10Jan Panasonic 25mm f1.4 Lens
The Panasonic 25mm f1.4 lens is a somewhat affordable addition to my Panasonic GH4 kit. At a price of about $460 it’s roughly $100 more than it’s nearest competitor, the Olympus 25mm f1.8. I never actually had a chance to play around with the Olympus so I can’t really compare build or image quality, but my guess would be the difference in price mostly comes down to the f-stop.
I went with the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 because it came up used at a very reasonable price and it was one of the first few lenses I bought for the GH4 body when it came in. Build quality is good and the fly by wire focus ring feels nice to the touch. The body is mostly plastic with the exception of the lens mount, over all it feels about as good as the Canon 50mm f1.4 in hand.
As far as M4/3 lenses are concerned, the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 is a little on the chunky side, but it’s still small compared to the full frame equivalent. Above is the 25mm f1.4 lens next to the Canon 50mm f1.4 on a Metabones M4/3 speed booster. The 25mm f1.4 weighs less than the 50 by a noticeable margin, it’s smaller in diameter and it’s shorter than the 50mm f1.4.
Attached to the GH4 body, the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 is reasonable petite and enjoyable to use. The f1.4 aperture on this 25mm lens (50 equivalent) isn’t as dramatic of a bokeh creation tool as an f1.4 lens on a full frame body but it still does a pretty decent job.
Here, for example, is my less then majestic Pomeranian (her name is Hero) at f1.4. At a focusing distance of roughly 2 feet, the background does manage to turn into a beautiful blur, but you can still make out some minor details, like the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8 sitting off to the right.
When you take that same shot of Hero at f5.6, the background (about 5 feet away) starts to come into focus. That 12-40mm lens, as well as the Canon 50mm f1.4, are easy to spot in this shot. You can even see the keyboard and bass amp in the back ground if you look close.
This shot of my old (but beloved) “edgy punk” style bass guitar was taken with the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 at the same distance. What i’m getting at is that you can still knock out the background at f1.4 with a M4/3 camera, but it’s not nearly as dramatic as full frame.
Many people will tell you that you can’t get the same look out of a M4/3 sensor as you get out of a full frame or even a crop sensor and that’s true and false. The true part is that you wont have as shallow of a depth of field to work with on an M4/3 body. You’ll be missing out on the “look” of f1.2 and f1.4 on a full frame camera, but with the proper collection of lenses, everything else shouldn’t be a problem.
I’m sort of a hypocrite here, I still love my 50mm f1.2 and my 35mm f1.4 wide open on the 5d mark III, especially for photography. So maybe I’m not the right person to be talking about the “look”. That said, I find myself reaching for the Panasonic GH4 so much more than I ever expected and I don’t have any complainants about the look of f1.4 and f1.8 on a M4/3 body. Even if it’s not as creamy as f1.2 or f1.4 full frame, it still looks really good.
I don’t solely use the M4/3 format and I don’t think it’ll ever be my only camera, but it’s now my go to format for more than a quarter half of my work. It really is a great camera, and the Panasonic 25mm f1.4 is a good match.
You can find the raw files from those 3 example photos here. That’s enough rambling for one night.
09Jan DSLR FILM NOOB Podcast Episode 0.8
Just about done with the Podcast Co-host marathon. This time planetMitch from planet5D joins me for an interesting talk about his experience with the Sony a7s and some of the new HD and 4k televisions that are killing the look of our films in the living room. Stay tuned after the show for some behind the scenes talk. More episodes are available under the podcast tab above (iTunes is coming folks).
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/185278130″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
09Jan 1TB SSD $359 on Newegg!
Quick heads up for those of you in the market for a 1TB ssd. Newegg currently has the Muskin 1TB ssd on sale for $359 with 99 cent shipping. That puts the Muskin 1TB ssd at the sweet spot of 36 cents a GB. While $359 is still a little pricey, it’s $60 less than it’s nearest competitor (the Samsung 840 EVO).
If you want to boost the speed of your current editing system an SSD is my number one recommendation. While the Muskin is not the fastest SSD on the market, 560MB/s reads and 460MB/s writes are nothing to scoff at. 1TB is also more than enough space when working on small to medium projects.
09Jan DSLR FILM NOOB Podcast episode 0.7
Another Episode of DSLR FILM NOOB podcast is out. This time Jon joins me from Canada to talk about Panasonic’s latest 4k camcorders, Vimeo 4k video features, the Canon c100 MKII and the new Canon Clone Yongnuo 50mm f1.8 ($56) and 35mm f2 (yet to be released) lenses. You can find the show notes here and Listen via the SoundCloud app (iTunes is coming folks). You can also check out all the past episodes here.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/185169380″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
09Jan Very low priced Variable ND filters
Here we have a bunch of low price Tiffen UV filters and when I say low price I mean under $10. They aren’t horrible but they aren’t anything to write home about. These filters are what you buy when you want to protect a lens from scratches, dust, and the rest of the damage a lens can be exposed to out in the world. I am not attempting to get into a debate about “good filters verses cheap filters” or “filter verses no filter” I’m simply pointing out that I have no problem using low price filters on my collection of Panasonic GH4 lenses.
The reason I bring this up is that normally even very low end filters can be very expensive. Normally it’s not unreasonable to spend 40 dollars, all the way up to $200 on a variable ND filter for a normal size lens. The thing is, most Panasonic GH4 lenses don’t require what would normally be considered a “normal size” filter. Digging through my collection of M43 lenses, the biggest filter size I have is a 62mm on the Olympus 12-40mm f2.8. Every other lens in the collection is 58mm or smaller.
As a Canon shooter I generally recommend buying a single variable ND filter based on the largest lens in your collection. Then you can buy a handful of adapter rings for a $1 or 2 a piece so that you can attach the ND filter to smaller lenses in your collection. However, because the GH4 lenses are so small, variable ND filers end up being vary affordable. Don’t get me wrong, these filters aren’t top notch by any means but they are completely usable.
Here’s an example of the $12 variable ND filter on the Voigtlander 17.5mm f0.95 lens (download the raw file here). If you take a look at the raw file, you’ll see that there is very little color tinting and the 16MP image doesn’t exhibit any major effects from the filter.
At this price and size, it’s not unreasonable to own a variable ND fliter for each filter size in your M43 collection. 58mm, 52mm, and 46mm seem to cover most things in my current M43 lens lineup, but at $12 a piece I might even pick up a 37mm for the Olympus 45mm f1.8. I’m really suppressed how reasonable these filters are priced for what they are.
08Jan Monoprice 2.4Ghz Wireless lav system?
Jordan posted this demonstration of the Monoprice wireless lav system. The $82 price tag is pretty attractive, maybe I should say really attractive. Honestly, that’s extremely well priced. It also supports two way communication over the 2.4Ghz wifi band and sports a pretty decent transmission distance (150 feet).
The lav mic didn’t sound that good in Jordan’s demo video (very muddy), but what do you expect from a wireless system this cheap? The main thing is that the transmitters work properly. As you can see above the lav uses a cellphone style TRRS “4 pole” connector. While this isn’t an extremely common type of connector for lav microphones, you can find some very decent lav mics that are designed to work with smart phones that support this style of connector.
The Rode smartLav+ and the Aspen HQ-SPK lav mics are just two examples. Add one of these mic’s to this very affordable wireless system and you might have a good combination. This setup might even work with other lav mics with a simple trs to trrs adapter. I may try to get my hands on one of these Monoprice wireless lav setups. If you beat me to it, be sure to let me know what mics and adapters you test.
Even with the purchase of a lav mic, the combined price would be in the $150 price range. If that provides good clean audio, than this system could be a very good deal for the price.
07Jan The Rode Procaster that didn’t work out
As I move forward with the Podcast initiative, I’ve been upgrading my gear and readying a small spot in the studio for a weekly (possibly bi-weekly show). The audio hasn’t been bad, but I figured it might be time to switch from the makeshift Audio Technica 4073 boom mic and the Tascam DR-60D (supported by boxes) to something a little nicer looking as the show moves to video.
I went ahead and ordered a Rode Procaster kit from Amazon thinking the adjustable arm and microphone mount would be a better option for the format. You’ll notice there is only a stand in the picture. That’s because the rest of the kit was missing from the Amazon shipment. I’m not sure what’s going on with Amazon right now, but this is the second time in the last 4 weeks that I’ve received a box from Amazon that was missing large portions of my order.
Unfortunately there isn’t really anyone to contact at Amazon about the problem. I suppose I’ll change directions and ordering something off ebay. The Electro Voice RE20 seems to be a popular podcasting mic right now, might have to give that a try.
Anyone else having trouble with Amazon orders?
UPDATE: Amazon issued a full refund and paid for return shipping, Thanks Amazon! I’ll be giving the Rode Procaster another shot later on in the month as the podcasting adventures continue.
07Jan DSLR FILM NOOB Podcast 0.5 and 0.6
Two more DSLR FILM NOOB podcast episodes are out as I continue through the co-host extravaganza. Make sure you continue through the ending of episode 0.6, Richard and I ended up having a lengthy side discussion on the Sony a7s and E-mount lenses in general, it’s pretty good stuff. Also be sure to check out Tyler’s (episode 0.5) latest feature length film (here), after all he’s starving for his art. I wish you luck as you hit the convention circuit, I know I’ve slogged through it on more than one feature. It can be fun and a headache all warped into one.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184846158″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/185005767″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
06Jan DSLR FILM NOOB Podcast
There was a lot more interest than I was expecting in the idea of a weekly podcast. Thanks to everyone for all of your e-mails and show ideas! After a lot of conversations I’ve narrowed it down to 8 possible Co-hosts. I’ll be working off of the same show notes with each of them. So far there are 4 beta episodes up, with 4 more to come. You can find them here and you can subscribe to them here. Be sure to like your favorite Co-host or post their name in the comment section below.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184510959″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184507745″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184731072″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/184731723″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]
The current logo is the temporary placeholder for the Podcast. I think i’ll actually fix it so that it says “DSLR FILM NOOB” instead of “FILM DSLR NOOB” (face palm). Once I’ve had a chance to record with the last few Co-hosts, I’ll sort out a permanent Co-host of the show based on everyones input. I hope to have the show up and running as a weekly or biweekly podcast in a couple more weeks.
When the audio portion of the show gets sorted out, I might start posting the show to video via google hangouts. The format is still evolving so for now, this will be audio only. You can find the show notes for the beta show here. As the show evolves, I’ll try and setup some sort of news article submission system and possibly a question and answer segment.
Anyhow, take a listen and let me know what you think.
02Jan MSI GS60 Ghost pro 4k Hard drive upgrade
I finally had a chance to sit down and film the M.2 hard drive upgrade on the MSI GS60 editing laptop I picked up. The total tear down and reassembly time was a little less then an hour and I only ended up with one extra screw (no idea where that goes). The most nerve wrecking part is detaching the motherboard to get to the second M.2 drive slot, everything else is pretty straight forward.
Before you get started on this, make sure you create a USB recovery drive! The MSI GS60 does not come with a physical copy of windows, MSI includes an easy to use tool for this, but the recovery files are stored on the 1 TB drive. If you remove it before you create a disk, you’re going to have a tough time restoring windows on the new hard drive.
You can find the screwdriver set I used here, it’s cheap but effective. If you mess up any of the tape holding the ribbon cables, you can find it here. Also this upgrade is not for the faint of heart, if you aren’t comfortable with digging into the guts of your brand new $2000 laptop, you might want to look at some of the already upgraded units on Amazon.
The original Toshiba M.2 SSD has some pretty decent numbers, and the Crucial 512GB SSD isn’t far behind with writes only trailing slightly. The Samsung 840 EVO falls right in line with the rest of the drives, just make sure you run the you run the Samsung restoration and firmware update tool and you should be good to go.
Now that I have the MSI GS60 upgraded it might be time for some rendering test. I have a titan, the R9 290x, and a GTX 680 in the studio, I’ll post some 4k rendering results next week. It’ll be interesting to see how the GS60 stacks up.
