F3: F3 for docs??

not sure what you mean about moving front to back. but i use this one;

http://www.shapewlb.com/en/product/...-release-baseplate-_129.aspx?id_page_parent=1

I meant that you can move the shoulder pad more to the front ore more to the back of the rig in order to achieve balance once again when you switch up the lens.

One consideration is that shooting off the shoulder results in a very different kind of image than holding a camera and using the LCD (and stabilization) for off-tripod use. The LCD option looks very amateurish to me and prevents an organic camera feel as the camera is almost an extension of the cameraman.

Yep, same thoughts, exactly. Shooting of hand is for...weddings and porn:) Sarcasm aside there are situations where shooting of hand is welcomed. Off course.

a full day with an hvx200 makes me hate the world.

Hahaha:):)

I Wrote earlier about my base plate. I is relatively cheap TrusMT plate with built in shoulder pad and front/rear rods... It can be mounted on sticks by Sony plate or with out it by attaching any quick release plate directly to the bottom of it. It goes from shoulder to sticks easy just like "old" full size video cameras...
only thing that I have it ready, if I am shooting off shoulder is to mount handles after I take the camera out of the bag. Another 30secs (oh, my!)...

Okey, so basically you put a v lock stile baseplate on the camera. That's nice! thx. As for the handles I guess it would be nice to have such handles that you could just fold them so that they would be in line with the rails. so no need to putting them of the rails when going to stick.

I don't get what is the "disadvantage" of F3 in lens department mentioned earlier??
If anything, F3 has a flexibility of both still lenses AND all the fine PL optics... With c300, you have one or the other. Yes, c300 has IS, and auto focus... But, come on what are we talking here? Next thing, we need auto exposure as well?...

Will IS option be better (if any) to putting a camera steady on the shoulder... If your shot is shaky when F3 camera is on the shoulder, most likely it will be shaky with c300 handheld with IS... And, if you are on stick, I choose F3 with manual everything on the lens over plasticky EOS lenses with no Fstop ring on the lens, and no proper manual focus friction with no hard stops...

Having AF is a big plus to me. At least for the type of projects I'm working on now. Having IS is also a plus. Saying that IS is not really needed sounds like rationalising to make a negative sound positive.

Well that's kind of the point I think, without rigging - you can get away with shooting the C300. With the F3, you can't.

Yep.

I have ET Body Armor on my F3 and can tell you that it's a VERY nice and tidy package now--gets rid of all that stupid Sony "packaging" around the camera. There are caveats though: no audio-monitor jack (headphones), loosing record button on dumb-side of camera, no tally light (who cares), no IF remote sensor, loosing button 6&7, and no cold-shoes (easy to remedy). You also need to be pretty comfortable with disassembling your camera to do it...not difficult, but requires quite some surgery!

ET? You mena 3ality? I didn't know you lose all these things... That sucks.
 
Sanjin,
having an IS (for me) is not major advantage coming from long time experience with full size cameras (with no IS or auto focus). Practice makes it perfect!...
 
And some IS lenses are noisy and good be noticeable if you're going run and gun with a camera-mounted mike
 
yeah, i'm ambivalent about IS. it wouldn't bother me to have it sometimes, but being steady is my job.

autofocus, on the other hand, has always seemed like a huge liability. i know there are people who use it to good effect, but i could never trust it.
 
Tata,
I never thought about (or have used) the RCA audio outs. I wasn't too worried about it since I am going to an external recorder 99.5% of the time, so can monitor from there. There are a whole host of little hardware devices for volume control, even on headphones, so those audio-outs should work. I wonder if the monitoring options work, like channel selections, etc. (doubtful).
I am doing some camera-rigging today, so I'll test it out.

Yes, other than that, it's all win!
 
I have ET Body Armor on my F3 and can tell you that it's a VERY nice and tidy package now--gets rid of all that stupid Sony "packaging" around the camera. There are caveats though: no audio-monitor jack (headphones), loosing record button on dumb-side of camera, no tally light (who cares), no IF remote sensor, loosing button 6&7, and no cold-shoes (easy to remedy). You also need to be pretty comfortable with disassembling your camera to do it...not difficult, but requires quite some surgery!

I am about to receive my kit tomorrow... Regarding the sound monitoring: I was told by 3ality and Alistar C. (who also did conversion of his f3) that it can be done by sound outputs on the bottom of two xlr plugs. No volume adjustments, but still possible... Did you try it?


All other "loses", I don't care about...
^
Guys, would you mind starting a thread about the ET body pieces? I'm very keen on getting the top plate to remove all of the clutter from the top of the camera, but I'm just waiting for ET to come out with a low-rise version of their 'manhandle' (which I've contacted them about, and they say is a common request that should be addressed in the coming months).

I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on the plusses and minuses of the body armour.
 
Sanjin,
having an IS (for me) is not major advantage coming from long time experience with full size cameras (with no IS or auto focus). Practice makes it perfect!...

For instance: we shot some people running on a marathon from a scooter. IS really helped us. I don't use it for general use, but there are scenarios where I'd want to use it. Push to focus is what I'd like to have. I can't say I use AF that much but push to focus is quite useful.
 
^
Guys, would you mind starting a thread about the ET body pieces? I'm very keen on getting the top plate to remove all of the clutter from the top of the camera, but I'm just waiting for ET to come out with a low-rise version of their 'manhandle' (which I've contacted them about, and they say is a common request that should be addressed in the coming months).

I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on the plusses and minuses of the body armour.


I will start the tread as soon as I get my kit (hoping for tomorrow FedEx delivery...). I think this solution is what is needed to keep f3 as valuable piece of gear, for me at least.
As far as current manhandle, yes you are correct: it is kinda tall and I already sourced up an option that will be perfect solution for those occasions when I need to pack it really compact. Wooden Camera NATO top handle with security 70mm rail. It fits perfectly on the top of 3ality plate and it is removable. I will wait with that purchase until I "battle test" the manhandle, but if becomes an issue I would go for WC. There are other solutions as well: RED top handle would fit as well, and Zacuto top handle with z-rail... Options are numerous once the top of the f3 is decluthered...


I also set up some pieces in the kit to "bridge" between my Solid Camera evf rail/holder and 3ality body armor. It is the most simple connection I could come up with and it will allow me to have two general positions of evf holder: one back end (tripod set up) and one front (tripod and shoulder mount). All should be on my desk tomorrow. I will update ASAP...
 
Okey, so here I am, again, seriously considering putting together an F3 docu stile rig and I have some points that I'm a bit unclear on:) :

- Is there a way to use the speedboster with the F3?
- Is there a way to use sony e-mount lenses, especially the new 18-105 F4?
- Is it just me or does it seem like people use mostly nikkor glass on their F3s?
- For docu work I'd really like to have something in the range of 19-90, does such a lens exist for the F3 with manual aperture control?
- Can the 32GB SLOG SxS card be used for recording?
- Pix 240 still the cheapest option for 1080 50p recording? Can the Odissey 7 record 50p over 3G?

I'll appreciate any help you can give me!:)

[h=1][/h]
 
- Is there a way to use the speedboster with the F3?
Sadly no
- Is there a way to use sony e-mount lenses, especially the new 18-105 F4?
No
- Is it just me or does it seem like people use mostly nikkor glass on their F3s?
For SLR glass - yes Nikon is very sharp and the good lenses are all largely Parfocal

For $1650 Optitek makes a Canon EF to F3 adapter that has a button on the side to control iris ( wankier than Nikon) and also will enable IS (very attractive feature that could work with a Canon 17-55 (not Parfocal) and 24- 105
- For docu work I'd really like to have something in the range of 19-90, does such a lens exist for the F3 with manual aperture control?
I don't think so choices would be
Nikkor or Tamron 17-55, Nikon or Canon 24-70 or 28-70, Canon 24-105 f4
- Can the 32GB SLOG SxS card be used for recording?
It can but its 8 bit and not recommended for Slog. Many people have had good luck with it but your mileage will vary. Better off with 10 bit.
- Pix 240 still the cheapest option for 1080 50p recording? Can the Odissey 7 record 50p over 3G?
Don't know about 50P
 
-
- Can the 32GB SLOG SxS card be used for recording?
It can but its 8 bit and not recommended for Slog. Many people have had good luck with it but your mileage will vary. Better off with 10 bit.
I agree, but you can if you need to. It is definitely better with 10 bit.
This is 720p/24 at 35 fps grab.

Lily CU_1.6.1.jpgCouple Tub_1.15.1.jpg
 
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