Blaise Douros
Forum Replies Created
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There’s a fantastic Porta-Brace padded soft case that fits the FS7 perfectly. Unfortunately, I don’t know the model number–I used it on another producer’s shoot with his rig, and didn’t think to check the case. It is NOT their RigFS7 case, which I think is likely too short for most zoom lenses.
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you are kind of inferring that the gh5 has better low light than the a7r, correct?
Chris, I didn’t mean to imply that–I don’t know how GH5 compares to A7RIII in terms of low-light performance. I was pointing out that if I had to be looking at cameras for video, I’d be looking at the A7sII before the A7rIII for that reason.
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You’re just seeing the difference between handheld and stabilized. The smooth shots you pointed out are all stabilized, either with a gimbal, Steadicam, or jib. It’s not a question of one look being “better” than another–it’s a choice the DP is making in these music videos.
So yes, if you want shots that move this smoothly, you will need to buy a stabilizer of some sort. Or cut off your arms and replace them with ultra-advanced robotic prosthetics. But I’d go with the stabilizers. If you’re shooting a small mirrorless or DSLR, there are some ridiculously inexpensive small gimbals available these days.
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The GH5 and Sony A7s / A7sII would both be excellent choices. They capture the most color data out of the current crop of cameras. I would stay away from the A7R series, simply because the A7s cameras perform better in low light due to the larger photosites. If you have to have a camera that shoots high res stills, though, I’m sure the A7RIII would do fine. Make sure to get an XLR audio adapter so you can use real mikes – both Sony and Panasonic make one that goes on the hot shoe on top of the camera.
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Sounds like you have more room for ideas than I do–it’s important to let them bounce around in there for awhile!
So here’s my last suggestion; if you took that rod down to your local machine shop, it probably wouldn’t be too hard for them to gin you up a pretty similarly-sized rod in a longer length out of aluminum, so you wouldn’t add too much weight. Beyond that, looking for viewfinder extenders yielded this thing, which might do the trick?
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I use Shape’s FS7 arm. It doesn’t allow left-to-right adjustment, but I can change angle and length on the fly very easily.
As for the loupe positioning, mine looks like this (this isn’t me, but this is how I set it up). We must have radically different head shapes, because for me, this positioning works fine, and the extra length of the Shape arm makes the grip pretty comfortable. Maybe you’re working with smaller primes (I usually have a Canon 24-105L and Metabones Speedbooster on it) than I am, so it feels too short in the front?
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Hey Bob, maybe you could post a shot of your setup? I shoot the FS7 all day long on my shoulder with no rig aside from a replacement arm assembly for the smart grip that makes changing the angle and length a little easier. I get a little tired after a lot of shooting because the balance isn’t great (it’s pretty nose-heavy, and since I don’t use the V-mount batteries, I don’t get the counterbalance of the batteries in the back), but I have no problems getting the eyepiece where I want it. When I’m shooting studio or tripod, I position the viewfinder towards the back of the camera and remove the eyepiece, but when I’m shoulder-mounting it, I pull the rod out, flip it around the opposite direction to the front. Are you doing the same?
This may be a FS7 mkI vs mkII issue–I’m on the mkI.
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Oh, and re: slow motion. I would check with the client to see what they want. The easiest way is to set up S&Q with your desired framerate, and use the dedicated S&Q button to toggle it on and off. However, that records no sound, so if they wanted you to shoot, say, 59.94 with sound still recording, you’d do that by changing the camera’s native framerate setting rather than by selecting 60p in S&Q.
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I don’t think there are numbered picture profiles in the FS7, though maybe I’m forgetting something. The best thing to do would be to either both shoot in a common color space and gamma, or get together ahead of time to compare profiles, ideally on a monitor with a built-in vector scope. You need to let the client know ahead of time that the settings on FS5 and FS7 are not completely identical, and that them asking for Picture Profile 7 doesn’t mean anything in the FS7. Maybe they mean Hypergamma 7?
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That looks like totally normal motion blur to me. There’s always going to be a certain amount of it in your footage–if you set your shutter too high, you get that nasty GoPro look, where motion is overly stuttery and jerky. I prefer some motion blur in my video imagery, especially at 24P. Any fast-moving object shot at a normal shutter speed will have some blur–it’s not inherently bad.