mercer

Go back to basics. I've watched a few of your older videos recently, the ones you've had on your banner, and your old reel... ... is simply gorgeous and holds up very well! Even your hacked GH1 videos look amazing. I assume you don't want to go back to a GH1, but if you're not gelling with the newer cameras, pull out your 1DC. Or go back to your roots and shoot with a couple of the newer budget cameras... the X-S10 seems really good. The E-M5 Mark III has all-i 200mbps 1080p. Even the GX9/G95's 4K crop offer some interesting opportunities to shoot handheld with some funky, old S16 lenses. Or go the opposite direction and rent/buy a Komodo or C500 Mark II. I've been considering an FP, an S5 or an X-T4; and although they are all great cameras... I am more inspired when I pick up my 5D3. It doesn't have IBIS or AF... or even 4K... but that raw image just makes me smile and the camera is an extension of my arm at this point.

I was thinking about that. The footage from the 1DX3 looks fantastic. I'm kinda hoping the R3 will either be cheaper, or drive the price of the IDX3 down.

Now that's a rig. I'd love to see some footage from that lens. Which SuperSpeeds do you have? I think that French short with the kid in car was shot with SuperSpeeds.

Are there any, current or former, 5D3 ML Raw users shooting with the FP now? In some ways, the FP feels like a sidestep, but there are some features... shutter angle, waveform monitor, dual gain iso, the smaller size, etc... that makes it very appealing. However, I still feel like the FP would be an intermediary, or side camera, for me until there's a true 5D3/ML Raw equivalent camera upgrade released. The R3 sounds very promising... but also very expensive.

I've been thinking about buying an FP or S5 for the dual gain option. Have you tested it with the FP? I'm mostly interested in the internal recording modes, so I'm curious how well it works with the 8bit CDNGs? I understand it's part of the architecture of the sensor, just not sure if the bit depth would have any effect on the color information even with a dual gain sensor camera?

But I don't think you can go wrong with any real Zeiss lens. Even the old Rollei Zeiss lenses were pretty special. Especially the ones made in Germany.

I think I was wrong, it's been a while since I've looked at the lens either. I think they only made AEJ and MMJ versions. So all of the 50mm 1.7 were manufactured in the Yashica plant in Japan. The later versions were the MMJ. Hopefully you see a green f/16 marked on the aperture ring. I think I had a serial number in the 7xxxxx range and it was really good. But that was waaay back when I had a G7 on a dummy adapter... Good Luck! I just bought a Zeiss ZF Classic 50mm 1.4. It's now the 3rd one I have owned. I got it for an UNBELIEVABLY good price, but it isn't perfect with a few particles in the glass. When I attached it to the camera, I didn't notice anything weird. So all in all, not bad at all. I'm probably the only one, but I prefer the Zeiss Classic line over the Contax.

Is it an MMJ or an AEG? You can tell by looking at the last number on the aperture ring. If it's green, then it's an MMJ. Also the later serial numbers are supposed to be sharper versions, but I believe they're the ones in the 8xx... range. The AEG versions will have the sawtooth bokeh. I've owned 2 or 3 over the years. The first one I owned was unbelievably good. I don't remember which version I had. I never paid more than $125 for one, but I haven't owned one in a few years. If you pair it with a 25mm 2.8 or 28mm 2.8, I think it's a great little Zeiss set. And then eventually, if needed, you can get the 35-70mm 3.4 to fill in the gaps... if you don't mind a push/pull zoom.

This isn't really accurate. Perhaps you are confusing the use of a full frame mirrorless camera in the film, The Possession of Hannah Grace, which was shot on a Sony a7sii. Here's a brief rundown of the history of full frame in Hollywood films up to and including the DSLR revolution and the increasingly popular Alexa LF... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/resource-center/full-frame-sensors-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask%3famp

Thanks Parker, I appreciate that. I'm still a reader, I just need to film more stuff. Cool Panavision t-shirt, btw. If your channel takes off, you can make some Parkervision shirts to commemorate your maiden voyage.

That was an honest way to start off a channel. Good job and good luck!

Did the original GH5 have 24/96 audio? If not, then that's a pretty good little upgrade... especially if you use the XLR adapter.

Throw in an L Mount adapter with an internal ND.

The GH5 Mark II really only needed to be a GH5s with IBIS and ProRes Raw output.

Although I wish the BMMCC had a small monitor on the top like the Komodo, I still prefer it over the BMPCC. I usually shoot ProRes, but I like that it has the 3:1 compressed raw and the 60p. The miniature cinema camera form factor also looks kinda cool. My rig is almost complete... I may eventually buy a BGH1 for a similar reason, especially with the new Tilta rig for it... I'd lose the baseplate/rods and the top handle and throw a Ninja V on their for some ProRes Raw. This looks pretty good... But I digress, I kinda like the infuriating form factor of the BMMCC.

Yeah, the price of these lenses have skyrocketed. Have a look at the asking price for the nFD 24mm f/2... it's over $1000... that lens could be bought for around $200 a little over a year ago. They've gotten so high, I am seriously considering selling my EF modified 50mm 1.2 L.

No problem. I'm unsure about the S5's hertz settings. I know there were some issues with other Panasonic cameras when you set to true 24p but since you're set to Pal/25p I don't think that should be the problem then. Are you noticing the flickering with all lettering, or just on letters/numbers on electronics? vLog is a nice profile and since the S5 uses the full log profile, it should be pretty good. But Panasonic has a couple nice profiles that can be a bit more forgiving and still offer a bump in dynamic range. I always liked Noam Kroll's settings for CineLikeD and Like709 seems to be pretty nice as well. But don't give up on VLog yet. The S5 has Dual Native ISO, so if you set to the higher ISO in lowlight, then that should help with the noise. Then you can either stop down, or use an ND to lower your exposure.

Log profiles will be noisier than standard Rec709 profiles. Those profiles have sharpening and noise reduction built into the picture profile. With that said, shooting in lowlight with a log profile can be a waste of time. The point of a log profile is to maximize dynamic range. If you're shooting in lowlight the range of available light is drastically minimized. So if you want to shoot log in lowlight, you either need to introduce more light or raise your ISO. Since log profiles are built around a curve, it's good to know how the curve works, so you can expose for the curve, or you can ETTR (expose to the right) and then pull down your exposure in post. That should take care of the noise. As far as the flickering, what hertz setting do you have your camera set to?

Great film. It looks like an urban Overlook... Come play with us, Marty. Forever. And Ever. And Ever.

They're ProReslicious.

I picked up a very inexpensive BMMCC last year and I am finally getting around to rigging it up. I bought a SmallHD Focus, but I need a new HDMI cable for it. So in the meantime, I used my TV as a monitor to test the Metabones Speedbooster with it and the weirdest thing occurred... everything worked fine but when I hit record, the screen went black... when I hit record again, the image returned. The shots were recorded but obviously I was flying blind. Any ideas why this is happening? With that said, I forgot how much I like the image from the Micro. With just a LUT and a couple exposure adjustments, I came up with this...

Have you considered a C200? With that said, if you can comfortably afford the C70, it may be the best bet for you. And with that said, I hate that Canon switched to the RF mount. Big, heavy lenses that cost a fortune does not appeal to me whatsoever, especially for mirrorless bodies. But I still like the DSLR form factor and still shoot ML Raw on my 5D Mark III, so I'm probably just a dinosaur. I guess a 1DX Mark III could be an option as well if you'd prefer using a mix-pre3 for audio.

And finally... if you want to do it live and capture the action while in the middle of it... a face shield for woodworking is probably both strong and light enough if you can figure out a way to rig it up. It will also slightly curve around your camera to protect a little from the side.

@kye made a great point regarding action cams for different POV shots or even as cameras strewn about the battlefield. You could even mess around with the shutter speeds to give a Saving Private Ryan feel to the battles. It sounds like a fun gig... have fun with it... but don't bust up your camera for it... paintballs can sting. Create the perception of reality.

To add... I've never used a gimbal... but plexiglass isn't that heavy so you may be able to use a small set of rails and the plexiglass and it will still balance on the gimbal. Of course you'd still probably want to stage those shots, so they're shooting at your from in front.