Videos Cams : want One Your suggestions please

Thanks Bill!

In recommending a good video-oriented camera, most every mirrorless camera shoots video, but some better than others. I recently got into a LUMIX S5mk2, but for years I’ve been using LUMIX micro-4/3 cameras, for both stills and video. Their lenses are small, and there are also many manual-focus lenses now available in native m4/3 mount from places like 7Artisans, TTartisans and others. With the right adapter you can also use almost any film-camera lens, keeping in mind the “2X” crop factor of angle of view (I.e. a 50mm lens would have the angle of view of a 100mm lens when used on micro-4/3. Their cameras typically have a good selection of settings and codecs for video, especially the GH series.

That said, I like the LUMIX G series camera, they have an articulating screen, EVF and for stills a built-in flash, mic and headphone jacks. There is also the GH series, similar in body style as the G but more oriented for video. I think the recent G9 is a good value, and smaller than its newer G9mk2, as the mk2 version uses the full-frame S5 body shape.

As for recommending one of my videos to watch, here’s this one, called Shadows:
 
p
JoeV said:
Thanks Bill!

In recommending a good video-oriented camera, most every mirrorless camera shoots video, but some better than others. I recently got into a LUMIX S5mk2, but for years I’ve been using LUMIX micro-4/3 cameras, for both stills and video. Their lenses are small, and there are also many manual-focus lenses now available in native m4/3 mount from places like 7Artisans, TTartisans and others. With the right adapter you can also use almost any film-camera lens, keeping in mind the “2X” crop factor of angle of view (I.e. a 50mm lens would have the angle of view of a 100mm lens when used on micro-4/3. Their cameras typically have a good selection of settings and codecs for video, especially the GH series.

That said, I like the LUMIX G series camera, they have an articulating screen, EVF and for stills a built-in flash, mic and headphone jacks. There is also the GH series, similar in body style as the G but more oriented for video. I think the recent G9 is a good value, and smaller than its newer G9mk2, as the mk2 version uses the full-frame S5 body shape.

As for recommending one of my videos to watch, here’s this one, called Shadows:
Click to expand...

Agreed, with your thoughts, & loved your min movie

That's what creating Visual is all about...
Light, Shadows, Focus, OOF
All in varying degrees
drawing the Viewer in,
creating Atmosphere , Curiosity, Seduction
and for Me always a Touch of Noir
Thank you .
 
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It's not easy to make direct recommendations without knowing your budget, how far you want to go with video shooting and editing, and what level of quality you will find acceptable. And this won't become apparent until you start to shoot and edit with a camera or two. Over the years, people have asked me for ideas for what to buy to get started in video production, and today's gear landscape you have a lot of choices.

For a simple but reasonable quality option, find a pocket camera with a minimum 1 inch sensor like the Panasonic LX10 or Sony RX100 III or higher. Here is what is possible with the LX10 and RX100 III:

LX10:


RX100 III



I don't really recommend Canon 1 inch sensor cams for video because they aren't easy to find, they cost a bit more than a used RX100 III, and the video quality is 'crunchy', lots of contrast and blown highlights. Panasonic and Sony allow for much more control over video settings and profiles.

The LX10 and RX100 get my vote as basic video cameras because they produce excellent quality footage, the aperture is wide enough for a lot of low light situations, and they are easy to carry and use. Combining the in built stabilization with a neck strap can produce very steady footage. I have the LX10 and it is fantastic in good light, and reasonable in low light.
 
Next level up is a small mirrorless camera from the micro four thirds lineup. Panasonic and Olympus have produced many excellent m43 cameras which are great for video. Here is the Panasonic GX85, which has decent inbody stabilization.

GX85 with Panasonic 25mm f1.7 and 12-32mm


GX85 with Olympus 25mm f1.2 Pro




This will need one or two lenses, I recommend the Olympus 25mm f1.8 or Panasonic 25mm f1.7 as inexpensive but high quality options. For something wider, the Olympus 17mm f1.8 is great. Manual focus lenses by Mitakon and Pergear are also good options if you want to try that, but be aware that your eyesight has to be up to focusing with the LCD screen on the back of the camera.

I would not recommend Olympus m43 cameras for video from the E-M5 (2012 generation) to the E-M1 II generation because their video quality is again kind of crunchy and high contrast. Even if you dial down the Natural profile, the video codecs of those older Olympus cameras isn't as good as Panasonic, which put a lot of effort and expertise into their video modes. I have a E-M5, which seemed fantastic at the time, but now I look back and the video quality is no way near the Panasonic GX80/85.

Lenses will always be a balance between budget and quality. You can get wonderful lenses for not much money, and superb lenses for a lot of money. My favourites for walkaround video on the GX85 are:
  • Olympus 25mm f1.8
  • Olympus 17mm f1.8
  • Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 (version 1 is more than fine, v2 activates Dual IS II with a Panasonic body, and the new Leica branded version doesn't offer much more in image quality at all)
For larger cameras like the GH5 and G9 you can use larger but more expensive lenses like the Olympus 17, 25 and 45mm f1.2 Pro, the Panasonic 12mm f1.4 and 42.5mm f1.2. Expensive but very worthwhile if you have the budget.
 
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If your budget and interest go further than the GX85, and you're okay with a camera the size of a smallish DSLR, the Panasonic GH5 is a fantastic option. A lot of pro video shooters still use the GH5 even now. I use the G9, which in terms of video codecs is just below the GH5, and the footage is accepted by broadcast channels. The GH5 has a lot of video codec options for normal speed and slow motion.

GH5 and Panasonic 12mm f1.4 and 42.5mm f1.2


GH5 with Panasonic 12mm f1.4


Bear in mind that Tim Kellner has an excellent eye, understands light and motion, as well as editing. Also bear in mind that your computer needs to be pretty beefy to handle the GH5's high quality files.
 
Beyond the GH5 and G9 are cameras like the GH5 Mark II, the GH6 and GH7, but for someone only beginning in video, I wouldn't recommend these as the options and quality of the GH5 are more than enough for a few years of experience at least.

As for full frame cameras: avoid most Canon DSLR's from 2009-2015 because video was added to them as a bolt-on feature and never really integrated as a feature. Even the vaunted Canon 1Dc's implementation of video was clumsy, despite the remarkable image quality. My recommendation for full frame mirrorless for video include the Sony A7 III and the Panasonic S5.

The S5 produces files which are almost the same quality as Panasonic's pro video body the S1H - I use the S5 as my primary video camera and the footage is stunning. The S5 also gives the option to adapt SLR and rangefinder lenses, whereas the Sony A7 III has optical issues with rangefinder lenses. But unless you adapt legacy lenses, the native lens options for Sony E mount and Pana/Leica L mount aren't that cheap, except for Chinese manual focus primes like the Pergear 35mm f1.4



 
Archiver said:
the native lens options for Sony E mount and Pana/Leica L mount aren't that cheap, except for Chinese manual focus primes like the Pergear 35mm f1.4
Click to expand...
Awesome summary!

I'd just point out that native L mount lenses have a wide range of pricing. Sigma's I series L mount lenses are all fantastic and not terribly expensive. They can also be found used for about half the cost. Grab a used 45mm at around $250 and the 24mm 3.5 for slightly more and you have a great combo.
 
I had a look at the Charli XCX music video, and compared it with other work directed by Aidan Zamiri. He has shot for Charli before, using what appears to be 35mm film (360 music video). He has also shot for Converse using Super16mm film and a Canon 8-64mm t2.4 cine lens.

The mounted shots of Billie Eilish in the tractor were shot with a very wide angle lens but with deep depth of field that allowed the background to remain discernible. It is framed in 4:3 aspect ratio and has quite deep depth of field, but better image quality than Super16 film would suggest, so I'm figuring it's done with a digital Super35 sensor shot in open gate 4:3. Probably an Arri Alexa or Alexa Mini which are the standards for high end music videos, TV and movie production.

There are moments of slow motion which look at least like 50% or perhaps 75% slow, which is why I think this was shot in digital, rather than film. Of course, they could have used a specialized digital slow motion camera like something from Phantom or Freefly, but I don't think it's slow enough to warrant a specialized cam like that. All of this could be completely wrong, and it was shot on RED Raptor or Monstro cameras, who knows.

Ben Carey is the DoP on this video, and it and used four steadicam operators, at least one of whom is a bit of a legend in steadicam work. It's an interesting exercise to figure it out.

But what you want to know is how to replicate this look: on a budget, use a full frame mirrorless camera like the Sony A7S II and make use of the Super35mm crop mode. The Panasonic S5 also has a Super35/aps-c crop mode. Another option is the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 4k which uses a 4/3 size sensor, like the Panasonic GH5S. Use fast glass that allows fairly shallow DoF close up, but lots of depth when further from the lens.

If you want to go down a very deep rabbit hole, check out this website:

Home | Lens Addiction

Lens Addiction - The best lenses and cameras on the photography market: ARRI, Canon, RED, Sony, Zeiss, etc.
www.lensaddiction.net www.lensaddiction.net
 
And if you want to see some super work done with semi-pro and consumer grade equipment, look at Roman Hense:

Sony FX30 aps-c small cinema camera with Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 and Canon EF 85mm f1.8:



Sony FX30 with Sigma 30mm f1.4



FX30 with Sony 24-70mm f2.8 G and Carl Zeiss Flektogon 35mm f2.4

 
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Archiver said:
I had a look at the Charli XCX music video, and compared it with other work directed by Aidan Zamiri. He has shot for Charli before, using what appears to be 35mm film (360 music video). He has also shot for Converse using Super16mm film and a Canon 8-64mm t2.4 cine lens.

The mounted shots of Billie Eilish in the tractor were shot with a very wide angle lens but with deep depth of field that allowed the background to remain discernible. It is framed in 4:3 aspect ratio and has quite deep depth of field, but better image quality than Super16 film would suggest, so I'm figuring it's done with a digital Super35 sensor shot in open gate 4:3. Probably an Arri Alexa or Alexa Mini which are the standards for high end music videos, TV and movie production.

There are moments of slow motion which look at least like 50% or perhaps 75% slow, which is why I think this was shot in digital, rather than film. Of course, they could have used a specialized digital slow motion camera like something from Phantom or Freefly, but I don't think it's slow enough to warrant a specialized cam like that. All of this could be completely wrong, and it was shot on RED Raptor or Monstro cameras, who knows.

Ben Carey is the DoP on this video, and it and used four steadicam operators, at least one of whom is a bit of a legend in steadicam work. It's an interesting exercise to figure it out.

But what you want to know is how to replicate this look: on a budget, use a full frame mirrorless camera like the Sony A7S II and make use of the Super35mm crop mode. The Panasonic S5 also has a Super35/aps-c crop mode. Another option is the Blackmagic Cinema Camera 4k which uses a 4/3 size sensor, like the Panasonic GH5S. Use fast glass that allows fairly shallow DoF close up, but lots of depth when further from the lens.

If you want to go down a very deep rabbit hole, check out this website:

Home | Lens Addiction

Lens Addiction - The best lenses and cameras on the photography market: ARRI, Canon, RED, Sony, Zeiss, etc.
www.lensaddiction.net www.lensaddiction.net
Click to expand...
Perhaps they used a GH7, which can shoot 4:3 open gate? Or is that camera too new for the video?
 
a Sony,, A Pan
or
make my Q2 work for me or just sell her

LOVE the
Video , the Gurls collaboration
wish I had created ... executed

 
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