Gregormannschaft

56 minutes ago, Phil A said:

You're not really supposed to manually focus while flying the camera on the gimbal. So you basically have three choices:

A) a lens with auto focus (which rules out the vintage lens you want to use) on a camera with reliable auto focus (which rules out the A7sII)

B) set the lens to a small aperture with enough depth of field and use hyperfocal distance

C) set the lens to the desired aperture, focus it (you can put the gimbal into sleep for that if you fear it strains the motors) and keep the distance to what you film consistent

Cheers Phil, think you summed up a whole lot of confusing opinions I've read in 3 short sentences. I like C, I'll see how that goes!

Also, sorry to bump, but lens tips for the Sony A7SII and the Zhiyun would be appreciated. I really don't know how you're supposed to focus well with a vintage lens on this thing. Feel like I'm wrecking the motors every time I change focus on this thing.

9 hours ago, Dan Wake said:

I saw a video that explain that Zhiyun Crane 3-Axis v2 is not good for heavy gear such as some DSLR Canon. I wish to ask you, if I need a gimbal for my 7D does exist a "one handeld" Gimbal enough strong on the market that may fits my needs please? I would be grateful for your advices!

I think the Moza Air can take cameras and lenses that weight up to 2.2kg. It's new and relatively untested so far, but Brandon Li did a video this past week with it and was impressed.

Well this is fun isn't it? Finally ordered mine and it arrived today. After a bit of a tricky start, got it balanced and working nicely. Bit confusing at first to keep track of which mode you're in, I'll have to do some reading up on what characteristics are like for each mode. Is anyone using vintage lenses on this? I've got a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm on the camera and when I try and focus with it, a) the barrel moves in and out a lot so I'm worried the motors are struggling with that and b) I feel like I'm fighting against the motors to rotate the focus wheel. Any tips?

I can actually now see the huge benefit of a modern lens, with a very smooth focus wheel, and even the most basic autofocus.

59 minutes ago, kidzrevil said:

nikkor 35mm f1.4 ais & nikkor 85mm f2 ais on a metabones speedbooster xl. I love how these things perform especially with a black pro mist filter  ??‍♂️

Just bought myself a Black Pro Mist 1/4 after watching your stuff over the past few months. Hoping I can get at least somewhere close to the look you manage to achieve, fine stuff!

And I ordered some flat black spray paint for this adapter. I'll keep you all updated, sure you're all desperate to have a progress report.

Loving these old school zoom lenses here and in the 16mm thread, adds such a great aesthetic to videos that is super under-utilised these days.

Question for everyone. Bought a Canon FD 85mm 1,8 lens, really like it. But for the first time, the adapter I bought for it, a OK-priced K&F Concept adapter flares like crazy. Has anyone tried sticking textured tape (flocking paper?) to the inside of an adapter and been OK with it? Kind of worried about any loose fibres attaching themselves to the sensor.

And after deciding that lens, lights and monitors come before beautiful RAW footage (ciao, C200), I'm looking at native Sony glass to buy. Any Sony 16-35 f4 owners here? I like the look of it for the Zhiyun. I'd like to buy a 24-70, and the GM is amazing, but it's too goddamn heavy and $$$. I'll wait and see if Sigma do a native zoom that works well. Yet to hear any kind of feedback about the Tamron 24-70 2.8 on a Sony mount.

15 minutes ago, Phil A said:

A while ago Zhiyun Tech informed on their Facebook page that they will not honor any service/warranty issues when not bought via the official importers. I'm not actually sure if that stance is even legal in the countries with strong consumer protection laws but it might be unnecessary hassle in any case. So maybe check that beforehand.

That's REALLY good to know, thanks Phil. I'm also based in Germany, have you bought the Crane from somewhere you could rec?

Hey everyone, quick Zhiyun Crane v2 question. Is there any point in buying from a local vendor? Price from grey market stockists in EU on eBay is about 150 € cheaper than the local shops, and I'm guessing either way I'd have to get in touch with Zhiyun regarding warranty repairs. 

Has anywhere seen the price for a C200B in Europe?

I'm close to the point where I'm over the DSLR/Mirrorless form factor and want something that can churn out smoother, less colour-blocked footage. The price is still a little too high for my liking, and I've even been checking out sued C300 Mk2s and saw one go on eBay for 5k. I'm sure that was a scam though.

6 minutes ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Thanks! Feel like I got a good deal at $199. 

Absolutely brilliant price, very jealous of Americans and B&H. 

Just to add my two cents regarding the Sennheiser MKE600, it really is a terrific mic for the price. I used it for some ENG type filming last year, interviewing people in amongst crowds of football fans, mounted on top of the camera, and it did incredibly well isolating the subject's voices. The sound is full and crispy, it was the best money I spent on the whole film.

I looked at the Tamron 24-70 2.8 for the E-mount but it has no IS and autofocus was apparently a little hit and miss. Of course it wouldn't work for the GH5, but the Sony 24-70 2.8 GM lens is an absolute beauty of a lens. Too big and heavy for the system, perhaps, but it's sharp across the zoom range and it has a really lovely smooth bokeh look at 2.8. I'd be curious to know how it stacks up against the Canon equivalent.

17 minutes ago, PannySVHS said:

 

On S35 28mm is a beautiful focal length in my opinion! Since owning a GX85 I discovered that even more, because careful framing with it is a joy due to its ibis.

So are talking about 35mm length on 36x24 sensor like the A7S you used to shoot some of the best A7S colors with? That would be like a 20mm on S35- beautiful as well!

That modern Zeiss 28mm ZE is supposed to be a heck of a lens, for around 1000 USD though! The Sony with fly by wire focussing is supposed to be about equally as good

when it comes to optical quality.

 

Ah, good point! Living in a full frame bubble. There's a lot of new lens brands popping up with interesting AF-less options. Here might be a good place to talk about a few of them.

Isn't 28mm an awkward focal distance to work with? I much prefer 35mm but that might just be because I've always had a nice 35 knocking around. Heard good things about the Sony 28mm 2.0, but that focus by wire drives me mental. 

Vintage ftw!

This is pretty much a dream camera for me, although perhaps 1-2k over what I would liked to have spend. Will seriously consider selling the A7SII over the next few months to grab this. As folks have mentioned the only downside is the lack of a really robust codec option except for RAW after initial launch.

Used the Sony 24-70 GM lens for a shoot last week, the B-Cam used the Canon 24-105. Which was a massive mistake. The difference in sharpness and general IQ between the two lenses was night and day, the 24-70 was like having a zoom prime lens, absolutely stunning. The 24-105mm looked like mush in comparison. Would never thought I'd be tempted by such an expensive lens beforehand but am now terribly considering it. 

Is there any alternative on Sony? Been struggling with Sony lens options for a while. I'd love native AF to futureproof myself for future hardware releases (or the A6500) but have heard bad things about the 24-70 f4 Zeiss. 2k for a zoom lens seems extortionate, but the GM really was quite amazing.

Looks great, they're showing off the gimbal in the right way with that video and I love that you can see the screen. I'd need to see how easy it is to setup before buying.

Thanks @Kristoferman & @webrunner5, very helpful. I'd never thought about the bi-colours only being half and half, super obvious but I had never considered it. I'll make an investment into lights at some point and Aputure's stuff looks great, just got to work out what might make a good starter kit.

Amateur hour question here: what are the benefits of a fresnel over an LED light panel? I've always worked with panels and found them super useful, especially bi-colour ones. So wondering why someone would opt for a fixed K value light over a bi-colour...? I'm gonna guess colour accuracy?

Thanks again Mercer, no such options on eBay here but I might ask this local repair shop if they can repair and de-click at the same time. Although a little DIY never hurt...

58 minutes ago, mercer said:

That happens to all of those lenses. The good new is you can have them declick it while it's being cleaned. I think there's a few places that list on eBay that will do a full CLA on old Zeiss Jena lenses for a fairly inexpensive price. 

Cheers mercer. I'm assuming you mean eBay Kleinanzeigen? 

The aperture blades on my old Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm lens are stuck wide open. Dang. Think there's a good Berlin living population on here, could anyone recommend a decent lens repair option? I was quoted 40/50 euros from a place close to Ostkreuz and was hoping for a cheaper option given the lens cost 70 euros.

Think this might be my first monitor. Looks great.

9 hours ago, DaveAltizer said:

I just had an "on the record" conversation with the a canon rep today on the show floor and brought up the whole "lack of 4k across the board" issue. They told me that the Japanese corporate people just don't get it but now are seeing some serious impact from Panasonic and Sony. He said their philosophy is that people who buy 77d and t7i don't need 4k but I said the 80d is a great video camera and they should add 4k to that model. He said a 90d with 4k would make sense but not to get our hopes up. 

I also spoke to a Panasonic rep today who told me that he was on the airplane sitting next to a Canon rep and the Canon rep told him "you and Sony are eating our lunch in the lower end and the a9 is a serious hit to our high end." The Panasonic rep said this is the first year that Canon reps have the humility and lack of ego/ pride that they normally do. 

Also, I spoke to the Canon rep about the c100 mk3. He said it does exist. It's just not here and he couldn't tell me when we will see it. He couldn't confirm any specs. I'll try to dig more on them tomorrow  

Nice work, Dave. A competitively priced C100 Mk3, with 4K, would seriously tempt me over to Canon again and would represent a worthwhile upgrade on the Sony A7SII. I suspect I wouldn't be the only one thinking this and it could be a great way for Canon to befriend filmmakers who want to take a step beyond DSLR/Mirrorless.

On 14/04/2017 at 9:32 PM, PannySVHS said:

Hey Greg! You make that gfilm colour sing, you make that Sony color sing! Maybe the best Sony color I´ve seen on the interwebs,

very beautiful color in its own right! Absolutely! Please share more of your stuff!

cheers

That's very kind of you, cheers! Geoff's colour is very well worth experimenting with, would like to see more examples from other folks as well to see what they've achieved.