

3 hours ago, IronFilm said:

 

Personally I'm hoping for an URSA Micro. 

Would be like the FS5 is to the FS7, but even better. 

The URSA Micro would:
1) have the BMPCC4K sensor in it
2) be cheaper / smaller / lighter than the UMP G2
3) have a locking MFT mount
4) have all the good stuff of the UMP (lots of buttons / toggles, flip out screen, SDI outputs, full size HDMI, TC I/O, built in 4 stage ND, etc)
 

But yes, an URSA LF would be ok too, would push down prices of the UMP

A full frame URSA would be awesome. That would close the gap even more.

[MrSMW]

Well for the 2020 wedding season and 2 years beyond that, I am expecting to be toting a pair of XT4’s with a choice of 3 primes and 1 zoom with my one remaining bit of kit from 2019 being my XT3 as backup (and maybe static tripod unmanned in certain scenarios).

Providing the spec and reality is as expected, that is the pinnacle of my needs done for the next few years at least.

If money was no object, then GFX100 but the reality is that for my work, it is massive overkill.

[heart0less]

Re: Alexa Mini

[fuzzynormal]

11 hours ago, heart0less said:

 

All I need to make it into Sundance is a ALEXA Mini?   Alright!  Rental time.

[fuzzynormal]

Maybe you'll find this interesting:  My wife volunteered to make a modest video roll-in for a local festival thing in our hometown.  Just for kicks I used the organization's old 5dII to shoot it for them.  I have a 50mm nikkor prime with an EOS adapter, so I used that.

It's a modest clip, but here you go:  12 year old IQ tech:

https://www.dropbox.com/home/BSL?preview=PERFECT_PICTURE.mp4

[Mark Romero 2]

2 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

Maybe you'll find this interesting:  My wife volunteered to make a modest video roll-in for a local festival thing in our hometown.  Just for kicks I used the organization's old 5dII to shoot it for them.  I have a 50mm nikkor prime with an EOS adapter, so I used that.

It's a modest clip, but here you go:  12 year old IQ tech:

https://www.dropbox.com/home/BSL?preview=PERFECT_PICTURE.mp4

For some reason, I can't view the clip.

[kye]

On 30 January 2020 at 11:38 PM, heart0less said:

It's high time I began unleashing the true potential of my gear.

Yeah, me too.  

16 hours ago, MrSMW said:

Well for the 2020 wedding season and 2 years beyond that, I am expecting to be toting a pair of XT4’s with a choice of 3 primes and 1 zoom

What lenses?

I'm starting to notice a correlation between how many lenses people say they need and how much they actually shoot, with the active shooters needing less lenses, not more.

[eleison]

3 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

All I need to make it into Sundance is a ALEXA Mini?   Alright!  Rental time.

Actually, the cheapest camera of the bunch seems to be the A7sii... you can rent that, but it's probably just cheaper to buy it - and, yeah, it's only 8bit.

[thebrothersthre3]

3 hours ago, eleison said:

Actually, the cheapest camera of the bunch seems to be the A7sii... you can rent that, but it's probably just cheaper to buy it - and, yeah, it's only 8bit.

Just goes to show you its all about talent not camera. 

 

On 1/30/2020 at 9:53 PM, mercer said:

But those 3 stops allows you to choose where you want to use that extra dynamic range.

Of course but here's an experience I had recently. We shot a scene on a sunny day where it was snowy outside. So of course that means really bright highlights. It was a oner where we showed inside and outside the house using minimal lighting inside. The Pocket 6k handled it really well and it has less dynamic range than the URSA. That's about as tricky of a situation as you'll find. What happens when Blackmagic releases a full frame camera with an additional stop of dynamic range of the URSA, well it makes an Arri worth a lot less at least in my eyes. 

[MrSMW]

5 hours ago, kye said:

Yeah, me too.  

What lenses?

I'm starting to notice a correlation between how many lenses people say they need and how much they actually shoot, with the active shooters needing less lenses, not more.

Final choice came down to (and I have been a pro Fuji shooter since the original X100 so have had pretty much every lens...sometimes several times!) the following:

23mm f2 due to size, weight, AF speed.

50mm f2 as above.

90mm f2 just because I occasionally need something longer for ceremonies, speeches and couple portraits and it’s a beaut of a lens.

16-80mm f4. Grrr, it’s only f4, but this is my ‘bookend’ lens, ie, wide landscape stills at the start of the day and video for dancing end of the day. Otherwise it will be in my bag and I purchased it principally as my travel (non work) lens.

I may however get the 16mm f2.8 for weddings and leave the zoom behind for a true 4 prime set up.

Why no f1.4 or the 56mm f1.2? For video they are terrible. Maybe not static slow paced stuff but try filming a wedding day with the 56! Sublime for stills, pants for video!

I either shoot stills all day or hybrid all day. Very very rarely just video and ‘mobile hybrid’ is my priority.

Most of the day this year will be XT4 right harness with the 50 and left strap, another XT4 with the 23. The choice then comes down to, “is this a medium wide or more tele shot? Or both?”

Hopefully happy days...

[kye]

Good write-up, thanks  

28 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

90mm f2 just because I occasionally need something longer for ceremonies, speeches and couple portraits and it’s a beaut of a lens.

I'm on the GH5 and have wanted to buy an 85mm for a long time as there are a couple of them that are glorious, but the focal length is very much a 'only in a few situations' kind of lens, so I can't justify it.  I was looking at the Sigma and also an old Jupiter-9.

28 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

16-80mm f4. Grrr, it’s only f4, but this is my ‘bookend’ lens, ie, wide landscape stills at the start of the day and video for dancing end of the day. Otherwise it will be in my bag and I purchased it principally as my travel (non work) lens.

I may however get the 16mm f2.8 for weddings and leave the zoom behind for a true 4 prime set up.

Yeah, tough call. Having a zoom is a really flexible option and it's also a backup of every other lens in your kit, so if tragedy strikes then you're not short a focal length.

28 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

Most of the day this year will be XT4 right harness with the 50 and left strap, another XT4 with the 23. The choice then comes down to, “is this a medium wide or more tele shot? Or both?”

My favourite lens is a FF equivalent of 35mm f2 and it's great for the environmental portrait where you want to see the person and also the occasion and location.  If my setup was half the size and half the price then I'd be tempted to carry a second setup like you do, and have played with things like that before too.

Two Fuji XT-4s with those primes would be a pretty hard setup to beat, Fujis have a great reputation and the images are just lovely.  It sounds like a pretty good recipe for happy days!

[IronFilm]

15 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

All I need to make it into Sundance is a ALEXA Mini?   Alright!  Rental time.

It is easily the most popular camera on shoots with a moderate budget or more. 

The FS7 and Alexa Mini are easily by far the two most common cameras I work with. 

[thebrothersthre3]

12 hours ago, kye said:

e a pretty hard setup to beat, Fujis have a great reputation and the images are just lovely.  It sounds like a pretty good recipe for happy days!

I am waiting on the viltox 1.4 lenses for Fuji, should have fast AF and are quite a bit cheaper than fuji's 1.4 primes(at least from rumors). The XT4 could be really hard to beat if its got Panasonic like battery life and IBIS. Plus I am expecting a boost in the already good AF performance. 

My biggest complaint with Panasonic is the AF and you also can't punch in while recording, makes manual focus a lot harder. I use that feature constantly on the Fuji.

[noone]

My camera owning plans for 2020 is to still be alive to continue to own my new first version A7s.      There is still no other camera I would take over it for my needs shooting in low light for stills and video (a few cameras are better now around the ISO 3200 range but at ISO 25600 it has greater DR than some cameras do at much lower levels).     My lenses are pretty much were I want them and settled for the A7s.

   I Will probably be letting go my other digital ILC's and MAYBE later this year buying another cheap APSC E mount back up.

I WILL be buying lots of very cheap P&S and camcorder type cameras and similar to play with for next to nothing .    Makes me interested in  at least half decent video up resizing software (the P&S cameras have only 720p video and the camcorders often even only SD)... my Dad' ancient Canon G10 with a built in ND and much better stills than a tiny P&S sensor of its age should have (but low res video)   Want a battery for my late Dad's other camera, a Fuji superzoom to give it a try (small sensor and only 720p)