eatstoomuchjam

The time for speculation is over! https://gopro.com/en/us/news/gopro-announces-three-cameras-mission-1-2026

Invented is a real stretch there. As soon as VR headsets were a thing, it was obvious that people would eventually want to do it live. Adding multiple cameras into the mix, with the associated awful jarring jumps between places, is hardly a revolution. Plus there's the dystopia of standing amidst the futbol players after a goal is scored celebrating with them... only to a second later be standing in the midst of an immersive ad for erectile dysfunction pills. That's fine, but for me as a filmmaker, I really just don't give even a nugget of a shit about any of that stuff. I would have really wanted some sort of bridge between the $5,000 and up gear with their fantastic RGBW sensors and the $3,500 and below gear which mostly uses 5+ year-old Sony sensors (such as the Pyxis 6K which uses an IMX410 from 2018, old enough to be in grade school). IMX410 is a great sensor, but as Andrew pointed out, I can go buy a cheaper Fuji with a newer/better sensor. An X-H2s costs less and has half the readout time and better dynamic range - and with the money saved, I can add raw and a second monitor with a Video Assist 12G. Bonus: the video assist won't be locked in place awkwardly on the side of the goddamn camera.

Do they assemble them in-house? I assumed they'd just outsource a lot of that stuff to someone like FoxConn, if not FoxConn themselves. If they're running with only 600 total employees, I'd guess that the layoffs were in engineering, sales, support, etc, probably with a bit of middle management thrown under the bus with them. After all, it's almost never the executives, they've already proven their value by fucking up the strategy and driving the company into the ground. Better give them a retention bonus so they don't take all that competence somewhere else. 😅

If you'd like to spend about 2 hours learning about a bunch of expensive, high-end broadcast gear, the latest Blackmagic NAB update was made for you! BEHOLD million bazillion port VIDEO SWITCHING DEVICES STARE IN AWE at a first-party mount to use 2/3" camera lenses on your FULL FRAME CINEMA CAMERA GASP WITH AMAZEMENT as instead of making the smaller, cheaper media module reader that everybody wants, they make one BIGGER AND MORE EXPENSIVE! YOU MAY HAVE PAID FOR THE WHOLE SEAT, BUT YOU WILL ONLY NEED THE EDGE ------------- Resolve 21 looks nice. Otherwise, 0 new consumer products. Every single thing that they announced today was for broadcast and specifically seemed targeted at sports broadcasters, the only people who are trying to multiplex 50+ 4K+ input streams to 50+ output devices all at the same time. I suspect that rampocalypse pricing for components has basically obliterated profit margins on any consumer gear that Petty was going to announce. Maybe in 3-6 months, we'll get an out-of-cycle product release livestream.

It's not exactly confidence-inspiring when you lay off about 1/4 of your workforce right before announcing the killer new product. It seems like either GP3 isn't going to be in any shipping products for a while or GP doesn't think it will be a huge seller. Otherwise, why go to the bother of laying off a bunch of people and paying severance, only to rehire them in a few months when the new product is selling like crazy? https://www.cined.com/gopro-to-cut-23-of-its-workforce-ahead-of-gp3-camera-launch-at-nab/

The only setup that's truly "wrong" is one that you don't enjoy using and that doesn't get you the photos that you want. The primary camera of a friend of mine is a pinhole that she made herself from... I think it's a coffee can or a cocoa powder jar. The photos are low-resolution, dreamy, and perfect. My setup would be totally wrong for her, or you, but I quite like it! I was at Photostock a few years ago when David Burnett was the speaker - he is famously still shooting sporting events and major political events using either a speed graphic or converted Graflex SLR with an Aero Ektar. At that event, however, he was carrying the camera he uses most of the time - an A7c with a small Sony lens. Not a setup that I'd choose, but if it's good enough for one of the most famous living photographers, it's probably not "wrong." 😅 A number of the big name classic cinematographers/filmmakers favored lenses between 40-60mm or so FF equivalent. A lot of classic street photographers like 35-50mm because it's seen as immersive. But if you want an outsider perspective, your choice of a 70mm seems appropriate!

(Cross-posted from reddit) I've been working on and off for a while now on a Leica M mount for the Ursa Cine 12K LF. I was having problems with minor flexing in the plastic - and the random Micro 4/3 to M mount adapter that I used as a donor turned out to be a bad choice for a few reasons. In the meantime, I found some ways to mitigate the plastic flexing and I disassembled a Fotodiox L mount to M mount adapter and found it a lot more suitable, plus with a larger diameter which also seems to help with stability. Because of shape of mount cavity on the camera, the lens also needs to be mounted upside-down with my mount. Unfortunately, there is some play in the adapter so any lens will need support if racking focus. This latest prototype still focuses just a little too much past infinity with the f/1 Noctilux so I have one or two more prototypes to dial it in just a little closer - and then I'll switch from the cheapest PLA in my house to PCCF and print what I hope will be the adapter that I actually use. Limitations? Every modern Leica M lens that I own (21, 24, 35mm) that is 35mm or wider cannot be used. They stick out past the rear of the mount and would impact the glass in front of the ND filters. Similarly, with my Simera-C set, However, my incredibly old 35mm/3.5 Elmar does not protrude and, as can be seen in the couple of snapshots I took from the last round of testing, works great (and is beautiful, as it is on any camera). That's the widest L mount lens that I own that can fit. HOWEVER While using my M mount glass is part of my goal in building this, the bigger bonus is that having a Leica M mount lets me adapt a bunch of other vintage SLR glass that is not otherwise usable (without mount conversion) on the UC12K LF. And since those lenses were designed for SLR's, the wide angles don't protrude. This will address one of the few things that I've found to be a bummer - I really love my FD mount and Minolta SR mount glass! With an FD to M mount adapter, they will all be 100% usable now. In this round of testing, I checked the 50/1 Noctilux and the 35/3.5 screw mount Elmar - both are gorgeous lenses on any camera that I've put them on and this is no exception. Did some 3:2 frame grabs from Resolve with no grading done beyond slapping on a BMD film to rec.709 lut. I also seem to have done the math wrong for a 3:2 ratio in Resolve, but I'm also not going to bother going back to fix the slight letterboxing.

Speed boosting a 45mm f/2.8 lens onto a smaller sensor with a 0.71x converter gives you a 32mm f/2 lens. That's it. If you like the character of the medium format lens, that's great and it's a worthwhile endeavor. But aside from the character unique to that model of lens, it won't look appreciably different from a 32mm f/2 lens that was made to cover the format you're adapting to. That said, I've been thinking about building graflok DOF adapters that I could stick on some of my medium and large format cameras - not because there is an intrinsic medium or large format look, but because I have some really interesting older lenses and when I adapt them to smaller formats, I'm just using the pretty good/well-corrected centers of the image circle and not the cool outer edges where things get interesting/cool/weird. I think a medium format one might be my next project after I finish the M mount for the UC12K (which is looking like it will be tomorrow sometime?). I have a kind of beat up, but otherwise unmarked 6x9cm ground glass handy. It'll at least be good enough for a proof of concept. Most of my 4x5 stuff has either a fresnel (visible lines!) or grids on the GG, but I also have at least one spare 4x5 GG lying around that I could use for a proof of concept. Oh, and now that I think of it, I have an old Seroco 4x5 which has clean GG and I think it's from the 1920's or so - maybe I have a project for tomorrow while I wait for another iteration of my UC12K mount to finish printing (now that I'm near the end and printing the entire part, the prints are taking about 3 1/2 hours each).

I watched that video and instantly didn't regret unsubscribing from the PetaPixel YouTube channel. I think I lost 3 IQ points watching the dumb infotainment of two adult humans whining about cameras that someone let them use for free, especially about some of the petty shit they cite as an example. That one Olympus was too big? Who cares? They also make/made smaller cameras if that's what you want. Plus they didn't even get creative when picking "worst designed" cameras - would have been more interesting to go with potentially revolutionary cameras that couldn't live up to the hype - throw out stuff like the Lytro and the Light L16. It'd still be a dumb video, but at least there's some interest in it.

The colors from DJI and/or Insta360 also look fantastic, I'm sure, after a professional colorist spends some quality time with them. It's still best to wait until the cameras are in the hands of normal users before starting to evaluate. Otherwise, if GP wants to release some footage that looks like that and they will certify that it's straight out of camera, I'll place a preorder right now.

Some PL lenses don't cover full frame. Most vintage ones were intended only for use on Super 35, but some have image circles big enough for vistavision/full frame.

If so, I'd strongly consider the 50/1.2L or the Sigma 50/1.4 Art. The Sigmas are, generally speaking, too clinical for me, but lots of people like them - it really depends on how clean you wanna go. The 50/1.2L has been around for a long time now. I got mine pretty close to when they released it - it might be old enough to vote, at this point. That's to say that it's been out long enough that you could probably find a copy with clean glass and some external dings for not too much money. Bokeh is completely a matter of taste thing, but I hated the bokeh on the EF 50/1.4. I remember it was ugly/busy enough that even non-photographers noticed it on some photos. Maybe I just had a bad copy? I liked the EF 50/1.8 more, even. There's also Otus, of course, but used prices on them have stayed surprisingly high. I think there was also a Zeiss ZE 50/1.4 which is probably more affordable. I never tried it. It's probably very good. If considering the Sigma f/1.8 zooms, you might want to double-check how the coverage is with the 0.64x SB. I remember the 18-35 had a pretty small image circle - the 50-100 is probably a bit better, being more telephoto.

The difference is not huge. When wide open on very fast lenses, you're more likely to see some speed booster artifacts with the 0.64x. Whether those artifacts are acceptable is personal taste. If the prices weren't similar, I'd just take the cheaper one. I was also surprised to find that the 0.64x covers the slightly small S35 sensor in my Z Cam E2-S6G. Anyway, as far as other brands, I think that Kipon's focal reducers are well-regarded. Otherwise, most of the third-party ones are skippable/don't seem to be too good. FWIW, you can also have your cake and eat it with a focal reducer, if you want. Pentax K, Nikon F, Leica R, Olympus OM, and M42 lenses (including your Takumar) can all be adapted to EF mount. I've also thought about building a recessed M39 adapter since it would be theoretically possible on any camera without a mirror assembly (M39 is 28.8mm and EF is 44mm, but I have several M39 lenses with controls near the front and that are skinny enough that they could just sit further back in the EF mount). Anyway, for EF lenses otherwise, do you know which you're considering?

I've used Luma Fusion on iPad. I edited some vlogs with it a while back before deciding I didn't like editing on the iPad, but the editor itself worked fine and was really simple/straightforward. They released a MacOS version a while back. I haven't tried it, but I'd guess it's also pretty simple/easy. Yes. 🤦‍♂️. I meant to type "3D lut creator." And yeah, it's a little expensive, but it's a lot of features to implement/compete with, especially if you want editing as well. How many hours of your time would you want to burn for $39/seat? Unless it's making editing decisions for me, a simpler editor wouldn't fix the thing that costs me the most time in Resolve. The other things which end up costing me time are things that I should just figure out the hotkey for at some point (like "shift everything on timeline after this point back enough to add this clip"). I take it that the cut page in Resolve is also too bloated for you? I think it's specifically intended for faster turnaround stuff like you describe. I've paid it almost no attention beyond that. The MacOS preview tool allows cropping and resizing. I use it all the time.

Indeed, though "Ursa Cine LF" would be a totally fine name. There's just no need to say "12K" on there. For the other? "Ursa Cine 65" since the 65mm sensor is going to be a whole lot more exciting to most people than telling them it has a 17k sensor that they will mostly use in 8K or 4K mode. Just about the only competition on the market, the rental-only Alexa 65, is a 6.5k camera. That is, of course, unless you're selling something to be used for projecting on The Sphere in Vegas. Then I guess there's a single camera that's competing - like literally just one body, as far as I know - that 18K thing with the 75x75mm or so sensor. I've been a bit tempted a few times now to try to rig up something with a medium format ground glass or a 4x5 GG, similar to an old DOF adapter for camcorders. I remember Gale had the Forbes70 which worked that way and there have been some 8x10 projects to do the same, like the FZero from Salazar and the one that Media Division put together. I should probably just go through my pile of project cameras to see if I have a pretty clean GG around and just do it...

I'm not sure what "a modern approach" is, but iMovie and Luma Fusion are both pretty straightforward and unbloated from what I remember - and they both run on Mac. I'm not sure if either one has a lut editor, but 3d lut editor has been pretty good for a while now, hasn't it?

I really wish BMD would stop putting the maximum resolution in the product name! I make these jokes too about my own UC 12K ("finally, something for you to play on your 12K TV!), but in reality, it's just a really nice 8K/4K camera which has a bonus 12K mode for... mostly VFX shots. 😅

Sure, slow zone focusing lenses are definitely a possibility. I used that exact lens for part of my YouTube review of the Z Cam E2c if I remember right, pushing the compact-ness of the body/setup. It's a potato, but it's alright in the context of "it's a body cap you can use to make photos." You could also go the route of MS Optics-style designs. I have their 21/4.5 triplet and there are most definitely compromises to get it as small as it is, but it's also a really fun lens with better quality than the Olympus cap (and full frame-ish coverage). A design like that one or their 24/4, but stopped down to f/8 could be interesting. Indeed - and I don't think they've said that the images are SOOC. It's hard to know how much editing was done with the moon shot. It's also not out of the question that an auxiliary lens was used to make it more telephoto. This is the importance of waiting until devices are in the hand of real consumers before getting too hyped. There aren't many things that I'll preorder and the number gets smaller every year, getting replaced by the number of things that I'll wait are available used for at least a 20-30% discount. X-M5 for $900? Shrug. X-M5 for $824-874 on mpb? Get bent, mpb. X-M5 for $781 on adorama? Starting to move in the right direction... Yes. And the close-up stuff could, theoretically, be done with some of the nicer existing action cameras with a diopter.

Oh yeah, they absolutely do. And as the article you linked said, they look like optical shallow DOF instead of simulated! Another possibility is that they release two versions, one with a small sensor for the traditional action sports use case - and one with a bigger sensor for the vlogger crowd. If they DID release something like the Z Cam E1, but with a modern SOC supporting 10-bit, a flat profile, and a decent H.265 implementation, I'd be excited for a GoPro for the first time in years.

If the sensor is getting that big, focus is going to be a problem. On 1" sensor action cameras with a fixed focus range, there's already a problem where manufacturers need to choose whether to optimize for the 2-4' range when someone is filming themselves or the 8'+ range matching traditional action camera usage. I think they all optimize for the longer range and sell you a diopter if you want to self-film. Users don't seem to love using diopters. So if they're bigger than MFT, they're going to need autofocus or a whole series of lenses with preset focus distance and (probably) slow apertures to keep DOF usable. Autofocus is problematic for a camera that has associated itself with action sports. The mechanism would need to be able to take a pretty gnarly crash at speed, but also even if the AF is great, people are accustomed to deep DOF from them - will they be unhappy when their footage of their buddy doing some crazy move is trashed because the camera decided to focus, instead, on a passer-by? Preset focus distance lenses are less of a concern for reliability since they're pretty similar to the diopters currently used, but they do have the problem that the user needs to start recording with a pretty good idea of their focal distance and they also need, necessarily, to be pretty slow lenses so that the user will stay in focus while moving/talking at a distance of 2-4'. If I were GoPro, I'd be way more likely to follow the approach of phones - use a second sensor to build a depth map and allow setting focus in post. That said, a camera that small with such a big sensor and, ideally, swappable lenses, would be a dream for me. 😅

I'm making films with it. I was recently offered enough for an upcoming feature that it would more than pay for the camera, but it would have also been like half their budget. I suggested a percentage instead - which will almost certainly yield less money, but allow that money to be spent to improve the parts of the film which are more important than my camera, which is most of them. 😅 Just footage in general? The most recent couple of shorts on my YouTube channel (https://youtube.com/eatstoomuchjam) were with the UC12K. Otherwise, most of what I've shot is in short films that are still in festival rotation. Between the UC12K and the GFX 100 II, I'm happy enough with both. If I'm on set, I'm most likely to bring the Ursa, Ronin 4D, R5, and Pocket 3. If I'm taking photos or traveling, the GFX or R5, maybe with the Pocket 3. If I need to travel lighter or be more inconspicuous, the Komodo-X and/or Komodo, probably with the Pocket 3. I'm thinking about taking the train to Chicago to do a 48 in a couple of weeks. If I do, I'll most likely bring the Komodo-X and Pocket 3 with my DJI Mini 3 Pro - that's an entire shooting setup that easily can fit in a backpack, more or less - and with EF lenses, I can use the Canon VND adapter when outside and the Canon focal reducer when inside.

For sure, and I'd be excited to give it a try! I was a Kickstarter backer of the Z Cam E1 and I've bought a few Ribcage kits/cameras over the years. I was disappointed by all of them, but I'm still hoping for that magical/usable tiny sensor camera! I have a little bag full of D-mount and C-mount lenses just waiting to go on something! (I still wish there were a way to get a decent/non-laggy video feed from the Insta360 One R/RS series - I have a Ribcage-modded 1" module and the quality is really decent - but focus is hard, given the only options for monitoring are the camera's tiny screen or laggy wifi)

Like with anything, it's best not to get too revved up over the hype and wait until there are actual cameras around to check out. GoPro are, of course, hiring professionals and cherry picking the very best footage/images that any of them captured. Otherwise, the concept of using an action camera ASIC in a cinema camera isn't new - it was exactly the strategy with the Z Cam E1. Since then, action cameras have advanced a lot, thankfully. Similarly, the Z Cam E2 series used/uses an off the shelf Hisense board, though that one was intended for higher-end security cams/consumer cameras and not action cameras.

Of Two Lands is a good guy. I have the 12K LF and I have a 44-2 as well as two different DSO modded 44-2's - and I also have a GFX 100 II. If you'd like to see other stuff from the modern BM sensor or a smaller, but still pretty big GFX sensor, I can certainly put up some test clips.

I've been hearing a lot of positive things about the AF on the BMCC with the latest betas. Given that BMD have said before that they plan to roll it out to all of their newer cameras, my assumption is that Petty will be announcing it for some more cameras at NAB in a month or so. My selfish hope is that the UC 12K LF is included. It'd also fix one of the major considerations if people are considering C80 or Pyxis 12K if they roll it out there too. My other big. hope/assumption is that they'll also finally announce a USB reader for a single UC media module priced under $400. The MM is fantastic, but it's a pain in the ass to connect the camera to a 10gE network to download it at any reasonable speed (USB and wifi transfers are both slow as hell, not sure why but the virtual network they create on the USB interface is only 100Mb/s) - and the only reader they sell now takes 3 modules which is 2 more than I have and it costs something like $1,000 - and from what I recall, it also needs to be connected to 10gE. And getting into wild speculation, it would be interesting to see them release a smaller camera using a lower-resolution RGBW sensor. A $3k or so 6K (or 8K) camera with similar dynamic range to the 12K sensor in the bigger cameras and Canon/Sony-level AF would be really tempting/compelling.