mercer

For those unfamiliar with the Ribcage Backbone Mod here’s a video from a modified Yi 4K and a 25mm C-Mount lens... I know the GoPro can shoot in ProTune for some slight grading, but does Yi have a similar Flat Profile? To be fair, here is a video from GoPro Air modified with the Ribcage...

Have you tried the Ribcage mod for the Yi? I’ve been a fan of it since the earlier GoPro variation but I recently saw they made one for the Yi 4K... with some old Kern Super 8mm lenses and that high bitrate 4K, there could be a really interesting look to be had. Btw, I see your point also. GoPro has gotten better with every generation but they are a bit overpriced and Yi seems to take huge jumps with every generation. How’s the build quality?

Good review. I like what you’re doing with your channel. Any plans on reviewing the 5D4? I’ve seen some really good videos from it lately. Well this is a thread about GoPro and his review was a comparison between two GoPros... so... Of course I just asked him a question about the 5D4, so don’t mind me. With that being said, I really like your Yi 4K videos... great work!!!

Haha, quick and dirty... yup... but if that’s what you’re going for, then you may be blown away by it... because it’s more like quick and damn... that’s not that bad at all.

Okay let me clarify. With the RX10ii, If shooting a dialogue scene, I would use the audio from a close up with the Rode Video Micro. With an extension cable and a boom pole, I still would. Will it be good as a balanced XLR mic plugged into a 4 track mixer and boomed by an experience operator... no. It is only $59.99. Plugged into an H1 to get some foley, I would use it. Plugged into an H1 and placed right out of frame of the talent or speaker, I would use it. Micing Kenneth Branagh performing Shakespeare, I’d spend a little more.

But I also love the size and the fact that it comes with a deadcat. I’ve used it plugged directly into a 5D3 as a scratch track. I’ve used it plugged directly into an RX10ii and I’ve used it plugged into an Olympus field recorder for wav recordings... sounded the best in the Olympus but not bad at all in the RX10ii... practically useable. In the field recorder it was definitely usable especially with close up audio.

It has a nice full sound. I wouldn’t call it a shotgun but it does seem to have a pick up pattern that biases the front. Definitely not the best but I found it as good if not better than the Rode video mic pro... especially for the price.

I personally love the Rode Video Micro. For the price and size and included accessories, I don’t think it can be beat.

Sorry you did mention the Voigtlander lenses earlier... I just had a brain fart moment. I like what you did with the blacks and whites. I started doing something similar in FCPX using one of their filter effects where I adjust the highs and lows at the end to help with roll off... it’s basically a tint effect that helps to soften the image just enough IMO. Nice job!

Although I don’t necessarily agree that the OP should follow this route for the task at hand, there was nothing I disliked in your video. Really nice GH5 footage! Nice color, some of the most natural, yet untypical Panny color that floats around the Internet with GH5 videos. What profile do you shoot with? Which lens did you shoot that with?

Is that Neutral with contrast and saturation at default 0 and sharpness at -3, or with contrast dialed all the way down and saturation at -2? If I get the RX10, I’ll be glad to help, just unsure right now since I’m in no rush to get a second camera until I can find the right price. @kidzrevil

Yeah, I liked the RX10ii from my brief time with it. For most projects I have my 5D3, but I would like a 2nd camera to shoot impromptu videos with and family type stuff. However, I don’t need the 4K, so for the money the original RX10 would really fit my needs and be more than enough as an all in one, bare bones pseudo-cine camera. So my question is, what regular profiles do you recommend ... autumn leaves, standard, portrait, neutral? Do you dial everything down?

I’m surprised that wasn’t Raw. It’s great to see how an external recorder with ProRes will deliver such great footage. Great option for a quicker 5D3 workflow. Either way, in the end, the story is all that matters and you delivered Mike!!!

No need to apologize, I prefer honesty. I come here to get better and kidzrevil is definitely a better operator and colorist than I am. I agree that my a6500 Video doesn’t look great but it wasn’t really the point of posting it, I posted it to show how sLog3 can capture the detail that a lot of other cameras will smooth over. As far as the photos/screengrabs, I actually like them... especially the last two that were shot with the 5D3 and ML Raw... can you elaborate what you do not like about them in a constructive way, so I can take your thoughts and learn from your experience?

This is great news. I love FCPX... now if only I could import and edit CDNGs.

Now as everybody knows, I am not that good of a colorist and sLog grading can be tricky for experienced colorists but here is my attempt at grading some sLog3 footage I shot with the a6500 last year. Grading aside, the shot at 1:30 in, I feel shows a little of that Raw texture in the tree bark. This is the only a6500 sample I have, so I apologize for the repost... Again, my poor grading aside, here are a few screengrabs from my time with the D5500... I loved that camera... even though it was kind of a pain in the butt to shoot with in manual mode with old Nikkor lenses... the D750 looks even better to me but I never used one. And finally, yes thank you... I doubt you remember but we had a long discussion about eos-m ml Raw a couple years back and I became obsessed with it but couldn’t get rid of this dreaded pink dots. Eventually I tried the 50D (later realizing I probably should have gone with the 7D instead... I didn’t realize how cheap they are) but the lack of audio on the 50D made it a novelty camera at best. And finally, 6 months later I sold a ton of stuff to afford a 5D3... I couldn’t be happier... The C100 is a great choice, would love to see how you’re getting along with it. Anyway, sorry @kidzrevil for the slight OT.

Max, I learned so much from your eos-m raw videos and posts that it eventually led me down the ML path to a 50D and then finally a 5D3. The workflow is pretty simple now... and if you are used to converting footage before bringing it into your NLE, it is basically the same amount of time. If you use MLVFs it’s even faster. The 5D3 and Canon lenses with IS are as steady as some variants of IBIS. By utilizing the Raw histograms with ETTR Hint, it truly becomes a point and shoot cinema camera. Otherwise what Nikon has done with Video DR and their Flat Profile is nothing short of amazing, @Mattias Burling ‘s D750 tests almost look like Raw video to me. I also noticed the a6500 has a Raw like texture when shooting in sLog3 with the cinegamut. So IMO, if you want the Raw look with out shooting Raw, then try out a D5500 or D750 or if you want to try your hand at Log again, I think you may be surprised by the a6500 and sLog3 with cine gamut 3. But from reading your posts all of these years, I doubt I revealed anything to you that you didn’t already know. Duh, I forgot to write that with Auto ISO and manual lenses on the a6500, you can set +/- exposure compensation... so to correct my post... I would set the exposure compensation at +1.7 and then use a variable ND to ride the exposure when the Auto ISO couldn’t adjust higher/lower than the base ISO/my desired maximum ISO... respectively.

Interesting, when I had the a6500 and RX10ii, I would try and keep the in camera meter between +1.7 and 2. Turn on zebras to make sure nothing was clipping and then turn them off. With a manual lens, wide open, I would use Auto ISO (with the a6500) and set my max ISO to either 1600 or 3200 and then ride the variable ND to keep within +1.7 - 2 stops. To use Auto ISO with a manual lens was an amazing feature that I believed helped a ton. With the a6500 I used sLog3 with the factory settings, save for lowering sharpening or detail (whatever they call it) ... with the RX10ii and sLog2, I had the bright idea of messing with the settings... which I believed actually hurt me in the long run. Anyway, interesting read and if I ever get another a6500, I will definitely test your method. Btw, what is your favorite non-cine/sLog profile on these Sony cams? As I’m sure you know, I’ve been happily addicted to my 5D3 and ML Raw, but I kinda need a second grab and go camera... preferably a point and shoot because I don’t really want to invest in another ecosystem and I don’t want to buy a speedbooster for my manual lenses... so that leaves either a point and shoot or a Nikon. I kinda want to wait on the Nikon until the successor to the D5600 comes out with 4K... so a point and shoot it is. Anyway, as I said, I had the RX10ii earlier in the year and really enjoyed the all in one aspect of the camera. It has good audio with headphone input, built in ND, etc... but I sold it to buy my 5D3. One of my options is to pick up the original RX10 since it is so cheap now. On occasion New ones pop up on eBay for less than $500. I only need 1080p and that is right around the most I want to spend... so it could be a great option for me. I have been watching a bunch of videos online and it seems standard, portrait and neutral are the favored profiles... what say you?

Mike, great job. I love how prolific you are. It’s truly inspiring. But more importantly, it was so well done. Great compositions. Amazing color! And really good example of 5D3 ML Raw in lowlight. Did you have to use any noise reduction in post? Also any BTS info... lenses used, audio, ISO, etc... would be greatly appreciated!!!

As you know, I have been a fan of your work since your GH4 days, but I must say, your stuff has gotten exponentially better since you started using the G85 and the a6500. Your recent a6500 videos and this G85 stuff is next level. If I had any kind of real budget and was shooting something in the city, I would definitely try to hire you... I can only imagine what you could do with an Arri Mini.

Fritz, I never said I hated it. I think it’s a great camera and if I was a wealthier man I would probably own one. But when Panasonic becomes the only manufacturer to introduce 10bit into a consumer camera, one must ask... WHY? I think it’s pretty self evident. Either way it’s good for the consumer but it’s also unrealistic and unfair to hold Sony, Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Fuji to the same standards when Panasonic is the oddball. As far as likes and dislikes of the 5D3 or the GH5 or whatever... who cares what some random guy on the internet thinks? I chose the 5D3 over the GH5 because I wanted a different aesthetic... you chose the GH5 over whatever your second choice was for the same reasons. I’m not mad at you. Everybody has different tastes.

This is an issue with Panasonic’s Log profile and the only reason the GH5 got 10bit video. VLog with the GH4 was a nightmare but to compete with Sony, and even Canon to some extent, Panasonic needed a Log profile, so they used tech from their cinema division in the GH5. Unfortunately, now every videographer in the world, despite their discipline or skill level, believes if they don’t get 10bit color, they’re getting ripped off. Panasonic jumped the gun by one or two product cycles and that is good for GH5 owners, but the other manufacturers shouldn’t be held liable for Panasonic’s inability to get a Log profile that worked within an 8bit space. And at this point, for the money, if I wanted more than 8bit color, I’d go with a BM camera for the better codec and DR or a 5D3 with ML Raw for 14bit and a good color science... which is one of the reasons I did. And I’d definitely choose higher DR 8bit over 10bit. And the only reason I mention it is because there is this misconception that Panasonic gave the consumer 10bit color out of the kindness of their heart because they care about videographers and low budget indie filmmakers, yet Canon and Sony are heartless corporations that only care about their bottom line... they all only care about their bottom line and a Log profile was needed in the GH series to help theirs.

@jonpais ha, I was just about to reply about going into the inspector... if you have VLog, the inspector also has an option to process VLog clips as Rec709. I sometimes use it with ML Raw footage if I want a quick BMDFilm or Arri LogC to Rec709 conversion.

@jonpais that looks really good. I assume you are happy with the GH5? I’d be a liar if I didn’t admit that I am slightly interested in getting one, but I really don’t need another camera this second, so I am going to wait and see what that new rumored GH Photo camera will have to offer. With the GH5, I am only really interested in the 10 bit 200mbps all-i, IBIS, shutter angle option, CineLikeD, and VFR... so I am hoping that a more photocentric GH camera may have some or most of those features. We shall see. How much wiggle room do you have with the Leeming LUT? Since it is so popular, it seems that there will be a whole lot of footage floating around that looks very similar?

The GH5 is a great camera and I have been tempted on numerous occasions to buy one and if I had a more disposable income, or was a working videographer, I probably would have one by now. However, like most cameras, it isn’t the right tool for every job. I understand you cannot read a thread on this site without someone suggesting the GH5 to another, but if someone needs a camera for good lowlight performance, without additional lighting, don’t get a GH5, get an a7s or other full frame or even aps-c camera. If someone needs a camera with really good autofocus, don’t get a GH5, get a Canon or maybe one of the Sony’s with PDAF. In most instances, your clients will be happier with the results and never miss those extra 2 bits of color information.