zerocool22

I've been doing this for a decade and 2017 was the first year that I cracked low six figures, before taxes. I shoot, edit, and color behind the scenes and EPK for the major studios. What I make after taxes is between me and my accountant. I live in Los Angeles so living expenses are astronomical. My advice: take care of your body. I tore my rotator cuff six months ago and lugging cases from job to job has been hell on earth. Still haven't fully healed.

NAB is still two months away, and then it might be what, up to four months (or even MORE!) until products shown at NAB are widely available in stock?

So you might be waiting for a product, that may or may not exist, and if it does exist, could perhaps is half a year away??

At what point do you say enough is enough, and pull the trigger and buy? 

If a Kinefinity is what you want, and it seems like a good deal to you, then buy!

If not, then don't. As simple as that. 

 

https://www.newsshooter.com/2020/02/14/kinefinity-slashes-the-prices-of-the-terra-4k-mavo-mavo-lf/
Mavo LF drops to 8k$, thats a 4K drop. Lets see what Zcam will do now with the F6. 2020 is going to be the best camera purchase year in a very long time  

No, I own a Z-Cam F6 and have since november. It has had ProRes from the beginning.

Zcam also have ProRes. 
EDIT:
Zcam will also have ProRes - Once they get the license from Apple.

Thanks!
These shots are great, I recognize the 5D look, which I do miss in newer camera's(hopefully the new R6, R5 will bring it back, allthough I am shooting with an alexa LF this weekend, I hope I dont fall madly in love with that camera ). These nikkor lenses have been on my radar for a long time, but never actually made the purchase. Had some back luck with vintage lenses before. (Still have my leica summicron-r lenses though). I might get these and compare it to the summicrons. (did the same with the zeiss contax, but liked the overal look and handling of the summicrons more, allthough the contax is a stop faster).
 
 

First I'd like to say that I appreciate that the Lenses sticky thread is now it's own Sub-Forum. It really allows members to post more specific topics and it allows readers to ignore topics that may not be useful for them.
With that said, @noone had a great idea creating a topic with one of his favorite lenses... so I figured I'd follow suit with one of my favorite lenses...
Nikkor 35mm 1.4 ai-s
As I started writing this brief, real world review, I realized that this lens represents a larger story of me as a filmmaker as it chronicles the highs and lows of my life since I started shooting my film...
So what started as a brief review morphed into a much longer story. If you don't have the time or inclination, stop now.
For those that are still interested... here we go...
I love fast, wide angle lenses. They offer shallow depth of field while allowing you to get close to your subject. And a fast 35mm straddles a wide angle FOV and a normal FOV making it almost the perfect full frame, focal length for my style of filmmaking.
This is my second copy of this lens and truth be told... I've almost sold this lens a half a dozen times over the past year.
My first copy I bought when I started shooting my film. I had a simple game plan... the Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS lens for daylight and the Nikkor for lowlight.
Here are a couple frames from the first shots I took with the lens for my film.


For some reason I decided to go a different route for my lowlight shots and bought a Canon 35mm f/2 IS lens. In most ways, the Canon is a better lens, but it lacks the charm of the Nikkor even if it did match my zoom a little better.
At the time, my film was moving along at a steady pace, so I decided to keep the Nikkor for a different, upcoming film...
Well...
Life had a different plan, like it often does, and some unforeseen medical issues in my family slowed production to a near grinding halt. With those medical issues came some unforeseen financial issues and I was forced to sell a bunch of lenses. For a brief time I thought I'd be forced to sell my camera as well, but I luckily made it work.
Before I sold the Nikkor, I decided to take it out for a final spin. Here are a couple frames from that last day with the lens...


By this time, I was also forced to sell my Canon zoom and my Canon 35mm f/2. Over the next 6 months I raided my closet to test any and every lens I had that could work for my film. Luckily, during that time, I found a Canon 28mm 1.8 listed on eBay "For Parts" for peanuts. Needless to say, I won the auction and found another one of my favorite lenses born from need.
For the next 6-8 months, the Canon 28mm 1.8 lens became the only lens I used to shoot my film and at the time, I couldn't be happier with the results. But I still missed my Canon zoom and my Nikkor 35mm 1.4.
Last year, I came into a little extra money and immediately sought another copy of the Nikkor and after a few weeks, I found one.
With the extra money in my account, I took the opportunity to test a bunch of lenses I couldn't otherwise afford but always wanted to try. I tested some beautiful lenses but being a hobbyist, I needed to contain my obsession and build a couple logical lens sets.
I used the end of my sporadic shooting days to test a lens. My method was simple, use my main actor as a model in the same locations I was shooting my film.
Here are a few frames from those tests...




After hours of deliberation and footage, I finally realized that I don't change lenses that often and I grew to like the idea of a single POV, from a single lens, as if the lens' FOV represents an invisible narrator's eye. I used my feet to zoom and put together a simple rig consisting of a closed monopod with a tilt head and a tape measure pouch clipped onto my belt. The bottom of the monopod fits snuggly inside the tape measure pouch giving me a stable image with a handheld-like flexibility.
During these tests, I realized that I had way too many lenses and could easily shoot a short film a month, for well over a year, and never reuse the same lens...
What was I thinking?! I am just a hobbyist with no delusions that I will make the next great indie film. 
This was getting out of hand.
So I set up a final round of testing and narrowed down my keepers to a grand total of 5 lenses with the only "set" consisting of my Canon FD 50mm 1.2 L and my Canon 28mm 1.8.
At the time, I even contemplated selling the Nikkor 35mm 1.4 one more time to keep with my minimalistic utilitarian approach.
 But after some careful thought, and some good advice from some other EOSHD members, I decided to keep it. Although I was still unsure if I needed the lens, after a recent go at some of the footage with my mediocre color skills and my crappy monitor, I came up with these frames from one of my test shots...


Although, I realize that none of these shots are particularly spectacular, but each one represents something I like about cinematography and tells a story about my life over the past 3 years.
Sometimes the gear we buy is more than just tools for the stories we tell... they become part of the story... part of the journey. Maybe I am being too sentimental but when I look at these perfectly imperfect images taken with a perfectly imperfect lens, I remember the moments that brought me from then to now and what I learned during that process...
This lens taught me that my equipment is better than I am. I learned that I don't have to shoot everything wide open and that I probably shouldn't if I ever want to pull focus on an actor walking. I learned that some lenses have a vintage look when wide open, but when stopped down can look crisp and modern. But most importantly, I learned that I need very little to make a movie and gear is the least important.
If you're interested in a more technical review, I recommend Ken Rockwell's review of the lens. He gets into the nitty gritty of the characteristics of the lens. I feel he's a little too hard on the lens but everything he writes is dead on accurate...
https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/35f14ais.htm
For me, I can sum it up in one paragraph...
The Nikkor 35mm 1.4 ai-s lens has a warmer tone and when shot wide open, the images are dreamy, a little soft with a ton of coma on the edges. Stop it down to f/2 and it cleans up a little. By f/2.8 it's like you're using a different lens and that lens is as sharp as a knife. It's like having two lenses in one with both being sharp enough with a bunch of character.
So there you have it... thanks for reading. 

Manual is out: http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/3/0300038273/01/eos1dx-mk3-ug_en.pdf
Fingers crossed the R6 will have the same video spec, but knowing Canon: probably not.

Seems like forever since DJI released a new drone. 

This looked quite good on paper, but liked the look out of the 120D much better, not sure it is only a whitebalance thing. As even corrected I prefer the 120d, so could be CRI related as well. But the off temperature colors are quite shitty to work with though if you are mixing them up with other lights.  

Maybe a chance for Canon to get back on top with the EOS R5 or R6?
10bit internal, raw internal, Canon colours, and that ND filter wheel = why bother with A7S?

Yeah the Mavo LF did look really amazing though. 

I am going to build a directory of Alexa files for people to download and play with.
Any helpful submissions very welcome.
Or pointers to existing file downloads online.

This looked quite good on paper, but liked the look out of the 120D much better, not sure it is only a whitebalance thing. As even corrected I prefer the 120d, so could be CRI related as well. But the off temperature colors are quite shitty to work with though if you are mixing them up with other lights.  

physics prolly. I am not a huge fan of the lens though.

I am well aware no one will likely tell the difference between the GH5s and Pocket 4K.  I can vouch for that from my own clients feedback.  However that is not the point.  My work starts with my approval.  I want to be happy with my work and I am happier shooting with the Pocket, partly because I prefer Blackmagic colour science over the Panasonic.  In the same way some prefer the Canon image.  Each camera has a look and it's not always possible to entirely duplicate it with LUTs and colour grading.  I prefer the Blackmagic image.  I spent years and years finding a look I like with the Panasonic and even now there are moments, I am not happy with the image.  Not so with the Pocket.  Straight out, I found a look I am very happy with.  
There are other reasons I prefer the Pocket.  Punch in focus, menus, BRAW, SSD recording and choice of aspect ratios such as 2.40, you can shoot in.  Footage works so well with Resolve.  I love shooting with it.  

ah dang, was hoping on a RAW tot Cfast recording module  
These kind of sizes for raw recorders would make a lot more sense for me, then carrying around a external monitor/recorder.

ah dang, was hoping on a RAW tot Cfast recording module  
These kind of sizes for raw recorders would make a lot more sense for me, then carrying around a external monitor/recorder.

To put some reality in to the crippling story, I really think that this time Canon did the max that was possible in a FF weather sealed fan less hybrid DSLR.
There is no other Full Frame camera < 10k usd that come close to these rumored specs
 
Full frame camera that can record internally  > 5k RAW 60fps + good video AF:
 
Canon C700 FF >33k usd  (only with optional codex recorder 7k >usd)
Canon C500 II 16k usd
 
Full frame camera that can record internally  > 5k RAW 60fps:
 
RED MONSTRO 8K VV >54K usd
Canon C700 FF >33k usd  (only with optional codex recorder 7k >usd)
Kinefinity Mavo LF >12k usd
Canon C500 II 16k usd
Canon 1Dx III 6.5k usd
 
Full frame camera that can record internally  > 5k RAW 30fps:
 
RED MONSTRO 8K VV >54K usd
Sony VENICE  > 42k usd (only with optional recorder > 6k usd)
Canon C700 FF >33k usd  (only with optional codex recorder 7k >usd)
Kinefinity Mavo LF >12k usd
Canon C500 II 16k usd
Canon 1Dx III 6.5k usd
 
Full frame camera that can record internally  >= 4k RAW:
 
RED MONSTRO 8K VV >54K usd
Sony VENICE  > 42k usd (only with optional recorder > 6k usd)
Canon C700 FF >33k usd  (only with optional codex recorder >7k usd)
Kinefinity Mavo LF 12k usd
Canon C500 II 16k usd
Canon 1Dx III 6.5k usd
Alexa Mini LF > 58k usd
Alexa LF > 98k usd
 
Full frame camera that can record internally  >= 4k 30fps 10bit 4:2:2 LOG + good video AF
 
Sony FX9 11k usd
Canon C700 FF >33k usd  
Canon C500 II 16k usd
Canon 1Dx III 6.5k usd
 
Full frame camera that can record internally  >= 4k 30fps 10bit 4:2:2 LOG
 
RED MONSTRO 8K VV >54K usd
Sony VENICE  > 42k usd
Canon C700 FF >33k usd
Sony FX9 11k usd
Kinefinity Mavo LF >12k usd
Canon C500 II 16k usd
Canon 1Dx III 6.5k usd
Alexa Mini LF > 58k usd
Alexa LF > 98k usd
Panasonic SH1 4k usd
 
Naturally this is based on rumored spec and it just a spec comparison only, image quality, ease of use and job suitability is another story.
Again if you are video only a C200 or FX9 or C500 II is probably a better investment, for hybrid shooter like me it seem a huge upgrade from 1Dx II for video.
Then maybe in a week Sony announce the famous ready to launch since 2018 A7s III with 6k RAW at 60 fps with AF for 3.5k usd, but right now there is really nothing close.

ah dang, was hoping on a RAW tot Cfast recording module  
These kind of sizes for raw recorders would make a lot more sense for me, then carrying around a external monitor/recorder.

Actually I change my wish, an update from blackmagic on the new video assist monitors that they are finally shipping with Blackmagic Raw support for the Sony FS5 and Nikon Z6.

Simple: none of those cine cams can shoot stills. 1DX3 is for hybrid shooters who are invested in Canon ecosystem and will be using it as a A/B cam. 
Besides, the C200 can't shoot 10-bit, and the EVA1/FS7 can't do internal RAW nor do they have DPAF. The FX9 is $4.5K extra and can't do internal RAW either.
So on the video level alone, the 1DX3 punches way above its weight/class despite what all the naysayers have to complain about it.
 
 

The A7iii is a good allround video camera and really excellent stills camera (I do own it), but no cinema camera because of its weak codecs and 8bit limitation, no matter how you rig it up.

Yeah exactly, 2020 is going to be my rental year. On cooler projects, Im gonna skip my fee and just rent nicer lenses. Which is going to be better for my portfolio anyhow.  

A while back I posted a tutorial on film emulation and recreating halation and grain in a realistic way. I recently came out with a new video that goes over it in a better, more concise way.
I see quite a bit of people asking how to achieve the look of film and it's characteristics so hopefully this video can help them out!
A big thanks to the Lift, Gamma, Gain forums for figuring a lot of this out also feel free to share your results and download the PowerGrades I've provided on my website!