Sareesh Sudhakaran In this lesson we’ll go over the first two picture profiles – Movie and Still. Movie Here’s what it looks like, in the Movie color space (In this order: -4, -2, 0, +2, +4, click to enlarge): See any resemblance to Standard? Take a look right now? Don’t see it? They’re exactly the same! Still … Read more
In this lesson we’ll focus on two Creative Styles – Standard and Neutral. I’ve left out the rest because they’re all special cases. It doesn’t mean you can’t use them, just that they aren’t interesting enough to me to cover in this much detail. Standard Creative Style Standard has great colors if you’re shooting stills. … Read more
In the following lessons we are going to test all the Picture Profiles against various color spaces. We will also test the Standard and Neutral Creative Styles for good measure. All this might seem a bit overwhelming, and this lesson exists to help you wade through it. First, understand my testing methodology. It’s not scientific, … Read more
In this lesson we’ll go over a very important topic – white balance. I’ve already covered how to set custom white balance earlier, so we’re going into the details here, with tests. The questions we want answered: Can we always use auto white balance (AWB) instead of presets or custom white balance? How accurate is … Read more
In this lesson let’s study footage for both S-Log2 and Rec. 709 for low light ability. S-Log2 For S-Log2, I recommend the following ISOs: 3200 (preferable 100% of the time) 6400 12800 Anything above this range seems to have problems. Here are some screenshots (click to enlarge, JPEGs actual size): Notes on the scene: There is … Read more
The Sony A7s records to three codecs: XAVC S – this is the consumer version of XAVC. Maximum data rate is 50 Mbps AVCHD – this is also a consumer codec, maximum data rate is 28 Mbps at 50/60p, 24 Mbps at 24/25/30p MP4 – 1440×1080 (1.33 pixel aspect ratio corrects to 1920×1080) 12 Mbps [show_if … Read more
This is the first lesson in this module, and we’ll go over the tools available for exposing and monitoring the Sony A7s, both in-camera and otherwise: Just to recap: Mandatory Optional Photography In-Camera Meter + Histogram Light Meter Video In-Camera Meter + Zebra Light Meter + Waveform Monitor* *This includes waveform monitor, vectorscope and false color. … Read more
NAB 2015 is over and done with, and here are some interesting accessories for the A7s and Shogun: Accessories for the Sony A7s Movcam Start Stop Trigger for the A7s: It’s a neat adapter cable that connects to the USB port, and the other end is a standard LANC port you can connect any trigger to. … Read more
In this lesson I’ll go over a few rigging options required by the Atomos Shogun specifically. One of the cool things about the Shogun is that it ships with a ton of important accessories. I’ve found these particularly helpful: XLR to Hirose breakout cable P-tap battery adapter AC power outlet (otherwise I wouldn’t have been … Read more