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JazzBox

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    V-log unlocked for free!

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    I think V-LOG really needs an external recorder to shine. 8-bit 4:2:0 just doesn't cut it. I wonder if the camera has enough horsepower to do internal 10-bit with another firmware upgrade. 

    GH4 would be perfect if could shoot ProRes on SD card just like Pocket... :)
     

    V-log unlocked for free!

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    I tried a little, at home, nothing serious, but using my GH4 next to my BlackMagic Pocket, the difference is huge. The GH4 with V-Log gave me far more noise with similar setting and lenses. I normally prefer the easy (and long battery life) GH4 for everyday shooting, reserving the BlackMagic for shorter work or for work with no rush, but this time the GH4 disappointed me a little. The long awaited V-Log looks awful next to the flat Pocket's ProRes HQ.

    GH4 V-Log $99

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    There is a bit of a contradiction about this at the moment. B&H state "there is NO physical shipment...you will active this code they give you at a special website" and yet the check out process seems to include a small shipping charge. Still ends up being way cheaper than buying locally though... Hopefully B&H answer the other questions soon but I think that will only happen a couple of weeks down the track. 

    Thank you! :)

    Nebula 4200 - 5-axis gimbal

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    Ever since the first "gamechanger" threads on handheld gimbals emerged, I remained sceptic. Particularly the effect of travelling to, away from or around inanimate objects (cars, trees) is something that wears off quickly, more so if done with ultra wide lenses. This is true for Glidecam/Flycam/Steadicam shots as well, as long as they don't serve a well-defined purpose. Similar with extreme sDoF that was en vogue for a few years. But wouldn't you agree that it's nice to have these opportunities in our tool box?

    We also made some shots with a 70mm, and they were smooth too, something you'd hardly try with a Glidecam. Didn't try longer lenses so far. Very few nowadays explore what tele lenses have to offer. Of course these things shouldn't be misused to just show off. Watch this clip on 'Bayhem' from everyframeapainting:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2THVvshvq0Q

    This is what we missed on the airfield yesterday: long lenses. As you can see, the best dynamic effect comes from cutting between wide shots and tele shots. And I don't rue to have bought the Ronin, because it offers some things you can't do with a Glidecam. But doubtlessly, two or three years from now, the construction of these devices will have improved to such a degree, that you need to change then. Maybe they become lighter, maybe 5 axis stabilization will be standard, who knows now?

     

    You're right! My "problem" is that I'm on a budget, so I try to invest "wisely" asking to people that knows more then me what to do ;)
    I'd love to obtain shots like this, he uses a Glidecam 4000.

    https://vimeo.com/124098814

    Of course If Ronin M is reliable (motors etc... that are fragile from what I understand) I will spend that money to have something that can make my work better :)
     

    Nebula 4200 - 5-axis gimbal

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    Well, you mount the camera, balance it (quite easy, no tools needed), then you establish a bluetooth connection with your phone to tune it with the "DJI Assistant App"(doesn't work all the time, we had to restart the app / the Ronin a few times, no idea why). With that app, you initially just need one button called "Auto Tune Stability". Once hit, the Ronin makes loud servo noises like an ED209 or a T800 , the calibration stand shivers, and the camera turns upright. After a few seconds, it's useable.

    But there are other parameters to tune. By default, the camera follows your movements, but way too late and too slowly. This is what these guys are for:

    Wizard.jpg

    Probably you don't want any roll behavior with a gimbal, but you'd want the camera to follow your deliberate pans and tilts, you just want these movements smoother. So you have to play with those settings, until you are satisfied ("Deadband" = the higher the value, the more the Ronin ignores your movement). Took round about an hour, until we were satisfied.

    This morning, we went to the glider airfield to test the thing in the field. The sun was so bright, we couldn't see shit on the tiny A7s' display. So we mounted the Shogun on top. We still couldn't see enough to really frame the images. What is more, the additional weight of the Shogun made holding the Ronin for more than, say, two minutes - impossible. And we both go to the gym on a regular basis and do quite a lot of shoulder and neck workout.

    We also changed the lenses. One was considerably heavier than the first, but balancing it (of course you have to carry the calbration stand with you) was a matter of two minutes. It took another ten minutes for the phone to find the Ronin (this is kind of a PITA) to hit Auto Stability, but afterwards everything worked fine.

    For the time being, having not much experience with the device, I dare to draw some first conclusions:

    1. To believe that such a gimbal replaces tripod and shoulder mount would be naive fallacy.

    2. It replaces a steadicam.

    3. Even though this is a lightweight model and we had a small camera, you really don't carry this around all day. 

    4. I am musing about video glasses. Any suggestions? Comments? Has anyone tried this?

     

    Huge thanks Axel!
    Now I'm more then uncertain about it! I'm still thinking to a simple Glidecam... Let's see... :)
    For video lenses I recently started using an Olympus 12-40 f/2.8 on my GH4, a very nice lens, even if I prefer my trusty FD primes kit, but when in rush this is a great solution. 
    For monitor under sunlight I use an Aputure I bought from a forum user: he putted a matte protection on the screen and it works very well.

    I like my Panasonic but I regret selling my Canon..

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    Seems like I cannot apply that to my g6 footage due to the inability of my panasonic to play with advanced picture profiles, thank you anyway!

    Totally agree, I love the g6 and I'm not gonna sell it, I can't go back completely, I really can't stand the aliasing of canon cameras for example.

    I'll try your setting, right now I'm testing standard with -2-2-2-2

    I'll try that, thank you!

    Ciao Kangaroo, "Standard" is way too videoish, try "Natural" with contrast -3, saturation all the way down, sharpness -2/-3 (but sometimes 0 or all the way down are perfect) and, of course, shutter at 1/50 with 24 or 25p. 
    I'm sure you'll love this little camera :)

    Panasonic GH4r

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    I think that, if they want to continue the little "revolution" they made in 2014 - offering all the features that Canon's user wanted (4K, 60p, peaking etc...) at a fraction of the price of a 5DmkIII - it could be a smart move to sell the new GH4 with the new firmware preloaded as "R" and to offer the update to existing user for a symbolic price, in the 50-100$ ballpark. 
    In that way they could confirm their intentions to listen users while Canon still sleeps in 2009 and they could try to take aboard some BlackMagic user like me: I do love the ProRes HQ from my Pocket, but using it is really annoying, so I use GH4 95% of the time because it is so simple and fast to work with.
    I'm sure this could give them more exposure then spending a lot in advertising. 

    Nebula 4200 - 5-axis gimbal

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    Only yesterday we received the Ronin M. Works from the start. Only concern is that it feels heavier (with camera) than the demo videos suggest. Maybe one day we change ...

    I'm thinking to buy a 3 axis gimbal: Ronin M, Came Mini2 and Came Single are the gimbals I was thinking about... 

    Can you help me? :)

    Ronin is sturdy and simple as they say? 
    Thank you!!! 

    p.s.: I'm coming in Berlin soon, did you buy it in a shop or by internet?

    I like my Panasonic but I regret selling my Canon..

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    After I bought my G6 (thanks to Andrew's article on this blog) I regret all the Canon I bought :)
    I sold that 70D and all the Canon digital lenses, so I had some money to buy the GH4. 

    I'm totally in love with Panasonic G6, I use it as second unit with GH4 and they can match really well. 
    Since I don't use 4k that much, the only drawback is the lack of live-HDMI: with an external monitor you can check only the shoots you made, but you can't monitor what you're doing.

    Anyway the EVF is GREAT (try to do that with a Canon!), the dynamic range and the final quality are stellar and in my opinion they smoke easily any non-hacked Canon DSLR.

    With G6 is also very simple to achieve a natural cinematic look in camera: just use "Natural" profile with contrast -3, saturation all the way down and sharpness -2/-3.

    With Canon FD lenses and Zeiss M42 lenses you can shoot really filmic things. 

    I would never return to Canon DSLR, at least until they remain in 2009 ;)

    Pilotfly H1+

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    Thank you very much for all your kind answers!

    Aaron, have you ever tried Ronin M? I ask because the price is not too far from Came Mini2... I'm really undecided... I need some sort of stabilization, but I'd like to buy some solid piece of gear that can lasts for some years :)

    Pilotfly H1+

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    I have yet to see any of the small one hand gimbals look good. For some reason it seems the smaller they are the more they wobble. I have the CAME 7000 which is really stable. The Ronin M seems very solid too.

    Thank you! 

    What about Came 7500 or Came Mini 1 (or 2, I don't understand the differences) or the Came Single?

    Thanks a lot for your help :)

    Pilotfly H1+

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    For sure. Looks really wonky.

    Aaron, I'm thinking to buy a 3 axis gimbal in order to add a stabilized movement to my footage, but sometimes it looks wonky also to me. 
    Do you suggest an handheld gimbal such as a     glide cam/flycam? 

    Pilotfly H1+

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    I just tried it with the a7Rii with IBIS turned on, looking at the footage I feel like a professional now. :)

    Dear Dave, 
    you tried both H1+ and Came Single: which is you experience with camera's LCD monitor? I use a GH4 and a BlackMagic Pocket, do you think is it easy to watch their LCD to frame the image when mounted on the gimbal? I ask you because I'm near to buy one and I got stuck between "pistol" gimbal and "ronin style" gimbal.
    Thank you very much!

    Stumbled upon a possible GH4 color enhancing trick

    In: Cameras

    Posted

    I'll definitely give Standard another day in court because it's been a long time since i did my tests of each profile, but I haven't had any issues keeping reds red in Natural. And I found it produced the best skintones.

     

    It's something I "discovered" after shooting a 2 camera shot with both GH4 and G6.
    It was some months I did not use the G6 (normally I use the GH4) and I tried to match them in order to have less problems during the color correction.
    And with "natural" with saturation all the way down and contrast -3 I had pretty consistent images between the two cameras and great skin tones - something I normally have to work with when I use Cinelike-D.

    Yeah, that Alexa LUT does make for a nice look. It's little more contrasty than I'd like to go, personally. But an excellent starting point overall. Here's some more clips shot in the Natural profile (0, -5, -5, -2, 0) that I've applied my own custom LUT to. 

     

     

    Wow, amazing footage! Never seen something like that from a GH4! 
    If you have any suggestion to share... I'm here :)

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