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Like a gun, it’s only as “good” or “bad” as the way someone chooses to use it. - EAG :- )

We should hold theft in disdain. Not doing the stealing thing, after all, is one of the commandments in the Bible. I have a friend/colleague that has gone into the AI rabbit hole. He wants to only deliver videos with 100% generative AI. His argument is the hackneyed "It's just a tool". Well, a tool delivering mimicry from unauthorized sources is theft. "But humans copy each other all the time" he's said. Sorry, bud, you're just rationalizing stealing. Putting aside that human plagiarism is also theft, the process of being creatively influenced as a human is not the same thing. Humans filter all creative context through their own impressions, wisdom, experiences, empathy, and feelings. That particular matrix is infinite, random, and organic. The talented know how to tap into this mystic calculus, to develop their expertise, bend their skill set as a means to an end, and to use all of it to create something profound. Hacks (of which I am one, mind. Maybe a self-aware one, but still one nevertheless) can only regurgitate superficially. This lazy superficiality has now been globally scaled and monetized for the 1%. It sucks. Specifically, it sucks for me because those mediocre jobs of regurgitation used to be $$ in my pocket, not theirs. I had a skill of the craft that was worth a certain value. That value is diminished significantly. Yes, I'm bitter about it. Should I be? I may lack art, but at least I had craft. Be that as it may, my colleague's use of AI is especially galling as he's eager to brag at how hard it is to get the various AI systems he uses to comply with his prompts. Here's the thing: he's putting out animation style videos. Do you know how difficult it is to be a crafts-person creating animation? Good god. And he says he's "working hard" doing prompts? The "it's a tool argument," to me, is like going into a museum to admire and marvel at the paintings and sculptures ... but then standing in front of a 10th grader's paint-by-numbers knock-off of "The Harvest" and insisting it also deserves as much admiration as the original Van Gogh -- Or looking at some technical feat, like a 3D print of Michelangelo's David and being, like, "Wow, the person that ran the 3D printer equipment to make a copy of that sculpture is so great!" Bull. Shit. Admiring the craft needs to also be part of admiring the art. If my colleague is so addled that he doesn't even see repercussions of that craft-art-divorce, he's probably hopeless. Worse, he keeps trotting out his latest video examples in a gee-whiz-isn't-this-great-way to everyone around him -- as if we're supposed to be impressed? He's literally said, "I can finally make everything that's been in my head exactly how I see it!" "Make?" No, that ain't what's happening, not really. And the fact that he can't even recognize that he's not a "maker" is the real problem. People that are too shallow to cop to any of that, to appreciate what's being lost ... again, it's the deeper major problem with [waves arms around] all of this. I'm tired hoss. Tired of shaking my fist at the clouds.

Another busy week, but I wanted to share a cool new music track...the latest in my "Light Puzzles" series: "LIGHT PUZZLES 13" (Looping) You can listen to it here: https://soundimage.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Light-Puzzles-13.ogg And download it here: https://soundimage.org/puzzle-music-8/ It's 100% free to use in your projects with attribution. Attribution information is here: https://soundimage.org/attribution-info/ OTHER NEWS I just finished the music score for a cool farming sim game called "Agromatic." Working on music scores for 2 other games, "Futurika" and "The Mandarin Machine." Such cool titles dreamed up by these developers! (I'm always struggling with titles for my music tracks.) Anyhow, you can check out these games and others that I've scored here: https://soundimage.org/custom-work/ Feel free to contact me if you need some help! 🙂

It seems someone had contacted Blackmagic about this issue and they had said Resolve cannot support R3D NE trim at the moment as RED SDK does not support it. So the only options is to save everything shot on R3D NE or transcode trimmed parts to H.265 or to some other format. Well done Nikon and RED. Already transcoded some clips to H.265 with REDWideGamutRGB/Log3G10 and 500Mbps bitrate, and results look pretty good compared to original Raws, but it is not the same than having Raw files stored for later use.

It seems there's a bit of a trend (at least with some YouTubers), to make your own cinema camera. Mathew Trahan is making a CinePi. Alt Frames, is also doing the CinePi project with his own mods. So, interesting. It's now become something that people can make their own if they want. I suspect it'll become a hobbyist thing much like how people are 3D printing their own film still cameras. David Bross was interviewed by CineD, (mostly about his app,) he talks a bit about how he got to try to "resurrect" the Digital Bolex. So, I've decided that in my new film I'm working on, which is set in the present day and involves a group of artists, that one of the characters will be making her own cinema camera. I'll use my Faux Bolex project parts for props. (Still have to get it fully working though.)

Regarding voice AI. Hoo boy. As a documentarian, this one can affect me a lot. A lot of ills can be smoothed over with AI audio. But ... at the end of the day it's an ethical choice how it's employed. I've decided to ONLY use it to salvage VERBATIM lines from interviews and field audio that is distorted beyond comfort. Like, wind noise, clothes rustling. And then it's a last ditch option after audio EQ/Rx tweaking. Best thing to do is just not 'f up the field production to begin with. Beyond that, if AI is used as a production short cut to solve a storytelling/crafting failure as a filmmaker -- I now consider AI use untenable for me. It's simply on the wrong side of things morally when it comes to making honest doc films. Sadly, I fear that's now a contrarian opinion; an "old-fart" opinion. No one probably really gives a shit anymore about these sorts of "cheats" 'cept me.

Kling 3 and Seedance 2 are wild. I guess this means Veo 4 isn't too far behind. What a freaking time to be alive. ~ Mike Vogel (AI Video School), Mid-Feb 2026 source

https://www.indiewire.com/news/obituary/robert-duvall-dead-1235141818/ The world will be much emptier without him. He was one of my favourites—and, for sure, one of many others here too. RIP, you’ll be truly missed, not just on screen.

Hi everyone, I’ve spent the last few weeks building a data management tool because I found that most existing calculators were either outdated or didn't handle modern hybrid RAW workflows correctly. I’m sharing the BETA v0.3 of the Workflow Data Calculator with the community for free. Why this is useful for EOSHD shooters: N-RAW & ProRes RAW: The engine handles the specific bitrates for the Nikon Z9/Z8 and external RAW recording with surgical precision. 10-bit & 12-bit accuracy: Unlike generic tools, it accounts for the real bit-depth and chroma subsampling of your specific codec. 32-bit Float Audio Support: It’s one of the few tools that calculates the real impact of high-end field recorders on your total storage. Instant Technical Reports: You can generate a PDF with a Dynamic QR Code. It’s great for planning how many SSDs or CFexpress cards you actually need for a shoot. Hardware Validation: It warns you if your current drive speed is a bottleneck for 8K or 4K high-frame-rate playback. The tool is based on official manufacturer whitepapers and uses Base 1000 for units to match your actual disk capacity (no more 'where did my 200GB go?' surprises). Try it here: https://workflowcalculator.jmochon.training/ I’d love to get your feedback, especially if you are shooting with the latest firmware updates on Nikon, Sony, or Panasonic. Let me know if you’d like to see any specific camera added to the database!

I am planning to use it on my custom phone with a Linos Mevis c mount 16mm lens. But it will work also with a bigger sensor. In the past I have used super 8 babies on full frame with great results.

Agreed. I felt the same about the G9II. Lowlight is good. Full frame cameras seem to just be INSANELY good. And seems like the crop of full frame cameras for the most part has been this way for the last few years. I owned the Nikon Z6 OG from 2020-2025. It has the same IMX410 sensor found in the Sony a7iii, Panasonic S5/S1/S5II/S5IIX. That sensor despite being used in 7 yr old bodies like the z6 or a7iii is great in lowlight, 12,800 ISO and 25,600 ISO never looked bad to me I used to push the z6 so hard with wedding films even dipping into 51,200 ISO and noise was always usable. I dabbled a bit with the G9II in January and lowlight seemed noticeably worse, but at the same time it wasn’t BAD per se and cleaned up well in post. Again I think it’s just that full frame cameras are insanely good. But then again so are crop sensors lol…I was just running some lowlight tests with my friends $649 Canon R50V. With some Denoise in Davinci resolve, 12,800 ISO looked great to my eye. Nuts! 12,800! $649 used to get me a Panasonic G7 and decent lens…how far all these cameras have come. I couldn’t dream of getting that type of result on the G7. But this $649 R50V was extremely impressive lol. We are so dang spoiled. I ended up getting a used canon r6 OG for a very good price ($929), overheating aside its a wonderful cam for $1k average. And looks great at ISO 25,600… I think my biggest isssue with the g9II was PDAF seemed to shut off or be used a lot less when above ISO 2500 or 3200 in a lot of cases. Meaning if you want to rely on autofocus it’s hard to really push things. Because I did find that with some Denoise ISO 6400 and 12,800 were honestly not bad. Maybe I also didn’t have the most optimal lens choices…but when I was recently filming at a summer camp where they had a canon r5 (so I could use the r5 when I wanted and my G9II when I wanted), the r5 seemed to wipe the floor with the g9II at 3200ISO and above especially when pushing things. And unfortunately I just seem to have times where I need to shoot in very very lowlight settings. So full frame is a big help.

Nice! What formats and focal lengths is it compatible with? and what camera and taking lens combos are you planning to use with it?

My take on the situation is that I'm super-happy with the GH7. It basically does everything I want, and apart from having ultra-sharp ultra-shallow DOF, pretty much does most things that FF does. It does low-light very well, and is only behind the low-light from FF cameras because they have gotten crazy good.

Yep that's the kind of intermediary codec that the ZR needs. But only if Nikon doesn't cook it with that aggressive noise reduction. You know the drill, Fuji had similar issues I seem to remember you pointing out. Thing is, I don't buy cameras based on promised or wishful features anymore. Been burned too many times waiting for "coming soon" updates that arrive late, incomplete, or not at all. So as of right now, the ZR is off the table for me. It's not just the codec situation though tbh, the unreliable view assist/exposure tools and first gen quirks also give me cold feet. Good to know LT is officially on the roadmap, though.. great for early adopters but I think I'm done gambling on "maybe later".

Just scored this Petit Cinevision 1.5x baby anamorphic

No, I have a GH5s, but I'd like to upgrade, as I need PDAF among other things.

R3D NE data rate is about 2x of that of N-RAW Normal, which in turn is 2x that roughly expected of Prores 422 LT 4K which is coming to the ZR in a firmware update according to Nikon. So you can get a 75% reduction in data rate compared to R3D NE in a 4K 422 format in the future. Would this be enough to make the camera practical for you? Another possible help is if video editors will be able to make shortened R3D NE files (after cutting) in the future, to save storage space. I imagine this is just a matter of time, if the camera is popular, it will probably be implemented.

I'm glad Mr Burling replied. I was always happy to watch his stuff, always felt hand made with a touch of love. Bit like Nona's home made tomato sauce... You always new you were in for a treat. The man had a talent for finding interesting lenses and using them in ways i wouldn't consider. I own a couple of lenses, thanks to him and i do try to emulate him as i can. So thank you for the artistry and the knowledge you shared, and good luck for the future.

I went with the GH7 as I'm video-first and need the heat management etc. The G9ii is an incredible camera though. There's a whole thread about it here: https://www.eoshd.com/comments/topic/90374-panasonic-g9-mark-ii-i-was-wrong/ Do you have either one?

Then it qualifies ("EOSHD’s official observations on the camera market for 2025, new vs used"). There are so many options these days it's hard to know which way to go. Would you pick up a G9ii over a GH7?

I wonder if there's a thermal management reason keeping it from shipping with compressed raw formats. All in all a very tempting camera, but in no context do I ever want to produce files that large.

Yeah I haven't seen any C50 reviews really mention let alone showcase the digi zoom feature. I kinda stumbled upon it when menu diving and was shocked how effective it was, especially the range! The RF lens system actually isn't that expensive when you look at the STM range. The new 45mm f1.2 being priced under $500 is especially enticing and will be the first one I cop. The L primes are pricey AF and don't have lens IS so I'll probably stick with STM's and maybe even venture back into EF as they're so cheap these days and work like native RF. Some interesting third party cine RF lenses have also appeared (Canon is ok with licensing RF mount to manual glass manufacturers).. But as far as adaptability Nikon Z mount is killer and one of the main reasons I was so tempted to join that system. R3D RAW is also a great image pipeline, if only Nikon would offer lighter version. I mean REDs RAW compression is the whole purpose of their patent and ironically them suing Nikon. It feels such a waste to not offer it here but ok gotta remember it is a first gen product!

I didn't know that the c50 had digital zoom like that. Neat! Canon stabilized lenses were my go to shooting tool for such a long time and I'm sure the new ones are better than the Ef generation. What I can't stomach is the price of new glass and being locked into a particular lens aesthetic when I want to shoot handheld. But all things considered, as a tool, good lens stabilization can be more organic and less artifact prone than ibis. I've seen some stabilization tests with the digital is and I am not impressed. I also expect Nikon will come out with more professionally oriented cameras soon. Renting a c50 is a good call. If it feels right in hand and you like the images you'll cut through the noise.