C200, Ursa Mini Pro: Workflow & Choosing a Cinema Camera

In this episode our special guest is Jacob Fenn, a filmmaker and colorist. We discuss workflow and how your workflow can help you choose a cinema camera like the Canon C200, the Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro, or the Sony FS5.

In short: map out your production and post production workflows. This will make choosing a camera easier.

See Jacob Fenn’s work over at FennWorld.

Links to gear discussed and used to record this session:
Canon C200 Cinema Camera (Jacob’s main camera for corporate, commercial, and short film work)

Blackmagic Design Ursa Mini Pro Cinema Camera (This is my main camera for corporate video work)

Sony FS5 Cinema Camera

Sennheiser MKH 8050 Supercardioid Boom Microphone - The mic was farther away than I would have liked, probably 1.5 meters. But it did pretty well

Aputure C120D LED Light - this is my corporate video workhorse light

Aputure Light Dome Soft Box - this is almost always on my COB120d to soften the light for talking head video.

Copyright 2017 by Curtis Judd

Sound for Video Session: Sound to Camera, Matching Mics, Handheld Recorders, Etc.

In this week's Sound for Video Session we addressed several questions submitted by several of you:

- How to send sound to camera?
- How to make recordings with two mics sound the same?
- How to use a handheld recorder when booming a mic?
- Which type of mic to use when recording in very loud environments?
- Is there a single mic that can work in most situations?

Items discussed in this session and where to find them:
3.5mm Attenuation Cable

Sound for Video Session on Sending Audio from Mixer to Camera:

 Zoom F8 Audio Recorder

Sound Devices 633 Audio Mixer & Recorder

Izotope RX6 (Software for matching microphones)

Blackmagic Ursa Mini Pro (Recorded the talking head portion with this camera)

Furman PL-8C Power Conditioner

Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Interface

Sound for Video Session: Ear & Shotgun Mics, Gain, Perspective, Sound to Camera, Side Lobing

In this week's Sound for Video Session we covered several questions from you:

- Recommendations for earset microphones?
- Can you use two mics placed on separate sides of a person so you can record them when they turn the other direction?
- Shotgun Microphone Recommendations?
- Setting gain for line inputs
- Sound perspective: Using a camera mic and lav at the same time
- Record with audio recorder or send audio recorder output to camera?
- Does using the side lobe of a shotgun microphone sound better than using the mic on axis?
- Where should you aim a shotgun mic - mouth, throat, or chest?

My Recent Short Film Passion Projects:

Homeless:

The Music Maker:

Gear Discussed/Used in this Episode:

Countryman E6 Earset Microphone

JK MicJ 071S Headset Microphone: http://amzn.to/2liQ055

Sennheiser ME66 Shotgun Microphone (Has recently increased in price rather dramatically)

RODE NTG2 Shotgun Microphone

My Microphone Meta Review (My favorites from all the mics I’ve used):

Overview of the Zoom F-Control for Zoom F4 and F8 Recorders:

Sound for Video Session: Line Level Inputs, Zoom F8, Limiters, and Brighter Sound

In this week's sound for video session, we talked through several questions:

- How do you feed a microphone into the line level inputs on the Sound Devices 633?

- Zoom F8 - file naming issues, limiters

- Which mics can you use outdoors? Sanken CS3e

- Do you blend lav and boom mics?

- How do I make sound "Brighter" in post?

- Recommendations for starter boom mic and recorder kit?

- How do I send audio from my recorder to my camera?

- Can an Orca OR-30 sound bag hold a Zoom F4 or F8 plus three or four microphones?

Links:

Small preamps to feed line level inputs on your recorder: http://mozegear.com

RODE NT5 Microphone

My recent meta-review of several audio recorders:

Orca OR-30 sound bag

Orca OR-32 sound bag

Orca OR-34 sound bag

GVB Gimbal and 3 Low Cost Action Cameras

There are a ton of inexpensive action cameras available on the market and it is hard to figure out which perform best. So let’s have a quick look at 3: GVB Action Cam, Yi HD Action Cam, and ThiEYE i60 Action Cam. Each come in at about $100 USD.

Also, action cameras, just like any other camera, produce jerky and shaky looking video when you hold them by hand. Gimbals can help to stabilize your camera so that the video footage is smoother and more enjoyable to watch. In this episode, we also look at the GVB Action Camera Gimbal, an affordable entry-level 3 axis gimbal for GoPro Hero 4 and other cameras of the same size and weight.

Yi HD Action Camera Review

I have wanted an action cam for a long time, not because I’m an action sports enthusiast, but for cases where I need to mount a camera in a very tight spot or shoot some very wide angle behind-the-scenes footage. GoPros have been around for a long time, but my budget has always been allocated to other higher priority gear. So when the the $100 Yi Action Camera was sent to me for review, I was curious to see how well it would work for my type of shooting. Let’s have a look!

Yi also has a 4K action camera coming in the next couple of weeks which I'll be interested to review. It comes in at $250 USD and has an LCD screen.

Sony a6000: The First 24 Hours

The Sony a6000 camera and 50mm f/1.8 lens arrived yesterday and I spent a few hours putting it through its paces. Not a ton to say just yet but this camera is every thing I expected, mostly good and a bit of bad.

The good: Incredible imaging in a tiny, very convenient to carry almost anywhere little camera body. Full sensor readout for video (vs. line-skipping which many DSLRs and mirrorless cameras do),  electronic viewfinder, good build quality, assignable custom buttons. Screen articulates for low and high angle shots. Hotshoe so I can add proper portable strobes. Focus is fast and so far, feels as good as my DSLR. More to come on all of this.

The Bad: Tiny battery needs frequent swapping out, strange, somewhat onerous menu system, how do I get a histogram overlay on top of the live-view image? Video record button in an odd location on the handgrip.

Here's my first real foray into the Sony ecosystem (the camera I bought for my wife doesn't count). So far I really like it. It is small enough that bringing a proper camera with me more often is a real possibility. I'll be putting it to use at a concert later this week alongside my Nikon D750 to see how well it holds up for video and stills.

It needs a fast card to record to the XAVC S 50mbps codec so I'll need to order another UHS-3 card along with a battery charger and extra batteries (we've had good luck with Wasabi Power batteries which are priced at a fraction of the OEM Sony batteries).

Sony a6000: I Caved and Bought It

I've had my eye on Sony for a while. If you've been following the blog here, you know about my mixed feelings on the matter: Sony is innovating like crazy and I love what they're doing. Their cameras aren't perfect  but they are very, very compelling! I don't like that they use such tiny batteries that need replacing way too often. I don't like that they shut down after about a 20 minute video clip. I don't like that they don't send 10-bit color out their HDMI port (Panasonic GH4 does). The color science is sometimes a little wonky (e.g., strange looking skies). The menus are a little funky, too. But all that aside, their alpha line of cameras are really, really impressive!

And for me, I like APS-C sized sensors for video. They're a great middle ground. Bigger than micro4/3 which always seems to struggle at ISOs above 800 when shooting video. But not so big that you have to stop way down to get a person entirely in focus like on a full frame sensor. And frankly, for cinema, APS-C/"Super 35" is sort of the closest thing to a standard size. Many of the cinema cameras have sensors this size.

The a6000, in particular has been tempting me for months. I know, it isn't a new camera - in fact, it is quite old (released in early 2014). But Sony has added the XAVC-S codec with 50mbps bit rate. No, it doesn't have any log profiles, but I don't think log profiles on 8-bit 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 color sub-sampling cameras actually works out that well in most cases anyway. Once you get that footage into Resolve or any other color grading app, the image is rather fragile. So I don't think I'm going to miss that too much for my work.

I couldn't pass up the holiday pricing so I just placed my order for the Sony alpha A6000 over at B&H. $398 for the body, $198 for the 50mm f/1.8 lens (when you buy with the a6000 body, $249 otherwise). Can't wait to put it to use!

Sony a6000 Camera Special Pricing

I am so tempted right now... But I already have two very capable cameras...

B&H has the Sony a6000 mirrorless interchangeable lens camera for just under $400 USD right now as part of their black Friday specials. I bought the a5100 for my wife last December and she's been really happy with it. Truth be told, I've been really happy with it too as its the camera that usually comes along on family outings.

When I reviewed the a5100 early this year, the a6000 didn't have the XAVC-S codec while the a5100 did. In true Sony fashion, they since added the XAVC-S codec in a firmware update for the a6000 so now it is capable of recording full HD at 50mbps and reads out the entire sensor to make that image. It is quite beautiful. In fact, I like the footage the a6000 produces better than my Nikon D750.

But the a5100 doesn't have an electronic viewfinder which can be a problem when shooting outdoors. And now the price of the a6000 is same that I paid for the a5100 last year - only $400 for the body.

Yes, Sony will probably release an update of this camera some time in 2016, but wow, this is a great deal for a camera that produces some very nice HD footage with a solid codec. High ISO performance is very solid up through 3200 and maybe even up to 6400. That's not Sony a7S II territory, but plenty of gain for 99% of the shooting I do. Focus system is solid, even in video mode. I really love these little Sonys.

So the $400 gets you just the body, or for $550 you can get it with the 16-50mm kit lens. And that lens is ok, but not the fastest (f/3.5 - 5.6). When we took it along to an indoor dance competition, my wife asked me to shoot during her competition. And while that lens got some great shots, it would have been nicer to have a few more stops to work with. I could have walked away with more motion-blur-free photos. So if I were buying, I'd probably get the body only and then add the Sony 50mm f/1.8 lens.

In case you missed it, here's the review I did of the a5100 earlier this year. Nearly everything on the a5100 also applies to the a6000 except that the a6000 has that electronic viewfinder (which would be very helpful when shooting outdoors):

Please don't be tempted like I am unless you are in the market for a camera and have the cash sitting around.  ;-)

Varavon Armor II Camera Cage for GH4, a7S, NX1

We reviewed the Varavon Armor GH4K camera cage in late 2014 and found it to be a more ergonomic cage than the Fhugen Honu 2.0 cage. I stopped by Varavon’s booth at NAB back in April and was interested to see a couple of prototypes with updates to the original Armor cages. So here we take a closer look at the Armor II for the Panasonic GH4 and GH3. There are also versions specifically designed for Sony a7S, Samsung NX1, and the Canon 5DIII and 7DII.

The updates include a new 15mm carbon fiber rod with an interesting mount (as well as two additional mount points on the cage’s handle) that allows you to mount a follow focus, a shoulder stock for an ultra compact and lightweight should rig, or to attach additional accessories. Gone is the HDMI retaining clamp (which didn’t work all that well anyway) and the pro rotating handle.

Overall, this is a nice, thoughtful update from Varavon to the Armor cage that makes it an even better camera cage for mirrorless and DLSR shooters.