I bought a gimbal today. I already know how to use this one. It didn't take long....

 

I don't know if you can tell in the writing but I'm really enthusiastic about video these days. The project I'm working on for Zach Theatre is allowing me to exercise all those problem solving skills that have made photography so much fun for so long. There's always something new to learn about video and I also get to play with lots of new toys. 

When my friend, James, lent me a big and complex gimbal I thought I might have trouble becoming tolerably proficient with it. It dawned on me that I've never used a modern gimbal before and always told everyone that I preferred shooting on a tripod but mostly because I was afraid that a moving stability device might outwit me and finally expose my blind spot for stuff like that. Too many buttons and options. 

But a wise video guru suggested that before I get too deep into the Ronin S I might want to pick up one of the newer gimbals that are designed to work with smart phones and spend some time getting acclimated in that way. I was leery of the advice but when I got to the camera store I found out that the cell phone gimbals are relatively cheap so the cost of a failed learning curve wasn't going to bankrupt the family and swipe food from our table. 

I opted for a Zhiyun Smooth Q2. It cost $130. I brought it home and watched two ten minute tutorials about set up and use and I charged the battery. While taking a break from my fascinating play date with the Ninja V digital recorder I finally fitted and balanced my iPhone XR and turned the little machine on. It works exactly like I thought it would. Minutes later I was swooping around the office making short but very stable videos and imagining how I'd use this device for some highly mobile shots to pepper in between the more staid and conservative shots I'm also making with the bigger cameras. 

Won't it be embarrassing if the Q2 and the iPhone blow away the S1s and the Ninja? I can't wait to get out and embarrass myself. 

If you have any good hints about gimbal use; especially with iPhones, be sure to let me know in the comments. 

I knew that phone would come in handy.....

Gearing up for better video. Five days of shooting informs some workflow tweaks. And spending money is always a guarantee of success. right....

 

On a walk with my friend, Emmett, out in Dripping Springs, Texas.

Further and further down the rabbit hole. 

Working out of the studio, on remote locations all around town, is a quick way to find out where your weaknesses are when it comes to shooting video. Sometimes it's just a lack of talent. No arguments there. But other times there are bits of gear that make jobs quicker, easier and...yes...better. 

For example, a stock Panasonic Lumix S1 offers up nice clean video right out of the box but it's a pretty pedestrian spec. It's 8 bit, 4:2:0. whether you shoot HD or UHD. I didn't think I'd see a big difference when I grudgingly shelled out the $200 for the upgrade that unlocks both V-Log and also 10 bit, 4:2:2, all of which can be written to internal memory cards. Now my skies have no banding and the camera is more tenacious at hanging on to highlights. The improvements are readily observable on a 5K Retina™ monitor. The files really aren't any bigger but the colors are clearly more nuanced. 

Once I saw the benefit of the 10 bit, 4:2:2 files and (still in the learning curve) the flexibility of shooting high contrast scenes in V-Log I had to buy the upgrade for my alternate S1 camera since we often use the pair as "A" and "B" cameras on the same shoot. I needed for both of them to have matching files.

That started me wondering about the visual difference between compressed L-GoP files and less compressed, ProRes files which are also All-I. The more I thought about it the more I became convinced that shooting directly to Pro Res was probably a preferred way to work, if the clients have the budgets and the extra time I might need for editing. 

I have a bigger, older Atomos Ninja Flame digital monitor and recorder but it's big, heavy, cumbersome and sucks batteries dry with reckless aplomb. Sad to also find out that the Flame can't be automatically triggered to start recording when you hit the record button on the camera. 

What we're doing right now in video is centered around following moving talents as they dance and sing in uncontrolled, exterior spaces. While the camera does a pretty good job with the dual I.S. Once you add a big gimbal to the mix you are right at my tolerance level for weight. Add an older, seven inch, dual battery Ninja Flame to the mix and you end up with a top heavy package that will slap down a new and shorter time limit to your hand holding tolerance. Not optimal for longer shoots, at all. 

The seven inch screen on the Flame is great and it works well on A/C power in a studio setting but it's hardly the a good part of a hand held or monopod mounted system. I recently started paying attention to the new, smaller, Ninja V which uses a five inch screen and only uses one battery, but I thought I should be a good business person and either soldier on with the gear at hand or just default to Long GoP files and the use of the camera's very good rear screen or EVF. 

Then I heard that Atomos was offering support in the Ninja V for the Sigma fp's raw files!!! That perked me right up. You can write files from Sigma's 12 bit DNG raw files directly to the Ninja V and save them as either Pro Res Raw files or garden variety Pro Res files via the digital recorder. 

I'd been looking for a way to get more daily use from the Sigma fp and this was the perfect conduit. I can shoot the big raw files and I can also shoot 1080p 120 files (in 8 bit but still with 4:2:2 color sampling). 

The Ninja V is great for use with the Lumix cameras but I'll still have to push "record" on both the camera and the recorder. With the Sigma there is an electronic HDMI trigger that syncs up the two perfectly. 

I picked up a Ninja V today from Precision Camera and I've been playing with it since lunch time (it's now after 6) and it does all the things I love about Atomos monitors. You can punch into the image to magnify for fine focusing while you are rolling! You get waveforms and a vector scope. If you are shooting V-Log in your S1 you can bring up a Rec. 709 LUT so you and your client can see what the image (might) look like after it's graded instead of showing a client a super flat file and asking them to use their imaginations.

The new, smaller Ninja V takes the Master Caddy system cartridges that house SSDs. I have a nice stack of them which I bought a year or two ago for the Flame. A bunch of 256GB SSDs that are just begging to be used. We have a lot of the Sony NP-F batteries since these seem to be universal. 

We'll start working with the new monitor tomorrow afternoon on a big dance number out in the open plaza in front of the theater. It's definitely an S1 shoot and not an fp shoot and that's cool. The one thing I don't have for the new monitor/recorder is a sun hood but I've got lots of black wrap and I think I can press some of my Boy Scout training into action to make a DIY hood that should work.

I also bought a silly gimbal. More on that next.....

Just out walking around with the GX8 and the Meike 25mm t2.2 cinema lens. A lovely day. Just lovely.

Tell me about the hat first and then tell me about those crazy gloves. Okay?

 

This is my second copy of my favorite hat. I bought the first one from REI Outfitters after one of those droll visits to the dermatologist who described some small growth on my face as an "actinic keratosis" and decided that we should eradicate it with a few stingy blasts of liquid nitrogen. The doctor gave me a stern lecture about people of Scottish and German heritage running out in the sun in Texas and pushed me hard to wear more sunscreen and wear a good hat. "Not a damn ball cap! But a hat with a wide brim all the way around." He was pretty adamant. 

That was about five years ago and I got pretty attached to the hat. It's one of the few I hadn't accidentally left somewhere or sat upon and destroyed. It's not "cool" enough to pass the millennial eye-roll test so you probably will feel a little fashion squeamishness if you are under 60 but if you are a bit over that hump you probably don't give a rat's ass about what people think of your hat as long as it prevents your doctor from slicing off parts of you down the road...

I was out walking on one of the days when the UV was hovering up near 11 on a scale of one-to-ten and I came across someone who needed the sunblock power of the hat right then and there. He liked the hat and complemented me on it so I pulled it off and handed it to him. I'm usually more selfish but I think the heat was playing with my sensibilities. I figured I had more hats at home and, what the hell?

But I misjudged my affection for the hat. I decided that I really liked it and, when out for a long walk aimed at boring readers with obvious camera observations, I really missed it and it's preventative magic. So I walked over to the local REI store to buy another. 

The hat is made by a company called, "Sunday Afternoons"™. (added after, thank you! Gordon): The model of hat is "The Havana."  It comes in a medium and a L/LG size. There is a band under the inner hat band that will allow you to adjust the size a bit. The store at 6th and Lamar only had medium sized hats and they didn't work for me. I wanted the exact hat I had before; large. 

The clerk at REI suggested I order it from their website. He checked and they had it in inventory. I came home and ordered it and the transaction details let me know that I could expect to see the hat in one week. It came to my house the next morning. That's killer service!!!!

The cost of the hat is $34.95. It's extremely comfortable and it's got a super high SPF rating. My dermatologist would be so proud, if I took the time to show him. You should get a hat just like this and then we can be twins. 

You should never get a Tilley Hat until your crest 70 and have given up caring about how you look altogether. They aren't as well ventilated for heat dispersion and they cost too "bloody" much. (See how I stuck "bloody" in there? It's because Tilley Hats are the Billingham Bags of hats and are quite pretentious in that insufferable, "I know it's expense, doesn't disperse heat and looks like I'm on a misguided safari" sort of way. Just don't do it. No matter how technically proficient they seem to you. You have to have some standards in life...  

And, by extension, do yourself a favor and don't be caught dead with a Billingham Bag. Not even the Queen of England model. People will constantly remind you that you could have bought a really useful lens for the same kind of outlay. 

Always remember that Duane Michals used to show up for five figure budget advertising shoots with his camera and lenses stuff into a shopping bag. And he turned out to be a pretty good photographer...

Also, never buy a Jaguar automobile. Ever. 

Now, on to those crazy gloves. I was rummaging around in REI looking for more cool stuff to prevent skin damage and to make my outdoor life more comfy. I found these glove-lettes (gloves minus a few parts) and they profess to both keep the backs of your hands protected from sun damage and also, because of some miracle aspect of the fabric they are made of, to keep your hands cooler. They wick moisture (sweat) and the evaporative cooling actually works. As a final benefit they have grippy little dots on the palm facing surfaces that help one hold onto a camera. The are made by a company called, Outdoor Research. 

To sum up: less sun damage. Less sweat on the camera. Grippy dots to prevent dropping the less sweaty camera. I wore them all day today and will head back to the store for a couple more pairs. And then it will get cold outside (eventually?) and I'll put them into a drawer and forget about them. And next year I'll rediscover them and be a little amazed and concerned. But mostly happy to have them. 

None of this stuff looks fashionable, chic or even un-nerdy. But if that bugs you then don't spend time outside. Just put on that tuxedo and hang out in the air conditioning. I'm sure that sounds fun............

It's International Photography Day. I thought I'd put together some images from the previous year's Eeyore's Birthday Party, for old time's sake. Some NSFW! You've been advised.

 

Self portrait with crazy 50mm lens and my new hat. Which is just like my old hat. Which I gave away. And then I realized....I need a good hat.

 

Have you ever purchased a lens, the price of which was outside your comfort zone, and hesitated to use it because it might get broken? Lost? Stolen? Or prove itself not worth the purchase price?

When I decided to invest in the Panasonic S1 system I felt like I just had to have a 50mm lens. It wasn't enough that I had an old (but very good) Zeiss/Contax 50mm f1.7 that I could use along with an inexpensive adapter, no, I wanted a lens that seemed up to the promise of  the system's big 47.5 megapixel sensor in the S1R. So, the choice at the time came down to the Sigma 50mm Art lens for the L system or the Panasonic S-Pro 50mm f1.4 for over twice the price of the Sigma. Truth be told, the performance of the "kit" 24-105mm f4.0 Lumix lens is completely fine for almost anything I could think to shoot but I have an old assumption that the "ultra" cool prime lenses in some systems are just head and shoulders above everything else. I should stick with facts and test results and perhaps I'd save some money....

At any rate, the economy was firing on all 12 cylinders, clients were lining up to pay for my services and I thought, "what the hell? I should buy the "cool" lens." So I splashed out for the 50mm S-Pro. It didn't hurt my rationale to flip the lens over and read, "Certified by Leica" on one side... But the reality is that the lens is massive, the $2300 is a lot of money, and the types of photography that are open to us now don't necessarily demand a ne ultra plus, super-deluxe, fast prime lens. In fact, my most pleasurable photos from walks seem to be coming from much different cameras like the Lumix GX8. And the Canon G16.... and much cheaper lenses.

So the 50mm f1.4 fell into relative disuse which is incredibly sad given its potential (and its cost!). I had swim practice this morning and then a coffee meeting with my gimbal benefactor. I had some billing to do that got all procrastinated for the last two weeks. But by three this afternoon I'd finished everything on my metaphoric plate and I was ready to take a walk through the cooler weather! It was only 103° this afternoon. 

As I looked around the studio I decided to push through my anxiety about tromping around with an expensive and underused lens. I put the 50mm S-Pro on the S1R and headed out the door to do my usual route through downtown. I really enjoyed using the system and that lens --- even though the combined weight might turn out to be a real shoulder killer.

The camera is as close to perfect as I could wish for and it and it's sibling, the S1, have done a great job at curing my camera desires (for the moment). It's been nearly a year since I changed systems and this one is going stronger now that when I first bought it. But I must say that the lens is a fun revelation. It's sharp everywhere and the colors are terrific. I'm going to keep the lens glued onto one of my S1R bodies for a while and give it a thorough exploring. Something about it feels special to me and that's fun. 

I feel a bit silly having coddled the 50mm lens for so long but I'm happy to have broken through my irrational lens fear block at last. Has that behavior ever happened to you? You bought something and then were afraid to use it? I hope I'm not the only one who does this...

Swim notes: The club changed up the schedule for masters swim practices for the Fall. Now they've eliminated the 6 a.m. and reconstructed the 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. practices during the week days. They've also added noon to 1 p.m. practices on Tuesday through Friday. Weekends just move to a 7-8 and 8-9 pattern. I went to the 8 a.m. workout today and being able to sleep two hours longer was paradise. No more 6 a.m.s for a while! 

I swam with my friend, Patty, and we got along.....swimmingly. 

Cultural notes: If you are worried about social distancing and good public health practices then don't go to the ever popular South Congress Ave. neighborhood for walking and general outside-ness. They seem to have attracted every "deplorable" from out of town who has come to the big city to stare at the hippies and generally walk around staring at a culture which must seem like something delivered by a time machine from twenty years in their future. I've never seen so many ghastly out of shape people festooned in the Walmart remnant sale wardrobe from yesteryear walking in groups that cover the side walks from building to street, bellowing like walruses in pain and not a single one of them wearing a face mask even though it's required by the current city ordinances. Now I totally understand what the news media are talking about when they reference the deep and unsettling divide between groups in our country. 

And it's not at all pretty. I headed back to my neighborhood where people take science and a profound sense of collective responsibility seriously. I hadn't seen such a selfish display of the worst of current Americana in person yet and didn't believe so many people could be so indifferent to the people around them. There oughta be laws.......oh, wait, there are so that makes these people not only uncaring but also criminals. Hoping for enforcement in the future. And while we're at it can we also work on some sort of dress code? The size XXXXLLL t-shirts with political messages strewn across the front, laced with profanity, erupting over massive, sagging cargo shorts, or acres of spandex, are a bit of an assault on the eyes and sensibilities. 

But I guess, It is what it is...

Video: We're shooting more video tomorrow and even more on Sunday. We're doing our V-Log testing for our most important number on Friday. We'll have everything figured out by next week when we shoot the big stuff. Thanks for the input on this!

 

"When they go low we go high resolution."