Month: February 2017

Filming In A Gale

We had a stormy evening, with strong southerlies and we took the Canon XF200 out on our heaviest tripod, plus the Rode VideoMic Pro. We kept the tripod low, yet despite this there was a bit of wind shake, which we corrected with the Adobe Premiere Warp Stabiliser and the Rode wind screen kept most of the noise away. But the main trick is to position the gear out of the wind. Even moving a few feet we found the odd place to shelter. The other trick is to use your body to provide protection to the camera. And like the birds, point into the wind!

 

So Is AUTO on the OSMO Usable?

Since I got the OSMO I have been shooting in full manual mode, in 2K, with a variable ND filter to achieve the best motion look – 100 ISO and 50 fps – double the frame rate (we are in a PAL region).  The results are pretty good in a well lit situation, and with the preset white balance selected (sunny) , it means the shots show no colour variation during shooting.

But of course, especially when on the move, having to stop to adjust the ND is a real pain and the critical exposure readout is very small, though the zebra and wave form monitor does help. However, we found standard full auto created a weird look, mainly because the frame rate was too high, and the exposure varied uncontrollably.

So in this video we tried an experiment. First we set the ND to achieve the best look in manual, (ISO 100 and 50 fps). Then we switched to auto, leaving the ND the same. We found the auto sat around the same setting initially, but occasionally, as we moved around the ISO lifted a little, or the frame rate varied slightly. But the overall look worked quite well. So we will use this setting when we are recording on the move, though will revert to manual on more static shots. We kept the white balance on sunny.

The 2k setting provides the best possible mix between data rate and flexibility, allowing cropping-in in editing when needed, but still maintaining as much detail as possible. 4k data rate is just too low.

Finally, we continue to use the D-Cinelike setting, not D-log. We avoid the log colour setting as the trade off between slightly higher dynamic range and colour is not worth it if the shot is correctly exposed.

A Morning Walk From The Beach

The OSMO handheld camera system is quite compact, despite adding the Z-Mount, external microphone and a sun cover for the monitor. We used this set-up for this video which was recorded on a stinking hot summer day at our local beach.

There is still a little wobble when walking, but its pretty manageable. We recorded in 2k cinema mode (the 4k bit rate is too slow) using manual settings and a variable ND filter. We mastered to HD, after adjusting the colour.

Sony a7RII – 4K Video Test at Lavender Bay, Sydney

We have been testing the video capabilities of the new Sony, looking in particular at moire issues with the full frame sensor (which bins pixels when recording video). Recorded at 100 Mb/s to the internal card. We will post some additional material in sensor crop mode and also via external recording to a shogun. The moire is visible on the original recording, and was not created in post. Note also this video is mastered to 4K.

Sony a7RII – 4K Video Test at North Wollongong

Second of a series of tests with the new Sony, looking at moire. In our previous test we showed the impact on full-frame recording in 4k (or UHD as it really is). In today’s test we looked at recording on the cropped setting, where no pixel-binning happens. This is our recommended setting for video with this camera, unless in extreme low light, as the moire is much less apparent. We also show some directly comparable full-frame footage, which again shows bad moire. These recordings were made with the out of the box settings, other than slowing the auto-focus to stop hunting. We also applied some colour correction. Our next test will be with an external recording device, but we think the noticeable moire on full-frame means the better video comes with crop. but then the field of view is reduced, suggesting that a wider lens is required for landscape and the like.

 

Sony a7SII 4K Sydney Test

A short test recorded in 4K, on the new a7SII, in and around the Central Railway Station in Sydney. We find the camera does a good job of handling difficult light situations, and the internal codec is ok for static shots, but falters with moving images, like passing trains. We found the image quality was good, with very limited moire, and so provides a better full-frame option than the a7RII. Graded with Film Convert, using default camera settings, and no picture profile. We will do some profile tests later.

 

Sony a7RII – 4K Video Test Sydney

Further test in 4K recorded in and around Sydney Central Business District. Used the crop setting, cinema picture setting 1 and auto focus. You can see the moire still in some of the buildings, and also the focus “searching” especially in lower light areas. Manual focus fixes the focus searching, but not the moire. It is a function of the sensor, not the codec, because the same artefacts also show on the Shogun. I conclude that the A7SII is a better bet for 4K Video.