mercer

It's an odd forum with a ton of information to be had. But I also read a couple of veiled threats regarding forum membership and Red camera ownership. With that said, I think Netflix's requirements, for their original programming, partially inflated Red's value. Add the filmmakers that are willing to pay to be part of the club, Red was able to price their cameras accordingly. However, with the rise of Blackmagic, Kinefinity and Z-Cam, over the past few years, Red's business model doesn't seem sustainable. Add the Hydrogen debacle and the whole RedMag thing, I think they may have to come in at, or damn close, to their suggested price. Don't you have a Red One?

I recently won a Minolta MC 58mm 1.4 lens that was converted to EF mount with a Leitax adapter... for less than the cost of the adapter if I were to buy it new. As you guys probably already know, Minolta lenses do not easily adapt to EF cameras due to the difference in flange distance, but there are two lenses that will with either the Leitax or EdMika adapters... the 58mm 1.4 and the legendary "bokeh king" dream lens... the 58mm 1.2. There are other ways to adapt Minolta lenses if you're handy or want to pay someone to do it for you. In fact, I posted some frames from an adapted 35mm 1.8 a couple years ago... Unfortunately, that lens will only focus to 4 feet. It seems like there is something inside the lens that is binding it up, but I haven't been able to easily open the lens to inspect it. I was able to get a partial refund so it was worth keeping the lens. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon the 58mm 1.4 on eBay and ecstatic when I won the auction. On my last shooting day, I was able to take the 58mm 1.4 out for a spin. First let me say that they just don't build lenses like they used to. These old Minolta lenses are a pure joy to use. The focus ring is silky smooth... I wish there was a better adjective to describe it, but other than Takumar lenses, it's one of the smoothest focus rings I've ever used with the perfect amount of dampening. The lens is also sharper than I expected it to be... when stopped down. Wide open the lens lacks contrast, but stopped down to f/2, the image starts to come alive... contrast gets a bump and it sharpens up nicely. Here are a few frames from my test... I wish I was a better colorist to take advantage of the saturation capable with these lenses. The color separation is gorgeous, but I don't trust my eyes or my screen to really push it. Overall I found the lens to be well worth what I paid for it, but not as good as the 35mm 1.8... which is one of my favorite lenses of all time. I hear the old 55mm 1.7 kit lens is a sharper lens and since I have a mint copy in my lens collection, just collecting dust, I think I'm going to try and adapt it myself, so I can do a comparison. But as is, this 58mm 1.4 is a beautiful lens that is older than me and has stood the test of time better than I have. For 33 bucks... how could I possibly complain?! For you mirrorless users, the good news is that these beautiful and cheap Minolta lenses can be adapted with a cheap, dumb adapter. But with a little ingenuity and patience, even EF users can experience shooting with legendary Minolta glass. For a further, more in depth, discussion of Minolta lenses, I highly recommend the Rokkor Survival Guide over at the RedUser forum... https://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92246-Minolta-Rokkor-Survival-Guide If I can get the 35mm 1.8 to focus to infinity, I'll have a beautiful, two lens set for less than $150. What more can I ask for?

Sorry, good point! I just had a grumpy moment as I occasionally do. Carry on.

Hey, you are free to post whatever you want... obviously. I do. But instead of the "favorite" threads... why not advance the conversation in these specific threads? It could bump the threads and perhaps push the conversation in a different direction. Just a thought... carry on.

Would the original 5" BMVA work with the F3? Btw that media center sounds awesome. I wish there was something like that near me... I assume you don't live out in the Philly suburbs anymore? You could make a feature film on a "borrowed" F3 and keep your budget next to nothing. That's really cool.

I was trying to follow the Komodo thread a few months back but got lost in an argument that Red would go out of business if they didn't price it at the same level as the P6K vs Red could require the cremated remains of a loved one as down payment and still stay competitive. Strange argument...

2/3rds of a stop can be the difference between a little extra shadow detail and a noisy mess in available/practical light... especially if you're trying to hold the native ISO.

Yeah it's a weird mix of... "just throw a Sigma Art on it" and "I had the same copy that Sergio Leone used in his lost spaghetti western Chef Boyardee and the Dead." Strange place but useful sometimes.

That middle shot from the sLog external looks high end... like theatrical level!!! Great work. What external recorder are you using?

That's definitely a cool lens. It seems to get mixed reviews on RedUser. Does it cover FF or will you use it in S35 mode? Keep me updated about the FP!

Didn't realize you had an F3, how do you like it?

Honestly, I'm patiently waiting to hear your thoughts on the camera before I make a decision about it. As it is now, I'm not compelled to get one, but I think you're probably familiar enough with my tastes to know if it's something I should bother saving up for, or buying when there's a decent price drop. I have to stop reading this site... I start the day completely content with what I have and now I'm thinking about what films I can shoot with a Micro or an FP... I NEED HELP!!!

Yup, that is the inherent issue with the Micro in my opinion. I've said it before, the camera is literally the size of a Rubick's Cube and any and every add on goes against the tiny nature of the camera. The Ikan VL35 is a 3.5" screen, so it isn't too big, but it's square in shape so it adds unnecessary height. The Focus and the Shinobi are 5" screens, but aren't much bigger than the Ikan because they're rectangular shaped monitors with a similar height even if they add an inch in width. Really, the perfect product doesn't exist, which would be a small add on EVF like the one made for the EOS-M. Don't you already own a Ninja2? I'm sure that would work in a pinch for a B-Cam. If you're using the Micro as a crash cam or for obtuse, Dutch angles, in tight spaces, you could always run a long HDMI from the Micro to a small monitor attached to your Ursa rig, too. I was going to ask how well the P4K matches your Ursa, but after thinking about it, the Micro still may be a better option for you... for cost and to have that similar Fairchild sensor look. Even if you're shooting 4K with the Ursa, there are a lot of examples showing how the Micro footage upresses really well with Resolve's Super Scale function. I remember John Brawley saying he used it a lot as a C-cam in The Resident TV show he used to DP. I think they used an Alexa Mini as an A-Cam with an Ursa as a B-Cam and the Micro to cover macro shots for the surgeries and anywhere that they were limited with the size of the set or the shot. His rig was really cool too. Here are a couple production stills he generously shared with us... After further consideration, I think if I get the opportunity to have another Micro, I'll build a barebones rig like his. But I am very happy with my current set up, so I'll have to find an insanely cheap Micro to even bother. @BTM_Pix made an interesting point that the FP could be considered a FF Micro with a built in monitor for a similarly small set up... probably even smaller in reality. However, I was wrong, John Brawley went on to say that he felt the P4K matches the 4.6K better than the Micro does... so maybe a P4K would be a better B-Cam option for you.

It's natively a Canon battery but they do sell sleds that you can change it to NPF batteries... which is obviously the smarter way to go... NPF Battery in the camera with one of these Powerextra batteries to the DC input on the monitor. When/if I find another Micro for a good price, I'll probably go that route with an Ikan 3.5 monitor for the compact size or an Atomos Shinobi for the features.

I don't know if c-mounts will work with that mount? Which Fujinon zoom lenses are you looking at?

This seems to the best solution for external power on these cameras. When I was slowly building my Micro rig I was so tired of the piss poor battery life and the constant changing of batteries... between the camera and the monitor, I'd have to change batteries every 20 minutes or so. I was considering the SmallHD Focus to power the monitor and camera at the same time but those Powerextra batteries would have been a better solution for a lot less money. Good to know for the future... thanks for posting it. I assume they'd also be great with a Z-Cam... power the camera and then run a USB to power the phone for monitoring.

They're worth the investment if you're going to use them and are interested in that aesthetic. Search Alexa Mini Super 16 and you can see some great samples of that old glass in action on a high end camera. And if you're patient, you can get an old Super Speed for a decent price. But if you plan on using a Sigma 18-35mm, or something similar, most of the time, the S16 glass may not be worth the money. With that being said, the Sigma 18-35mm is probably the smart move. Throw the 30mm 1.4 into the mix for your close ups or those shots when you need that extra speed but don't want to bump your ISO and you have a nice little kit for most situations. Add some BPM filters and you're all set. Instead of testing the crap out of the camera, it would be cool to go out and make a 3 minute short film with it. That's what I did with my 5D3... my mistake was that I fell in love with the footage too much and the idea expanded into a much larger project. But I learned the ins and outs of the camera in a quick minute. Whatever you end up doing or what lenses you use, I look forward to seeing what you make with it.

It's funny how different people are. Although the crop factor can be annoying, or difficult, with the Micro, the sensor size and it's relation to 16mm/S16 is what I find appealing about it. And the S16 crop mode of the P4K is the ONLY thing I find appealing about that camera... for me. Well native ProRes recording is definitely s bonus as well. As far as it being outdated... as a DP that hangs out on this forum, I understand why you would think that, but the no budget, writer/director side of you must know that 1080p 60p is all you really need. The Ursa was definitely a smart move, though. Have you had the chance to test it out yet? And if so, thoughts?

Sorry I posted the wrong link in my last reply. It's still a good article about TWD... and apparently I was wrong, they shoot TWD on 16mm, not S16. This is the article about FTWD... https://www.panavision.com/mcdonough-brings-anamorphic-look-fear-walking-dead

Same. I've been considering the Sigma FP, since it was announced, but having a separate SSD on the camera isn't appealing to me at all at this level. I'm still intrigued by the camera but at this point, I'd only use the internal recording options ... 8bit 4K raw for B&W delivery or the 12bit 1080p @ 60p for slow motion. For now, I'm content with what I have, though and see no reason to make any changes this year. I will say, if you need more power, that battery option is pretty cool. I wish I found out about that when I had the Micro.

Haha, I feel the exact opposite. I don't think there's a strong enough, or charismatic enough, actor or character that can deliver lines like... "Coral!" and sell it. And then they lost the other female character that could have done it. Also, I know they loosely follow the graphic novel but I think they are missing out on some really interesting storylines in doing so. When they introduced the Whisperers, their initial theory about "Walker evolution" was a much cooler angle than a bunch of weirdos wearing skin masks heralded by an annoying character that can't even sell her own ruthlessness. Haha... IMO. Well, it seems from this article... https://library.creativecow.net/article.php?author_folder=kaufman_debra&article_folder=Behind-the-Lens-David-Boyd&page=1 The first, 6 episode season, was shot on an Alexa with Panavision anamorphics, by one DP. The second season they brought the Alexa Mini into the mix and added two more DPs to handle the workload. I imagine that after awhile, between different directors and DPs, it's easy for the original concept and visual vision to get watered down. On a similar side note... I've been watching The Outsider, which is great by the way, and I noticed a distinct difference, for the worse, in the show when Jason Bateman stopped directing the episodes. But I digress, although the Alexa footage is good in the first few seasons, I'm still unsure if it's as good as the S16 from TWD. And where they took the Alexa footage with the stylized grades in the later seasons, it almost looks like it could have been shot on a DVX100 and isn't even remotely comparable to the S16 film from the original show.

FTWD was always shot on an Alexa. However, I agree about the difference of the first few seasons. In fact, in the first episode of Season 1, they filmed in the abandoned church, with the blown out stained glass windows and it is some of my favorite photography of both shows. It's funny you mentioned Z-Nation because I said the same thing last season to my GF. I still watch the show and although it isn't as good as TWD, TWD isn't that great anymore either.

Yes, Fear the Walking Dead definitely has a more stylistic look. In fact, in Season 2 (or maybe 3) they had a beautiful B&W color grade for some scenes/episodes. But the color grading adds to FTWD's budget and it doesn't lessen it. Although I am sure a good colorist can do wonders with a filmic grade, I think a side by side would be quite telling... Tarantino, Spielberg and others still shoot film for a reason. Listen, I know there is this new thought that digital is better than film and I suppose I am the dinosaur here, but in the end, it's all subjective. Besides, I love the look of the Alexa and I would choose to shoot a 2K Alexa ProRes movie over shooting film any and every day. But I still believe film has a superior IQ to digital. IMO.

By looks worse, I mean the image from the S16 film looks better with dynamic range, color tonality, texture, highlight and shadow detail, etc... Since the majority of both shows are exterior daylight scenes, I don't think the budget necessarily would effect the IQ as much as you're suggesting. I doubt they're skimping on reflectors or fill light on Fear the Walking Dead.

If you can afford it, I recommend getting the Mark III for full 1080p, the ability to keep the firmware constantly on an SD card while you record on CF cards, the OLPF Filter, etc...