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Don Kotlos

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  1. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from scotchtape in Sony a7 III discussion   
    While implied, they never showed the sensor tilting. Their claim is that it can correct for yaw/pitch which it can but not very well. 
    Here is a small discussion: https://diglloyd.com/blog/2015/20150823_0800-SonyA7R_II-IBIS.html
    But you can do the experiment yourself as well. Take the lens off and observe the light reflections off the sensor while you tilt the camera when it is on or off. If it was actually changing the yaw/pitch of the sensor you wouldn't notice the light reflections changing since the angle should remain the same (stabilized). What you will see is that the reflections change the same way when the camera is off or on.
    You can even do another test to see how with longer focal lengths, tilts of the camera affect the x/y shift more (since their trying to compensate for yaw/pitch).
     
  2. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from BTM_Pix in JVC LS300 in 2018   
  3. Like
    Don Kotlos reacted to salim in Sony A7RIII & A7III tips, tricks and best practices   
    I bought the A7Riii and I wanted to make this thread into a resource where I can learn from others and share what I have I've learned. There is enough overlap in video with A7iii that I think it would benefit both camps. 

    I bought mine $300 less than the MSRP via GreenToe. If you're not familiar it's like Priceline for buying gears. You place your price and if it's reasonable, sellers match your price or make a counter offer. I placed a bid for $2750, later increased it to $2780 and I got an offer for $2890 which I accepted. It's from a US Sony dealer. I've also heard people buying some zeiss lenses about $200 blow MSRP. You can go to Greentoe.com or if you follow my affiliate link, I think I get $25: https://gtoe.me/YsjOxVWyaM   
     
    So I like to discuss camera settings, picture profile people are using, AF settings, post processing, LUTs, noise reduction techniques, etc. 

    I start with what @Don Kotlos replied to my question on his picture profile settings: 
     
    setting suggestions by Sony Global Ambassador: 
     
     
     
    a setting used by a youtuber: 

    and by another YouTuber: 
     
     
    Understanding picture profiles: 

    PDF  version: 
    HTML version: http://helpguide.sony.net/di/pp/v1/en/contents/TP0000909109.html
     
    Picture profile comparison: 
     
     
    One YouTubers recommendation for Cine4 profile settings:
     
     
    Exposing SLOG2 for skin tones:
     
     
    Wolfcrow's explanation and reasoning for his Slog exposure process: 
     
     
     
    Cine4, Slog2/3 comparison video: 
     
     
     
    Some good reads from XDCAM, they're not specific to A7Riii but still very informative: 
    http://www.xdcam-user.com/2014/10/using-s-log2-from-the-a7s-in-post-production/

    http://www.xdcam-user.com/2014/03/understanding-sonys-slog3-it-isnt-really-noisy/
    http://www.xdcam-user.com/2017/09/why-is-exposing-log-brightly-beneficial/
    http://www.xdcam-user.com/2017/09/why-are-sonys-isos-different-between-standard-gammas-and-log/
    http://www.xdcam-user.com/2017/12/using-luts-for-exposure-choosing-the-right-lut/
    http://www.xdcam-user.com/2018/03/banding-in-your-footage-what-causes-it-is-it-even-there/
    http://www.xdcam-user.com/2017/12/more-on-frame-rate-choices-for-todays-video-productions/
     
    Not specific to A7Riii but relevant to getting a correct exposure:  
     
     
  4. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from salim in Sony A7R III review - the BBC fixed Sony's colour!   
    Here is an extensive comparison between A7rII and A7rIII also illustrating the improvement in color:
     
  5. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Mat Mayer in so the iMac Pro is not really professional after all?   
    Which is something that I and plenty of other people find obscene. No company should have a say with what I do on something that I have bought. Or how I want to upgrade my computer that is.
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/government/eu-prepares-right-to-repair-legislation-to-fight-short-product-lifespans/
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/government/us-states-considering-legislation-to-introduce-right-to-repair-for-electronics/
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/government/ftc-warranty-void-if-removed-stickers-are-illegal/
    "Limiting repair options illegal under 1975 US law
    The FTC says that such practices are illegal under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, a law that governs consumer product warranties, and which states that no company can put restrictions on the way users choose to repair their products.
    The law says that companies can't force users to use only certain types of (astronomically-priced) replacement parts, take produces for repair jobs only at certain repair shops, or can't plaster anti-tampering stickers on products to prevent users from repairing their own products."
  6. Haha
    Don Kotlos reacted to BTM_Pix in nikon mirrorless only a year away!   
    From the article :
    "A North-American company, producing special cameras for the movie and defence industry - Photo-Sonics, founded by Adolf Furer in 1924 - used many Nikkors with special converted mounts."
    Boy, that was a hell of an unfortunate name to have a few years later.
    Reminds me of this 

  7. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from kye in Guerrilla shooters? (this thread is not about hunting..)   
    Yeah I wanted to shrink it as much as I could. I used velcro to mount it on the camera, which also removes some of the vibration transfer from the body. Of course not as good as the native mount. I also modified a cable to reduce the profile of the 3.5" head, but you can find short cables from ebay.  
  8. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from heart0less in Guerrilla shooters? (this thread is not about hunting..)   
    I have something similar to @kye

  9. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from mercer in Guerrilla shooters? (this thread is not about hunting..)   
    I have something similar to @kye

  10. Thanks
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Mark Romero 2 in Audio Recorders?   
    In the US you don't have a problem of getting a citation. Its more likely you will get shot 
  11. Thanks
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Kisaha in Sony a7 III discussion   
    The color science has improved on the latest gen Sony cameras (A7III/A7rIII/A9). 
    But if you stick to the same gamma and color gamut they should be fairly close and easily matched in post. Playing with the color depth can help with getting them as close as possible in camera. What I have noticed is that the colors of A7RIII compared to A7rII are generally less greenish, more warm with a more saturated red channel. 
    You can use any of the Cine gammas or the Slog2. The color gammuts that I use most often are Pro/Cinema/sgamut3.cine. 
    If you intend to grade a lot in post then I would use the Slog2/sgamut3.cine on both cameras with a slight increase in saturation (~10). If you want something looking good straight out of the camera, then Cine gammas with Pro/Cinema color or a more saturation with sgamut3.cine work well. Avoid Slog3 and sgamut/3. 
    Since Sony picture profiles allow for extensive manipulation of the image, it is important to get them close to what you like. So spend the time optimizing the settings in-camera, and record test footage before you shoot the main gig! 
  12. Haha
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from sanveer in Audio Recorders?   
    In the US you don't have a problem of getting a citation. Its more likely you will get shot 
  13. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from deezid in Best Cinematography I've Seen Recently   
    I have really enjoyed work from Hiro Murai.
     
  14. Like
    Don Kotlos reacted to Richard Bugg in Audio Recorders?   
    Rather than a new recorder, what about adding an XLR preamp to your existing setup? 
    If that might work this review by Caleb Pike compares some relatively inexpensive (+ one expensive) preamps.
    In a couple of other videos here Caleb shows a way to use and modify the Saramonic SmartRig XLR Preamp ($23).
    I understand the camera's mic input still passes through the camera's internal preamp and you can't actually 'bypass' it - just turn it down and make it less pronounced by using a stronger - and ideally cleaner - input signal.
    The $23 Saramonic setup does look workable, lightweight, simple, cheap and creative, and presumably the 3.5mm output could be split with one of these or similar, to send an input signal to a recorder (e.g. DR-10L/LS-7 which could otherwise double as a pocket recorder if needed) as well as a signal to the camera for scratch or backup audio.
    The audio quality seems pretty reasonable, but in the video it sounds like the Saramonic setup loses some of the lower frequency sounds compared to the C100 XLR preamp, which by contrast sounds somewhat 'richer'. I wondered if there was an inbuilt low cut filter involved with the Saramonic. The Beachteck looks like a better quality option, but is a little more bulky and expensive. However, it can be bottom mounted which is a plus. Either way, at $23 and $140 respectively the Saramonic and Beachteck options are considerably cheaper than the Zoom H5 at $270, but with the downside of having to connect your existing recorder, which is more fiddly and prone to disconnecting, but nothing you couldn't work around.
    When all is said and done, cameras come and go, cheap gear breaks and often disappoints with it's compromises and lack of performance. But a quality audio setup will last a long time. That said, I'd personally consider selling anything I didn't need, throwing in the extra cash and buying a MixPre3 and not have to worry about audio recorders for another decade or more. If you look at it like that the MixPre3 is a bargain.
  15. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from mercer in Audio Recorders?   
    Yes, zoom H5 works without the modules. But when I was researching for a recorder I found it too noisy. The Tascam DR-100MKIII offers much better quality. 
  16. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Mark Romero 2 in Does HLG Increase DR When Rendered as Rec 709???   
    Yes that is correct.
    But again, rec2020 should be the preferred colorspace in most cases with HDR. 
     
  17. Thanks
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Mark Romero 2 in Does HLG Increase DR When Rendered as Rec 709???   
    rec709/rec2020 are colorspaces so the dynamic range wouldn't change. Even though you can record in rec709 in the camera, I am not sure how wide the support for HLG with rec709 is. The standard is rec2020 so probably stick with that one. 
    The benefit of HLG over SLOG for HDR delivery is that you don't have to spend time grading it. You can uploaded from your SD card and it should work. For non HDR delivery I haven't seen any real advantage of HLG with Sony cameras. if anything having to use rec2020 makes color harder to work with. So in the latter case I would stick with Cine/slog gammas with non-rec2020 color spaces. 
    Youtube has support for it so you could potentially just upload your videos with minimal to no grading,  but if you really need it then you should definitely find a monitor to see how your footage actually looks  . That will give you the ability to do more extensive color grading as well. 
  18. Thanks
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from jonpais in Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K   
    It has been reported that ProresRAW bitdepth depends on what the camera sends. So for example it can be 12bit like with the FS5 or 14bit like the Varicam. While the linear 12bit signal is limited to 12 stops of dynamic range, one 12bit ProResRaw example from the FS5 looks great:
    It appears that ProresRAW is very efficient both in the data rates and the playback performance. I am sure Resolve will implement it at some point and when that happens we will probably see an update of all BM cameras to support it as well. 
  19. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Nathan Gabriel in Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K   
    It has been reported that ProresRAW bitdepth depends on what the camera sends. So for example it can be 12bit like with the FS5 or 14bit like the Varicam. While the linear 12bit signal is limited to 12 stops of dynamic range, one 12bit ProResRaw example from the FS5 looks great:
    It appears that ProresRAW is very efficient both in the data rates and the playback performance. I am sure Resolve will implement it at some point and when that happens we will probably see an update of all BM cameras to support it as well. 
  20. Like
    Don Kotlos reacted to John Brawley in Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K   
    I thought they’d already discontinued the pocket ?  Watch that become a cult camera if it isn’t already.
    I think they’ll keep the micro going for some time.  It’s really a different camera.
    In the photo above the camera has a wooden camera cage, a Noga arm and a BMD 5” VA as the operating monitor. On front is the SLR Magic 10mm T2.1.  I’m manually focussing myself, using peaking on the VA.  
    By way of example almost all of this promo is either Ursa Mini Pro or Micro using that exact rig.
    This whole scene is shot Ursa Mini Pro
     
     
    I have used a LOT of Ursa Mini Pro and Micro in the resident.  Not just as an insert camera, but shooting whole scenes using only the Ursa Mini Pro.  Most scenes have a mix of Ursa Mini Pro and ALexa, and I’d estimate more than 40% of the show is Ursa Mini.
    I tend to use the micro camera for these kinds of surgery shots where I can very easily reach into the scene and get super close before diving down to almost inside the surgical field, and then transitioning back to another actor. It keeps it very agile and alive shooting this way.  I’d anticipate the Pocket 2 will replace this rig for these kinds of shots.
    JB
  21. Haha
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Raafi Rivero in Guerrilla shooters? (this thread is not about hunting..)   
    Pimping out your camera can help as well. You will also get footage with interesting looks as a bonus.

  22. Like
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from IronFilm in nikon mirrorless only a year away!   
    While F mount will be convenient for all the people that have Nikon lenses, and for Nikon to make sure there is a large selection of lenses already for their new camera, I find it unlikely for two reasons:
    1. It unnecessarily increases the size of the camera. Both due to dead space in the camera and because it cannot reduce the size of the wideangle lenses.
    2. Camera companies make a lot of money from lenses, so I doubt they will miss on a huge opportunity to sell a ton with a new mount.  
    More fun than a Canon 4000D  
  23. Haha
    Don Kotlos got a reaction from Kisaha in nikon mirrorless only a year away!   
    While F mount will be convenient for all the people that have Nikon lenses, and for Nikon to make sure there is a large selection of lenses already for their new camera, I find it unlikely for two reasons:
    1. It unnecessarily increases the size of the camera. Both due to dead space in the camera and because it cannot reduce the size of the wideangle lenses.
    2. Camera companies make a lot of money from lenses, so I doubt they will miss on a huge opportunity to sell a ton with a new mount.  
    More fun than a Canon 4000D  
  24. Like
    Don Kotlos reacted to mercer in Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K   
    Like the image or not, Jon... it’s way more cinematic than any comparably priced camera... especially if you got in on the $500 Sale. The obvious issue with this specific video is the lack of IR Filter and that he slapped on an M31 LUT on top of it.
    The beauty of the Pocket/Micro is that it can look however you like. Throw on one of those Veydras or Leicas you like so much and you can have a crisp modern look. Throw on a cheap lens and you can have a soft vintage look. It’s a different type of filmmaking... the entire process almost feels visceral.
    You really should go out and buy one, or a Micro... they’ll be selling for cheap real soon. I saw a barely used Micro go for less than $500. After you shoot a little Raw or ProRes HQ with it... you will be hooked. 
  25. Like
    Don Kotlos reacted to Jordan Drake in Sony a7 III discussion   
    Thanks Don! It's an exciting time for Chris and I!
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