Why I traded my Sony PXW-FS5 for a FS7

SONY FS5 WITH SONY 18-105 F4 KIT LENS

Late November I was an early adopter of the Sony FS5. I was very excited about this new camera after I had played with it at IBC 2015 in Amsterdam.

It had the same super 35mm sensor as the FS7, a camera I had been eyeballing from the moment it was announced but which seemed too intimidating and costly.

When the FS5 came out, I figured this was a mini FS7 and I felt it was meant for me. This was not as much based on reality as it was on desire. Even after visiting Alister Chapman's workshop on the FS5 I failed to see that this camera was not a small FS7, even though Alister emphasized this. Although he phrased it a little differently by saying it was 'not a cinema camera' like the FS7. There were so many things I did like about the FS5, like the variable ND, the handy viewfinder, super slow motion and the fact that it fit in my bicycle messenger bag.

I was set on the camera and pre-ordered one. Late November I received it.

NOTHING BEATS THE SMELL OF A FRESH CAMERA...

After having test-shot the FS5 and filmed part of an assignment with it, I soon became frustrated and desillusioned. The quality in UHD was not what I expected, especially in low light. The kitlens is very hard to focus manually and autofocus is slow and not accurate the few times I tried it. The compact form factor of the camera actually works against you when trying to shoot handheld. The package with the kitlens is fine when you cradle the camera or do very short takes through the viewfinder. But when you use a bigger, heavier lens, possibly in combination with a SpeedBooster and you add a wireless receiver, an external mic, a (in my opinion mandatory) loupe and a big BP-U60 or even U90 battery, you have one very heavy, small package that cannot be handheld for extended periods of time. It is much easier to balance a 'large', heavy package than a 'small', heavy package. When I started looking for a loupe and a shoulder-solution, I realized I was building a FS7.

I traded my FS5 in for the FS7 -with considerable loss- but have nonetheless been extremely happy with the decision.

THE SONY PXW-FS7 WITH VOCAS BASEPLATE & CANON FD 50MM 1.4

First surprise: the FS7 is not a big, heavy camera at all. I think most people coming from DSLR's would disagree but coming from a Sony EX3, it is about the same size and weight (with the Canon 24-105 and the SpeedBooster). Second impression: I love the arm for shoulderwork. This camera is actually much better designed for shoulderwork than the EX3.

(Another misconception: the FS5 is small and light and will therefore attract little attention. Well, forget it. It looks like a pro camera and once decked out it is far from stealth.)

The FS7 solved a lot of my problems: an excellent Sony loupe, better ergonomics for shoulderwork, a much better 4K picture, bigger buttons for easier control during shooting and alltogether a camera that represents the best value in a camera by far, ever.

But even the FS7 needs improvements ie investments to make it (near) perfect. I have immediately ordered the Shape extension arm and it is brilliant and mandatory. There was basically no way to quickly lay the camera down without one... (and then there are other other benefits like being able to change the length or position of the arm in a second- something you needed tools for with the Sony arm)

THE SONY FS7 WITH VOCAS BASEPLATE AND SHAPE ARM

And today I received the Vocas baseplate for a much better shoulderfit. Expensive? Yes. But I want the best possible results with this camera and spread out over the many years I'll be shooting with it, the investment is acceptable.

In my younger days I often tried to cut corners but as I get older, I am more inclined to buy the best possible gear I can afford. No more compromise. Right now I can afford this camera and it feels just right.

Enough talk, let's go shoot already.

Sony A7S Mark II - Sony wants to eat my wallet, again.

After all the excitement about the Sony FS5, I completely forgot the A7S Mark 2 pictures I made, although they're not as exciting as the FS5 photo's. It's basically the A7S with a different sensor with ISO 4 million (no, it's actually a mere 409600, see pictures below...) and x-ray vision. And built-in image stabilization.
Who needs a camera like this? We all do! And who doesn't have threethousandfourhundred euro's lying around, doing nothing...? Or should I just rent?

The Sony FS5: a huggable little powerhouse, pics from IBC!

Saw the Sony PXW-FS5 this morning at IBC. Really quite charmed by this little camera. I've been eyeballing the FS7 but this one's more in my budget- and a lot more stealth!

It handled well in as far as I was able to handle it while attached to a metal and electronic cable (the camera, that is...). Eyepiece was ok and the viewfinder nice- I'm sure someone will develop an eyepiece for the LCD screen which will give you an even better and bigger viewfinder.

Nice feature is the ability to magnify the image for focus check during recording and actually move arouind the magnified screen. Recording on SD cards! Built in ND-filters!

Here are some gearhead snacks:

And Sony said we didn't need a rig!

This camera was not meant to be rigged, at least not like this...

The best Sail 2015 - time lapse video

A few days ago I saw a few time lapse video's of Sail 2015 that were labeled as The Best of Sail 2015. Too bad I didn't publish my video until yesterday ;-)

The Eiffel tower CANNOT be filmed without a permit!

I was in Paris, France a week ago and made some shots of the Eiffel tower, along with 100.000 other tourists. I made one panorama shot on a particularly nice evening around sunset, looking over the city from a tall building. Violet and orange light at the horizon. The city lit up with little lights...

I submitted this shot to Shutterstock but it was rejected because I didn't mark it as ' editorial'. Since when is a wide panorama shot of a city 'editorial'? I decided to do some research and it turns out that the Eiffel tower at night is off limits because 'the lighting of the Eiffel tower' is copyright protected?! So a shot of the tower in the daytime is no problem but sharing a video or picture taken at night without permission could get you sued- be warned!

This is the clip I'm talking about: don't tell anyone about it...
I was able to sneak this shot in at Pond5 where you can buy it royalty free, or you can contact me for great deals and more Paris footage.

The Money Shot!

What makes you feel better than a real pile of good old paper money? I could think of a few things but it certainly ranks high up there in the feel-good-department.

So I decided to film a big pile of money and sell it. (the footage, not the content)

 

Play it at a decadent party, use it as inspiration or watch it in times of hardship! Check out my 4K stock footage and more Money Shots here.

Nosh the incredible camera dog

Nosh wearing a harness and her camera of choice, the GoPro 4 Black

Dog cam footage is available at Shutterstock. Buy a clip and get a free bone.

Why high resolution in video works.

Here's a great example of where high resolution works, especially in combination with time lapse photography.

I talked my way into a restricted private apartment building to be able get this shot and am particularly pleased with the composition, light, the colors and detail. Everything falls into place here. I also made a 4K video recording of this scene but it adds a crop factor. Only in photo mode do you get this super wide view- and the action. Shot this with the Panasonic GH4 and the 12-35 f2.8. View full screen on a 5K monitor! Or better even: buy it on Pond5 or contact me directly for a discount price.

New acquisition: the Olympus 45 mm 1.8 for Micro Four Thirds

This is a really small, fast, lightweight lens I bought for interviews with my Panasonic GH4. Here I was trying to do an interview with my dog Noshie which didn't work out too well... So I just told her to sit still and be pretty, for which she has great talent, as you can see.

I love the image that comes out of this lens and I plan to carry it around a lot more. Weighing in at about 100 grams, you won't even notice it's in your bag. For the 250 euro's, it's a bargain and a worthy supplement to my Panasonic 12-35 mm F2.8. and Canon 70-200 F4 in combination with the MetaBones Speedbooster.

I've been putting a lot of footage on stock sites recently: this and a lot of older footage can be seen on my account under the name ImagineVideo at Pond5.

50 - portrait of a generation

I tracked down 50 people that were 50 years old and that I went to elementary and high school with.

Cheese - a short film on posing

My doc 'I am Innocent' on national television,wednesday October 29

It's been almost 6 years since my co-director Mark Limburg and I started filming for the documentary 'I am Innocent' about a young Nigerian man who started boxing to realize drinking water for his village. Now finally the film is being broadcast tomorrow on NPO2 at 11 PM. It 's been a long time coming. Enough talk about the film- hope you get a chance to see it.

Check out the trailer NPO Doc made about our film.

Our film is the kick off for a whole week of boxing documentaries, including a film about my (childhood) hero Muhammed Ali.

Goodbye Panasonic GH2, hello GH4!

I had a great relationship with my Panasonic GH2 but after 3 years our ways parted a few days ago. The GH4 took her place. We have a lot of familiarizing to do before our relation will reach that same level of affection and confidence but our first 4K production is a fact, however brief and frivolous! 
For good measure, I picked up a Panasonic Lumix 12-35 f2.8 as well, which is the lens to have for a documentary filmer. I have to grow into this lens as well- it doesn't have that same organic feel as my favorite lens, the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 
Shooting in 4K has a lot of consequences- and shooting in 4K is what you buy this camera for. A big drawback is the narrow field of view. The cropfactor on the GH2 was already 1.82 but shooting 4K increases that factor to 2.2. In other words, 12mm becomes in effect 26mm compared to a full frame camera. That is not very wide when you're shooting in a tight spot or indoors.
Another reason why you'd want/need to shoot 4K is because it produces great Full HD pictures, better than shooting Full HD right from the bat. It sounds absurd and that's what it is, but downsampling the 4K image to full hd produces much cleaner and richer images that shooting 1080P. And 4K grades much better than Full HD. 

But the 4000 dollar question is: does downsampled 4K look better than 4K itself? Stay tuned for more and in the meanwhile, enjoy the short boatride.

Disaster in Innsbruck

A little story about how my son Tom broke his arm, on the last day of our trip in Tirol, Austria, and literally 2 hours before we would leave the slopes. Luckily the camera's were rolling..!




Camera's used: Sony RX100 and a GoPro HD2

Gasp, drool and splurge: the new Macbook Pro has been delivered

My old 2006 Macbook Pro needed some serious upgrading, something that could only be resolved by buying an entirely new model. I was about to buy the fastest MacBook Pro just before Apple's announcements at the end of October but I held off to hear what they had to offer. I'm glad I did because they announced new, more powerful laptops at lower prices.

Now I own one of the fastest, most power-efficient machines money can buy. I clicked the Purchase button within an hour of the laptop becoming available online. I don't know why, but it was exciting to blow €2800 with a single click.

Good things come in big packages

But the best part of the deal became apparent a few days later. I walked into the Apple Store Amsterdam to discuss some issues I had with migrating from Final Cut Pro 7 to FCP X. The salesperson said: "...ahh, so you must have gotten the 'One to One' deal, then..." I had no idea what he was talking about but as it turned out, the 'One to One' deal means that when you buy a new computer, you can buy free, private lessons for an entire year for only €99,-

My heart jumped with excitement. This was exactly the boost I needed to make the transition. So I am finally migrating to Final Cut Pro X and I am getting personal training to pull me through and answer all my questions. So far I have had 3 sessions and it's a luxury to have a trainer to yourself.

I have paid €1000,- in the past for 5 days of Final Cut Pro training- and that was in a group. Now I pay 99,- for limitless private lessons; now that's serious customer service and marketing.

A Virgin laptop

 I had become skeptical of Apple: Apple had lost it's 'cool'/became too big/was the new Microsoft/became the iPhone and iPad company/had dumped FCP 7... in short, had removed itself from their original fan-base and lost its appeal.

But I am a fan again. Apple has done well to invest in education and building a relationship with it's customers. Because as we all know, business is goodwill, making your customers feel good about your product. And for the first time in years, Apple has me feeling happy again. Hallelujah.

Ready to do the work

The incredible $79,- trolley camerabag!

My new bag in full glory

I'm a sucker for camerabags. And lately I've been looking for a camerabag on wheels (I admit I'm not the man I used to be...). A nice trolley camerabag  will run you around $400,- and I can't get myself to spend that kind of money. I'd rather ruin my back with my current 'Best Boy' camerabag for my Sony PMW-EX3. (nice bag, by the way, but no wheels...)...

To shoot a mouse (The Decisive Moment)

I shot a mouse. We've been plagued by mice, lately. Actually, ever since our cat was more or less compelled to move after the arrival of our dog a few years ago, the mice have returned to claim this house at night. Our dog is useless as a mousecatcher. To illustrate her worthlessness as a mouse-repellant: I've seen a mouse go into her feedingbowl and steal six kibbles of dryfood while she was sleeping 3 feet away. She didn't even flinch an eye.
These mice are more brazen by the week and I decided to shoot them. At night, using my camera. I made a timelapse of a mousetrap and grabbed the best frame. The mouse never did take the food. She was an inch away from death.
The great French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson coined the famous photo-expression 'The Decisive Moment' to characterize a great picture. I guess he meant there is only one moment in photography that captures the essence of a scene. If you're a fraction of a second too late or too early, you missed it.

That quote was made for this still. The Decisive Moment takes on an extra, existential meaning here. To bite or not to bite. A choice between life and death. The Ultimate Decisive Moment.

RAW video for the 5D Mark 3

About 3 weeks after I bought my 5D Mark III, one of  the most amazing development in recent video-years has been realized by the magicians from Magic Lantern. They have been able to unlock full potential from the camera's fullframe sensor, enabling RAW video to be output directly onto the card.
I am not a technical person and definitely not a pixelpeeper but the amount of information that becomes available not only in terms of dynamic range and color space but also in terms of detail is absolutely phenomenal for every shooter.
I was going to write a piece about my initial experiences with the 5D Mark III, which were not too positive about a few findings that will most likely be completely alleviated by this development: mushy images and dynamic range. There's so much information being pumped out of the sensot at such rates that my Class 10 SD cards won't be able to keep up. I needed a CF card for backup anyway so I picked up one of these cheap Komputerbay 64GB CF cards that can apparently digest the RAW files without exploding... Here are the first RAW video's shot with the 5D Mark III:
Canon 5D Mark III Continuous Raw Video with Magic Lantern (1920x1280 24p) from Andrew Reid on Vimeo.

14-bit RAW on Canon 5D Mark III vs. factory default - Night Image Quality & Dynamic Range from Saad Rabia on Vimeo.

Pulled the trigger and bit the bullet: the Canon 5D Mark 3 is mine

I've been wanting to go fullframe for quite a while and have waited till prices would drop on the 5D Mark 3. In addition to the other contender on the full frame front, the Nikon D800, I've also lurked over the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and the Sony FS100. I went with the Canon because of the fullframe, the look of the images, its lowlight ability and because I wanted a camera that shoots great stills as well as video.
I have an occasional photo-assignment and last year I borrowed a 5D Mark 2 and it made my photos -and me- look a lot better.
So I broke the piggybank and gave myself this huge present for my upcoming milestone birthday. I'll be able to make good use of it this year, with trips to London, Napels, Italy, Antwerpen, Florida and Honduras to look forward to!

I not only bought the Canon 5D Mark 3 but the kitlens, the 24-105 F4 L IS as well. I read great stuff about it and as an allround lens it should serve me well for photo-assignments as well as documentary filming.

I already own a bunch of aftermarket batteries for the Canon 5D that I bought to power my SmallHD monitor, I have a nice set of lenses, so I'm really trying to keep accessories to a minimum. Perhaps a flashlight or a CF card, but that's it... well, maybe a small microphone for the hotshoe, a batterygrip for those long video interviews... but that's really it... wait... the Atomos Ninja records the uncompressed HDMI signal ánd serves as a monitor as the same time, right... Sounds like a must have accessory. I swear that's the last of it!! (Is an SSD included..?)

Tourists - a short film about people & hats

In the fall of 2012 I started noticing a great many people, tourists, wearing the same type of hats with  'Amsterdam'  stitched on them. I thought it was such a curious phenomenon and started to 'collect' all these people wearing these hats, asking them where they are from. I thought they would be from all over the world -and they are- but It turned out that by far most of them are from Italy!

So this is the result 6 months later: a collection of people from all walks of life and from all over the world: United under One Hat…