the editman.com

Looking at log-like recording with the AF101

theeditman — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:32:47 GMT

No matter how you fight the fact that the Panasonic AF101 is an 8-bit camera, it still is 8-bit, with the limitations it brings. This camera can be accused of having the lowest DR of all the large sensor cameras and that's probably true to some extent.

There are a couple of goals how I look upon achieving the greatest footage out of this camera. I look at; colour, noise, 8-bit artefacts, resolution, DR and compression artefacts. It's not an easy task to really know what happens when you dial the settings in camera and what happens when you start to grade or push the footage.

The usual thing to do is to shoot as flat as possible to safe as much as you can and afterwards grade the footage to your liking. Sounds really easy and sure enough you can set the AF101 to be very very flat. The problem is the minute you start to stretch that flat image to achieve some sort of contrast it starts to break up. I think it does this due to 8-bit and compression used when recording to the internal cards in AVCHD.

You can try to set this camera to a flat setting by using the Cineline D gamma and master pedal to +5. Also use the noisefree norm2 colour matrix and lower detail and you'll end up with a reasonable noisefree and utterly flat looking image. That can be a nice flat look that can work on it's own but the second you start to grade it it will break. In many scenes you might not notice it thou but looking at gradients show breaking early on when applying a s-curve.

But most of us do prefer a bit more contrast to the image. You can try to use these settings for a very contrasty and punchy image; Cinelike V gamma, master pedal at -4, Norm2 gamma and turned down detail and chroma. The result is a picture with great contrast but reduced DR and might look to contrasty.

So is there no middle ground?

Well, there's one trick that works the opposite to shooting log/flat footage and that is to achieve a flatter look when grading. Thanks to many excellent tools like Magic Bullet you can shoot with the most contrasty setting and still end up with a just enough flat image.

The image above shows a frame grab from my "clean" settings. Settings are; Cinelike V gamma, norm2 matrix, master pedal -4, chroma -4, detail -4, v detail -4. I would say this scene file has the lowest degree of noise so check on noise. I put a white card in the frame that is clipped and there are details going into black and levels in between. Focus is set on the plastic bag and the printed text to show resolution.

One misunderstanding I see often is this camera is noisy even at ISO200 but it all comes down to the settings you use. The example images you see here are shot in ISO1000 and using my clean settings the footage is pretty much free of noise.

In itself it looks okay except for the clipped white card and if you check on the lower right corner there's chroma skew due to a couple of things. First it's the settings to have a high contrast image that introduced the chroma skew, then it's the norm2 matrix which boost colours. I think the Cinelike V gamma has a nice high roll-off and the white card is clipped but doesn't really look ugly, just clipped.

Now look at the this image. It looks really flat right? I would say it's a bit on the wild side, but I made it this way to show you can do a reverse log/flat thing with the AF101 that doesn't introduce noise or 8-bit/compression artefacts.

If I had done it like one expects - to shoot as flat as possible in camera and graded to look like the contrasty image earlier, it would have gone broke by now. But doing it the reverse way works with the limits of this camera. Since 8-bit only has so many levels it just breaks when you stretch it but not when you make it flat.

You might notice the chroma skew is absent in the lower right corner. There's a little footage saver in Magic Bullet and it's the shoulder. Again I made it pretty extreme in this example to show how it can remedy chroma skew.

Probably you'll grade this image like the picture above. Less contrast but not as flat as the extreme example. My point is you might have to think in a new direction sometimes if you want to achieve something that can be difficult with an 8-bit camera like the Panasonic AF101. It's better to shoot with as few artefacts as possible to start with and flatten the image to you liking afterwards.

Again, if your goal is a really flat result you'd better use a flat scene file but if you're after something that will be graded it can be worth the time to try contrasty vs flat scene file.

One has to realize this is not an Alexa and you can not expect it to be one. But there are tweaks that can make it better.

Using Panasonic AF101 as an ENG camera

theeditman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:09:54 GMT

One of the great things about Panasonic AF101 is you can use almost any lens. The lens that is hard to come by is a fast zoom lens made for shooting video. Non of the m4/3 lenses can do smooth zoom action. You have the choice of getting a very expensive cine zoom made for 35mm film cameras or go the B4-lens route just like I have.

Thanks to the low noise in this camera you can crank ISO way up and end up with a good looking image. The image above is from a shoot I did this week, Prores LT 4:2:2 ISO1000 and the lens at roughly F5.6.

Something that would have suited a 1/3-2/3 chip ENG camera but the AF101 with a B4 lens works really good as a substitute. The downside is you loose two stops of light when using the 2x extender but other than that it's a great combination.

I still hope for affordable lenses made for m4/3 that works as nice as these ENG lenses. I have a Canon J17ax7.7 and made a cable to power the zoom but it would be exciting to see something innovative in the future in lenses made for these type of large sensors cameras.

5DmkII used on my multi-jib

theeditman — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:06:58 GMT

I really try to stay out of 5DmkII video shooting but sometimes a client have less money and can't afford a proper video camera like my AF101. This was one of these jobs and also the first one I got to use my new jib the multi-jib from Hague.

Everytime I use equipment for the first time there's something that doesn't work like I imagine it to work but this jib is sweet to use. The problems had more to do with my 5DmkII than with the actual jib. I used my Zacuto EVF to monitor and HDMI is something I really hate. It works fine on my AF101 because it have a full size HDMI connector but the flimsy mini HDMI is a joke. I had numerous occasions when the signal dropped out. When you use a jib you move the camera alot and that in combination with mini HDMI is not good at all.

I used the multi-jib in the standard length and had to put 10kg worth of weight on the back of the jib to have it in balance. When I moved the Zacuto EVF around, using a small and very versatile clamp, the weight shifted so I had to hang a 10m BNC cable over the weights to fine tune the balance. One thing I hate about a jib is to haul all the weights to and from a location. It's worth the effort when you have the jib up and running but man it's a back breaker to carry it around.

The multi-jib rests on a Manfrotto 528 tripod and Manfrotto 114 dolly. A great combination and I manage to roll the jib around even in tight spaces.

I had some issues with the jib I had before, the Hague K10, getting bouncy images if moving to fast but this jib is rock solid. It takes a bit longer to assemble but the more you do it the faster it becomes. I think I removed the jib part from the tripod four times during the day when moving the jib from floor to floor and it was fast to handle.

In most of the shots I used the pan bar on my Sachtler FSB8 head to move the camera and on a couple of shots I stood on the back. If you want the footage can look like steadycam footage and you can move the camera to locations that would be near to impossible on a steadycam. It certainly adds production value!

A jib is something you use more if you own it. A good investment in the long run indeed.

Affordable soft lighting

theeditman — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:38:27 GMT

A key to good looking images is light. Without it you seldom get anything nice. There are many different sources to use and in different colour temperatures. A tungsten light is what you normally have at home in incandescent or halogen lights. You can also have fluorescent low wattage sources in tungsten or cooler temperature. A very commonly used light is a Kino Flow when you need a soft source of light. You can also use halogen sources and have the light go through a softbox.

Often a softbox uses a speedring to fit most fixtures but I never liked the time it takes to put one together. But there are ways to put something together that's both easy to use and inexpensive.

The softbox above works like an umbrella and folds easily and fast. In the middle there's an E27 socket to fit a bulb or like in in this case an 85W 5500K balanced fluorescent bulb. This has to be one of the simplest light sources to use and it doesn't cost much. Perfect for someone on a budget.

This softbox costs less than $30 including worldwide shipping and that bulb at about $15 each. It's strong enough to be used as a soft keylight and it's really fast to assembly. Compare that to any fluorescent panel light fixtures that costs way more even if it's a Chinese no-name brand.

New lens - Nikon 35-70/2.8

theeditman — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:27:12 GMT

I haven't had a Nikon lens for years but I got hold of this used Nikon 35-70/2.8 for a decent price. 35-70mm is a very nice range when it comes to doing sit down interviews and I'll try it on my AF101. Nikon lenses even work on Canon cameras and it can be nice to have at least one Nikon lens to play with in case I stumble across a Nikon camera.

New lens - Canon EF 50/1.2 L - again!

theeditman — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:27:44 GMT

This is my second Canon EF 50/1.2 L lens I've bought. I liked the first one and I like this one. I still have Zeiss 50/1.4 and I regard that lens to have better image quality than this Canon L lens. At F1.2 it's so soft and compared to the Voigtländer 25/0.95 it's fuzzy. Stopped down it looks really good but I have to admit this is not the best L lens in the Canon lineup. Even the 24-70/2.8 L puts in a better performance. But these super fast lenses has that feel to them that despite being perfect they are still worth having.

Welcome back Canon 50/1.2L!

Game plan 2012

theeditman — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 22:15:43 GMT

Is 2012 the year when the world comes to an end? Let's hope not and instead look at what my game plan is for the next 12 months or so.

First I have to admit I'm eager to learn more. I've used this last year to try many new things when shooting and bit by bit I do become wiser. I like to share my findings on this blog and I get alot of email from readers. It's rewarding to hear I can help!

So what's up this year? My main goal is to shoot as much paid jobs as I can. This summer it's wedding time again. I don't do many weddings but when I do it's always fun and challenging. Hopefully I'll make at least one short with friends and have the time and opportunity to try out new gadgets to share with you - dear reader.

I also have another goal and that is to reduce my kit to the core stuff I use. This as strange as it might sound involves to get a couple of missing pieces first before getting to the reduce part. I will try hard to stay out of 5DmkII shooting but I guess I can't avoid it. I really want my AF101 to shine this year and the more I use it the better it gets.

If I could defend getting a Canon C300 camera I would and all would be well. Only when I can take full use of my Canon EF lenses, only then a truly compact kit can become real. Although I can afford it, it's not that easy. It all comes down to how much you can charge a client and until the C300 proves itself to be something that can be used for all sorts of jobs I can't justify buying it. It's three times as much as the AF101, but I could never charge three times as much for a daily rental fee.

Most of what I do is some sort of corporate video. These seldom become public and they seldom have a high enough budget to fit the price of a C300. I still think this camera shows promise but it's priced to high and lacks some important features like overcrank in 1080p, 10-bit output and built in XLR. Does it have better image quality then the AF101? Sure I bet, but not three times as much.

So as long as I still have both Canon and Panasonic cameras I'll stick with two sets of lenses and that in turn makes it harder to get to the point I want to end up at - a kit with one set of lenses. I have no interest in having other lenses than Canon EF L lenses for my 5DmkII.

This year I will take full advantage of the Samurai Prores recorder for as good images from the AF101 as I can. Atomos will update it with focus and exposure assist functions and I'm hoping for 1:1 and false colours.

I have started to case all of my equipment to reduce the amount of things to carry. I just hate to have many heavy cases to bring to a shoot. If I can cope with four cases that'll be great. Camera-tripod-lights-slider, that's what I want. It just takes time to find something that works and boy have I tried many different kind of bags and cases.

A case should be; easy to haul around, use during a job, protect the equipment, be air-travel safe and last a long time. This weak I got one B&W Outdoor Case 61 and further on I'll get a 65 case. It feels like something that'll last forever and no matter what I do to it it will protect what's inside. It's even waterproof! I also like it has rounded corners and feels comfortable to carry.

The goal is to have stuff I use often in one B&W case and when going to a big shoot keep the rest of the bits in the other B&W case. I have many soft bags but two durable hard cases will work better in the long run. I have a closet with most of my tools and if I manage to fit all in appropriate cases I can store it without my office looking like a dump.

I also become fond of my LED312 kit last year. I know LED lights have a poor CRI rating but these look really good and to have something this small, lightweight and portable fits right in when it comes to have a smaller kit. In one of my tripod bags I have three Manfrotto 1004BAC master stands. They are great but also overkill for the LED312 panels. So I got three Manfrotto 1051BAC stands to make this kit smaller and lighter. They will also be great to use for my Canon 580exII flash and things like that when shooting stills.

They stack together like the 1004 stands and they are very compact. Perfect for small lights.

I had hoped for a good screen on the Atomos Samurai but it's kinda poor. If Atomos puts in 1:1 zoom it might work as a production on camera monitor but if not I have my eyes on the SmallHD DP6 with NP-F battery mount. I've got a bunch of these Sony NP-style batteries now and they work on the LED panels, Samurai and DP6 so it makes sense to stay with as few different battery kinds as possible. I'll wait for the Samurai update before deciding to get the DP6.

If I look at which lenses gets the most use on my AF101 it's by far the Voigtländer 35/1.2 and 50/1.1. I also used the Canon J17ax7.7B4 lens more than I would have thought. At first it just seemed to be exciting to try on micro4/3 but as I got to use it I really like the AF101 with an ENG lens on. Great for events and that power zoom is smooth. You don't need a 1:1 mode either since the J17 has a push zoom focus check feature. Parfocal is great!

When reviewing which microphones got used last year the number one was my Sennheiser EW100 G3 system. Paired with one Audio Technica AT8010 for handheld stuff it's a tool I don't want to be without. I have a better wired lavalier but pick up from the cable is worse and I like it when there's less cables on the floor. I have two shotgun microphones - AT897 and AT875R. Both great ones so I'll keep both despite I only use them less. All the rest of my microphones I can do without so I'll sell them.

I'll share more during the reduce journey - less is more!

Bye bye to the GH1

theeditman — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 22:40:23 GMT

Today I said bye to my Panasonic GH1. I'm sure this camera will go to the history and be a classic. A great little camera that with hacked firmware has served me a long time.

I could have kept it and use it whenever I felt but one of my goals in 2012 is to reduce the amount of gear I own. Part of my plan is to not involve DSLR cameras in video shooting. Frankly I have a great tool to shoot video in the AF101 so that'll be my choice of camera. I still love my Canon 5DmkII to use when taking stills and I'll try to only use it to do that this year.

In 2011 I invested heavily in equipment and have reach a very comfortable platform when it comes to tools. I now need very few new things to cope with what I do. I wont stop getting new things but I also realize I don't really need them. It's the natural curve of the developing interest I have.

Looking back 2011 has been a great year and the best thing is I've become much better at what I do. That's the greatest investment but many things has helpt me to learn even more of how and what works and what doesn't and my GH1 has been a part of that.

Thank you my red GH1 and go on and make more lovely images with the new owner!

Sachtler FSB8 and Manfrotto 542

theeditman — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:03:23 GMT

There are brands that become a defacto standard and one such brands is Sachtler. I've had the opportunity to work with them sometimes but felt they were a bit to expensive when shooting with DSLR cameras. Finally I got to get me a Sachtler head and I went for their FSB 8 because it seemed to suit me. I decided between the FSB8 or DV10 head.

This last year I have used a Manfrotto 504/546 and although it has worked fine despite things have gone broke on it it was time to move on. The FSB8 head is simple head to operate and the one I got has a sliding plate with a side loading quick snap function. Way faster and more convenient compared to the Manfrotto 504 head. Just pop the camera straight on and fasten that knob and when it's time to pack it up it releases just as fast. I found out the sliding plate for the 504 head worked just fine on the Sachtler FSB8 also and since I have a lot of quick release plates Manfrotto style I still can use them for different base blocks.

The drag settings 1 to 5 is also way better than the one on the 504. It's smooth to pan and tilt and thanks to the 10 step counter balance it works fine even for a bare AF101 with a small lens mounted. This head is a 75mm half ball head and I really wanted a 100mm half ball head but since the Sachtler 10 head isn't available right now I went with this one instead.

The head itself is all metal but the dials are plastic. Even the drag adjustment ring are plastics. One thing that could be improved is the drag positions. You have to be careful to set them straight to the different drag levels. If not it wont lock into position and you'll here a clicking sound when panning or tilting.

This head can take 1 to 10kg load and that was one of the things I wanted so that I can put any camera on it. I will not get a heavy camera but I can see myself with something heavier than just the AF101. Sometimes I kit the AF101 with more stuff and it's comforting to know the head will take the load. This head is also smaller than then 504 and weights less. It's actually a bit tiny in comparision.

The only thing I had to look up in the manual was how to activate the bubble light. You have to press hard at the bubble to activate it. I also find this one to be easier to see than the one on the 504.

The obvious choice would be to pair this head with a Sachtler tripod. But I wanted to give another tripod a shot before deciding and I mounted the FSB8 on a Manfrotto 542 tripod. This one is innovative with the speedy lock-less setup. At first it felt strange and actually was harder than the 546 legs. After a while I learned how to use it and it's actually a nice tripod.

Because it has no knobs or level to adjust it's a bit awkward. You have to raise it with the legs together and then spread them to lock the height. Usually when setting the 546 up I pull it to the desired height with the legs unlocked and then lock them. The 542 requires you to lift it all the way up, spread the legs and then lower it. I'm not sure it's better but frankly it is fast to set up and push together.

The spreader on my 546 have been broken and I never liked how you loosen and tighten it when adjusting the length of the spreader legs. This spreader is actually a lot better. You push a button and pull it to the desired length. Same thing when putting it together. The so called spider spreader has a hub in the middle and if you rotate it you can pull the spreader together for the times when you need to have the tripod in tight spots. I really like this spreader and it reminds me of the one on the Manfrotto 528 tripod I have to use with my crane.

The Sachtler FSB8 and the Manfrotto 542 isn't a perfect match. The tripod has a 100mm mount and the head is 75mm. But it actually works even with the 75mm FSB8 head. Without an adapter. It's not made to do this but it works. I tried the included 75 to 100mm adapter that's included with the tripod but it turned out the screw on the FSB8 is to short. I know there's a kit from Sachtler to mount 75mm heads onto 100mm a tripod but I'll try to use it without the first couple of shoots.

I found a solution that might seem odd. I removed the bottom screw on the FSB8 and took the half ball I have for the Manfrotto 528BX tripod and screwed that straight into the bottom of the FSB8 head. Doing this I can mount the head onto any 100mm half ball tripod and even my K12 crane without using an adapter. Looking at my first choice the DV10SB head I like the side loading mechanism of the FSB8 better. It's fast and gives you a great amount of slide to adjust balance.

The tripod assembly becomes a little higher but stability is not a problem. It might look high but in reality it's not. Only about 20mm higher with the FSB8 mounted on top of that half ball compared to the 75/100 adapter. When using my slider I can unscrew the 100mm half ball and use the FSB8 straight onto the sliders carriage. This another advantage of the FSB8 head, it can be used as a flat bed head in some situations without the bottom screw. When I found this out the FSB8 and Manfrotto 542 become a great purchase and a nice combo!

Just to get a feel for how the FSB8 head worked with how I set my AF101 up I tried it with everything from a light weight rig to a full blown one. When you have adjusted drag and counterbalance and the camera itself is balanced it's so smooth to move this head.

It takes about 15sec to set it up with a camera on top and 15sec to collapse it. It's that speedy.

So what do I think of this years first purchase? I think the FSB8 head is great. Small, easy, super smooth, quick mount of camera. Nothing to complain about. What about the Manfrotto 542? Great spreader but time will tell if I like the way it works without having to tighten or loosen anything.

Another kind of softbox

theeditman — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:12:27 GMT

A softbox can be great to lit peoples faces. You get a smooth, soft light hitting an object and harsh shadows are avoided. I have used a couple of softboxes with metal sticks that has to fit inside a speedring. One fumbles and it takes a bit of swearing sometimes.

I wanted to try something different using umbrellas for flashes and lights one uses when taking stills. After I've searched the market I found a combination of umbrella and softbox. A great idea so I had to try one.

This is a 90x90cm softbox and used with a flash/umbrella holder it's really fast and uncomplicated to set up. Two minutes up, two minutes down. Much faster than using a speedring.

Disadvantage is it isn't made for big lights like fresnel/Redhead but that wasn't part of my plan. I wanted to use my LED312 panels instead.

I first tried to mount the LED in the middle on the umbrella holder but then the LED itself was in the way and the reflective surface inside didn't provide enough light. So I used one of my articulated arms on the lower part of the tripod inside the softbox and that gave me plenty of light. The image above is with the LED312 on a low setting just to show how it reflects.

One of these LED panels is enough for a normal interview situation. If you need more power one could use two LED312 inside.

I paid $37 for the softbox umbrella so it's a cheapo way to get nice smooth light out of something like a LED panel. It can be easily put inside the tripod bag since the folded assembly is really tiny. Highlights are, fast to assemble and take apart. Quality is okay for $37 and with a little bit of care it'll last a long time. I also like that this wont start to tilt like a chimera-like softbox might do due to they being front heavy. This one has the weight right on top of the tripod.

What's inside my AF101 bag?

theeditman — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:30:50 GMT

Inside this Lowepro ProRoller X300 I have my Pansonic AF101 kit. I like this bag because it has plenty of room, it's well padded, compartments are adjustable, you can use it as a backpack and it rolls!

I usually tuck 7-8 lenses inside. My main set of lenses are; Hyperprime 12/1.6, Voigtländer 25/0.95, 35/1.2, 50/1.1 and 75/1.8. I also have a Leica 45/2.8 macro and one Canon J17ax.7B4 lens with adapter.

In one of the corners the AF101 itself lays on the side with extra padding around. One small bag in the same compartment holds audio/video adapters and small things one might need like screws and mounts for different things.

In the opposite corner I have a Cinematics mattebox and a Sennheiser EW100 G3 system. Lenses rests in two levels in each compartment to make room for more lenses. I use 35 and 50mm the most so these are on top and lenses seldom used underneath.

The compartment above the camera holds batteries and chargers. To the far right a pair of Sennheiser HD25 headphones. In the middle a Zacuto EVF and a baseplate to hold camera and rods.

The lid holds many things. Two screw on 77mm filters just in case One ND8 and one CPL. Theres also cables for chargers and power adapter for the camera itself. In the smaller pockets are SDHC cards and card readers. In the outside pockets I have a 10m XLR cable, a Pro70 lavalier, two 45cm rods, flags for the mattebox, a Audio Technica AT897 shot gun microphone and a colour calibration card.

Inside the lid is a small velcro pocket with two microphones inside both from Audio Technica; AT8010 is a handhold interview microphone and the AT875R is for mounting on the camera.
I also have velcro cable holders, cleaning cloths and such tucked inside.

So that's my AF101 bag.