Oliver Daniel

On 8/22/2020 at 2:02 AM, ntblowz said:

 

Probably because no body brags about what light they have vs camera.. 😂

 I am definitely guilty as charged 😅, as I only step up my lighting department last year vs many camera bodies I bought through out the year.

My other friend just got Godox VL200 recently after I tempted him with the result I got from my Aperture lol, and he been doing video for nearly a decade! That was his first big light purchase beside the normal $100 LED panel that a lot videographer buy when they started.

I do a heavy investment every 5 years, but rotate camera bodies around every 3 years (unless I’m unhappy with the camera). 

I always put lighting is the priority, followed by lenses. 

You can always rent your lighting but you really get to improve your craft by owning them and having a play regularly. I rent Titan Tubes and they are INSANE but you’d really get the most out of them by owning, as the app and customisations are deep. 

On 8/22/2020 at 1:53 AM, bjohn said:

Agreed 1,000 percent. The so-called cinematic look is 99% about lighting; the camera and lenses make a difference but it's minor in comparison. This video in particular drives the point home:

 

It really is. Doesn’t matter what you shoot on, it’s lighting that will dramatically change a shot, but a lot of the internet think it’s cameras. This seems so obvious but we have to talk about it still. 

8 hours ago, Stronz said:

The thought of spending $4,000 on a camera and having to deal with all this nonsense, just to get the features Canon markets on the box...it's appalling. What's even more tragic is the people still making excuses. Canon could have delivered the goods and made everyone happy but they botched it.  

Yep, absolutely ridiculous the “workarounds” people are considering to record video properly on a $4000 camera, and the excuses being made. If this was on a Panasonic nobody would bother. 

Andrews intentions are correct. The marketing sold this as a revolutionary pro video tool yet Canon have decided it “overheats”. Good work! 

On 8/19/2020 at 5:45 PM, bjohn said:

I'll mainly use lights for documentary interviews and small (i.e. duo or trio) music videos. I decided to go with a reflector system; I debated between the three leading systems (CRLS, Dedo Lightstream, and K-flect, and went with Dedo since there's a distributor in my country. I got a small kit of reflectors in different diffusion levels and one small dedolight with the parallel beam attachment (which increases its output by about 8 times). It's pretty amazing. Only one light to plug in but I can get three- or four-point lighting by bouncing the beam around with the reflectors, no need for diffusion (the different reflectors have different reflectance angles ranging from mirror-like to very diffuse), and the reflectors effectively increase the distance from the light source so you get more natural falloff and take advantage of the inverse square law.

My entire interview lighting kit, minus the C stands of course, can fit in one carry-on Pelican case. It's a great system. I could have/should have saved money by getting a cheaper light; that and the parallel beam reflector were by far the most expensive items. The reflectors themselves aren't very expensive.

Never used that type of kit but it sounds interesting for low key subjects.

On the broader topic, it can be a shame to see so many creators neglecting lighting in favour of constant camera body upgrades. Or using the ISO as a light source 😂. Then complaining the image isn’t good enough. Laziness?

Just off a tangent a little, my daughter was watching Detective Pikachu - the lighting in that film is incredible! Great use of contrast and colour. 

Apart from the artificial crippling, the consensus is the camera doesn’t actually overheat? What voodoo is in there that the S1H doesn’t have? (which needs a huge vent). 

Thing is, if Canon didn’t do this I would of been a customer of 2 bodies and a bunch of RF lenses. Plus I would of likely picked up an RF cine cam in the future. Just doesn’t make much business sense to me. 

2 hours ago, Matt Kieley said:

After dipping into LED lights with my Godox SL60W a couple years ago, last year I decided to go all LED. I have 2 more SL60W lights, a Falcon Eyes F7, an Aputure MC (my first Aputure light and basically a mini Falcon Eyes F7) and  Lume Cube 2.0 (a decent little kicker light). I might also get the Godox S30 and LC500R.

Love the Godox S30, it's an absolute steal. Makes the Dedolight alternative look like a rip-off. Get the projection attachment. Use it all the time! 

6 hours ago, Vintage Jimothy said:

I had no idea until I saw this thread that Falcon Eyes had released an updated model on their RX-24TDX and RX-18TD flex lights. Have you ever been able to compare your Mark II model to the older original variants? I've been eyeing one of them for awhile now, so I'm curious if it'd be in my best interest to save up a bit more to get the new models. 

Also could you provide any more feedback on the Luxli Taiko? There's only a handful of videos on that light compared to the new Aputure P300c, and while it'll be quite awhile before I could afford buying either one, I'd love to hear input on which light would be the better option to invest in first.

 

I've not used the older Falcon Eyes, all I know are the new versions are waterproof, have built-in effects (which are pretty good!), have a new better ballast which can mount to a light stand, better colors and build quality.  I love it, it's an essential part of my kit now. 

The Taiko is probably the best light I have ever used. I've never used the Aputure Nova, and I was honestly put off by the weight with the hard case.  It's like 50+ pounds, whereas the Taiko is around 20 pounds with the case.

I can compare to the Arri Skypanel which is more similar to the Nova, and the Arri is an absolute chore to transport.  Overall I think the Taiko is better than the Skypanel for 1/3rd price.  The Taiko is just about lightweight enough, very good for a 2:1 light. The Taiko has better colour accuracy and has better punch. The RGB brightness is hugely impressive!! The app is also absolutely fantastic. It comes with different diffuser strengths or you can make the light hard with no diffuser. 

It’s actually darkly hilarious that we all though the Cripple Hammer had gone, but just when the penny dropped, Canon unleash their deadliest cripple of all. 

Seems like for anyone looking to pick between this and the R5 for video, the Sony easily wins. 

As well as managing overheating, it has better DR, better lowlight, better codec options, better file sizes, better external recording, better audio, better price and more affordable lenses. 

I can see it being really beneficial for my shooting style. 2 pre-ordered. 

2 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

* I also use these cheap color LED light bulbs I found at Walmart. They come in a couple of colors (blue, red, green, yellow, purple, maybe others?) and if you're just looking to add a single color of light to the background or something, they're great and cheap! 

Whatever works!

On last weeks music video - I had practical house lamps and wanted to dim and make them flash. I picked up some very cheap smart LED bulbs, and they did the job! (So cheap that “strobe” was called “fade”). 😂

7 minutes ago, kye said:

Unconventional choice, but my most used lights are:

1) The sun

2) Halogen work light from hardware store (for lens tests)

3) I own an Aputure AL-M9 which is super handy too

Mostly it's available lighting for me though, so the sun but also practicals at night.

I once had to resort to using a torchlight light reflected against tin foil / foil wrap. Worked ok! 

If you like the M9 check out the Falcon Eyes F7! That light is insane for the money. 

14 hours ago, ntblowz said:

I like my Aputure 120d II, definitely helped a lot on footage i shoot now, but if I have to buy lights now I probably would choose Godox as their one is quite bit cheaper than Aputure for similar performance.

 

 

Pavotube is probably my next light to invest

The 120D II is very popular, however like you say there are many other competitive models, like the Forza 60, Godox VL150 and Falcon Eyes P120. 

Not tried the Pavotubes, but love the Titan Tubes.

I actually backed a Kickstarter recently for “Lumin8” 4” tubes. See what the crack is. 

3 hours ago, noone said:

Does Neewer put out a cheaper Godox clone in lights like they do in flashes?    I love my Neewer flash when i want a bigger flash (I just use a little flip up flash most of the time if not using available light).

I’m pretty sure Neewer stuff is a re-branded collection of gear from several manufacturers, including some Godox stuff, like the SL-60. Or they are just total copies. 

11 hours ago, Tim Sewell said:

Godox vl300 is blowing my mind currently!

My only missing light is a bright 300w COB. Intrigued to check this out. 

2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

No joke, but when I saw the title of this thread that is what I came here to write!

Sunlight is best. 

Thus light modifiers can be the best investment, to shape what you've already got. 

At the other end of the stick, direct sunlight can be a massive pain in the ass. You can’t put a grid on it. You can rarely use it indoors. Saying that, Golden Hour is like magic. 

1 hour ago, herein2020 said:

I like the GVM lights for video, and Godox everything for photography. All of my studio strobes and speedlights are Godox. For video I use the GVM LED panels and my new favorite lights are the GVM 150W RGB lights. No more gels and they are reasonably bright when set to white. I also have a whole kit of Yongnuo YN360s that I like to stick in odd places to add fill to a scene. They are also RGB and work great in music videos.

I use the GVM LED panels for interview type setups and the GVM 150W RGB lights for everything from music videos to commercial work. They are reasonably priced especially since you don't have to buy gels and the quality is about right for what you pay for. 

GVM are mega cheap yet highly rated for their value. Glad they are working for you. 

5 hours ago, noone said:

A) The Sun

B) The Moon

Seriously though I do need something cheap but ok so thanks for the thread!

Godox is your friend. 

Lighting is pretty much the most important thing for what we do. It’s what makes your images sing. 

Here’s a bunch of lights I highly recommend:

1. Falcon Eyes F7

Ridiculously awesome light for the price. Everyone should have at least one.  Super bright for a small light. Very useful. Essential. Possibly my favourite right now. 
 

2. Falcon Eyes 24TDX II 

Flex lights are expensive. Not this. Build quality is great. Super useful. Waterproof.  Put anywhere! 
 

3. Luxli Taiko 

In my opinion, better than the Arri Skypanel which is 3-4 times the price. Best colour accuracy I’ve ever seen and very easy to use. Only downside is the power unit. Feels a bit cheap and not long enough. 

4. Godox S30

I think this makes the $3k Dedolight equivalent almost obsolete. For 10% of the price? Super optics for the projection attachment. Downsides are the power goes down to 10w from 30w when using batteries.

5. Colorspike

The light pattern customisation is immense and looks way more organic than preset effects from other lights. An incredible tool. Only downsides is the carry case is a bit “meh” and diffuser is fiddly. 
 

6. Astera Titan Tubes 

These are way more expensive than other mentioned lights. They share some ideas with the Colorspike’s but on a much higher level. These things are insane and worth every penny. I don’t own them but what they can do.... wow!! Downsides... 8 tube case is very very heavy. They are expensive. 
 

What are your current favourite lights? 

26 minutes ago, androidlad said:

Graded and matched to Alexa using the above footage, with CineMatch plugin:

Nice. 

The footage definitely has a slight green / yellow tint but it can get easily corrected. 

17 hours ago, Trek of Joy said:

More SOOC footage at 50/100p from the "No Limits" launch video by Jacques Crafford. 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kYjaH84X9871d8-Rmuj9DOXfmtAH6V6i?fbclid=IwAR3LPZ7njD6UadrWtejYeGQHq5hfTCNOKXBrdliOZ4w4cvrja5IrzGgRnhY

I think the colours and overall image quality is much, much improved from the previous cameras. 

Did a quick log to rec 709 and CC on a couple of shots. 

note after posting: the gamma has shifted massively with these uploads and look more magenta compared to my exports. How weird!

It’s insane to see so many people figuring out cooling solutions and even resorting to portable freezers. What’s going on here? People celebrating that they got through a shoot without the cam having a tantrum. Madness. 

With this most serious of all cripple hammers, this camera isn’t even adequate as a reliable B-cam. 

It’s a shame, it sucks a bit, but there’s a crap load of other tools that will do just fine. 

I do however applaud the detective work, interesting. Well done. 

This will further ruin everyone’s lives and your entire filmmaking career. 

Funny how the camera buying internet has gone from "what are the most sick cinematic camera movements?" to "will my camera melt and burn my hands, and shall i buy a self generating ice pack to get 2 mins 8k recording on my year long trip to Africa?" 

FWIW, the A7SIII looks like the better video tool. I live in Manchester UK. Sunlight doesn't exist. Only rain. (besides today!) 

24 minutes ago, SteveV4D said:

Brand preference plays a part.  However I feel expectations are raised not to excessive levels, but merely the hope that a hybrid camera could be released that wasn't flawed in a significant way. 

The S1H is a superb camera, undermined by poor AF, a complaint you couldn't make against the R5 and R6, which is undermined by overheating, something the S1H doesn't suffer from.  The A7sIII overheats also, and its photo function is limited to 12MP, which is a put off to some.  Plus its IBIS is inferior to Canon and probably Panasonic, and its colour science isn't to everyone's liking.

Somewhere between all these cameras is an excellent tool for all of us.  It is frustrating to see cameras so close to getting it right, yet due to the decisions made in the design, to miss the mark ever so slightly.

Can these cameras all be used.  Of course they can.  There are already videos shot by the R5 despite the overheating.  However any cameras shortcomings will be a deterant to some, who had hoped to add that camera to their equipment.  Dissapointment drives some complaints here and sounding off on forums like these doesn't mean we are not going out and filming, or learning new things.  Gear discussion is always going to be a part of our craft.  They maybe just tools, but the specs of those tools will either aid or hinder our work.  

My Pocket 4K would be much more useful with a great AF, a screen I could see outside and better battery life.  How is that not important to my shooting.  Discussions about these limits not only inform new buyers but also can lead to workarounds.  Even if there is ultimately a lot of nonsense posts in between.

Your comments I completely agree with. Healthy discussion around cameras is only part of the process. 

There are segments of people who take these discussions off the rails, as if the R5 overheating has ruined their life. I was disappointed as it’s features fulfil a creative need, and likewise I sold my FS5 2 years back as I was spending too much time “fixing” the colour - so I got the EVA1. 

I’m doing lot of fast paced sports and fashion stuff right now, as well as music videos. I want to do certain shots on a gimbal and as I’m operating solo, what I want is insanely hard to pull off with MF. Plus I’m finding the 2k100fps on the EVA1 little too soft. 

Likewise, I won’t use the DSMC2 RED form factor as it’s a pain, or the Ursa Mini Pro as it’s too heavy for handheld without an Easyrig - even though I adore the image capabilities more than anything else out there. 

So yes, it does matter. But I’m not losing sleep or being toxic about cameras that don’t do what I want when there’s so much more to prioritise. 

42 minutes ago, zerocool22 said:

What if the R5 did not overheat would you still go the A7S III route?

I would rent them both and see what works for me. That’s exactly what I’m going to do, even though I’m don’t have much confidence in the R5 in the higher quality modes. I’ll allow my A7S III pre-order to hold until I’ve tried it. If I’m unsatisfied, oh well. Still got cameras I can use. 

These recent camera releases have resulted in a significant amount of velocity  and trolling right across the web. 

Every camera is good these days. Every single one. Nor is a single one of them “underwhelming”, why has the bar suddenly been raised so high? Because Canon put 8k in a mirrorless? 

The S1H, the A7SIII, the R5, the X-T4 all have a purpose to fit your needs. If you can’t shoot good footage with them, the issue isn’t the camera. If one of these does n’t fit your needs, buy something else. 

I get excited about cameras, but they are just cameras. They are worthless without artists, documentary filmmakers, journalists, Youtubers.... the audience mostly doesn’t give a f**k what it was shot on - as long as it looks good, sounds good and provides value in form of information or entertainment. 

That time arguing over cameras could be better spent on learning more about lighting, composition, sound or editing styles. 

Sure, I did pre-order the R5 and cancelled it. Instead I’ve swapped it for 2 A7SIII’s because they fulfil a creative need. And it’s not the end of the world if it’s all just hype - the EVA1 and GH5 still exist and allow me to create on every shoot. 

For the argumentative, trolls and naysayers, it’s time to get romantic about the craft again. Show us your work. Make more stuff. Have some fun. Create memories. And grow the hell up. 

This video has some really beautiful A7SIII footage in there, and a lot of it. A couple of wonky skin tones but mostly lovely colours. It’s in Chinese.