fuzzynormal

I find this stuff fascinating: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mermaid-stephen-chow-comedy-about-human-impact-earth-becomes-chinas-biggest-film-ever-1545558 As is pretty obvious, filmmaking is a global biz. Sony and Disney are trying hard to figure it out. Ultimately, I think that the system will continually fracture a bit. Smaller more niche stuff will thrive to fill the gap as studios continue to try and prop up their tent-pole franchises. And, by necessity of having to strive for broad appeal, ignore the more artistic and narratively challenging side of cinema. Those smaller/better ideas are migrating to prestige TV and the internet. Which is perfectly fine for an aspiring-late-career-documentarian like me. It's hopeful. In the meantime, that goofy Chinese flick is outperforming (per screen) Deadpool by double.

Ii desu yo! If nothing else, it's good PR for both sides of the table.

If only I didn't have that one damn client that demanded 60p video... Well, I'm glad I have the client, just wish she wasn't so enamored with 60p, it would make my purchase decisions a heck of a lot easier. Normally, I would never consider that price for the Dx. I know there's other camera options for video, but I just have to decide if spending that much is justified for my needs. (of course, maybe they're not needs, just personal desires ;-) )

Everyone seems to like the camera, for good reason, but that price... Ultimately, what do you think? Good value?

Seems like there's enough there to do whatever you want with it.

I shoot almost all my m43 stuff @f2. But, I do like my f1.2 lenses in case I need that extra brightness in a dark room. It's good to have that ability even if it means some annoying CA and softness. A f1.2 lens stopped down to f2 looks sharp. I'm shooting old Canon FD, but I've used Nikon and Pentax with success as well.

I'd sure like 60p 4K for one of my clients...

Same. But I really do small fry corporate stuff for the inter webs, so it's adequate. This year I'd like to bump up to new hardware, but we'll see. In the meantime, I shoot 8-bit, transcode to 422, find my sound bites, edit the story with a nice music bed and nat sound. Create the "radio" edit, then lay in my b-roll as needed. Dress it up with some basic graphics treatment if required, then go into the color grading via FCP. Pull my colors together with 3-way color correct, and then start a little Magic Bullet "Looks" on shots that might need extra help. That's about it. Still don't get too fussy about tweaking IQ too much as the storytelling is more a priority. As it is, I expect the technical craft needs to get better to compete now-a-days, but I do think I'm adept enough at delivering solid enough stories, at this level, to get by.

I'm waiting for the cameras to actually be released. Can't really tell how it works with video until they're being sold they make it into the wild. In the meantime, if the cameras was using the same sensor tech, (it isn't, BTW) then it would seem logical. But as it is, Fuji doesn't seem to make logical decisions when it comes to offering video on their cameras.

5-stops of 5-axis image stabilization? Impressive. Once that tech (eventually) makes it way into 4K consumer cams that shoot 60p, man, that's some nice creative flexibility. I don't know if I'm leaning too much on my EM5II IS these days, but I've really integrated it into my style of shooting. Would just like that extra bump of 4K @60 for useful 1080 post-production flexibility. Soon...should be soon. Anyway, as a gear head, I find the wonkiness of the Pentax camera kinda good looking. Sort of like a dumb American muscle car. It looks stupid and cool at the same time.

I've been using the EM5II with the Sennheiser ew 100-ENG G3 and attain very acceptable results. Is it as good as audio passing through a nice preamp? No, but what I've been getting has been more than useable for me. Of course, with the ew100 I can adjust the signal I'm sending to the camera, so I can avoid stressing the EM5II modest pre's, but it does work.

I do run n gun a lot. Not sure what your situation is, but I'm typically covering 1 subject. As such, I put a wireless mic on him/her and then the receiver on my camera. Lately it's a EM5II with the battery grip adapter. Good set up in that I can monitor the audio signal and the whole "rig" is small. Also: Simple. No breakdown. No set up. No tripod. I just carry my camera with me and shoot. Shotguns are fine and all, but they need to be be near the subject to be effective. Otherwise it's just an expensive mic that's not located properly for capturing clean audio. If it's a necessity to go with a shotgun, (sometimes the situation demands it) I get an audio operator to boom pole it. For the most part I'll pick up group conversation audio well enough from the lav the subject is wearing. On occasion I've run two wireless mics and I just let it record outboard and carry that pack in my camera satchel.

Their search function in general has been worse than useless since the beginning.

Your straw man sounds like me, actually. As it is, I'd really like to get a 4K consumer cam that shoots 60p. If only because one of my client likes that frame rate. Otherwise I wouldn't care too much about it. Although, slow-mo @4k would be nice.

Definitely go for it. I still have a soft spot in my heart for the KY-27 I used early on in my career. Fully competent piece of gear, but it didn't stop me from coveting the Sony stuff.

I'll dabbled in JVC gear since the early CCD days. I've used 'em, made decent stuff with 'em, even liked the results a lot of times. They've been somewhat competitive in offering IQ on par with other brands. They're always flying under the radar, so to speak. But...you know how you can buy cheap vanilla ice cream at the grocery store and it's pretty decent? You can even put some chocolate on top, maybe add a few sugar sprinkles? Not bad. Then, one day you decide to just try the Häagen-Dazs? It's sort of like that. Better ice cream is just better ice cream. There's always a level of quality that JVC can't seem to attain or don't bother in attaining. You can sense it when you use the gear. It's that Robert Pirsig vibe he always talked about. Both vanilla ice creams are yummy, but you'd always rather have the Häagen-Dazs. Still, sometimes, a 50cent ice cream cone is perfectly satisfying.

Weeeee! Whatta you think? 15 years 'til it's in every consumer gadget? Can we all envision a time when resolution and DR are irrelevant? Seriously, like, sensor and display tech will outperform human eyesight. Then what? How weird is that going to be?

It's N scale model trains. I just know it.

I'm sure the camera produces excellent skin tone, but I've found that most cameras produce attractive skin tone under natural "magic hour" light. And that's what we're looking at there in that shot. A girl illuminated by the morning sun.

Yeah, but how does it render skin tones?

I do think the model will change (is changing), but let's not forget that Louis C.K. earned the luxury of being able to thrive on the vanguard of this new model simply because he established his credentials in the old model. On the other hand, it's proven that mass media is possible with youtube.

Certainly pros need to work in the specialized minutiae and hone their craft, but I do think it's a bit silly when a naive hobbyist with a t2i tries to shoot raw with expensive lenses, and then attempts to apply advanced LUT's to footage --when they can't even yet figure out how to point a light in a meaningful way, frame an interesting composition, or structure a story with any compelling cohesion. I guess it's just easier to be technical than creative. Well, I don't 'guess' in my case, anyway. I know it is for a fact.

I too use the M43 system. Sometimes with a speed booster. Last thing I did travel-wise was Indonesia; urban, coastline, and jungle. Had a heat wave and also lots of days of rain. Man, the humidity. Yikes. The LUMIX and Oly cams I had on that shoot did fine and it all fit into a very modest camera satchel. During the trip I shot a dark Church interior as well as a few bat caves. A handful of work at night too. With a f1.2 prime lens and a speed booster one can get decent exposure at stay below 3200iso. Need that low-light ability. Depending on your environment situations, I'd also suggest putting durability and weather sealing up on the priority list. And while it would be great to travel with robust pro gear with RAW capabilities, the work I do in the field just can't support that kind of commitment, so consumer 8-bit is the compromise. I've not felt terribly limited, but things do depend on what you're aiming for regarding the end result.

For what it's worth, I've traveled the world extensively for a client and she's always been partial to the Sony image and the cameras she's used over the years represent that bias. Her aesthetic and mentality is certainly more from the broadcasting POV rather than cinematic. She insists on 60fps, for instance. Anyway, good luck with it all!

As always...great work! Congrats to you, the director-writer, and the crew. I like the bit about fish-sticks. Also, that Puzzo guy is a pretty good voice actor. Does he get a credit as camera-op too? ;-) I really enjoy the theme of short films I've seen from you here on EOSHD. The inner dialog narrative stories are a lot of fun. Good creative opportunities. So...do the Olympus PR guys visit this website!? When the NX1 came out with their goofy "Yvonne" product film I seem to remember it getting slammed and people here actually said, "Hey, just give a real filmmaker a camera and let him do something!" Not sure how you got connected, but glad you did. It's encouraging to see the potential of the EM5II, regardless of it's limitations. The fact that you were able to hold down the highlights is nice to see. Also, the camera arm/body rig, did the mount arm go out behind his crotch? Also, who built it?