I've been testing the Speed Booster XL 0.64x Canon mount with the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 for the past week or so and resolution is incredible. I might have purchased a Metabones focal reducer back when I had the Lumix GH3, but without focus peaking, it would have been very difficult to use in dim light,... Continue Reading →
Samsung P3 4TB USB 3.0 External Hard Drive
This is cool sh**. After spending USD $270 for the Seagate Backup Plus Fast 4TB and over USD $400 for the LaCie Rugged Raid 4TB, along comes Samsung with the largest capacity, portable, thin profile external hard drive known to man - the P3. And unbelievably, it also happens to be half the cost of... Continue Reading →
Playing Around
Just what the name implies: having fun with some different LUTs and the special effects in Final Cut Pro. https://youtu.be/nmVByJ_Wnms Free background music from JewelBeat.com
Lumix GH4 + Osiris Jugo LUT
A year ago when I posted a video shot on a Lumix GH3, many viewers expressed an interest in the Osiris Jugo LUT I'd used. So I thought readers might like to see how the same LUT looks when applied to footage from the GH4. The screen grabs below are from the timeline of a... Continue Reading →
Saigon Central Post Office
Though nothing particularly exceptional, this video marks several firsts for me: believing it to be defective, up until now, I have hardly used my wide zoom since picking up the GH4; this is also my very first video with an architectural subject; and it also happens to be the first time I've shot a video... Continue Reading →
Faces III (extended cut)
http://youtu.be/xcT71HtywPY Free Background Music From JewelBeat
Faces III
Another short clip shot with the Lumix GH4 and the Vario 35-100mm f/2.8 lens. Minimal color correction in post and no added sharpening. Settings: ISO 200, Natural, Sharpness -4, Contrast -4, Noise Reduction 0, Saturation -2. http://youtu.be/9n2mjBW_JA4 Free background music from JewelBeat.com
Lumix GH4 Test: Faces II [Updated]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FkpIWS6v5c&feature=youtu.be I wanted to get this up as soon as possible, so I'll be adding more information about the clip at the beginning of next week. Here are the settings used for the test: C4K, Natural Picture Profile, Contrast -4, Sharpness -4, NR 0, Saturation -2, Luminance Level 0-255, ISO 200. Because I was carrying... Continue Reading →
GH4 Test: Faces II
I've been shooting with the Lumix GH4 now for around ten days, and have amassed something like 250 clips, many of which I hope to be able to post in the next week or so. Since my sole interest is street life in Vietnam, the focus of the test will be on how well the... Continue Reading →
The 1st Lumix GH4 in Saigon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxGekOHEPuc&list=UUpPnsOUPkWcukhWUVcTJvnA It's almost a year to the day that I waltzed into a shop in Kuala Lumpur and purchased my very first micro four-thirds camera, the Panasonic Lumix GH3. At the time, I'd been researching for the best video camera for the money and was still struggling between the Black Magic Pocket Cinema Camera and... Continue Reading →
Saigon Mini-Doc: 30/4 Park
I learned quite a bit while editing this short. For one thing, I encountered a lot of frustrating performance issues with Final Cut Pro X - sluggishness, beach balls and running out of memory - when rendering stuff as basic as subtitles, not to mention applying LUTs. After uploading the project to YouTube, I did... Continue Reading →
30/4 Park Rushes
It's been too long since I've posted any new videos, so here's a peek at the first minute and-a-half of a mini-documentary I'm working on about young people in and around 30/4 Park in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. One thing I discovered is that when converting the ProRes 422 files to QuickTime H.264 using... Continue Reading →
How to Edit FCPX on a Different Computer
I'd begun editing my 'mini-documentary' on my MacBook Pro but since getting a new 27" iMac, naturally I wanted the convenience of being able to edit the project on both machines: on the laptop while at the office (I don't have any classes for seven more weeks) or at the coffee shop after work; and... Continue Reading →
Impressions of Saigon
I’m just trying to get the juices flowing for my next project, a sort of mini-documentary I’ve been working on for the past two months. All of the footage was shot in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, mostly of the young musicians and flatland BMX riders around 30/4 park. I’ve begun to do a... Continue Reading →
Apple Reseller Shutters, Leaving Buyer in the Lurch
Well, not actually, but that's what I thought when I reached the the third floor of Diamond Plaza to make a final payment on the 27" iMac I'd ordered five weeks before, only to find that iCenter had disappeared without a trace. Had they taken off with the $2,000 I'd already put down? Did they... Continue Reading →
4K Storage: How Fast is Fast Enough?
I'm still patiently waiting for DigitalRev to notify me when the Lumix GH4 will be available in Hong Kong. According to 43rumors.com, the only cameras which have shipped have been sold in the U.S. This represents a shift in strategy by Panasonic, which aims to increase its presence in the North American market. To kill... Continue Reading →
WD My Passport Pro
I've been going back and forth from one storage solution to another ever since deciding to purchase Panasonic's Lumix GH4. Not only will the 4K files require far more storage capacity than HD, they will also demand faster transfer speeds. The iMac I ordered last month will be equipped with Apple's Fusion drive, which, according... Continue Reading →
30/4 Park and Midlife Crisis
What I should be doing is working on a script. Instead, I just go out and shoot street life every weekend. I should find an assistant to handle sound recording. Instead, I use a microphone mounted on the camera. I'm sure I'll sort it all out - eventually! Anyhow, I'd been shooting in and around the... Continue Reading →
LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2
In preparation for editing the huge 4K files from Panasonic's Lumix GH4, I've already gone ahead and placed an order for one of the new 27" iMacs equipped with a 3.5GHz Quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2GB graphics card, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB Fusion Drive. But much more than... Continue Reading →
How to Import XML Files into Resolve Without Crashes
I'd had Resolve in my applications folder for forever but not for one second did I think I would ever need it, let alone learn to use it. But since I became interested in color grading, I realized FCPX wasn't going to cut it. There remained only one obstacle - importing XML files into Resolve from... Continue Reading →