Snowfun

Is certainly impressive. Tempting. I need to investigate lens options...

https://www.mzed.com/courses/canon-c200 (it’s a paid piece although some of it might also be available elsewhere). Bloom’s piece is on Vimeo (C200 low light test or similar) Thanks for the steer.

I film the aurora borealis so everything else is secondary to low light performance. I have used a P4k at iso 25k and 6fps 360 degrees and the images are good but they are timelapse and in that sense inferior to those from my A7S (which I stupidly sold anticipating the A7S3 last year). (P4K) (A7S) Yes, I’d like to improve 101 things about the Sony but if it still has the best low light performance then those things can be overlooked.

The mini? Any clues? Somewhere in the Western Hemisphere there is a bin containing many many empty tubes of araldite...

Is the A7Sii still the best choice for low light - I’m thinking iso 25k - or are there alternatives? I’ve seen impressive footage from the C200 (Matthew Allard on Mzed & Bloom) but difficult to say it’s as good as the Sony. Is there anything else to compete? Presumably, expectations are that the A7Siii will also excel at low light but when...

Superb news. A productive lockdown!

I too make academic videos - P4K with a greenscreen and Rode lav. I use two lights most of the time (two Blindspot Gear LED panels lighting the speaker and the greenscreen). Occasionally I add a third to light the speaker and a hair light to bring them to life. But no one other than me notices the difference. I have a pop up green screen which is very convenient and a cloth one which is significantly larger so easier to coordinate arm movements for pointing at content. It’s a hassle to mount - I use a length of aluminium angle on two light stands and small plastic clamps. You could (?) paint the wall... I find that FCP makes it trivial to key (it just works!) whereas Resolve is very complex. If your University can fund it, I’d be tempted to get a P4K specifically for this purpose rather than the Sony.

“This whole virus thing”. The empathy is almost visible...

I have the choice of: Rode lav (XLR - mini XLR - P4K) Rode Videomic Pro+ (3.5mm into P4k with +20 gain on) Rode NT1 (XLR) (Got this with Rode AI1 usb box) When I plug the videomic into the ATEM I get a lot of hiss. The videomic into P4k (and then into ATEM) seems to work (no one has reported otherwise but everyone I am involved with is using laptop built-in mics and accepting what they have so not the most discerning audience!) Ideas appreciated! Would the lav into the P4k be a better solution than the Videomic?

The missing on/off switch? We are using the Mini (not the Pro version) with MS Teams and Collaborate - really easy to key a keynote/PowerPoint presentation behind the speaker with overlay graphics (name, email address etc.). My only issue is not knowing the best microphone setup to use.

Interesting piece. And an impressive camera. What will be more impressive and it’ll certainly happen is when the ROI is defined by the viewer not the broadcaster.

Difficult not to agree although RED have consistently claimed that Komodo is primarily a niche camera to support other RED cameras (drone, crash, gimbal etc.) and is not intended as an A camera for those outside the Holy Circle.

So come on good ‘ol Zack (with a K), show us what Alabama looks like in lockdown. But stay safe!

What’s the point of learning FCP if you know or strongly suspect you will not buy it? Surely it’s more sensible to invest the time in learning Resolve - which is free. It’s a steep learning curve and I (a total amateur) find some things much easier in FCP (so I tend to use both). And I agree with @heart0less - Resolve is superb.

I rarely have anything on my P4k other than old manual Nikon lenses. The 85mm f/1.4 is possibly my favourite. The 35-105mm zoom has a very poor reputation but is convenient and fun (and very cheap). I will add that although I have the Nikon primes from 24mm through to 135mm I rarely use most of them. So get a couple of decent examples and get out and use them!

I read somewhere that Sony had an announcement planned for 20th April. But I might have imagined it. I could easily believe that I’ve been locked inside my house long enough for iii, iv & v to be obselete.

This is bizarre and slightly tragic... https://afroditefilms.com/deadlyascorona An unfortunate response of someone (apparently) within the industry to the current crisis.

I’ve got a mini ordered with CVP - I hope lots of people upgrade to the Pro!

Not easy to get excited by a new product when we are all coming to terms with the new world and a new way of life. But Full Frame would be my guess. In a non-too-exciting form factor. I’d welcome a return to the BMCC2.5 philosophy. Build it like a tank. Make it do simple things. Well. (Unless BM have made a little add-on box - in milled aluminium obviously - that does everything-one-could-possible-want-a-little-add-on-box to do...)

I hope Sony leave out IBIS on the A7S3. I know they won’t because it is such a consumer selling point. I personally don’t need/want it. In an ideal world they would offer two versions but as we all know this isn’t an ideal world... Thee are so many options for “proper” video stabilisation out there (from tripods to Steadicams to electronic gimbals etc.) that IBIS isn’t “necessary” although I see why it is desirable for so many people in so many situations (particularly photographic).

Yes... but I’m not sure I want to drain my Destiny 2 playing batteries... Thanks - will look through the options.

Given the heat generated by some of the recent threads this is rather prosaic. University lectures are now all online so I’m doing some filming to make this more interesting and attractive for the students (most academic staff here think an online lecture is making a pdf of a PowerPoint available...) Is there any easy way of using an iPad (mounted close to and above the camera), plus a remote device to scroll text to simulate an autocue? Just needs a simple start scrolling/stop scrolling function so the speaker maintains control. I can use my iPhone to scroll remotely text on the laptop but I’d rather use an iPad for the text. Happy to spend €€ but not for a proper autocue (€€€€). Yes, ultimately this is just “new toys” whilst being bored at home but at least it’s related to work...

But don’t do this... I offered to film my wife doing a short (3 minutes) introduction to her immunology lecture next week (all lectures are currently online). Easy - a green screen and I had some serology testing footage for the background. Filmed it. Packed everything away. Opened Resolve... she was wearing a top with green stripes... Just finished take two...

The elusive A7S3... presumably it will continue the tradition of the A7S series astonishing low light performance? I’m beginning to wonder whether I “need” it or should I just get an A7S2 (8 vs. 10 bit being the answer to that!) Regret selling my original A7S...

Nothing like waking up in the morning for some upbeat, optimistic and joyful camera news!