[Bob Cole]

Thanks Gary. Very helpful!

And to think this all started with the Instamatic my big sisters gave me for Christmas when I was ten…. Loved that camera!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for asking. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the obvious three cameras (Ursa Mini Pro, C300 mk2, FS7ii). If you’ve used all three, great; if you’ve used even just one, I’d like to benefit from your experience, and learn why you chose your camera. The criteria that matter most to me, in order of importance:

Lens Need a parfocal zoom; would also like one or two fast primes. Willing to compromise speed for affordability/light weight (e.g. Sony 18-110, Canon 18-80). Need to assess E-mount vs. PL vs. EF.
Price/resale value
Viewfinder(s) (1) Need visibility in bright sunlight. (2) Option to focus at 1:1 pixels.
Ease of use while shoulder-mounted Balance, weight, access to controls without looking.
Recording media (1) Reliability and robustness. (2) Cost.
Codec – universal appeal I edit about half of what I shoot; I need to be able to hand off material in a variety of formats, from 4K log to efficient, ready-to-edit HD.
Low-light capability Is this the Ursa’s weak point? With Sony or Canon, the best solution might be two cameras, one of them a DSLR that could share a lens with the video camera.
Power consumption

Finally: appropriateness. I do a large variety of jobs: environmental docs, corporate web videos, LOTS of interviews, run-and-gun b-reel, some broadcast. I would like to have a camera which the networks find acceptable but it’s not a necessity for my livelihood.

All three of these cameras are fantastic. Thanks for your insights and perspectives.

Bob

[Bob Cole]

Hi Michael, I apologize for dropping the ball here. I guess we are in agreement, right?

I suspect from your posts that you know these tricks already, but in case it helps someone else:

1. To simulate out-of-focus backgrounds: use a leko type light (e.g. Source 4) with a pattern, or a cuculoris in front of a fresnel, and defocus the pattern to create big soft-edged blobs of light in the background. Keep the background relatively dark otherwise.

2. Use a soft-patterned hand-painted canvas backdrop which, even if in perfect focus, looks out-of-focus.

3. Place camera right against the wall, & put the subject as close as possible to the camera, to increase the distance between subject and background.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

I think you have to choose whether to keep Content Browser and your older OS, or upgrade and try EditReady or Catalyst Browse.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Congratulations, Todd. And thank you for sharing your experiences and insights so generously. Your success couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. I always enjoy your posts.

And yes, you are an extremely talented director/DP as well, no matter what you think.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Great work! and very interesting examples of AF. And very impressive, that relatively inexpensive Canon “still” lenses with AF can be so useful with video.

I have to find a C300M2 somewhere to try it out, but meanwhile:

With Face Detect, can you select a particular face and have the camera track it, changing focus as that one face moves closer to the camera? If the person walks behind an object for a second, will Face Detect hold its fire and keep the focus at the setting where the face disappeared from view?

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Great! This is very interesting. It is fantastic that it works in manual focus mode, and that’s all I really care about. Thank you very much!

I’m very curious about how it works with AF or DPAF turned on.

The simplest example: interview, shallow DOF. Rack in, focus on the nearer eyeball, zoom out and reframe. Now, a lot of other things appear in the picture: some lab equipment in the foreground, and artwork on the wall behind the subject.

How does the AF work here?
1. How do you tell the lens/camera to focus on that eyeball, rather than the shirt, or the beaker in the foreground? Or does the AF allow you to set a focus point?
2. If you are able to lock in the original focus point… What if the subject is a bouncer, who leans in and leans back all during the interview?
3. If AF continues to operate… When you zoom out and compose the shot, so that the eyeball is now in a different position in the frame, how does the AF know not to focus on the eyeball’s old position within the frame, which might be the painting on the wall?

Thanks for the info!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Gary, I’m glad to hear that the second-hand info from Sony is wrong. I found the lens, finally (Canon CN-E 18-80mm T4.4) and the description does indeed say it is parfocal.

Do you own or use one? Is it parfocal when you are in manual focusing mode?

Thanks!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Please note that I was referring to the Sony 18-110mm lens, not the Canon.

I got this information by posting a question on B&H’s site for the Sony FS7M2. A staff member replied, and I got an email summarizing his answer, which is what I quoted. Oddly, when I looked on the B&H site, I didn’t see his reply, only my posts.

edit: I just looked for the Canon lens, and can’t find a reference to it. I’d be glad to know about any parfocal zooms in this range, autofocus or not.

I appreciate the response!

Thanks!

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

[Michael Slowe] “with my EX 1 I could put out of focus a bookshelf only two feet behind a sitter, and not even with a long focal length setting. Can’t do that with the Z150 half as easily.”

Doesn’t the EX1’s fixed lens have a max aperture of f/1.9? That would account for the difference.

Bob C