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NeoGAF Photography & Camera Gear Community

Bo_Hazem

Banned
Bo_Hazem Bo_Hazem what got you into photography? thanks for the Sony recommendation, I'm learning a lot with practice shots

Hello there! Mostly ISO superiority and much larger lens gallery and form factor. Making a wildlife film at night is one of my goals, but it would be an extremely expensive one as I would need the 400mm f/2.8 and many fast primes at f/0.95-1.8 aperture.

I was about to buy Canon R5, but overheating is a massive problem, hard to edit files and massive in size, also the native 4K mode is comparable to a7s III in 1080p, simply too soft. Also the 4K@120fps is unaudible on R5 vs audible on a7s III, plus it's much sharper on a7s III.

I'm still learning myself, but watching the best on youtube helps you out a lot. Also if I can help with anything with my small experience I would do if I can!

Auto-focus is good at Canon, but overall Sony is still the best in both auto-focus and ISO performance. My next cam might be the a1 next to the a7s III, or just wait for the new a7 IV if it has at least 4K@60fps in 10-bit 4:2:2. Also considered Panasonic S1 but the shallow selection of lenses put me off.

I'm leaning more into videography now, rarely making photographs. With 4K@120fps you don't miss the perfect moment. Here:

C0888-15232816.png


S-Cinetone, unedited. Being 10-bit gives you enough room to edit as well. I think it's perfect for kids photography as they're very tricky to photograph and would save you so much time as 8.3MP stills are more than enough. Photos are still great but videos have much more attraction.
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
It's interesting how editing can save a shot because of the detail. I need to try out low light and night shots next.

Yeah most TV's and phones are 8-bit and some are 10-bit. With raw footage you're talking about 14-bit or 16-bit:

Color-depth-RAW-files.jpg


So you can't really see those details until you push the photos/videos to the range of regular screens can handle. 12-bit panels are coming next now.
 
It's interesting how editing can save a shot because of the detail. I need to try out low light and night shots next.
If you are serious about photography, I always tell people you need to learn photoshop. Lightroom and all those more simple filtered apps are maybe OK tonally but when talking about building up a photo, manipulating any corner of the photo etc, Photoshop. All those amazing images you see online, fashion / travel/ sports photography....Photoshop. Usually people go for Lightroom and maaaaybe later switch to PS but its just a waste of time as you could of learned so much more in PS. As long as you have the RAW file, the world is your oyster.

Left is RAW, Right is edited.

Th9b0rZ.jpg
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
Got the Endurax ShellX P01 bag so it can contain my pretty long Laowa 24mm probe lens (40cm) and the newly bought, on-the-way Sony 200-600mm (31.8cm):

I was using the DJI Phantom bag, but it's too tight for the probe lens but has very good protection.

DSC-4395.jpg


Had to strip the barrier for the upper storage. Baceplate and all other stuff fits in properly on the sides. Making room for Sony 200-600mm:

DSC-4396.jpg


So at least could use the upper gate for quick access:

giphy.gif


Would've loved it if it could get the PolarPro matte box in but might just strap its little bag on the side. Having a waste bag would be good as well for smaller lenses if this one gets full. It fits other stuff like the baseplate/rods/handle/etc and seems to be some room for more lenses as well when organized properly.

DSC-4380.jpg


DSC-4377.jpg
 

betrayal

Banned
Bo_Hazem Bo_Hazem Congratulations on the 200-600mm! How does it do for filming? I assume it is primarily used to shoot wildlife?

Hopefully the thread doesn't die. Here are some pictures I have made the last months. The pictures are partly heavily compressed, because some have 60MP. Hopefully the formatting is not so catastrophic with other screen resolutions. :messenger_grimmacing_

wezS4hX.jpg
ZUPslwu.jpg
B09QUH0.jpg
Jcg77ng.jpg
xrzf8DF.jpg
vWZ9Roe.jpg
cc9OK8h.jpg


IRutnUF.jpg
togOOVM.jpg
tnMrT9G.jpg
TCmy6yx.jpg
ja8Eitd.jpg
L1s6egp.jpg
z2cmU1V.jpg
PsHl8PH.jpg
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
Largely Germany. Travel to other countries was unfortunately only possible to a very limited extent in the last 2 years.

Lovely shots, really! I could learn a lot from your input. This might sound funny, but haven't really made a thing with it yet. I'll start first by making short videos of a football match next week, just waiting for the last pieces! Bought Diety M4 Duo mic as couldn't find Sony's ECM-B1M that I'll buy later, but found out that you can preorder it now at BH.


Also bought a cheap Cayer K3 fluid head:


Cheap and the one with the carbon fiber legs seems to get lots of praise. It's a temporary solution due to tight budget, then might upgrade to something else. Ball head is pure garbage and nearly snapped my finger tip once.

When I make the videos I should post them here ;). This video inspired the ideas of how I should approach the match:




Yes, it's mainly for wildlife, but would want to make some cash from it. Actually I struck a deal and got the lens for free via putting the company name on my sport videos for a season. It's a company of my close friend anyway.
 
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betrayal

Banned
Lovely shots, really! I could learn a lot from your input. This might sound funny, but haven't really made a thing with it yet. I'll start first by making short videos of a football match next week, just waiting for the last pieces! Bought Diety M4 Duo mic as couldn't find Sony's ECM-B1M that I'll buy later, but found out that you can preorder it now at BH.


Also bought a cheap Cayer K3 fluid head:


Cheap and the one with the carbon fiber legs seems to get lots of praise. It's a temporary solution due to tight budget, then might upgrade to something else. Ball head is pure garbage and nearly snapped my finger tip once.

When I make the videos I should post them here ;). This video inspired the ideas of how I should approach the match:




Yes, it's mainly for wildlife, but would want to make some cash from it. Actually I struck a deal and got the lens for free via putting the companies name on my sport videos for a season. It's a company of my close friend anyway.


What do you do exactly? Are you a freelancer who makes videos and image films for companies and other clients?

I'm looking forward seeing the video! The a7S III and 200-600mm should be a good combo for it.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
What do you do exactly? Are you a freelancer who makes videos and image films for companies and other clients?

I'm looking forward seeing the video! The a7S III and 200-600mm should be a good combo for it.

Just started my very small production company, so aside from porn, I would do whatever I can do. Now I reject wedding requests as it's a massive responsibility and risky with only one camera. Might buy the new a7 VI and outsource someone with me to take those wedding requests. It's not like you can repeat the weddings if shit hits the fan.

Sport isn't my main interest, but it can attract some potential customers so I'm approaching it from a business perspective. Nature and documentaries are my main goal. I'll travel within 2 weeks around the country to complete my bee/honey documentary that hopefully will be good. It'll be in both Arabic and English, 2 versions. A friend Gaffer is onboard doing English voice-overs. :messenger_winking_tongue: For example:







Note: Some stock videos have been used, not all of them are shot by me.
 
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betrayal

Banned
Just started my very small production company, so aside from porn, I would do whatever I can do. Now I reject wedding requests as it's a massive responsibility and risky with only one camera. Might buy the new a7 VI and outsource someone with me to take those wedding requests. It's not like you can repeat the weddings if shit hits the fan.

Sport isn't my main interest, but it can attract some potential customers so I'm approaching it from a business perspective. Nature and documentaries are my main goal. I'll travel within 2 weeks around the country to complete my bee/honey documentary that hopefully will be good. It'll be in both Arabic and English, 2 versions. A friend Gaffer is onboard doing English voice-overs. :messenger_winking_tongue: For example:







Note: Some stock videos have been used, not all of them are shot by me.


I have never had to photograph a wedding and would also not have the confidence to do so right now. As you say, I think it is enormously difficult (apart from the dedicated standard wedding pictures/videos of the couple after the ceremony), if you also want good results. You not only have to master your equipment very well, but also must do a lot of planning and have experience to get the best angles and much more...and you only ever have exactly one chance to do so. I think this can become nightmare stuff very quickly if you are not very confident and prepared. Especially if it is paid contract work.

I really like the videos you posted though. Very professional editing and pacing. Also the quality is extremely good, which is not a given.
But what irritated me a bit when watching the English video is that the original Arabic language is completely muted. For me, it is more comfortable when the original language, i.e. the Arabic, can still be heard in the background - of course, much quieter than the translator.
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
I have never had to photograph a wedding and would also not have the confidence to do so right now. As you say, I think it is enormously difficult (apart from the dedicated standard wedding pictures/videos of the couple after the ceremony), if you also want good results. You not only have to master your equipment very well, but also must do a lot of planning and have experience to get the best angles and much more...and you only ever have exactly one chance to do so. I think this can become nightmare stuff very quickly if you are not very confident and prepared. Especially if it is paid contract work.

I really like the videos you posted though. Very professional editing and pacing. Also the quality is extremely good, which is not a given.
But what irritated me a bit when watching the English video is that the original Arabic language is completely muted. For me, it is more comfortable when the original language, i.e. the Arabic, can still be heard in the background - of course, much quieter than the translator.

Yeah I think for weddings the new Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 is a must, although weddings here are dramatically different with men and women separated. So I would push my wife to learn and probably bring her an assistant as the women part is the most expensive at around 1000 OMR ($2600) for near-full day. Photos of the bride the broom in their house/apartment/room is part of women's wedding that I can't access it and it's another extra money from photos. For men weddings you can as well get up to around 700 OMR ($1820) or slightly less, with me taking the artistic/cinematic/short approach and the other cameraman making the standard video that can be as long as 1 hour or more. The potential for me here is that none are doing it in 4K yet, so I can do something there but need to be pretty cautious indeed.

For the English voice over it was debatable, had to cut the Arabic voice completely due to being a very short trailer, not a full documentary where you have lots of breathing room to start with 1 second in Arabic then the English voice-over kicks in as we're used to in most documentaries. Tried it on and it was too busy with the music as well. Notes taken and I would love you to be as harsh as you can and don't pull any punches ;).
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
Great work Bo!

Thanks, mate! :lollipop_raising_hand:

betrayal betrayal and the guy I told you that I refused to film his wedding is back insisting. Told him I won't cause I only have 1 camera, and if I had two it would be 1,000 OMR ($2,600 USD). Well, he said how about I buy you that other camera then which is $2,500 (the new Sony a7 IV). Raised my eyebrows and said of course! I'll hire a cameraman on the spot and pay him to carry the other camera with a gimbal. That 33MP should be good for big prints like A0 and higher when I get the 44" printer later in the near future, hopefully.

Now I'm seriously considering Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8, but it's a $1,900 lens that has to wait for now. Hope I'm not biting more than what I can chew though.
 
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betrayal

Banned
Thanks, mate! :lollipop_raising_hand:

betrayal betrayal and the guy I told you that I refused to film his wedding is back insisting. Told him I won't cause I only have 1 camera, and if I had two it would be 1,000 OMR ($2,600 USD). Well, he said how about I buy you that other camera then which is $2,500 (the new Sony a7 IV). Raised my eyebrows and said of course! I'll hire a cameraman on the spot and pay him to carry the other camera with a gimbal. That 33MP should be good for big prints like A0 and higher when I get the 44" printer later in the near future, hopefully.

Now I'm seriously considering Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8, but it's a $1,900 lens that has to wait for now. Hope I'm not biting more than what I can chew though.

No one ever offers me cameras. :messenger_sad_relieved:

But it sounds like a good opportunity for you to try it out. You have to start at some point anyway.

The new Tamron sounds very good, of course, and certainly worth the money in the end. But I don't know how it compares in videography vs photography. Does the Aperture play the exactly same role? Depending on where weddings take place (in Germany often in churches or other pretty dark interiors) sometimes an even faster aperture could be noticeably better, which then of course goes to the flexibility when using primes. But I think I've read that people sometimes use higher apertures for videos because of the quality.

Maybe an 18-200mm /f1.2 will be released someday. But then you'd probably need one or two people to hold the lens for you. :messenger_unamused:
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
No one ever offers me cameras. :messenger_sad_relieved:

But it sounds like a good opportunity for you to try it out. You have to start at some point anyway.

The new Tamron sounds very good, of course, and certainly worth the money in the end. But I don't know how it compares in videography vs photography. Does the Aperture play the exactly same role? Depending on where weddings take place (in Germany often in churches or other pretty dark interiors) sometimes an even faster aperture could be noticeably better, which then of course goes to the flexibility when using primes. But I think I've read that people sometimes use higher apertures for videos because of the quality.

Maybe an 18-200mm /f1.2 will be released someday. But then you'd probably need one or two people to hold the lens for you. :messenger_unamused:

Yeah I've been having crazy luck lately! Another friend sent me his DJI Mavic Air 2s that I've been seeking myself and told me to use it and keep it and pay when I can even if after 2 years:messenger_astonished:. The Tamron is very good at video as well, and for constant aperture you can go for f/2.8 to keep it constant from 35mm to 150mm, but here is the range:

tamron-lens-coverage-image.jpg


It's heavy though, slightly more than 1kg. Here men's part of wedding takes place between halls, mosque, and some weddings are still using tent. Even inside mosques you get way more light than churches that tend to be a bit dim as the windows are kinda small in most old ones. So far not tapping that women wedding part until wife or sister are confident enough to do it, which is a serious money to grab! Women's wedding part is during the night, so faster lenses the better. Men's wedding part is in the morning/midday usually up to afternoon so plenty of light and would need a VND.

That 35-150mm would be great from my second cameraman that most likely knows the bare-minimum about cameras, so it'll be set at S-Cinetone, 4K@60fps 10-bit 4:2:2 with 200Mbps bitrate, auto white-balance, auto shutter, and even auto aperture. At 60fps, the smoothness of 60fps makes better job at hiding image stutter vs 24-30fps. On my a7S III I'll take full control of the camera using my matte box with the VND to keep things look cinematic. Then release one video that is 1-2 hours of regular coverage with audio, and another one that is probably 5-15min trying my best to make it as dramatic, cinematic as possible. Using the same S-Cinetone with same color science we should compliment each other's video.

I'll make mistakes, but I hope none will be huge. I'll pack 2x 160GB CFexpress cards on the a7s III (fucking $400 to buy another 160GB one):


and two of these that cost $130 each, 256GB Tough serious:

sony_sfm256t_t1_sf_m_series_tough_uhs_ii_1574422609_1512109.jpg



V60 is enough for 4K@60fps 10-bit and up to 4K@120fps 10-bit XAVC HS mode but not all-intra, which is an overkill for me:

Sony-Alpha-7-S-III-Media-Card-Requirements-Sony-Alpha-Universe-2.jpg


One of these 256GB Tough cards will be given to the customer inside this stainless steel with wood case that has our company's name "iGRA" engraved on it:

H7b8c55fc65074073bd4c35f6fd8db52a5.jpg


He8e57a0832b949b589a13c34fa23c27bx.jpg


It's a business card holder, but enough room to get the SD card with its plastic cover with a business card inside. Might buy engraving machine, a small one, to engrave the broom and the bride's name at the back of this little case. Cheap but look elegant and solid. For extra safety would upload the videos on my channel and make them public/unlisted or even private as the customer wishes, and would take his youtube account and upload it on his as well for backup.


Haven't slept since yesterday but no worries, I have a vacation, lol. Any bright idea would be more than welcome! Might buy some of Sony's cheap and fast primes that have f/1.8 aperture until I could afford the G Master ones.

Excited and nervous, time to let those tools pay their own bills so I can expand and get some of my dream lenses!




$13K and $12K respectively, but could make good night wildlife films with those! Big dreams, indeed, but why not?
 
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betrayal

Banned
Bo_Hazem Bo_Hazem Great ideas! I'm curious how that turns out for you in the future, but wow at those prices for some of those better SD Cards that are best for videos. :messenger_grimmacing_

Because of the SD cards: wouldn't USB sticks make more sense instead of SD cards. Since you could not only engrave the case, but also the USB stick directly (laser). The money you save compared to the TOUGH Cards you can put in the quality of the packaging and USB sticks. And they are also more compatible. Here only few people still have dedicated SD card slots or SD card readers. But in the end i also would understand, tha SD Cards may somehow look more professional.
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
Bo_Hazem Bo_Hazem Great ideas! I'm curious how that turns out for you in the future, but wow at those prices for some of those better SD Cards that are best for videos. :messenger_grimmacing_

Because of the SD cards: wouldn't USB sticks make more sense instead of SD cards. Since you could not only engrave the case, but also the USB stick directly (laser). The money you save compared to the TOUGH Cards you can put in the quality of the packaging and USB sticks. And they are also more compatible. Here only few people still have dedicated SD card slots or SD card readers. But in the end i also would understand, tha SD Cards may somehow look more professional.

Amazing idea! See how elegant this is:

61itbE0E9CS._AC_SL1100_.jpg


61rsjft8m7L._AC_SL1100_.jpg





61pHMqKxm9L._AC_SL1000_.jpg


617PNe2CxHL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



But would need more than 32GB? Gonna search and this looks much better with no rattling and shit. Type "wood usb flash drive" on amazon. Also found this engraver for only $420:

61uVix3Fq6L._AC_SL1200_.jpg


Or $630 for automated height leverage:

616J+vbvhXL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



Happy Jeff Goldblum GIF by Apartments.com
 

betrayal

Banned
Since you want USB sticks made of wood and appropriate cases -> have a look here: https://www.etsy.com/de/market/wedding_usb_stick

This is a site for handmade products, as there are many suppliers in all price ranges. There are certainly more such sites and they are certainly a bit more expensive, but offer more choice. And even if you don't anything from there, you can get some new good ideas.
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
Since you want USB sticks made of wood and appropriate cases -> have a look here: https://www.etsy.com/de/market/wedding_usb_stick

This is a site for handmade products, as there are many suppliers in all price ranges. There are certainly more such sites and they are certainly a bit more expensive, but offer more choice. And even if you don't anything from there, you can get some new good ideas.

Those are wonderful! Bookmarked, but my only problem is that I would need Arabic and more control over it. But I'll see what they have there. Thanks for sharing!
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
Bo_Hazem Bo_Hazem The stills of the videos are just "for fun" or do you want to use them for some specific purposes? The image is a little soft, but nice look and colors.

Yeah it's slightly soft due to not exactly putting focus on him, but it's serviceable for twitter and social media. There is another still-only photographer who makes the main photos, but overall you can get some pretty sharp ones with 4K@120fps movement is less random or if you use face detection as main focus but I use zonal focus. Also f/6.3 and ISO 2000 could do some softness into the final image ;) Working on the video now and hope I can pull something interesting.
 

betrayal

Banned
My first true test of the 200-600mm G Lens.




Had to use a fucking ball-head! Real pain in the ass. My fluid head hasn't came yet.

I really have to say, I like the video. Some of the slow motions look pretty cool and it already feels professional at some points + really great quality.

I assume this is all with tripod? Or also post crop? Because it's usually a nice steady look. Depending on the focal length, that's not always so easy.

I don't know what kind of soccer videos you make, but I can really imagine that you can create really good team videos, promos, things like that. Huge potential! (y)
 

Bo_Hazem

Banned
I really have to say, I like the video. Some of the slow motions look pretty cool and it already feels professional at some points + really great quality.

I assume this is all with tripod? Or also post crop? Because it's usually a nice steady look. Depending on the focal length, that's not always so easy.

I don't know what kind of soccer videos you make, but I can really imagine that you can create really good team videos, promos, things like that. Huge potential! (y)

Thanks a lot, mate! Yeah I was just sitting on my ass all the time one hand on the zoom ring and the other on the camera grip. Made the ball head loose on side movements and added full tightness for vertical movements to avoid it creeping down. Been fighting that when had to go slightly up or down as a fluid head would've made my life a lot easier. No post crop/stabilization, I'm just not a fan of shutting down all stabilizers on camera (IBIS) and lens OSS. Kept the lens at mode 1, and it has 3 but didn't test them all and 1 seemed to work fine. So even at max 600mm you still get some good stabilization. Also note that in bigger stadiums or when it's full of fans with some jumping fans around you, like Dortmund FC fans for examples, there is a forced shake that you just can't fight back as the stand itself is shaking.

Also at night suffered from the lights of the stadium as they're not bright enough and they're actually 60Hz with no regulators as it seems. That means any shutter speed above 1/60s (30fps) would make you see those annoying black lines due to sensor readout. A global shutter on advanced cameras won't have an issue though, hoping the market adopts that in lesser cameras in the near future as that means zero rolling shutter and those light flickers.

What I wanted out of this is good exposure for my little company, which is so far been me but it's me and my wife for starters. Seems to have grabbed some good reactions, and it's free work but I'm obliged to provide those and mention my sponsor (Salalah Gallery) on the videos as they bought me Sony 200-600mm G lens. It's actually a friend's company. I have to say, having a wide range of relationships/friendships is crucial in any business.
 
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AmmaBrady

Banned
Amazing idea! See how elegant this is:

61itbE0E9CS._AC_SL1100_.jpg


61rsjft8m7L._AC_SL1100_.jpg





61pHMqKxm9L._AC_SL1000_.jpg


617PNe2CxHL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



But would need more than 32GB? Gonna search and this looks much better with no rattling and shit. Type "wood usb flash drive" on amazon. Also found this engraver for only $420:

61uVix3Fq6L._AC_SL1200_.jpg


Or $630 for automated height leverage:

616J+vbvhXL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



Happy Jeff Goldblum GIF by Apartments.com
OH THAT IS AMAZING DESIGN
 
Amazing idea! See how elegant this is:

61itbE0E9CS._AC_SL1100_.jpg


61rsjft8m7L._AC_SL1100_.jpg





61pHMqKxm9L._AC_SL1000_.jpg


617PNe2CxHL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



But would need more than 32GB? Gonna search and this looks much better with no rattling and shit. Type "wood usb flash drive" on amazon. Also found this engraver for only $420:

61uVix3Fq6L._AC_SL1200_.jpg


Or $630 for automated height leverage:

616J+vbvhXL._AC_SL1000_.jpg



Happy Jeff Goldblum GIF by Apartments.com
THIS IS GOOD THING
 
If you are serious about photography, I always tell people you need to learn photoshop. Lightroom and all those more simple filtered apps are maybe OK tonally but when talking about building up a photo, manipulating any corner of the photo etc, Photoshop. All those amazing images you see online, fashion / travel/ sports photography....Photoshop. Usually people go for Lightroom and maaaaybe later switch to PS but its just a waste of time as you could of learned so much more in PS. As long as you have the RAW file, the world is your oyster.

Left is RAW, Right is edited.

Th9b0rZ.jpg
i like photography i am a graphic designer
 
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