jonpais

At first I thought Johnnie Behiri was using some fantastically expensive cine lenses or something, but it turns out he used the Panasonic 12-35mm f/2.8 and 7-14mm f/4 lenses. Some viewers commented on the Vimeo website about rolling shutter, underexposure and how the clip looks like video, not film, which I think just goes to show how insane some of these pixel peepers have become. I never would have guessed footage like this would be possible on a camera costing less than $2,000. I think the skin tones are beautiful, detail in the outdoor shots is wonderful, and close ups have bokeh that is satisfying enough for my eyes. And I was viewing this at 2.5K, with all of the problems associated with compression. Again, I guess you don't need to have umpteen zillion lenses to do good work.

@64mulford If you've got the money, I'm sure you can't go wrong with a lens that has been praised by the most demanding photographers as the best in the line. I haven't used the Nocticron, but I have lots of experience with the Vario 35-100mm and it also produces beautiful results. OIS isn't great though, some sort of shoulder rig is necessary.

I first saw this video over at 43 rumors.

@Christina - Rokinon/Samyang lenses may be 'cheap', but Matt Scott obviously likes them a lot, and has posted some beautiful clips made with them. From examining his test shots, I don't think you could call them 'meh'.

@iag01 Don't you mean the best camera in the universe? :)

@maxotics The OP has already shared some examples of his work here: > @Ebrahim Saadawi I've only heard great things about the Speedbooster, and hope to pick one up myself someday, but in this line of work (architectural archival footage), it seems that edge sharpness might be a problem. Also, I'm not even sure it's necessary since the OP usually shoots at f/8, and a 7-14mm f/4 should be plenty wide and fast enough. Can anyone weigh in here? /edit/ duh... I see, so he doesn't have to invest in a new lens. sorry, I didn't read carefully enough! @Quirky The RX10 sounds like a very interesting option. @jrnorman34 I'm just wondering exactly why it is you want to retire your Nikon... I've watched your videos, and even though it was through the fog of YouTube, I can't see anything horribly wrong... I'm almost inclined to suggest a camcorder solution rather than the GH4 if you're looking for great stabilization, deep DOF and built-in ND filters. Although there have been many wonderful GH4 videos posted, what really blew me away were some of the copter shots, where details in trees and distant buildings was unbelievable, even when viewed at 2.5K. Which is why I thought you had ordered the camera in the first place. /edit 2/ Looking at your videos again, there does seem to be a great deal of aliasing/moire, especially in the brick buildings; and it looks like there is haloing in overhead wires and between the buildings and the sky (the result of in-camera over-sharpening?); and in a few shots, for example, in the one in which there are white cars parked out front, they are completely blown out. In some shots, the colors are so bright, they look radioactive (like the green grass). And I'm wondering if you sometimes shoot with the lens stopped down completely, which could be why nothing is truly sharp... Also, is it a requirement that you always shoot at high noon? I realize you're not after a cinematic image, but I think there is a lot you could do to improve the quality of the videos you are already making with the Nikon. I would definitely turn the in-camera sharpening, saturation and contrast down a bit.

and with the money you save, you can pick up a mic, boompole and digital sound recorder :)

@richg101 Sounds like an overreaction to me. I found the video very informative and comprehensive.

@yellow Tone it down a bit

I think I might have asked this before, sorry if I'm repeating myself (I'm not so young anymore!), but all of you using these primes for video, you're using some kind of external monitor, am I right? because focus assist doesn't work while shooting with the GH3, so I only end up using manual focus when the subject isn't moving. It's impossible for me to judge whether the subject is in focus without some kind of aid. So investing in primes means investing in a monitor as well for me... Since I'm only concerned about focus right now, do you think a cheap 7" tablet and Wifi would work? Sorry for derailing the topic, or if it's been answered in another thread...

No need to be mean.

I've been seriously contemplating taking a filmmaking course for a while now. Filmmaking isn't like FCPX, where you can get started right away with online tutorials! I had actually tried once to get in touch with a talented young filmmaker in Saigon whose work I saw on YouTube, in the hope of assisting, but unsurprisingly, I never heard back from him. The Expat Learning Center in Shanghai offers a 6-week course that covers quite a lot of territory given the time constraints. I really enjoy some of the work posted on Vimeo by one of the instructors there, Franc Peret. Here's a sample: There is a lot of filmmaking going on here in Vietnam, but I don't know anyone with a similar sensibility. Short of that, maybe I should just watch some budget films (Vimeo) and try to recreate the shots on my own? BTW, Andrew, you're always welcome to visit Ho Chi Minh City. Concerning a video posted earlier with some different LUTs applied, a few readers have compared them to Instagram, which I don't think is fair. mLooks, which is new to me, offers the possibility of changing dozens of parameters to achieve whatever mood you're after. Several colorists favor Kodak 2393 film emulation LUTs, but having tried them with several of my clips, it doesn't really work for me. Of course, none of the colorists I'm thinking of just drop a LUT on the timeline, render and export.

@Julian Wholeheartedly agree with the first point :) Actually, when I was shopping for drives in Bangkok last weekend, I was amazed at just how luscious some of them looked. I think all they had were outdated HDD RAIDS though :)

My very first video camera was a Panasonic TMC-900 camcorder. When playing back the 60p files, the picture would stutter on my old 2011 13" MacBook Pro. So I installed a Samsung 840 SSD. The ability to watch smooth playback of my clips was certainly worth the relatively small investment. When running Clipwrap to convert the AVCHD files, I often had to wait as long as an hour for processing to complete, during which time the memory would be completely depleted. So I upgraded to 8GB RAM from 4GB. With each upgrade, I saw a dramatic improvement in performance, and editing, which used to be a time-consuming chore, became more endurable. Recently, I purchased a rMBP 15" with 8GB RAM, which, while a lightning fast machine, is barely sufficient for FCPX. If I run any other apps at the same time, I'm running on virtual memory. And once I discovered DaVinci Resolve and plug-ins like LUT Utility (and more recently, the fabulous mLooks), suddenly 8GB RAM and the Iris Pro graphics card were grossly insufficient. And so on and so on... If I were to search for an analogy, what if the SD card in your camera took 30 seconds to buffer between every shot (assuming it doesn't already!)? Even if all you were doing was still life work in a studio, it would make your life miserable. I feel the same way about slow computers and storage. Sure, if you're happy doing rendering overnight and dropped frames are just a minor nuisance, it's good enough I suppose. But since I discovered the joys of color grading and I intend to spend much more time at the computer, a fast one is not only desirable but absolutely necessary. As for USB 3, it sure beats the hell out of USB 2! And I'm quite happy with my new Seagate Backup Plus Fast 4TB bus powered portable drive. But as soon as I can, I'm going to pick up the LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2 for its speeds of 1,380 MB/s (compared to 230 or so for the Seagate). If all someone is going to do is 1080p with little grading, no LUTs, no NEAT video, no intention of ever using Resolve, or getting into 4K, almost any computer today is fine for HD video. But if you are looking to expand and grow, you need a powerful machine. And as I learned the hard way, it's much cheaper to purchase the best you can afford than to keep selling and upgrading.

Very inspirational stuff indeed. Maybe I'll just hold on to my GH3 until I learn to shoot!

I only realized this afternoon that the cards I got aren't UHS-I. I found a dealer here at the SanDisk website. Going there tomorrow to buy a new card!

I guess storage isn't as sexy a topic as I thought it was :(

Quite clever!

I believe the 2012 iMac 21" was handicapped by not allowing more than 8GB RAM but this is no longer the case. I also ordered a configured iMac which should arrive in a few weeks. The only thing I regret is the lack of Thunderbolt 2, which my MacBook Pro has, and which I imagine will be standard on the next refresh (this fall?).

Apart from the number of city lights on the GH4 side of the frame, I'm not really seeing much difference here...

After watching this video, I'm going to have to check out mLooks!

Having watched your video, I was about to do a turnaround and say the Razer Blade might suffice after all... if you're really not adding any effects, not even dissolves; not using any LUTs or DaVinci Resolve or running several apps at the same time; or bothering with noise reduction or any heavy grading - why not? I guess the reason I would never buy it is because pretty much every single reviewer says the LCD is awful. I would still stick with the GH4 (forget the Sony!) and try to find a fast notebook (if you absolutely don't want a desktop) with at least a screen that isn't washed out and has good blacks. Or you could choose from among 27 refurbished iMacs with full 1-year warranty, starting at $1,050. :)

Andrew, you might want to also consider this drive. It's $40 cheaper, has double the capacity, is faster, etc. I picked one up while I was in Bangkok over the weekend. It also houses two spinning disks by our favorite vendor, Samsung :) It does get HOT though - as much as 50 C when doing a lot of transfers. Maybe the color grading and storage solutions then... 4K news might not be such a great topic.