Simon Shasha

Hey guys,
I wanted to share with you an awesome and affordable monitor made by IKAN that can, with a tiny bit of work, be used as an EVF.
The main reason I wanted an EVF + loupe for my Micro setup was to create a fourth-point of contact between my Micro and my body. 
With my right-hand on the ENG grip, left-hand on the len's focus-ring, chest-pad against my right-shoulder, having the IKAN + loupe pressed up against my right-eye added that extra piece of stability I have been looking for - not to mention being able to monitor and pull focus perfectly in bright daylight.
For those interested, the monitor is called the IKAN VL35 and can be had for as little as $259USD: http://ikancorp.com/productdetail.php?id=1738
I rigged it together with an old ViewFinder that I used to use with my A7S and A7RII. Having sold those cameras, I decided to use it as a loupe for my IKAN VL35.
It doesn't fit the VL35 perfectly (as it is designed for 3" monitors, and the VL35 is a 3.5" monitor), but it will do for now.
However, the good news is IKAN recently told me that they will be releasing a loupe specifically designed for the VL35 - and given the affordability of the monitor itself, I'm sure the loupe will be priced very nicely.
As for the quality of the monitor itself - all I can say is that it's great Very similar to the monitor on the BMPCC. 
I haven't conducted any scientific or methodical tests yet, such as running down the battery or precisely measuring colour and luminosity, but I have used it plenty in the real-world, and it has functioned flawlessly and beautifully. Highly recommended for those looking for a setup like this
Anyway, here are some pictures for those that are interested

 

6K, 4K - don't really care to be honest.

Give me 1080P 10bit internal at 48/50/60FPS (minimum), V-Log, 5-Axis IBIS, for $1200USD and you have my money.
But then again, the Blackmagic Micro covers all that (except the IBIS). The GH5 (assuming it has GH4 form-factor) would definitely win the ergonomics battle, however...

6K, 4K - don't really care to be honest.

Give me 1080P 10bit internal at 48/50/60FPS (minimum), V-Log, 5-Axis IBIS, for $1200USD and you have my money.
But then again, the Blackmagic Micro covers all that (except the IBIS). The GH5 (assuming it has GH4 form-factor) would definitely win the ergonomics battle, however...

Probably the best skintones I've seen on a compressed 8-bit camera.

Probably the best skintones I've seen on a compressed 8-bit camera.

Probably the best skintones I've seen on a compressed 8-bit camera.

Probably the best skintones I've seen on a compressed 8-bit camera.

Go the A7RII. I owned it, and though not owning the current A7SII, I owned the A7S - the BSI sensor in the A7RII produces an image that I believe is much superior to the original A7S, and everything I have seen from the A7SII. I find the colours of the A7RII are much more accurate, shadows much cleaner. You really don't need more than 12,800ISO (if not 6400ISO), which the A7RII does fine. Personally, I scrap a location if it needs more than 6400ISO (back in the day I'd scrap it if needed more than 1600ISO) - when ISO gets ridiculous, good chance one shouldn't even be shooting there in the first place.

Go the A7RII. I owned it, and though not owning the current A7SII, I owned the A7S - the BSI sensor in the A7RII produces an image that I believe is much superior to the original A7S, and everything I have seen from the A7SII. I find the colours of the A7RII are much more accurate, shadows much cleaner. You really don't need more than 12,800ISO (if not 6400ISO), which the A7RII does fine. Personally, I scrap a location if it needs more than 6400ISO (back in the day I'd scrap it if needed more than 1600ISO) - when ISO gets ridiculous, good chance one shouldn't even be shooting there in the first place.

Go the A7RII. I owned it, and though not owning the current A7SII, I owned the A7S - the BSI sensor in the A7RII produces an image that I believe is much superior to the original A7S, and everything I have seen from the A7SII. I find the colours of the A7RII are much more accurate, shadows much cleaner. You really don't need more than 12,800ISO (if not 6400ISO), which the A7RII does fine. Personally, I scrap a location if it needs more than 6400ISO (back in the day I'd scrap it if needed more than 1600ISO) - when ISO gets ridiculous, good chance one shouldn't even be shooting there in the first place.

Go the A7RII. I owned it, and though not owning the current A7SII, I owned the A7S - the BSI sensor in the A7RII produces an image that I believe is much superior to the original A7S, and everything I have seen from the A7SII. I find the colours of the A7RII are much more accurate, shadows much cleaner. You really don't need more than 12,800ISO (if not 6400ISO), which the A7RII does fine. Personally, I scrap a location if it needs more than 6400ISO (back in the day I'd scrap it if needed more than 1600ISO) - when ISO gets ridiculous, good chance one shouldn't even be shooting there in the first place.

It's great. I shot all of this in 120fps and the long continuous takes really help in the edit, much better than the 240fps cache record and buffering mode.
Add to that the F1.8 lens really helps in low-light and you have a great run & gun camera.

Damn, some of that rolling-shutter in 4K mode is pretty apparent. Manageable, but apparent.

Just pointed my A7S + Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 at a plain white wall. Shot in 1080P at 24FPS in full-frame mode.

 

Hey guys,
Not sure if anyone has pointed this out before, but last night I was messing around with my Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 on my Sony A7S. Once attached to the A7S, I reminded myself that I was going to have to switch it to APS-C mode. However, to my surprise, the lens wasn't vignetting, even though the A7S was still in full-frame mode. Eventually, it did vignette, but not until around 24mm. I concluded that between 26-35mm, this lens is absolutely fine for full-frame sensor use. You can even get away with 24mm, which produces a very slight vignette (if you letterbox your footage, it would hide the vignette at 24mm).
Anyway, just thought I'd point it out.
Enjoy!

Found this video here by Daniel Peters: https://vimeo.com/135591796
I was already rather impressed by the dynamic-range exhibited by the RX10 II. However, after bringing it into After Effects and pulling down the highlights by 2 stops, I was even more impressed. If only it were 10bit. Regardless, pretty amazing for the price and form-factor. Gives me high hopes for the (possible) BSI based "A7000".
Anyways, here's the original shot, followed by a shot with the highlights pulled-down, then a slighted graded, de-noised, and re-grained version:
ORIGINAL SHOT

 
HIGHLIGHT'S PULLED DOWN

 
GRADED, DE-NOISED, RE-GRAINED

Found this video here by Daniel Peters: https://vimeo.com/135591796
I was already rather impressed by the dynamic-range exhibited by the RX10 II. However, after bringing it into After Effects and pulling down the highlights by 2 stops, I was even more impressed. If only it were 10bit. Regardless, pretty amazing for the price and form-factor. Gives me high hopes for the (possible) BSI based "A7000".
Anyways, here's the original shot, followed by a shot with the highlights pulled-down, then a slighted graded, de-noised, and re-grained version:
ORIGINAL SHOT

 
HIGHLIGHT'S PULLED DOWN

 
GRADED, DE-NOISED, RE-GRAINED

For professional photography, which requires AF most of the time, I can understand. However, if they were to invest in Nikon-F mount lenses, there would be no probably with system jumping. It's actually why I invested in a bunch of Nikon AIS lenses years ago. They've survived the jump from my 7D, to NEX-5, to D7100, to GH3 to BMCC and BMPCC, to GH4, to A6000 and A7s. In fact, I'd say the Nikon 28mm AIS F2.8 is the best lens I've ever owned. Not only in build-quality, but in optics. Masterpiece of a lens.

For professional photography, which requires AF most of the time, I can understand. However, if they were to invest in Nikon-F mount lenses, there would be no probably with system jumping. It's actually why I invested in a bunch of Nikon AIS lenses years ago. They've survived the jump from my 7D, to NEX-5, to D7100, to GH3 to BMCC and BMPCC, to GH4, to A6000 and A7s. In fact, I'd say the Nikon 28mm AIS F2.8 is the best lens I've ever owned. Not only in build-quality, but in optics. Masterpiece of a lens.

Just pointed my A7S + Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 at a plain white wall. Shot in 1080P at 24FPS in full-frame mode.

 

Just pointed my A7S + Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 at a plain white wall. Shot in 1080P at 24FPS in full-frame mode.

 

Just pointed my A7S + Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 at a plain white wall. Shot in 1080P at 24FPS in full-frame mode.

 

Yeah, I'll do it, give me a minute

Hey guys,
Not sure if anyone has pointed this out before, but last night I was messing around with my Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 on my Sony A7S. Once attached to the A7S, I reminded myself that I was going to have to switch it to APS-C mode. However, to my surprise, the lens wasn't vignetting, even though the A7S was still in full-frame mode. Eventually, it did vignette, but not until around 24mm. I concluded that between 26-35mm, this lens is absolutely fine for full-frame sensor use. You can even get away with 24mm, which produces a very slight vignette (if you letterbox your footage, it would hide the vignette at 24mm).
Anyway, just thought I'd point it out.
Enjoy!

Hey guys,
Not sure if anyone has pointed this out before, but last night I was messing around with my Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 on my Sony A7S. Once attached to the A7S, I reminded myself that I was going to have to switch it to APS-C mode. However, to my surprise, the lens wasn't vignetting, even though the A7S was still in full-frame mode. Eventually, it did vignette, but not until around 24mm. I concluded that between 26-35mm, this lens is absolutely fine for full-frame sensor use. You can even get away with 24mm, which produces a very slight vignette (if you letterbox your footage, it would hide the vignette at 24mm).
Anyway, just thought I'd point it out.
Enjoy!