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Matt James Smith ?

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Posts posted by Matt James Smith ?

  1. 1 hour ago, Super8 said:

    That's a great little camera.  I have 9 of them.  For a minute I was thinking you were using rented cine cameras that cost to much for DP's to afford to do your interviews.

    No I own two cinema cameras and three hybrids. As I say it’s irrelevant. I use the tool that works best for the job. For interviews it needs to be something that doesn’t crash after 30 min. Did I make that point already? 🙈

  2. I think perhaps we’re missing the point. Just like their previous “hybrids” it’s a stills camera first and foremost. The difference now is that instead of video being an afterthought thrown on in case photographers *must* shoot a few clips, it is now “video for photographers.”

    What I mean by that is the 8K video mode is basically a 30fps burst mode to pull stills from. It’s the first stills camera in what is probably going to be the near future of photography - no distinction between stills and video. 8K RAW is the first video mode that can really claim the image quality of a frame is equal to high-end photography (especially in combination with Canon’s AF making every frame perfect). I’m surprised they’re not offering an open gate mode to be honest. 

  3. My experience is that bitrate impacts motion artefacts in IPB footage (higher=better, obvs). 170mbps in h265 is pretty high. Almost up there with the C300mkII 10bit ALL-I 4K (about 400mbps in h264 I believe). I’d be quite hopeful it’s going to be decent IPB, and I’d choose IPB a lot anyway, if I had the choice, simply to keep file size down. A Ninja V can be used if Intra frame is really needed. Hell, the C200 can’t even do 10bit external 4K. It’s not a disaster for me. 
     

    Rolling shutter and overhearing remain the big question marks.

  4. 50 minutes ago, Super8 said:

    My comment was about using TWO cameras as a work around with the R5.  Matt James Smith ? indicated that YOU WOULD HAVE TO STOP THE INTERVIEW while the R5 was cooling down.

    Are we that amateurish that we think the interview talent WOULD ROLL for OVER an hour without ONE break? 

    If you're talking "live event convention type settings" then why would you use the R5 ?  If you're in that setting delivering conference interviews and stage banter you get by with GH5 video quality and record all day. 

    At some point image quality comes into play and all day shooting on the convention hall floor is not what the R5 should be used for.

    How is this a response to what I said? You're trying to talk yourself out of a nonsense position. I don't see any value in continuing this conversation for either of us.

  5. 1 hour ago, Super8 said:

    No you keep shooting because you have the 2nd camera rolling.   That 2nd angle should be just as good as your first angle.

    I'm with you about the R5 not being ideal for interview shooting in any situation.

    What camera do you use now? or mostly use now?

    I have a feeling your answer will be very informative.

    You literally have no idea what you're talking about! I've already answered all your questions but you keep flogging a dead horse. You must have very little experience of shooting interviews.

    I have used all sorts of cameras for all sorts of different jobs - from tiny client work to feature films to short docs for VICE - from crappy DSLR's to cinema cameras. Whatever the job calls for. That's why I know what is needed for interviews.

    If you are focussing on "what camera I use" and think that's what makes a filmmaker, that confirms your naivety. It's a problem with a lot of talk on this forum - confusing technical camera knowledge for filmmaking. 

  6. 37 minutes ago, Super8 said:

    I never said stop the interview mid flow.

    I said shoot with two cameras.   Lots of references for highly produced interviews shot with two cameras.  This keep the viewer interested in cutting to a different view during that 1-2 hour interview and I would hope you have great b-roll to work with also.  I might be wrong but I would think a 1 - 2 hour interview locked down, not cuts, would come out as a very dull interview.  

    I perfectly understand that the R5 might not be for you. 

    What do you shoot with now?  If money was no issue what camera would you use?

     

    I always shoot interviews with 2 cameras. The exact issue remains. If you stop with one camera then you're reduced to one angle, which is no good. If you stop and start recording it makes it even more difficult, because when you're synching Multicam clips you have broken files to match up.  

    Yes there are workarounds for hobbyists, but when you're turning over interviews day in, day out, these "little" workflow things are the difference between professionalism, happy clients, comfortable interviewees and stressful edits. I'd rather shoot a 1080p interview on a proper video camera than have to ditch a 4K camera after 30 min.

    What if the interviewee finally gets comfortable at around 25min (not uncommon in my experience), drops their guard and starts revealing some really compelling emotional story? Do you say "oh can you wait 10 min while my camera recovers"? Or do you accept that you'll just use the second angle - guaranteed to be the one that doesn't let the viewer see the emotion in their eyes, or the tension in their gestures?

    It's not about it not being right for me, it's about it being unsuitable for 4K capture of interviews. 

  7. 9 hours ago, Super8 said:

    No interview is going to be stuck on the subject for 30 minutes straight.   You always have a second camera capturing a different angle.   The work around for the R5 recording limit is not that hard to do.

    This is nonsense. Shooting interviews is the backbone of my job and they regularly last longer than an hour. Especially the good ones. More importantly, you want the contributor to forget about the camera and you want to focus on the interviewing, not think about the gear. Stopping the interviewee mid-flow and asking them to start that question/sentence again can derail a well conducted interview. 

    I assume recording time limit will be negated by an Atomos, so sorting a rock solid clamp for that shitty micro HDMI port will be priority #1 for me.

  8. Have to say I see the high data rate of the 4K 120fps as a positive. It's 4X the bitrate of 24p, which is exactly what it should be if it's going to look as good. I'd be complaining if it was less!

    When looking at the table, the data for 4 minutes of recording time looks huge but then that's actually 16+ minutes of footage.

    Personally I only shoot short clips in 120p anyway. Though the fact DPAF works in 120p means it'll be an absolute killer gimbal camera and that'll mean people wanting to do long takes.

     

  9. Micro HDMI is a big disappointment. Especially due to the 30min record time requiring an external recorder for interviews etc. Even more so if that's the only way to get intra frame files. 

    Lack of ALL-I in 4K 24p was surely possible if it can shoot IPB in 60p. That's annoying. Though 170mbps h265 is a fairly beefy bitrate, even for 10bit, isn't it? Will have to wait and see what motion looks like on clips.

    As has been said the big test is going to be rolling shutter. In some situations the IBIS will help with this in comparison the the 1DXIII but it'll still look like shit if it's that bad.

    Oh and not recording video simultaneously to both cards defeats the purpose of dual slots for filmmakers! 

    Hopefully SmallRig or someone will come out with a discreet little clamp that solves the Micro HDMI issue.

  10. On 6/18/2020 at 12:52 PM, IronFilm said:

    I think that change for the XC15 was quite a notably significant update, especially for their target market as it allows them to easily run audio themselves. (which is highly likely they would be on any shoot where a XC10/XC15 is the A Cam)

    It's still just an XC10 with an XLR plug - i.e. a 1st gen attempt at something completely new that needs a lot of usability improvements.You can get perfectly good audio via 3.5mm these days anyway. A rode wireless go and/or Videomic NTG easily takes the audio to the same level as the image from that camera. If you need better audio than that, you probably also need a better camera. I'd far rather an EVF, a stronger ND, a shorter constant-aperture lens or an improved UI (ability to change ISO, aperture, audio levels, etc. easily) than the XLR jack of the XC15. It's a fantastic concept of a camera, I hope they continue the line.

  11. Sounds a lot like Canon playing their crippling non-cinema cameras games again.

    I realise mine is a specific use case - so this is not a defence of Canon at all - but if the R5 turns out to be the same and rolling shutter is decent in crop mode (assuming it has a decent 1.5/1.6 crop mode) I would actually consider it in place of a C200. Most of my glass is S35 EF mount (Sigma Art zooms, 17-55mm 2.8, etc). So with the ND filter EF adapter, the EOS R in crop mode will *potentially* be a simple move for me. 

    Weird I know, but for me it may work.

  12. 5 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

    Belittle away, I have no emotional investment in the FZ2000 ;)

    As I say, I got it for specific jobs (small vignettes of pre-match build ups at stadium and for live streamed press conferences) where the overall feature set of it was more appropriate for what I personally needed in a versatile allrounder, particularly the faster lens with the longer reach and the additional ND.

    I agree about the XC10 codec but for my purposes the FZ2000 was fine as, for the small films, I would shoot in 1080p (which also avoids the bugbear of the crop in 4K) so the 200Mbps ALL-I was perfectly adequate and for the press conferences the 4:2:2 10-bit HDMI output was more than adequate for the livestream encoder it was being sent to :)

    Like I said originally though, all the output I've seen from the XC10 still keeps it on my radar when the price is right.

    I guess V-log may well be worth a try if your'e using it with the HD intra codec, or via HDMI.

    Beefy bitrate doesn't get enough credit IMO. It can make a massive difference. The GH2 was vastly improved with the hack. The EOS M video is great in h264 if you use the ML bitrate hack.The C100 is much nicer with prores external recording, even though it remains 8 bit. Even the XC10 image is noticeably superior at 305mbps vs the lighter 205mbps option. The reduction of motion artefacts and finer noise always makes for way more organic image. I'd be interested to see some FZ2000 HD intra footage - imagine I may prefer it to the 4K.

  13. On 5/29/2020 at 8:20 PM, BTM_Pix said:

    Therein lies the problem, the buggers refuse to shift to that "oh go on let's have a go" level !

    I keep meaning to get the V-LOG upgrade my FZ2000 as the camera itself edges the XC10 in terms of lens speed, ND range etc and is certainly a cheaper used price for anyone looking for an all rounder.

    There aren't masses of V-LOG examples of it on YouTube but I just grabbed a screenshot of this random one and did a quick correction and even on a low res grab like this it can certainly be pushed around a bit.

    410860154_FZ2000vlog.thumb.jpg.a774b792637b1eb2571eb58527216c8b.jpg

     

    Not to belittle the FZ2000 but the thing that sets the XC10 image apart is a 305mbps 4:2:2 ALL-I 4K codec with C-log. C-log is the best 8bit log there is. V-log just never really worked in 8bit - esp at 100mbps 4:2:0 inter frame. Banding is pretty horrendous and colours mushy in my experience (I had V-log on my GH4). But of course I’m biased! Just saying there’s a reason the XC10 image is special. 

  14. Here's another shot entirely on the XC10. It doesn't show the camera at its best image quality wise, but it's the perfect use-case for it's strengths. Last year I shot the Miner's Gala with a C100ii and the difference in lugging that around all day in huge crowds, with less focal length versatility, is night-and-day.

    Keep your eye out for Ken Loach sticking it to the man, and Jeremy Corbyn trying to do the YMCA!

     

  15. 11 hours ago, Matt James Smith ? said:

    I’ve been shooting with mine consistently since 2016. It’s a fantastic camera when you know it’s quirks and limitations. No good for low light or for matching with shallow DOF footage, but the codec is rock solid, it grades beautifully and the colours pop. Slap a bit of film concert on XC10 footage and it looks very S16- like.

    The IS is incredible - steady handheld footage at 480mm (in 2x crop mode)! - and it’s form factor is great. Canon Rumors has suggested a few times Xanon is working on an interchangeable lens version. Canon even filed a patent for an XC10 body with a custom speedbooster! Is it  possible this will be the first RF-mount cinema camera??


    Agree with most of that Andrew (see my post above covering some of what you said). It’s not up to 2020 standards. Matthias Burling pointed out the internal ND is only really to compensate for the fact the aperture only drops down to f11. I always use a vari ND too. Disagree about 1080 though - it gets really mushy if you push it at all. 
    There may still be a sequel though - Canon has some interesting patents out there. 

    I’m not technical enough to explain it but the XC10 image reminds me a lot of the Fuji’s. Compared to other Canon’s it has quite a filmic look, but not as much colour separation.

    It’s a flawed camera but very unique and the image can be lovely.

     

    5 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

    I like the XC-10 as a concept. But it needed a sequel.

    I would caution against bothering with it in 2020. Far better results can be had by putting the Fuji 18-135mm on an X-T4.

    Neil Matsumoto did a great review of the XC10. Have a look at the cons... https://***URL removed***/reviews/crossing-the-bridge-canon-xc10-review

    No Dual Pixel AF on the XC10. I found the AF to be very hesitant in 4K. It did have a decent 1080/60p mode with very capable stabilisation in that mode, but the stabilisation in 4K was nowhere near as impressive, and far less impressive than an X-T4 in 2020.

    Detail in 4K is a bit scratchy. Looks pixel binned even though it isn't.

    Low light is quite poor and stills are JPEG only. No RAW mode of any sort!!

    The screen is nice but the loupe a bit daft and blocks the controls. No EVF.

    The ND filter is quite weak, so in sunlight you need to add extra which defeats the whole point of the built in one :)

    Also the lens is quite slow especially at long end.

    But it was a concept that deserved a bigger effort from Canon and it never got it!

    Bit like 1D C didn't!

    So yeah - X-T4 a way better shot getter, with much larger S35 sensor, and optics in a different league. Ergonomically and with regards 5 axis IBIS it's also a lot nicer to use than the XC-10. The AF is far better, which is important for run & gun.

     

  16. 5 minutes ago, BTM_Pix said:

    If you sold it tomorrow you'd definitely have had your money's worth out of it!

    I've always liked the output that I've seen from it.

    I think RED have beaten them to it by just starting to ship the Komodo.

    Might sell it soon, along with my C100MkII (another under-appreciated camera that still holds up today IMO). Waiting for R5 reviews before I decide between switching to an R5 or a C200. Hard choice.

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