Parker

@mercerThanks for checking it out, man! Glad to see you around on here, I've missed reading your comments these past months!

@MrSMW I totally get it, I hate the sound of my own voice too haha. One thing that is maybe a little disheartening about this whole me-centric social media era, which I have been thinking about lately, is how, at least amongst my social media circle of family and friends, I could post the most beautiful, gorgeous, epic, amazing content, say it's shot on an Alexa 65 with Cooke anamorphics, you name it, and nobody cares at all. The client work I'm most proud of, if I have permission to post it? Crickets. But then this simple, dumb, jokey YouTube style-vid, starring me, myself, and I, is blowing up on my social media, and getting way more engagement and traction with people I know than any of the stuff I shoot that I'm actually proud of. Just something to think about. 

I see a tons people complaining about the marketing/hype machine that is the "filmmaking sector" of YouTube, and I hate a lot of those clichés too. That being said, it has been in the back of my mind to try out for a while, so yesterday I had some free time and I finally decided to give it a go!

Turns out it's actually a lot harder to film yourself and talk right to camera than I anticipated (I very quickly abandoned my plans to shoot it anamorphic, focusing on my S1, all by myself, was just way too difficult) and the whole process took me far longer to shoot and edit than I expected. 

Anyway, here's my (first ever) attempt at this kind of video:

I'm assuming a good number of users on here consume as much YouTube as I (sometimes regretfully) do? 

I've always considered Eoshd as a cut above the rest of the internet filmmaking-afficcionado crowd. I'd love to see anything anyone else on here is making in this space too, and/or see if we can start a discussion about good, lesser-known channels to follow that aren't specifically about shoving gear/affiliate links and clickbait sensation down our throats. 

8 hours ago, Brian Williams said:

I actually just returned a Ninja V back to Amazon today after playing around with it and Prores raw the past few days. I didn’t think the extra weight and size was worth it relative to the IQ bump I was seeing in raw, I just wasn’t blown away. Plus as a longtime Davinci Resolve user who had to jump back to FCP after many years away from it in order to work with Prores raw, I wasn’t happy, not thrilled with the raw control in FCP.

What raw controla did you feel like you were missing out on? I haven't used pro Res raw on an actual project yet, and have just shot a few random little test clips, but fcp has white balance, iso and exposure control, isn't that the trifecta? 

I guess some sort of highlight recovery mode like resolve has would be pretty cool. 

2 hours ago, HockeyFan12 said:

How is the image quality with HEVC? How is the scaling quality? Can you bake in a LUT during transcode?

Quality is great, pretty fast too, I used to use it pretty extensively transcoding Samsung NX1 and NX500 h.265 files into Pro Res.

 LUTs can be baked in, it's a solid piece of software with regular updates, they keep it running smooth. 

Edit ready is my go-to transcode software. 

I'm more and more pleased with this camera all the time. I recently purchased the 1.5x aivascope anamorphic adapter (amber flare) and, paired with my trusty Helios 44-2, a little black pro mist, and of course that thick V-Log image, this little Easter Weekend run-and-gun lens test I shot last week felt effortlessly cinematic:

(this was even before the big firmware 2.0 update, so now I'm even more excited to try out some of the new anamorphic ibis modes and especially that 6k, 3:2 open-gate/full sensor mode.) 

Also: 12-bit, 5.9k anamorphic Pro Res Raw, anyone?! 🤯

The S1 is going for like $1500 used these days. Absolutely incredible what it's capable of. The best bang-for-buck in the camera world right now 👌🏻 

@omega1978ooh 😎 awesome news, I didn't know! Very excited to play with it 

22 minutes ago, omega1978 said:

Has anyone have success to record trigger the Ninja V with S1 ?

Is the pro Res raw update for S1 support on the ninja v even out? I don't think Átomos has updated it yet. 

3 minutes ago, TomTheDP said:

where is this from?

Right from panasonic, no worries, apparently it's on their site if you dig through it well enough, I found it in the comments here: https://www.l-rumors.com/panasonic-interview-at-dpreview/#disqus_thread

Already got it installed on my camera, very excited for some of these new features. 

Surprise for S1 owners, fancy new firmware update available one day early: Download Link

6k, 5.9k, 5.4k, Cinema 4k, 10-bit 4k60, manual dual-gain ISO control, and anamorphic support! 

Enjoy your new camera, everybody

I have both Peter McKinnon Polarpro's (2-5 is Gen 1, 6-9 is gen 2) but I'm not a huge fan, they're wicked expensive and it's an annoyingly small amount of ND, I still vastly prefer my trusty old SLR Magic vari ND, with no x-pattern, no discernible color shift, and lots more ND range to play with. 

I've also been using a Fotodiox lens throttle/ND adapter lately on my S1 and while I feel like it does have a bit of a color cast (haven't tested too thoroughly yet, to be honest) it is ultra-convenient. 

While my main bread-and-butter retainer client put a hold on our contract for most of 2020 (which put a sizable dent in my expected yearly income) I'm happy to say that we've been able to resume video-work since October. 

Freelance-wise, I have still had a reliable trickle of jobs here and there, mostly small, corporate clients, keeping things interesting, not to mention that I recently had the opportunity to take on a full-time gig DP'ing at a local production company, so while ultimately I did lose a few jobs I was excited about, throughout The Covid-Era as a whole I've actually earned more video-related income than I ever have before, which has been a very welcome surprise. 

That being said, Covid has also never really hit that hard where I'm located (Northern Utah), so I've certainly had it easier than most, no lockdowns, no travel restrictions, even mask-mandates are only on a county-by-county basis, as most of my state is quite rural and almost completely unaffected. 

I sure do miss the movies though. The only films I have seen at the cinema since last spring were Tenet and a forgettable Vince Vaughn slasher comedy. Me being someone who is typically at the theatre at least once a week, every week, seeing something new, this has been quite the unfortunate development. Some folks miss going to church during this pandemic, but what I have missed the most is my own personal cinematic sacrament of hot, buttery popcorn, ice-cold coke, and the old, familiar feeling of rising anticipation in my chest as the lights dim, the speakers start to rumble, and the first preview starts... 🍿📽✨

I feel kind of bad -- but also extremely lucky -- that not being able to go see movies and maybe having to cancel a few vacations is pretty much the worst thing that has happened to me during this pandemic, as others have had it so much worse. My heart goes out to everyone who has been severely effected. Let's hope things get back to normal soon. 

1 hour ago, herein2020 said:

not so much as a rumor about HW updates for the S1, S1H, or S1R. I know the S5 just came out and it is fantastic, but there's not so much as a rumor that I can find about their flagships.

By "HW" updates are you meaning new, physically different cameras with new hardware? I'm not sure how many people market-wise are buying into the new L-cameras (anecdotally, several work buddies and colleagues just purchased the S5) but I am thrilled about my S1, especially with the recently announced firmware update coming sometime in Q1 of 2021, which means I'll get internal 6k, anamorphic modes and pro res raw via the ninja v. I literally won't need a new camera for years to come. Amazing dynamic range, really good ibis for handheld work, big, bright EVF, very reliable low-light dual-ISO, gorgeous stills, great battery life, and built like a tank. 

A lot of people care about autofocus, but I love my vintage contax zeiss lenses and they're what I prefer to use anyway so it doesn't matter to me. Plus if I really need it I can just pick up a nucleus nano and the fancy new ToF sensor from @BTM_Pix and voila, AF problems solved. 

Meh, Forza 500 fan noise is absolutely negligible, at least on my unit. I use it on talking heads and interviews quite close to the mic day in and day out, I've never had a problem with it at all. 

Most rooms are going to have a lot more ambient noise anyway, in real world use I'd honestly be shocked if anyone could truly have a complaint. 

I am a big fan of the Forza 500 and have been using it for close to two years now, but just last week the screw thread on one side of the yoke stripped out on me and now I'm not sure what I'm going to do to fix it. The forzas give you a lot of light for a competitive price, but no question the aputures are better built. Very excited for the 600D.

@Walter H Thanks man! These particular shots were with Zeiss ZE lenses, with a 35mm Distagon on the RED for the wide shot and an 85mm Planar ZE on on the S1. 

@TomTheDP Honestly not nearly as much of a DR difference between the RED and S1 as I would expect, at least in the limited comparisons I have made between the two cameras.  I'm sure in a very high DR situation, especially with the red raw, that it would win out, but I have always been really impressed with the DR of the S1. 

@Robert Patts I know that "motion cadence" is a big thing for some people, I mean for me personally, the S1 more than suits my needs and is a whole lot of bang for the buck, and with it I have gotten some of the most pleasing images of my career. 

 In my experience, I think the  biggest factors that contribute to a "video" look vs a more cinematic, filmic one -- and not just on the S1, but on any camera -- is usually a combination of not respecting the 180 degree shutter rule, and using glass without character.

Super sharp, clinical, modern glass, such as Sigma's art series or Panny's L-mount glass is always crazy detailed edge-to-edge, but throw something with more character and imperfections like a helios 44-2 or something like that, adding diffusion filters, etc. and keeping. a nice, filmic shutter speed, for me that gross video feeling goes away really fast. Purely subjective, of course. For me the S1 delivers cinematic mojo in spades. 

Whoops, looks like I missed the edit-window of my post, here's some S1/RED comparison stills, as promised, close-ups are the S1, wide shots are the RED

5 minutes ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

Thanks for the input!!!

If you have any work posted online, would love to see it.

Sure thing, tons of examples on my vimeo, https://vimeo.com/user16941419/videos 

Pretty much anything two-camera is S1 A-cam and wide, GH5 b-cam, close-up angles. 


But here are a couple random ones if you don't feel like digging. I'm not a pro colorist by any means, most of my projects have very fast turn around so I get them "good enough" and don't always go for a 100% perfect match between cameras, but I don't they look glaringly different or anything, even in higher DR-situations. 

@mtolwhat's not to like? I'm currently editing a project I shot earlier this week, A-cam was a Red weapon shooting in raw 6K, B cam was my trusty S1 in 10-bit 4k vlog, and honestly the S1 more than holds it own against the red, I feel no qualms cutting back and forth between them in the edit. 

Especially with the coming update, I don't see myself needing to upgrade for years. Pro Res raw, 6k, best in class dynamic range, amazing ibis, solid battery life, the trusty xlr module, beautiful big, bright EVF, and full frame stills to boot?! Unless you need bulletproof AF, which I don't, it seems very hard to beat. 

I'll attach some stills from the shoot when I get back to my computer, I expected there to be a bigger gap between the two cameras, to be honest. 

I have been using an S1/GH5 combo for probably close to two years now, it's a very winning combo, primarily for your same use case, mostly talking head/interviews and corporate work. No need to over think it, I shoot both in V-Log pretty much all the time and they are quite easy to match, typically I use the GHAlex LUT and it looks awesome. 

According to DPReview, the rest of the S-cameras are going to get firmware-updated to the S5's new, improved autofocus capabilities, which is good news. I wonder if they'll give the S1 any of the other new features though? 

7 hours ago, Amazeballs said:

I wish Panasonic were reading this topic. 

No need to wish! Last year a Panasonic rep I met (you'd recognize him from YouTube interviews on some pretty popular channels) legit told me, while showing off a then still in pre-production S1h at a local camera store, that panny employees do in fact frequently read EOSHD and other industry sites, not just for fun but actually as a part of their job, in order to follow discussion on their products and gauge consumer reaction. 

I even made a joke that I wanted his job, since I browse camera forums all day anyway, I'd love to get paid for it. 

As an S1 owner, I'm still perfectly happy with my camera. The addition of 10-bit 60p is just not that big of a deal for me -- an incremental update, at best. The 8-bit holds up just fine, I use it on every shoot. I wouldn't be surprised if the S1 does get a firmware update to bring features into parity, but even if it doesn't, I don't think we should be encouraging Panasonic to cripple their lower-tiered new releases in order to protect further on up the product line-up, because isn't that exactly the kind of corporate BS everyone is pissed at Canon for right now?  The S5's reported anamorphic modes sound cool, I wish I was able to take advantage of them anyway, but let's be honest, I'm not going to be shooting with real anamorphics anytime soon anyway. 

Technology always moves onward and upward, and better tech and features trickles down to newer, lower models, that's just the way it is. And, despite the addition of the S5, the S1 is still going to have a much more robust, abuse-proof body, and that big, beautiful, detailed EVF, and still have class-leading DR. I am looking forward to hopefully picking up an S5 for for a smaller, lighter b-cam, perhaps to replace my GH5. 

I have always meant to experiment with this mode for a shoot but never have, it uses the full 3:2 aspect ratio of the sensor, correct? So it'd probably have to be cropped for video regardless

1 hour ago, Geoff CB said:

I need it to be good enough for the occasional photo work in low light situations.

Were you disappointed with the photo AF results you were getting?

I have shot band photography in very dark, very low-light bars with the S1 and native 24-105 lens, pushing iso 12800 and beyond without a problem (mostly in eye-detect mode) and come away very impressed.