mercer

I’ll believe that the P4K gets B-Raw when I see it. I won’t buy a camera based on what I hope it may end up having.

Sorry, I was just joking around and yes I guess it isn’t as detailed as a 4K Raw video might look but that wasn’t my first takeaway from the video. I guess I’m in the middle of deciding how important 4K video is to my needs right now and I keep coming back to the same answer... 9 out of 10 times, 1080p has more than enough resolution for my needs. In a lot of ways, I think lens choices are more important than resolution. YMMV.

That’s always been my complaint with Alexa footage... definitely not detailed enough.

Being an ML Raw shooter, I can say that the MLVApp is pretty awesome and I think I have an older version. The LogC curve conversion alone is worth its weight in gold in my opinion. It’s pretty insane what is possible with the basic nightly builds of ML Raw. I’ve never tried any type of uprezzing but after seeing that video, I am definitely intrigued. I think even a simple 1080p to 2.5K could be a nice POP. Takumars are great lenses and are so cheap. Some have the radioactive yellowing issue, so be diligent about what you buy. Pentax made a replacement line of SMC lenses in the K Mount shortly after the Takumars and what’s interesting about them is that they used the same optical formulas without the Thorium glass, so the same 50mm 1.4 doesn’t have the yellowing issues that the Takumar has.

I have a folk horror short I’m writing, so any nature footage in the woods/forest would be helpful... if you live near one? But anything would be good. By having some experience shooting with the Pocket and Micro, I always would stick to the native ISO, so I imagine having the two native ISOs could be very helpful to get a clean, consistent image? I recently acquired a small set of Nikkor lenses... the 35mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4. Since both lenses have the same open aperture and the same amount of aperture blades, it will help me when I stop down the lenses within the same scene and having that dual native iso sounds like a dream for the darker horror movies I have coming up. But I’m so content with my current camera set up, that I am probably a long ways off before I do a camera upgrade... or a camera sidegrade in this instance. In some ways, I am more intrigued by the Z-Cam E2 than the P4K, so I will probably wait to see how that develops first. And then there’s the 5D4 ML development... so many choices. And to be honest, the X-T3 has impressed me the most of all available cameras this year, so as a second camera, that may make more sense for me. In the end, compared to 6 years ago when I got my first camera... we are spoiled.

Being an FCPX user, ProRes is definitely the most interesting aspect to me. With that being said, I have zero need for 4K right now, so even though the camera is a steal, for a second camera, a Micro would/could make more sense for me. But then the allure of that Dual ISO sensor is appealing. Has anyone shot and shared any 1080p ProRes? In my brief search for it, I haven’t found much 1080p from the P4K, especially in 24p.

Interesting poll and discussion. I struggle with color... both in theory and practice. I’ve always been a tinkerer and with most things in life, I can figure it out but color correction/grading has eluded my tinkering ways. It is an art, and a craft. And the folks who are really great at it are either naturals or well trained. There are so many facets to the craft that out of respect for it, and the people that take the time to perfect their craft, I hate even referring to myself as a hobbyist colorist. I can only speak for myself, but I find the most difficult part of color work to be correction. That portion of the craft can make or break the acquisition phase and the grading phase. There is such a symbiotic relationship that it does make sense that shooters are also coloring their own work but traditionally and professionally that is not the case. I’m guilty of it myself, but I think mistakes in the acquisition phase can make color correction/grading more difficult than it needs to be... For instance, most shooters, in most situations, do not need Log footage, or 10bit video, but they use it anyway because they want more latitude... because somewhere, someone told them they needed it. Proper exposure for 8 or 10 stops of dynamic range is difficult enough, when you start adding 3 or 5 more stops of DR with a Log curve you are entering a different level of skill set and understanding of Log Curves that could be more detrimental than just shooting with a flat Rec709 profile and keeping your color work more basic. I have not shot in every scenario possible but with my basic understanding of shooting, most situations can be properly shot with 8-10 stops of DR. So if that’s the case, why shoot with a Log curve designed for 12 or more? I’ve personally found 10-12 stops to be a good sweet spot for the type of image I am looking for. If I was a Hollywood DP, I’m sure I could justify 15-18 stops. I guess what I’m trying to say is... like most things in life, less is more in most instances. So in summation, this is a learning process and as I learn I realize what I don’t know and more importantly what I don’t need. But color grading is fun and I wish I were better at it.

I didn’t watch that comparison video but I wonder if you have the P4K, do you guys feel you need the GH5s? Or if you have the GH5s, do you need the Z-Cam E2... since they all share the same sensor? Obviously, I get the different feature set but it seems the GH5s gives you about 80-90% of ProRes HQ from the P4K. If you need Raw, that’s a different story, but I assume the majority of folks that own the P4K, do not shoot Raw.

Yup, the original C100 is a steal right now. I’ve posted this video before, but I think the image still holds up today... And if you’re interested in narratives, this video proves that it is well suited for that too...

Good eye, Kye. This morning I had a look at those clips and realized I had Sharpening turned up to 25 in the Raw Panel. I usually leave it at the 10 default setting. After our discussion, I decided to process the clips through the MLVApp to ProRes and have a stab at them in FCPX. I think this one turned out nicer... Carl Zeiss 25mm f/2.8

@wolf33d Why are you so sure the AF will suck? DPAF works with DSLRs and if Nikon is serious about video, they may introduce PDAF into a D5700... and let’s be honest here... good video AF is more important to the sub $1000 market than it is to the plus $2000 market.

The last I saw on Canon rumors was about a month or two ago and they hinted at a March announcement. The original rumors stated they were going to use the ef-m mount but now he heard that they may use the rf... I’d rather have an ef mount to be honest. Sorry I don’t have the time to find the last rumor right now.

It actually looks like it is balanced fairly well. Do you have any clips or screengrabs with this setup?

The C200 is almost two years old and I suspect we are going to see a C300 update at this NAB and possibly the interchangeable lens XC series camera that has been rumored to be in development for the past year. With those cameras entering the market, I would expect a price drop for the C200... I would assume $5999 for the C200 and $3999 for the C200B and I may very well snatch up a C200B at that price. Now if Canon is smart and offers RawLite (even 2K up to 60p) on this XC camera, I may go that route instead depending on specs and price. It could be a great camera to introduce IBIS as well.

Yeah a D5500 with no crop 4K would probably be an easy buy for me. I’d love if Nikon contacted Pentax to find out how they’ve had focus peaking and IBIS in DSLR bodies for years and include them in the D5700.

That does look pretty good... crazy thing is that this wasn’t shot in the experimental 4K modes... it was just the regular 14bit ML Raw and he uprezzed it to 4K for YouTube. It fooled me while I watched it.

Does the IBIS help to stabilize... the camera?

You know, part of me wants to sell off almost everything I own and buy a GH5s, a speedbooster, a simple set of 3 vintage lenses and a Ronin. Then spend a ton of time taking color grading courses learning to grade VLog. The GH series cameras are the safest camera purchase on the market.

True but nothing about this “test” is fair. Pitting an f/2 lens vs an f/2.8 lens wide open isn’t fair. Also Nikkor lenses are traditionally warmer than Zeiss lenses. Hell, I may have even set the color temperature differently in the Raw panel because I preferred one over the other at the time. I have a very modicum amount of grading skills, so I prefer to allow the equipments’ natural tendencies to do some of the job for me. Color grading is a craft in and of itself and as a one man band filmmaker, it is impossible for me to be great at every discipline. Of course I try my best, to do my best and your point on the lesson is definitely taken and food for thought.

@BTM_Pix yeah I must admit, other than the past few days, I’ve been steering clear of this site a little because quite frankly I am tired of defending myself when using words like cinematic, mojo, etc... I’m definitely not the most talented or skilled person around these parts but if somebody needs quantifiable definitions for mojo, then they’re not using their eyes or capturing with their gut. If this stuff was one hundred percent scientific, then I’d be a lot better and we’d all be Kubrick but it isn’t no matter how much math you throw at an explanation. Art isn’t always describable and a brush stroke can only explain so much. It’s when science and art melds with craft and emotion does a beautiful image appear. I am far from that goal but it doesn’t mean I can’t recognize it without explanation. end rant That Angenieux looks beautiful. I’m always tempted to pick up the 35-70mm Nikon Mount Angenieux until I see the price tag. With my brief stint with the Micro, I had the 15mm c-mount and it was like painting with pastels and sharp as a tack at the same time. Does that 25-250mm cover S35 or is that using the magic zoom function of the LS300? With that being said, here's a shot of the same subject from the Zeiss 50mm 1.8 Rollei mount lens...

Yeah us lens nerds are more forgiving than the sensor nerds, I guess.

@BTM_Pix yup I noticed the Zeiss was a lot cooler in the mids. But I was surprised that the slower lens had better separation. I’m sure it’s more quantifiable than magic so I’ll use the word mojo instead but those old Rollei Zeiss lenses seem to have it in spades... much better than the Contax Zeiss I’ve tested in the past. Wrong time of the year for NYC for me... way too cold for my slim build. I’ll get a shot of Taxi Driver on the TV if you want?

So, I took a drive yesterday in the cold to do a test of a few lenses... the Nikkor 24mm f/2 vs the Carl Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 in the Rollei QBM mount. Here are the results... Nikkor 24mm f/2 Carl Zeiss 25mm f/2.8 I found the speed of the Nikkor to be pretty helpful considering that that shot was taken about 10 minutes after the Zeiss shot, but there is just something about that cold Zeiss look that has a definite pop to it that seems more cinematic... maybe it's in my head? Full disclosure... I didn't attempt to match these images, I just did a basic Rec709 conversion and a little bit of curves and saturation. Also I am still using my MacBook Air screen for all of this preliminary color work and lens tests. I'm in the process of deciding on a monitor upgrade... so these may look like crap compared to what I am seeing in Resolve... oh the fun of hobbyist color work... lol.

That’s true, for that shot, since it only requires minimal DR, a neutral profile or the Marvel profile may be more than enough DR to capture everything cleanly.

I don’t think you should be normal exposing C-Log... I think you’ll get the best results with ETTR. I can’t say for sure that it will cure this issue though.