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DPReview TV: Why we shoot our videos with mirrorless cameras (and not video cameras) – video

“We often get asked, ‘Why do you shoot your show with mirrorless cameras instead of video cameras?’ In this episode, we’ll explain why we switched from pro video gear to mirrorless cameras for our production needs….”

Panasonic Lumix DC-S1H with Panasonic Lumix S 24-105mm f/4 Macro OIS standard zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.

Fujifilm GFX100S 100MP medium format camera. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.

Fujifilm X-T4 with Fujinon XF 16-80mm f/4.0 R OIS WR zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.

Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR on Fujifilm X-S10. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.

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Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 25-50mm f/1.7 Aspheric standard to short telephoto zoom lens mounted on Panasonic Lumix GH5II. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.

Fujifilm X-H1 with Fujinon XF XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR Red Badge professional standard zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.

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OM System M.Zuiko Digital ED 20mm f/1.4 Pro on Olympus OM-D E-M1X. Image courtesy of B&H.

Panasonic Lumix DC-S5 with Panasonic Lumix S 85mm f/1.8 prime lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.

Commentary

We live in interesting times and that’s not only due to the pandemic and global politics.

If I had a major documentary video project on the horizon then the two Leica co-branded zoom lenses from Panasonic below would be serious contenders for my core production kit in conjunction with Panasonic’s Lumix GH5 II Micro Four Thirds hybrid camera or, even better, the hopefully coming GH6.

Hybrid cameras have continued improving to the point where 10-bit 4:2:2 DCI 4K 60p has become a potential common standard along with the possibility of internal Blackmagic Raw or Apple ProRes Raw recording.

Add that to in-body image stabilization allied with optical image stabilization and the downside of screw-on fixed or variable neutral density is not so much of a downside at all given the many advantages offered by stills/video hybrids and lenses like the following.

An amazing zoom lens duo for M43 hybrid 4K video production

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Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 10-25mm f/1.7 Aspheric ultra-wide to standard normal zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.

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Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Summilux 25-50mm f/1.7 Aspheric standard to short telephoto zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Australia.

If I were starting over with video production gear right now it would be these two lenses, the Lumix GH5 II or the GH6, the Panasonic DMW-XLR1 XLR and a set of RØDE microphones.

Great tripods and monopods from the likes of 3 Legged Thing or Sachtler’s brilliant Flowtech system are rather less necessary given the fine handholding qualities of IBIS-equipped M43.

Give up on childish things? Not so childish after all!

Not so long ago hybrid video camera users were told that if we wanted to get serious and go pro we had no choice but to become camcorder-centric and give up on childish things.

Not any more, or at least not on our own dime.

Instead, hire camcorders if you need them and spend your own money on a top-notch hybrid camera and lens system whether Fujifilm X Series, Fujifilm GFX, Panasonic Lumix G Series, Panasonic Lumix S Series or wait to see how OM Digital Solutions Corporation delivers on its promise to take video more seriously with last year’s spinning-off from Olympus Corporation.

The stills/video hybrid camera that quietly changed it all, before the Canon EOS 5D Mark II

panasonic_lumix_dmc-gh1_10_1024px — Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 with Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 Aspheric Mega OIS zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic.

panasonic_lumix_dmc-gh1_01_1024px_80pc — Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 with Panasonic Lumix G Vario 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspheric Power OIS zoom lens. Image courtesy of Panasonic Global.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, the company’s first Micro Four Thirds format digital camera. Image courtesy of Panasonic.

When I was about to get back into photography and video after the digital era began picking up steam, all the talk and recommendations were for DSLRs and specifically Canon 35mm-format DSLRs.

Mirrorless and so-called “crop sensor” cameras were barely on the professional radar and all the attention was on the supposedly superior “full frame” and “full format” cameras.

Leica had just released its very first digital rangefinder camera, the Leica M8, with its 10.3 megapixels and 18mm x 27mm 1.33 crop factor sensor for a price well beyond my means.

As I’d used a range of camera types and film sizes during my analog photography days, I was and remain format-agnostic and have never been sucked in by marketing speak attempting to reframe the 35mm miniature format as “full frame”.

If I’d known about Panasonic’s Lumix G1 and GH1 cameras, the hackers’ successful efforts to radically upgrade the GH1’s video, the quality and affordability of Panasonic’s Lumix and Leica lenses, and the close collaboration between Panasonic and Leica, I’d have bypassed Canon and gone straight to Micro Four Thirds for video production.

As it was, I didn’t and I regret it still for the time and money wasted on Canon gear, though I can tell myself that the only time I ever saw a Lumix camera back then was at an inner city duty-free store where the Lumix cameras on display were the lower-end models and not the G1 or GH1.

pleintekst.nl: Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 1080p Survival Guide

http://data.pleintekst.nl/Blackmagic_Pocket_Cinema_Camera_v1_Survival_Guide.html

“The first version of the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, sold from 2013 to 2018, remains the most affordable camera that can shoot RAW (CinemaDNG) and 10bit Log (ProRes) video….

This is not a camera handbook, but a collection of practical tips & tricks resulting from five years experience of shooting with the BM Pocket. It comes out of the tradition of DIY manuals that are used in hand-made film labs for analog 8 and 16mm film where filmmakers keep the technology alive. Since the old BM Pocket is about to disappear from the market, this document will hopefully provide useful knowledge.”

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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera aka BMPCC with Super 16mm sized sensor. Image courtesy of B&H.

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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera aka BMPCC with Super 16mm sized sensor. Image courtesy of B&H.

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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera aka BMPCC with Super 16mm sized sensor. Image courtesy of B&H.

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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera aka BMPCC with Super 16mm sized sensor. Image courtesy of B&H.

Commentary

More than a few owners of the original Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera aka BMPCC, the one with a Super 16 sensor, still use it for production work, and so a resource like this one from an individual referred to as fcr – Florian Cramer? – remains useful and worth sharing here.

A thank you goes to Brad Latta for drawing my attention to it.

Fuji Rumors: Fujifilm Manager: XF18mmF1.4 Resolution Beast (Ready for Fujifilm X-H2?), Why No Focus Clutch, Better than XF16/1.4 and More

https://www.fujirumors.com/fujifilm-manager-xf18mmf1-4-resolution-beast-ready-for-fujifilm-x-h2-why-no-focus-clutch-better-than-xf16-1-4-and-more

“Fujifilm manager Ueno, who was in charge of the development of the brand new Fujinon XF18mm f/1.4 R LM WR, gave an interview in Japanese, where he talks about the development process of this lens, the difference from existing lenses, and how to use it properly.

Once again the challenge is represented by the automatic google translation tool on youtube. I went through this pain for you guys and you can find the summary down below….”

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Fujifilm Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR on Fujifilm X-Pro3. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.

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Fujifilm X-H1 with VPB-XH1 battery grip and Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR professional zoom lens. Image courtesy of Fujifilm Australia.

Commentary

Once again Patrick DiVino of Fuji Rumors goes above and beyond the call of duty by providing a workable translation of the Kitamura YouTube video about the Fujinon XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR prime lens.

Many thanks to Mr DiVino for all his good work!

My personal high points in Patrick DiVino’s translation:

Fujifilm’s first focus was resolution

sensors will evolve also in future offering more megapixel

on the XF18mmF1.4, Fujifilm used an optical design that is very effective to increase resolution

also chromatic aberration, coma, etc are corrected as much as possible optically

autofocus has been improved too thanks to linear motor

20cm close focusing is very close and allows you to get nice background blur, when you focus on a close subject

XF18mmF1.4 has an aperture lock

future lenses will have the A-lock too

in future there will be higher megapixel cameras with higher pixel pitch, and more precise manual focus will be required, given the fact that various characteristics (such as temperature), have influence on manual focus

the linear motor makes autofocus very fast, which should give you great AF results

optical performance between XF18mmF2 and XF18mmF1.4 is different. On XF18mmF2 the priority was keeping size small

XF16mmF1.4 still has first class optical performance, but XF18mmF1.4 is “one or two ranks higher” in terms of performance, as it h[a]s less aberration wide open

2mm difference in APS-C gives a different look on wide angle lenses

olympus_m-zuiko_primes_square_17_25_45_1024px_02_60 — Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 17mm f/1.2 Pro, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 Pro and Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.2 Pro professional prime lenses with manual clutch focusing, brilliant for shooting video or stills where accurate focus is absolutely critical. Image courtesy of Olympus.

Some very promising information there about this long-awaited major update to the Fujinon XF 18mm f/2.0 R. and one that augurs well for documentary photography under available light and darkness as well as cinematography with autofocus and follow-focus.

The following point about the manual clutch focusing capability of first generation Fujinon XF lenses such as the 14mm f/2.8 R, 16mm f/1.4 R WR and 23mm f/1.4 R is interesting.

I often rely upon manual clutch focus, especially when working in available darkness where the camera’s autofocus is challenged, but I prefer the manual clutch focus solution in Olympus’ M. Zuiko Pro prime and zoom lenses to Fujifilm’s.

focus clutch fits well on lenses that are often used with rangefinder styled cameras like the X-Pro series, to achieve manual focus at a more far distance. In the past, this was a very popular way to achieve focus

My favourite M.Zuiko Pro-capable Micro Four Thirds camera for stills photography is the legendary Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX8 rangefinder-style camera and I often cover rapidly-evolving events with the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro zoom lens mounted on it for situations where changing prime lenses is not an option.

The 12-40mm’s manual clutch focus ring has hard stops at each end of the focusing scale and a beautifully smooth action that is excellent for pulling focus by hand or with a follow-focus device.

If money were not an option, and I was doing major work with M43 cameras such as the coming Panasonic Lumix DC-GH6, Lumix BGH1 Cinema 4K Box Camera or the Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (hopefully soon to be upgraded in the same way as its 6K sibling) then I would default to a large kit of M. Zuiko Pro zoom and prime lenses.

on the XF18mmF1.4 the focus ring turns 360° all around, meaning that the focus ring position is not fixed to a definitive focus value

olympus_m-zuiko_pro_collection_2017_1024px_80pc — The Olympus M.Zuiko Pro professional prime and zoom lens collection as of late 2017, all with manual clutch focus, invaluable for fast, accurate and repeatable manual focusing as well as linear focus-by-wire and autofocus. Image courtesy of Olympus.

So, apparently, no hard stops at either end on the XF 18mm f1/4’s ring when manual focusing, but time will tell how well the lens works with manual focusing.

Let’s hope some professional cinematographers put the lens to the test soon.

Mr DiVino has linked the Fujinon 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR and other rumoured second-generation lens updates including the XF 23mm f/1.4 and XF 56mm f/1.2 as well as the coming XF 33mm f/1.4 to the Fujifilm X-H2 flagship stills and video camera apparently to be released sometime in 2022.

Although current X-Tn cameras, the X-T3 and X-T4, have some great traits for stills and video, I much prefer the X-Hn series cameras’ form factor for hybrid work and especially with larger lenses that demand good balance with a larger, heavier camera body plus vertical battery grip.

Fujifilm has long needed to prove its dedication to Super 35 video with a matched set of professional video-capable primes in addition to its existing Red Badge zooms, and I would love to see the company produce a second-generation XF 14mm f/2.8 and a “Fujilux”-style 27mm or 28mm f/1.4 as a professional-quality alternative to its recently-released XF 27mm f/2.8 R WR pancake prime lens.

In order words, Fujifilm, please take a leaf out of the Olympus M. Zuiko Pro book with a matched set of excellent zoom and prime lenses equally suitable for stills and video, autofocus and manual focus, with wide-enough maximum apertures for most lighting situations.