mercer

Yup, I was searching for a small, hdmi evf for ages the first time I bought the Micro. A small handgrip, a tiny evf, a native m4/3 lens and the Micro would be the tiniest workhorse Cinema Camera around.

Nikkor 35mm 1.4...

Hah, thanks. The Sirui is definitely on my short list... I just wish it didn’t have twist leg adjustments. That’s the one negative I have with the infamous Sirui monopod. Part of me still would rather use a monopod, but after a couple cups of coffee and a half a pack of cigarettes, I think I need a little more stabilization. So I need the convenience of a monopod with a relatively fluid head and the stability of a tripod... that isn’t asking for too much, right? Yup, a solid monopod would probably be my best option. I have the Sirui and a Benro. Both are pretty good but I still get some movement. I doubt this is true but I have gravitated towards monopods with the feet thinking I’d get better stabilization but I am realizing that the joint at the feet tends to have a little bit too much wobble?

No worries, I haven’t had a chance to look at anything yet. Half of my “kit” recently went from almost completely handheld to mostly locked down but, due to my circumstances, it still needs to be “run and gun” in nature. One man band narratives are constant compromises and my equipment needs to reflect that. Thanks for the suggestion, and I’ll definitely check out the E-Image tripod. Thanks! A gorillapod may be my best bet for a tabletop tripod. I tend to shoot in some uneven terrains and prefer some obtuse angles for certain shots, so I really need some flexibility for height and leg adjustment.

Thanks for the suggestions, I’ll take a look at them. I have a manfrotto/bogen combo now that I like for controlled scenes, so I’m looking for something compact that I won’t mind getting destroyed or that will withhold the elements without getting ruined. Good idea. Do you know of any “cheap” fluid heads that I can pair with a basic pair of sticks? My current head has the Manfrotto RC2 plate, so I guess it would be smart to go that route since I am already set up with it on my monopod and tripod. With that said, I will probably have a small rig with a follow focus and rails and I’ll use it with a slider as well... so it can’t be complete rubbish. I also need a decent follow focus too, if anyone has a suggestion and a tabletop tripod.

Thanks they all look like great tripods but I should have added that I am using it for an on location tripod. Unfortunately, on location is at the beach, in the marshes, in the woods, etc... so this will get wet from salt water, muddy and full of sand. So ultimately I need something fairly inexpensive... less than $200. Does anyone have any experience with the Benro Aero 4?

Can anyone recommend a compact (travel) tripod for narrative work that is reasonably priced?

I’d rather see Sony stick with the smaller MP sensor and not do more than 4K. Give us more cine features and a more robust codec with higher frame rates.

Good info, thanks. Other than a couple production stills, I’ve never been a stills shooter. With that said, I probably wouldn’t use the FP as a hybrid, I tend to like to keep my equipment set up for one task. And if I do go the hybrid route, for stills and casual video, I’d probably go with something that has IBIS. It will be interesting to see if the Foveon version will have a cine mode.

One of my goals over the next year is to do more still photography and the Sigma Quattro was at the top of my list because I love the rich color from Sigma cameras. Hopefully they can match that with the FP. But I don’t know how much the Foveon sensor plays into that with their stills cameras?

That’s how I ended up with my Micro... I already had some Canon batteries. I already had an Ikan VL35 monitor. I already had some c-Mount lenses. I already had a bunch of SD cards... so it seemed irresponsible not to buy it. I should have clarified that I don’t mind if it’s recording to an SSD, I just don’t want to have an external monitor/recorder.

Same. I think the smart play would be between $1300-$1600. The BMPCC 4K put a wrench in a lot of cameras. So unless the FP shoots internal Raw at around the price point of the P4K, I don’t really need it. As a hobbyist, I only NEED 1080p Raw. I already have FF Raw with my 5D3. And I have S16 Raw/ProRes with my newly acquired BMMCC, so to upgrade to 4K Raw, the FP would have to be competitive with the P4K. The next year should be pretty interesting. If I’m being honest with myself, I probably won’t upgrade my cameras for another year or two, so hopefully by then all of my boxes will be ticked for $2500 or less.

That’s right, I forgot about that but if I remember correctly, there is a way to tell if it’s a Japanese market, Angenieux design... I don’t remember how though?

A couple days ago I wrote in the Lens section that I was bummed out that Sigma joined the L-Mount alliance because I felt it signaled that they would not produce a camera with video functions. I had thought for a long time that they could be the first to offer raw video in a MILC. And then the next day they announce a FF mirrorless camers that shoots raw video.... possibly internally. I think we’re witnessing a very specific strategy by Leica, Panasonic and Sigma to corner a very large slice of the MILC video market with an upgrade path for both lenses and cameras while simultaneously offering an alternative to Blackmagic. Think about it, Panasonic has too large of a user base to offer Raw Video at a BM price point but have definitely been affected by the competition. I can only imagine the loss of sales Panasonic has had with the GH5/s once the BMPCC 4K was announced. Through the L-Mount alliance, Sigma can offer a competing product as Panasonic sells the extra features of the S1H For all we know, Sigma could offer V-Log with the FP. Either way, the FP and the S1H are the most exciting cameras on the horizon and if the price is right, and the internal specs, I may just move from EF to L by the end of the year. Btw, do we know when the S1H’s full specs will be announced and when the camera will be released?

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but based on your photos of the lens, you do not have the Angenieux version. The Angenieux version is the f/2.6-2.8 version, not the f/2.8 version. Now some folks suspect they’re very similar, so you may have a gem.

Yeah it’s pretty awesome but I was poking fun because BTM was the one who discovered it.

@BTM_Pix I even heard somewhere that there’s a CineLikeD hack available for the GX80/85.

Thanks for the input on the 30mm 1.4! As far as M lenses... why not just get an S1? I know they’re not as small as the A7 series or the Z6 but what Panny is doing with Leica and Sigma, especially after today’s Sigma announcement, seems to be a great system to buy into for the future.

Price and internal raw will be the deciding factors for me. Even if they can pull off FF CDNG at 2K 60p for $1299, it’s a pretty sweet deal.

Yeah, wow!!! Any word on price?

I believe the point of most coatings is to reduce flares and ghosts. I hadn’t heard that the T coating makes skin softer, but that makes sense. I noticed a softer skin with the Zeiss Classics as well. As I’ve said a dozen times, or more, I love the skin texture that Raw video affords me, so the softer skin was kind of a turn off for me. In fact, I usually try to make the texture pop even more by adding a little Midtone Detail in Resolve.

Yeah I think curvature is a big flaw in wide angle that adds some character. The Zeiss Hollywood and even the newer Classic model suffers severely from it but it’s also what adds that 3D Pop. The T coating is nice but in some ways they may have perfected it too much. I found it almost impossible to get any flare with their newer lenses. I have pretty much given up on them, though. The money they cost compared to Nikkors just don’t justify it. Of course, Nikkors tend to be warmer but that’s an easy enough of a fix. I still have one more to test though... the 35mm f/2. If it’s amazing, I may keep that as a one lens Zeiss option... Or I may sell everything and go back to just my Canon 28mm 1.8... That lens is a notoriously good lens... especially the Japanese market version. I believe a lot of Anamorphic shooters use the 50mm 1.8 as their taking lens... partly due to quality and I believe because the front element is so close to the front of the lens.

That’s a good point. I’ve already forgotten about wides on a crop sensor. On FF, 2.8 or even an f/4 can give reasonable separation and bokeh. As far as ultra wide angles, why not look into a zoom... Tokina makes a few... or even a Rokinon 14mm? Yeah, that does suck. I really don’t like this triumvirate between Panny, Leica and Sigma. I was hoping Sigma would eventually make a video centric camera but the likelihood has dropped now that they’ve joined forces. I think Panny probably had to make a deal with the devil to get Leica to go along with their FF plans. To back pedal a sec... that shot of yours looks pretty amazing in FF. I love the background separation... minus the aspect ratio difference, this reminds me of old VistaVision films. Hmm... @BTM_Pix

Yeah that is quite noticeable... But since I shoot 2:35 with my 5D3, it could just work... This could just work. I actually like the vignetting and imagine it would be great in a b&w noir. And yeah, it’s pretty sharp. At more than half the price of the 35mm 1.4... this definitely is an option. Thanks for running the test for me! I wonder how well it would match with their 50mm...

@BTM_Pix here are some shots I found online from it... https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1541382