Adept

The cheap and cheerful Fuji XC50-230mm (mark 1)

Frame grab from a 4K internal recording on an XT-2.
 

Osmo Pocket (mark 1) with the Freewell anamorphic adapter.

Many times it feels as though Androidlad is the source.

I had a C70 which has a lovely image and an excellent body concept but something was bothering me with it. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but in my gut, something wasn’t right. 
I also had an A7SIII at the same time, and still do. The gut feeling that overshadowed my positive view of the C70 might have been the A7SIII. That camera is simply a marvel that I love shooting with. Maybe I enjoyed the sheer flexibility of the A7SIII more, hence the demise of the C70. 
I always shoot with 2 bodies. Instead of getting an A7SIII again, I picked up the FX3 as I wanted the XLR’s and the video centric button layout. 
When the FX3 was delivered, I was very surprised at how it felt in the hand. I was surprised at how small the XLR handle unit was. The grip feels really good. I was thinking “wow, Sony have nailed this”. 
At first, the button layout was confusing as I’m used to the A7SIII. It still trumps me now as it has a function where you can lock your shutter, ISO or IRIS and I keep forgetting it does that. So I always have a few sections feeling frustrated when the values aren’t changing, because I’ve forgot they are locked. 😂
The camera is identical to the A7SIII, minus the body design. Everything is the same. 
I use it with the Ninja V which is a powerful combo for this size. It feels amazing handheld without the XLR handle and the Tilta cage but with the XLR handle it does feel a little clunky and unbalanced in the hand. Now when I’m handheld, I don’t use the XLR handle unless I’m recording some audio with a handheld look, which isn’t that often. On a tripod, it’s fine. 
Capturing shots with the FX3 is very liberating. You can do pretty much anything with it without lugging a brick around. Some people like to rig it up but for me, it’s just very unnecessary with a body this size. 
The image itself is fantastic. What I will say is that it won’t perform miracles for you. People have this misconception the FX3 or A7S3 will light an image for you. No, it won’t. Stop being lazy, feed the camera what it needs and it will shine. 
Again, Slog3 won’t perform miracles. It takes practice, patience and resilience. It isn’t the best between 3200 and 12,800 ISO. To shoot at these high values is a bonus but the best image is SLOG3 640 ISO, so to get great results, shoot for that as much as possible. 
The FX3, just like the A7S3, does have superb colour capability. If you don’t WB, or expose correctly or nail your focus, it would look like garbage. It is not forgiving, you can’t be lazy. I can match this very easily to the C70 - I couldn’t do that with previous Sony cameras. 
Using both Alpha cameras together is extremely powerful and liberating. When treated and operated correctly, and not lazily used to perform miracles, the image you can achieve is just fantastic. 
Peoplr saying these cameras are conservative and underwhelming need to re-check their opinions. Sony gave us almost everything in pristine 4k and it delivers. They are unique on the market in terms of feature set, and it shows. 
Most importantly, the FX3 as a step forward in camera concept for cinema application is the right one. It’s exciting to work with and getting great shots isn’t a pain in the arse or a cripple on your back. 
What I would like to see in the next version is the FX3 and A7S3 to merge into one camera offering with: 
- On-sensor ND or similar tech. 
- A thicker image in feel and robustness. Not bothered about 6k or 8k, just even better 4k please. 
- A larger back LCD. 
- A flip up EVF like BMP6k Pro. 
- An improved XLR unit that is more modular when used with accessories. 
- Possibly both an IBIS and non- IBIS version. 
If they deliver the above, that would be near perfect. 
 

I freaking love that lens and it's a gorgeous pair with the EM1 as well! Used it as my primary lens for a while on the Olympus bodies. Just a bit big for everyday carry (which is all i need these days). Been using my 15mm f1.7 pancake on the EM1 mkiii for all my photography of the kids these days. 

My first impressions on the blog:
https://www.eoshd.com/news/panasonic-10-25mm-f1-7-first-impressions-sample-shots-from-gh5/
Any questions let me know!

Emotive Color V5 'SPECTRUM'
The V5 'Spectrum' update is ready. The V5 emails are going out now (let me know if you haven't received it). It is the culmination of four years of engine development, and I hope you enjoy!
Emotive Color Component ('EC709')
EC709 component (Full/Theatrical) rebuilt with new engine, allowing accurate, uniform far gamut projection of Arri display table Arri Rec.2020 now used as the color target (projected within EC709 envelope); results in deeper saturated red and blue that are otherwise clipped in Arri's Rec.709 High Scale is now Full Scale (unlabeled); a direct replacement for LogC+Rec709, with notable advantages (aesthetics and gamut preservation) New Classic 'Soft' and 'Hype' variations (like V3-era 'Soft' and 'Main') Refined natural saturation model Core LogC
Fully realized uniform far gamut projection from known lower saturation samples (solves issue that caused saturated orange to twist towards red) New rolloff math; allows grayscale reconciliation of high saturation brightness values (only available for interpolated .cubes; not achievable in Matrix) Added final, fourth calculation pass (post-smoothing), which allows absolute accuracy to known sample points in final render (while retaining smoothness) Corrected an issue that allowed smoothing algorithm to clash with a 'safety lock' on grayscale hue, that could result in red-green banding near the grayscale (especially with 33x under Trilinear Interpolation); now fully smooth regardless of grayscale Misc.
New Ceiling Modifier [POST] files; allows variable highlight compression New 'Natural' profile [PRE] for GH5 (shares settings with Cine-D: -5 Sat, 200 Iso) Remade all PREs (picture profiles / exposures) Revised Pdf; Important: DaVinci Resolve - Enable 'Tetrahedral Interpolation' under Project Settings > Color Management > Lookup Tables   (allows 65x performance with 33x cubes; complete gradient smoothness - FCPX has this as default) Remade Premiere PREs with new measurements (to reflect 2021 Premiere's improved codec color); no 8-bit VLog or Cine-D PREs needed Significant revision to Premiere Pdf guide; Advanced layering section is no longer relevant, use Lumetri's luma curve (improved significantly) Gradient Test is now 16-bit png (compatible with Premiere) rather than tif Entire Matrix PowerGrade now printed directly from the engine (complete reverse-engineering of .drx format): Precise values entered directly into the curve interfaces, at maximal point density Improved engine gamma accuracy enables significantly improved base matrices New LogC Exposures feature (true exposure gammas extracted from sample data) New 4200K PowerGrade variant If you have any videos or stills you've made that you can share, I'd love to see them!
-Alex

Too late for me now, I just pushed the button on a used S1H.
Makes more sense in regard to pairing up with an S5, - both hybrid use, but about 90% video with the S1H and about 90% stills with the S5 with the lenses being interchangeable.
I think even if Panny comes out with a GH6 later this year, for me specific requirements, it wouldn't make as much sense to use two different formats.
I'd still like to see what it could be if it ever appears though...

i confess up front i like flowers...
m10 mark ii with the 15mm body cap lens between wind gusts this afternoon. I thought the 15mm did pretty well. i have the focus peaking set to the fn3 button. The 15mm has a little lever that allows for some control between 300mm and infinity combined with the peaking on the olympus, it allows for a small measure of control. Apart from resizing the jpegs are straight from the camera. 
not much vignetting either i think maybe noone was full frame ?

Maybe it's just the way I see things and what I'd do, but I have never understood this kind of mentality in any business, ie, not telling your potential customers what's coming.
This industry is one of the worst offenders.
If I was a hobbiest, I wouldn't care so much and would be quite happy to see what comes along whenever that may be and make my purchase decisions based on that.
But for business users, we like to plan and cost things because ultimately these things are tools to us.
At least with Fuji, they have recently confirmed an XH2 will be coming. Just what and when, remains to be seen.
We know that Canon and Sony will bang out cameras year on year and whilst they might not always suit our purposes or having overheating issues, we just know that any investment in Sony or Canon lenses is a good one.
Nikon...meh. They are beginning to slide now and just making follow on products that lack some of the features those they are following (Canon and Sony) have.
But Panasonic... FFS Panasonic. There's a reason why you only have a 2.8% share of the FF camera market and it is mostly due to your AF...or at least it's perceived AF (which is excellent for stills, but most do not realise that) and you have excellent ergos, build, menus, photo & video quality...but you have more secrets than Secret Squirrel (and he had a few).
My best guess is they believe they are protecting their interests, but I think they are mostly pissing people off.
I've said it before and I stand by it. If they do pop out a GH6 any time soon and it doesn't have PDAF, I think they are headed down the toilet because just about nobody will buy it
Where that would leave L Mount is anybodies guess and that in itself just needs one more tweak and that's the fecking AF for us non-manual focusers who make up 99.9% of the real world.
Rant over.

Hi all
I just thought I'd share this with you, for those who may not know about these new lenses. They are called Dulens APO Miniprimes and come in PL or EF mount (they have interchangeable mounts) and cover "full frame" (as in 24x36, and apparently some even cover the 44x33 MF sensors).
All are f/2.0 and the T-stop (which will be marked on the lens) varies from T/2.3-2.6 depending on which lens.
72mm thread, 80mm OD. 270 focus rotation marked in both metric and imperial.
Right now they have/working on 21mm, 31mm, 43mm, 58mm, 85mm, and are discussing a 24/25mm and 120mm macro.
"VC coating" described as "very special rainbow flare and creamy bokeh." Their aim is to make lenses with some character and a more vintage aesthetic as opposed to clinical perfection.
THEY ARE NOT REHOUSED LENSES OR REDESIGNS. They are designed from the ground up.
The 43, 58, and 85 are shipping first in batches - right now they're only selling the 3 lens kit. It says "the Final market price for third batch would around 750USD" - unclear if this is for the entire batch or per lens. Wording sounds like the entire set, but that seems too good to be true. Unless they mean $750 each in the third round (batch) of sales. The first two rounds have sold out.
The first batch is due to ship out after this month but COVID may delay it a bit.
The third batch is still open for pre-orders as far as I know. Here's what they say to get on the list:
 
They have no website but here is a link to the Facebook post in their group that explains everything (including what I've described here). You can join the group there. That seems to be the only "website" presence they have, though you can email them obviously.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/406961286682447/post_tags/?post_tag_id=707462599965646
They seem to be working on a lot of different options and seem to be asking for a lot of feedback from people - regularly posting pics of lenses and different colors of the barrel/markings, etc, asking for input.
I'm very excited to get my hands on one and try it out. It's even cheaper than the SLR Magic APO Microprimes (which are my favorite budget cinema lenses) - those also cover "full frame" and are apochromatic, with a vintage-esque drawing style.
*I am not affiliated with them whatsoever, I just came across them and thought I'd pass it along*

It's not that I'm opposed to 8K, I just really hope it's more than a GH5 but with 8K. I just don't think that's enough to ensure that M43 will be viable (outside of Japan anyway, where apparently it was the most popular mount last year) moving forward. 
Most of us are happy with our M43 gear. That really isn't the issue. It's the long term health of the system that I'm worried about. The reality is that even a lot of the YouTubers that were M43 users have moved on to Sony, Canon or Fuji. Is that the end of the world? No, but it's a bad sign and whether we like it or not those YouTubers influence people's purchasing decisions. If they aren't selling enough cameras that's bad for all of us that are heavily invested in the system. That might not factor into everyone's decision making, but the overall health of the system definitely matters to me given the extent I'm invested in it. 

Let's find out...

Providing Fujifilm don't completely cripple it then I'll be having a fire sale to get the upcoming GFX100S.
If it is too compromised then I'll be having an inferno sale to buy a used version of the original GFX100.
And then switch the internet off.
 
 

I got the Decklink and hooked up the Inferno. Holy shit there's a night and day difference in NITs and shadow/highlight detail. I'm a little bit worried about using the HDR monitor as a reference until I start delivering in HDR.
 

Shot 70% shot the C70 and 30% A7SIII.  More coming soon! 
 

Happy Holidays!
Since Covid-19 has made shooting possibilities pretty limited, I've decided to shift to micro short films. Here are some test frames using the Canon FD 50mm 1.2 L...
 

Q: When will digital catch up to film?
A: When you learn to colour grade properly.
With a few notable exceptions (you know who you are), the colour grading skill level of the average film-maker talking about this topic online is terrible.  Worse still, is that people don't even know enough to know that they don't know how little they actually know.
I have been studying colour grading for years at this point, and I will be the first to admit that I know so little about colour grading that I have barely scratched the surface.  
Here's another question - Do you want your footage to look like a Super-8 home video from the 60s?  
I suspect not.  That's not what people are actually looking for.  Most people who want digital to look like film actually don't.  Sure, there are a few people on a few projects where they want to shoot digital and have the results look like it was shot on film in order to emulate old footage, but mostly the question is a proxy for wanting nice images.  Mostly they want to get results like Hollywood does.
Hollywood gets its high production value from spending money on production design.
Production design is about location choice, set design, costume / hair / makeup, lighting design, blocking, haze, camera movement, and other things like that.  If you point a film camera at a crappy looking scene then you will get a crappy looking scene.  There's a reason that student films are mostly so cringe and so cheap-looking.  They spent no money on production design because they had no money. 
Do you think that big budget films would spend so much money if it didn't contribute to the final images?
I suggest this:
Think about how much money you'd be willing to spend on a camera that created gorgeous images for you, and how much you'd spend on re-buying all your lenses, cages, monitors, and all the kit you would need to buy Think about how much time you would be willing to invest on doing all the research to work out what camera that was, how much time you would spend selling your existing equipment, how much time you would spend working out what to buy for the new setup, how much time you would spend learning how to use it, how much time you would spend learning to process the footage Take that money and spend half of it on training courses and take the other half and put it into shooting some test projects that you can learn from, so you can level-up your abilities Take that time you would have spent and do those courses and film those projects People love camera tests, but it's mostly a waste of time.  Stop thinking about camera tests and start thinking about production value tests.  Take a room in your house, get one or two actors, hire them if you have to (you have a budget for this remember) and get them to do a simple scene, perhaps only 3-6 lines of dialog per actor.  It should be super-short because you're going to dissect it dozens of times, maybe hundreds.  Now experiment with lighting design and haze.  Play with set design and set dressing.  Do blocking and camera movement tests.  Do focal length tests (not lens tests).  Now do costume design, hair and makeup tests.  
Take this progression into post and line them up and compare.  See which elements of the above added the most production value.  But you're not done yet - you've created a great looking scene but it is probably still dull.
Now you have to play with the relationship between things like focal length / blocking / camera movement and the dramatic content of the scene.  Most people know that we go closer to show important details, and when the drama is highest, but what about in those moments between those peaks?  Film the whole scene from every angle, every angle you can even think of, essentially getting 100% coverage. 
Now your journey into editing begins.  Start with continuity editing (if you don't know what that is then start by looking it up).  You now have the ability to work with shot selection and you should be using it to emphasise the dramatic content of the scene.  Create at least a dozen edits, trying to make each one as different as possible.  You can play with shot length, everything from the whole scene as one wide shot to a cut every 1s.  You can cut between close-ups for the whole scene, or go between wides and close-ups.  Go from wide to mid to close and go straight from wide to close without the mid shots in between.  What did you learn about the feel of these choices? 
What about choosing between the person talking and the person listening?  What does an edit look like where you only see the person talking, or just the person looking?  Which lines land better when you see the reaction-shot?  Play with L and J cuts.
Now we play with time.  You have every angle, so you can add reverse-angles to extend moments (like reality TV does), you can do L and J cuts and play with cutting to the reaction shot from some other line.  What about changing the sequence of the dialogue?  Can you tell a different story with your existing footage?  How many stories can you tell?  Try and make a film with the least dialogue possible - how much of the dialogue can you remove?  What about no dialogue at all - can you tell a story with just reaction shots?  Can you make a silent film that still tells a story - showing people talking but without being able to hear them?  Play with dialogue screens like the old silent films - now you can have the actors "say" whatever you like - what stories can you tell with your footage?
Then sound design....
Then coaching of actors....
Now you've learned how to shoot a scene.  What about combining two scenes?  Think of how many combinations are now available - you can now combine scenes together where there are different locations, actors, times of day, seasons, scenarios, etc.  Now three scenes.  
Now acts and story structure....
Great, now you're a good film-maker.  You haven't gotten paid yet, so career development, navigating the industry, business decisions and commercial acumen.  Do you know what films are saleable and which aren't?  Have you worked out why Michael Bay is successful despite most film-makers being very critical of him and his film-making approach and style?
There's a saying about continuity - "people only notice continuity errors if you film is crap".  Does it matter?  Sure, but it's not the main critical success factor.  Camera choice is the same.

True of most things as you get older.....

Picked up my C70, Canon 24-105 F4 RF, and EF adapter. Did some quick tests with a 35mm F2 IS and one practical lamp in the living room. Color looks like normal Canon color to me. I'll hopefully have time to shoot more stuff tomorrow afternoon.
Initial thoughts... Camera feels pretty nice in the hands. The custom presets are really crippled. They took away BT.709 / C-LOG 2. Also, for some reason clog 2 clips at 85 IRE. 
There are a ton of options for removing all of the noise reduction and you can go all the way to -10 sharpening. I think lowering the in camera sharpness and pairing the camera with older lenses will help to get away from that plastic skin look.

I now have my Panasonic S5 rigged to meet every type of project that I shoot and I know how much time it can take to get your gear rigged up in a way that works for you so I figured I'd share my setup in case someone else is looking for ideas. Every rig is kept as simple as possible, I can go from one rig to another within less than a minute and none of the rigs require tools to put together or take apart. Also, all of my handles, lenses, rails, tripod plates, audio equipment, and even the V Mount battery is interchangeable with my Canon C200 which is what I wanted for simplicity.
For each set up I provide a parts list and what I use that setup for.
All Setups - Parts
SmallRig Cage for Panasonic S5 Camera 2983
SMALLRIG Quick Release NATO Rail 1.6
Sigma MC-21 EF-Mount to L-Mount Adapter
Andoer Rapid Connect Adapter with Quick Release Sliding Plate
Setup 1 - This is my setup for when I am shooting video only and have the talent wired for audio via a wireless lav mic or a wireless microphone. The extra weight makes handholding easy and I can rest the back on my shoulder or chest for short interview type work. I also shoot content for some YouTube influencer's channels and this setup lets me shoot hand held while capturing their lav audio. With this setup I think I can shoot for about 10hrs without running out of battery life
Equipment
Canon EF 24mm-105mm F4
Panasonic DMW-XLR1 XLR Adapter
Sennheiser G4 receiver
Sennheiser to XLR cable
SMALLRIG Aluminum Side Handle with NATO Clamp
SMALLRIG Tripod Mounting Kit with 2x plates and 2x 15mm Rod Clamps
SMALLRIG 16 Inch Rods x 2
Bebob Factory GmbH COCO-15V III V Mount Battery Plate
V150 Bebob Battery
USB A to USB C cable
2 x Andoer Rapid Connect Adapters

Setup 2 - Same equipment as setup 1 but with the addition of a Manfrotto Video Tripod which also has an Andoer Rapid Connect Receiver plate mounted on it. In the picture I show how I can slide the S5 off of the rails and slide the C200 onto the rails within seconds.
Setup 3 - This is my long form event setup. If I just need a static camera and natural audio this would be my setup. Although I show an external monitor here, I don't actually use one but I showed it anyway in case someone wanted to see where a monitor could go.
Equipment
SMALLRIG HTN2362 Rotating NATO Clamp Handle
SMALLRIG Aluminum Side Handle with NATO Clamp
SMALLRIG Tripod Mounting Kit with 2x plates and 2x 15mm Rod Clamps
SMALLRIG 16 Inch Rods x 2
Bebob Factory GmbH COCO-15V III V Mount Battery Plate
V150 Bebob Battery
USB A to USB C cable
2 x Andoer Rapid Connect Adapters
Video Tripod
Setup 4 - Same equipment as Setup 3 but without the tripod. This is my handheld setup when I am shooting video only and do not need high quality XLR audio. 
Setup 5 - This is my handheld hybrid shoot setup when everything gets crazy and I am shooting a mixture of video and photos and will not use the onset audio at all.
Equipment
SMALLRIG HTN2362 Rotating NATO Clamp Handle
SMALLRIG Aluminum Side Handle with NATO Clamp
Setup 6 - Same setup as 5 but on a monopod. I use the top handle for additional stability and additional points of contact. I also can use the monopod as a light glidecam if I need a little forward or backward movement.
Setup 7 - This is my gimbal setup for everything from real estate to music videos. 
Equipment
Canon EF 24mm F2.8
Ronin S with Inverted Handle Sling Grip

 

I stopped using any IS for my real estate GH5 gimbal work. I just turn it all off, I shoot 60FPS and stabilize in post if needed.  At least for the MFT sensor size I found I could get much better results this way. I also spent many hours tweaking my Ronin S settings and perfecting my ninja walk. What I have learned after many years of shooting real estate videos is that you literally should slow every movement to nearly a crawl, especially pans and walks. If you don't start out super slow with every movement you will regret something about the footage later.

By moving super slow you will not need IS at all as long as your gimbal settings are optimal. I then use speed ramps and 60FPS to control the actual speed of the footage. You can always speed up footage, you can't always remove instability or slow down the footage enough to make it smooth. But if you start super slow and focus on stability you have much more flexibility in post. For really large properties I've seen people on YouTube use things like skateboards, etc.....to try to remove the up/down bouncing, but if you perfect your ninja walk and go super slow or use speed ramps Resolve can even remove the Z axis movement.
The other mistake people make is when they speed ramp real estate footage they only go to 200% or 500%, that's a mistake, that just magnifies any instability that is already there; if you are going to speed ramp do it right.....jump to 2000% or higher then add the motion blur FX and suddenly your footage is buttery smooth; then drop the ramp down to 50% since you shot 60FPS and it looks great. Obviously don't over use this technique and its better for larger houses or commercial properties; for smaller ones I use a mixture of a monopod for pans, tilts, and detail shots, and only a little gimbal work and jump cuts to go from room to room.
But back to the S5, I haven't shot any real estate with it and really don't know what lens I would use if I were to shoot one tomorrow. I feel like the 16-35 EF Canon lens that I have would be too front heavy for the gimbal. It would be great if Panasonic released a 14mm F1.8 prime lens for landscape/real estate use.

January 8th, 1935 - November 17th, 2020.
One of the masters of underwater photography and its pioneer.
Without him we would have all a different progress in this craft and tools to create our work. Credentials to whom earned them.
JFYI
 
https://divingalmanac.com/brooks-ii-ernest/
 

While shooting an semi long feature film latest days of this summer, I took a breath and one day climbed around and casually recorded some used locations with lovely Pocket 4k.
Maybe it would not be too boring, so just little bit оf reminding of of the beauty of not so distant nature, so happy living out of our - so often desperately and absurdly busy - human world...
 

I got the C70 last week as part of CVP’s first batch. 
Even though I have the A7SIII, I bought it because Canon obviously read a post on this forum about what my “perfect camera” looks like. So I just had to. I sold my EVA1. 
I put it in the deep end straight away on 2 professional shoots for fitness brands. The videos aren’t finished so can’t share any footage yet! 
My impressions: 
1. Body design is fantastic. Lovely in the hand and a joy to operate. Feels cheaper than other C-series for sure but still premium. Well built and easy to use. Very light too! 
2. The screen is flimsy and should be more robust. 
3. The joystick is drunk. You want to go left, but it goes up etc. Not sure if this is a “getting used to it” kinda thing, but it’s unusually tricky to get the hang of. 
4. Record button is also a bit stubborn. You have to press that thing very well to get it to record or stop. 
5. Quick touch screen menu is amazing. There’s no need to reboot the camera to change frame rates and codec like I did on the EVA1.
6. DIS is decent! Doesn’t feel overly robotic like other IBIS systems. But there’s a slight crop. 
7. DPAF with the Sigma 18-35mm is pretty good. My Sigma 50mm hunted quite a bit though. 
8. It has no tracking like the A7S3, only for faces. Seems the face tracking is disabled in 4k100fps. 
9. Footage in all modes is crisp and clean. Not overly sharp, but detailed.  It looks a bit more organic than the A7S3, which is clinical without a Promist. Noticed the A7S3 is a bit more contrasty in SLOG3 than CLOG3. The C70 has an edge in the shadows. 
10. You can use a V60 in 4k100fps but comes up with a warning  that it won’t work. It does, but sometimes cuts off due to a full buffer. Not often though. I’d still get a V90. 
11. H265 footage plays back better than the A7S3 on my 2025 iMac. Still a sludge though.
12. Footage can be easily matched to the A7S3. Took me about a minute. Amazing how much Sony have improved it. 
In conclusion, I had a good first experience and I’m looking forward to the next shoot. I currently prefer the A7S3 but it’s too early to decide that really. Both are great and can be used together very seamlessly due to the Sony’s improved colour and codecs.