Richard Bugg

Look, we should all just chill out a bit. Minute by minute DT shows us that he is moderating and becoming more accommodating. By "wall", he really meant "fence", and he has now coopted Breitbart to help steady the ship and Make America Great again. And we all know that Breitbart is a far more moderate and balanced media outlet than The NYT. Phew, for a minute I thought there might have been something to worry about. I'll get back to my gardening now.

Just now, Liam said:

No, you're cool, sorry. Just a touchy environment

Yes, I understand. No problem at all. I get that you are pretty frustrated with the discussion. I just think that people are going to be pretty emotional about the topic for a while. Personally, I'm really pissed off, and the thought of talking shutter speeds and megapixels at the moment - I just can't be bothered. I think I'll just go and spend some time in the garden, cut some wood, enjoy a cup of tea, spend time with family. Thanks for the jolt back to reality. 

1 minute ago, Liam said:

Don't "ha!" me. Don't "actually" me. I'm not saying I don't care anymore, and I know this was the real goal of the thread. I doubt this is happening at many forums like this. This just isn't productive and it's not the place for it. If it has made someone curious about how we could change the media, we CAN talk about THAT.

My apologies. I didn't mean to offend.

3 minutes ago, Liam said:

Did anyone actually give input on the way we could reshape media? Some sort of future Netflix system that makes us not miss tv and doesn't get to twist the facts and create interest and conflict, or whatever? Was that the secondary point/justification for this thread? If we're not going to talk about that aspect, we really should close these threads. Everything else has been said

Ha! Actually, Liam, I think the role of these threads at the moment is as a form of debrief for the traumatised people who didn't want Trump elected and for the people who did vote for Trump and who are now feeling uneasy and somewhat defensive about it. The thread headline is just a pretext. Trump's election is not trivial either for the US nor globally, so it's probably only to be expected that it will be talked about in whatever manner people can find to do so. I'm guessing that all sorts of forums all over the internet are actively doing the same right now. Like all big events, people will begin to accept and accommodate it somehow and the usual programming will resume in due course.

6 minutes ago, Axel said:

Are mainstream media to blame then? Their ratings?

Possibly unwitting accomplices in this instance. Any criticism simply fed the beast.

People hope that he's the messiah. But he's not the messiah; he's just a very naughty boy.

I think the relationship between DT and the media is an interesting one. His complaints about unfair treatment, I suspect, were simply to reinforce his message that he was an outsider. In other words, his crafty use of the media and claims of bias fed neatly into his overall narrative of DT fighting the establishment. A brilliant and cynical manipulation that still has people arguing that the media is the problem. He will use the media in any way that suits him, and he is just as dependent upon it as the next promoter.

19 minutes ago, Axel said:

Before he was democratically elected, Hitler hung a sign at the wall in his office...

Ah ha!! Godwin's law strikes again. 

Ah, now he has given his children jobs in the administration. It's so sweet to see the Trump family business flourish.

1 hour ago, Nikkor said:

I'm not in the US, neither do I vote, but if I could have voted in these elections, I'd voted for trump just to see all these whiny liberal preachers cry. Those kind of people who say that I have to feel guilty because I'm white and have a penis,etc... bla bla, Fuck you preachers, I never listened to the priests, I'm not going to listen to some little liberal kid, after all tora students, protestants, marxists, and these new millenial postmodern garbage are all the same kind of people, cocksuckers.

This is what probably most trump voters thought when they voted for trump, so the fault lies in the new pseudo left who has nothing to offer to the real people.

This new left has alienated people to such degree that they are voting for the most corrupt and reactionary politicians possible, and will not protest against them. 

 

 

Given the tenor of your commentary and the current political zeitgeist, I could easily see you securing a swag of votes at the next election. With a few tweaks here and there to spice it up a bit, this could almost pass for a campaign launch speech. Considering a tilt at high office Nikkor?

There is an old legal principle called 'The Plain Meaning Rule" which is basically that people say what they mean, and they mean what they say. It's interesting to see the contortions some people are going to to say that Trump didn't, in fact, mean what he said, or that what he said was just a code for something much more palatable. While a lot of people are trying to convince themselves that Trump doesn't really mean what he has said, many others are fearful that he does indeed mean what he has said. I recall some similar commentary when Rodrigo Duterte came to power recently in the Phillipines, promising a spate of extrajudicial killings for anyone involved in the drug trade. It turns out that good old Rodrigo did in fact mean what he said. The jury is out with Trump, because nobody actually has any idea of what he is going to do. The American people have unleashed the unknown onto the rest of us. Let the experiment begin.

Here's another apparent quirk/issue with the D5xxx series with regard to recording to an external recorder (in my case the Video Assist) - although you can get clean HDMI out by scrolling with the top 'info' button until the on-screen displays disappear, that signal seems to be locked at 1080p 30fps (presumably 29.97) regardless of what is selected in-camera, including for PAL frame rates. So regardless of what I select in-camera on the D5300, the VA always shows 1080p 30fps. Here's a blog discussing the matter on the D5200, but other users report the same problem more recently with the D5500 further down in the comments. http://www.jdale.net/nikon-d5200-hdmi-problems/ If there's a work-around, I'd love to hear about it.

4 hours ago, mercer said:

Can you dial in the Kelvin temperatures with the D5300?

No.

6 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Does it really justify its $645.99 price tag???

The reviews for the D100 ask the same question. My perspective - I bought a PCM-D50 about 10 years ago and I've used it quite a lot in that time and it still work perfectly. So it's really a well built piece of gear, and the audio is reportedly near Sound Devices quality. The handling is very good; the buttons and gain knobs are well made and smooth. Battery life is great (4xAA). Based on what I've experienced I expect it to last another 10 years and for it to sound just as good then. I don't know how many cameras or smart phones I'll go through in 20 years. So is it cheap or expensive from that point of view? Downsides: D50 is not quite as responsive as I'd like (it takes a few seconds to start up; however, the ZH1 is much slower by comparison), and I'd like it to switch from internal to external memory automatically and have larger internal memory. I believe the D100 update addresses some of these things but I feel no compulsion upgrade. If I want XLR, I'll stick something in front of it with XLR inputs, or use another recorder or just use a microphone with 3.5mm output instead. The Sony PCM D50/D100/m10 line are at the higher end of quality and expense, but they will hopefully last well and give good quality and trouble-free use for a very long time. So are they worth it when there are so many other options now available? Who knows. It's the perennial question for any equipment - expense vs value. If what is needed is XLR inputs or simply headphone monitoring, then perhaps look elsewhere. But as part of a more capable audio kit that includes a portable field recorder, then yes, I'd consider it even in today's market.

I agree with the tenor of the above comments. Your sound is very good. Nice work.

Also worth considering are either the Sony PCM-D50 or the updated D100 for a high quality hand-held audio option. They are bit more expensive than other recorders and lack XLR inputs, but they have a 3.5mm input that can be used in conjunction with wireless (e.g. Rodelink) and battery powered condenser microphones (e.g. NT4+ etc). Both have exceptional quality preamps and inbuilt stereo microphones and can be mounted atop the camera.

3 hours ago, ThomHaig said:

I'm considering upgrading camera body. I love the G7, and intend to hold on to it...

From what I can tell, aside from the headphone jack, the advantages would be better slow motion, vlog profile, nicer body design, weather sealing, at the cost of some high ISO performance.

So, you are also really talking about upgrading to a two-camera system in this case. That can have quite a lot of advantages if you want to shoot two angles at once, have complimentary features and some equipment redundancy. Factor in the cost of alternatives for two-camera systems, the price of a new GH5 when it finally ships etc and you might find that the GH4 kit represents pretty good value for your intended use. Buying good used stuff is often the way to go. This year's expensive cutting-edge tool is next years bargain when the crowd moves on. It's price dependent of course.

Alternatively, you could possibly add an external recorder or audio interface and monitor off that while sending a signal into the G7, or simply record second sound for critical situations and sync the audio using the camera's built-in audio. Having a stand-alone audio recorder adds quite a lot of flexibility to any setup and would not be redundant if you upgrade to another camera later on.

6 hours ago, Bioskop.Inc said:

Considering that they seem to have never had any intention of paying me in the first place, which is weird as they paid me for other videos, then I'm not going to charge them any more money. Will wait for a response, but it just goes to show that no matter what, you need to be on your guard with everyone.

I've also noticed that they've hired someone to do a video for them & just hope they don't pull this stunt on them!

It's difficult to know what motivates people at the best of times. They may have intended to pay, had no money, became awkward about the whole thing, finally made a bad decision to use the video etc. People are not always straightforward, but in my experience, few people set out to deceive from the outset. On my better days I'd rather try and allow for people's imperfections and be somewhat more accommodating, just a little more cautious the second time around as you suggest.

On the contract thing, Damphousse makes the good point you also made; evidence of an agreement would be necessary to enforce the matter, be it emails, phone texts etc, which you say you have. A contract is generally better than less formal communication, being generally less ambiguous and more thoroughly thought out (I'm not a lawyer BTW, so this is just my interested opinion, but I've done some reading and had some dealings with such matters). However, you've got to wonder if for smaller projects wether a legal course of action is worth the money and effort, other than to use the threat of possible legal recourse as a lever to help the 'client' make the decision to pay. Probably the best use of a detailed agreement is that it leaves less room for error or misunderstanding, and so that both parties know where they stand and what is expected on the important matters.

I'd be inclined to give them a ring and have a coffee to discuss things either before or after your email if that seems appropriate. Emails sometimes can come off a bit terse, and verbal follow-up softens things a bit. Good luck.

22 hours ago, Bioskop.Inc said:

I...never got them to sign a contract

Possibly no need to sign any contract, as a verbal agreement can be binding (UK likely to be quite similar to AU):

http://www.findlaw.com.au/articles/5626/is-a-verbal-agreement-legally-binding.aspx

I think in this case I would be polite but firm; they might be into burning bridges but you don't need to as well. Instead you could ask for payment for the original work up front, since you already spent that time on it, but in addition, because more work now needs to be done, there will be an additional fee (whatever is reasonable to get it up to speed). If they agree and actually do pay up, then you can proceed to update the doc.  They get the video albeit at a higher price than if they had paid as agreed earlier, and you get fair compensation.

At any rate, the original agreement was broken (delay/theft), so it would be reasonable to renegotiate the fee in a new agreement, such that your time and effort, including sorting out the unpaid use of the video is taken into account. If they don't want to pay what you deem to be a fair use of your time, then simply decline.

1 hour ago, AaronChicago said:

This is true. The guy that I work with uses 3. A boom, lav, and another directional mic with gain turned down in case someone spontaneously yells or talks too loud on one word or sentence

I thought that a decent set of limiters would manage that. But I suppose not all limiters are created equal and even limiters have their limits. 

49 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

...my own personal sound gear list: http://ironfilm.co.nz/sound/ )

What are your thoughts on the Oktava MK-012 and how have you used it? Substitute for CMC641 or similar I presume? It gets some good reviews but not so much for handling noise.

Unfortunately I suffer from a condition called Chronic Irreverence, and postings like this one bring on acute exacerbations. I love my video assist - ghoulish as it is. 

Yes BM should get the respect they deserve. They are renowned for their green screen work (Video Assist), and with this new release - like Nikon's compelling offering (Key Mission) - we have a new entrant in the action camera space. Apparently it's simply a BMPCC rehoused with a slightly larger battery. Now that it can record continuously for up to 3 minutes this micro miracle has caught the eye of Jeb Corliss, so much so he's jumped ship from GoPro to BM. For his next winged-suit adventure Jeb plans to strap one of these beauties on each limb then leap. I can't wait; the results will be spectacular.

It's great that they've now got at least 8 record buttons, but I'm not sure if the placement is ideal from a usability point of view. As a helmet cam on a mountain bike those things could be inadvertently triggered by twigs and blowflies.

Well you could always get a Canon. Some of the cheaper ones even come with the Kendy Ty function button, which I understand is better than 4K and Magic Lantern combined.