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Phil A

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Posts posted by Phil A

  1. Well..... it used to say "in July".

    Thus, I would not hold your breath over that January! I shall keep on expecting it to ship *LATER* than they say it will, until they actually end up shipping it.

    You're of course right. Even if they really start shipping it by end of January, that means nothing about availability. If it'll ship like products in the past it seems it'll take months to fulfill pre-orders and then will start getting available in stores slowly.

    The Video Assist "started shipping" in November and yet it is still not available in Switzerland or Germany, stores list it as "on request", "not available" or "3 to 4 weeks delivery".
    The BMPCC on the other hand is available everywhere but is still ~1000€. Even used it sells for 700€ which is crazy when you consider that there was the summer sale for 500$.

    I'm not really sure what to make of BMD. They don't seem exactly trustworthy with their business behaviour.

  2. I tried it before and didn't know how to use it, i'll give it another shot

    It's super easy, just make sure you download the right installer for your system.

    Drag the footage into the window, choose your desired codec, resolution, etc. and let it run. I use it to transcode the NX1 4k H.265 to ProRes HQ 422 and it works really nice.

  3. Regarding 1), you can go by feeling which is probably not really accurate. What I do is set it to wide open and look at shutter speed & ISO, then I close down and count the stops by watching how the shutter speed and/or ISO changes. Is obviously takes a few seconds to set, depending on how quick you're with maths in your head. Another pragmatical possibility would be to just set the ISO fixed or set the AutoISO to the maximal acceptable value and then disregard f/stop and just open and close as much as possible without going into the underexposure warning.

     

    I've seen the Samsung 18-200mm used in like new condition for 400 € yesterday on a German photography forum. I guess seeing how you're so sure you need a lens like that I'd rather bite the bullet and get a good priced used one than use an adapted superzoom with manual focus.

  4. I live in Dallas, which has a lot of well-employed people. Not just the rich, but those with expendable income.

    I'm really used to seeing the soccer-mom, the hipster dude, the dorky dad, the "I'm a big fan of live music" 20-something, all rocking nice cameras at shows or outdoor events. Look close and they have the mid-level zooms (not the 2.8 stuff but not the kit - fairly chunky F4 stuff in the $800 range). And the strap.

    For this market, the strap is of vital importance and equal to the physical size of the lens. It absolutely must say Nikon or Canon. I don't recall ever seeing a Sony or Panny strap on those shoulders.

    Can't tell you how many times I've chatted with such a camera owner - "Oh, I have that body" and you find they're shooting it 100% program/auto. They're getting the exact shots they'd get with a little mirrorless rig. But man, they look so legit!

    This, and semi-pros concerned with lens ecosystem is likely what did Samsung in. I've yet to take a single still with the NX1, but on my third paying gig with it. I'm a drop in the bucket market-wise though.

    Canon straps even say which model it is if it's a "better one" like 7D, 5D etc. I guess that automatically gives you the admiration factor from the Rebel using peasants and the right to tell them to get out of your way ;-)
    I should use the "Minolta Dynax" strap that I currently have on the Nikon for the Samsung. M
    orituri te salutant!

    But I agree with your post... my heart would rather part with the D750 than the NX1 at the moment just out of usability reasons, which is obviously a completely different motivation than what makes most people buy cameras. Just wondering now what to exchange my SmallHD field monitor for, I kinda don't want to let that go either but I have only 1% hope that they'll actually fix the problem.

  5. It's a great deal, but there's little point to buying into a dead system imo.

    I'd agree if you want a hybrid system like discussed in the other thread but if you want to use the body for video with adapted glass (or are cool with shooting stills with manual focus), I think the NX1 is a great thing. After all the BMPCC is really popular and that is even less "system" for 990€.

  6. Why would anyone who has serious about film want to use either? The trend to try and make cameras the best choice for stills and video is not a good one. Get the tool that is right for the job. 

    I think the problem is the really different needs of different user groups. Cameras like a RED or a Sony F3/F5/... are clearly amazing video cameras but the question is how you plan to use it. I can see how these would be perfect if you're shooting commericals or narrative movies with a crew. A Canon C100 / C300 or a Sony FS5/FS7 are amazing for documentary run&gun work. But as has been mentioned before, as soon as you also need high quality pictures, that adds problems.

    If we say the right tool for the job and you need movie and pics, are you willing to bring a RED One MX plus lenses plus tripod plus a Canon 1Dx/5DIII plus lenses? Then there comes the saying to "make your light", so will you bring the continous lighting for video and the strobes for the stills? I guess we exceeded the 20kg of kit already as well as the 10k € of invest. If you're not commercially making money with what you create that goes above most enthusiasts will and/or capability of spending money.

    To be less generic I'll take myself as an example:
    I travel a lot both for vacation and business (not related to photography/filming). I used to shoot pictures (landscape, architecture, night time long exposures, etc.) on these trips. But when I was to Thailand for example I brought a 1Ds III, 17-40 f/4, 24-70 f/2.8, 35 1.4 and 85 1.2 plus tripod, ND filters and a flash. That's like 6kg of kit which at least partially travels with you depending on what you plan to shoot that day, but it's also equivalent to a whole carry on bag when traveling by air. I think most enthusiasts can't take along another 5-10kg of camera gear for the motion picture side, after all most people can't afford a personal sherpa to come to the beach.

    If you can cover both to a rather good level, I think it's way preferable to do it with one single system of equipment. That also keeps down on accessories like batteries. Currently I have 5 different types of batteries between my main stills cam, my pocket stills cam, the cam I currently test for video, my field monitor, my LED lights and then regular AAs for my flashes. Of course every batterie needs a different charger.

    Do I expect D810 level stills and RED/ARRI level video in one single system? Clearly not. And most enthusiasts - and I'd argue even a lot of professionals - don't need that. But for a lot of people the GH4 stills side won't cut it while the 1080p 8bit 4:2:0 low-bitrate video of most cameras won't cut it. I think the A7r II and NX1 were currently the two most convincing cameras. But Samsung gave up with NX just when it became interesting and never built a convincing native lens lineup (in my personal opinion; I'm missing more f/1.4 glass) while Sony has prices skyrocket (A7R II and A7S II both sell for equi. 3500$ in Switzerland) and you'll easily spend 5k on the body plus two lenses while being over the top with the super high res sensor for a lot of people (between ALL the people I know who are into photography, no one actually WANTS more than 20-24 Megapixel) and therefore costing way more than actually neccessary. If the rumored A6100 would be like the A7R II but only with the APS-C part of the sensor and for 2000 €, I'd be over that like bears over honey. If you look at photography forums, you'll find a lot of people to preach that manufacturers should stop investing into video features and use that money for improving stills quality. Therefore I'm not even surprised Nikon brought the lackluster 4k video, there were probably at least just as many feedbacks about no need for good video as there were prayers for quality video.

    So for someone who travels alone and light with unexpected circumstances to what he photographs/films, the choice is not so easy. A possibility would be for example a 5D III with ML plus the new BM Micro Cinema Camera (if it every comes out) so you can share batteries for example between both cameras and a SmallHD monitor plus use the Canon lenses with the Metabones SB on the BMMCC. But then Canon is a worse choice than Nikon for night photography because of the difference in DR and the heavy banding in shadows if you push the Canon image. And seeing how I like to stay light, I'd rather have a 4k image that lets me punch in as well as faking slider moves than using a B-cam and an actual slider.

    So there is no perfect solution and I guess my rant gets too long to bear but I think for a lot of people it's really about finding the right compromise.

     

    Tl;dr: If you are stationary or have a crew, use the right tool. But if you're alone and traveling, pick your poison.

  7. Yeah I talked with Digitec they only do nacional shipping but I have a friend living there so I'll probably ask him to ship me one since it's the best price in Europe!

     

    "but I think it's pretty useless without the kit lens Andrew mentions anyways"

    I'm not gonna buy any NX or S lenses only Nikon (because of the aperture control) is it bad? 

    But be careful, Switzerland is not European Union so you have to pay at least VAT upon import... but then even with the 19% VAT in Germany it's still cheaper than buying locally.

  8. Yup, one of the more exciting things about this announcement is what it bodes for the future of other Nikon DSLRs!! :-S

    4k in 8bit 4:2:0 h.264 while the competition had that nearly 2 years ago? By the time we'll get a Nikon DSLR with non-cropped 4k to internal 8bit 4:2:0 h.264 I wouldn't be surprised if the competition would all have external 10bit like the GH4 already has or at least way better codecs and/or higher bit rates internal.

    If Sony would make the HDMI out 10bit they would kill the S-LOG problems with banding and have a crazy thing. To be honest I don't think Nikon will even try to compete for the video enthusiasts in the next years. Even the new cameras seem to only have zebra in regards to exposure/focus tools.

  9. Most big announcements are like that, from 'the best thing in the universe', to 'oh my god what a pile of shit' but finally settling on 'a new and interesting tool'

    Agreed. But then here is nothing really new, these are just incremental upgrades over previous products with 4k as a "me too" gimmick. I feel like Nikon and Canon kinda dropped the ball when it comes to technology. I work in marketing so I'm fully aware that selling products has nothing to do with having the best or even a good product but more with brand image, etc. On many photography forums people still suggest Canon 760D to people who look for video because "Canon makes the foto camera with the best video".

    It's obviously in the interest of big companies to make the lowest investment possible to make an incrementally improved product that will sell and still can easily be replaced with the next incremental upgrade next year. Like Sony used to fix firmware problems by launching a successor product, the Canon Rebel line bringing a new camera every year with 99% identical specification, etc. Obviously this is not in the interest of enthusiasts but it's the reality.

    If you look at Canon C100 II, Samsung NX1, BMPCC and the Sony A7s... Imagine throwing the technology of these cameras together, the product would be incredible. But then how would they sell us the next iteration in a year if we're happy? Curved screen? 

  10. The combination of the 2.2 crop factor in 4k and the Nikon F mount makes for a really uninteresting camera in my opinion. It's like shooting a GH4 with adapted DSLR lenses but no option of a speedbooster. I see it as a pure spec sheet gimmick for marketing.

    I went from "omg I need it!" to "why would anyone use that?" in the time between the anouncement and people posting the specs.

  11. Actually I think the BM Micro CC sounds really good with the option of Global Shutter as well as 60fps with rolling shutter. In combination with using LP-E6 batteries it's an amazing upgrade over the BMPCC when anyway using external monitoring. But the BMD release behaviour and zero communication makes this one nothing to count on. By the moment they halfway fixed the firmware problems there is already a successor announced. If the BMMCC would even have been designed with the 2.5k sensor to help with end-resolution and stabilizing, etc. I think it would have been a great thing, it's probably an amazing camera for gimbal work if it ever gets released.

    Edit: on the other hand I guess most people would usually rather shoot ProRes than Raw and then the 2.5k sensor probably has no advantage over the current 1080p anymore

  12. That was discussed just a few weeks ago to some length here in the forum:

    The outcome: turn all "features" off.

    Funnily my s/o's sister said she thinks it looks way better with the sharpening, saturation and motion smoothing cranked up. Seems the "film look" will probably die out in a few generations.

  13. what lens adapter are you using and does it have infinity focus ?

    I tested with the following combos:

    NX1 -> Generic NX to EOS EF Adapter -> Fotodiox N/G - EOS Adapter -> Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art in Nikon F mount
    NX1 -> Generic NX to EOS EF Adapter -> Samyang 85mm f/1.4 in Canon EF mount

    Both combinations hit infinity where it is marked on the distance scale despite the double adapter gamble, obviously you can focus until "after infinity" as on most modern lenses.

    I didn't see if shop links are allowed, but to be precise it's these two adapter:

    EOS EF to Nikon G: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B008BBIBOM
    The super short throw of the aperture lever IS annoying after some use, the blue plastic lever fell off so I superglued it on again and you can only take the lens off the adapter after taking the adapter off the camera... but then there is no way at all to control canon lenses' apertures so beggars can't be choosers and the double adapter combo is more flexible/lightweight than buying separate NX -> F and EF adapters.

    Samsung NX to EOS EF: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B00MKZXQA4

  14. Thing is the job I have right now requires a single lens from 16/18 to at least 130mm and the 18-200 is the only option Samsung offers to use autofocus (and fast) which I absolutely need. I also read the optics is pretty bad.

    I don't want to sound negative, but what you are looking for will be pretty bad on any camera system, it's only a question of "good enough". These super-zooms are made for convenience, not for absolute image quality. If you shoot for web galleries or comparable use, all of them are sufficient and so will be the samsung 18-200 I would think.

  15. DSCF1218.thumb.jpg.df3b92e77cf5aeb7f3458

    I'll give it some use over the holidays. I'm still at home until tomorrow so I can hopefully compare the lenses, check for infinity focus, etc.

    I think the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 Art for APS-C sensors is probably a better fit sizewise than the 35mm f/1.4 Art but I have barely heard anything about the optical qualities so far. The Nikon 50 1.8 G was really in proportion, can see why Kidzrevil likes the older Nikkors and FD primes on it.

  16. So I got everything yesterday. I played a bit around with it, got me a no-name NX-EOS adapter and then the Fotodiox EOS-NikonF adapter with the aperture lever. Usability limitation is that you have to take the adapters apart to unlock the lens because the EF-F adapter has the release on the mount side instead of side, advantage is that it's lighter and cheaper than having an NX-EOS and NX-F adapter. But nothing moved, really tight fit.

    I tried the Nikon 50 1.8 G, Sigma 35 Art and Sigma 85 1.4 F mount as well as a Samyang 85 in EF mount. Everything seemed to work just fine besides the aperture lever having a throw of less than 45° on the F adapter and moving a bit hard (might get smoother  with use).

  17. There might be a setting somewhere on the 501 that you have to change too. I've had my NX1 work with 3-5 year old Ikan and Marshall monitors that I would have thought wouldn't work. But then I've tried plugging it into a few different 1080p TVs and most of the time it worked but not always. Keep trying!

    Just found out they're incompatible. Now contemplating which of the two to exchange.

  18. Does anyone of you use the NX1 with an external monitor? I tried using it with the SmallHD 501 that I just got and I can't get it to work. I tried auto, 4k, 2160p and 1080p, the result is always a "no signal" message on the monitor and the camera being extremely sluggish until I turn it on and off again.

     

    Edit: ok, I just found out they're not compatible. Now THAT is a downer. SmallHD says they work on it for firmware  update but can't say if it will actually happen. That just makes me consider giving the NX1 back to the store. I think I'll probably  get more value out of the SmallHD in the long run than the camera.

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