I'm Looking For A Good Camera.

[MW7945]

They do make smaller DSLR's as well. But, if you want quality stuff, it's not going to be light

 

[tekmunki]

If you guys have budgets in mind I can provide some input on cameras, I've been doing photography professionally now for 10+ years so I've got a good grasp on what is needed and what is a waste in a camera system for bud shots and what not. Here's a few recent shots I can tell you how and what I used for each to give you an idea.

 

[Deplorable]

I'm kind of in the same boat (looking for a camera) used to have a film 35mm camera, shit has changed. Am on the trail of mirrorless specimens, either the Olympus' 10 or the Pen F. Some of the full sized cameras I picked up were unbelievably heavy compared to the Pentax ME I had, easily twice or more the weight. Couldn't imagine shooting with those heavy cameras at all.

Check out what is called "micro 4/3" class of cameras. Particularly the Lumix and Sony options. Fuji makes nice cameras as well.

 

[SmithsJunk]

I'm kind of in the same boat (looking for a camera) used to have a film 35mm camera, shit has changed. Am on the trail of mirrorless specimens, either the Olympus' 10 or the Pen F. Some of the full sized cameras I picked up were unbelievably heavy compared to the Pentax ME I had, easily twice or more the weight. Couldn't imagine shooting with those heavy cameras at all.

Just went through it. I love my Pentax KS-1 but I think I would have loved a Cannon EOS M10 just as much.

 

[SmithsJunk]

Check out what is called "micro 4/3" class of cameras. Particularly the Lumix and Sony options. Fuji makes nice cameras as well.

That's what I was trying to remember. Those are sick little cameras and they do cinema lenses too. Badass.

 

[Deplorable]

That's what I was trying to remember. Those are sick little cameras and they do cinema lenses too. Badass.

They do a lot of things. Plus fairly universal or adapatable lenses. The Lumix/Leica lenses are hard to beat for the money. Built in Japan, not Germany = 5X less expensive.

 

[Dan789]

Exactly, that's the Olympus Pen F and the other Olympus '10 both 4/3's

 

[SmithsJunk]

They do a lot of things. Plus fairly universal or adapatable lenses. The Lumix/Leica lenses are hard to beat for the money. Built in Japan, not Germany = 5X less expensive.

Yeah, I ran across the 4/3 when I was checking out prime lenses for the Black Magic Pocket Cine & Cine Mini. Peaked my interest in the capabilities of the 4/3. The only thing is you just can't get colors like the cinema cameras in anything else I know of. You know, what makes movies look like movies. I'm building one more VR PC then I'm stacking cheddar for a cine. After that, a 4/3 mirrorless that I thought was that Cannon M10 (which I do like also) because I forgot it was the Sony. For some reason I kept getting them confused.

 

[Deplorable]

Yeah, I ran across the 4/3 when I was checking out prime lenses for the Black Magic Pocket Cine & Cine Mini. Peaked my interest in the capabilities of the 4/3. The only thing is you just can't get colors like the cinema cameras in anything else I know of. You know, what makes movies look like movies. I'm building one more VR PC then I'm stacking cheddar for a cine. After that, a 4/3 mirrorless that I thought was that Cannon M10 (which I do like also) because I forgot it was the Sony. For some reason I kept getting them confused.

If you want a "cine" look, buy some vintage lenses and adapt them to the mount. You won't get all of the capabilities of the lens/body system, mostly manual, but the look from a vintage lens, especially from the 50s or earlier, is phenomenal.

 

[SmithsJunk]

If you want a "cine" look, buy some vintage lenses and adapt them to the mount. You won't get all of the capabilities of the lens/body system, mostly manual, but the look from a vintage lens, especially from the 50s or earlier, is phenomenal.

I appreciate the advice. I'm actually looking to do high quality video, not just pics.

Here's a really good article from B&H Photo on cine cameras...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bh...uide/cinema-cameras-what-filmmakers-need-know

I want to buy a camera that can do a chroma sub-sampling as close to 4:4:4 as possible. The Black Magic Mini Cine and Pocket Cine do 4:2:2. I'm not going to spend $100K on a camera, so that's as close as I'm probably going to get.

 

[Deplorable]

I appreciate the advice. I'm actually looking to do high quality video, not just pics.

Here's a really good article from B&H Photo on cine cameras...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bh...uide/cinema-cameras-what-filmmakers-need-know

I want to buy a camera that can do a chroma sub-sampling as close to 4:4:4 as possible. The Black Magic Mini Cine and Pocket Cine do 4:2:2. I'm not going to spend $100K on a camera, so that's as close as I'm probably going to get.

It sounds like you want a video camera that will shoot Ultra HD in 24 or 32-bit color and then oh, BTW, take a picture with it. Which honestly, some of the cameras I am looking to upgrade to have a 4K "photo" mode where it shoots a burst of 4k video and will do interpolation and stitching (with user input) to put together a pretty decent photo from the 4k frames. I know you aren't the OP, so separate convo.

The Blackmagic stuff is really good for the money. You can build a studio around BMD products for about 25k that would have been 500k 20 years ago and been 1/16th of the resolution.

Did you note what brand lens they were using?

 

[Deplorable]

If you guys have budgets in mind I can provide some input on cameras, I've been doing photography professionally now for 10+ years so I've got a good grasp on what is needed and what is a waste in a camera system for bud shots and what not. Here's a few recent shots I can tell you how and what I used for each to give you an idea.
View attachment 733349 View attachment 733341 View attachment 733342 View attachment 733345

Very nice. Specs? Cam/lens/f/speed?

 

[tekmunki]

Very nice. Specs? Cam/lens/f/speed?

Nothing too fancy Nikon 750 with some cheap 60mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8 lenses under some HPS double ends so probably 1/200 sec. or faster. Most of the magic in photos is done after you take the shot nowadays not that you don't need a good base to start from, but a lot of the cameras have a ton of ability to fix shitty exposures as long as you shoot in RAW.

@SmithsJunk the pocket cine is a very good camera for this kind of stuff it's small size and external recording makes it great for putting into the "bush" and being m4/3 mount like you guys have been saying opens up a whole lot of options for budget lenses. Holding out for a budget 4:4:4 recording small form camera is gonna have you spending more time waiting than out there shooting when there are a ton of high quality 4:2:2 capable cameras out in the last few years that are super affordable on the used market now.

What a lot of people don't realize until it's too late is when you buy these different camera brands you're buying into an eco system of lenses, monitors, memory cards, adapters...

 

[SmithsJunk]

Nothing too fancy Nikon 750 with some cheap 60mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8 lenses under some HPS double ends so probably 1/200 sec. or faster. Most of the magic in photos is done after you take the shot nowadays not that you don't need a good base to start from, but a lot of the cameras have a ton of ability to fix shitty exposures as long as you shoot in RAW.

@SmithsJunk the pocket cine is a very good camera for this kind of stuff it's small size and external recording makes it great for putting into the "bush" and being m4/3 mount like you guys have been saying opens up a whole lot of options for budget lenses. Holding out for a budget 4:4:4 recording small form camera is gonna have you spending more time waiting than out there shooting when there are a ton of high quality 4:2:2 capable cameras out in the last few years that are super affordable on the used market now.

What a lot of people don't realize until it's too late is when you buy these different camera brands you're buying into an eco system of lenses, monitors, memory cards, adapters...

You might have missed it, I was saying the closest to 4:4:4 I'll probably get is 4:2:2. So, agreed, you're spot on. I've done tons of research since I watched an episode of Linus Tech Tips, when they were putting together their Red Weapon. He whined at length about the stupidly expensive parts. Like $3K for a bracket/plate made of composite. I figure I can put together a nice Cine Mini for under $10K and a Pocket Cine for under $4K. Even less if used parts, which I am likely to do. I hate full price. With the YouTube trend there is a lot of cheap equip.

I don't know what I want to do with the equipment yet. Just record my own stuff or hire it out. I don't really care, I just enjoy tech and I want to be proficient. I already build computers that can do editing. I'm not going to post here anymore about the video camera's. It's not my intention to hijack the thread.

Is there a thread on video? I do want to make Cannabis instructional and vlogs.

Thank you for your input.

 

[tekmunki]

You might have missed it, I was saying the closest to 4:4:4 I'll probably get is 4:2:2. So, agreed, you're spot on. I've done tons of research since I watched an episode of Linus Tech Tips, when they were putting together their Red Weapon. He whined at length about the stupidly expensive parts. Like $3K for a bracket/plate made of composite. I figure I can put together a nice Cine Mini for under $10K and a Pocket Cine for under $4K. Even less if used parts, which I am likely to do. I hate full price. With the YouTube trend there is a lot of cheap equip.

I don't know what I want to do with the equipment yet. Just record my own stuff or hire it out. I don't really care, I just enjoy tech and I want to be proficient. I already build computers that can do editing. I'm not going to post here anymore about the video camera's. It's not my intention to hijack the thread.

Is there a thread on video? I do want to make Cannabis instructional and vlogs.

Thank you for your input.

For that type of situation, you can totally get by using a mirrorless camera and get the type of content people want to see. Huge benefits in being able to buy an adapter and put any lens on the camera making it easy to have one camera that can do still/video. If you have a family member or friend that can shop on base they had the Fujifilm X-T20 for like $740 or if you wanted native m4/3 mount I'd go for a used Panasonic gh4 which is dropping in price all over the place with the GH5 coming out.

Pretty much any mirrorless between the ranges of $700 and $1500 is gonna kill it at video and stills for Cannabis instructional videos and vlogging. You'll want to spend almost as much time focusing on audio as you will on video though so starting off I'd budget like 70% camera and the rest on audio and lighting. The type of situations we get while growing are essentially studio like with our bright lights and stationary subjects so it makes it easy not having to depend on things like high ISO performance and quick autofocus systems that tend to raise the prices a great deal.

 

[Deplorable]

Nothing too fancy Nikon 750 with some cheap 60mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.8 lenses under some HPS double ends so probably 1/200 sec. or faster. Most of the magic in photos is done after you take the shot nowadays not that you don't need a good base to start from, but a lot of the cameras have a ton of ability to fix shitty exposures as long as you shoot in RAW.

@SmithsJunk the pocket cine is a very good camera for this kind of stuff it's small size and external recording makes it great for putting into the "bush" and being m4/3 mount like you guys have been saying opens up a whole lot of options for budget lenses. Holding out for a budget 4:4:4 recording small form camera is gonna have you spending more time waiting than out there shooting when there are a ton of high quality 4:2:2 capable cameras out in the last few years that are super affordable on the used market now.

What a lot of people don't realize until it's too late is when you buy these different camera brands you're buying into an eco system of lenses, monitors, memory cards, adapters...

That is the honest to God truth. I grew up developing Tri-X, Pan-X, Cibachrome and other stuff in my own darkroom. I learned to shoot "large format" on everything up to an 8x10 rail camera. I was out for a long time and am getting back up to speed, techwise

Shooting 24 or 32 bit 4:4:4 is a big chore. Lots of fat data and storage.

I really prefer shooting manual, near manual. There are times to let the camera do its job. The smart stuff is really, really good these days. Thankfully, my eyes are still good. I'm not a big fan of the OLED EVFs, but they are getting better. Hoping one day to pickup a good current digital rangefinder = $$$.

 

[Deplorable]

And....a good photographer (videographer) with a crappy camera will always outperform a crappy photog with $$$ gear.

 

[Deplorable]

You might have missed it, I was saying the closest to 4:4:4 I'll probably get is 4:2:2. So, agreed, you're spot on. I've done tons of research since I watched an episode of Linus Tech Tips, when they were putting together their Red Weapon. He whined at length about the stupidly expensive parts. Like $3K for a bracket/plate made of composite. I figure I can put together a nice Cine Mini for under $10K and a Pocket Cine for under $4K. Even less if used parts, which I am likely to do. I hate full price. With the YouTube trend there is a lot of cheap equip.

I don't know what I want to do with the equipment yet. Just record my own stuff or hire it out. I don't really care, I just enjoy tech and I want to be proficient. I already build computers that can do editing. I'm not going to post here anymore about the video camera's. It's not my intention to hijack the thread.

Is there a thread on video? I do want to make Cannabis instructional and vlogs.

Thank you for your input.

-----------------------

I'm going to take a wild ass guess here and assume you are "young". Under the age of 30. I don't mean that condescending manner - we were all that age at one point.

I think you are focusing too much on the gear and far too little on the technique. To learn the essentials of photography - in a classical sense - is to establish the essentials of good videography.

Composition; rule of 1/3s; depth of field; use of color; etc...

My background is video related. Photography is a hobby but I've had the opportunity to learn from some serious pros.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the gear. I get it. I REALLY get it. Take it from an "old" guy - Keep It Simple Stupid. Learn the basics first. Gear second.

 

[Deplorable]

I think we just went full tech retard. Am I allowed to say that here?

Seriously though - I've seen some really amazing photos with modern digital bodies adapted to vintage lenses. Video? Not so much.

 

[SmithsJunk]

For that type of situation, you can totally get by using a mirrorless camera and get the type of content people want to see. Huge benefits in being able to buy an adapter and put any lens on the camera making it easy to have one camera that can do still/video. If you have a family member or friend that can shop on base they had the Fujifilm X-T20 for like $740 or if you wanted native m4/3 mount I'd go for a used Panasonic gh4 which is dropping in price all over the place with the GH5 coming out.

Pretty much any mirrorless between the ranges of $700 and $1500 is gonna kill it at video and stills for Cannabis instructional videos and vlogging. You'll want to spend almost as much time focusing on audio as you will on video though so starting off I'd budget like 70% camera and the rest on audio and lighting. The type of situations we get while growing are essentially studio like with our bright lights and stationary subjects so it makes it easy not having to depend on things like high ISO performance and quick autofocus systems that tend to raise the prices a great deal.

As far as it concerns me, it would be mostly outdoor. For simple Youtube videos I'm pretty sure I have that covered with my Pentax KS1. It doesnt

-----------------------

I'm going to take a wild ass guess here and assume you are "young". Under the age of 30. I don't mean that condescending manner - we were all that age at one point.

I think you are focusing too much on the gear and far too little on the technique. To learn the essentials of photography - in a classical sense - is to establish the essentials of good videography.

Composition; rule of 1/3s; depth of field; use of color; etc...

My background is video related. Photography is a hobby but I've had the opportunity to learn from some serious pros.

It's easy to get wrapped up in the gear. I get it. I REALLY get it. Take it from an "old" guy - Keep It Simple Stupid. Learn the basics first. Gear second.

Kind Sir, I have the talent. I can be passionate about something and still be in it for the money.