Rhood

Good to know about MPB!
Was pretty close to buying something from them a few months ago.

Quick first impressions of the Viltrox DC-X3

Very nice build quality!
Lot's of accessoires included.
The NPF battery sits a bit loosely, not that it will detach, but when shaking the monitor the battery will rattle a bit. Probably not with every DC-X3. (And of course simple fixes for this)
Scrolled through the menu a few seconds, screen seems nice and bright. Wondering however if my unit is really the amount of nits that it claims to be.
The amount of guidelines for aspect ratio's seems very limiting? Just a few options, and no custom option if I'm not mistaken. Will look further into this when I have more time.

Anybody any thoughts/insights on the VND?

YouTube's search engine has been acting very bad the last few months. It was already not top notch for a few years, but lately it's been really bad.

And I agree with @zerocool22 vimeo used to be a good spot to find interesting films.

Ordered the Viltrox.
The price for what you get was too hard to pass.
I'll let you guys know how it compares to the SmallHD 501.

Does anybody by any chance know if the threaded holes on the Viltrox DC-X3 are regular arri locating? Or different spacing? The SmallHD's have a different spacing.

 

On 2/14/2025 at 4:29 AM, IronFilm said:

with how common just casting video over WiFi is these days, maybe I could simply just live with dedicating one of my tablets to only this task and getting a cage for it

I'd just do that if I were you!

Has anybody used the Smallrig 4415 VND 4x5.6 Filter tray?
Looking at VND's currently. Was going to DIY hack a VND to matte box. But maybe the Smallrig 4415 can be easily adapted? On the B&H website at the Q&A section is stated that it works with a Tilta MB-T12.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1852163-REG/smallrig_4415_multifunctional_vnd_filter_tray.html/qa

Apart from if it would work.
Is it a decent filter?
Before was looking at K&F(budget, popular on YouTube) Vaxis or Haida (Also popular on YouTube) VND filters. Or are the B+W XS-PRO Vario ND MRC-Nano still the best around?

2 hours ago, IronFilm said:

Viltrox DC-X3

Thanks for the recommendation.
I was considering it as well, but it didn't show up on used websites in my country.

Now it is indeed the same price as a used Focus 5 or cheaper than a Portkeys BM5 III.
So actually no need to find it used.
Have you used this monitor yourself?

57 minutes ago, eatstoomuchjam said:

Do you have a goal of recording in braw?  I have the VA 12G (both a 5" and a 7") and it's a good screen, but it won't stand out vs a lot of others unless you want to use it as a recorder as well.

Not at this moment.

Can anybody confirm the SmallHD Focus is daylight viewable at 800 nits?

Currently it's between the Portkeys BM5III or the Focus. Anybody who has had both in hand?

Thanks for chiming in guys!

3 hours ago, QuickHitRecord said:

And you can upgrade the firmware to take advantage of the EL Zone exposure tool

Can the 501 and the Focus 5 (non OLED) also be updated to use EL Zone?

43 minutes ago, Benjamin Hilton said:

The Desview R6 is a really good option too.

Really?
I read a somewhere on a forum that the quality of the screen was really bad. Like looking at an old monitor.
Or is that what you mean with quality control? 
How would you rate the Desview against the Focus 5?

Thank you for the opinions!

I'm gonna stick around with my XT3 and look for a used XH2S.

I can start a new topic for this but don't want to bloat the forum with topics.
Also looking at some used monitors.
I have a SmallHD 501, the button is a bit janky. So I thought buying a back-up one (or keep the 501 as a back-up).
Options I have considered.
• Buy a second 501 (but it's not daylight viewable)
• Buy a SmallHD Focus 5 (claimed to be daylight viewable, but is it at 800 nits? The no loop through is ok, but I can imagine a situation where it is not)
• Portkeys BM5 II or III (a bit more expensive than the previous two, menu not great)
• Blackmagic Video Assist 12G (Even more expensive)
• Atomos Shinobi II (Priced between the focus and the portkeys, some people rave about it some people trash it...)

Anybody who has had their hands on any of these?
Right now leaning towards the Focus 5. Used to SmallHD OS but also their screens.
Things I sometimes use (apart from framing and trusting it for exposure and colors with custom LUTS) waveform, false color, peaking, anamorphic desqueeze.

Thanks!

Yes another camera topic!

Looking for some opinions and thoughts. It's been a while since I looked into other camera's.
There's a documentary project that might come up, and I wanted to anticipate. At first I thought just going with my Fuji XT3 as usual.
But since it seems to be back a bigger project than usual I started to think and look what's on the (used) market.
(It's been a patch of smaller projects the last few years, used to have a F35 or rent Alexa for bigger projects)
Documentary doesn't mean that it's going to be run and gun style. Mainly just a lot smaller crew than fiction project.
What I'm looking for (and probably everyone):
Alexa in a small boxy form factor with internal ND 🙃
Also I think it's the internal ND that started me thinking, since I use single filters in matte box right now.

What I came across:

Sony FS7 MKI and MKII and FS5 MKI and MKII

Rented the FS7 a couple of times years ago for various projects. Was never really fond of the camera.
But that's also because I compared it to the price tag.
Now it's at such low prices that I might consider those it.
Main dislikes: menu system, more ettr style than others (not like Alexa), screen, form factor, extra unit at the back makes it very weird
Pro's: Pretty lightweight, Image is ok (not blown away, but ok)

Canon C70

Never used this camera.
It's pretty high on the dynamic range database? But are those numbers correct?
Main dislikes: a bit more expensive
Pro's: Lightweight, interesting form factor (except the top handle)

What I'm currently also considering:

Fuji XH2S (Or XM5 according to dynamic range database has more stops?!?)

Same mount/eco system/adapters as Fuji XT3
A bit more video dedicated. 
Know I can use autofocus if I really need it. (seldomly)
Also XT3 can be used as B-Cam 🤓
Main dislikes: No internal ND, (probably audio 🤷‍♂️)
Pro's: Lightweight, lens mount/eco system, not the best form factor but my current rig mostly solves this
 

Currently the FS7 seems most tempting, because of the price (1.5 to 2K for a package).
 

Yes I know I can rent, and I might just do that. But interested in hearing your thoughts. 
Also feel free to point me to interesting comparisons (and  interesting options I probably missed).

Hello all,

sorry to open a topic for this.
But currently looking for a 50mm prime with good AF performance for video (quick but natural). I have the Fuji 60mm Macro and that one is very bad for video.
Could not find direct comparisons on google.

Anyone who has had their hands on both? Or one of them?

Thanks!

Yes indeed. I'm going with option 1.

Any specialists out here with recommendations?

I'm thinking of buying older Mac mini as a NAS. 

At Location B (which is offsite, somewhere at a family members house) it's meant solely as a back-up.
At Location A it's meant as a back-up, but I might also look through files and copy them to a work drive. If it can be a work drive, even better but I think that's not possible on a low budget.
 

Ok, I've been reading very bad reviews on quasi all kinds of cloud storage.
I thought everybody used cloud storage, maybe they don't know the risks.

That means there are two options left.

1. NAS at home and NAS at family member's house that I can access from my home.

2. Continue with hooked up physical drive's, which I mirror to one another. But one (or two) of them are at family member's house and/or deposit box.

Option 2 is very hard to keep track of and takes a lot of discipline. But apart from that is pretty simple...

8 hours ago, Marcio Kabke Pinheiro said:

I use iDrive. Ok upload speed, have the option to backup both to a external drive and the cloud.

Thanks, that's the one I'm considering now. I read they had faster speeds than others.

5 hours ago, newfoundmass said:

The main problem with cloud storage I've had is that every company eventually either decreases their offerings or drastically raises their prices. You're kind of at the mercy of whatever company you go with. 

About 10 years ago I had all my stuff backed up to a service called Bitcasa. What it provided then would be considered incredible today. For like $99/year you would get unlimited storage, and all these bells and whistles. I had terabytes of data on there when they raised the price to $999/year. 

I moved my data to Amazon Drive. That worked fine for a few years, until they too raised the price and eventually offered only unlimited storage for photos. 

After hopping around from service to service I just decided to create back ups on hard drives and store them in a fire proof safe. Once I set up my office I'll build a NAS, but things are working okay right now especially since I have gigabit fiber internet, so if I need to share something I can upload it to Google Drive within an hour. 

That's exactly one of my other concerns.

Hi Anaconda,

thank you for your input.
The thing is, currently I only have one location.
So if I get a NAS, it would be at the same location as my other physical drives.
I think the only solution to this is a cloud service, unless I'm mistaken?

Hi all,

what are you all using as a cloud storage service.
Anybody using it as a permanent back-up or has permanent back-up solution?

Been looking into Backblaze, but I'm not sure if I'm convinced. What holds me back is that it makes a back-up of entire system, while I actually would like to choose. Also apparently the upload speed is very low.
Yes, I also use physical hard drives.

Currently need at least 4tb.

Thoughts?
What do you use? What do you recommend?

11 hours ago, IronFilm said:

No. 

(plus for focus pulling you'll usually want to use SDI wireless/monitors, otherwise the delay becomes too much via HDMI)
 

Would a HDMI to SDI converter solve this issue?
So

1. HDMI Camera > HDMI Converter SDI > Wireless SDI Transmitter

Or

2. HDMI Camera > HDMI Monitor > HDMI Converter SDI > Wireless SDI Transmitter

Or

3. HDMI Camera > HDMI Monitor & Converter SDI > Wireless SDI Transmitter

10 hours ago, PPNS said:

it costs about 120 euros a day here to rent a terradek bolt 

Well I meant as a buying option.
I know renting would be well below 500 a day 🙂

Is there any HDMI transmitter below 500 that is good enough for focus pulling?

Slightly off topic.
But how do the Viltrox XF lenses compare to the Sigma XF lenses and  Fuji XF lenses regarding the AF performance?
Especially asking AF performance for video. I sometimes use AF for slow motion detail shots, following/tracking shots. So not asking for talking heads, Youtube or such.

Interested in these focal lenghts

13mm f1.4 vs Fuji 16mm f1.4

23mm f1.4 (viltrox vs old Fuji)

56mm f1.4 vs Fuji 56 f1.2 old version

Any interesting deals from European shops this Black Friday weekend?

Also curious what others have on their list, especially for deals in Europe.

Affinity Photo 2, Designer 2 and Publisher 2 is on my list as well. Although I only have use for Affinity Photo 2...

Might go for one of the Aputure deals.
Also looking at a new iPhone (refurbished).

On 11/10/2022 at 3:52 AM, scotchtape said:

The cheapest models lack usability features for work and have questionable light quality - for example on your first link - no display on the unit, no control on the unit itself.  Remote also has no display. Not to mention no color metrics for product. Also very old design with open front for noisy airflow if the fan is not quiet.

The other Colbor stuff looks ok if you need RGB, but are low output. We are talking about getting high quality powerful lights for cheap in this thread 😄

The ZYSB is magenta initially (good because they green up over time). I think the meter said around +1 green, so not great, but for me it's not the end of the world.

Oops!
You clearly have more Aliexpress experience than me 😂

The Colbor also has bi-color and single color fixtures. The connecting matrix design is what makes it interesting.
You can create a led brute or dino light with these. I did see a picture with each fixture having a separate cable, that's a lot of cabling. They should make a single (bigger) power supply where you can hookup your matrix to, still need cables for each fixture, but only one power cable.
Also a shame that you can't use the reflector in matrix. That would increase output significantly.

On 11/9/2022 at 5:19 PM, Kisaha said:

I just received today the CL60R. So far I was impressed by the build quality, the output, the very friendly buttons placement (and existance!), the app, the size, the weight, the price, the original design and also the silly box/case that came with.

Seems like a company that's serious about their stuff. I also read that they have an EU office and check "locally" warranty claims..

Unfortunately it didn't work with a power bank I have. It turns on, but switches after half a second with a 65w. Maybe it needs an 80w..

First impressions positive. Still have to pass the test of time.

I got it as a hair light and for the effects, in case I need them, so I wanted it extra portable.

Thanks for chiming in Kisaha!
Do you know if they use the RGB to combine and  form whitepoint?
How is the output of the colors? Is each color bright and saturated? 
Are these flicker free at high speed recording?

On 11/9/2022 at 2:03 PM, Django said:

Yes and no imo. XT5 has a 1.22x crop for all its extra resolution and oversampled modes. Uses pixel-binning in several modes. It has superior RS. No ProRes. No 4K120p. And there is overheating limitations due to the smaller body.

XH2S with its stacked sensor is an actual XT3/XT4/XT5 on steroids with super fast read-out allowing low RS at 14-bit, faster AF, 40fps with no blackout, 4K120p, 6.2K Open Gate, ProRes...

But more importantly concerning OPs EVF top issue, XH2S offers a much more comfortable:

5.76M dot OLED viewfinder with 0.8x magnification and up to 120fps refresh

 

Yes the XH2S is very interesting. Although I wouldn't buy it as a trashcam.
If I buy the XH2S it would make my XT3 my carry around.
But not sure if it's smart to invest into this right now.

I've been looking around and found some interesting models to replace my 550D, Fuji XM1, Fuji XA10, Fuji XA7. Any user experiences? Used prices vary a lot, sometimes comes into XE2S or XE3 territory.

And did you check if they are flicker free on higher frame rates?

I searched a bit on Aliexpress.
I might have found something crazy cheap that you want to try out.
Around 100 euro for 300W
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005003912590090.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.3.19247ecb89I2Jn&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.281175.0&scm_id=1007.40050.281175.0&scm-url=1007.40050.281175.0&pvid=9da7394c-e478-4d61-b54d-5f1fac4e4127&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.281175.0,pvid:9da7394c-e478-4d61-b54d-5f1fac4e4127,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238111%231996&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000027451792889"%2C"sceneId"%3A"30050"}&pdp_npi=2%40dis!EUR!125.47!84.06!!!!!%402101f6b116679930580155327ebaba!12000027451792889!rec

Also those Colbor CL60 and 100's seem cool. They can be hooked up to each other in a matrix/array.
Does anybody know if these pass power to each other? Or does each single fixture need to be plugged in? That's a lot of cables...

Link to the Colbor CL60R RGB version
https://www.colborlight.com/products/co-cl60r

Other interesting stuff I found on or through Aliexpress
 

150W, 300W and 500W Airtube / Airpanel led style fixtures 😮

https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005004709709163.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.19.272f9f81aSgx25&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.281175.0&scm_id=1007.40050.281175.0&scm-url=1007.40050.281175.0&pvid=b325774c-1ee4-4384-967a-20485e9e701b&_t=gps-id:pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.281175.0,pvid:b325774c-1ee4-4384-967a-20485e9e701b,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238111%231996&pdp_ext_f={"sku_id"%3A"12000030185487161"%2C"sceneId"%3A"30050"}&pdp_npi=2%40dis!EUR!641.51!564.53!!!!!%402101f6b716679933376201169ea7a8!12000030185487161!rec

Also seem to make a 650W / 700W COB at around 750
They don't seem like a small brand
http://www.syingfilm.com

Also found a Lightstar Luxed 4 copy
https://namgrip.tv/store/GT-SL04-p357565557
 

Interesting