Yesterday I undertook what may turn out to be the last little outing for my trusty and beloved Canon 700D. The camera which got me into this whole 'DSLR video' thing!
It'll probably be a week or two before my new Fujifilm X-T2 arrives, but we have a lot of 'real life' activities going on which may preclude any more trips out of photographic/video experiments...
Over the next few weeks, builders will be remodelling our house...I have been designated chief tea-maker!
So, the wife and I travelled out to a Yorkshire stately home to do the whole tourist thing. I took the 700D in its secondary guise of family camera to get some snaps for the wife. Here are a few of the pictures (flash was not permitted and they were all hand-held, of course)...
No video I'm afraid - so the last video will probably be those projects I did before I left my last job. So, that's that really. The 700D will be demoted to my 'back-up' camera, plus - being Canon - it will still allow me access to cheaper specialist lenses, should I need them.
I'll be doing a video comparison of the 700D and the new Fujifilm X-T2 (when I get it) outlining the differences, advantages and why I have chosen to make the large investment in this camera upgrade. I look forward to doing that. But it is quite sad, the Canon 700D is a wonderful entry-level DSLR and has served me well as a learning tool and family camera.
I've actually been receiving various video & photography bits and bobs since the start of the month, but today's delivery is key to my progress - the high-speed memory cards...
As usual, I admit, I am having to do things on a strict budget. I would have liked to have more cards and cards of greater speed and capacity. But, this collection of cards is perhaps the minimum spec and number just to get me started.
The two principal cards are the SanDisk 64GB SDXC card (for my GoPro) and the Lexar 32GB UHS-II SDHC card (for my Fujifilm X-T2 - when it arrives).
To pad out my capabilities I added a Samsung 64GB UHS-I SDHC card, which - reviews tell me - is an adequate budget alternative to the higher speed Lexar.
I did plenty of online research before my purchase and all of these cards come highly recommended - specifically when undertaking 4K video projects...
I'm now almost ready to go...As soon as my Fuji camera arrives (8th of September is the date that deliveries should begin)!
Because I'm interested in covering events - particularly conventions - where you will be doing a lot of floor-walking and shooting on the hoof, I have invested in a handheld gimbal (a gyro/servo-stabilised hand-held camera mount).
I went with the Feiyu FY-G4 3 Axis Handheld Gimbal Brushless Handle Steadycam Steady Camera Mount for Gopro...
Now, I was thinking about buying the cheaper Osmo all-in-one camera and gimbal - which looks fantastic - but, at the end of the day, the GoPro Hero 4 Black camera is far superior quality (and more flexible in use) that the Osmo's built in camera. For me, it was worth the extra expense so that I could then be able to detach the camera and use it for other kinds of work.
Initial tests with the FY-G4 gimbal and GoPro
I need to put a disclaimer in here to make you aware that my impatience got the better of me! There is a certain amount of preparation, learning and practise one should do before the gimbal and camera are put into use...But I couldn't wait and did some testing straight 'out the box'! So please take this into consideration.
Important note: The gimbal needs to be calibrated in order to work as intended with your GoPro - I did not do this so the camera was not exactly balanced correctly in the following test videos.
Test 1: The difference a gimbal makes...
In this test, I just wanted to see how a gimbal like the FY-G4 smooths out hand-held filming while walking around. So, in this video, the first half is shot with me just holding the GoPro camera in my hand while walking and the second half of the video is footage with the gimbal attached...
Yes, this is a very quick and dirty experiment, but I think it demonstrates the difference between unstabilized footage and stabilised footage adequately enough. I was pleased. Test 2: A longer example of the FY-G4 in use with added slo-mo
In this next clip, I tried some different movements - some pans and changes in height and orientation - just to see how smooth I could get the shots...
After doing these initial bits of filming you soon realise that there is a knack to using a gimbal (and how important proper calibration is). My first attempts to 'float' the shots were too fast and my changes in direction too sharp at times.
You have to train yourself to glide your arm movements and you must 'dampen' the beginning and ends of your movements so that your slowly increase your momentum into a movement and then decrease your momentum towards the end of a movement. In this way, you should get a smoother transition through the camera travel/sequence.
Like most things, practise makes perfect!
That said, I'm very pleased with these initial tests.
I don't know if I mentioned this, but I recently gave up my job (essentially for life/work balance reasons) and while I am just enjoying a little 'holiday' at the moment - while I decide what I am going to do next - there is one small regret I have. When I left my job I had to hand back the department's GoPro Hero 3+ action camera. :(
Well, after much consideration, I decided I would miss this little camera option too much and went out and bought a new GoPro. I also took the opportunity to upgrade to the latest GoPro Hero 4 Black version...
As part of my videography strategy, I am focusing on mobility and 'run and gun' types of shooting and, therefore, I am trying to build a lightweight and compact kit. The GoPro fits this philosophy and will provide me with both the flexibility to do shots that I might not be able to do with whatever (heavier) 'A' camera I choose and also a convenient little 'B' cam.
The GoPro has a large variety of shooting modes - including 4K at 30 & 24 fps in ultra-wide angle - which will compliment my shooting style. But' at the same time, it won't add too much extra weight to my camera bag.
The next couple of weeks will be dedicated to experimenting with this little camera and working out just what I can do with it. Looking forward to this! :)
In this last couple of months before the actual release of the new Fujifilm X-T2 camera, not all the final features have yet been finalised. So, even at this late date, there are still some welcome surprises leaking out - in this case, a Fuji manager lets slip that the X-T2 will now support internal F-Log...
OK (and bear in mind I am still getting my head round this myself)...Simply put, F-Log is a 'flat' (or 'neutral') colour density handling, it allows footage to be outputted with the maximum amount of colour information so that the editor can then fiddle with colour grading knowing he won't lose so much detail in high contrast areas. (I think!)
For example, if you shoot a high contrasty footage (with blown out highlights) that is only going to get worse - and you will loose more of your highlights - if you then apply additionally high contrast colour grading in post. What you want is flat footage with colour information across the spectrum, so that you have more creative latitude in post.
...Tricky stuff, eh?
From what I have seen, F-Log (or any flat log) footage looks to the uninitiated as if it's very wishy-washy, all the colours are kinda 'medium' and not very punchy. The sort of footage that your old photography teacher would have turned his nose up at!
But the payoff is what you can then do in your favourite editing package.
But the irony is...
Finally, the guy from Fuji also highlights what Fuji consider is the two greatest advantage of using a Fujifilm camera - the Fujinon lenses and Fuji's famous 'colour simulation' modes.
Example of Fujifilm's simulation modes...Shake'n'bake colour grading.
Straightaway, this kinda contradicts the whole importance of F-Log, because - by nature - Fuji's film simulation effects are the complete opposite of F-Log. They are - in effect - baked in colour grading.
However, this apparent contradiction isn't as crazy as it sounds. Fuji knows that while there are some very enthusiastic fans of their film simulation modes, if they want to grow their video making market for the X-T cameras they will also have to appeal to the more general videographer. And he/she will want the creative latitude and independence that is provided by F-Log.
[Note: While this take on simulation modes is a bit flipant, there are very good reasons for using Fujifilm's film simulation modes. First of all, for someone who just wants to take a quick stylistic 'look' without fiddling about in 'post', they are very convenient. But also, Fujifilm's simulation modes are very highly thought of by even 'pro' photographers - their 'Provia' and 'Monochrome' are superb styles. And finally, for the videographer who is working on a tight schedule, having these pre-baked colour grading styles in-camera will save them time mucking about in post AND will also save rendering time.]
Conclusion
This is what the lead-up to the X-T2's release is going to be like - lots of little tidbits which will mostly be exciting for the camera nerds out there, but will have the rest of us going 'meh'. :)
But, there again, as a person who is trying hard to chose their next camera, these little facts may make the difference between me buying Fujifilm camera or buying Sony (or buying Panasonic).
