Caleb Genheimer

Just here to say, I wanted the new Fuji to have an open gate video mode enabled SO BADLY. That alone would’ve put me in “sell all my other bodies for a switch” high gear. 
 
I’m still holding steady without a sweat... GH5S for anamorphic, Pocket 4K for easy Raw, C200 from work if good AF is needed. 
 
I want LF video just because I find it interesting and really want to explore it. The S1H is tempting, but that darn AF keeps it from being the monstrous all-rounder I’m after. Hopefully the S2H fixes AF. If not, hey... S1H prices will probably drop at the same time and make that purchase more justifiable.
 
I think the shaky market is still at a point where it may be a good thing, pushing the manufacturers to condense their lineups and get solid features into all cameras... but I guess we’ll see.

Full👏Frame👏Open👏Gate👏Video👏Please!

Just here to say, I wanted the new Fuji to have an open gate video mode enabled SO BADLY. That alone would’ve put me in “sell all my other bodies for a switch” high gear. 
 
I’m still holding steady without a sweat... GH5S for anamorphic, Pocket 4K for easy Raw, C200 from work if good AF is needed. 
 
I want LF video just because I find it interesting and really want to explore it. The S1H is tempting, but that darn AF keeps it from being the monstrous all-rounder I’m after. Hopefully the S2H fixes AF. If not, hey... S1H prices will probably drop at the same time and make that purchase more justifiable.
 
I think the shaky market is still at a point where it may be a good thing, pushing the manufacturers to condense their lineups and get solid features into all cameras... but I guess we’ll see.

Still basically only Panny that’s doing real open gate full frame video, don’t understand why nobody else will put those modes in their flagships. Here’s hoping they get their act together whenever the S2H rolls around and it has actual autofocus though. 

Still basically only Panny that’s doing real open gate full frame video, don’t understand why nobody else will put those modes in their flagships. Here’s hoping they get their act together whenever the S2H rolls around and it has actual autofocus though. 

I’ve been working out my own methods on this stuff for quite some time now, and as someone who also shoots some actual film here and there, some of the extreme minutiae are maddening to mail down, and prompted me to move into Resolve’s Fusion tab for many operations. It has been like learning to ride a bike all over again, and I’m not there yet, but Fusion is absolutely  powerful enough to get me where I want to go eventually. There is complex spatial and temporal interplay (especially with overscanned footage) that simply can’t be done easily with power grades and edit page compositing. I guess do 99% of people even notice? Probably not, but we do, right?
Im interested to see how filmbox is implemented, as well as Tom Bolles power grade (which for that approach looks to provide a lot of nuanced manipulations resulting in the most convincing Color tab results I’ve seen so far). I will probably grab Cineprint 16 just to see if I can replicate the various nodes in Fusion alongside my own spatial machinations.
Digging deep into this stuff at all kills render times like crazy, but that’s maybe half the fun, right?
I still think halation could be brought 80-90% of the way there in the physical world with a bespoke filter from some expert like Tiffen or Schneider. Film has a set tonal dynamic range, which honestly a number of digital cameras get close enough to these days as to not make much difference, but spatially especially with regards to halation, the dynamic range in film’s reaction is much higher. Basically, something can be blown out, but two blown out sources of different luminance will still show a difference in the amount and reach of halation, and that reaction is still way outside the dynamic ability of digital capture... but a physical filter I believe could be constructed to react with that nuance and that could be subsequently baked into digital capture. Tiffen’s glimmerglass (of which there is a “bronze” variant already) looks to my eyes to be a prime candidate. If that could be tweaked to be red (or add red), it would to my eyes go a long way to achieving that nuance, and a bit of digital halation would be the added tweak to polish it off to taste.
It’s super fun to build film effects, but at the end of the day, it’s also not all that difficult to just shoot film on certain projects, and in that case, the look is just... there. I’d encourage anyone who is spending significant time on emulation to also put some solid time into researching 16mm cameras, and doing a bit of hunting until you find a kit that fits your use-case. SR3s and Aatons are nice cameras for sure, but there are plenty of other very capable cameras out there, and you can still find good deals if you are patient. 

Yeah, if folks haven’t figured it out by now... Canon is gonna Canon. It’s an overtly abusive approach to product lineup/development from a customer perspective, but it’s just their chosen philosophy.
I follow all camera release news aggressively, because I find the technology advancements very engaging, but there’s no way I’d jump in on a multi-thousand dollar piece of kit before it has been well proven out in the wild, because all camera companies have their weak spots. They’re just tools, good tools will prove themselves through use. Canon makes some good tools, even if the peripherals are less than honest. I’m not saying that they shouldn’t be called out or pushed to change their approach, but it’s also important for consumers to step back and just take an objective look at the available tools, ignoring somewhat all the noise and baggage around brands, especially new release hype.

“Add a gimbal with subject tracking and you can have AI track your subject around the scene, then distribute the autofocus distance to the second camera, which can frame your subject/scene however you like, while your subject stays perfectly in focus.”
Ok yeah, I’d take a V2 where the sensor is built into a little DJI Osmo kind of micro-gimbal camera that has object tracking to keep the sensor pointed at the subject... that would be straight up insane.

Wanted to say thanks again man! It seems to be working well and it's so much fun to use!!! 
 

You're awesome Caleb thank you so much for that! I'll dig a little deeper with it and see if the optical groups are rotating on their own and if not, time to mod this puppy!

The front knurled ring “locks” the focus, so loosen that first. The wider knurling will then be able to rotate. The infinity mark may not be exact, but shouldn’t be far off. Put both the scope and your 50m at infinity markings and then point at something detailed in the far distance. You should be able to get it sharp with micro adjustments.
are you supporting the weight of the scope adequately? An over heavy setup can sag enough to throw out focus.

I have a module request for down the road consideration: a wireless distance readout/display. Countless ACs/DOPs use the Tilta gear on mid-grade shoots, but despise their generic “0-100” readout at the controller.

While it would require some pre-production profile calibration work, many would pick up the AFX for this feature alone: real foot/meter readings at the hand wheel.
I know this can be read at the AFX, but often focus is wireless for the simple reason that it is being pulled from a distance.

Just be prepared for a demo of AF on 16mm film, because that’s definitely gonna happen 🤘🏻

Almost forgot, if you press the bottom trigger, while holding the stick to the right and double tap the C button you get a power up combo

Just be prepared for a demo of AF on 16mm film, because that’s definitely gonna happen 🤘🏻

Just be prepared for a demo of AF on 16mm film, because that’s definitely gonna happen 🤘🏻

Thanks for your support.
Have to play that one close to my chest for now.
But it won't be far behind the AFX so the suspense won't last too long !

Just bought the AFX, this is awesome. Any word on the actual sensor tech for the AI-based add-on? Is it an additional chip-based system running contrast detect or something? Or phase detect? 

Bausch and Lomb CinemaScope Attachment II?

4/20! I currently rock a GH5S and a Pocket4K, and that’s only because my NX1 is out of commission. I also had a GH5 in the brief window before the S was a thing.
The only thing keeping me from also having an S1H is the autofocus. I’m not upgrading digital bodies until a manufacturer provides full frame open gate with good AF and 13+ stops of DR. Until then, the GH5S and Pocket will do just fine.
If I need top notch DR, I’ll just buy a couple loads of color negative stock and shoot 16mm

Hey all! I’ve been doing some soul searching lately... they say the camera lens is the window to the soul, right?
Anyway, seeing as my current cameras both have multi-aspect micro four thirds sensors (GH5S and Pocket 4K), I’ve been planning to update my taking lenses for anamorphic. I use a Kowa 16-H which is fantastic, and the SLR Magic Rangefinder, which works well in most cases.
I messed around some with old primes that I have kicking about, and determined that the right 28mm lens just MIGHT squeak by in anamorphic mode on the GH5S, and would probably work perfect on the Pocket. 
I was also after a native mount pancake, because let’s be honest. On gimbals, the typically long and front-heavy anamorphic setups just don’t work well. I have a Ronin M (not a small gimbal by 2019 standards), and I have to add a lot of ballast to BARELY make the Kowa work. The gimbal strains hard and can’t tilt to vertical. 
Well, a short google later, and I ordered a Meke 28mm pancake on Amazon. What the heck, it’s really cheap, doesn’t hurt to try it right? Well, it just showed up, and it works PERFECT. If you have a Kowa 16-H/8Z, I highly recommend snagging one of these. 
As with anything on the wide end, it vignettes pretty hard with the Rangefinder mounted, but with just the Kowa, it’s clean as a whistle (cropped to 2.39 of course.)
This will be my new go-to for gimbal work and for wide establishing shots. I have yet to test it on faces, but it’s probably perfect for that near fisheye mumpy up close look. If I get in a tight corner, I’ll be relieved to have this (literally) in my back pocket.
My only gripe is that they don’t also have a 35mm/40mm/50mm pancake set, because a range of pancakes this small would be gamechanging for anamorphic adapter users.
I never thought I’d have a Kowa setup as small as this. It’s crazy. Until a new anamorphic beats the Kowa for width and quality, I’m sticking with it. 

Wait, your thing is steam powered? Where do I pre-order?! 😂

Honestly it’s past time for Tilta or similar to just make a stand-alone AF module that controls their focus motors. Then any camera could have decent AF! 
 
AF this, AF that... it’s just a tool. Sure, you shouldn’t use it all the time, but there are times where it is the tool for the job. Heck, I’d trust Canon’s AF on my 16mm camera most of the time (if that was a thing,) because I’ve tried pulling focus off that tiny ground glass, and it’s just not reliable. As is, I have to get an extra pair of hands and a tape measure to avoid wasting film on blurry takes.  

I have a crystal sync sound 16mm camera that I acquired for $980, so now every time the latest and greatest digital camera drops, I view the price tag through the lens of how many gold Kodak canisters loaded with a 400’ core load I could purchase and process with the same amount of money. An A7sIII is about 7 loads of 16mm film, processed and scanned. That’s 77 minutes of footage at 24fps. Conservatively, that’s a 15 minute short film in the bag, or a 30 minute film if you shoot a tight ratio. That’s almost enough film to produce the entire first act to a feature if you plan carefully.
The dynamic range is ok I guess, and the color science is at least useable, but it doesn’t have AF, and it’s not full frame, so I should probably replace it soon with something newer? 

I have a crystal sync sound 16mm camera that I acquired for $980, so now every time the latest and greatest digital camera drops, I view the price tag through the lens of how many gold Kodak canisters loaded with a 400’ core load I could purchase and process with the same amount of money. An A7sIII is about 7 loads of 16mm film, processed and scanned. That’s 77 minutes of footage at 24fps. Conservatively, that’s a 15 minute short film in the bag, or a 30 minute film if you shoot a tight ratio. That’s almost enough film to produce the entire first act to a feature if you plan carefully.
The dynamic range is ok I guess, and the color science is at least useable, but it doesn’t have AF, and it’s not full frame, so I should probably replace it soon with something newer?