ThomHaig

On 06/10/2017 at 10:39 PM, kidzrevil said:

@kidzrevil - nice! - looks similar to what I've been using. I agree, the battery grip and eye-cup do tons to make it nicer to work with. I'm curious, what that accessory that looks like a lever coming out of the hotshoe? Don't think I've seen that before.

Hey everyone,

I'm interested in getting hold of a macro lens: The Tamron 60mm f2.0 - with the intent of using on a Sony a6500. The lens is available in Canon EF and Sony A mount, and since I don't own an adapter for either type, which mount version of the lens I should look the get and which adaptor will be better for autofocus?

I guess I would potentially be looking at something like the Commlite EF adaptor if I got it in Canon mount, or the Sony LA-EA3 if I got it on Sony A Mount. I don't expect much regarding video autofocus for either, but if it does a decent job in stills that would be a bonus.

Thanks, would appreciate any thoughts / insight.

Got the a6500 through. So far, so impressed. The crazy menus are taking some getting used to, but on the plus side there's a lot of customisability.

Axel, I meant to ask, when you suggested shooting S-LOG ETTR, is this purely a perceptual thing, or is there a setting to so show histograms etc to encourage you to naturally shoot ETTR?

Hey, thanks for getting back to me with so many great suggestions, guys!

10 hours ago, mercer said:

The screen isn't as hard to see when you set it for rec709 output while shooting 4K in sLog2. It's still faint but it's easier.

oh cool, didn't know you could monitor rec709 and record log. I bet that will help a lot.

10 hours ago, mercer said:

Supposedly a cage will help dissipate the heat. Smallrig is releasing their a6500 cage and it looks like a great option.

Good to know. I was considering picking up a cage. I'm curious how it works that it should dissipate heat? Does surround the camera with a large metal contact effectively act as a great big heatsink?

9 hours ago, Oliver Daniel said:

Use the normal Sony batteries, about 4-5.

Thanks for all the great tips, Oliver. When you say this, do you mean the normal camera's battery cells, or specifically sony branded ones? I heard some off brand ones can be better.

7 hours ago, Axel said:

I don't think it will prevent the camera from overheating.

aha... I guess going down the dummy battery route doesn't necessarily move hear away from the camera body, since all the necessary charge will ultimately have to flow through the dummy battery. Maybe the standard + USB bank powering method makes the most sense. I saw this setup which looks pretty nice and neat:

And yeah, I'm based in the UK, so that software to remove the 30 min limit sounds good. (Though I seldom film for more than 30 mins)

7 hours ago, Axel said:

Avoid the noise floor, shoot ETTR with S-log

nice, that example is a pretty good reason to shoot ETTR - is ETTR display / histograms a setting in the menus? Maybe this will makes sense to me when I have the camera in my hands.

And those Primers LUTS look great. Pretty subtle compared to a lot out there.

Regarding my original question, it looks like a monitor isn't worth it so much for me at the moment, then. I heard outputting signal via HDMI will overall increase the temperature also!

Thanks again for all the help!

Thanks for getting back to me, guys.

3 hours ago, scotchtape said:

instead of these beta test versions.

... but... but... wouldn't a Betacam be for industry veterans?!?

5 hours ago, webrunner5 said:

Are you looking for Just a Monitor, or External Recorder?

I guess I'm just considering a monitor. I'm used to recording internally and transcoding, but I'm guessing a recorder records straight to a higher quality codec (prores) so you'd ultimately get better quality footage that shooting h264 and transcoding, is that right? Looks like the best option at a first glance for a recorder one be the black magic video assist 4k, which looks a bit beyond my budget, and the scope of what I'm looking to do currently. Maybe just an inexpensive monitor would be helpful for me at the moment though.

4 hours ago, scotchtape said:

Also overheats.  I used it for first time on a gig a few days ago.  I got the temperature warning but luckily I was almost done for the day.

Do you think using an external battery would mitigate overheating issues? Would be good to know if you were recording with an internal or external battery for the gig.

4 hours ago, scotchtape said:

have an older CT760HO or something

I can't find anything on that model - what is the manufacturer?

Thanks for the help, guys.

Hi everyone,

I've ordered a Sony a6500, which is currently on the way to me. I get the impression it's not a wildly popular camera among many people on here, and I can see why: whilst feature-rich it appears to lack in the reliability department. I'm thinking it'll make a good stills camera which will be it's primary use, however I do make the odd video, but nothing too serious.

For video use, I'm trying to work around the camera's shortcomings: I'm looking to get a Saramonic CAmixer for a headphone jack. I'm also considering going the dummy / external battery route for longer recordings: am I right in thinking this will move heat away from the camera body itself, and prevent overheating?

One thing I'm stumped on though is using an external monitor, and if it will help me:

- I've heard the a6500's LCD massively darkens when shooting 4k, would a monitor solve this problem?

- The touch-screen focusing on the a6500 looks good. Is this still possible with a monitor? I take it I'd be touching the camera's rear LCD, or do any monitors support touch-screen and communicate with the camera in this way?

-I've seen the a6300 outputs a clean signal from the HDMI (no idea about the a6500) - however for my use I'd still want the monitor to display all the interface information / peaking etc. Is this possible?

Using an external monitor is very new territory for me, but I'm wondering if it'll be worth the expense to solve some of the above problems. Also, if you think a monitor would be helpful and can recommend any models that don't break the bank and add too much bulk to the camera, I'd be very grateful!

Thanks

Hey guys, just came across this. Think it might a vid JonPais mentioned, but in the description it mentions the lack of compatibility with the GH5 and the Metabones XL. Hope this is addressed for when the camera gets released!

Hi Seb,

The combo of a GH4 + Metabones adapter seems a popular one. The EF XL version would be the best one if you want to use the tamron 24-70mm f2.8. It supports autofocus and the image stabilisation also. Compared to the panasonic 12-35mm you'll have an extra 1+1/3 stop of light, though it won't go quite as wide. The other payoff is the tamron will be significantly bigger and heavier.

Hope that helps.

On 29/11/2016 at 5:27 AM, IronFilm said:

IIRC it has the standard 30 minute limit?

Thanks for getting back to me on this. From looking around it apprears the D750 has a 20 min record limit, whilst the D500 at 4k can do 30 min.

It's such a shame the D500 doesn't have peaking and such a heavy crop. I was thinking potentially a Nikon to Nikon speedbooster would do a lot to work around that crop, but I'm aware this doesn't exist, and from what I can tell it's hard to mount lenses to a Nikon mount!

Hey guys,

I've been considering upping my stills game, and have toyed with the idea of getting a D750. Whilst I wouldn't be using it primarily for video, I would potentially get soome b-cam use out of it. Do you guys know if there's a record limit or anything on it? Do any of have much experience shooting with it? I saw Mattias Burling's vids on Youtube saying it's video is a bit downplayed - I'm wondering how inconvenient focusing is without peaking too?

EDit... oh yeah, and I'm not suggesting the acquisition of a D750 will immediately up my stills game!

For what it's worth, I mounted a Metabones EF to MFT XL onto a G80 in a shop a few weeks ago. Worked fine. Autofocus worked fine too. I used the Canon 50mm f1.8 STM, so quite a small and light lens, though that won't affect whether or not the adapter will fit. Can't speak for every metabones adapter they produce, and I only used it for 5 minutes, but couldn't tell any difference in functionality between usage on my GH4 / G7.

thanks, if I was to get one super-fast manual lens, I'd rather a 35mm than a 50mm, but it seems like all the really big-aperture options are in the 50mm range.

15 minutes ago, mercer said:

Also the Nikkor 35mm f2 has a butt load of character and is tack sharp. 

cool - do you mean the older all-manual one, or the newer (but still old) 35mm AF-D?

thanks for that help, guys.

That's cool that you can use all those mounts on the EF adapter. Would any of you have any recommendations for either a fast 35mm or 50mm that holds up wide open and can be used on the EF metabones XL?

Hey Don, thanks for getting back to me on this.

aha... I never considered that the physical aperture size of the metabones would have a limit as to how much light it could let in. Good to know.

I was also looking at Nikon and old Olympus Zuiko lenses, some of which have f1.2 offerings - do you know I were to adapt them to EF and use the metabones, would that run into the same problem?

Thanks

Hey everyone,

I saw Mitakon do some crazy fast 35 + 50mm f0.95 lenses. I'd be interested in using these with a GH4, and whilst they do a Micro 4/3 mount version of these lenses, since I own a Metabones speedbooster (EF), I'm keen to figure out of they can mounted onto that. Whilst that amount of speed would be great, the 35mm with the speedbooster would be a great focal length for me. They cover an APS-C area, however for APS-C cameras, the lens only comes in Sony E / Fuji X and EOS-M mounts - are any of these capable of being adapter to EF, for my speedbooster? (Or any other speedbooster for that matter?) or is a a physical / flange distance problem there?

Would be really keen to find out. Appreciate any input / thoughts on this

Hey. yeah the G7 / GH4 / G80 all have different advantages and disadvantages.

I've owned a G7 for a while, and think it's incredible value for money. However in comparison to your GX85 I think all it offers is a mic input and the Cine D / V picture profiles.

I wanted to pick up a second panasonic body, and was also choosing between the G80 and a 2nd hand GH4. I actually went for the GH4, when I found a good deal on one. The headphone jack is useful for me, as I'll be shooting some casual interviews / vox pops with a minimal set up. It's nice to have the 98fps slow motion option too, though the image quality does suffer in this mode. The lack of stabilisation is a disadvantage, for sure. I figured I'd get a lens with stabilisation for now, for the times I want to shoot handheld.

The G80 with those Nikon Primes & speedbooster should be capable of capturing nice look images, I imagine. One thing to look out for- If you're planning on using Nikon G primes (like the 35mm f1.8) on a speedbooster, make sure you use a speedbooster with it's own aperture. I don't think you'll be able to close down the lens aperture since it's done electronically on Nikon Gs. I know the Metabones Nikon - MFT does this (though is expensive) - I think Fotodiox do one with an aperture also. Since you're looking to use un-stabilised primes, the G80's stabilisation will be of a huge benefit shooting handheld. I've seen Panasonic are looking to update the firmware to improve the stabilisation at some point hopefully soon. The G80's rolling shutter is significantly worse than that of the GH4 (& the G7), for what it's worth. The iso performance is also slightly better on the G7 / G80 over the GH4.

Sadly there's no clear winner. On paper the GH5 looks like it might be best of both and more, but there's no indication as to when it'll be out, and it will cost significantly more than either of these options. Hope that's of some help!

I actually had a go with a G85 in a shop on the weekend.  The guys at the shop were very helpful and let me test it out with my metabones adapter. I used the metabones EF XL with a canon 50mm, and normally shooting video handheld on my G7 without stabilisation, I wouldn't expect to get anything usable, so I was impressed it did such a good job to remove all hand jitters, and the shot became a pleasing, gentle drift. I didn't really put it through it's paces regarding how it dealt with pans, which everyone is calling it out on.

One pitfall I noticed of the camera that I haven't seen too muchis the rolling shutter. I thought it was terrible! Anyway, the guys at the let me put a memory card in there, so I can show you what I mean. I'm pretty sure the G7 beats the G85 on this front.

That's great news that the Magic Lantern guys have figured out 8 or 10 bit recording. It would be great to see if this has the potential for the 5d III to shoot higher frame rates at 1080p raw! Is it possible to calculate possible frame rates?

7 minutes ago, Jonny said:

Based on these specs from Olympus' site you get a decent bit rate of 202mbps in 60p but only in 1280x720. FHD 60p gets 52mbps:

"[MOV]
4096 x 2160 (C4K) / 24p / IPB (approx. 237 Mbps)
3840 x 2160 (4K) / 30p, 25p, 24p / IPB (approx. 102 Mbps)
1920x1080 (FHD) / 30p, 25p, 24p / ALL-I (A-I), IPB (SF, F, N)
1920x1080 (FHD) / 60p, 50p / IPB (SF, F, N)
1280x720(HD) / 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p / ALL-I (A-I), IPB (SF, F, N)
60p: 59.94 fps, 50p: 50.00 fps, 30p : 29.97 fps, 25p : 25.00 fps, 24p: 23.98 fps, C4K 24.00 fps
FHD ALL-I (A-I: ALL-Intra / approx. 202 Mbps), FHD IPB (SF: SuperFine / approx. 52 Mbps, F: Fine / approx. 30 Mbps, N: Normal / approx. 18 Mbps)
HD ALL-I (A-I: ALL-Intra / approx. 102 Mbps), HD IPB(SF : SuperFine / approx.26Mbps, F:Fine / approx.14Mbps, N : Normal / approx.10Mbps)"
 

oh cool, thanks for sharing that. That's a shame that 1080p 60Fps looks like it might be a bit soft. Very high at 720p though. I wonder if it would even look better shot 720p 60fps and upscale to 1080p, than just shooting 1080p 60fps, given the bitrates.

It's a toss up between this and a GH5 for me, I think. The stabilisation is a big draw to this - Whether or not it will be compatible with my Metabones EF-MFT XL might also call it. I saw the none of the existing OM-D's are. What are you guys' guesses on it?

Would also be nice if it has some slow motion shooting options at decent bitrates

13 hours ago, Cinegain said:

Yeah, or you might get you some of that!

 

oh cool, that might do the job for now.

Aha - I see. I was mistaken in thinking that people would intend to record 'good' audio on the camera (therefore warranting a headphone jack) - Whilst if you're shooting something where the audio is quite important, you'd have an external recorder anyway.

10 hours ago, IronFilm said:

If you're recording in camera the audio then the audio can't be THAT important?! 
But if you must, then get a Shure VP83F LensHopper, Sony UWP-D11, Saramonic UwMic9, Zoom H1, Tascam DR22WL, Zoom F4, Tascam DR60Dmk2, or Tascam DR70D. (which one of these listed to get will entirely depend on your needs and budget as to which is best for you specifically)

All of them are very affordable, will hold long term usage/value beyond what a GH4 would stay relevant for, will provide an effective way to easily monitor audio, and provide better audio than a GH4 could do alone. 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/966010-REG/shure_vp83f_condenser_shotgun_mic.html

 

Thanks! That's a handy list of alternatives to look into! Might make for a better way to go for me

Thanks for all your input.

Yeah, I see what you're saying about getting a zoom (or similar) recorder and holding off for a GH5 once it's out. I guess an external recorder will always have it's uses regardless of what camera you have.

None of my canon lenses are stabilised, so I'm pretty sure I'd benefit from the sensor stabilisation of the newer cams, though I'm tempted to hold out for the GH5 because of the headphone jack. What makes buying this GH4 tempting is the seller is selling with loads of bits - a cage, camera bag, memory cards, - all stuff that doesn't cost much individually, but are probably worth having and together add a lot of value to it. But then maybe I'm getting blinded by gear-lust.

2 hours ago, JazzBox said:

, the focus peaking (the one one GH4 is far better, at least on the camera I have),

That's interesting that you find the GH4's peaking to be better. I have trouble with it sometimes on the G7, though there's a chance that's just my poor focusing skills!

2 hours ago, Richard Bugg said:

So, you are also really talking about upgrading to a two-camera system in this case.

Yeah, having the two would be nice, but to fair at my level it'll be a while before I'm doing a multi-can shoot. But then, never say never!

Thanks for getting back to me. Yeah, I'm weighing up if it's that good a deal.

Having a European model, I think my G7 does have a 30 min record limit. That said, I've not had to shoot anything longer than 30 mins so far.

Hey everyone,

I was hoping to get some advice / opinions on a potential purchasing decision:

At present I own a Panasonic G7, Metabones EF / XL and a a few Canon lenses. I'm considering upgrading camera body. I love the G7, and intend to hold on to it, but for a few things I've done recently I've been wanting a headphone input - I've just been going on faith that the audio will be ok.

Now, I know someone selling a GH4 with a couple of manual lenses as bundle at what I think is a pretty good price. I know the new camera hype has recently gone crazy in the aftermath of Photokina, but regardless, is an upgrade from a G7 to a GH4 worth it? Or am I better off getting some kind of mic input (suggestions?) for the G7?

From what I can tell, aside from the headphone jack, the advantages would be better slow motion, vlog profile, nicer body design, weather sealing, at the cost of some high ISO performance.

Would really appreciate any input! Thanks.