Julian

Exactly what I'm saying. The discussion about creativity/skill is irrelevant. Of course that is (more) important. Just saying with proper grading and a basic cam like you mention, everybody can make videos of their cat with a filmic look. That doesn't make you a great cinematographer, but when people discuss 'filmic' here, it's probably related to the aesthetics most of the time. Actually there isn't much vague about that. It's just the act of making something digital look not so obviously digital (highlight rolloff, dynamic range, color, grain vs noise, toning).

Grading! A sticky with video tutorials, links to websites with luts/picture profiles etc. Maybe a seperate topic for discussion? Or a huge first post that is updated all the time with the best stuff.

Panasonic GH4 topic - camera's are shipping. Theres tons of tests/vids coming out. Would be nice to have one topic with all of it in there, also a good place for new GH4 owners to show their work and help each other out.

Edit: to fresh things up the current stickys could be moved/unstickied. BMPCC lenses can move over to the BM subforum, GH3 guide could be advertised in another way (maybe even a seperate forum with stickies for all the guides so people can ask questions?) 5D raw sticky - last reply January 5th.. seems to have had its time.

True, testing the GH4 at f/8 doesn't make sense. Testing all the cameras at f/8 doesn't make sense either. Should have tested with apertures giving the same DOF. Something like f/8 on the 5D, 5.6 on the Epic and 4 on the GH4.

Still, it's an interesting test. Just make sure you don't judge on one video. Luckily there is a lot of comparison material out now.

Moral of the story: if you want a filmic image, learn how to grade. Of course, some cameras will give you a better starting point than others. But if you know your gear, the limitations, and how to get the best out of it, combined with good grading skills, you can make filmic stuff with whatever camera from €300 to €30.000.

Nice test again Andrew :) Great work.

 

I know it's not the point of this test, but max 30 fps vs max. 96 fps does deserve a mention imo.

Don't think that has to do with the card. More likely the subjects you are filming. Try something with a lot of small details or high iso.

I have one of those new panasonic 16GB cards, when i get my GH4 ill compare it to some other older cards regarding bitrate.

I think it should be $1800. Not many reasons for it to be more expensive than the A7 (not R). Sony can price it whatever they want of course. Competition is good, would be nice if it gets a price close to the GH4!

If you are interested in 1080p, it doesn't hurt to shoot 4K. You can downsample to 1080p for better quality and you build up a 4K-proof archive. That's what I'll be doing!

the black magic, and the previous gh cameras, even the gh4 as i can see now, needs a lot of correction to be "watchable"

colors come out flat, the purpose being probably to have the artistic freedom to grade them as you want.

Unless you are a skilled colorist, you need to spend hours upon hours to grade them.

 

Or you could use something like film convert or a LUT to give it a look with one simple click...

Message sent.

Just watched a few seconds of the clip linked in the topic start: both exposure (over exposed highlights) and grading look terrible. No shit it looks like crap. I can make ML raw look crap like that too.

Can someone clarify something about aperture equivalence for me. The focal reducer will increase light gathering by one stop, but how will it affect the DOF shallowness? So 35 f2 lens on mft would become 25mm f1.4, and then multiply again by the mft crop factor, it becomes a 50mm f2.8?

yep. You are correct. Dof of 50mm 2.8 fullframe with the light gathering capability of 1.4.

Looks awesome. eBay link?

I'm looking for a Canon EF to M43 Focal Reducer for a good price. Doesn't have to be the cheapest of the cheapest, but around €100 would be nice. Planning on using it with my DSO FF58 2x oval (f/4) on the GH4.

 

I'd prefer buying something that is tested by others. Suggestions welcome!

Why don't you upload some images/crops to the Gallery here so everbody can see it Andy? Would be cool :)

I don't have an external monitor...

What does the Hz setting actually do? Is it related to the hdmi or does it also change something in camera? I think I used it at 24Hz to enable C4K mode. Don't have the GH4 here anymore... had to return my test sample. Have one for myself on order though :)

Not mine, but you can find it if you look for it. I think it's a combination plenty people use. Especially on BlackMagic camera's.

I think this is on a GH3 (11-16mm + Speed Booster)

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6Wr5RZM7QE

Damn that thing looks cool. Curious how that would work on top of an anamorphic lens!

 

There's even a 82mm aspheric version. Would love to see some tests with this, with high res still images to see how it affects the quality.

Should work. It's designed for aps-c-camera's (1.5x crop). So it definitely will be fine in the 4K mode. I'd also expect it to work without trouble in 1080p.

 

Have been thinking about this lens too, but the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 looks like a more versatile option to me.

The .RW2 files open if you change the file to GH2 as well.  I think most people believed the GH2 sensor was from Panasonic, so I don't think changing Exif data proves the sensor one way or another. 

 

Thanks for clearing that up!

 

Interesting though, I use this method a lot to open raws from new camera's and it usually doesn't work if the sensor is really different. Or it would at least fuck up the colors etc... (happens when you change OM-D E-M1 raws to E-M5 for example).

I agree that 2x G6 would be the best option :) You're welcome.

Even though the G6 is cheap, it still can be a lot of money for some people.

 

You could try finding a second hand G6. Or a second hand GH2. I'm planning on selling my GH2, send me a PM if you are interested.

 

If you really want something dirt cheap: Panasonic GF3/GF5. You can get them for €100 sometimes. Or buy a kit and sell the lens(es). It doesn't have full manual video though.

I'll just get a spare battery. There's plenty of juice in them. You can get a battery grip to fit two of them. I think it's the same as the GH3

Fixed lens and only still images. If this would do 1080p 24/25 fps it would be a game changer for video for sure! Pulling focus in post... Would be amazing! For stills it's still a gimmick IMO. Fun to embed those interactive iframes where you can change the focus, but what is the real use of that?

It's a big step up from the first version indeed. Might be very interesting for cinematography if this develops more.

On another note: curious about the 4K 4:2:2 10 bit files?

On Vimeo you can download this clip in original size, 12GB...