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Microstock Footage Forum => General - Stock Video => Topic started by: hatman12 on September 19, 2015, 15:43

Title: Equipment for 4K
Post by: hatman12 on September 19, 2015, 15:43
I plan to start to make stock videos from the beginning of next year, and feel that I should go straight to 4K.

My 5Dii only does HD I believe, so for 4K I'll have to invest in new equipment.

What equipment do people here use to produce high quality 4K?  What's the best to buy in terms of the best balance of budget and results?
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: sharpshot on September 19, 2015, 16:17
I use a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 but if you want to use your canon glass, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH4 with an adapter is probably the best option.  Lots of interesting reading here and in their forum if you want more options.
http://www.eoshd.com/ (http://www.eoshd.com/)
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: cobalt on September 19, 2015, 17:00
Panasonic lumix 100 is good ( I have the Leica version), and also the sony rx10 m2.

I still havenīt sold any 4k yet, but I like 4k, because you can also crop into the video just like into a photo and still get an hd video. I can also extract 8 MP photos from a video, enough for the micros.

If I wanted a simply entry I would look at the new 4k sony rx 100 m4. Small camera, great video stabilization. I got the rx10 for more zoom, but the rx100 seems to be a great little package.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: tickstock on September 19, 2015, 17:46
Depends what you want to be able to do, what you already have, and your budget.  Use your Canon lenses?  Have high quality audio?  Autofocus?
I would stay away from point and shoots if you want quality, shallow DOF, easier manual focus, etc..
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on September 19, 2015, 17:59
I used the FZ1000 for the recent 4K work I tried.  It worked great, was easy to learn the controls and was relatively cheap to rent from borrowlenses.com for the experiment.  I don't have a lot of them online yet, and haven't sold any, but you can look at my new SS videos to see.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: Holmes on September 19, 2015, 22:45
can you keep stuff in focus with those cameras? I have a hard time shooting video with my Canon 5dM2 because I cannot see the focusing on my LCD with my 65 year old eyes. So I got a SONY HXR NX3. It does not do 4K but at least stuff is in focus.

I am not really into 4K now. Just to sterile. Good for landscape aerial i guess. Might change... dunno. Plus my UL bandwidth sucks. Hard to get even small files ULed to SS.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: Symbiostock Official on September 19, 2015, 22:53
Can't go wrong with the GH4:

http://www.enlightenedmedia.com/media/extreme-closeup-of-beautiful-pigeon-with-feathers/ (http://www.enlightenedmedia.com/media/extreme-closeup-of-beautiful-pigeon-with-feathers/)

You should see how it looks in 4K.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: tickstock on September 20, 2015, 07:14
can you keep stuff in focus with those cameras? I have a hard time shooting video with my Canon 5dM2 because I cannot see the focusing on my LCD with my 65 year old eyes. So I got a SONY HXR NX3. It does not do 4K but at least stuff is in focus.

I am not really into 4K now. Just to sterile. Good for landscape aerial i guess. Might change... dunno. Plus my UL bandwidth sucks. Hard to get even small files ULed to SS.
Yep I have a 4k camcorder but I'd choose something like this before a dslr just for ease of use.  It requires a lot less set up and having built in ND filters is a real plus.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on September 20, 2015, 07:21
The FZ1000 did a great job on tracking focus.  I didn't miss anything.  And I used a $28 ND filter from BHPhoto, shooting outdoors.  It did have a variable aperture across the zoom range, but it wasn't a huge deal.  I would have liked a tighter DOF in some places.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: MScontributor on September 20, 2015, 08:29
The FZ1000 did a great job on tracking focus.  I didn't miss anything.  And I used a $28 ND filter from BHPhoto, shooting outdoors.  It did have a variable aperture across the zoom range, but it wasn't a huge deal.  I would have liked a tighter DOF in some places.

4K isn't the only thing the FZ1000 is good at. It can compete with high end SLR's if you know how to use it and more importantly know to process the pana RAW's for noise and sharpness. If you're not good at PP then you might think it's just ok for stills.
f2.8 to f4 on a 25-400mm lens is not too bad. Try to find one with that range for an SLR. Sweet spot at f4 and 5,6 depending on subject matter.
This is a one of a kind, a hidden gem amongst the camera's out there.
I do wish for manual zoom/focus though on the next version to save on battery.
Have fun with it! learn it well and like many others you might find not much use anymore for your other gear.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: ccbcc on September 21, 2015, 02:07
can you keep stuff in focus with those cameras? I have a hard time shooting video with my Canon 5dM2 because I cannot see the focusing on my LCD with my 65 year old eyes. So I got a SONY HXR NX3. It does not do 4K but at least stuff is in focus.

I am not really into 4K now. Just to sterile. Good for landscape aerial i guess. Might change... dunno. Plus my UL bandwidth sucks. Hard to get even small files ULed to SS.
If you use Magic Lantern software on your 5D2 you get all sorts of improvements including Focus Peaking.
If you use a bigger external display things get even better.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: PhotoLA on September 21, 2015, 12:58
I plan to start to make stock videos from the beginning of next year, and feel that I should go straight to 4K.

My 5Dii only does HD I believe, so for 4K I'll have to invest in new equipment.

What equipment do people here use to produce high quality 4K?  What's the best to buy in terms of the best balance of budget and results?

It seems like you should try doing stock footage with your current camera and see how it goes before trying to invest in another camera.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: Firewall on September 21, 2015, 17:00
I'm using a Blackmagic production camera. Great piece of equipment, but don't see it as a standalone unit.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: PeterChigmaroff on September 21, 2015, 21:04
Just about all sales are still HD. I had a 5d2 and they can produce very decent video.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: helloitsme on September 21, 2015, 22:18
New iPhone shoots 4k video.
Title: Re: Equipment for 4K
Post by: Mantis on September 22, 2015, 08:01
New iPhone shoots 4k video.

Yea, thanks Apple. My wife wants a new Iphone now :-[

I do like the GH4 with Metabones adapter because I can use any of my Nikon lenses.  It produces very sharp video with Cine settings.  But there is an investment of something like $2500 and that does not include lighting if you plan to shoot in a studio.  I have shot video at 800 ISO with that camera and if the exposure is right you can't really tell. Very flexible. Oh, and you will need some good ND filters to control light.  My most used ND filter is an 8X for outdoor, daylight shooting.