agolex

Love the commentary, you should consider producing meditational audio tapes.

Here is my recent test. I used a custom profile with saturation at -8, sharpness at -10, and contrast at -8. I then used the free trial of Color Finale to apply the Alexa to Rec709 LUT and the other tools to further grade the shots. Don't expect much, this is the first footage I have ever graded. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
 

Thought I'd write down a few thoughts about having bought a 1DC as a A7s user. Before that I started off working on SVHS, PD150s, Canon DSLRs and then a GH2, a Blackmagic Pocket and a GX7 as my personal cameras. I've worked in TV, sports and events and now do mostly corporate stuff largely as a one-man-band.
I love my A7s, I really do. And I still haven't gotten the nerve to sell it as I was planning to when I bought the 1DC second hand. The reason I was looking to move on was that I was had experienced difficulty on jobs getting the colour of skin right. I do a lot of work indoors, and in mixed lighting. I also do a lot of work outside in bright sunlight. In both conditions I had difficulties, although in natural light I also had times when the A7s just nailed it.
However the times when it didn't quite work because of artificial light, or a wonky white balance or just some strange bad voodoo just got to me in the end and I decided I wanted a camera that could give me colours that just felt right - that felt real. Hence the 1DC.
First of all, it's a bit of a shock going back to a DSLR form after the tiny, light, inconspicuous and technologically packed A7s. Even the feel of the mirror flipping up just to see a live preview is quite jarring, also not having an EVF, peaking, zebras or any other modern conveniences. On the other hand the 1DC feels like a solid professional piece of high end kit, which is a nice feeling and I like to think causes me to be a little more deliberate in my use of it and even in my framing.
The picture, despite what I've been reading lately, isn't perfect. I haven't used an external monitor with it yet so I've been exposing by eye and by judgement, and when you get it wrong and underexpose it can be noisy. Likewise if you're not shooting in C-Log then the highlights are alarmingly easy to blow compared ot the A7s cine profiles. If you're shooting in 1080p modes too it has that slightly brittle quality to the colour and to the noise that I'd forgotten with the Sony. Whatever you say about the Sony colour, the picture is silky smooth even if you push it. I've rarely had the A7s image break up on me, even if I'm correcting exposure up or down a bit. With the Canon I feel I have to be a little careful again. It's a beautiful image in 4k, but just doesn't feel as elastic and silky as the Sony in 1080p.
However that silky smooth quality was also something that bugged me in the Sony sometimes. It can have a slightly unreal plasticy feel to it, as if you're watching waxworks instead of real living people. That's where the 1DC comes in.
Shooting Log and scrading with a lut and some simple curves - or even without the LUT - I can get beautiful natural looking tones from the Canon if it's lit and exposed well. It almost looks like Red Dragon raw in some cases. The highlight retention is also beautiful.
I'm still working out how I feel about it, but the 1DC has given me a renewed appreciation for just how easy to use the Sony is. I hear a lot of people bashing it for it's ergonomics but really we're spoiled, the camera is a little marvel. I'm still not sure which camera I'd choose to take out with me on a trip or a long job yet. I've been using the Canon to get used to it and in some ways I'm amazed and impressed by it, and in others I pine for the A7s. Sometimes it's a good thing to appreciate the strengths of what you have rather than expecting more expensive kit to be better in every way.
At the moment I feel like the Sony will give you good results in about 80% of situations, and only fall down in certain situations. I feel like the 1DC will give me breathtaking results in about 40% of situations, good results in about 30 pecent of situations, and disappointing results in 30% of situations. That's not based on evidence yet, just on a feeling. I hope that changes as I get used to it more. Initially I had a sinking feeling when I saw the reviews coming in from the A7RII, and regret that I hadn't used the 1DC money to buy one  of those. But now I'm starting to appreciate the magic this camera is capable of, and looking forward to digging out it's secrets.
Conclusion of the story - yes the 1DC is a beautiful beast, but the A7s is still a very capable and loveable little thing. I just wish I could have cracked how to make it sing in more cases.
 
If anyone's interested, here'a a little test film I shot on an afternoon out. Shallow DOP shots of grass, sun through tree leaves - you know the sort of thing. Also there's a girl in it too.
 
  

Not perfect, but actually good news here:
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?339161-Newsshooter-Sony-A7RII-overheats-and-shutdown-after-recording-4K-for-a-while&p=1986567078&viewfull=1#post1986567078
 
"Follow up
And I apologize if I posted this already I've been very busy. I tested this again multiple times last night but instead of triggering recording on the camera I triggered recording on the shogun. And the result was that I could record continuously until one of the batteries ran out, usually the cameras, sometimes the shoguns. At most I got about an hour and a half with no overhear warnings; when it shut down is because the battery was exhausted ( as per the message on the screen). I did not test on external power. If I triggered the recording in the camera, making sure that internal recording was off, it would overheat in 30 minutes. I don't know what's going on here and have passed my thoughts to Atomos. My theory is that processing is kicking in when you click record even though it's not dumping to the card but if you just let it roll without hitting the record button on the camera you get the output right from the sensor. I tested the same theory with the RX 100 Mark four. I got the same result. That camera records for less than five minutes before overheating if you record it on camera but if you just roll from The HDMI you can get an hour out of it before the battery dies. Again, with no overheating. Weird."

Magic is a complex thing!

The sad part is nobody seems to be truly objective anymore, you can spin things any way you want. Canon (especially the hallowed, beyond-any-reproach-of-any-kind 1Dc) can have any number of flaws, but you can always take refuge with two words: "color science" (whatever that is). And be sure to ignore what you can do in post, it don't matter. Kind of like the $8K Leica M Monochrom buyer ignoring all objective comparisons and calling it worth the price because it's just "magical" (whatever that is).
And it's not just with cameras. Last night we had a Republican debates with 10 candidates, want to know who the winner was? Any of them, depends on who you ask. Heck, we don't know anything for sure anymore, from if there is a multiverse to if OJ was guilty to if a7RII or NX1 can render color as well as 1Dc. Reminds me of what Jack Nicholsen tells Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give: "I've never lied to you. I've always told you some version of the truth."

Thanks and sure. : )
Camera settings:
Kholi's A7s Cine2/Pro PicPro (PP6)
Black Level: -11
Gamma Slog: Cine2
Black Gamma > Range: Wide , Level: +7
Knee > Mode: Manual , Auto Set > Max Point: 95 , Sensitivity: Mid, Manual Set > Point: 105%, Slope: 0
Colore Mode: Pro
Saturation: +6
Color Phase -3
Color Depth > R+3, G-3, B+1,, C-3, M-2, Y-5
Detail > Level, -5 Adjust > Mode; Manual, V/H Balance: -2, B/W Balance Type3, Limit: 0, Crispening:0, hi_light Detail: 0
White balance > Manual > Grid setting B 1 (one to the left)
--
Software:
Premiere Pro, filmconvert (Arri Alexa DCIP3), bit of Lumetri (really loving the new PP).

Agree 100 %, it makes so much sense if you run around all by yourself. Just frame, touch where you want the focus and shoot.

Agree 100 %, it makes so much sense if you run around all by yourself. Just frame, touch where you want the focus and shoot.

Don't know if this is relevant to you, but Resolve 12 is now running without special 3D graphics cards as stated above. 11 didn't work at all on my Lenovo with HD Graphics 4400, but it now does.

Don't know if this is relevant to you, but Resolve 12 is now running without special 3D graphics cards as stated above. 11 didn't work at all on my Lenovo with HD Graphics 4400, but it now does.

Lovin' it!

I haven't, but it wasn't overly warm after 27 or so minutes of 4K recording. Also I believe that due to the body ergonomics the RX10 isn't as overheating prone as the (even if improved) A7RII. Still, though, I'd never expect Canon reliability from the Sony. The lens does seem a bit frail for the long run imho.

Hail Satan!

Being the lone wolf I am, I'm probably not going to have anything going in the near future, but if I can get my shit together, it's probably going to be some short film that's either really disgusting and sick or something light, simple and revealing. Or all of that at the same time. Or none of it and totally different. I'm pretty open to the (probably) dark future and thus not too inhibited by great ambition or the will to please. What artists do I like: Noé, Buñuel, Lang, Bergman, Keaton and stuff. Probably won't be too polished work, not enough patience for that. Will see. Most likely it will just be a lonely death for me without all the shebang beforehand.

I went to film school, decades ago, but having been too young then, having had too many distractions and too little ambition, I dropped out. I kept film as a hobby, making wedding videos, test videos, nothing worth mentioning. Edited some music videos for local bands. Last week I gave my whole equipment to a friend, who is a better camera operator anyway. I am currently selling camera, lenses and other stuff on Ebay. The things you own end up owning you.
But I don't give up trying. I cut my expectations and my many projects down to manageable size. Let my friend worry about gear. Instead, I concentrate on scheduling the shoots. He is busy, so I have to prepare every project in such a way that 'principal photography' can be done on one weekend. 
What kind of films? Short films, mostly one scene, one unheard-of event with two or three key moments. Emotions, action, humor and some sex. Hopefully enjoyable, entertaining, touching, intense and extraordinary.
Before there was the much-ignored subforum CREATIVITY AND IDEAS, someone founded CreativeCrit, another forum, where I posted three of my plans to let others comment. I still think this is a good idea, but the forum died for lack of interest. No one listens (good title) to your ideas. We must accept that.
 

SanDisk are usually higher quality than Transcend and if they advertise up to 90 MB/s write instead of the 65 from the Transcends, I'm pretty sure they will work. Kaylee can probably tell us that they do.

Clearly, the guy had real low shutter angle, see the passing car at 0:12, there hardly any blur. These days, I'm regularly shooting at high shutter speeds with my NX1 myself and not bothering to stick to the hallowed 180 degrees. Two reasons:
You can get some amazing 8MP still frame grabs. I went to Costa Rica recently and some of most exciting stills of wild life I got were frames from video because you have so many to choose from with just the right timing and framing. I don't like using ND filters anymore. I have a pretty good variable ND filter (Tiffen 77mm), but it reduces the quality (especially adding flare) and is not the most convenient to use. Putting it on/off was not really an option in the Costa Rica rain forests (BTW, both my NX1 and 16-50 S lens took the rain well). Given the low angle footage, I'm experimenting with getting the blur. So far, I've found the pixel motion blur in AE to be quite good (you need to bump up the frame count though), but it is dog slow, so you'll need to add that to your workflow time. The ReelSmart motion blur is really fast (especially when using graphics card), but has artifacts (at least in my testing). If anyone else has suggestions, please share. 

We had a lot of fun making this one, three people in crew in total and a £500 budget for all the extras (props location etc) the kit is our own
Animation took a long time, and VHS style was tough to build! Happy to answer questions on production if anyone is interested!

Hello!
Tonight I made a test of the ISO performance of the camera in still mode and I shot with both the mechanical and the electronic shutter to finally asses whether there's a reduction in quality like in other cameras or not.. I have to check the files more extensively and take a little bit more time to analyse them but I feel pretty confident to say that the electronic shutter on the α7R II looks pretty much indistinguishable from its mechanical counterpart and this is just insanely amazing! (especially for a time-lapse photographer, eheh!)
I've attached some quick screen grabs from Lightroom where you can see with your own eyes. I also shot the whole set with the α7S again for comparison: the results are the same I remembered from past tests I did, the α7S shows a clear degradation of the image especially in darker areas where some nasty vertical banding can show up if the shadows are pushed limiting the usable dynamic range of the camera. Nothing like this happens on the α7R II and, once again, i think it's just another technological achievement from this very innovative and capable sensor.. I'm very impressed!  
 

Never really understood why people care what other folk do with their cash!

Hello dafreaking, thanks for your inquiry, I hope I can be of help to you.
I'm not really sure about this, but as there's always software involved and adjustments made, I think it's a thing you just have to learn individually. The sensor size helps immensely, though, just using focus peaking worked relatively well for me. Andrew can probably say more about this.
The zooming certainly is far from silent and will most likely end up on the audio track. Other than that I didn't find it too annoying, though. And since the lens isn't parfocal, anyway...
Battery life is OK (few hours with a bit of recording here and there) and since the things are cheap, I don't see it as much of an issue.
Best regards,
Your unofficial Sony support

Sweet images! And I probably like your taste in movies (C'est arrivé...). : )
Tbh I don't expect any of the fancy new Sony stuff to hold up for very long with all the IBIS, overheating and whatnot going on, but it's just too tempting convenience-wise. We'll see.

They're much more expensive and have higher write speeds (90 instead of 65), so I don't see why they shouldn't.