GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film at DVinfo.net

GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film · May 9th, 2015, 12:15 AM

This is Maggie and Nasar wedding video, this video is shoot by GH4 and Nebula 4000 Lite. For the wedding video shooting, Nebula 4000 Lite is a very suitable machine, which is lightweight, small volume, and easy to carry.Let us use our cameras record the happy moment, when we are old, look at the footage of the video, what kind of feelings we will be?

Alan Daniel · May 10th, 2015, 04:42 PM

Excellent Highlight.. Saw you on their choreographed dance...

How is the smoothness on the nebula ? Is it as smooth and controllable (directional movement) as a regular steadicam ?

Noa Put · May 11th, 2015, 12:52 AM

There are already a few threads about the Nebula on this forum Alan, just search on nebula 4000, you will find some user experiences on there as well.

I also would not find this video a good example, first of all it's full of slider shots and in the venue they used a crane and the very few shots done with the Nebula the camera is seriously leaning towards the right, not sure what was going on there.

Clive McLaughlin · May 11th, 2015, 06:38 AM

Yea, I agree with Noa, the Nebula is totally not calibrated in this video unfortunately.

Have a look at this highlights reel of my Nebula from a recent wedding, with the Sony A6000.

There are also some Nebula shots on this video I did too. Mostly the a6000, dancefloor shots flying the A7s.

Noa Put · May 11th, 2015, 12:53 PM

It's good to see you can manage to record the happy moment with your Nebula as well Clive :) And it looks better balanced then the sample Iris provided. This is yet another example of how important the balancing parts is. Are you still happy with your Nebula considering the somewhat rough start you had?

Clive McLaughlin · May 12th, 2015, 03:59 AM

Almost Noa. Almost.

I decided to try understanding and tweaking SimplBGC settings since I was experiencing a lean off horizontal on the roll, despite calibration.

Funny how some vibrations arent noticeable in the hand but only seen once the footage is watched back.

Somehow, the lean got fixed, and I couldn't tell you quite what it was that fixed it though.

But then, I found that the roll was leaning left when i panned left, and right when I panned right. This was no good. But I then chose mode 1 (which is what it should automatically be on from bootup anyway), and it seemed to fix the problem.

So all in all, Its adding pressure to me in the field when it doesn't quite act as it should.

Still though, It's allowing me to achieve better and more frequent 'steadycam' shots on my wedding days which i believe add a lot of production value.

I keep it with the SonyA6000 in abag hanging on my left side, and my Sony A7s handheld in a bag on my right side. Picking either up and ready to shoot instantly is AWESOME.

In summary though, I highly recommend the form factor, but perhaps not the specific product.

The Pilotfly H1 on the other hand looks less industrial, bigger motors, MUCH easier adjustments, and includes a toggle switch for pitch control. Once I see a credible review of it, i may jump ship!

Noa Put · May 12th, 2015, 04:22 AM

There is also a 3rd option: sturdyshots | Ministurdyflight 3-Axis which is a Italian manufacturer and their demo's look very good but have not found any real life user experience.

You are right the Nebula can add a lot of production value as it is easier then a steadicam to carry around and will work in windy conditions as well. I specifically liked the tilt control on it enabling some moves that are not possible to do on my blackbird. But the supplier really has to work on a understandable guide to tweak the parameters, I also experienced that leaning left when panning left, and right when panning right, a behavior that also occurred occasionally but also went away after a restart. It was only that which prevented me from using it on a critical one time shot and then I preferred to use my blackbird instead.

Iris Zhang · May 17th, 2015, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan Daniel

Excellent Highlight.. Saw you on their choreographed dance...

How is the smoothness on the nebula ? Is it as smooth and controllable (directional movement) as a regular steadicam ?

Only use Nebula 4000 Lite.

Noa Put · May 21st, 2015, 01:06 AM

Iris, Alan gave you a compliment and wanted some more info and all you can say is that you only use the Nebula?

Alan; the Nebula is very smooth and controllable in all directions, the biggest difference is that compared to small steadicams like a blackbird, merlin or glidecam 2000/4000 is that you have much more tilt control, if you point the camera high up or towards the ground it will stay like that as long as you keep it pointed into that direction, so a cameramovement where you start of pointing towards the ceiling and if you want to end with a horizontal shot while walking forward and making a 90 deg turn is easy on a Nebula and would be much harder to pull of on a small steadicam.

The Nebula however is still very susceptible for walking motion, since you just hold it in your hands and don't use a vest and arm like with a real steadicam it's very important to walk and hold it in the right way, this is something you don't learn to do overnight and takes months of practice before you can pull of steadicam like moves. A real steadicam with vest and arm will still give more fluid and smooth movement, especially when lenses of longer focal length are used, because the arm will take out all unwanted movement.

The Nebula will start to turn when you turn the handle and there is a delay in following your movements and you need to anticipate that, I think you can also tweak that part in the software to determine how fast you want the Nebula to react but since that is a guessing game because there is no tutorial on that you better leave that part alone.

The Nebula is something inexperienced users can start using rigt away, it won't be steadicam smooth but it will look a lot better if you give them a real steadicam for the first time. The only thing you need to consider is that it's a electronical device that is more sensitive to failure then a mechanical steadicam, I had experienced some weird behavior with the Nebula which disappeared as quickly as it appeared but it's something I don't want to be happening on a once in a lifetime shot, those shots would still be reserved for my Blackbird if I would have the Nebula in my gearbag as well.

May 10th, 2015, 04:42 PM	#2
Alan Daniel Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: NY, USA, EARTH Posts: 37	Re: GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film Excellent Highlight.. Saw you on their choreographed dance... How is the smoothness on the nebula ? Is it as smooth and controllable (directional movement) as a regular steadicam ?

May 11th, 2015, 12:52 AM	#3
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film There are already a few threads about the Nebula on this forum Alan, just search on nebula 4000, you will find some user experiences on there as well. I also would not find this video a good example, first of all it's full of slider shots and in the venue they used a crane and the very few shots done with the Nebula the camera is seriously leaning towards the right, not sure what was going on there.

May 11th, 2015, 06:38 AM	#4
Clive McLaughlin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Belfast Posts: 823	Re: GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film Yea, I agree with Noa, the Nebula is totally not calibrated in this video unfortunately. Have a look at this highlights reel of my Nebula from a recent wedding, with the Sony A6000. Private Video on Vimeo There are also some Nebula shots on this video I did too. Mostly the a6000, dancefloor shots flying the A7s. Mayday Weekend Highlights Reel on Vimeo

May 11th, 2015, 12:53 PM	#5
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film It's good to see you can manage to record the happy moment with your Nebula as well Clive :) And it looks better balanced then the sample Iris provided. This is yet another example of how important the balancing parts is. Are you still happy with your Nebula considering the somewhat rough start you had?

May 12th, 2015, 03:59 AM	#6
Clive McLaughlin Major Player Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Belfast Posts: 823	Re: GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film Almost Noa. Almost. I decided to try understanding and tweaking SimplBGC settings since I was experiencing a lean off horizontal on the roll, despite calibration. Funny how some vibrations arent noticeable in the hand but only seen once the footage is watched back. Somehow, the lean got fixed, and I couldn't tell you quite what it was that fixed it though. But then, I found that the roll was leaning left when i panned left, and right when I panned right. This was no good. But I then chose mode 1 (which is what it should automatically be on from bootup anyway), and it seemed to fix the problem. So all in all, Its adding pressure to me in the field when it doesn't quite act as it should. Still though, It's allowing me to achieve better and more frequent 'steadycam' shots on my wedding days which i believe add a lot of production value. I keep it with the SonyA6000 in abag hanging on my left side, and my Sony A7s handheld in a bag on my right side. Picking either up and ready to shoot instantly is AWESOME. In summary though, I highly recommend the form factor, but perhaps not the specific product. The Pilotfly H1 on the other hand looks less industrial, bigger motors, MUCH easier adjustments, and includes a toggle switch for pitch control. Once I see a credible review of it, i may jump ship! PILOTFLY H1 UNBOX BALANCE - YouTube

May 12th, 2015, 04:22 AM	#7
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film There is also a 3rd option: sturdyshots \| Ministurdyflight 3-Axis which is a Italian manufacturer and their demo's look very good but have not found any real life user experience. You are right the Nebula can add a lot of production value as it is easier then a steadicam to carry around and will work in windy conditions as well. I specifically liked the tilt control on it enabling some moves that are not possible to do on my blackbird. But the supplier really has to work on a understandable guide to tweak the parameters, I also experienced that leaning left when panning left, and right when panning right, a behavior that also occurred occasionally but also went away after a restart. It was only that which prevented me from using it on a critical one time shot and then I preferred to use my blackbird instead.

May 21st, 2015, 01:06 AM	#9
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,509	Re: GH4&Nebula 4000 Wedding Film Iris, Alan gave you a compliment and wanted some more info and all you can say is that you only use the Nebula? Alan; the Nebula is very smooth and controllable in all directions, the biggest difference is that compared to small steadicams like a blackbird, merlin or glidecam 2000/4000 is that you have much more tilt control, if you point the camera high up or towards the ground it will stay like that as long as you keep it pointed into that direction, so a cameramovement where you start of pointing towards the ceiling and if you want to end with a horizontal shot while walking forward and making a 90 deg turn is easy on a Nebula and would be much harder to pull of on a small steadicam. The Nebula however is still very susceptible for walking motion, since you just hold it in your hands and don't use a vest and arm like with a real steadicam it's very important to walk and hold it in the right way, this is something you don't learn to do overnight and takes months of practice before you can pull of steadicam like moves. A real steadicam with vest and arm will still give more fluid and smooth movement, especially when lenses of longer focal length are used, because the arm will take out all unwanted movement. The Nebula will start to turn when you turn the handle and there is a delay in following your movements and you need to anticipate that, I think you can also tweak that part in the software to determine how fast you want the Nebula to react but since that is a guessing game because there is no tutorial on that you better leave that part alone. The Nebula is something inexperienced users can start using rigt away, it won't be steadicam smooth but it will look a lot better if you give them a real steadicam for the first time. The only thing you need to consider is that it's a electronical device that is more sensitive to failure then a mechanical steadicam, I had experienced some weird behavior with the Nebula which disappeared as quickly as it appeared but it's something I don't want to be happening on a once in a lifetime shot, those shots would still be reserved for my Blackbird if I would have the Nebula in my gearbag as well.