gethin

I’m in the middle of overreacting to Nikon implementing something on my camera that I was using on a competitors 8 years ago and they have stuffed it.  I know this shouldn’t be bothering me as much as it is. I really need to get out more.  Nikon: the Microsoft of cameras 🤦
The fact you can only use shutter angle in manual mode. Why?  Or at least let us set the minimum shutter angle in those modes ffs. Because otherwise the camera will happily shoot unusable 360degree shutter angle video in those modes.
(Please don’t post any variety of “real men only shoot manual”.  For what I do shooting in aperture priority is essential. It lets me get shots that would be impossible unless I’d have another operator ramping exposure.  I’m not shooting drama. It’s not controlled. I could do this on the gh5 ffs).  
 
 

There's only a minimum shutter speed in the ISO settings for Photos.
The ISO settings in the video menu lacks it.
Definitely a firmware fix for Nikon to consider here.

It's not really a 180 degrees firmware update problem.
It's the missing feature of setting minimum shutter speeds in Aperture Priority.
Just set it to 180 degrees in manual mode with base ISO in N-LOG and use a variable ND.
Or set it to 180 degrees and auto ISO in manual mode when you're in low light and it is forcing 1/25 on you.
I agree that in Aperture Priority mode there should be a way to set the minimum shutter speed to 1/50 in video mode but it's quick enough to override.
Either with a quick mode-switch or hiking the ISO.

I’m in the middle of overreacting to Nikon implementing something on my camera that I was using on a competitors 8 years ago and they have stuffed it.  I know this shouldn’t be bothering me as much as it is. I really need to get out more.  Nikon: the Microsoft of cameras 🤦
The fact you can only use shutter angle in manual mode. Why?  Or at least let us set the minimum shutter angle in those modes ffs. Because otherwise the camera will happily shoot unusable 360degree shutter angle video in those modes.
(Please don’t post any variety of “real men only shoot manual”.  For what I do shooting in aperture priority is essential. It lets me get shots that would be impossible unless I’d have another operator ramping exposure.  I’m not shooting drama. It’s not controlled. I could do this on the gh5 ffs).  
 
 

+1 for CineMatch. I use it on every multicam shoot.

Cinematch?

i dont know if this makes any sense but the z6 and z6ii have a nice fat image. I find the z8 thin. Maybe from my chemical photography days. You could punch through an overexposed fat neg, but had to work harder with a thin one.  I often stumble on stuff I shot on the z6 and think "gee that's nice".  With the z8 I can get a great image, but i've found I get the best results shooting non log flat mode with the dynamic range boost cranked at the lowest iso possible.  And then I'll still often need to denoise a bit. 

Kinda…but not really.
Nikon has: Zf, Z6III, Z8, Z9
L Mount has: the super expensive Leica SL3, the old and lacking in so many ways, FP pairing from Sigma and Lumix has the S5II/X. Plus the soon to be replaced S1 line with the S1R long since out of production and the others, what 5+ years old now?
Now if we’re talking end of this year or next, then yes, with what will probably be a new S1 line (or single camera at least), I think the balance might be addressed. But until then…
And don’t get me wrong, I am an L Mount user (3 of my 4 working cameras), but the S5II/X is really the only current ‘pro’ camera that could arguably be recommended.
New Z6III over an S5II? Maybe. Not really looked at it other than for stills and for that, easily a Nikon win for me.
And I haven’t included the Lumix S9 as it’s a toy camera only a complete muppet of a pro would use…which is why I have one on preorder and should be my main workhorse by the end of this month 😉
Horses for courses and all that and I don’t know your needs, but blank slate, I’d go Nikon for my needs right now. But as I don’t have a blank slate and have to write my own checks, a 75% Lumix, 25% Sony mix it is.
Unless the Sony fails to deliver this weekend and then that 25% will revert back to Nikon…

IF I was you, I would wait a little bit until a CineD lab test. As shown with the Z9 test, between synthetic benchmark and real life latitude test, the result can be very different. Same for the Sony Burano which with the Z9 scored poorly in the imatest test, were for Nikon about the highest Sony based sensor camera with 8 to 9 stop (Even better than the Sony Venice 2), and The Burano, which with its 10 stops latitude, is the first camera to equal the original Arri Alev sensor. 

Sorry. UK idiom. 'Old' in that context doesn't mean old. My bad.

I personally think that these are hard to beat. I own four of them. I came from running two 575w HMIs but these are brighter, quieter, and more affordable. There's no ballast or extra cabling, which for me is a plus. They also have a dedicated remote control available so you don't have to rely on an app. The only "drawback" is that they can't be powered by v-mounts, but I have other lights that can be.
I'm very intrigued by the design of the new Molus G300 because I think I could fit two or maybe even three into a single case. But there are several ways in which the Nanlites still beat them.

Sorry to take the thread off-topic, by the way.

If you're fighting the sun then yeah, serious horsepower definitely comes into the equation!

There's a lot more to the question than just which lights to use.  If you're indoors and feel like you're fighting the sun and if the windows will be mostly out of focus in the background, you can just put ND gel over them - it's fairly cheap and fast.  If they'll be in focus, IMO ND gels look a little bit like shit so that might not be your best option.
If you're outdoors and fighting the sun, especially for close-ups, a collapsible reflector or two (or three if you have one which can give some negative fill) is often a lot better than trying to compete with the sun with your light.  You can get a pretty big reflector for about $30 from almost any photo store in the world.
Otherwise, short of going with really big lights, if you're trying to blast a light through a window and have it compete with the sun, it's going to have to be a pretty big light.  In those cases, I'd probably try to find a way to shoot the scene differently.  😄
These days my main kit consists of 1xAputure 600X, 1xAputure P300C, 1xAmaran 300C, 2xAmaran 150C - as well as the B7C lunchbox, MC4 mini-lunchbox, and a few scattered MX's.  It's more than enough for almost anything that I shoot.  I'll probably continue adding some stuff here and there when Aputure have huge sales (their Black Friday sale is legit - I got a huge discount on the 600X plus a couple of bonus things).  If I need to go bigger than that, I'm more likely to rent it or to just hire a gaffer to roll up with a box truck full of stuff.
For shooting on the go, I just also put together a kit with 3xStellaPro's with their Bowen mount - they're tiny and run off of USB-C so I can plug 'em into a V mount plate or even a battery bank.  Only disadvantage?  Above 30% or so, the fan runs constantly.  I'm excited to actually do a shoot with 'em.  I also picked up a Molus X100 for the cases where I want somebody to hand hold a light.  It's alright, but the reflector in the Bowens mount seems to do some funky things with my softboxes.
 

Well kinda disagree on this one. For me its about the look I can create with the lights, and during daytime I am allways fighting the sun. And 300w led lights for example dont allow much creative looks. Were playing with iso's you are just lowering or increasing exposure as is and not affecting the look in a dramatic way. Like popping the subject from the background. 
Not sure if you ever do flash photography, but I absolutely love the fact I can completely change the look of an image in bright sun with an flash. But yeah I dont like to deal with huge ass lights either an an one man band.

The 300w leds are great to have, of which I've used only the Aperture fixtures though. The 600D has a big footprint. Rather use a 2.5K HMI instead. But of course the Aperture is much lighter to rig and much less power draw and easily powered by regular circuits. Anyhow, 300w spot leds would be it on the top spots of the list. I also like the 100w amarans. Lightmats and tubes are super neat and easy to use. The amarans come in stronger versions now too. Havent tested them but seem to be great bang for the buck regarding light quality and usuability.

My big light is the Smallrig 450D. I love it. It's well-built and super bright when I need it. That said, most of the time the brightest lights I need are 300w. 

With reflectors on it's definitely around 2-3 stops brighter than my Godox SL200.

Take a look at Amaran and Smallrig

I'll do a yt search. In theory 600w led would be at a stop or two  higher than I have now, which might be ok.  

I've seen quite a few 1200 and 2400 fixtures in use on various DP YT channels, but really only when the spaces that need to be lit are on the bigger side. And they're pretty big old units, needing heavier duty stands etc and in a lot of cases no longer having Bowens mounts. You're really getting into van territory so I'd expect these bigger LEDs to be much more of a hire item than something you'd carry around in your daily kit as an owner-op.

I recently bought one of these (the daylight version) and am soon to get the bi-colour. I don't have the tools to test the metrics, but they're extremely bright and reasonably quiet. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385671087101?itmmeta=01HWMW3M2R3J7XYR6MXF4WNV52&hash=item59cbc9c3fd:g:GeQAAOSw4f5kgv5S&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwFc8zK2w7uAzhpc1h248S6jNA5Gw%2FYnu0N1Oh9zktYieBDQ0XN3Y2S1YLVVfrVCJwMOe%2FWIN8QX%2F1Y6qh%2BuG964LZb8IkftuUcmkq%2Bxo6n1YRp%2BuqoPgcv84%2BMzIWIWVd3SNpq4mnPPPWRlsiCOiPNsl84vGLEZ4S51kzT17vRYoFI5EpvbRtTDEWvTvpSYVdxv4DenaLzgf0W37yPC5B%2FiZ3bP6%2BKW2Dm6iDH7x2H7AFj9ubifexmkIp5%2B%2FQ8Cxxg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7rBjpzlYw

This is a UK link, but I think they're available in most markets.

Open Gate for sure.
I have been using 6k 30p up until the last few weeks for this very reason, the ability to produce 2 productions from the same result. Just one being sub 1.5 minutes and 9:16.
Having the full sensor height and using a 9:16 overlay when shooting was perfect…except being in a PAL region and being a fairly heavy slo mo shooter, shooting 30p has been a big compromise.
Too big a compromise so I have gone back to shooting cropped 4k 50p which fixes my slo mo issue, but reduces my ability to produce that second social media production a bit…
I’m looking forward to shooting that next gen of camera next year whoever it is with, but the Z8 has to be the strongest contender for me right now based on what exists.

well after a day of cutting z8 and mavic 3 footage, I'm wondering what the hell I'm doing. I stumbled on some phantom 4 pro stuff I shot a few year ago and honestly its less noisy, has better highlight rolloff, but most of all it was quicker: That's the thing I'm increasingly thinking. Maybe I can improve on what I was doing 3 years ago, but only a bit, if at all, and at what time cost? If I have to denoise every shot, and mask windows to try to squeak some highlights in from outside, for a marginal improvement in a sector where I'm competing with people charging $200 and shooting on an iphone. I've seen some of the HDR iphone footage and its pretty amazing.   

I just shot my first couple of things in nlog.  Can anyone point me to alternative luts I can check out?  The nikon lut is contrasty, and the skies are a bit fluro-turquoise.  I've just had a go at grading it myself without the lut and I need something in-between mine and the nikon one.   I'm in premiere for now.  I've tried turning down the intensity and tweaking the HUE/HUE controls in premiere but its a bit limited.