barefoot_dp

I'm actually starting to get interested in the Z-Cams. Since covid-19 smashed my dreams of buying an URSA Mini Pro G2 this year I've been thinking about other options and the Z-Cam is the only other camera that ticks most of the boxes I want for my next camera. Here's the checklist of things I want:

- 4K @ 100fps
- Internal ProRes (or similar edit-friendly 10-bit codec)
- V-Mount batteries (or easily adapted without making a horrible rig) to power monitor, FF, etc.
- Better Image quality / colour than the FS700 4K
- Dual XLR
- Native EF mount so I can do away with Metabones adapters.

It seems the Z Cams can handle all of this with the exception of XLR - though with the newest update it at least makes it possible to record and adjust two channels independently. I'm researching exactly what I need to make a working rig at the moment.

 

5 hours ago, kye said:

Sounds like they set out to build a camera for a specific task without first phoning up the camera store to see if one existed already.

They knew it existed... but they also knew that their crazed fan base would buy whatever they release.

Red are kind of like Jeep. They beat everyone else with their original products - one of the first of it's kind - then cashed in on their reputation and started selling overpriced, unreliable products, but with very focused marketing. 

Did they lock the thread, or did they delete it?

 

22 hours ago, IronFilm said:

"Mike Russell" 😉
Or "Justin Frame"
 

Cam Raman?
Phil Merguy?
Ed Eitor?
Matt Box?
 

8 hours ago, reo702 said:

But why?! A6400 is suppose to have cutting edge video AF.

Keep in mind you're using a 3rd party lens and adapter. That always complicates things.
 

While we're talking about the a6xxx's, has anyone had any problems with playback in Windows or Premiere?

I find that Windows seems to play the clips from my a6400 (HLG) back with extreme overexposure. A clip with proper exposure will playback almost completely white. Once I bring them into Premiere the colour is fine, but changing the playback speed gives stuttering playback in a very strange way. It''s almost like every individual GOP is split in half and played back to front. So for example, it'll play back frames 16-30, then frames 1-15, then frames 46-60, then frames 31-45, etc, etc.

This is on two different machines both with Windows 10 and Premiere Pro 2019 & 2020.

If all of that is actually true, I'd expect them to price it pretty close to the C500mkII.

Instead of offering clearly tiered products, they'll essentially have two flagships - neither of which does all of what you want, and you'll be forced to choose between 6K/FF vs s35/4K120p. Kind of like the old days of the 1d/1ds before they merged them into the 1dx.

7 minutes ago, Márcio Kabke Pinheiro said:

Well, after the speech that the Brazilian president just gave on national network, Trump looks like a very sane leader in comparison.

I'm just waiting for one of the world leaders to deliver a word-for-word rendition of Bill Nighy's monologue from Harry Potter.
 

On 3/22/2020 at 3:14 PM, noone said:

Things were going better here in Australia than most places and they seemed to be getting to be able to flatten the curve.....then a couple of days ago they let FOUR cruise ship loads of people out into the wild in Sydney with several on EACH SHIP having the virus...Even if they CAN track down all those people, by now, it is far to late and so in a coupe of weeks it will be bedlam.

 

Today the government put out a decent sized emergency package that has some on the left up in arms and some on the right as well so looks to me to be pretty right (a bit too generous maybe but better that than the other way).

Not in lockdown YET (that will change any day now) but even so it can be pretty still out.   

This is a main street in Wagga Wagga a small city in regional NSW (and the centre of the Universe).

Ah yes, the bustling metropolis of Wagga Wagga.

As an interesting comparison to the above photo, perhaps you could share one taken during the lockdown too. 🤣

6 hours ago, noone said:

I do not really care about new cameras now (ok I do but unlikely to get any) but i AM looking forward to photographing and recording the giant party that is gunna be here when "it's" over with what I have..

I don't imagine there's ever going to be an "it's over!" moment.

Some of the stuff I've read suggests that we'll be living with this virus for years, in much the same was as we live with the flu.

But of course, this is still early days so all of this research could turn out to be wrong. Maybe covid-19 will sign an armistice and the whole world will celebrate together for a brief moment before socialist ideology divides governments and an international standoff spanning 40 years and known as "The Cold & Flu War" will begin. Those in democratic capitalist countries will have access to a whole lot of new camera tech, while those in socialist dictatorships will only have access to a single, state-sanctioned camera.

I hope that camera has the things I listed above!

I'm still waiting for the (fairly realistic) camera I've wanted for the past 2 years:

4K 10bit 422 Intra (ie prores or similar)
S35
120fps (in 4K)
2x XLR and proper manual controls
Internal ND's
V-lock battery mount (integrated, not some aftermarket contraption requiring rails and cables going everywhere)

URSA Mini Pro G2 is still the only one that meets this criteria, but with my income totally wiped out for the next 6 months at least, it is totally off the table now.

ZCam is the next closest offering, but seems to be missing proper audio.
 

I re-watch that movie every 5 years or so.

It gets funnier and truer every time.

34 minutes ago, Andrew Reid said:

No need to be insulting or personal. I am not a government. I don't need to have pandemic readiness!

My government does, however.

I got out of Barcelona last Thursday. Back in the UK now. There were no rescue flights for those still there, to repatriate people. Most airlines gave up and grounded their fleets, while governments sat on their hands over that too.

It was not intended to be insulting, but tongue in cheek. I just found it a little amusing that you posted an article about being stuck in Barcelona when flights were cancelled unexpectedly, and then a few days later (with hindsight) claimed that any person with eyes could have predicted it ahead of time.

The problem is people are happy to blame their governments for inaction, but they also either a) ignore "advice" unless it is legally enforced, or b) complain about overly strict containment measures which inconvenience them personally. By the time they realise the seriousness of the situation (and after having ignored the "advice" the whole time), they're unwilling to accept any personal responsibility and would prefer instead to blame someone else. Case in point, Bondi Beach, where tourists, as well as affluent locals with an exaggeratted sense of self importance, ignored all warnings. Now there's a number of cases currently emerging in the area following a night of "business as usual" clubbing there.

6 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

You just need eyes and to be able to logically deduce more than 1 step ahead (which rules out at least 50% of the British public)

6 hours ago, Andrew Reid said:

So yes, the government had all this info, like the lay man did, like the bloke who runs EOSHD did, it's not even hard to understand...

If it was so obvious, even to the bloke who runs EOSHD, and so easy to logically deduce 1 step ahead, how did he manage to get stranded in Barcelona? Hindsight is a wonderful thing, after all. 

I think the problem in the western countries is not so much a lack a decisive leadership, but a lack of personal responsibility. Everyone thinks they are the exception to the rule. Everyone thinks that they'll still be ok to go to the pub, or on their holiday. Businesses think they won't possibly be a danger to anyone and refuse to take precautionary measures. And yes, that selfishness extends to the politicians and executives who make decisions based more on their stock holdings or poll ratings than on overall public benefit. 

It is not a leadership problem, it is a cultural problem. We've seen that here in Australia where thousands of people swarmed Bondi Beach despite government warnings. People are equally culpable at all levels of society, not just in leadership.

20 hours ago, gt3rs said:

5.5k raw at 60 fps is quite close to 8k 30 fps in data so it would be in theory doable. Not sure they will do it

Yeah fair point. I didn't realise the 1DXmkIII did raw at 60fps. That's not to say it is any more practical though!

19 hours ago, Rinad Amir said:

I believe Canon will use H265 codec for 8K

Nothing has being mentioned yet about Raw .

Yes that was kind of the point I was getting at. 8K raw would be so massively impractical, particularly for the target market, that I very much doubt it would be included.
 

11 hours ago, independent said:

No, most guys are not using easyrigs. Again, you said, "when shooting dramas or commercials, I'd say most guys are using an easyrig more than a tripod or dolly these days"

I like how you conveniently left out the part where I said it was my experience working as an AC, so that you can accuse me of making generalisations. Perhaps what we can all learn from this is that there are big differences across different styles and markets. And that some people don't like their world views being challenged.

I also really like that you accuse Australians of having no sense of humour, (sorry, the precise quote was "humor") and then go off like a firecracker when I made a joke.

And, as I noted, showing me lots of photos of guys not shooting with easyrigs is not exactly definitive proof of anything. The internet is littered with photos of all sorts of things. I could probably find a collection of photographs of Ukrainian teenagers dressed as pirates, but I'm sure you would not take that as proof that pirate attire is the dominant fashion trend amongst Ukranian teenagers.
 

15 hours ago, Rinad Amir said:

If this thing will shoot 12bit raw  than yes it will compete with 1dx miii  

8K raw would be more than double the data of 5.5K raw. That's a whole lot of headaches for media & storage costs!

Well, over the past week things have changed a lot, with two months of confirmed jobs cancelled and no idea what will happen for the rest of the year.

Look like my new camera owning plans for 2020 are to keep shooting on the FS700 + Shogun Inferno for another year.

34 minutes ago, currensheldon said:

I’m really hoping for an RF Mount. 
 

i am really hoping for a full frame C300II that is basically a C500II but without the 6k and with the addition of an RF Mount and 120fps in 4k. 
 

I'm quite happy with EF mount for the moment - after years of using lens adapters I'm looking forward to never having my aperture suddenly bug out, or constantly wondering  if a certain lens needs extra support because it has the adapter in between.

120fps in 4K is what I am really looking forward to seeing on more cameras though.

10 hours ago, independent said:

 

 

Well, of course I don't know what humor is. I'm Australian and we only have humour. Although I was once involved in a humerus situation - luckily my free healthcare took care or it though!

I do know what Irony is though. It's something along the lines of calling someone out for not naming a specific Netflix production, while claiming you've answered the question adequately by mentioning "productions from Netflix" 😂

On 3/12/2020 at 9:50 PM, eleison said:

Within 2 months, people will forget about this like they did the ebola virus, swine flu, bird flu, etc.

Um, no. Even IF the virus magically disappears within the next two months, we will be feeling the economic impacts for many months (or even years). I certainly won't forget about it in two months as my savings dwindle just as my second baby is due and my contracted land is scheduled for release, and I'll possibly lose the holding deposit because no lender is going to give me a mortgage when I've been out of work for three months because every job I'd booked has now been cancelled. 

18 hours ago, Mokara said:

Unlike China, we can be sure that all those folk received the best medical care, so that is the sort of number you are going to see in the US

I agree with most of what you've said, but what makes you think all the folk in the US are going to get the best medical care? Free healthcare is one of the many freedoms American's do not have.
 

The 8K will be there only as a marketing gimmick. It'll be far from practical (or necessary) in reality.

Have fun editing 8K h265!

I did notice the wording of the press release was a bit strange though, something along the lines of using the "full width" of the sensor. It got me thinking about the Red Raven, which was advertised as shooting 4.5K with a S35 sensor - but only at 2.4:1. So by the time you crop it to an actual size that your client demands, you're left with UHD from a m4/3rds sized sensor.

I'm not on lockdown and even If I am, I live in a rural area so will still have plenty of freedom. But I have lost about $20K of work already from events being cancelled. These are the returning annual gigs that I depend on each year, so losing them is a big hit.

My plan is to teach myself everything I can about live streaming so I can start to market myself as someone who can solve the problem that a lot of events are currently experiencing.

On 3/8/2020 at 3:08 AM, independent said:

Interesting. What "sets of Netflix series" have you have worked on that used easyrigs? 

On 3/11/2020 at 3:52 AM, independent said:

As for you, personally, I find your own arguments weak

I'm still waiting for you to answer my question, which I've asked twice, about what cameras and types of sets you're witnessing in New York. All you've done is post a whole lot of images you found on the web of people not in New York not using easy rigs. It's not exactly hard for me to do the same and post pictures of people who are using them.

As I already said, my observations are from a 1AC perspective shooting commercials and some drama in Australia. For more context, these are not Hollywood shoots. These are ads, content, short films and sometimes a series. These are sets where the DP and the operator are the same person. They're usually 'modern' sets in the sense that most of the crew are under 40 and have only ever worked with digital. They're also sets where every minute counts (usually as a result of ever decreasing budgets) and so the director often opts for a handheld aesthetic because it is currently popular and allows more shots per day with fewer crew. And in those situations, Easyrig is the tool of choice most of the time.
 

On 3/11/2020 at 12:09 AM, BrooklynDan said:

Easyrigs get rented a lot, but mostly to commercials and branded content. They work great for getting that spontaneous, free-floating handheld look, shot-from-the-hip style that's prevalent now in ads

Yep, that's pretty much my experience. Careful what you say though, you might get accused of spreading horseshit and misinformation by someone who refuses to back up their own comments!

What lenses are you using at the moment?