Moving from PD-170 to the Z7 (mini-review)

[Luc De Wandel]

Originally Posted by Scott Hayes

oh well. older F mount manual focus lenses aren't too expensive to get.

yep, that's a fact. Hundreds of them around and even a prime 200 mm 2,8 (which becomes a 1400 mm on the Z7) is not expensive in this older series

[John Knight]

Originally Posted by Luc De Wandel

Beautiful! Is the slow-mo done in the camera or in post? What music is that?

Hi Luc - slow mo is just a simple speed change to 50% in Adobe Premiere CS3. CS3 seems better at slowmo than previous versions. I got flickering in CS2 and had to use After Effects Time feature - slower but removed flicker.

Song was track 11 off the BraveHeart CD. The bride chose some terrible music (Bee Gees - Dolly Parton eek) that almost wrecked the video - but hey, if that's what she wants - she's paying!

[Vincent Oliver]

John,

Superb colour, loved the shots and the dramatic music, but hated the zooming out on almost every shot. It looks like the viewer is trying to get away from the scene. There must be a deep hidden meaning in this, are you divorced or had a some bad experience?

You don't have to answer this John, your work is superb.

[Andy Wilkinson]

John,

I REALLY hate to be picky....but I agree with Vincent, IF you had used slow zooming IN I think it would be much better than the all the zooming OUT (easy tweak in post). That being said, the images were beautiful and show a lot of creativeness on your part - really excellent. BTY, my best friend here in England is originally from Invercargill, South Island (which he calls the Ar%e end of NZ!)

Great info in this thread for someone like me who uses a PD150 a lot and is about to get a Z7.... so keep the thoughts and clips coming!

I promise to post something with my Z7 (when I eventually get it in the next month or so) and then you can tear my clips to pieces as well (hmm, I mean constructively comment about). :-)

[Luc De Wandel]

Originally Posted by John Knight

Hi Luc - slow mo is just a simple speed change to 50% in Adobe Premiere CS3. CS3 seems better at slowmo than previous versions. I got flickering in CS2 and had to use After Effects Time feature - slower but removed flicker.

Song was track 11 off the BraveHeart CD. The bride chose some terrible music (Bee Gees - Dolly Parton eek) that almost wrecked the video - but hey, if that's what she wants - she's paying!

Thanks for the info, John.

[John Knight]

Originally Posted by Andy Wilkinson

I agree with Vincent, IF you had used slow zooming IN I think it would be much better than the all the zooming OUT

Hi Andy & Vincent - yeah, fair comment. It's a nasty habit I've got into shooting handheld. If you zoom into subject, lock focus and exposure, then zoom out slowly (reveal shot) then it smoothes out any handheld bumps. Trouble is, I know I overuse it but actually prefer a reveal shot to a focusing (zoom-in) shot. Trying hard to get a mixture and balance of each!

Originally Posted by Andy Wilkinson

my best friend here in England is originally from Invercargill, South Island (which he calls the Ar%e end of NZ!)

Oh yes! It's horrible down there. I passed through Invercargill years ago and was raped 18 times... BEFORE I even got out the car! Was only there for 15 minutes!!!!

Here is some recent Invercargill news: http://www.stuff.co.nz/4583639a11.html

[John Knight]

Woohoo - my Z7 clips have just been accepted for sale at AlwaysHD!

Here is the link to my clips:
http://www.alwayshd.com/search_resul...ontrib_ID=1680

Tiger is my favourite!

[Jamie Jewett]

wow -

that tiger is remarkable!

thanks for sharing!

jamie

[John Knight]

Hi Bruce - no, seemed really easy. Just apply - upload good footage, add keywords, they decide the price, make the thumbnails etc, then give you 50% commission if a clip is sold.

The guy that owns it talks in this podcast about it all:
http://72.41.38.10/shows/thedvshow060108.mp3

[Andy Wilkinson]

Yep, really stunning stock footage John and a very interesting site it's on. As for that Invercargill story..... least said about that the better!

[Chris van der Zaan]

Originally Posted by Vincent Oliver

John,

Superb colour, loved the shots and the dramatic music, but hated the zooming out on almost every shot. It looks like the viewer is trying to get away from the scene. There must be a deep hidden meaning in this, are you divorced or had a some bad experience?

Haha. This made me laugh.

But, i think the tempo of most of the dissolves and the zooming is way too fast. Imho, it should be much slower to catch the overall feeling of both the music and the wedding.

And i agree. The video made me feel something is wrong with the bride instead of thinking that she is very happy and that this is the moment of her life. The shot on the bridge made me think she is still all alone in this world. And i miss some real good close ups of definitive moments, like -the kiss- or the expression on the face when he slides the ring on her finger.

Anyway. I don't mean to bash. Just giving my opinion. :)

[John Knight]

Originally Posted by Chris van der Zaan

..... dissolves and the zooming is way too fast.... should be much slower..... made me feel something is wrong with the bride..... made me think she is still all alone in this world..... i miss some real good close ups....... Anyway. I don't mean to bash.

Good grief man!

[Noa Put]

John,
I noticed that the camera seems to have problems with overexposing the whites, I saw some shots were everything was correctly exposed but the wedding dress was somewhat washed out with no detail. I do experience the same problem with my dvx100 and I've seem footage from a fx1 and a hvx200 which had the same problem. I often need to underexpose a bit to get it right.
I did see many clips from the xh-a1 however which did not seem to have any problems with displaying details in the shadow and white parts in the sunlight.
I just wonder if this is a typical Sony/Panasonic problem?

[John Knight]

G'Day mate - the wedding dress shot was wrongly underexposed so I boosted the brightness and contrast in post.

[Chris van der Zaan]

Originally Posted by John Knight

Good grief man!

Don't take it personal. :)