mercer

People love to hate Canon. I just get so surprised how loyal people are to the brand of camera they have. Is it because they just spent a butt load on a new camera, and then another brand comes out with a new camera that tops it, and they get pissed off? Or are people just so obsessed with their team that they have to knock every other camera in the world? I mean this is seriously funny. Is this canon the perfect low budget, micro budget, indie film camera... No. I don't think it was ever supposed to be. But it still looks like a pretty good camera when you read the specs and after further thought, they probably will sell some to journalists and to owners of the c100 who are looking for a good b-cam to hand to a crew members. I mean, people knock canon, a lot of times with good reason, but they usually make a pretty good product so I'm sure this will be one of them. And if they drop the price to between 1800 and 2200, I bet a lot of you guys will own one. If I had the money I would probably buy one for one of my more marketable movie ideas. I think where canon is really failing is their inability to recognize or support no budget filmmakers. But they've always done that. if they came out with a 1 inch or aps-c mirrorless between 1200 to 1500 rebel cinema camera with interchangeable lenses that shoots 2.7k, 1080 at high bitrates with good sound capabilities, and built in ml features they would own that market again and they obviously have the technology. I am actually interested in what they are going to bring to the action cam market. They may accidentally give some amazing features to compete with gopro.

At 2500, this camera is a no go. At a grand... I may consider this over the FZ1000. It really is ashame these camera manufactures do not realize the market. Unfortunately, they believe that if they include too much at a lower price point then they will be hurting the sales of higher end cameras. But this camera will never compete with their own cinema line and at 2500, they won't even sell any to their "professional" customers. If this price was low enough, younger, inexperienced filmmakers might buy this as a starter cinema camera. Or someone like me that works on a no budget level but would like to upgrade to 4k.

I feel the more you shoot, the more ideas you will have. You will become familiarized with your equipment and learn what it can do and what you can do with it. Sometimes, I will just drive out to a nearby state park and do some lens tests. The physical act of messing with lenses and equipment frees my mind to concentrate on ideas. Don't concern yourself with rigs or follow focus, just throw a lens on you camera and press the little red button. You'd be surprised at what you can do with just a camera and a lens. If you're feeling fancy bring a small monopod with you so maybe, just maybe you can get some b-roll. And if you're really lucky, the way the sun hits a puddle and the reflection of the flare off the rippling water might just inspire a shot. Sometimes something as simple as a shot can inspire an entire concept.

Sorry about all of these questions, but since you are the resident lens expert, I thought you may know. These zeiss lenses I just bought are my first foray into German glass. From the footage I have seen online, I think I may like it better than Japanese glass. Of course, I will always love my Minolta MCs and MDs and my Pentax K version lenses.

Also, how are the Mir lenses compared to the Zeiss?

Thanks, I'll have to look out for one. These German lenses aren't as easy to come by on this side of the pond. I have read that after the "merger" the quality control wasn't as good, but are the optical qualities the same?

Hey Andy, have you ever used a Domiplan? I assume the Meyer ones are better?

markr, the grade looks nice. Protune seems good. Can't wait to work with it. Thanks.

The driving through Hollywood footage was great. I really liked the grade you did on those shots. They looked so different from the rest of the footage, so I just figured you had used stock footage. Also. I must say your main actress is pretty easy on the eyes. Oh yeah and she wasn't a bad actress either. You obviously are very informed with sound. Half of what you said went over my head.

So you don't notice any loss in quality editing the h.264 files natively? I guess you're not doing much grading?

So, I have to raise some money, just bought the CZJ 35mm 2.4. The deal was just too good to pass up... Great price and the lens was recently CLA'd and declicked.

Thanks, I usually convert everything to prores but from what I have read, the gopro footage works well with Cineform. Are you just editing it as 4k, or do you downsample it to 1080p in Vegas, if Vegas even does that... I use Mac.

If you are looking for a cheap follow focus... http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00JH0GHYM/ref=mp_s_a_1_23?qid=1428066149&sr=8-23&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70&keywords=focus+lever It works for me every time. But if you want to get fancy... http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00HA8FQGI/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1428066121&sr=8-1&keywords=focus+lever&dpPl=1&dpID=51A0o5BJi4L&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SY200_QL40 You can mark your focus points with this one.

I should have quoted a previous comment... Just joking about crop factor.

I really liked both videos. The gopro 4k looks awesome. What are your guy's workflow? I am thinking about picking up a silver for 2.7k. I have an idea for a short that this camera will be perfect for, but the workflow seems questionable. I know a lot of people are transcoding to cineform, but do you need the studio version of the software for that or can you do it with the free version?

jcs, I assume that was a link to your work. It sounded good. Interesting green screen shots too. your Hollywood stock footage and Hooray for Hollywood interlude was funny. The narration sounded very nice.

It sounds like you have a really nice set up. But for me, even wiring lavs and setting up wireless is too time consuming. However, I do like the beachtek slr mini. I may invest in that, in the future, for a bigger project. But for me, a one man crew, the easiest, best solution will be my go to every time. Obviously, I understand, you will get better audio doing double sound, but is it really worth all the trouble involved? I am not a sound guy, I can't afford a sound guy, and I don't know any sound guys. I do know I can plug a mic into my camera, adjust the levels, and get a mic a couple feet away from an actor's mouth. A close up and usable audio all in one shot. Cut. Next shot.

I'm glad I paid less than 20 bucks for it. But like you said a lens is a tool. If I can get the aperture unstuck, it can make a nice little fx lens.

You're never going to get professional sound no matter what you do, so why make it difficult? The majority of Hollywood movies are post dubbed, so just plug a good shotgun mic into a camera that has manual controls and get a lot of close ups for your dialog. Recording sound is a craft and it is offensive to the craftsman that have spent years honing their craft to think you can just plug a mic into a Tascam or Zoom and get pro sound because that's what real productions do.

On my pentax q7, it's a standard 46mm lens.

Andy, I saw a video with this lens and the flares were fantastic. What is odd about it?

You have some nice lenses there. I am drooling over that Zeiss 20mm, but it is just out of my price range right now. My most expensive lens is a 20mm Takumar that I adore. How do you like the 29mm Pentacon? I bought one earlier today from Germany for real cheap, but it has a stuck aperture... I figured for the price I'll tinker with it.

Yeah it does. I just looked at a video of that lens on a NEX. It looks beautiful. What kind of camera do you shoot with?

Here's a link to an article and a video of the Carl Zeiss Jena 50m 2.8 http://www.vintagelensesforvideo.com/carl-zeiss-lens-50mm-2-8/

I know a little bit about vintage lenses, but by no means an expert, although I am obsessed with them. When I bought my first DSLR, for video, I could barely afford the camera, let alone lenses. After briefly messing around with the kit lens, I quickly researched my other options... And boy did I test out some lenses... Too many. I am great at buying lenses, not so great at selling them. While waiting for my 50mm Zeiss Jena to arrive I began searching for the 35mm flektogon, but that lens is out of my budget right now, I'll have to save up for that one. But while searching and researching, I learned about Pentacon lenses, which were the budget lens brand in Eastern Germany during the Cold War. While they are not as good as their Zeiss counterparts, they are cheap and have a lot of character, from the videos I've seen online. So of course I needed to test them out. I picked up a 50mm 1.8 and a 29mm 2.8 for 60 bucks total. Anyway, if you want to mess with some vintage glass, the old Soviet options are reasonably priced and have a ton of character. I never owned a Helios, but people love them and you can get them dirt cheap.