majoraxis

I've got the lens, but just received it last week so haven't had time to edit anything from it yet.
A few notes:
- the lens is much smaller than I first thought it would be. I take this as a plus as it's very easy to bring with me.
- the R5 firmware actually has quite a lot of features specifically for this lens. You get the framing for each eye, and instead of a box, it's rounded, accounting for the fisheyedness. When you zoom in you'll zoom in on a single eye and use the "Info" button to switch between the eyes. The eyes are also labeled "R" and "L" on the screen, with R being to the left and L to the right because of how lenses flips everything.
- the manual focus is smooth and seems quite easy to work with with the manual focus assist. Some zooming in to make sure it hits is of course still useful
- because of the bulging front elements, it feels like it's very easy to scratch the lens. I never use lens caps for my lenses (just permanent lens hoods), but with this lens I am hesitant to let anyone else touch it without the lens cap on as I feel it's a gamble if it will be handed back to me without fingerprints on the lens.
If anyone has any specific questions/things I should test with it, feel free to let me know

This topic have made me mad... 
Unreal engine it's very complicated to understand, and there are issue every 2 minutes for all that you want to do if you are not expert... 
 
I've watched many tutorial on YouTube, starting with oculus quest (that I have) and other, but today I've maybe found my personal workflown... 
 
Unreal 4.27 and virtual plugin for Android (80$), very easy to setup but at the moment there are issue for anything different than 24p (I want 25p and there's a bug) 
 
I really don't want to use composure for merge virtual to real life, and I have chosen to add two track in davinci resolve (unreal world and real subject with a matte) in syncro (with waveform of music) 
 
The matte will came from runwayml (15€ a month for 1080p) and I'm still forced to use some green screen in background (without light) to help rotoscoping.. In this way I can turn around my subject (my 5 years old son) in my living room without divorcing my wife 
 
In the next days maybe I will be able to post some sample.. 

Anyway, if anyone who doesn't hate LUTs, is interested in film emulation and does have a Panasonic camera would like to try this out I'd be very interested in hearing from you.
No hard feelings, @webrunner5

Yeah, but true reference monitors cost as much as a new car. I have no clue what an 8K HDR one would cost. We don't want to know. I think the new Apple stuff is 10 bit. Not sure about the iPad Pro, but it is pretty dope.

Step 3 - Start your engines..
So, a few days on and where are we up to ?
I'm happy to say that we have moved forward but, obviously, its a very long journey so the extent of that movement is all relative.
I'm happy to see though that @majoraxis has put together a good primer regarding the projectors for when (or if 😉 ) I get that far.
First step forward was installing Unreal Engine and the first decision there was whether to use the current version 4 (4.27 to be precise) or the early access version of the upcoming version 5.
Both versions are free so the choice for me really was to stick with the current v4.27 release version as its more of a known entity so the learning resources are more plentiful, which is important whilst I'm just paddling in the shallows.
There is also less of a resource requirement in terms of the machine to run it on which, as I'm using a MacBook pro that is really long in the tooth, is a big factor.
Going into this, I am well aware of the limitations of the 1.5gb built in Intel graphics of my MacBook so there is no point trying to explore what v5 brings to the table as judging by the hovercraft noises coming from it when I'm running v4.27 then I'm guessing running v5 would require a fire extinguisher to be at hand.
You can have both versions installed on your machine though so if you have a suitable machine then go for it.
Just to briefly touch on why v5 is a big deal, the primary aspects are two elements called Nanite and Lumen which offer huge advances in terms of detail and lighting control as discussed here :
 
Obviously, v5 will be the ultimate destination but thats some way off yet, particularly considering that a wallet damaging computer upgrade will be required.
As what I'm interested in doing first is applicable to both versions then it can wait anyway and I'll be working in v4.27.
OK, so just circling back to the fundamentals of what the hell Unreal Engine is and using very broad brush strokes to discuss it... (apologies for the baby steps)
It started as the engine used to produce a game called Unreal back in the late 90s (the clue was always in the name 😉 ) and was then licensed to other game developers over the subsequent years using various licensing models to its current status where it is free of charge in terms of royalties for products grossing less than $1m.
Which means its definitely completely free for us !
You can read more about its history here 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreal_Engine
Such is its longevity, ubiquity and support of all gaming platforms, its fairly likely that if you have played any games more graphically challenging than Pong in the past few decades that you have already experienced something created with Unreal Engine.
If, like me, you have been playing more recent titles such as those that have had you running around Midgar lashing Materia at anything with a Shinra logo on it then you will have noticed how much more cinematic everything is.
There have always been the pre-rendered cut scenes that have always looked cinematic of course but now the real time in game content is also taking on an increasingly cinematic look thanks to the simultaneous advancement in machines we are playing them on with the tools in Unreal Engine to simulate the aesthetic.
Bringing this down to two very basic elements, Unreal Engine offers you the ability to build and light the set and then provides you with the camera with which to capture it.
In real time.
And of course, as this emulates the exact paradigm of real world production, the advancements in those two elements is what has sparked the interest in using it for virtual production.
From my point of view, the creation of the set is secondary at this point as I don't have the skills or the time at the moment to be creating the assets but, fortunately, I don't have to as there is plenty of starter content that is freely available from the Marketplace for Unreal Engine that we can use to get going.
For me, this is all about the virtual camera as this is what we will see the scene through and what we will be looking to match to a real camera so all the initial work I've been doing is using very simple sets and seeing what I can do in terms of operating the virtual camera.
The virtual camera has all the same elements of a real camera in that you can not only move its position, change the lens focal length and aperture etc but also control its processing elements such as white balance, ISO and shutter speed.
In the parlance of Unreal Engine, this virtual camera is referred to as a Cine Camera Actor and here is an example of how you see it within the editor.

So as you can see in this example, we have the Cine Camera Actor pointing at the figure inside the set that has been created and in the bottom right you can see its generated viewport of the scene based on its current settings.
The Cine Camera Actor has all the same elements of a real camera in that you can not only move its position, change the lens focal length and aperture etc but also control its processing elements such as white balance, ISO and shutter speed and all these changes that you make will be reflected in the generated viewport in real time.
So, if we change the focal length to be wider then we will get the matching field of view, if we move the position of the camera we will see a different part of the scene, if we open the aperture we will get a shallower depth of field and so on, exactly as it would with a real camera.
How we make those changes in real time as we would with that real camera will be covered in the next enthralling episode 😉 
 

Decided to pick one of these up for about 800 euros in Berlin off Amazon.
It's good!
Premium Apple-like build quality. 100% Display P3 gamut. HDMI input. Thin as a tablet. Two USB C inputs, powers over a single one, built in battery too. Adds touch screen capabilities to Mac OS, PC, etc. Bit like a Surface Pro but tethered to your desktop or laptop.
It is pretty unique on the market.
Of course the generic 1080p LCD models are much much cheaper at $200 but where's the fun in those?! 🙂

The main conceptual thing was I (stupidly) left the rotation of the XR controller on in the first one, whereas with camera projection the rotation should be ignored. I actually don't think it's that noticeable a change since I didn't rotate the camera much in the first test. It's only noticeable with canted angles. The other thing I didn't do correctly in the first test, was I parented the camera to a tracked point, but forgot to account for the offset. So the camera pivots around the wrong point. That is really the main thing that is noticeably wrong from the first one.
Additionally, I measured out the size of the objects so the mountains are scaled correctly, and I measured the starting point of the camera's sensor as accurately as I could instead of just "well this looks about right." Similarly I actually aligned the virtual light source and my light. Nothing fancy, I just eyeballed it, but I didn't even do that for the first version. That's all just a matter of putting the effort in to make sure everything was aligned.
The better tracking is because I used a Quest instead of a Rift headset. The Quest has cameras on the bottom, so it has an easier time tracking an object held at chest height. I have the headset tilted up on my head to record these, so the extra downward FOV helps considerably. Nothing really special there, just better hardware. There were a few blips where it lost tracking--if I was doing this on a shoot I'd use HTC Vive trackers, but they are honestly rather annoying to set up, despite being significantly better for this sort of thing.
Also this time I put some handles on my camera, and the added stability means that the delay between tracking and rendering is less noticeable. The delay is a result of the XR controller tracking position at only 30 hz, plus HDMI delay from PC to TV which is fairly large on my model. I can reduce this delay by using a Vive, which has 250 hz tracking, and a low latency projector (or screen, but for live action I need more image area). I think in best case I might actually get sub-frame delay at 24 fps. Some gaming projectors claim <5ms latency.

...and today I cleaned up the effect quite a bit. This is way too much fun! The background is a simple terrain with a solid color shader, lit by a single directional light and a solid color sky. With it this far out of focus, it looks shockingly good considering it's just a low poly mesh colored brown!
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gobuildstuff.com/videos/virtualBGTest2.mp4
It's a 65" tv behind this one. You can vaguely see my reflection in the screen haha.

Thanks to this topic, I dug a little further into virtual backgrounds myself. I used this library from github, and made this today. It's tracked using an Oculus controller velcro'd to the top of my camera. "Calibration" was a tape measure and some guesstimation, and the model isn't quite the right scale for the figure. No attempt to match focus, color, or lighting. So not terribly accurate, but imo it went shockingly well for a Sunday evening proof on concept.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/gobuildstuff.com/videos/virtualBGTest.mp4

Great topic! I have been researching projectors for just such an application. Here are some of my findings.
1. Laser projectors have better contrast ratios as compared to lamp based projectors, so Laser projector blacks are less grey and preferred.
2. Laser projectors have better color consistency and degrade predictably and uniformly over time and typically are good for 20,000 hours, so Laser is preferred over lamp as a projector light source.
3. You can damage your vision by looking into a laser projector lens (when it is on of course) so using a short throw projector that the subject stands so that the projector is behind them or rear projected is the safest configuration when shooting human or animals subjects etc.  Some Laser projectors have proximity sensors and dim when an object gets too close to the lens, others do not.
4. DLP vs LCD. DLP can produce a rainbow effect when filming the projected image so LCD is preferred.
5. DLP vs LCD. LCD has better color brightness and saturation over DLP so LCD is preferred.
6. Home vs Commercial Projectors. Some commercial projectors offer "projection mapping" capabilities, which is a sophisticated means of combining the images of multiple projectors, blending the overlapping image edges and compensating for geometric issues as well as offering image calibration across multiple projectors. If you plan to use more than one projector to make a single large image, you will want commercial projectors with projection mapping capabilities.
7. Lens shift and throw distance. Short throw projectors seem to be designed with a narrow through distance range with limited (if at all) optical/physical lens shift capabilities.  Many commercial grade projectors have removable lenses with remotely operated motorized lens shift, zoom and focus capabilities. For creative and projection mapping applications, a commercial projector with a detectable lens provides greater placement and screen size options.
8. "4k" projection . True 4k LCD Laser projectors are far more expensive than 4k enhanced LCD projectors that use LCD or DPL imaging element shifting to create the perception of about half the resolution of true 4k (like the LG Cinebeam or Epson LS500 do).
Here's what a 3 LCD (1080px1200 native HD) ultra short throw Laser projector with 4000 lumens of light output looks list under trade show conditions front projected and rear projected. It is the Epson PowerLite 700U and Is about $1,400 refurbished.
For those who would like to consider using multiple projectors and doing projection mapping, the Epson PowerLite L1100U (6000 Lumens and can take a 4k signal but does not do the 4k enhancement when projection mapping) would be a good entry point at about $2300each refurbished. Here's a video on how a room looks mapped with multiple projectors.
I imagine an ALR (ambient light rejecting) screen would help in trying to achieve a useable ratio of screen light to subject light along with higher ISO cameras.
@BTM_Pixsuch a great topic. Thank you! I will be following this thread closely.

Great topic! I have been researching projectors for just such an application. Here are some of my findings.
1. Laser projectors have better contrast ratios as compared to lamp based projectors, so Laser projector blacks are less grey and preferred.
2. Laser projectors have better color consistency and degrade predictably and uniformly over time and typically are good for 20,000 hours, so Laser is preferred over lamp as a projector light source.
3. You can damage your vision by looking into a laser projector lens (when it is on of course) so using a short throw projector that the subject stands so that the projector is behind them or rear projected is the safest configuration when shooting human or animals subjects etc.  Some Laser projectors have proximity sensors and dim when an object gets too close to the lens, others do not.
4. DLP vs LCD. DLP can produce a rainbow effect when filming the projected image so LCD is preferred.
5. DLP vs LCD. LCD has better color brightness and saturation over DLP so LCD is preferred.
6. Home vs Commercial Projectors. Some commercial projectors offer "projection mapping" capabilities, which is a sophisticated means of combining the images of multiple projectors, blending the overlapping image edges and compensating for geometric issues as well as offering image calibration across multiple projectors. If you plan to use more than one projector to make a single large image, you will want commercial projectors with projection mapping capabilities.
7. Lens shift and throw distance. Short throw projectors seem to be designed with a narrow through distance range with limited (if at all) optical/physical lens shift capabilities.  Many commercial grade projectors have removable lenses with remotely operated motorized lens shift, zoom and focus capabilities. For creative and projection mapping applications, a commercial projector with a detectable lens provides greater placement and screen size options.
8. "4k" projection . True 4k LCD Laser projectors are far more expensive than 4k enhanced LCD projectors that use LCD or DPL imaging element shifting to create the perception of about half the resolution of true 4k (like the LG Cinebeam or Epson LS500 do).
Here's what a 3 LCD (1080px1200 native HD) ultra short throw Laser projector with 4000 lumens of light output looks list under trade show conditions front projected and rear projected. It is the Epson PowerLite 700U and Is about $1,400 refurbished.
For those who would like to consider using multiple projectors and doing projection mapping, the Epson PowerLite L1100U (6000 Lumens and can take a 4k signal but does not do the 4k enhancement when projection mapping) would be a good entry point at about $2300each refurbished. Here's a video on how a room looks mapped with multiple projectors.
I imagine an ALR (ambient light rejecting) screen would help in trying to achieve a useable ratio of screen light to subject light along with higher ISO cameras.
@BTM_Pixsuch a great topic. Thank you! I will be following this thread closely.

Great topic! I have been researching projectors for just such an application. Here are some of my findings.
1. Laser projectors have better contrast ratios as compared to lamp based projectors, so Laser projector blacks are less grey and preferred.
2. Laser projectors have better color consistency and degrade predictably and uniformly over time and typically are good for 20,000 hours, so Laser is preferred over lamp as a projector light source.
3. You can damage your vision by looking into a laser projector lens (when it is on of course) so using a short throw projector that the subject stands so that the projector is behind them or rear projected is the safest configuration when shooting human or animals subjects etc.  Some Laser projectors have proximity sensors and dim when an object gets too close to the lens, others do not.
4. DLP vs LCD. DLP can produce a rainbow effect when filming the projected image so LCD is preferred.
5. DLP vs LCD. LCD has better color brightness and saturation over DLP so LCD is preferred.
6. Home vs Commercial Projectors. Some commercial projectors offer "projection mapping" capabilities, which is a sophisticated means of combining the images of multiple projectors, blending the overlapping image edges and compensating for geometric issues as well as offering image calibration across multiple projectors. If you plan to use more than one projector to make a single large image, you will want commercial projectors with projection mapping capabilities.
7. Lens shift and throw distance. Short throw projectors seem to be designed with a narrow through distance range with limited (if at all) optical/physical lens shift capabilities.  Many commercial grade projectors have removable lenses with remotely operated motorized lens shift, zoom and focus capabilities. For creative and projection mapping applications, a commercial projector with a detectable lens provides greater placement and screen size options.
8. "4k" projection . True 4k LCD Laser projectors are far more expensive than 4k enhanced LCD projectors that use LCD or DPL imaging element shifting to create the perception of about half the resolution of true 4k (like the LG Cinebeam or Epson LS500 do).
Here's what a 3 LCD (1080px1200 native HD) ultra short throw Laser projector with 4000 lumens of light output looks list under trade show conditions front projected and rear projected. It is the Epson PowerLite 700U and Is about $1,400 refurbished.
For those who would like to consider using multiple projectors and doing projection mapping, the Epson PowerLite L1100U (6000 Lumens and can take a 4k signal but does not do the 4k enhancement when projection mapping) would be a good entry point at about $2300each refurbished. Here's a video on how a room looks mapped with multiple projectors.
I imagine an ALR (ambient light rejecting) screen would help in trying to achieve a useable ratio of screen light to subject light along with higher ISO cameras.
@BTM_Pixsuch a great topic. Thank you! I will be following this thread closely.

For highly detailed & inexpensive virtual sets, check out DAZ 3D.
I rendered these with a DAZ model by Jack Tomalin (with two different texture sets),
imported to Maxon Cinema 4D. Its a great way to experiment with lighting setups:


Stonemason is another great DAZ modeler for virtual interiors/exteriors:
https://www.daz3d.com/the-streets-of-venice
These models are generally less than $50 and are getting more detailed every year.

Lately I’ve been looking at low cost motion capture systems.
Anyone tried the Perception Neuron 3 system? - $2,400
https://www.neuronmocap.com/perception-neuron-3-motion-capture-system
 

Yeah, I have seen some people looking to integrate them and similar (like the now sadly discontinued Intel Realsense cameras) and they do have Unreal Engine integration.
At $499 for the new Zed 2i they work out a fair bit cheaper than a start from scratch Vive system.
For now the conservative option is the Vive because so many people use it that its easier to find resources for it so I'll see where I'm at when the time comes as they will likely be easier for me to integrate.
The lens control aspect is the target product development project for me to emerge with from doing this journey. 
Well, the first one anyway.
The idea of having the enormous OLED walls is obviously a pipe dream but I guess the peak at this level for me I think would be to use one of the 4K Ultra Short Throw Laser projectors like the LG Cinebeam etc.
Sat off the wall at 38cm they'll give a 2.2 metre screen size and go up to just under 4 metres at about 50cm.
Price is roughly €2-2.5K for those type of projectors (plus screen) so I'd have to be very keen on this to get one but in an era when no one is batting much of an eyelid at €6K hybrid cameras then its not really that eye watering a sum to invest.
Particularly as if it all turns to shit you can always have fantastic movie nights with it in even the smallest of spaces !
Until then, I'll have a mess about with my current little projector to experiment with.
At this point, not to mention for many points afterwards, I'm more concerned with the functional aspect rather than any semblance of quality !

Last year my friends and I put together a show which we filmed in virtual reality. We tried to make it as much like actual filmmaking as possible, except we were 1000 miles away. That didn't turn out to be as possible as we'd hoped, due to bugs and limited features. The engine is entirely built from scratch using Unity, so I was doing making patches every 10 minutes just to get it to work. Most of the 3D assets were made for the show, maybe 10% or so were found free on the web. Definitely one of the more difficult aspects was building a pipeline entirely remotely for scripts, storyboards, assets, recordings, and then at the very end the relatively simple task of collaborative remote editing with video and audio files.
If you're interested you can watch it here (mature audiences) https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLocS26VJsm_2dYcuwrN36ZgrOVtx49urd
I've been toying with the idea of going solo on my own virtual production as well.

The market seems to be responding to the ever-increasing prices of vintage gear online, which is great IMHO.
Another example is modern lenses with a retro look:
It makes sense that the same would happen in the anamorphic space.
Fantastic stuff!

S35 still gets a lot of use but all the high end stuff in my area gets shot on the LF or maybe a full frame RED. Most high end cinema is the LF as well. The lower end market seems to be obsessed with full frame. I guess BM is targeting the middle of the two ends.
 
Yeah I know they said a full frame camera is too expensive to do. Every other company is doing them though. I guess BM is a smaller company. Of course I can see why the in house design would be too pricey with full frame.

If they increase the sensor size with 25% large photo sites (better lowlight and dynamic range?) they could potentially use virtually the same electronics and modify the hardware with larger ND window and larger throat to the sensor etc. to accommodate a full frame sensor.
If they added on sensor electronic ND's, they could reengineer the lens mount accommodate shorter flange distance mounts like the RF and even micro 4/3.
I would also like to see/hear 32 bit audio on their next URSA mini pro release. Then we would have pseudo RAW video and audio.
One of the benefits of the BRAW architecture is that I can record 12k or 8k and if my computer has trouble playing it back, I can down sample it to 4k or 2k on the fly and it will play back fined without having to make a proxy. USB-C connection to NVMe M.2 makes this workflow possible and affordable. These drives are so fast and currently on sale for about the same price as a 2.5" SSD drive.
Seems like Blackmagic has solved most of the problem at the same time.  Affordable high performance storage via USB-C. Scaleable RAW like codec for high resolution low band acquisition. Architecture to support for scaleable playback without transcoding. Editing environment to support BRAW. Cinema camera from factor with professional connection the XLR, SDI, PL Mount and B4 mount and lens connection, view finder option, time code.
So what are they missing?
Full frame? World class auto focus? Electronic ND? RF mount? 32-bit audio? Better dynamic range? Better low light? Selling their own lenses and lighting so that they can offer end to end solutions and support. Renting and loaning their own cameras, lenses, lighting, editing workstations at a discount in markets they want to enter. Provide local support offices in every major market so they can personally fix any problem that may arise. Provide workflow case studies so that productions can justify adoption. "Acquire" name brand endorsers. Focus efforts to be listed as being shot on for award winning productions. Charge 5 to 10 times as much to pay for market dominating infrastructure and accusation. As someone who wants to continue to be able to afford Blackmagic cinema products, I hope they continue to grow organically (like Aputure) into professional markets rather that build the infrastructure and acquire the adjacent product lines to try and dominate the professional market by force of will.
With a better economy Blackmagic probably would not have had to lower the price of the 12k to get it to sell, but I'm glad they did because, if not I would not be able to justify purchasing in one (used).
Thanks Blackmagic! Your approach is just right. Steady as she goes Captain Petty, steady as she goes.
Regardless of the price drop and how many 12k are selling, the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 12k is the King of Affordable Professional Cinema Cameras.
 
 
 

The 12k is definitely a great offer. I can't help but think a full frame camera would have flown off their shelves. But I do love the 12k sensor tech. Hope to see more from them with that sensor technology.

It's Spring time for EOSHD.

It's great to have you and the blog back.  Please stay very active shooting, both to keep up your creativity and morale but also because it's far more useful for the rest of us to have real-life situations than laboratory tests to learn from.  Also it just looks cool to see what you get up to out there.

And please keep up your picture profile research and development, you're the best out there.  I use Pro-Log and Z-Log frequently, and your C-log for the Canon DSLRs was extremely useful too.  Welcome back Andrew.

Nice to see you back still alive and kicking!
Lovely country landscape BTW, I'm also proud of and fairly miss, part of everyone who have made the British culture part of themselves  : )
Merry Christmas and the best 2022 to you and your family :- )
- EAG

That's fantastic news! Although new here, this community has been a friendly place for me to exchange opinions without judgement or gear races. Thank you for this awesome website!

Dear Andrew, Merry Christmas and best wishes to you! Thank you for your work and this magnificient place. I wished I had contributed more than I did last year. Corona and changing social climate in Berlin have not been so easy. So I always came here to give my soul some rest but didnt share much. For giving us comfort and for this creative community and much more- thank you so much! I love your latest article/blog post. Great photos of you and great lomo shot. Looking forward to contributing and enjoying the spirit of EOSHD! love from Berlin, Marty

Hello to everyone on the forum!
A Merry Christmas from me!
I hope you're looking forward to having a good break over the holidays and are ready to welcome in 2022. Talking of holidays - I have been having a break from EOSHD for a few months. I went and sat on a hill and finally had time to reflect on my work which is this blog and the community around it. The last video had a lot of support, it's made me really appreciate what I have in a more positive light. I'm mega appreciative of the people who took the time to say how EOSHD has helped them over the years and that they want it to continue.
So that's what we'll do! EOSHD is back.
Read the full blog post here