The Chris

Anyone know why the prices on Amazon from 3rd party sellers are so different from B&H and Adorama? The X5r kit with the 15mm lens is $3599 at Adorama, but just $2199 at some Amazon sellers. If that price is legit, makes me think seriously about replacing my A7s/DS1 combo with one of these. Seems odd...

This camera is somewhat intriguing as a run and gun solution, but Canon omitting duel pixel AF makes it a no sale for me. If there was a camera in its lineup that's tailor made for DPAF, it's the XC10. 

Maybe they get it right in the mkII. 

For some reason I can't edit my post, but what I meant to say about FCPx is that it's faster on a Mac laptop than any other NLE, again IMO. My mobile setup was a MacBook Air, i7, 8gb with a 1tb PCI-e SSD, and while slower than my 6-core trashcan Mac Pro, I could edit 4k files from the GH4 without issues. 

If Apple goes all in with USB-c I'm grabbing one of the current models with a USB port that doesn't require an adapter for every existing USB device I own, plus you get a display port and SD reader without an adapter that's not as convenient as MagSafe - which I love. Until the rest of the world is on board and the machines have more than one input, I'm passing on USB-c. 

Reference headphones will be far superior to any small speaker setup. I've been cutting audio spots for local radio for years, you don't have to go overboard, something like Sony 7506's are a great budget option and they're built like a tank. A hot rodded MacBook Pro with max ram and the video upgrade should do the trick for a mobile workstation, the 1tb PCIe drives are faster than the smaller ones. FCPx is much faster than any other NLE IMO. 

11 hours ago, kidzrevil said:

You ever use the rx10 ii ? I just got one and its nothing like the a7s (of course). Im trying to dial in some settings for decent color @The Chris

Try Samuel H's Flaat, he's used it on the RX100IV after selling the a7s with great success if you want to shoot slog. 

http://www.similaar.com/foto/flaat-a7s/index.html

Otherwise I'm a big fan of Cine4 as well. 

1 hour ago, kidzrevil said:

@The Chris my fault. Didn't pull out a chart to measure the DR, just used it in the real world and didn't seem to be much of a difference in DR from what I got out of my GH4. I def said you need to underexpose as well :-)

All good man, there are so many great options. 

Cheers

13 hours ago, kidzrevil said:

@Inazuma  roughly 10 stops with pp off bro, not much different than what you are getting out of your GH cameras. Cine 4 is close to the dr of slog (in the highlights)when underexposed slightly. For general use  i use autumn picture style , cine 1 in the day, and cine4 indoors with tungsten lighting. Worked great for me I only pulled out slog if there were way too many blown out areas in the frame

Not true, DR is identical, you just have to expose differently - Slog needs to be overexposed and Cine4 needs to be underexposed for maximum DR. Macgregor even posted a high contrast sample where he matched them, no difference.

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?327893-A7s-S-log2-too-noisy-Then-underexpose-cine4

If you can't get more DR out of the giant sensor/pixels in the A7s compared to a GH4, you're doing something wrong.

On May 29, 2016 at 1:54 PM, Calvin said:

I attached an example taken with the A7R2. OutofCam, then VisionLog, then VisionLog+M31LUT.

 

Thanks! That's pretty cool, I've been debating between VisionLog and Film Convert. I need to download the trials and check them out. I like the cinematic look with stills.

I have the Nikon version of the Tokina Angineux 28-70/2.6-2.8, its nice, has that legacy lens glow wide open and super sharp the rest of the way. I'm selling it in favor of the Nikon 28-70 that's now so famous here, because I want a matching tele and the 80-200 can be had for peanuts. Contax/Zeiss lenses are nice as the Reduser thread can attest, the one drawback for me is the fact that most are one-touch zooms, so you zoom and focus with just a single ring, beautiful rendering, but focusing while trying to stay at one FL can sometimes be a pain, especially if you use the lens when handholding. I had the 28-58 and 35-70 and both could be slightly annoying focus shift too. YMMV. 

1 hour ago, tweak said:

Think you missed a few things on a6300 -
- Can't be used outside, will melt.

- Also has moire.

- 1080p is unusably soft.

- Extremely bad RS (not just bad).

I'd say GX85 is looking pretty decent in comparision .

I didn't miss anything, just threw a few highlights out. Depends on your needs I guess. A6300 4k looks better from the samples I've seen, and it goes higher ISO's. Plus Sony's PADF is vastly superior, especially tracking people. And it has an audio input. And you can get great AF with adapted Canon lenses.  Obviously we can go on for both cameras  

It's great to have such choices at this price point. 

14 hours ago, Inazuma said:

To be fair, that moire is only appearing in 1080p with pretty harsh circumstances. And the a6300 has a really soft image at 1080p. 

 

Haha, we will nitpick at anything these days huh. 

I've seen moire in 4k GX video as well. But yes, we do nitpick everything. 

Cheers

3 hours ago, John Matthews said:

I wouldn't say it's THAT bad. Yeah, it shows up from time to time, but with some, it seems much more common. Let's not forget that moiré occurs naturally too with the human eye. Although the stabilization performs great in these shots, it seemed over-used... but I guess that was the point.

In this price range if you want 4k, its basically pick your poison. A6300 has bad RS and funky crops with 1080p. This has moire, no audio input and low bitrates in 1080p. NX500 has a crazy crop, no EVF and Samsung left it for dead.

A new vid with the GX80/85, lots of people and wide shots

https://vimeo.com/168318144

And a good example showing the stabilization. But that moire, yikes!

Any chance you could share a few before and after images? I've always wondered about this.

6 hours ago, Inazuma said:

I do wonder what the reason is for Panasonic and Olympus being unable to deploy a decent phase detection AF on to their cameras.  Is it a contractual obligation with Sony for using their sensors? Certain features are disallowed? That's my tinfoil hat theory anyway

Em1 had the best mirrorless PADF focusing when it was released and it's still very fast, I'd expect the mkII to get a significant upgrade after a couple years. Seems like they're using that as a way to keep it above the Em5 and Pen's  

Fuji has a huge PADF array on the Xpro2, while not as advanced as the a6300, it's still really good. 

The Nikon DL's have PADF and 4k using the RX100 sensor, Sony doesn't even have that, though I expect we'll see it in the soon to be released RX100mk5. 

Panasonic's DFD would really benefit form PADF. Not surprised it's not on the new GX as its a budget model. I'm sure we'll see it on the GH5. 

13 hours ago, mercer said:

Yeah, a wide angle lens, set to infinity will probably give the best results. I would imagine pans would be best with you feet planted and your elbows glued to your side... Then just twist your waist as opposed to moving your arms. 

Also with IBIS move past the point you actually want to stop, if you get a wobble from the sensor settling down it won't ruin the shot. As always, slower is better, even with 5-axis. 

I always stop when flipping: Alien(s), Die Hard, Matt Damon's Bourne, Daniel Craig's Bond, Predator, Terminator 1 & 2 and Gladiator

Thanks for the replies guys. It may just be a case of the grass always being greener and some mild burnout. I think I may just take some time for more creative stuff, work on my admittedly bad grading and skills and maybe shuffle my lens lineup a bit for some fresh options. I've been wanting to some sightseeing around my state (Florida), and I've been thinking about doing a "Beaches in 4k" or something along those lines - which would be a great time for both photos and video as we're talking lots of golden hour shooting. I cook, so maybe something like a food blog is in order as well. Time to shake off the rust and get that moving. But I do think some changes to my kit are in order and I'm not using the A7s much these days, maybe its time to shift it and try a Fuji or one of those GX85's for fun. 

I'm having a little crisis of faith, I shoot with the a7rII, a7s and a5100, lots of stills and video, mostly events, a little corporate with the occasional ENG job - for the most part I love the IQ of my kit except for the 24/30p motion at times, I just don't like shooting anymore unless I have to. So I'm thinking about replacing my Sony kit with something else, but the question becomes what direction to go. 4K is really handy for a one man band, so a 4K capable body is a must. 16mp doesn't cut it so I can't go all in with m43. The NX1 is dead so that's a non-starter too. If I liquidate my kit I have about $8000 and most of my video is shot on the Tokina Angineux 28-70 lens that I'll be keeping. I've kind of hit analysts paralysis trying to think of options that cover all bases so I'm hoping another perspective can help. Thanks in advance. 

1 hour ago, AaronChicago said:

If its going to have DPAF then why would anyone pay double for a 1DXii? Doesn't sound like a Canon move.

All of Canons bodies are doing to have dual pixel. The 5d can't fire off 14fps and I'm betting it won't have 4k60p. A5d4 with the above spec wouldn't impact 1d salsa at all. Sports shooters still won't buy the 5d. 

Not exactly surprised, after the 1dxII, I expected to see 4k/24/25/30p and duel pixel AF along with a touchscreen. Then we'll see 4k in the 6d2 and t7i or whatever number they're up to now, next year. 

This camera is gonna be HUGE!

I've had a love/hate thing going on with my A7rII, amazing stills, 4k looks good IQ-wise but motion (people) has that Sony video look which I really don't like (especially when I see Blackmagic Pocket/Micro samples), crazy lens options with all the adapters and of course there's the IBIS tucked into some awful ergonomics.

I'm to the point where I'm thinking of ditching Sony and getting the Xpro2 for stills and a Blackmagic Micro for motion along with a GX85 and then a GH5 down the line. 

Or a 5d4 for everything. 

12 hours ago, Zak Forsman said:

The Micro, unlike the Pocket, will let you record in "BMD Film" while sending the Rec 709 "Video" signal with increased contrast and saturation over HDMI to your monitor of choice. So no, you do not need a monitor with LUT capabilities.

Thanks! If I can find a deal on a used smallhd 501 I'll go that route, otherwise I'll just get one if the $200 7" 1080p panels that runs off canon batteries. 

Question for Micro owners, how flat is the image on a monitor? Can I get away with an external monitor that doesn't have LUT support or do I need to spring for the smallhd 501? Looking for something small/light to rig with this. Thanks. 

Chris

1 hour ago, Zak Forsman said:

The Micro makes shooting fun. Very happy with it. This was shot earlier today at 59.94fps with my niece who was on pooper scooper duty. 

password: micro

 

This camera has me seriously thinking about selling my a7s and gimbal to get the Micro and a GX85/80 or whatever it's called. That's some epic poop scooping. 

Doesn't the H2 have encoders? It still needs tuning from what I've seen on their Facebook page. 

1 hour ago, Brian Williams said:

You should be shooting your video in manual. AF for video is for grandparents shooting clips of their grandkids on their iPhones.

Bullshit, especially since most modern ILC lenses are fly by wire and lack any precision at all. My a7rII can lock onto a face and track it while flying on a gimbal and I can tap the LCD of my a5100 to focus on anything I want with perfect precision. Have you seen the way Canon's dual pixel can track and rack focus? It's awfully nice to have the camera track someone during an interview or a walk and talk without trying to judge whether or not they're in focus, even when shooting something like the 50/1.2. My eyes have recently just started to degrade a bit with everything from arms length to right against my face getting a little fuzzy, AF has saved my bacon more than once. Who cares as long as you get the shot and payment is made? For a one man band like me, AF has been a gift from above. I'll never buy another camera that can't match my a7rII. 

YMMV