[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/150618927[/vimeo]
The Sony FS5 has had a largely warm welcome from the video community but there has been one thing bugging a lot of owners and potential buyers alike – the quality of the internal codec.
Just how good or bad is it?
[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/135859807[/vimeo]
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When you have a Need For Speed there are two people you can call – Shane Hurlbut or Metabones.
The Metabones Speed Booster adapters give us apertures as fast as F0.64 from the rare Canon EF 50mm F1.0.
The XL 0.64x version fits the GH4 and turns the scruffy 2.3x crop 4K into a shiny Super 35mm unicorn. F1.2 becomes F0.88.
The Ultra 0.74x version for E-mount fits the A7R II and turns the Super 35mm mode into full frame, with the benefit of 1 stop gain in low light and a further 1 stop gain in noise performance over the pixel binned full frame mode.
Read morePanasonic GH4 vs Sony A7R II in low light – Speed Booster Shootout
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/119331030[/vimeo]
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The Canon C300 (currently reduced to $11,500) was the $15,000 stalwart of the professional videographer, only recently did it have a compelling rival – the Sony FS7.
The Samsung NX1 is essentially a cutting edge 4K Super 35mm sensor in a mirrorless camera, recently given a video oriented firmware update which improves dynamic range and the available image profiles.
I was curious to see how the images from these cameras compared and I put my Canon 1D C into the mix as well.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/101260603[/vimeo]
I’ve had the A7S for over a week now and can share my initial thoughts, even some firm conclusions. Here’s one I’ve come to already – the Sony A7S is the best consumer camera Sony have ever made.
For $2500 the video performance of the A7S sits between the FS700 ($8000) and F5 ($17,000) yet the full frame sensor lends more character and allows for groundbreaking low light performance.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/90809303[/vimeo]
Tip jar EOSHD just $5 if you think this article is useful
Nerd alert!
I’m afraid it’s time to put the creative urges to one side and get down to the nitty gritty. Just exactly how does the GH4’s image stack up against the competition?
Read morePanasonic GH4 4K Production Diary – Day 3 – EOSHD Shootout
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/77268402[/vimeo]
68GB worth of material was used to get a studio based test this finely tuned, with the cameras matched in post as close as possible. This effort to remove the variables of grading and camera settings leaves behind a truer picture of the differences in hardware capabilities.
The 5D Mark III raw (from Magic Lantern), if it were a film stock, would be Fuji. Warm vivid colours which may need taming a bit in post. The Blackmagic is more Kodak, cooler and more muted, it often requires the opposite treatment in post to the Canon cameras. The 7D is totally back from the dead – with Magic Lantern raw and the Mosaic Engineering VAF-7D tested here, it offers lovely image quality from a Super 35mm sized sensor, at a similar price to the Pocket Cinema Camera. The Panasonic GH3 – best of the standard system cameras out of the box without modifications does a good job keeping up with them.
The scene was lit three ways to test resolution, dynamic range and low light performance.
Read moreIn depth test – 5D Mark III and 7D raw video vs Blackmagic Pocket vs GH3
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/70830474[/vimeo]
The G6 achieves a certain yin-and-yang. With the GH3 now occupying a higher position in the line, the G6 has moved up to occupy the position once taken by our much loved GH2. It shares the same sensor which of course was always pretty special for video, yet adds a lot of significant new features like 1080/60p, a faster processor, high resolution LCD and something the GH3 doesn’t even have – focus peaking.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/67513738[/vimeo]
Fancy grading yourself? Download my pack of original files from the 5D Mark III and KineRaw S35. The file contains selected Cinema DNG frames and CineForm RAW .Mov clips from both cameras.
The Kinefinity KineRaw S35 is the most complete debut camera I’ve ever seen. Packed with features, it simply doesn’t feel like an S35 version 1.0.