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Showing content with the highest reputation on 08/13/2016 in all areas

  1. He's been around forever. Used to be a speech writer for Reagan. Was married to Ann Coulter who is another top notch troll. Just go back and look at his old writings/twitter/books. He claimed Obama was a secret Muslim who was planning on destroying America. I've read some of his books on religion which are actually pretty interesting. He's a very smart guy but he's gone totally bat shit crazy in the past few years on conspiracy theories. He was arrested for campaign fraud and is crying out that Obama is after him, and sent his minions to arrest him. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a super political person and I respect all points of view but the people like him and Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Moore, (sometimes) Bill Maher are just bad for the country. They cause so much unnecessary divisiveness. It's actually quite sad b/c he used to be one of the best debaters around. He would debate Christopher Hitchens frequently on religion and hold his on. Hitchens respected him and they were friends. He wanted to debate Richard Dawkins but Dawkins was hesitant. They finally debated on Hawkins terms (which was prerecorded responses). Great debate. Just in the past 6 years or so he's gone kind of crazy and paranoid. Such a bummer. I saw the Obama movie just out of curiosity and it was so awful. I don't think I could sit through this. Check out Rotten Tomatoes though and you'll get an idea of the reviews: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hillarys_america_the_secret_history_of_the_democratic_party
    6 points
  2. That guy is a hack. He's one of the biggest trolls in politics.
    4 points
  3. I've shot with Red and edited the footage. I like the wavelet-based codec- never any block artifacts, ever (compression can only soften the overall image). Red is a technical camera, and loved by technologists and tweakers (hardware ;)). Endless software options and menus, highly configurable hardware and OLPF options etc. Red Dragon skintones can indeed look really nice, the framerate options are excellent, as are the resolution options. Editing the footage is also easy with a modern CPU (multicore) and GPU. The reason ARRI (digital) is the top pro camera is it's not a technical camera! It has a very simple hardware and software interface, limited GUI options (relative to other cameras), and isn't focused on resolution (Alexa, Amira. ARRI 65 is high res (6560 x 3102)). I'd be wiling to wager a few drinks that the average person cannot see the difference between ARRI "4K" (3.x upscaled) and Red "4K" (softish 5-6K scaled down) when displayed on the latest HDR 4K TV (showing normal as well as HDR content) or even better, on a 4K projector in a theater. Final real-world resolution is so close it's irrelevant. Where ARRI wins is usable dynamic range, highlight behavior (ARRI is still closest to film: the best), and color rendition, especially skin tones. In a studio environment with very controlled lighting, all the top cameras can do pretty well with a bit of post work. However ARRI's strength is that in the real world with imperfect lighting, skintones and overall color require much less work in post. Production costs are far more than camera rental (or purchase cost for a longer production or owner/operator), so it makes sense that ARRI is #1 in the top tiers of filmmaking. Lucy and Oblivion looked amazing- the F65 is still an interesting option at the very high end (Reds were used for some shots in Lucy (driving etc.)). For smaller operations, the C300 II with very similar color and quality to ARRI (can use Alexa LUTs), far lower power requirements, and now most importantly, highly useful auto- and assisted-manual focus, makes a lot of sense when a focus puller isn't available or would not be possible (run & gun, gimbal w/o wireless FF, etc.). The 1DX II also does very well for single operator run & gun (also doesn't appear to alias as with the C300 II and fine fabrics). We considered the Alexa Mini, however the lack of autofocus pointed us to the two Canons. Red was not considered due to an overly complex design (the opposite of ARRI and Canon, more like Sony). We just want the simplest camera possible, reliably capturing accurate color and highlights with modest file sizes and a fast post workflow.
    3 points
  4. Glad to hear it. New blog posts coming soon!
    2 points
  5. Moderators such as Andy Lee had the right timing and words for moderation up their sleeves. It´s back to sanity thanks to all of you. What more can one say and assume. It has all been said in that super long thread for that matter. It´s all back to sanity. And maybe I am not the only exited soul around here, eager to read about your filming journey, also some techy stuff about the XC10, if that is not too geeky though:) About Italy, your experiences over there, everything! Would be just great!
    2 points
  6. My goodness, it just gets worse. Whilst I was Italy I did read some of what went on and thought the community handled it brilliantly and thanks to my mods too like Andy Lee. Hopefully we can move on from this guy and get back to sanity.
    2 points
  7. poor results like this... (shot with Canon 8-15mm L).
    2 points
  8. Thanks Ikslim, you're right, in your experience, but technically the "SpeedBooster" is a focal reducer. I have always worked with full aperture lens, my tests are done all at f1.4 and maximum 2.8. it does not add distortion or loss of detail to the edges. (From f4 forward, any bottle bottom works!). I am a detail maniac and that's what the NX1 does best. I have no intention of filters or iris in the adapter NXL, this is a stupid thing to do, also no one has figured large working miracles with Canon EF mount. There is no space between the sensor and lenses, is all filled to the tenth of a millimeter from glasses! My hope is that this adapter, can turn on a headlamp on Samsung NX camera system and resume production, so if sales go well, I'll invest my time and my money to create a smart adapter NX / EF. Best
    2 points
  9. I couldn't decide and bought both the GX85 and A6300. I ended up keeping the A6300. The key issue wiht the A6300, overheating, has essentially been resolved. Rolling shutter is slightly worse with the A6300 but still very evident with the GX85. The GX85 records shockingly poor audio, the worst I've ever come across, due in part to the constant background noise generated by the IBIS. AF tracking with the GX85's contrast detect system is also useless. The A6300's hybrid phase/contrast detect AF, on the other hand, is sensational and only falters in difficult conditions (e.g. strong backlighting). I like to shoot with shutter priority (1/50s) letting the camera adjust exposure on the run. In this mode, the GX85 changes the aperture in discrete (annoying) steps. The A6300 makes stepless aperture adjustments resulting in seamless transitions when shooting in varying lighting conditions. The IBIS is great with the GX85 but this, on it's own, did not compensate for these major shortcomings.
    2 points
  10. IKSLIM

    Samsung NX Speed Booster

    PS: I'm against to have ANY variable ND filter inside because: 1. We need a WideOpen aperture in a LowLight conditions first. 2. All variable ND filters (and also Non variable grey filters) i purchased (some were very expensive) ALL WEAKEN the final image. At least you are about to loose Great Colours and WB from NX1. This lesson i've learned after spent a lot of money on usless glass of this kind.
    2 points
  11. Dear lucabutera, I do appreciate the amount of work you've done, and decided to share with you my experience with speed boosters in order to prevent you from possible future poor sales. I tried a lot of Metabones. The most important part of any SpeedBooster is how well it performs when a lens set to WideOpen aperture. In two words, all Metabones work acceptable. Some have better Chromatic Aberrations and Sharpness, some performs weaker in this regard. Also there are number of China adapters on the market, calls Novoflex (if i'm correct with the brand). They call the product NOT a SpeedBooster, but a FocalReducer. They instruct users to Stop Down attached lenses a lot (at least at F5.6-F8.0) in order to get acceptable sharp image. From my experience, i would never purchase a FocalReducer. We all need WideOpen aperture. And adapter should NOT weaken lens performance when the lens set to WideOpen aperture. That is why we use big lenses and heavy systems. We need Look, Fast apertures + Clear and Sharp images. I decided to share my experience with you, because it could be unfair if your sales will be lost after such a tremendous amount of work you've done. All the best. Ilya
    2 points
  12. As a documentarian, I've totally let go of big rigging. While I love to shoot on an Alexa, if I'm rolling through the day with a subject and need to keep a low profile, these stabilized M43 cams are just so incredibly practical. No, the IQ isn't as perfect as other cameras. But, as seen above, it doesn't really need to be. Shoot wise and your footage will look great.
    2 points
  13. @sandro I created a small tool that shows a button with black background and white text at given position and size that enables one to have on screen "button" for REC or SHUTTER or whatever. You could use it as it is as a "black screen" (just set the text to " " and position to 0 0 and size to 720 480) and to start the time lapse. I do it often to preserve the battery (AMOLED uses almost nothing for black screen). To remove it from screen just press and hold it for 5+ seconds. I also made a separate tool for time lapse that can have black screen as well as black screen with small red frame counter (useful). It can also make short videos instead of photos (let's say 10s video every 2 minutes, etc).
    2 points
  14. My wife was selling a camera on ebay and got a bid , then boom, buy it now. She got a message from the buyer who said the paypal via ebay couldn't go through, and if she could give her email to him and he would send it thru that. Paypal emails, says to send the camera, funds are being held until its confirmed that he gets it. And that was the scam - here's the email and I'll explain the scam and how it works: ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: PayPal <service@paypalapprovalorder.com> Date: Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 1:27 PM Subject: PayPal Tracking Number Required***You can now post the item To: [REDACTED] PayPal. Safer. Simpler. Smarter. Use your debit or credit card without revealing your details to retailers. Speed through checkout without the need to enter your card number or postal address. Send money to family and friends for free. Make sure you ship to the buyer's desire address ONLY. Make sure you’re using the latest Internet browser. Payment has been received - You can now post the item Dear ThinPlace|Pictures, You've received a payment, detailed below. We've placed a temporary hold on the funds for this transaction. eBay and PayPal are working together to make it safer than ever to buy on eBay. One of the boldest steps is to identify transactions that pose the greatest risk of fraud and holding the payments from sellers for a period of time to help ensure that the transaction go smoothly. We'll release the payment for the eBay item if either of the following occurs: The shipment tracking number is received. We confirmed item was mail by recognized courier with tracking number.(USPS Priority Mail Express 1-Day) We will notify you by email when the funds are released. Once we confirmed the shipment information. You are safe and secure to ship the item. Payment Details Amount (pending): $1,800.00 USD Routing Code: C840-L001-Q999-T5350 Buyer's Email: tylerwebb345@outlook.com Buyer's Required Shipping Details Address: Barbara M Umstead 100 Oak Dr Chicora Pennsylvania 16025. United States Yours sincerely, PayPal For assistance contact us via email as our customer service team will be happy to assist you. Copyright © 2016 PayPal. All rights reserved. PayPal ___________ So this scam is stupid because the money doesn't go into her account. Also I typed the subject line into google, and 4 other people had the same email - via rolexes, etc. The poor scam artist could have at least modified a few words! The better scam I almost got hit on years ago is on a macbook pro I sold - he sent the paypal, and he gave an address. fedex noticed that address was an abandoned area of town, and the only reason I got the laptop back is that he was at lunch when he was supposed to be there to grab the computer. So they steal the computer, then they report to paypal they never got the computer and then , they have the computer for free. ___ The above guy was lazy. Anyway, in the internet age, there aren't burgulars anymore or pickpockets - there are online scammers. Imagine if someone came to your house and stole $1500 from your place. you would freak out. how is this different? I don't want to reference anything that went down on this forum, but this got me thinking because the person who did the fraud said he would refund money but he hasn't and he probably won't because he's involved in many, many camera scams. He probably has at least 10 going at all times. He probably also has some hook up in the USA and preys on people like my wife - with his knowledge of cameras too, he can be a pretty convincing buyer. Anyway, the internet sucks. People scam people on it a lot. Because there is no face to face communication. A person doesn't know what it feels like to get robbed of $1500 online because they never see that person. No one knows how it all feels. Anyway I really wish Andrew Reid would jump into this. i feel like we all have PTSD from the event. I know I probably encouraged some of it. But I still feel horrible especially now that I know that one of the scam victims still hasn't gotten his money back.
    1 point
  15. The (in Sweden) very, very famous actor and comedian Johan Rheborg is a true film enthusiast. He even co hosted had a prime time TV show about photography where he used mostly film. He also shoots s8 (Logmar... Im so jealous I could die) and 16mm with a Bolex. He also gave me some advise when I recently started developing s8 and 16mm at home to cut costs. Any who, here is a video from his sumer vacation. And IMO.... wow.
    1 point
  16. Flynn

    Red Dragon? Anyone?

    There are a number of vids of Riger Deakins talking about his love for Arri and the Alexa. He ain't no hobbyist.
    1 point
  17. Olympus is actually quite innovative with functionality like live time, live composite, high-res mode. I'm interested in what they will come up with. If 43rumours are right they will have a fast read 4K sensor in the Em-1ii that should have little rolling shutter. If they just improve their internal codec a bit to get closer to Panasonic... People complain about the Olympus menus but I like how you can tweak anything and there are enough function buttons for needed features. The one touch WB is also handy. That being said, I've really enjoyed shooting with my gx80 this summer. The dual stabilisation (with even the 100-400 that I borrowed) is fantastic.
    1 point
  18. Would be cool if they'd include trackmapping as well. I found the following rather interesting: http://petapixel.com/2016/08/11/sd-card-built-gyro-sensor-stabilize-shots/ ! Something like that must then come out crazy smooth!
    1 point
  19. Nope. I'm watching the trailer and I've read a few think pieces about the film's content. Also I know the guy's MO. He's a fabulist. So what? Look, it's kind of funny when the trailer features a shot of a proxy Clinton stomping down the hallway while an intern cowers in fear as she walks by. Say what you will about seeing or not seeing the movie, but it's obvious it's a film catering to political ideologists and it's not objective. And again, I can't fault the guy for trying to make a buck. It's nothing that Michael Moore doesn't do, but let's not kid ourselves here. We're better than that.
    1 point
  20. That's great to know. I'll see if I can update from the lobby computer. Leaves the A6300 with only the rolling shutter as a real annoyance. Sony really has the means to make a kick ass camera, makes you wonder who there makes the questionable decisions that lead to the quirks.
    1 point
  21. 58mm on Full Frame 16x9 with some vignette, when sides of 16x9 de-squeeze is cropped to 2.39:1 vignette is often clear of active area.
    1 point
  22. Policar

    Red Dragon? Anyone?

    That has a bit of the Red "look" still but looks great. Much better than the other piece. While I stand by my opinion that the fashion piece looks like hot garbage, there are some basic things that are done/emulated well, the clean image among them. Absolutely the Dragon looks best rated at 200-400 ISO. The best looking Dragon footage is shot at a low ISO with tons of fill light to avoid clipping and then aggressively graded. The resultant look is usually very clean with remarkable shadow detail and not so much highlight detail, a bit more saturation in the midtones than the Alexa but still none of the chroma clipping that plagues the Sonys. "Digital" without looking like miniDV. The Alexa, by contrast, has more "film like" color, as well as a definitively more film like over/under and grain distribution and saturation vs luma distribution (emulating color negative very accurately by clamping situation at 30 IRE, something emulated by Canon in SLOG 2 and Sony in their Kodak F5/5 LUTs). I think if you grew up on "film" you automatically like the Alexa more because it is in every way a film emulation camera, but if you like lots of shadow detail and a smooth tonality with more accurate, less rich colors, the Red looks fine and the weird workflow appeals to people who are less lazy than me. On the flip side, the Alexa behaves like 50 speed Vision 3 that's actually 800+ ISO. As clean as 50 speed but four stops faster. So there's this tendency to throw on an anamorphic lens and not light anything and while it looks good and even "film like" the overlit Red look can be a nice change of pace. Some of the very high end music videos shot on Red have their own look to them, they look great, and with enough patience (and fill light) you can try to emulate that at home with a cheaper Red camera.
    1 point
  23. With the fix, I've just ordered another one. Will run it next to the A7rII and see if its better than the one I had when it was first released.
    1 point
  24. That's amazing. Some epic grading too. He said in the vimeo comments he used a Zeiss cine lens for the close ups. :D
    1 point
  25. This looks great. I'm a big Olympus fan -love my E-M1 for the colour, IBIS and ergonomics, it just make shooting fun.
    1 point
  26. It looks like it since the price went up. I think someone over at bmcuser mentioned it isn't compatible with Wooden Camera's speedbooster foot, although Smallrig has their own support for Speedboosters. Not an issue for me yet since I'm using native lenses. I e-mailed WoodenCamera after seeing they revised their Micro cage and was offered a brief explanation for the change and a 15% for the new cage but declined. I intimated having seen their gear in person and was impressed with the build quality, to which their prices certainly reflect that; I get they're competing in a niche market and aren't selling them on the shelves at Walmart, however, based on the poor fit with their initial cage, I explained I don't think I'll be purchasing anymore WC gear in the foreseeable future. The quiet revision coupled with no means for the initial buyers of the first cage to purchase maybe an upgraded sideplate(Based on the pictures it looks like they removed one row of mounting holes to free up more space on the control side), left a poor impression in my mind. Thanks again to Zak and others who submitted ideas during the design phase.
    1 point
  27. Easy to get around this type of scam. Personally I always login into my paypal account and check that the funds are there directly. Then I make the shipment. I also never use any other means of payment than Paypal. If someone says that "paypal doesn't work" or ask to use Western Unions, the whole transaction goes to the BS bin.
    1 point
  28. If Xiaomi make a decent Log profile for the video (like Protunes), it will sell even more. Though, both of them don't have very sharp lenses, for stills.
    1 point
  29. Dave Maze

    Canon 1Dc $4,999

    The one I had was a totally different rating. I'm seeing the same quality of 1dc going for $3999 now online on B&H and eBay. And yes. You are right. I came out on top with what a rental vs return would have been. But how is that wrong again? I am baffled that this argument is still going on? I followed all the rules of purchase and return. How does a rental fee have anything to do with it? I wasn't satisfied with my purchase. If the price drop didn't happen within my 30 day window I wouldn't have returned it.
    1 point
  30. Looking forward to buy this baby so much, belive me I wanted this damn thing since I ever looked at the NX1 I almost did not even buy it because Metabones did not have any adapters for it but the specs pushed me. I honestly never seen a camera system receive so much community support as the NX1 imao. Those greedy peckers at Samsung ought to see how much people love their cameras and stop making their damn Galaxy S-infinitiv and make more Smart cameras, Samsung should have made an adapter themselves, I do not understand the reasoning not to, if they did more people would have bought the damn thing. Seems counter-productive to me to relay on third party manufacturers to do it for you
    1 point
  31. Yeah... Just stunningly beautiful. Not much else to say really.
    1 point
  32. Canon 5D IV specs are now out in detail and pretty reliable. MJPEG still, no word on crop. Maybe that will be the big thing about 5D - that it won't crop when shooting 4K: http://www.canonrumors.com/canon-eos-5d-mark-iv-specifications-and-image A lot of unreliable chatter about a hybrid OVF/EVF. Prism hump seems a big bigger than previous generations, but it could contain anything at this point.
    1 point
  33. Thanks! honestly, i never use a ND filter ever and just bump up the shutter. i dont feel experienced enough to handle ND *and* MF at the same time - my subjects are not giving me the time I would need for such a proper composition. Yet that would also not represent the way I use my gear - since I see it more as a tool that should help me capture what i see within an instant - thats also the reason why i just set my GX80 to Aperture Priority with custom set WB and let the camera take care of the rest, with some exposure compensation sometimes of course. and yes, i only shoot 1080p/50. I love the 4k image, but I love slowmo even more than it. Still, i am amazed what kind of quality Panasonic manages to pack into just 27mbit..
    1 point
  34. I've owned 3 Kowa Inflight PA-35's in the past 5 years...all bought from eBay, make that what you will regarding rarity. The all-black one featured in that Ebay link I've not seen before, looks like the less pretty non-Prominar model. I guess it's high price could be worth the money to someone who appreciates it. As for the quality of the optics, it has documented here before on this forum by me and others...it is pretty much as good as it gets (especially for full frame), regarding Kowa scope projection optics. If wanting to use it with a variable diopter such as Rangefinder, Core DNA, Rectilux etc...you will need to find a customised solution to cover the large front diameter of the Kowa, and allows the diopter rear to get close enough to the inflight's front optic to get the most coverage from this lens. (All current vari-diopters on the market are not really intended for use on lenses with front diameters this large).
    1 point
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