DevonChris

Maybe it's time to change the website name to ioshd.com

If you're not a big video fan, not a movie buff and don't own a t.v. why not just stick with stills?

8 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

Yes it is.  

--I'm not aware of any still camera from any manufacturer that has a good mic in it.  

I don't believe that anyone in their right mind would use the camera mics from hybrids to record the main sound track, however.

The best the gx85 offers is that it creates an audio reference track for post sync to a proper recording, and that'll have to do. 

(It would be nice if it had an audio input, but it doesn't. Oh well)

That's never not an issue.  I'd recommend that if you think otherwise to seriously reconsider.

I have been surprised how good the quality of the sound is from my GX8 internal mic when recording externally using the Atomos Ninja Star.

It makes me think that it is the in-camera audio compression that causes most of the problem, rather than the mic.

However I only use the internal mic for synching, even when recording to the Atomos.

25 minutes ago, JurijTurnsek said:

So, if he refunds the people he scammed, his wisdom of a filmmaker with decades of experience with all sorts of gear will not be put into question? Somehow, this seems like the bigger issue here, since this is a place for getting reliable advice.

That is one of the reasons why this thread should remain on the forum. So that in future his previous advice can be assessed in the light of this thread ie be treated as suspect.

I suggest to @Andrew Reid that he must keep this thread on the forum but lock it when ES has refunded the people he scammed. 

However I also suggest that Andrew writes a short summary on the first post that summarises this thread so people don't have to trawl through the endless pages to find the relevent points : ie

• Ebrahim Saadawi was accused by the OP of scamming him
• Two other people came forward to say that they had also been scammed by him
• After a lot of persuasion Ebrahim admitted to the scams and attempted to verify his identity
• Ebrahim also admitted to extensive lying about his circumstances and experience in cinematography and consequently all his advice should be treated as inaccurate and possibly misleading
• Ebrahim eventually refunded the three people he admitted to stealing from (Hopefully)
• Ebrahim has now been banned from the EOSHD forum (hopefully)

If Ebrahim is banned, then I think that will be shown on his status with every one of his previous posts so that will help alert future users to the unreliability of his advice.

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It would probably cost fuck all to sick a debt collector on him.

That typo really cracked me up. Very "Exorcist"

1 minute ago, Ebrahim Saadawi said:

Tomas. Please contact Tim and you'll know it's all sorted out and you'll get a shipment confirmation of the lens first thing tomorrow. I am sorry for any trouble I might have caused you.

Ebrahim, I cannot believe how much you have risked.

There is so much good in your life (apart from your father's passing) but I am glad that you are, at last, tackling this issue head on.

16 minutes ago, PannySVHS said:

 

One thing for sure, this incident is making me aware of the millions of people involved in alter egos, vastly adventerous internet personas and stuff.

I would never have expected getting an outlook on the web2.0 like that through EOSHD.

This thread made me check some of the social media platforms which have been named in these posts.

Never imagined what a jungle it is. An exponential manufacture of thought, impulse to activity, may it be for the better or the worse, may it be for peace or other causes.

Yep, and the importance of maintaining a healthy online reputation.

In the UK, and I guess other countries too, employers are now checking the online presence and social media profiles of applicants.

Type in "Ebrahim Saadawi" into Google and this thread comes up half way up the first page for me. That is potentially a big problem.

6 minutes ago, Ebrahim Saadawi said:

So what should I do to make this right? (not get my reputation or participate here again as this ship has saled) but to avoid getting mentally, physically, legally insulted. What should I do and I'll do it to end this other than repaying and satisfying those who were scammed, please? I am truly asking for advice. 

So you graduated in Dentistry from Delta University http://deltauniv.edu.eg/new/

You have placed your professional reputation at risk, particularly as this is a private university so there must be significant wealth in your family.

Very stupid.

19 minutes ago, Timotheus said:

Guys. A few deep breaths might be helpful. Believe me, I am as angry as anyone here and I want to be compensated. Ebrahim has committed himself to do something about that in the coming day, and providing evidence of it. We shall see about that quickly enough.

Regardless, there is the issue of proportionality one how one should respond, certainly if you're not directly affected. Who decides what the 'punishment' should be and who should deliver it? I think @dhessel made some similar remarks. I feel this community (and it's administrators) can decide how to deal with the situation here. Whether that means a ban or keeping this thread on the site can be debated.

Reaching out to a large pool of strangers (Ebrahim's contacts) and dragging them into this mess might be a bit much at this point, though. But that's just my 2 cents ... (or actually $275...blegh).

Totally agree about proportionality, however finding ways to reveal Ebrahim's criminal activities to his friends and family is likley to be the best way of stopping him being a thief (and getting the money back).

If he comes from a good family he would bring huge dishonour and shame to his family if he was outed as a criminal. If he has decent, law abiding friends, they are likley to think very badly of him.

The force of family in Egyptian society is huge.  At the moment his activities are hidden from his family and friends. Woe betide him if his family knew what he was really like.

3 minutes ago, Emanuel said:

In such case, it would be more a case of professional help than a criminal case. So, let's have some pity on this dude, I guess, no? ;-)

There seems to be so much hope that we can all wrap our arms around poor @Ebrahim Saadawi and make him better.  Make him a good member of EOSHD (and the other forums he has hunted in).

This is someone who lied and stole from at least three people. If he wasn't stealing from naive Westerners on forums he would be stealing from naive Westerners in Tahir Square, or by the Pyramids.

Fact 1 : ES is a criminal who went to great lengths to steal from affluent people

Fact 2 : ES lied repeatedly and extensively. He is not to be trusted at all.

Fact 3 : There is severe poverty in Egypt (I have been several times). $200 to someone ln Egypt could represent several months wages. This is a lot of money, well worth the effort to set up elaborate scams

Fact 4 : ES was found out this time, but it is very likely that he will scam rich Westerners again, perhaps with more skill.

Don't trust him at all and try and prevent his criminal activity in the future.

I think there are valuable lessons that have been learnt in this thread and that it should not be deleted when the items have been refunded.

ES deserves for his name to be immortalised as a scammer because it is very likely that he will find other ways to scam people in the future and hopefully the presence of this thread in the search engines may protect his potential victims in the future.

19 hours ago, IshootbeforeItalk said:

Have you tried pairing this up with an anamorphic lens? How do they match?

Are you aware that this thread was started in August 2013?

2 minutes ago, kidzrevil said:

@DevonChris that rendering is just gorgeous ! I hear its sharper than the 1.4

Thanks It's an incredibly sharp lens as you can see with the writing on the sports programme the lady on the left is holding.

@kidzrevil Yep. I shot this with a Contax Zeiss 50mm f/1.7 using an adaptor (not SB) on my GX8

9 hours ago, John Matthews said:

I've heard some reports recently concerning IBIS. Normally, when you use a tripod, you turn IBIS off. But, has anyone tried to use IBIS on a tripod? I've been told it doesn't matter with the GX80 and it doesn't get "confused." By accident, I did this once and found no ill effects on the image.

On my GX8 I continually forget to turn off OIS/IBIS when on a tripod and have never had a problem.

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Just wish that you could Punch-in zoom in for manual focus while recording.

Are you sure that you can't do that on the GX80? I do this regularly on my GX8.

1 hour ago, andy lee said:

no you cant do both at once , its either or !!  I have brought this up at meetings with Panasonic as we all would like this feature , the G7 will not do this, I just shot a feature film with 6 x Panasonic G7 cameras , its a great camera !

The OP was asking about the G7, however the GX8 manual also states that you cannot use LIve view at the same time as recording to an external recorder via HDMI, however I was surprised to find that LV does in fact work when recording out through the HDMI. There is no simultaneous recording internally though.

Maybe this is a beneficial bug so don't tell Panasonic!

I was also suprised to find that the Atomos recorder recorded the manual focus assist screen so if you magnify the image in the LV to focus accurately by double clicking the MF PIP box, the Atomos records the magnified image too. This is fantastic as you can zoom in and out just by enabling/disabling MF assist (by tapping) on the live view screen - instant close ups.

30 minutes ago, mercer said:

Good to hear. I don't need huge prints, or anything, just have been enjoying photo essays on Flickr and I figured if I want to start with stills, that raw would be the way to go. Do you think the D5500 would be better for stills than the GX85? I don't necessarily need 4K video, but the ibis is a major selling point for stills and video, I'd imagine? I do really like the video image from both cameras... That D5500 flat profile is simply gorgeous and it has a mic input. Ugh too many decisions.

Thanks for the reply!!!

I have a GX8, not a GX85, and the sensors are different of course, but I found that when I moved from a Nikon D810 and two D5200's my photography keeper rate improved dramatically. This is because the stabilisation of the GX8 body and OIS lenses is so good, camera shake at low shutter speeds became a thing of the past.

Also the Panny autofocus and face tracking is so good that it helped improve keeper rate too. I do photojournalism so having good AF really helps in catching the image quickly and accurately. When I realised that no-one wanted the huge images that the 810 delivers, it was time to switch to the Panny.

Although OIS lenses with AF are great, I prefer the more "organic" approach to photography with manual lenses (when time allows) so my go to lens is now the Voit 25mm f/0.95. The inbody stabilisation of the GX8 really helps when using the Voit. I am sure that the GX85 with vintage lenses would be just as good, if not better.

On 09/06/2016 at 11:17 PM, fuzzynormal said:

I guess, by certain perception, I'm in the "I can barely make it" camp.  As it happens, I've never been beholden to the idea that certain gear is inherently not-good-enough simply because of the market it's being sold to.  I rent when I need to and I shoot with many of these contemptible "toys" when I need to.  My opinion is that a tool is a tool.  I'm not going to bring a "knife to a gun fight" nor am I going to do the opposite.

I think you are understating your skills, Fuzzy.

I watched a number of videos on your Vimeo channel a few days ago and was really impressed. The Audi promo, the B&W music video and the promo for the laptop wireless device stood out IMO.

The quality of the Audi promo in particular was impressive and looked to be shot on a high end rented camera.

Hardly "I can barely make it as a pro" territory

Wow. Powerful film.

Just shows that the GH2 is still a great camera in the right hands.

1 hour ago, August McCue said:

If you're fine without 4k and RAW the c100 is a great camera. Shot my first feature film on the mark ii and l freaking loved it. I think it's one of the only cameras that can cross over between the 2 different kind of shooting you do in that range. Still getting a professional camera that can output good color externally. I'm in the same boat man thats what I'v been leaning toward myself recently. 

Have you tried using a C100ii with an external recorder? I imagine that Prores HQ and that camera sensor would create fantastic images.

@Michael Coffee I have definitely found issues with the red channel as it seems to over saturate, however knowing that allows me to work around it as part of an easy and repeatable workflow.

Have you considered an X-rite color checker so that you can balance the output of the cam against the knowns of the color checker? This is the basis for Paul Leeming's  LUTs. 

1 hour ago, Michael Coffee said:

I think if Panasonic can improve the autofocus, with the ibis and seemingly better colours - the gh5 will be a really strong camera.. it really seems the main area they are lagging behind

 

As a Panasonic owner, and ex Nikon user, I'm intrigued by this oft stated view about "Panasonic Colours".

My experience is that if you take care of white balance and experiment with profiles and really get to know your camera, then it is as easy to get good colours from a Panasonic as it is from a Canon (or in my case, Nikon) camera.

Why not create your own LUT or standard set of controls/profiles and apply them in post, for example?

If you want a thick image to grade, hook up an external recorder. The cost of the Panny GH4/GH5 level cam and external recorder will be less than a C100ii, but the image quality is definitely comparable if not better (1080 of course, not the 4K that is on offer from the Panny's).

Although I am impressed by my GX8 I am no means a Panny fan boy, but there does appear to be some sort of myth circulating that Panasonic colours somehow don't cut it.

11 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

I thought, for business use, VAT rebates are a thing of the past? 

https://www.gov.uk/tax-on-shopping/taxfree-shopping

Oops, you are right. I'll edit that out of my comment above. Apologies.

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Goods you can’t get a refund for

You can’t get a VAT refund for:

mail order goods, including internet sales, delivered outside of the UK

goods you’ve already used in the EU, such as perfume

service charges, eg hotel bills

new or used cars

goods worth more than £600 exported for business purposes

goods to be exported as freight

goods that need an export licence (except antiques)

unmounted gemstones

gold over 125g, 2.75 troy ounces or 10 tolas

a boat you plan to sail to a destination outside the EU