Jump to content

Walter H

Members
  • Posts

    105
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Walter H

  1. @kye Great. Thank you for adding that note. I'm quite protective of highlights generally at the point of capture (as long as I'm not compromising skin tones) as I find that clipping is the greatest remaining "digital tell" that can usually be avoided. But this is always good to keep in mind. 

    @Attila Bakos I've never approached LUTs as a "click and done" solution, particularly wanting to preserve options for the further application of tone curves. Since moving on from (and now partially back to) Fujifilm, I have missed Eterna as a baseline for further work. To date, my best, neutral LUT for V-Log has been a 2021 LUT by Gamut applied at 80% - even then the shadows would generally be more crushed that I'd prefer for further grading.

    Your Eterna LC LUT! It's marvelous for how I like to work! I am now editing a piece that I filmed primarily last year. Replacing the Gamut with this low-contrast LUT - I really like the color interpretation (even in some challenging mixed-lighting) and a whole world of shadows is available to further work with, rather than to try and pull back in some fashion. 

    Just so, so nice. 

  2. That's a big range of questions about a heavily covered topic (like, for years and years).

    When you have search similar topics or the web in general, what have you learned? For example, what are issues that come up when you stack filters? 

    ND32 might be plenty for a sunny day or not at all. What ISO and apertures are you shooting at? 

    What do the terms "cheap" "a fortune" "acceptable" mean to you? 

    I'm punting back to you to do some research to these questions and refine them. People here will be glad to support refined questions but what you are asking currently would require a long, instructional reply about a lot of basics before even getting to what might actually be useful to you.

  3. 4 hours ago, Attila Bakos said:

    @Walter H Thanks a lot, your feedback is very much appreciated. While the V-Log L version might work for the S1, keep an eye on the highlights, if the LUT clips them,  gently pull them down before the LUT is applied. The S5IIx package might be a better choice for you but I haven't started working on it yet. Whenever that's finished and you decide to get them, just let me know before you do 🙂

    Great. I was wondering if there might be some upstream adjustments that I should keep track of based upon the V-Log L vs V-Log and I will watch the highlights particularly. 

    4 hours ago, Attila Bakos said:

    The S5IIx package might be a better choice for you but I haven't started working on it yet. Whenever that's finished and you decide to get them, just let me know before you do 🙂

    I will! Thank you!

  4. 21 minutes ago, Walter H said:

    @Attila BakosI've followed your work for years when I was shooting exclusively with Fujifilm. I've always appreciated your interrogation of Fuji's x-trans peculiarities and have purchased LUTs from you in the past. 

    Now with this release for V-Log L and now that I recently purchased an X-H2s (first time back to Fuji in years), I purchased packages for both to ease in intercutting footage from by S1 and the Fuji. 

    Thanks for continuing all that you do. I'm looking forward to using your Eterna LUT for both systems!

    Just wanted to add to this... While I know that the Panasonic package is for V-Log L rather than the V-Log of the S-line, but I dove in regardless and I'm looking forward to the experimenting. Already having applied the Eterna LC to a number of clips, indoor and out, I'm pretty pleased!

  5. @Attila BakosI've followed your work for years when I was shooting exclusively with Fujifilm. I've always appreciated your interrogation of Fuji's x-trans peculiarities and have purchased LUTs from you in the past. 

    Now with this release for V-Log L and now that I recently purchased an X-H2s (first time back to Fuji in years), I purchased packages for both to ease in intercutting footage from by S1 and the Fuji. 

    Thanks for continuing all that you do. I'm looking forward to using your Eterna LUT for both systems!

  6. 12 hours ago, SRV1981 said:

    What are your favorite upgrades over the 4-year older version?

    Oh, I owned an X100F for about eight months more than four years ago, so I cannot say directly (as much as everyone in this thread is typing based upon the specs of this latest release). I had an X100 for more than a year prior to that. That's all I can speak of based upon direct experience. I think it is a lovely camera that I just didn't connect with. 

    I think it's primary use is as a stills camera and I think it fulfills a genuinely unique market niche really well - hybrid viewfinder and a fixed-lens. What else is there? For that, I think the bump to Fuji's 40mp sensor makes sense (not that I would have been asking for it) and the incorporation of IBIS is what really stands out to me. Since my first IBIS body, I simply won't go back. So many more creative options open up (for me). 

    So to answer your question pointedly, IBIS. The rest of it might as well come along since it's already there.

    I think the video specs are grand to have (why would you exclude what the XT-5, etc can do with the same sensor/processor?) and I would do b-roll grabs or creative work with it. But that would be a perk for me with the x-series rather than a goal for purchasing the camera.

  7. 1 hour ago, IronFilm said:

    Isn't there a middle ground between making an JPEG vs doing it 100% yourself manually old school? 

    I thought you could get a Panasonic camera to spit out a whole series of raw images. Thus you get all the benefits of doing it yourself in post, but with the convenience of a single button push to capture everything on set in that take. 

    Yeah, I think we spoke past one another. 

    The S1 focus brackets raw images nicely with one press of the shutter. Lots of control over the number of images, their depth & step. Easy to dump that sequence into PS or Affinity, etc. and render a blended image. That's what I was referring to as "old school" - doing the post-capture stacking in a software later on. 

    It's the focus stacking feature that renders in camera a single jpeg that I was having issues with in terms of unwanted artifacts. Perhaps the processing in the G9 is improved? Granted I have been working with challenging, detailed material.

    The process of focus bracketing is fine and I've no complaints in doing it. It's also nice when I can avoid it altogether. 

  8. 56 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

    Probably because it reduces contrast?

    Yes, that is exactly right. 

    To be clear, I was only using the Pro Mist 1/8th to knock the digital edge off a touch was the 24-105 and since switching to Resolve, I simply do that in post if I feel the need. 

    The reason for the OLPF conversion for the S1 in my mind was for stills and portrait work. I've rarely if ever had much of a moire issue in video. But I won't knock the benefit there too.

  9. 10 hours ago, IronFilm said:

    Is there an option to shoot in vlog but monitor in rec709? Probably your peaking will work better then? (am guessing here, no experience with the Panasonic L Mount cameras, but this is how it functions on some other cameras) 

    Or....  (and I know @MrSMW would HATE this suggestion 😅 but maybe it works for you @Walter H?), shoot vlog but output rec709 over HDMI (am pretty certain the S1 can do this??) then do the peaking with the external monitor (little 3.5" external monitors exist?). That's another process I've heard of people doing to get better results with peaking. 

    Yes, I do use an 5" SmallHD monitor regularly and always when I am planning to manual focus. I use a monitoring LUT (but haven't thought to try with b&w) and that with the peaking of the S1 and the focus assist of the monitor gets the job done. There is something with the S1 that I have seen others mention as well over the years: peaking looks clear and strong and as soon as I press record, it dips about 30%. The use of a monitoring LUT helps me see the edges of things a bit better but does not improve or correct this peaking "dip" issue. The Pro Mist only accentuated this odd negative. A monitor with peaking/focus assist as well makes the difference.

    10 hours ago, IronFilm said:

    I know the built in photo stacking feature in the Panasonic G9 is very powerful for when doing macro shots and needing more DoF, doesn't the Panasonic S1 have this too? Or is it of no benefit for your style of shooting? 

     

    The S1 does have this feature and I experimented with it quite a bit. For some subjects, works a treat - genuinely cannot fault it. But is creates jpeg's only and if what you are photographing has a lot of fine details, well, too many artifacts and oddities were showing up. Therefore I had to old school focus stack and blend in post, which works great and I would have a dng or tiff to work up in post, but it is just steps and time. 

  10. 5 hours ago, MrSMW said:

    Probably what I'd be using if I wasn't using what I am now.

     

    Actually..., really? You seem so "Nikon other than Panasonic" oriented - for good reasons. When I switched to full-frame (from Fuji), I expected to go Nikon but once I held the S1 and played with Vlog, that was it. Right choice at the time, but unsure I would do the same now (at least once the Z6v3 is released).

  11. 2 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

    I am still a bit ignorant about Fuji cameras in general, so would love to hear your thoughts on the X-H2s compared to the S5 (origianal) you are selling.

    At risk of cluttering up the thread (but it seems these thread can range a bit from their titles), the X-H2s immediately resolves my main complaints with the S5: namely, the intermediately smaller body that never fit my hand well and a clatchy, miserable feeling mechanical shutter that makes my heart weep when I engage it (@MrSMW knows). The X-H2s feels wonderfully in my hand (just as the S1 does considering two quite differently sized bodies), it feels better built than the S5, and the shutter mechanism makes my angels sing. To me, much better than the X-S20 that I had intended to pick up...

    I don't have enough experience processing RAWs form both cameras yet to know how easily the I can process them to have a consistent look, but I'm not worried. I have worked with enough Flog and Flog2 footage to feel confident that as long as I have my white balance close, I can get a good match with Vlog footage. If I set each camera to a color chart, then I'm not worried whatsoever - not for the work that I do anyway.

    More additional context specific to me: for some of the product photography that I do, I really missed the ability to easily tether with Capture One (Panasonics don't) and having a bit more depth-of-field from an APSC sensor has its advantages too. 

    I may have something more useful to add once I've worked with them both together over the next few months. 

    Oh, and good idea on the monochrome preview lut. I'll experiment with that.

  12. On 2/8/2024 at 3:00 PM, Mark Romero 2 said:

    One downside is I think that you will be spending $700 on a modification for a camera that you would be lucky to re-sell for about US $800. (I got a trade-in quote from MPB for like $535 or something like that. Gonna pass on that. Thanks.)

    I don't think getting the OLPF mod would help with resale value (might even hurt) as anyone shooting photos would probably balk at the idea of buying a camera with a third-party OLPF installed.

    Of course, not a problem if you plan on holding on to the S1 long term. But with the second-gen S1 / S1H / S1R "likely" to come out this year, it might not be a great idea.

    All this is just my long and convuluted way of saying that the 1/8th Black Pro Mist filter doesn't seem like that bad of a solution.

    I appreciate this. 

    I have considered the (non-)resale value of the S1 and S5 already. (It is stunning how little these bodies are fetching used for such incredible image and, for the S1, build quality. I have been thinking of this investment in the S1 as an opportunity to bridge for the next year or two when these second gen S-series cameras have been out a while and their prices moderate. 

    I do have a 1/8th Black Pro Mist and that has helped at times in some critical moments, BUT it makes the peaking for manual focus in video with the S1 almost disappear, especially in Vlog.

    Others have already nudged me hard toward picking up a used S1H and I am tempted in large degree as the peaking issue once you hit record just isn't one with that body. So I may wait until v2's announcement when I expect even more used S1H's will hit the market. 

    And, other than screen, better peaking, TC support, I am not seeing many compelling reasons to upgrade from my S1 body to an S1H. Some of the ergo improvements for video are a meh when using it for event and documentation photography - bulkier body & more visual weight (and more just weight). So.... on the fence but appreciate the thoughts. 

    The last point is that they have offered me a $100 discount to the mod, so that helps a bit too.

    In other news, I'm absolutely ditching the S5 body and picked up a Fuji X-H2s for the role as a lighter weight hybrid cam and I'm really pleased with it. So the consideration of the S1/S1H is in complement to that camera as well (and vice versa).

  13. 2 hours ago, kye said:

    One downside I can think of is how long the OLPF might last?

    The ones that people put into their OG BMPCCs have some sort of problem - IIRC they go foggy?  Anyway, people are always talking online about replacing them.  It might just be isolated to that time-period or manufacturer, but something to look into.  Otherwise, yeah, why not.

    Thanks for noting that. The quick twenty-minute look did reveal some of those issues, mostly due to condensation between the filter and sensor separated by rubber gasket and, for an unlucky few, the development of mold. This is also for a camera/filter situation that people were installing in the uncontrolled comfort of their own homes!

    Not seeing much beyond the BMPCC's, but it does prompt me to ask about this, get more clarity on their application of the OLPF, their expectations of durability, etc. 

    48 minutes ago, MrSMW said:

    I'd just go with a used S1H which are fantastic value now.

    Unless you absolutely must have exceptional forward tracking AF and/or full frame 50/60p, it's an exceptional piece of kit that is a joy to use with stellar output.

    Thanks for the thought, but is your suggestion simply based upon the S1H's current low cost? 

    Fundamentally, there is no difference in output between the S1 and the S1H with the S1's updated firmware, right? (I mean, I know that the answer is yes to that question.) There are some video-centric ergos that the S1H has which, sure, I'd prefer but they aren't worth a ton of coin. Texting with one guy who has had this done, this retro OLPF is seemingly more effective than that within the S1H. Link here.

    It kind of boils down to hassle as well as $$: 1) selling my S1, buying an S1H; selling my S5, buying a FujiX as a second cam, or 2) for the price of the S1H, I could do this convert to the S1 and buy a Fuji X-S20 (possibly a used H2s?); sell the S5. Option 2 feels so much more efficient and that means something these days. 

     

    Appreciate you both for chiming in.

  14. Any thoughts/opinions on adding an OLPF to our beloved Panny's? Seriously looking at this option from Kolari for my S1.

    Context: I'm a hybrid shooter doing almost as much stills work as video professionally. Currently with an S1 and an S5. I've been repeatedly hit with troublesome moiré particularly when doing portrait work and have considered selling off my S1 to pick up an S1h to compliment and diversify explicitly for this image-making issue. 

    Purportedly, their OLPF is more effective than what is in the S1h. I could do this and still be well below the kit cost vs what I could get for my S1 vs. the cost of a lightly used S1h would be. My S1 is now out of warrantee - not worried about voiding anything. I talked with one of their engineers today and the white balance shift is lens specific and quite slight but they felt they had to put a strong/conservative disclaimer on the website. One-year warrantee. I could ditch my 1/8 black mist when filming with the 24-105. Etc. 

    Struggling to find a downside here. 

  15. 12 hours ago, kye said:

    Yossy has weighed in:

    https://ymcinema.com/2024/01/11/panasonic-strengthens-its-imaging-business-will-the-cinema-lineup-be-renovated/

    Lots of discussion of the EVA1, Varicam, etc in there, as well as rumours of a refreshed cine line with S35 and FF/MF options.

    That link was broken but I found the (quite helpful) article here: 

    https://ymcinema.com/panasonic-strengthens-its-imaging-business-will-the-cinema-lineup-be-renovated/

    Interesting to read the philosophy behind the alignment: responding to market overlap based upon sensor size and overall image quality of the consumer segment, i.e. Lumix, in recent years and the need (as I read it) to be more responsive & flexible to changing needs/wants.

    (These forums wonderfully represent the blur between "need" and "want", no? 😉 Guilty.) 

    @Emanuel Tren de sombras. omg

  16. 33 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

    What exactly is wrong with the S5 shutter? And what's right with the S1H shutter?

    (sorry, non-pro photographer here, so I'm a bit confused!) 

    The mechanical shutter on the S1 & S1H (and I assume the S1R) is well damped and therefore quiet, unobtrusive, and honestly just feels good to engage. The S5's shutter is a harsh "clatch" that is loud and while I'm sure it's no less robust, feels so much cheaper and severe.

    Subjectively, I wince emotionally from the feeling of it; objectively, I will not use the camera in a quiet environment. Given the abundance of led bulbs, etc., electronic shutter is often not an option for me. 

  17. Last year was my relatively low-spend year - other than disposables, only some upgrading to my audio kit and a bucket of hard drives for archiving. 

    This year I think I will make one targeted camera purchase, which could come soon. Looks like the S1 has been discontinued in Japan and Panasonic might make an announcement as early as next week. So... Fuji's X-S20 it mostly likely is!

    I am a hybrid shooter - genuinely as much photo as video although I make more money with video. I had been with Fuji for ages until I sold off everything to purchase a newly released S1 and subsequently an S5 as a second cam. If it hadn't been for the S5ii's retention of that miserable-sounding mechanical shutter, I likely would have replaced the S5 for the improved PDAF, better 6k, etc. 

    I have also REALLY been missing a smaller camera that I can have along with me for pleasure (even smaller than the S5 and my clunky-adapted Canon 40mm). I've been missing being able to be tethered to Capture One for product photography (no joy for the Panasonics). I'm surprised by how much I miss the less shallow dof/more light gathering ratio per aperture that an APSC can provide for certain shooting situations. I played with a few Flog2 files and found them readily matchable to Vlog and nice to work with in their own right. Great on a gimbal. Better autofocus than what I have. I'd still have a the full-frame S1 for its advantages and I'd ditch the S5 for this lighter, more 6k capable, flexible B/A cam... 

    I'm thinking this $2k spent (X-S20 + Sigma 18-50) less whatever I can get for the S5 and additional bits will round things out really well and be a bridge camera (in a sense) that actually extends the life of my S1, which for robustness, record time, quiet shutter, etc. I love, and get me another year plus with it before finding a used whatever-Panny-releases-soon a year or so from now to replace it. 

     

    Isn't a treatise of justification just grand? Sorry for thwarting your intention, OP.

  18. Interesting all of this: noise covering flaws, the role of a camera downsampling or not, 8-bit camera profiles vs 8-bit log, etc. Lots of singular details I've been aware of but this thread helps me think of them in combination with one another. Thankful of that.

    I too was assuming 10-bit as a reference to log and 8-bit as a REC709 profile. (My C100 days feel so long ago now...)

    Wary of noise, I've been mindful to keep ISO's at or only one stop-ish over panny's 640/4000 base and I have never really had much noise concern. I feel like I savor log's roll-off character but perhaps I've been telling myself that now for so long that it deserves doing another round of testing to interrogate. 

    And I am thinking of a shoot this summer at a singing retreat in which I had no lighting control under a 20'x40' tent with buildings to one side, a lake to the other, a ceiling that reflected the green of the surrounding grass, and a huge range of skin tones... I think the 10-bit paid its dues during that edit, but this is the kind of extreme for which it's suited, not the point of this thread, which I appreciate.

  19. This is interesting, @kye, thanks for putting 8-bit back out there. Nice to be reminded that there is more latitude than I've perhaps remembered.

    I've shot log almost exclusively for the past five years or so except for under-lit situations. I found 10bit vlog so easy to work with that I came not to question the extra bit of workflow vs the headache of getting anything in 8bit wrong. 

  20. I wasn't aware of the lawsuit and that spurred me to make a purchase right now. I had been surprised to even see Rode offer these features in one unit and assumed they must have made some arrangement with Zaxcom without the announcement... 

    I'm in the US and scoured to options to find only one set being sold by ProCam Photo/Video via Walmart of all places. Seemingly no stock anywhere else. I assume this legal limbo is why. ProCam just confirmed that my unit is shipping today. 

    Indeed there are compromises with this unit but relative to the two RodeLink systems I've been using for almost nine years, the slimmed-down size and massively improved feature-set will be a boon for me as a solo shooter doing my own audio for the most part. 

    Originally I'd been holding out till work necessitated but realized reading this thread this morning that this might be the only option for quite some time in the US.

    #sigh

  21. "Autofocus be damned" pt. II: 

    It's more $$ but the DJI/Panny partnership is interesting and the SH1 is the DJI LiDAR test horse. Hopefully that system develops a rail-mounted focus motor to bypass the need for using a gimbal.

    I mean, I would use it on a gimbal (although I would prefer to not have to upgrade to an RS Pro3) but it would be grand to have a system for handheld work as well.

    Everyone's notes about image and shutter of the S1H/S1 series is compelling to me. Whenever I hear the "KLATCH" of my S5, I shudder and wish I brought my heftier S1 instead.

     

  22. 1 minute ago, MrSMW said:

    I’ve never had an S1 but have used extensively; S5, S5ii, S1R and S1H.

    For video, all ‘good’.

    For forward tracking, ie, someone walking towards you, depends on the lens, the settings and the aperture, but in 4K crop mode, f4/5.6/8, pretty good actually, but if it loses the subject, it’s game over.

    Unless it really goes wrong like someone walks in the way, the S5ii is of course a lot more reliable than the non-PDAF models.

    For stills, real world not a lot in it. I have shot thousands of frames at (each of) 45+ weddings with L Mount and it’s both fast and accurate.

    If I was shooting sports, there are much better options such as Sony and Canon, but as long as we are not talking subjects charging around zig zagging, any of the S line are great but as above, IMO the S1H is the pick of the bunch for stills.

    Not max detail commercial or studio work, but for events and people, S1H for me on pretty much every level; size, weight, ergos, shutter damping, speed, results. Just superb.

    Plus it’s superb for video as a secondary role 😉

    Otherwise yes, also waiting to see what the next gen will be because there is something specific I am looking for…but that is another story.

    Yeah, great. Confirming. I've certainly not had issues in terms of stills AF with either the S1 or the S5. No fast-moving subjects, etc. And 2x YES for the S1 (and apparently S1H) mechanical shutter. Makes me quote loathe using the S5 for stills, which is still sounds appreciably better than Sony some others. 

×
×
  • Create New...