Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

My mouth is watering already :-)

Roger

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hey Roger

Sorry for the delay but my Realtor is making me work !! I did get a chance to shoot some outdoor stuff in the back yard and the IQ is stunning!! I haven't quite figured out the AF side but in default if you capture the focus with the shutter button and then go for a walk the camera seems to automatically keep focus on track for you ... I still have to investigate all this when I get a minute.

I am busy making a aluminium frame for the B-Cam (I have two now!!) and what I did is make a t-shaped bracket that goes onto the tripod screw hole and I made that only 20mm wide and the frame sits forward of that. That way, you have access to the battery and card without having to remove stuff ... I'll also make a second one for the A-Cam so the QR plate is under the lens and also doesn't foul the battery door.

I have a black anodised light frame around the camera so I can offset the mic to the right ..otherwise you cannot use the EVF and I might need it in sunlight !!

What format do you shoot on the FZ200?? I like MP4 but each recording stops at 4GB period and you have to restart regardless of the time limit ..I haven't worked out how many minutes I get before the 4GB limit??

I'll post pics of my mods once they are done ! I'm getting there slowly!!

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

The camera should automatically start a new file and keep recording up to the 29 minute limit. The only reason for it stopping before then is the type and speed of the card. I recall when getting my GH3 and experimenting with its top codec, that the Sandisk Ultra SD Cards cut out at 4GB's but the Sandisk Extreme kept going. I now use Transcend Ultimate for the GH4 and never had a stopped recording unlike some cards I've used.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Chris,

Glad to hear the results are impressing you so far :-)

On the FZ200, if you are recording video, you can set initial focus with a half press, then it will maintain auto focus. If you press record without the half press first, it will hesitate a moment and focus automatically, then continue. The FS1000 is probably the same.

I always shoot in AVCHD mode, usually at the highest setting for weddings and one down for multi camera school shoots.

Roger

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Here are some rough and ready shots taken with my FZ1000 to demonstrate high iso footage. Taken in my local church, on the North Cornwall coast. It really is a very dark church.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhYH...ature=youtu.be
View full screen 1080

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Steve

That's what I thought too but the manual says AVCHD will run the full 30 mins and depending on bitrate, I guess it will split the file like the Sony Cams ... However it says that MP4 will stop recording when the file reaches 4GB or if the time exceeds 30 minutes whichever happens first ..I found that strange because in 4K it also records in MP4 BUT due to the huge files, it doesn't stop at 4GB but creates a new file like AVCHD. I have no idea why?? Any idea how to calculate a MP4 file size based on bitrate???

Thanks Roger for your input too! I was a bit surprised that I never had the camera in continuous focus mode yet after the initial set it kept focus perfectly and to prove it to myself I moved right up to objects and they were perfectly focussed when I did that so it must be focussing itself !! I'll examine the motion menu more closely once I get another Realty shoot out of the way tomorrow!

I send an email to Chris Hurd suggesting we could maybe have a sub forum in the Panasonic sector so we can discuss/help/request settings and issues for bridge cameras like the FZ200 and 1000

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hard to say; if it's VBR then it depends on what you're shooting. I read it's 20mbps for MP4 recording; if so you're looking at 25 - 30 minutes anyway. Unless you're shooting 50p, then the bitrate I think is double ??, which means half that amount. Looking at the specs, it seems AVCHD offers a better bitrate.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

The idea of a sub forum is a good one Chris, there is one for LUMIX G4, G3 etc but not for the FZ range. I can see these cameras growing in popularity so a separate forum could be good.

Roger

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Chris,

Seeing as you have a collection of nikon lenses, have you thought of getting a GH3 or 4, even a used one, and a M4/3 to Nikon adapter? That way you could shoot the bulk of a wedding on the FZ and also have a "sexycam" for shallow DOF or low light. If you got a speedbooster you gain a stop of light as well. I don't have any Nikon lenses but I have a Nikon adapter. You're welcome to borrow my gh3 & adapter if you want to have a play as I have no weddings in August. We go on holiday for the month.

I run a GH4 with a EF speedbooster and Sigma f1.8 18-35 for dark receptions. Brilliant. The GH3 has a Voightlander 25mm f0.95 or an old 50mm 1.4 Pentax lens with a cheap adapter. Outside for ceremonies they both have the 14-140 zooms. Slow but outside, perfect. Love the reach. I'm not one for swapping lenses but it is unavoidable. I limit it to one swap, just before the reception, or during the photoshoot if it goes dark.

Thanks for the ebay mixer. Looks good. The beachteks are supposed to be good too. I run a juicedlink with xlrs. Frankencam, but reliable.

"There's always another new camera just around the corner". For me, I am very excited about the DVX200 coming out, I hope, in time for IBC in a few months. This camera is potentially my ideal wedding cam. Can't justify one this year though.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Thanks for posting those Colin, very enlightening. I'm surprised that you can go up to ISO 6400 and still get useable footage, the FZ200 would get nowhere near that.

Roger

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Shot in 4k,.Rendered using youtube template in Sony Vegas 12. I must try some 1080 footage to see how that encodes

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Thanks Colin

That's really good for a bridge camera!! I bet my Sony would have tons of noise !! I have an idea that you cannot get to ISO6400 in 4K mode only in 1080P ... I'm sure I read somewhere in the manual that 4K limits at 3200 ISO but I could be wrong of course!! Still super footage indeed .. I would fancy a wedding in that Church!!!

Thanks also Mark ... when I get to the stage of looking at anything else I'll give you a holler ...With a 2X crop factor on the GH cameras it will be hard to find anything wide enough in a Nikon that would work and be fast enough surely ? The best I have is a Tamron 10-24 at F3.5 ... All fast Nikon 18mm lenses would give a wide of only 36mm which might be tough for ceremonies!

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

I watched that church footage YT video in 1080 on my computer and at 6400, it looked good to me. Very usable. Thanks for doing that.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Thanks, Colin. Very useful.

That's where a Speedbooster comes in - it refocuses the image circle to the M4/3 sensor so your lenses look the same in HD and cropped a bit in 4k. My cheapie Nikon adapter has no optics so yes, you'll get crop factor. Even a fast 50mm prime would be very handy, cropped or not.

My Speedbooster is Canon mount as the direction the focus turns with Canon is the same as ENG lenses. Nikon is opposite.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Mark

Nikon DX lenses don't work on the speed booster as they vignette at wide angle ..you need to use full frame lenses with a Metabones unit. I was going to do that on the Sony earlier on but scrapped the idea cos I couldn't use full wide.

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

There is the Voigtländer nokton 10mm f0.95 if you want wide and very fast, other that that you have the Olympus 12mm f2.0 which is also a excellent lens and if you even want wider and fast there is the Olympus 8mm f1.8

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

It's 4k Chris and the iOS was at 6400

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Thanks Colin

I assume you were in Manual mode then ..I think in full auto it says max for 4K is 3200 but in manual mode it's unrestricted .. sorry still trying to get my head around all the menu settings ...In that case that image is awesome !! I'll catch up with menu settings soon enough so I know what I'm doing!! Anyway my Sony EA-50 with a 2.8 lens has a lot of noise!! and that Church was dark! I wouldn't like to do a wedding there!

Your clip was greatly appreciated and morale boosting too!!

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

What image preset did you use? Just asking because that outside footage had some harsh contrast with no detail in the shades, something you often get when using the vivid preset, I believe this camera can also shoot in standard or cinelike v preset which can make a big difference in such cases but also when you shoot inside a church so the camera can deal better with shadows and highlights.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Noa

You can also change the colour curve profile to one of 3 presets or create a custom "S" curve ..plus the camera also has settings much like Nikon's D-Lighting which will balance out bright backgrounds ... that is probably the standard setting and the grass is really green due to all the rain those guys have!!

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

I don't like messing around with color profiles as they often create more problems, I think all of us who have shot with camera's that have image presets know it's not easy to get it exactly like you want. I prevent using any presets like vivid which give you a punchy image which can look very nice in certain conditions but which are so contrasty you don't see anything in the shade. I"m sure you will have a lot of fun testing all those presets out :) As far as I can see they are the same as on my gh4.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Noa

They are certainly different from the Sony profiles or my older Panny "scene files" ...You really just have a choice of two "real" video profiles Cine D or Cine V all the others are still profiles unless that's the way Panny also do it on the GH4?? The colour Curves presets don't change any colours at all ..I'm always mystified why it's called a Colour Curve when all it really does is adjust your levels and contrast. The flat graph (like the Sony) gives you pretty heavy blacks and whites so you do lose a lot of detail in the shadows especially guys in black suits. With my EA-50's I always shot with the PP3 preset and then applied a nice gentle "s" curve in post which lifted the white contrast and brought out the detail in the shadows! You can select these or make your own so you get a lower/higher contrast ... so far I have stuck with the standard setting but will of course play with them and completely confuse myself

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Chris: It was shot in manual
Noa: Profile was cineV. It was just a quick shot I took to show the church, didnt bother much about the set up. The camera does has a very decent DR when set up properly

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

My daughter is getting married there this December, she has banned me from going anywhere near a camera on the day, thankfully my son is well up to the job. I have mentioned the church many times in previous posts, it really is the darkest church, even with the lights on, that I have ever worked in. Always came away with good footage. Its a most beautiful church, right on the cliff top

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Thanks Colin

The location looks stunning and yes, no camera for the father of the bride! You have more important things to do! I did a real estate shoot today and yep the DR is excellent but just left the camera on standard. I find that the Cine profiles do tend to be a bit contrasty for my eye. Funnily I always was able to get really good results from my Panasonics previously without fussing too much over settings and the default ones seemed to be pretty close. On my EA-50 the "no profile" setting was way to contrasty unless the actually scene was soft ... throw in some black objects (like wedding suits) and I ended up having to crush black level quite a lot. Looking forward to playing with both cameras this week! I haven't even shot footage in 4K yet or tried the slowmo as I'm busy trying to built some simple aluminium frames so I can attach receivers to one camera and also offset the shotgun mic on the other as it stops you using the EVF if it's needed outdoors ...by offsetting the mic to the left it leaves the EVF area clear to look thru!

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Definitely no camera for the Father of the Bride, which I must also observe as my daughter is getting married next year :-)

I received a tracking number for my FZ1000 today, so should be here early next week, can't wait!

Roger

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Great news Roger!

I have finished the mini frame for the first camera. All it is, is a 180mm piece of 25mm square aluminium tube with a "T" shaped bracket to attach the camera in the centre. The bracket shape allows me to still access the battery cover without removing anything which is handy! It has two pieces of the same tube left and right that go up 120mm and have foam bicycle grips on each for some extra stability and on top (each side) I have a cold shoe. One for a light when I need it and the other for a Rode mic. I put the mic on the side so I can still use the EVF ..if on the camera's hot shoe the back of the mic sticks into my forehead!!!

The second mini frame (in construction at present) is the same except I have an extra plate on the aluminium tube with my QR tripod plate on it ..either end will have mini pillars with trays that fit the receivers on each side and I should be ready to go!! I'll put the mixer on the camera shoe !

I'll post a few pics once they are finished.

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Here is my A-Cam frame that takes the wireless receivers ..it still has to have the little mixer on top of course. Also my B-Cam frame which is much the same but will be my handheld camera so it has the tube up each side with cold shoes on each side (one for the mic and one for a light if needed) The mic here is my spare el-cheapo as I'm still waiting for the Rode to arrive.

The last thing I have to do is organise and re-balance my stedicam but it has a 7" monitor on the bottom stage and the dealers want $30 for the AV cable cos it has a special plug ..since the cam has a visible LCD I might just scrap the big LCD on the stedicam and just use the cameras LCD .. saves me having a another battery to remember to charge up!!

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Ready for action then Chris :-) I like the idea of the handheld frame with the space for mic, light etc. Are you still able to use the LCD screen? The tripod frame looks to do the same sort of job as my double tripod plate, mainly take all the bits that don't fit on the camera. Nice to make your own custom built one though.

Next step is to see how you get on with the camera on a wedding shoot.

Roger

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Roger

It took a lot of thought, build and re-build but yes the LCD on both is fully extendable so it clears the frame in all positions .. as does the mount to the camera which allows both battery and SD card access without having to remove anything .. I didn't want to have to unscrew/move stuff to be able to have full access. A mic mounts perfectly on the centre shoe but you cannot use the EVF .. maybe the Rode VM Pro might have it's shoe far enough back to not dig into your head..but I have a Rode Video mic and even on the rear mount it still protrudes. I find that it's easier to have a handle either side with the camera otherwise I tend to hold it with my left hand under the body.

I trust yours will arrive next week .. I bought the mixer that I sent you the link for cos it has a headphone amp and is an active circuit rather than passive. That will be here around the end of this coming week but no biggie and we have a cold, wet and barren wedding calendar for July ... I'll go shoot some fun footage in the meantime and try out the formats .... Does your FZ200 have a 50P mode in AVCHD? so far I have only shot in 25P and you have to be careful about jitters when panning .. I also used 50P for slomo on my Sony's but now I have 100fps straight out of the camera which is brilliant! I think I'll probably just stay with 25P AVCHD

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Can I throw in a few observations? I'm very interested in how this thread is going as I'm planning on doing the same as Chris and downsizing my main camera.

I liked the cage Idea and I had the P&C Gearbox for my 5D but found that I always needed my right hand on the camera grip and not on the cage handle which simply ended up getting in the way - something to watch out for.

Also that eyecup looks very similar to the one on my A7s which has turned out to be pretty much useless as soon as the sun comes out - what's needed is a larger, teardrop shaped cup which stops the sun soming in from the right hand side of your face - unfortunately for me Sony don't make one and there are no aftermarket ones either - I have found a DIY job on You Tube but the result is pretty poor so I'm still on the hunt! You'll miss the large eyecup of the EA50 Chris!

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

If you shoot in 4K you don't have any other choice then to shoot 25P but if you don't need 4K there is no reason not to shoot at 1080p 50p. On my GH4 I shoot 1080p most of the tme, for most of my shots I don't see the need of shooting in 4K anyway. I will only use 4K recording if I need to ability to crop into the image in post, like during the ceremony or during speeches.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

I actually also need a larger eye cup on all my dslr's, as soon as I need to shoot in the sun I realy miss having a proper eyecup that covers the entire eye.

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

If someone brought out a QUALITY teardrop eyecup with adapters for DSLRs they'd make a killing :)

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

I agree that the 4K for me will be for those times when I can choose to crop to a closer shot of part of the scene. It should also be useful for our school productions, where we use 4 cameras to get all the shots, but may well be able to manage with just one 4K and crop to closeups.

@ Chris, I'll be interested to see how you get on with the mixer although I am not sure that I need an active one.

Roger

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Pete

You can get one from Cambo for the Panasonics ...

https://cambouk.wordpress.com/2014/0...up-from-cambo/

I also saw a post where a guy bought a Sony EX1 eyecup and had to trim it a bit but it looked darn good.

I wonder if Cambo make one for the A7S???

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Hi Roger

You know I'll give you a report back next week on it. The issue with passive mixers is although they say it's "unity gain" there always is a loss and it gets worse with lower level mics ... the minimum mic output for passive input is supposed to be -39db like the Rode Videomic ... a lot of mics are right down in the -50db so you would have to push the camera level right up to 12db to get a decent signal!! The other two reasons I got that unit is that it has an AGC defeat circuit in it so when the Church goes dead quiet your mic gain doesn't increase and again it has a 250mw headphone amp in it. I was going to make one but our local electronics shop didn't have any suitable modules that had a preamp and a headphone amp!

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Thanks Noa

I used to shoot in 50P mainly for slomo but since this camera has very good 100fps slomo I'll use that for my stedicam shoots and then either 50P or 25P for the rest. Believe it or not I haven't even tried 4K yet!!! I need to get a UHS3 card first ..I have a Sony UHS1 card but it might be too slow for 4K

We are in the middle of Winter now so I have 5 weeks to play and experiment before the chaos begins!!

Chris

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

The eye cup issue is solved! I had a Hoodman sitting in a drawer ..I ripped off the eye cup and cut the rubber centre away into an oval and popped it over the Panasonic EVF ..works like a dream!

Re: Anyone using the FZ1000 for weddings?
 

Shot some footage this morning in bright sunshine and the Hoodman rubber eyecup works like a dream!! It's the one that fits the loupe they sell for DSLR cameras and our photo stores have then in stock ...I would however think that eBay would have quite a few that could easily be modified too .. The Chinese make a nice looking one for the Nikon cameras and at $3.50 I'm tempted to buy one anyway!