fuzzynormal

Of course, we can all talk highfalutin' about how to get superior cinematography with DSLR's/Mirrorless, but here's the cliff notes/shortcut to a "film" look that is pretty cheap and easy.  Cheap being an operative word here:  

Slap some sort of old manual 50mm lens on a Rebel/Lumix/Alpha/Nikon, open the iris all the way, record@24fps, run your shutter @50 or below, adjust exposure with ND and/or ISO --you'd be able to create a "film" look by doing that I'd wager.  All would have slightly different IQ, but then so does film stock.  Regardless, it's not going to look like video camcorder footage.

Well, let's not forget that then you have to do something informed with all such stuff.

Knowing why this would work is arguably just as important as doing it, however.

I still assert that if you have the right skills and people, you can go into a camera store, leave after spending $500, and have good enough imaging gear to shoot a film that has the potential look indistinguishable from most of the films that have ever existed.

The imaging devices are now that good.  It's all the other stuff that matters more.  And there' so much other stuff.  If you want to be a filmmaker, an answer isn't "buy this or that camera."  It's "study."

You can't buy your way into a career by purchasing gear.  (you kind of could a generation ago)  You have to develop skills and then have a viable, unique, and interesting outlook with those skills.

5D MII and 5D MIII with open apertures (sDoF) and @ 24/25p will provide aesthetics that are as cinematic (as a parody almost) as it gets.

 

This is true.  

I've done it for this exact look.  It's definitely one of those "too much of a good thing" kind of aesthetics; which is interesting if that's what you're going for.

Bottom line (this is an exaggeration but with some truth in it) if you're an amateur and unaware of the "recipe" to create cinema, it's probably going to look like video.  You could shoot and then project film camera footage in such a way to make it look like video, for instance.

 What is the best possible outcome for you?

Exactly this.  And this.  Basically, in certain minds, any attention is validation. 

try to act like it. 

Third post's a charm, right?  Curious: are you the guy that makes those vampire movies?

As for the 4K.  I got no issues with a blogger that enjoys tech getting excited about new tech.  The fact that he fosters that excitement is okay by me.

In future though, I'd rather just have a good compressed codec.

Amen to that.  For a short film narrative, :60 spot, or maybe a music video I'd consider a shoot in RAW because the workflow for those projects are suited for a pedantic approach.  

I'm certainly not tenacious enough to use RAW for my long-form documentaries though, and that's where I do most of my stuff.

Folks need to realize that for every job there are different solutions.  Gets kind of nuts when people argue about the "best" camera.  

"Best" camera?  In what context, you know?

I used to think 4k was pointless... till I saw it.  Even on a monitor with less than 1080p I could see a dramatic difference in a STREAMED 4k video on YOUTUBE.  If someone can't tell the difference between 1080p compressed Canon 5D MK II output and decent 4K output they need their eyes checked.

Well of course 4K can look better, there's more resolution.  I'm just saying 1080, properly and dramatically shot, looks great as it is.  

My local camera shop has a pretty scuffed but otherwise perfectly functional used 5DII for sale at $730, so I exaggerated a bit on that one.

Anyway, my main point is the tools are cheaply there to create and create wonderfully on par to a pro level.  It's not to deny that better gear exists.

If a punk cinematographer calls me 'dude'... they don't get a job. Simple as that. 

For what it's worth, this is one punk that's more than willing to stay away from a toxic work environment.

By doing the same thing, but different.

And then we all get to read various internet postings from fan boys.  They'll assert that because they made a decision to spend their money on Canon, it's so much better than Sony.  And Panasonic?  Forget about it, just because they were first, doesn't mean they're the best and so on and so on.

It's just that this time the phrase 4K will be used a whole lot more.

It's silly, but that's all part of what helps sells these things.

Neat-o.  As I say, great time to be in the imaging game.

$300 DSLR and a $100 lens and take pictures that will rival pro photography quality.  You can't say that about the video aspects of that same camera.

I get what you're talking about, but I will disagree a bit as I do think video is already there.  And I LOVE low-end DSLR equipment and really don't think it sucks at all.  

It's not even as good as it's going to get, but it's very valid for "pro" work.  I've been paid a lot over the past few years shooting on an old 5DII and a few primes from the 1980's.  

My last personal DSLR film projected on huge festival theatre screens @1080 and it looked awesome.  Was it the film with the most resolution?  Maybe, maybe not...but unless you really tried, you couldn't tell.

Here's a for instance:  I recently snagged my GM1 for $600 and sold the kit lens for $300.  I can put a used $100 Nikkor 24mm lens on the thing and get pro level images.  Easily.  $400 bucks, a great film idea, and some disciplined talent that's pretty much all you need now.  You can get it done.  

I could get a used 5DII for about $700.  A used Rebel for less than $400, etc.

If you know what you're doing with that gear you can do pro level stuff without any trouble.  That's my personal testimony anyway.

I hope it succeeds because I find the the general support for Canon in America to be annoying and counterproductive and would like to see Panasonic make inroads in that market and push the other companies to offer more for less.

Considering Panasonic has about zero retail visibility here, I'd be surprised.  I'd like to see it, but certainly don't expect it.

RAW would blow any h.264 out of the water, IMHO.

Sure.  Would you do that for a wedding shoot though?

I'm a T3i shooter who has been anxiously waiting to invest in MFT.

I've shot with the Rebels.  The new GM1 and GX7 is superior in low light.  When you add a speedbooster adapter it's even better.  You'll also match the sensor size with the boost, so you'd be good to go.

That said, I don't think I'd run around with a GM1 for a wedding video.  It's not difficult to use, just quirkier, but the GX7 lends itself better to run'ngun.  I also like the 60p option on the GX7 as I slow-mo conform that footage into 24fps. 

I do like the GX7 ergo's.  I have a set of MFT primes and they're nice compact lenses, but I find that I like shooting the GX7 with my old Nikkor manual lenses more.  A nice heft and balance; plus the iris ring and physical focusing...I'm an old dog I guess.  It's not too hard to pull focus with peaking and the EVF.

That XLR base looks super bulky. Stacked on top of rods or even a quick release plate, this thing is going to be pretty tall. Not sure that I'm a fan.

I'd love 5 axis stabilization too, but I'm not going to be picky.  It is what it is and that's plenty good enough all things considered.

Looks to be a great camera and a bigger step forward in the market than what any of the other guys are doing, so let's give Panasonic some welcome accolades.

This'll only help keep things evolving in a positive way.

Awesome time to be a film maker 'kuz it can be done so well for so cheap; really nothing technologically substantial getting in the way between ideas and fruition.  

I haven't seen any artist around here so just get off your high horses, this is a gear forum.

Is it?  I'm new here so I dunno.  I'm a craftsman anyway, for whatever that's worth...

You won't know any of my work if it wasn't for this platform, which is based on the gear.

 

Let's knock this content is king nonsense ON THE HEAD permanently from now on. OK?

Funny.  That argument is the exact reasoning why I tend to believe content is indeed king.  When everyone finally has it within their means to hold the ultimate paint brush in their hands, what are they going to paint with it?

Sure they'll be inspired.  I am.  I was.  Like you, I've gone out and made personal films that would never have of existed before without the ease of digital imaging.  That's simply because the industry finally made tools that are cheap enough and high quality enough to be within my reach; wouldn't have done it otherwise.  Would I have shot my last music video if I had to spend $3K just to purchase film stock, get it processed, and then edit it on a Moviola?  Of course not.

The floodgates of content are opening because these great cameras and editing gear are getting into the hands of people like you, Andrew Reid.

The imaging industry is becoming democratized.  I think it's great.  I also think that since it's becoming so easy to acquire gear that allows one to capture wonderful high-definition motion pictures, what you create with those wonderful high-definition pictures is the only thing that's going to matter.  Is that not a fair analysis?  Am I misinterpreting your sentiment?

To take Olympus on par regarding video cannot be a lot of work. why not do it?

The short answer:  they're Japanese and they're making still cameras.  

You gotta appreciate the context/culture even if it's frustrating to do so, but that's the best I can offer as for a reason.  There's a lot of things you and I want, but they just don't consider or care about... yet.

is it going to raise up the bar in fields like indie films, video clips and even youtube short films.

I don't think so.  The resolutions will look impressive, but that's about it.  We've all seen terrible indie/studio/youtube films.  They're not going to suddenly be magically more interesting just because there's more pixels and dynamic range to look at while the bad acting and direction is happening.

so much this.

Yes and no.  There's no denying that the industry is making better and better imaging tech.  It's not a question of if consumers will have ridiculous imaging power, but when.

Within a decade or so low-end consumers are going to have access to awesome resolution and dynamic range at their disposal.  And "disposal" is a good word to apply here.  When something becomes ubiquitous and a commodity, that perceived value diminishes.

So, when digital imaging reaches the resolutions and dynamic range that exceed human sight...and everyone can get it cheaply, then what?

 the IBIS is not probably going to help me on stills for the most part. only in video.

Actually, the stabilization is better for stills.  Of course, it's awesome for video, but it really increases your ability to get great shots while taking photos.  After all, that's why they put it in their cameras.

I can't stress it enough.  You should try it for at least a few minutes to see how cool it is.  I put Oly's 75mm on the EM-5 and was getting rock solid/sharp hand held photos in low light.

Why does it help with stills?  Well, if you're on a longer focal length, say a 150mm full frame equivalent, the photo rule of thumb is that your shutter speed should be double that full-frame number to compensate for motion blur created by the shakiness of a handheld camera. So, without good stabilization I would normally shoot a m43-75mm lens at a shutter of 300!  Yikes, that sucks up a lot of light. 

And don't forget, longer lenses are more flattering for portraits, which is what you'll want to be doing.

Thus, with Oly's superior stabilization (and it's really really really superior) you can lower that shutter speed to 50, 30, 20 even...on a long lens!  All of a sudden you're shooting with available light, the ISO's aren't high/grainy, you get great naturalistic photos, the images stay sharp, all that good stuff.

No one's more surprised at how evangelical I am about these cameras, especially considering I just bought a GM1 and GX7, but if a camera has a killer feature that's superior to everything else on the market, and it fits perfectly for your situation, it deserves to be touted.

As the Panasonic GH4 is going to introduce 4K Filming, 10 bit 4:2:2 and all other features as focus peaking etc, Do you think its is going to change the standard of videoing? the level of tech quality for amatures?

Yes, but only insomuch as at a certain point (I happen to think we're effectively there already) image quality will be so good and so cheap that there's no real barriers to acquiring tools that are close to on par with what professionals use.  Make no mistake, pros will always have the better stuff, but that margin will be indistinguishable to all but the most discriminating.

But sure, in the consumer market it looks like Panasonic is just out front a bit right now.

But you know how it goes, there's always something that's coming out that's juuust a little better.  And a lot of people will covet whatever it is, just because it is.  There's still a legacy of the old attitude:  I now have Widget "A," so I'm an notable maker of "A's."  I liken it to a dude I know that buys Leica's and considers himself an accomplished photographer, even though his photos are just glorified snapshots.  He has at least 20K invested in his kit --yet anyone with a good eye and a disposable camera could easily outshoot him.

Anyway, the whole change is cool though.  A generation ago, you could be a "filmmaker" just because you happened to acquire a film camera.  That was enough to legitimize you in some way, regardless of actual film making skill.

Now, my nephew can easily buy a camera/lens from WalMart that makes better images than what Hitchcock used.

So then, what makes a filmmaker these days?

if you just want to enjoy filming the kids, I think the stabilisation is worth more. It's just pick up and shoot, you pretty much always have smooth shots.

For home movies (sometimes even professional ones) I think this 3 or 5-axis stabilization feature is far more beneficial than superior  resolution.  You should go try one in a camera store to really get a sense how powerful this ability is for your movies.

Stable handheld shots without much effort?  That's incredible.  And your viewers will thank you as well.

I've seen a lot of great stuff that has absolutely no story whatsoever!

For what it's worth, one of my favorite films is "Man With A Movie Camera," and that film has so much visual magic in it, most modern filmmakers still can't equal the creativity they managed.