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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/03/2017 in Posts

  1. I've been shooting drone for a long time. On a pure technical standpoint (I'm not going to enter in the legal aspect) - Karma: the drone is big, takes forever to warm up, the gimbal has a lot of drift, the radio link is weak and it's not very cheap ($1200 with the GoPro). In other words this is not the best bang for your bucks, nothing dramatic but there is much better on the market. Just GoPro first shot at it. Perhaps after the recent recall, GoPro fixed some issue, we'll see... - Phantom 3 : the Phantom 3 Pro films in 4K, the P3 Standard only in 1080. DJI recently stopped selling this drone but there is a lot of inventory and you can still buy a brand new unit for cheap. The IQ is enough for most internet stuff however the max bitrate at 60mbps is a little bit weak especially if you shoot in 4k. - Phantom 4 and Phantom 4 PRO: the Phantom 4 is just an updated Phantom 3 with front sensor (collision avoidance). Nothing very different on the IQ compared to the P3Pro However the Phantom 4 PRO has a much larger sensor (one inch) so better DR, ISO and quality overall. The bitrate also max out at 100mbps which is good especially with the h265 codec (but a pain to edit right now), you can still record in h264 at 100mbps. It also does 4k60. It's the most expensive one ($1500) - Mavic: nice and small portable drone, ok price at $1000 but hard to find at the moment (sold out). Offers collision avoidance (front) like the Phantom 4 and 4 Pro. On the con side the drone is a bit too light for windy days (jello and vibration issue) and the bitrate is back to 60mbps. - A note about the focal (FF equivalent): the Phantom 3 Pro and P4 are 20mm, the Phantom 4 Pro is 24mm and the Mavic is 28mm. Keep that in mind depending of what you want to do. - Other drones ? The Yuneec and Walkera make ok drones but DJI products are just better - Is is hard to fly? not really, these drones are full of automation, the flight is assisted by GPS, they will come back to the landing point if you press a button (RTH), they will also calculate your distance Vs battery and start flying back if the battery is too low based on the distance. Some have collision avoidance system. If you are a bit tech friendly and played video game in your life you won't have any issues. To give you and idea, once you start the drone and take off, the thing will stay in the air and hoover by itself until you move the command. It won't drift thanks to the GPS. Can't be easier than that ! Conclusion: You could start with a Phantom 3 standard (1080 max) or P3Pro for $500-800 new or even find cheaper used unit (check the hundreds available on Craigslist and ebay). The IQ is good enough for most internet stuff (similar to gopro), you won't break the bank and/or cry too hard if you crash. The Phantom 4, 4 Pro and Mavic have the front sensor for collision avoidance if you are a noob. Basically the drone will stop automatically on front of an obstacle. The Phantom 4 Pro is definitely a step up in term of image quality but also the more expensive. Last thing, if you buy a drone here is what YOU MUST do and understand before flying: 1. compass calibration, 2. IMU calibration, 3. return to home (set the correct altitude), 4. difference between the flight mode (ATTI and GPS). Check the thousand of tutorial available on internet. Nothing complicated but ignoring these simple things will lead to crash. Be smart, not like Casey Neistat. Here is what I did with a Phantom 3 Pro a few years ago. Fair enough
    5 points
  2. I think these camera chase politics and obsessions slow down the progress of many. We're at a time now where sticking and investing in the system of one brand is the best way to go. i currently shoot with the FS5 + Inferno, A7SII and A6500. I can do pretty much everything with these cameras. I have Sony as they cover a much wider spectrum of uses than any other brand. You understand the operation, the dynamic range, color space, the community, the workflow, the lenses etc without having to change your mindset and learning development much. I'd love a GH5, but it would be a camera too much in my kit, and the odd-one out. Plus I'd need native MFT lenses to get full performance. That money can be spent on native Sony lenses, a new soft light or even marketing. If you're not invested in a system, the GH5 is a no-brainer.
    3 points
  3. Yes many are jumping ship to the Sony's (FS5/7) ... Which if and when I need a new camera I will look at. It's a shame Canon has this continual policy of restricting their cameras in the belief they are protecting the higher end models. Sony's policy proves that this is a fallacy. The FS5 is indeed a very well spec'd little camera... However I shall stick with the C100 for the moment. I've rigged it so it has all the functionality I need... and remains as compact as the FS5. (I hate these massive franken'rigs). I don't need 4K ... not sure I when I will. Slow-mo would be nice, but is not a deal breaker. And I have a bagful of Canon glass that works so well with the DPAF.
    3 points
  4. I made a dirty test to show the issue. You can see the whoobling background when IBIS ON under heavy shake: (sorry for the flickering and those no profesional things)
    2 points
  5. Yes. Then he should better have shot at the project framerate in the first place. Or shouldn't he ??? Because 30p wouldn't spontaneously be perceived as slow motion, but as "movie-time". Gravity, importance. It's an editing tool also. If someone backswings to build up momentum for a strike, it's better to accentuate the movement (a tiny, not too obvious time ramp) or else the whole action may look lame and speeded-up (or is it sped-up?). Also, for smooth camera movements, pans, slider- or gimbal shots, 30p can be appropriate. Watch this: Thanks a lot. Framerate conforming works differently in FCP X (you select the clips in the timeline, then you apply Automatic Speed from the retiming dialog, FCP X adjusts the audio's pitch per default). To render all frame rate changes with optical flow on export, you have to edit (click the said boxes) and save the export module in Compressor. I didn't know.
    2 points
  6. Just needed the smallest possible kit. You can strip it down to just the body and a powered mic with a stabilized lens. A couple stills from a Microsoft piece I shot over the summer in Houston. Run and gun interviews and b-roll.
    2 points
  7. No knead bread is the easiest thing in the world. Love it so much it's made me fat.
    2 points
  8. Hey, Not sure if this allowed but I would like to draw attention to the development of magic lantern for the 5D IV. The developers dont have access to a 5D IV and dont got much time for it. So I would like to get as many people to raise funds for the developers(buy 5D IV, buying time) so they can hopefully crack the 5D IV. As they long prolonged the life of my canon 550D and my 5D III, and I got a lot of pleasure of the camera's thanks to the ML team. Here is a link to their bitcoin donation page. Anything helps! http://www.magiclantern.fm/donate.html
    1 point
  9. Apple released a software bundle for education: http://www.apple.com/us-hed/shop/product/BMGE2Z/A/pro-apps-bundle-for-education "The total cost of Final Cut Pro X ($299.99), Logic Pro X ($199.99), Motion 5 ($49.99), Compressor 4 ($49.99), and MainStage 3 ($29.99) is usually $629.95, so the bundle offers educational customers over $400 in savings." PS I have been running FCPX on a Macbook 12" to edit small 4K projects and I am very very happy with the performance with such a low powered machine, so I was eyeing FCPX for quite some time.
    1 point
  10. Thank you so much, I used one light a Lowell pro light I believe (its not mine, but a friends) I think they were great! As for the drone, I believe it was the P3 Pro (or advanced?! I dont know much about these, but it was def. a P3). Unfortunately its something very pronounced on 1080p60 with intricate details, I dont think I added any this time, but I totally agree. Thank you so much! How did you like it ? :D
    1 point
  11. Again, I am a horrible colorist, so take my opinion with a grain of salt, but I have found input/utility/conversion LUTS to be horribly inconsistent. Unless the LUT creator knows your exact in camera settings, exposure, etc..., then it will be hard to get a proper baseline. However I do like Film Print Emulation export LUTS at the end of the coloring process to add a little bit of depth to the image. With all that being said, there are a couple basic utility LUTS that work fairly well and for slog I have found the LUTS made for Arri work the best. Also, it seems the camera profiles with FilmConvert work pretty damn good too. Sorry for the off topic.
    1 point
  12. Dear Iksim, no risk of damage to the camera with NXL, rather it protects the sensor from dust when changing lens outdoors.
    1 point
  13. Grimor, thank you very much for your input! Very good to know. The footage looks like warp stabilizer... I was tempted to buy GH5 because of IBIS. But now I will rethink because I'd use it only for video with anamorphics. The GH4 with Lumix 35-100 F2.8 and Isco 36 seem to work well together. So I think the mesmerizer effect is only with IBIS...
    1 point
  14. @jonpais....I agree with you and also with Mattias..and if budget was an issue, that would be good advice....the opportunity to see how a camera performs with no practice is valuable though...both for those who like or don't the GH5 and these cameras may be regarde as Prosumer, but they certainly come with lots of professional features to be used (or not) before one can tap into optimizing the image you need for a specific project...I like Panny cameras for perhaps a different reason than most ( don't mean to be presumptious)...I like the fact that they are almost bombproof...have never had any glitch with one...ever...(for me starting with the HVX200)...for my use, it works...period....I realise for many it does not, and they won't buy it....but I find that every time Panny releases a new GH cam, the criticism that mounts against their efforts, seem to exceed far beyond the limitations of other manufacturers shortcomings...(think I'm too old to be a fanboy!) but to my eye, the GH5 is approaching Varicam territory...with stabilization....and it's discreet...and so far nothing I've seen has persuaded me differently...so for feature work, I would use it without any hesitation alongside the Varicam LT....and to my eye, that is a tremendous achievement....my only complaint is I'd like one now!?
    1 point
  15. great summary - thankyou
    1 point
  16. To be fair, Sony have been producing the best cameras for adapted non-Sony lenses for several years, unlike pretty much any other manufacturer, certainly in the full frame market.
    1 point
  17. @BenEricson I was referring to the fact that there are other mic brands too! C100mkII is my preferred workhorse too. Did a 70 days travel TV series for a small TV station last year with the C100 on a small soft camera bag, but I am usually using Sennheiser microphones. Just need a few more things for my next purchase, and C300ii is out of my budget, and C100 is not enough for a camera bought in the summer of 2017. FS5 says hello..
    1 point
  18. yea i know, we did way more scenes of her with the bra on inside the shower, at first i did not know if she would take it off, that's why i only added the scene when she was writing the name of the song.. just like a b-roll shot.. the artist wanted it like that too..
    1 point
  19. Sort of. But it looks like the guy in the video isn't trying to slow the motion at all. A lot of people do make the mistake he's referring to. Shoot at 30, play back at 24 and wonder why it stutters, eg. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zrJuMoNCbY Nothing to do with trying to use slowmo. If you have a variety of input videos (like from mobile phone and a G85) then they might be at different frame rates and you want them to play at normal speed without skipping. In that case, if you really have to, click a couple of boxes when exporting. Use maximum render quality, and optical flow. For slowmotion effects, follow what Axel said.
    1 point
  20. I slightly prefer the look of the 28mm. Just wish it was 1.8.
    1 point
  21. Actually used your Lisbon LUT for my wedding video. You'd be good at Cinema Sins.
    1 point
  22. Yeah but, when it's right it looks so cool. Daniel Peters' videos look great. I have a theory that there are 2 or 3 looks that Sony cameras excell at... unfortunately I am incapable of reproducing those looks... So I am learning to settle for crunchy contrast and nuclear waste green.
    1 point
  23. After years of working with Sony I finally realized you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
    1 point
  24. I'm a pretty good colorist, except for the red, green and blue channels... I suck at those.
    1 point
  25. I did find a sealed resolve 12.5 dongle locally. It handles h265 smoothly. I just have to get a ssd for my computer. If your computer is slower you can tell it to create optimized media and it quickly makes smaller files that play smoothly for editing. It's funny I got resolve studio so I didn't have to convert h265 just to import it and let the software convert it internally. Doh! I believe I can edit full res 4k once I get a ssd. And maybe I preserve something with the final render comming from the original h265 files. But overall it's a wonderful experience using Resolve I'm turning into a BM fanboy starting to dream of an ursa mini someday. If you are curious I say buy it and try it holds it's resale value very well if you don't like or you can rent a dongle and try.
    1 point
  26. Not very. The controls are very straightforward --but you will most likely crash before you come to terms with it. I felt pretty confident after a day of practice with an old and used camera-less drone. Then, I flew my actual camera drone into a tree a few days later during a shoot. Boom. Basically, it takes some wisdom to learn how to interpret spatial dynamics from a distance. More important than that is just learning how not to over-react to stuff when flying. All that said, I basically gave up on aerials. I don't find them particularly compelling anymore. Understood that your clients just want it "because," but I really have a hard time rationalizing 'em these days in my own work considering that it's so prevalent elsewhere.
    1 point
  27. The guy in your video knows nothing. Here is how you interpret 30p "as" 24p (or whatever your timeline is set to), and every frame will be played back without stuttering.
    1 point
  28. Fritz Pierre

    To MFT or not

    If photography is your prime use, full frame. If narrative and shooting video and lighting, M4/3...no DP on a feature or commercial shooting S35 would shoot below F4.0...to difficult to focus on anything moving for any length of time...speed booster plus M4/3 gets you to S35
    1 point
  29. Bro. Panny 7-14mm f4 can be had for under $500. Sony 10-18mm f4 is around $600. It does have oss though and takes screw on filters. Panny 12-35mm f2.8 can be had for $500 Sony: no f2.8 standard apsc lens. But you can buy the FE GM 24-70mm for $1,800 Panny 35-100mm can be had for $600 Sony: no equivalent but you can use the new 70-200mm f2.8 for $2,600... The only other "comparable" lenses are the sony 18-105mm f4 for $500 which is a stop slower and the Zeiss one (forgot specs) that is closer to $1,000. Panny Trinity is under $2k USD used on eBay if you scrounge for deals - for f2.8 zooms! Small and lightweight. Admittedly the 35-100 stabilizer is shit for video but the IQ is fine. Sony lineup has nothing close and you have to use the heavy and crazy expensive full frame lenses for f2.8... Currently the 10-18 24-70 and 70-200 would be just under $5k... And heavy and large. $3k vs $5k. Is that a "fair" comparison? Maybe not, but we have no choice since Sony has no comparable lenses! Sony is boatloads more expensive. Whether it's worth it or not is up to you. The GM 70-200 f2.8 looks pretty sweet since I think they said it was parfocal. The 24-70 I'm disappointed has no built in oss. I really like the 5 axis dual is on the 18-105 a6500 combo. Haven't really been overly impressed with ibis and adapted lenses. No way Sony is cheaper! When have they ever been cheaper?! It's Sony!
    1 point
  30. Look here, it's the best to professional software and hardware with h265 codec and more: http://www.cinemartin.com/
    1 point
  31. Matt Kieley

    Lenses

    I got a Hoyarex split diopter and tested on the bmpcc and Rokinon 12mm cine. I love this old school effect.
    1 point
  32. When you say Harsh lighting conditions what are you referring to--the screen shots or the video I posted--and yes, I turn sharpening off completely when shooting and only ad light sharpening to images in post (2.5 in FCPX). But I'm not sure what you're referring to specifically. Good question. In Color Finale Pro you can reduce the three color channels separately. I lower the red channel, but some footage did not seem to need it.
    1 point
  33. dual SD cards with backup; you can't risk a card failure in a wedding. That alone is enough for me but... No risk of overheating, no 30 mins limit, an everlasting battery and the simple reality of having a proper Panasonic battery grip that Sony has never produced for their apsc line. 3600 ISO with a 1.4 lens is more than enough low light for me, if 6400 is mostly clean I won't need anything else. I'm just waiting for the AF-C performance when the need rises, as tracking in a gimbal or a one man band interview that can't always check the focus is the biggest win Sony has over Pana.
    1 point
  34. Think the time of Magic Lantern is over (active developing wise). It was cool with the T2i/550D and 5DmkII&III, but there's so many great ready to shoot cameras now, that I doubt it makes sense to exploit a camera that doesn't want to be exploited. Panasonic and Sony embrace new options, if you must get a Canon, shoot 5DMIII MLRAW, or get a 1D C/1DX Mark II, I'd say. But gd luck if you still feel like it's something to put money, time and effort into.
    1 point
  35. Scorsese said cinema's now officially dead. May as well be a theme park ride. Event a good director can't save the system... Duncan Jones on Warcraft. Peter Jackson on The Hobbit Part 10. Looking to Netflix to save cinema... They have picked up the Blade Runner style sci-fi shot by Bowie's son Duncan Jones, set in Berlin in 2050 called Mute. And more stuff good coming out soon. As for 2016... I am voting 5D Mark IV!
    1 point
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