mercer

Well, if 4K, slow motion and price are irrelevant to you, then I have to ask, are the films you are planning for web distribution, film festivals or fun? Also you mentioned you come from a street shooter background, well what stills camera and lenses do you already own? Are you interested in color correction/grading? For filmmaking, do you prefer the camcorder/cinema camera feel, or do you want to move to a hybrid stills camera? Also you mentioned that you’re not worried about money, but I must assume there is a minimum and maximum you’d like to spend? But to answer your question, I don’t know. I chose codec and went with the 5D Mark iii and ML Raw but there are only a few people I would recommend that to. However, I am in a similar position as you since I am working on no budget films where I am pulling not just double but triple duty as the director, camera man and audio guy, so I understand the desire to make AF easier in that scenario. I also shoot guerrilla style, so I chose lenses with IS or very wide angle lenses, so I can go handheld. If handheld is important, you may want to consider a camera with IBIS. The obvious choice there is the GH5. It doesn’t have great AF, or even good, but if it’s anything like the FZ2500 I owned, the face tracking is decent. And anybody who wears a lot of hats knows... as long as you cover your angles, you can always cut away if the AF hunts. But since you shot your first film on a DVX and your second on an iPhone, and 4K isn’t important to you, I’d probably recommend a Canon for AF, it just doesn’t get better than DPAF for tracking and touch screen focus pulls. And if codec is more important to you, but slow motion isn’t, I’d go with the original Pocket cam. You can be under $1000 for either choice and trust me, even on small or no budgets, money keeps exiting your pocket.

Idk, after looking at what Sage has done for the GH5/s, I think I would go with the Panasonic route. Since you already own at least one of the three, the investment will be a lot smaller and I don’t know if you’ve seen Zak Forsman’s footage from the EVA1, but it looks great. Of the sub 10,000, my order of purchase, for me and my tastes would be: 1. C200 (obviously) internal Raw video with DPAF... yes, please may I have another. Add an SDI recorder and you can have 2K 10bit ProRes from the Raw signal while you record raw internally... but I know this camera doesn’t meet your requirements... just reiterating how much I want one. Lol. 2. EVA1 - just a beautiful output that is broadcast ready and you can shoot Raw externally (and maybe ProRes Raw?) if you have higher end projects that are worth the extra storage and post. Plus you can use Sage’s post workflow to match the GH5/s and EVA1 if necessary. Plus-Plus, your B and C cams will have 10bit and an anamorphic mode with the GH5 also having IBIS. 3. Ursa Mini Pro - P4K as a B-Cam that should (?) be able to fill in as an A-Cam on certain shoots that need a smaller footprint. As John Brawley has demonstrated, the 1080 ProRes is more than good enough for network television, so with less than demanding clients, your FCPX workflow will be butter smooth using internal codecs... no need for an external recorder there. 4. FS5 ii - I really like the output from Sony cameras... I usually buy one a year... but in this instance it seems like it’s the safe choice because you want decent AF. But other than slow motion, I don’t know if the FS5 is really best in any other category and although I’m sure slow motion is important, is it more than 50% of your work? If it is, then there’s your answer. It’s also the only option that shares a mount with your A and B cams. Plus your B cam is FF with good AF. So the safe choice could be the best choice in this instance... Hmm, tough one.

Yeah @BTM_Pix listen to Kye and don’t eff this up.

Life is like a Zoom F4...

Yeah... that is just a nice frame. Color and composition... what more does one REALLY need?

Why did he switch back to Canon? AF and the affiliate program, I’d assume.

Reading some of these comments is akin to watching the melodrama of Mexican soap operas. Of course Sony is number 1 when they have no competition in FF and just released a new camera that’s one of their best cameras to date... their next one will be even better. I’ve always liked the Sony image and I end up buying a Sony camera once a year, or so, and then I remember I’m horrible at grading sLog and I go back to Canon, Nikon or even Panasonic. But the Sony image is so detailed and crisp and modern, what’s not to love about them? Okay... their menus are annoying but it’s not like they’re impossible to figure out. Point being is that statistics like this are fun, and as a Canon shooter I like to boast that Canon is number 1 in mirrorless in Japan. But in the end, who cares? It doesn’t really matter or mean anything. Depending on the release date of the Z6, Nikon will win the fourth quarter. Next year when Casey Neistat is shooting with a FF Canon mirrorless, Canon will win. Sadly, brand ambassadors on YouTube or Instagram will sell more cameras than the tech, color science, AF capabilities, video specs, burst rates, etc inside the camera ever will. Also, if I was a stills shooter only, I’d probably own a Pentax... yuck.

Yup, there aren’t many fast options in that focal range for larger sensor cameras. So you may want to look into native lenses for the GH5. The Olympus 17mm 1.8 is a jewel of a lens and with the focus clutch, you can have your hard stops. And the Olympus 12-40mm, although not as fast as your Sigma, is a great little all purpose lens as well. And obviously there are the Voigtlanders that are unmatched in my opinion. And then of course there are the Rokinon/Samyang Cine Lenses made for m4/3... the 12 and 21mm, I particularly liked and they’re nice and compact. I don’t use a follow focus, but I assume you can set them up to have hard stops? But don’t quote me on that.

Yeah, you’re probably right. I figured the C200B would go on sale quicker, or be cheaper on the used market and then one could use an external recorder, their phone/iPad or pay the $600 for the official Canon monitor and still be under the C200 cost. But then I realized, that the cable is damn near $300... so at full price you aren’t really saving enough to warrant the piece meal... of course, I rarely/never use an evf, so the camera will be a little smaller by going the c200b route.

@Sage good to know, thanks! I’ve heard that an upressed file exported as ProRes does help to trick Vimeo and YouTube. Good luck with your film projects by the way!

Here’s another shot from the Canon 28mm f/1.8 I bought a few months back for a song. I actually didn’t expect a lot from it when I bought it, but it’s been my goto lens for my short film... But I really need to start investing in some lights. I got a great recommendation from Jon, with the Fotodiox Flapjacks, but does anyone else have any good suggestions for on camera lights?

That looks great! That 2K really adds some depth to skin texture that is lacking in most other cameras... that’s one of the reasons I went with the 5D3 to begin with. Do you put your 1080p footage on a 2K timeline to bump it up, or do you transcode before you bring it into the NLE? I’ve always transcoded all footage (even back in my t2i days) to ProRes before bringing it into FCPX. I had a FZ2500 a couple years ago and loved the all-i 1080p... and that was just 8bit, so I can only imagine how good the 10bit is. I didn’t know it is downscaled in camera on the GH5. Is the 60p as well? Honestly, the only reason I am even contemplating a second camera is for slow motion with 180 degree shutter and IBIS. I was adamantly against the GH5 until I saw your profile, deezid’s and wildranger’s work. I’m hoping the price will drop a bit for the holidays and if it does, I think I will probably pick one up. I have a small collection of c-mount lenses that needs some exercise and there’s no better way to exercise old c-mounts than with IBIS. But I have to get some lights and audio equipment before I even think about another camera... ugh... and I need to replace a lens I was forced to sell last year. And even if I don’t end up getting one, I commend you on a job well done and I enjoy looking at everyone’s progress.

Whew... I just read the entire thread... so I will say this, I don’t know what magic you’ve done here, and I still think the Alexa vs GH5 still is not a comparison but you’ve definitely done something amazing here. So congrats with that. I may be in the market for a second camera (still on the fence because I am SO happy with ML Raw and I’m afraid a second camera would see little use) but if I can find a GH5 for a really good price around the holidays, I could pull the trigger. If I go that route, I’d most likely shoot in CineLikeD at 1080p but I saw a really interesting rig on IG that keeps the portability of the GH5 but adds an external monitor. So... I kinda remember reading that the GH5 does an internal 4K to 1080p downscale when hooked up to a 1080p recorder... is this true and if so, would that all-I 4K downscale to a 5” BMVA recording ProRes HQ be worth the trouble and get even better color and quality than recording 1080p in camera and transcoding to ProRes with your color conversion? Or will the difference be minimal and hardly worth the effort?

That’s interesting. I thought I remember reading that the RawLite didn’t have the same leeway as CDNG files. Cool. How does the WB and exposure controls in Raw tab seem? Are they non destructive like regular Raw files or can they only be pushed so much?

Was that 1080p? I thought the 4K crop is 2.5x on the D7500? A few months ago I was in Target waiting for my GF, so I wandered over to the camera section and they had a D3400 on display. I had read they put the Flat Profile in the 3400 so I wanted to check it out. I had the 5500 a couple years ago and loved it... anyway it obviously had the 18-55mm kit lens on the camera and I was blown away by it. The zoom and focus rings felt great and the VR worked surprisingly well. Pair it with the 35mm 1.8 for dialogue scenes and you have a great 2 lens set up for any film. However, I’m not sold on the Z mount but it is what it is, hopefully they do right by the F mount while expanding the Z lens line up.

The Raw Panel is available in Resolve with the RawLite files from the C200?

A couple Minolta lenses can be converted by changing out the mount but not with a simple adapter... they require one of the adapters with glass. Same goes for FD lenses. Now I found a Minolta 35mm 1.8 that was converted that I use with my 5D3. It’s a lovely lens. Here’s a few Raw screengrabs from a test shoot... But honestly since you may need EF in the future, you’re probably better off with the Nikon Nikkor lenses. They are so well built and the IQ is simply gorgeous. Some of the ai-s lenses are still sold new today. Here’s a frame from my short film and a test shot from the Nikkor 35mm 1.4... If you can look past my meager color grading skills, you can still see the attributes of the lenses. Unfortunately I had to sell off some of my favorite Nikkor lenses but I may buy new copies. Or I may get a couple Zeiss ZF lenses instead and replace the mounts with Leitax EF mounts. Or if I do go with Nikkors, I’ll probably do the same.

Read this about Minolta lenses... http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?92246-Minolta-Rokkor-Survival-Guide But I’ve had many many Nikkor lenses and you really cannot go wrong for value to price with Nikkors... the 28mm f/2, 35mm f/2 and 35mm 1.4 are excellent lenses. Are you making a feature with the GH5?

Watch him on a phone like everybody else... it looks great. It looks great on my 40” 1080p TV as well. Jesus Jon, I wasn’t making fun of your audience or anything about you. I was just curious about the need for 4K vs. 1080p for YT videos. I wasn’t aware that the majority of Dave’s audience watches his channel on a desktop... Obviously, I’m the lowest common denominator here, so relax... you win.

How is that gaslighting? You’re not a professional YouTuber so you don’t have an audience... but you were referring to people who watch YouTube videos on their phone as the lowest common denominator.

Sorry, but that’s just silly. I am getting way too OT, so this will be my last comment on it... YouTube videos are a business for some and in any business you want to maximize profits. In any creative endeavor you must know your audience... so if the majority of your audience watches YT videos on their phones and they will gain barely any benefit in 4K over 1080p, why spend the money on a 4K camera when you can spend a quarter of the cost for a 1080p image? When you add the extra time for post production, it hardly seems like a solid business decision. Now of course, this isn’t my time or money, so any excuse is good enough... even if it is “I want to.” But “lowest common denominator” is probably not the smartest way to describe your primary audience... good thing you’re just a hobbyist too I guess. Sorry for the OT.

Yup, that makes sense, but also out of curiosity, at what point do you decide, when the option is yours, to shoot at a lesser resolution for cost effectiveness? I imagine a 1080p production through post is more time consuming than a 1080p production, so are there some jobs that you will shoot in 1080p to maximize your profits?

It’s not the lowest common denominator when the majority of people watch YT on their phones and I assume it’s by a HUGE margin. Either way, I was just curious. Oliver made some great points. I’m just a hobbyist making some short films for fun... obviously I’m not as serious as most of the pros on here... carry on.

That looks nice. I had the ai-s version and I bought it, despite Ken Rockwell’s review, brand new for 60 bucks and let me tell you, I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up selling it for a profit but I may get another one. Btw, how do you like the D7500? How are you managing with the crop and your F mount options?

Most vloggers shoot themselves in a medium close up... so where’s the need for reframing? Idk, I think 8k or 16K could be the norm but you’re only getting so much from a 3-5” screen being held 12-24” from your face.