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Rigging the Panasonic GH3/GH4: D|Cage, G-Cup, Atomos Power Station, Tascam DR-70D, RØDE Mics, Zacuto Handle, Lenses, Mounts & more

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Over a year ago, when the Panasonic Lumix GH4 arrived, I broke it in by filming and editing the first professionally shot independent short film, in its first week. Not the newest thing now, the GH4 still is the only meaningful option for capturing 4K video internally without a big rig, costing under a couple grand. But it’s always needed a bit of rigging, and while filmmakers keep using it to make amazing films, there’s still a lot to talk about, in terms of rigging it up right. Following up the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera rigging guide I made last year that went sort of viral, here’s a similar chat: because sometimes, showing stuff and talking over it works better than writing an article. For a streaming clip (embedded above for playback, or on YouTube), it does run long, but it covers lots of ground — and I’m looking forward to reading your comments below.

Don’t forget, the world’s biggest GH4 User Group is spanned across Vimeo, Facebook and Twitter, all connected together here at FocusPulling.com. Thanks for continuing to share your work with the community.

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Sony Teases New FS-Series Professional Camcorder

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MissingPiece

Sony Professional USA and Europe have begun teasing the launch of a new FS-series camcorder, creating the hashtag #MissingPiece to suggest that something’s coming to their line-up between the NEX-FS700 and PXW-FS7, as seen in their meme above. It wasn’t a sure clue, but leading up to that, their big price break on the FS700 was timed to match. The continued value of that workhorse raises some interesting issues about what this missing piece should be after all. (I leave it to that Dutch panhandling rumor site, which shall remain nameless, to speculate…and then beg for clicks to pay for dinner as always.)

Click here to register directly with Sony for an update on the launchSerious filmmakers are still making use of the NEX-FS700 with great results. It added the in-body ND filters that Sony had claimed were impossible on the NEX-FS100, and its purpose-built Super 35mm sensor has big photosites for low-light sensitivity rivaled only by their a7S that’s arguably not a viable option for many professional applications (basically, the a7’s have the form factor of a point-and-shoot purse cam). My line in the sand, for example, is balanced XLR audio inputs: anything without that is in B-camera territory! The AVCHD internal codec’s not great, though, recording 8-bit 4:2:0 color at a low bitrate that grades poorly. It’s basically the same as the FS100, which remains my sentimental favorite, still a central part of my kit. So the first thing we could expect from the #MissingPiece is XAVC.

But we’ve got that in the PXW-FS7, upgraded to 4K internal recording at 10-bit 4:2:2 color, with a better form factor for shoulder-mounted shooting. At $8,000 USD, though, it’s pretty cost-prohibitive to a certain kind of shooter who’s not writing off expenses, or renting, or sending their bill up to deeper pockets. And it’s getting “old” in this light-speed tech niche.

It also doesn’t have a full-frame sensor. And that’s where I’m going with this: there’s no disputing by now that the a7R II is a full-frame 4K wonder (despite its form factor), but it has a massive product defect: it overheats. (More on that soon here, as I’ve been shooting with it for a few weeks.) All eyes are on the dream of a video-focused a7S II, but the chip fabrication evolution that’s necessary for heat reduction, within the original a7S form factor, is probably a product cycle or two away (kind of like the tick-tock of Intel microprocessor development). Bottom line, the only way to get that ideal real-world combination of shooting features without overheating — in-body image stabilization while actually moving around (not just shooting a locked-down static shot of a potted cactus), plus heavy number crunching for XAVC 4K compression on actual kinetic footage — Sony needs a bigger form factor with proper heat management for full-frame 4K. Their CineAlta line doesn’t have it yet, but will the FS line get it first? If Sony plays things right, that’s the #MissingPiece. We’ll find out in exactly one week.

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Scooter Shoot: CAME-Single 3-axis gimbal stabilizer, Voigtlander 10.5mm f/0.95 lens & Panasonic GH4 in 4K-UHD

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I’ve got a new scooter shop in my neighborhood, and figured it could be a visually fun place to start experimenting with my new CAME-Single 3-axis gimbal stabilizer that just arrived. A more thorough review of the product is forthcoming, but in the meantime, here are some notes on this shoot.

CAME-Single Wide with VoigtlanderApart from the standard practice of closing up apertures for wide depth of field where you just can’t manage pulling focus while flying on a gimbal, I’ve always wanted to try out steadicam style in shallow focus, using a bright prime lens. But that presents a few problems: it only makes sense to shoot ultra-wide on a gimbal, and those lenses aren’t typically bright, especially with a high crop factor like you get with the Panasonic GH4. Anything capable of shallow focus at wide focal lengths has got to be huge, and the king of them all is Voigtländer’s new 10.5mm f/0.95 lens, weighing in at 568 grams. Hooked onto the GH4 and then stacking a requisite ND filter, it’s well past the CAME-Single’s 1 kilogram weight limit. So, these results probably look worse than the normal stabilizer capability of the CAME-Single (to be confirmed soon), and I have to admit, I applied Adobe Warp onto a clip or two where things got really bad. But I was surprised that the CAME-Single didn’t freak out, and it generally did the job.

CAME-Single Close-Up with Voigtlander

You must agree, it’s a cool look! Having that buttery bokeh while smoothly flying around like this is a really unique aesthetic. It only works when you’re keeping an equal distance to everything, as seen here starting a half-minute in. But if I wanted (or only could manage) long depth of field, I would be better off using my Olympus 9-18mm f/4 lens that’s truly miniature and wouldn’t stress the motors (but performs great). I’ll test the CAME-Single with that lens going forward, in a stabilizer round-up that includes the CAME 7800, Nebula 4000 Lite, Cinevate Morpheus, Big Balance Gibbon, and Steadicam Merlin.

Thanks to Jamie at La Moto Washington for letting me roam around. He’s running the best shop in the mid-Atlantic region for scooters and motorcycles.

Note that you can play the video back in 4K-UHD, on a capable monitor, by enlarging it to full-screen. If that doesn’t seem to work, it’s also posted at YouTube where you can hit up the gear icon at bottom-right there to select 2160p resolution. Thanks for watching!

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