mercer

Here's the trailer to Cosmos in case anyone is interested.

After seeing the trailer for that movie Cosmos and reading that it was shot on the original Pocket in ProResLT, I was very interested to shoot ProRes on the Micro. I bought another one (second one I had) but it truly broke my heart to rig that tiny camera up. So I ended up selling it to a member of this forum. However, I love the image from the original Ursa Micro 4K and when it gets below $1200, I may give it a go to shoot some ProRes. For me, it would be for a project mostly on sticks, with static shots, pans and dolly/slider moves.... so very controlled. At 12 stops of DR, it's plenty for a controlled set up.

I'm sure it's great for that weighted, handheld look that is popular now, but I was referring to the lightweight, handheld stability of IBIS. On a side note... what are your plans for all of these cameras? Originally, I thought you were more of a director that shoots your own films. But it seems you're more interested in cinematography now. So, with your cameras, how do you foresee these tools being used? I assume the Fuji will be your wedding camera and the Ursa and the F3 will be for docs, music videos and narratives? I've been watching some videos from the original Ursa Mini and although it has a stop less DR than the 4.6K... there is something very organic and beautiful about the 4K... and the price isn't too bad either.

Are we though? There's a reason why the majority of Hollywood cinematographers still choose the 2K image from the Alexa over 4K, 6K or even 8K from a Red. With the Mini LF's release, the rise in FF and anamorphic lenses, more DPs are shooting at higher resolutions, but for now, and the foreseeable future, 2K is the resolution choice for delivery and distribution. Since the beginning of digital acquisition, the goal was to create an image comparable to film. To this day, the Alexa is the only camera that comes even remotely close. And even that is a stretch. You can look to The Walking Dead as proof. The original show has always been shot on S16 film. The spinoff, Fear the Walking Dead, is shot on an Alexa. And although I love the look, the original S16 is a better image. Unfortunately, there is this YouTube craze where content creators claim that the image from this or that camera is as good as an Alexa. There are coloring tutorials and color space transforms to try and mimic the Alexa. And people can get it close, but it's never the same. As far as ergonomics go, I agree with you... I prefer using a DSLR/DSLM to a rigged out camera, but I assume the eventual goal of most filmmakers is to shoot at a professional level with professional equipment and unfortunately these consumer cameras won't ever be at the level of proper cinema cameras... in terms of features or image quality. The good news is that story is still king, so if you prefer the handheld dexterity of a smaller camera, or Brothers3 prefers the cinema construction and features of a cinema camera, the stories you produce will have a much larger impact than the cameras they were filmed on... If that's not the spirit of this site, I don't know what is?

They're sensor specific but you can probably get by without one. If it's anything like the Micro/Pocket, moiré is a lot better in ProRes. If you're going to get one, though, look into the RawLite brand. I believe it has an IR Cut Filter built in, so that alone is worth the extra cost. They'll pop up on eBay once in a while.

I was referring to your comment about an a7s with Venice color. I actually kinda like the grungy, funky colors of the a7s... it reminds me of an older indie film look.

When you pull that much gain with such high ISOs, it's bound to affect the color fidelity a bit.

Nah... I'm pretty sure I invented it. 🤪 Haha... movies are not meant to be made by a one man crew. Lol. Thankfully, it's given me a lot of time to rework the script as needed. I've been watching a bunch of Amira videos on Vimeo and they look amazing!!! If I could own any camera, I'm pretty sure I'd pick an Amira.

I've read that article before and if you like flares, I know why you posted it. He has some beautiful examples. In his article, he seems to be using the EF version of the 50mm 1.2 L. I have the FD version. I haven't tested it for flares, but now I'm gonna. The filter thread on the FD 50mm 1.2 L is 52mm. I think the EF version might be 72mm, but that's just a guess from memory. Helios 58mm f/2 is kinda the King of Flares, so that may be another good lens for you.

Thanks, after 3 years shooting with just the 5D3 and ML Raw, I'm still as enamored with it as I was the first day and haven't really scratched the surface of what the image is capable of. Once I removed the need for 4K out of my brain, and accepted 1080p raw as a superior image to consumer level 4K, I stopped chasing rainbows. If you don't fall madly in love with the LF, then there's probably something wrong with you. Lol. My ultimate dream is to sell my film and make enough money to rent an Amira or Alexa Mini for an upcoming film. Leica Rs are beautiful lenses. They're a little out of my price range so I've never used one. I'd love to try the 50mm f/2 summicron or ultimately the 35mm f/2 one day. There are so many vintage lenses that add a little extra to an image, IMO. For instance, Pentax Takumar lenses, from the 60s, still impress the hell out of me. Nikkors lenses are great choices, though because there are plenty of options in their line up for every budget... as long as you don't mind the focus direction. The 35mm 1.4 was considered one of their "professional" lenses marketed to photojournalists and street photographers. It even has 9 aperture blades as opposed to the traditional 7 blades that most of their lenses have. But the 35mm f/2 can be had for less than half the price and is a great lens as well. My first ML Raw test was shot with the 35mm f/2 and that lens led me to the 1.4.

I have a Benro monopod already and they sell some inexpensive heads... nothing more to it really. As far as complex moves... maybe I overstated with the word complex... just basic crane movements. It's just I came up with the monopod/tape measure pouch idea out of need to have a quick, easy and cheap handheld-like solution. I never intended to do anything more than stay steady while being as mobile as possible. But with these belts, a monopod, and a tripod head, basic jib arm movements seem easily possible. No need to start another thread, I don't care if things go off topic. Conversations evolve naturally.

It's only a matter of time before one of these companies go this route and it would make a lot of sense for Fuji... DCI-2K in ProRes up to 120p, no crop, decent tracking AF... and IBIS... Umm... yes please... take my money.

Exactly why I see no point in upgrading my camera yet.

The MogoCrane belt looks like it will accept any tripod with a 1/4-20 thread on the bottom, so for the price of the belt, it may be worth a try to get some small and smooth jib shots.

Here's another product that's been around for awhile that works similarly. https://mogopod.com I may get a cheap Benro head for my monopod so I can do some more complex moves if I want to.

I was thinking the same thing. As it is, the tape measure pouch adds no weight to my bag, I use a carabiner to clip it to the bag's handle and if I don't want to use it, I have a monopod at my disposal as well. I figured this out because I hate carrying around tripods and since the monopod is attached to my center of gravity, it's actually less shaky than my monopod by itself.

Haha... smart phones are the great equalizers. It looked good. I wasn't following that contest too much but yours definitely had a cool look.

Some of the Magic Lantern Raw apps that process MLV files will also process cdng files to ProRes and they have a lot of features to repair issues with the raw files. I don't really need any of those features so I don't know if any of them will help this issue but they might. I know auto detect black levels is one of the things I tick off when I use Raw Magic... but I don't think that program processes cdng.

Haha. This looks pretty slick but a bit much for my needs. One day, something like this will be perfect for me, though.

So no 6K... then what's the biggest new feature... IBIS? Well, if they can keep the cost of the X-T4 very close to the X-T3 and include IBIS... IMO... that's an instant win. However, I would love for Fuji to do something out of left field like ProRes... I hate h.265.

@heart0less nice video. I was always a fan of the a6000. I briefly had the a5100 and liked it as well. What camera was your Citadel Park video shot with... X-T3? To the OP... if you can make the a7s work for your needs... then yes... go for it. It still makes a very unique and great image.

Thanks, Kye! It's not your traditional review but hopefully somebody more talented than me will be inspired by it and make a great film with this truly unique lens. This "review" barely scratches the story of how my life has changed since I started my film, let alone since I became interested in filmmaking. I could probably write a small book. I'm actually surprised that more filmmakers aren't interested in lenses like the regular visitors of the Lenses sub-forum are. In a digital medium, where we often discus processing, sensors and specs, manual lenses gives us a physical connection to the recording process as we manipulate the image in real time for effect. I guess they humanize the machine on some level. It's a great little lens. I look forward to seeing your Micro footage with it!!!

Well, I'm sorry if my statement rubbed you the wrong way. It wasn't my intention to offend anyone. I was merely stating, in an albeit brief and blunt way, that using "art" to excuse, or endorse, a behavior can become a slippery slope. And since we live in a world where everybody gets a trophy for showing up, I feel that certain accolades should be earned, or bestowed upon, rather than self-proclaimed. But you're right, by the definition of the word, any asshole that can put paint on a brush and slop it onto a piece of paper is technically an artist and are creating art and who am I to say it isn't.

The point is that Andrew can only write a review based on his experience with the camera and his experience with their customer service. He never said that the BM image or what they offer at the price point is bad, he merely wrote his experiences with it... what more can a blogger do?

Obviously, Blackmagic needs to cut some corners to deliver products at this price point. But this generation of cameras seems to be a turn in the wrong direction. The P4K would have been a steal at $1799 or $1999 and would have given them a lot more margin for their build quality. Other than the normal BM annoyances, the OG Pocket and the Micro were solidly built. If you had a YouTube channel, with the instant subscribers and viewers you'd receive, discussing these issues, I'd bet money they wouldn't dismiss you so lightly. I'm sure with your skill you could put together a great looking video showing the pros of the BM IQ and when you add the cons of their build quality and customer service things may change... at least with the way you've been treated. Right now, BM have enough "ambassadors" giving them the freedom to deny, deny, deny. Unfortunately we've seen it on this forum by some people whose work I truly admire. Try saying that you prefer the image of the OG Pocket/Micro to the P4K, in the P4K sticky thread, and you'll see somebody pop up to denounce your opinion. The whole thing is kinda creepy. At least the Red fanboys stay at their own site. Lol.