entail / EVA1

M

Mac

Well-known member
Okay, now that the camera is on the shelves almost everywhere, like B&H, I'd like to hear what users think about it.

Not footage PLEASE, that's all ego, and virtually useless. I know it takes good pictures. But what is it like to work with? I make feature documentaries, and have been waiting for this camera from Panasonic (after an HPX500, HVX200 and AF100), but don't want to spring over 8K for it (I have EF lenses and EVFs, but i'll need batteries, etc) until I get a feeling for it's usability in the field...
 
My guess is that you may be jumping the gun a bit on expecting usability reports. It's one thing for the camera to be available and selling, and something different for it to go straight onto productions. I've had one in my dining room for two days now, learning it while checking the image under a number of different lighting conditions, and this morning was doing some A-B'ing to see how it compared with an Amira I had from another shoot (and just returned.) I will say I prefer the way the Amira was dealing with the highlights, but also felt the Amira was a bit overly saturated when dealing with high chroma objects in dark areas. Nothing definitive -- I'm still trying to figure out what kind of scene file look to use/modify for the EVA1. (In a discussion this week with the main client I'll be shooting EVA1 footage for, the producer and editor emphasized that they absolutely do not want to deal with any LOG footage, so tweaking the scene files and shooting WYWIWYG is a must.) So far I'm very happy with the images I've been seeing from the camera, and was particularly impressed how good it looked shooting underlit foreground faces with a bit of light hitting the deep background. I've only been looking at an HD output - using a 17" Sony OLED monitor.
A few things that will take some getting used to...
Not sure if I like the green squares for focus indication - partly because when they are on the waveform goes away. The peaking however does work very well, and waveform and peaking co-exist nicely.
Limited rotation on the handle sometimes puts my right wrist in an awkward position.
LCD screen seems pretty good for focus, though not so good with color/exposure. Overall the LCD feels a bit greenish (which the image is not) I'm sure I'll want to hook up a good monitor whenever feasible. Also haven't yet determined what kind of case to use for 'quick draw' purposes (or exactly the best way to fold/store the LCD if not removing it from the camera.) The quick boot-up time is great, but I don't necessarily want to spend time messing with attaching and detaching the LCD.
After playing with the 'one-push auto-focus' for about 10 minutes, I decided it was time to repurpose the user button for another function. I'll stick with manual focus.
I feel like I'm going to miss having the old line/mic/+48 switches, but maybe that's because I hate relinquishing the camera to the audio person to let them go into the menus.
I do love the fact that the camera body is so light. I have a half dozen hand-held through-the-lens prompter days coming up early next year so shaving a few pounds is a huge plus (though I'm sure it will take a couple of weeks to figure out a proper rig.)
My older Nikon lenses - with manual irises - also work fine with the camera with an inexpensive adapter.
Planning to bring the camera along as a 2nd or 3rd camera for a shoot next week to give it a try...
But the real 'usability report' most likely won't be happening til next year.
Slightly off topic -- I have an off-brand (Wasabi) long-life battery that I've been trying out on it. It's on its first charge cycle, but so far the camera's been on for more than 4 hours, and the battery is still half full!
 
agreed - my EVA1 arrives today, and while I'll be playing all month, I doubt I will have a genuine and worthy "usability report" until March. I can offer first impressions later this month though.
 
OnSet said:
Also haven't yet determined what kind of case to use for 'quick draw' purposes (or exactly the best way to fold/store the LCD if not removing it from the camera.) The quick boot-up time is great, but I don't necessarily want to spend time messing with attaching and detaching the LCD.
Click to expand...

I like storing the LCD between the lens and the top handle. With a couple adjustments of the mount it can swing in there nicely and then pop out in seconds ready to shoot. Only good for quick-draw as you ask, and definitely for storing the camera upright rather than on it's side. If you're putting it in a backpack I suggest a chunk of foam to act as a cradle so that the camera quickly positions properly.
 
Thanks for the responses. I'm aware that actual production use will take a while to evaluate, but, for example. several years ago I bought an HPX250 and after one day knew it wasn't the camera for me and returned it.

I already have a Gratical I intend to use, so the LCD doesn't interest me, other than for menu options. And with one of the handle extensions that are fast becoming available, the handle rotation problems shouldn't be an issue for handheld work either. I'll wait a little longer though, probably until a project comes along that tells me I absolutely need the EVA...
 
The LCD isn't that great. The sun hood included is clever though and helps. For indoor shoots, you are flying by instrument with focus peaking, etc. Frankly it's about what you'd expect from the descriptions and will not exceed expectations. I don't think it's awful though.

Currently the camera does not save many settings on a power down, which is really annoying. Every time I power down, change a lens, power back on I have to turn back on WFM, focus peaking, zebras, spot meter, etc. I assume this will be fixed in a firmware update? (Mitch?)

EIS leaves digital artifacts like you'd expect from any EIS system. It's not awful. I don't think it's good, though. The fact that it pulls from the 5.7K sensor sounded like it could be some voodoo magic. It's not. It's just EIS without as much of a resolution loss.

I have an EVA1 with the new handle grip. I had a Milvus 35mm (2.7lbs) on it. No other accessories, stock only, handheld. The grip has slipped on me once (just to the next click position). Other than it has been ok. But that is the fixed grip without a fully loaded camera. Also, it only happen once, but I also haven't used it a ton... (just saying, it's not a constant slippage).

I wrote a list of grievances in my other thread (master thread). Go back a page, maybe two, I won't paste them all again here, but in it I discuss some of UI first impressions and problem (synchro scan, saved settings, switch for Dual ISO, etc. etc.). I think many of these can / hopefully will be addressed in firmware.

Please note the majority of what I am describing above should be fixable in firmware, or isn't too big of a deal. But those are my first impression problems running tests here at home.

On the positive side:

The image is remarkably clean and detailed, and in practice, so far does not look too digital or sharp like I was concerned with initially (need more tests to fully confirm, but feeling good as of now). The camera body itself is very lightweight and the design with the screw holes and the ability to strip it down in a modular fashion is great.

I think the biggest thing for me is if they open up some possibilities with what can be assigned to user buttons and a few software/UI issues. A custom user menu would be nice. Also the lack of some of the standard mic/line switches and buttons that have become so standard is to me, odd. Those hardly take up any space and I don't see why they were relegated into the menu. It would have been smart if at a minimum they had a button on the audio flap area that you hit and immediately shortcut to a good digital UI screen of those controls laid out in a big, bold, fashion. But they didn't. You've gotta drill down into the menu to find them and it's just an odd design decision that I don't like and think could have been executed better, even keeping it digital. But it's not a deal breaker.

That's about as best as I can offer right now for feedback.
 
filmguy123 said:
...The lack of some of the standard mic/line switches and buttons that have become so standard is to me, odd. Those hardly take up any space and I don't see why they were relegated into the menu. It would have been smart if at a minimum they had a button on the audio flap area that you hit and immediately shortcut to a good digital UI screen of those controls laid out in a big, bold, fashion. But they didn't.
Click to expand...

That is one thing Canon nailed on the new C200, the audio status button and readout is really great. One button push and you can see almost everything that is going on with your audio, it's a nice feature. Agreed, having mic/line buried in the menus was a bad decision, a lot of us those a LOT when shooting documentary and run and gun. Can you run a mic into one input on the EVA 1 while having the other input read from the internal mic? That's one thing the C200 doesn't do that drives me crazy. It's nice to have a subject with a wireless and a scratch mic for ambient on the other channel.
 
I'm glad I started this thread. That audio adjustment situation is worrisome, and as a documentary filmmaker exclusively is exactly the kind of thing I need to know. I'll check into that before moving forward (I live in Monterey, 200 to 400 miles from the nearest store where I could handle one). But so far it sounds like a terrible design error.

One other question. My EF zooms are the Canon 24-105 f4 and 17-55 f2.8. On the early C100 I bought them with they "acted" parfocal. I could zoom in, focus, zoom back and stay (pretty much) in focus - at least good enough for fast work. Is that going to happen with those lenses on the EVA?
 
Mac said:
I'm glad I started this thread. That audio adjustment situation is worrisome, and as a documentary filmmaker exclusively is exactly the kind of thing I need to know. I'll check into that before moving forward (I live in Monterey, 200 to 400 miles from the nearest store where I could handle one). But so far it sounds like a terrible design error.

One other question. My EF zooms are the Canon 24-105 f4 and 17-55 f2.8. On the early C100 I bought them with they "acted" parfocal. I could zoom in, focus, zoom back and stay (pretty much) in focus - at least good enough for fast work. Is that going to happen with those lenses on the EVA?
Click to expand...
Of course, why wouldn't they?
 
Mac said:
I asked because they don't with a Metabones smart adapter (or Speedbooster) when used on the Micro, Pocket or LS300.
Click to expand...
Speed boosters sometimes have to be adjusted...I have par focal Nikon zooms that did not achieve infinity for example, till I adjusted the XL Nikon mount speed booster...they provide instructions on their website.
 
Mac said:
I asked because they don't with a Metabones smart adapter (or Speedbooster) when used on the Micro, Pocket or LS300.
Click to expand...

Mac, that is because the MFT mount FFD on the Micro, Pocket and LS300 are slightly off from each other. I had a PL zoom parfocal on the Pocket, but when I put the same MFT/PL adapter (Woidec Xamera BMPCC version) in the Micro Camera the FFD difference was enough to through off the back focus, resulting in a non parfocal zoom. I had to get a WC Pro PL mount adapter and shim it .002 additional to get the back focus correct on the Micro Camera.

Unlike the B4 ENG zooms that had a back focus adjustment to correct for camera lens mount FFD variations, the Canon zooms lack this feature. If the total camera lens mount FFD is not exactly 44.0mm, no parfocal performance on the Canon EF zooms.
Cheers
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top