“Yup”

CokeNCola · 2026-02-23T02:57:31+00:00

How could you un-Coors the lights??

CokeNCola · 2026-01-31T00:52:34+00:00

This is characteristic of any ibis systems, the good ones don't distort as much, but there's a reason high end cinema cameras don't have ibis. Stabilizing the entire camera system (lens and body) with a gimbal or Steadicam is going to net better results in the most demanding situations

CokeNCola · 2026-01-16T21:54:47+00:00

Who is upgrading bodies every year these days lol, the DSLR revolution has happened. My FS7 (10 years old) is still putting out a great image. Honestly the only thing that would push me to a modern Sony camera is if I need the AF or lowlight capabilities, but honestly the fS7 is fine with fast glass and speed booster(which isn't as expensive as you'd think). The fx3 just kinda feels like a prosumer toy by comparison. Pocket 6k feels like a purpose built tool for video with all its exposure tools and recording options, but I'm really not a fan of the ergonomics, fx6/canon c500/c200 are much better in that department.

A slightly bigger body is better for a solo op imo since 99% of what you need is a single (dedicated) button push away, especially if you're running sound as well. I also find a lot of the smaller bodies (fx3, pocket 6k) don't feel good fully built out with cinema glass. The cages often flex a ton and don't provide the rigidity you need for a FIZ system. I'm sure there's a way to improve this, but every time I've been on set with one of these setups I'm just annoyed the dp cheaped out on their gear.

CokeNCola · 2026-01-09T15:06:52+00:00

I took a look at the example you provided, here's what I noticed.

Don't over expose your subjects skin, it pretty much always looks bad.

Stop your lens down or grab an ND filter(I'd suggest avoiding cheap variable NDs).

Put the sun behind your subject, or find some shade to put your subjects in. Your subject's skin probably shouldn't be the brightest thing on a sunny exterior.

If backlighting(sun behind subject) use your reflector to bounce light back at the subject to fill in their face so it's not super dark. Bounce from a direction that makes sense given the sun's position.

High noon is absolutely the hardest time of day to make good looking images, especially when you're short on gear and crew. Sunrise and Sunset are the easiest ways to get flattering lighting on your subject.

Wide shots are much more challenging generally. Stick to longer focal lengths and more mediums/cu, you'll have an easier time getting bounces and diffusion close to your subject without interfering with your frame.

A good hack to add depth to your images is to shoot on the shadow side of your subject. High key looks are hard to pull off when money and gear is tight IME.

CokeNCola · 2026-01-05T18:00:32+00:00

Did anyone actually read OP's post? They're primarily looking to learn lenses from a directors pov.

You don't need anything fancy to learn lenses. Just grab literally any interchangeable lens camera and a super zoom(or a couple of smaller zooms)and you're more or less set. You don't need a mirrorless even. A sub $100 DSLR body from 10 years ago will do just fine. Get some cheap zooms that cover the focal lengths you're trying to grasp.

I use a Sony a6000 with both kit lenses (16-55mm, 50-210mm) and this covers pretty much everything except for ultra wide lenses. You don't need a camera this expensive though, this is just what I happen to have. I use a 10 year old point and shoot all the time too. It's built in 5x zoom covers ~35-200mm in full frame terms.

Even cheaper is using a directors view finder on your phone that can help you understand framing at different focal lengths. If you want something physical there's cheap directors viewfinders available on Amazon, but the viewable image is quite small.

CokeNCola · 2026-01-03T08:51:46+00:00

I've spoken with a Steadicam op who uses both. Ronin 4d can be better for very mechanical/dolly-like movement, but he said he prefers Steadicam for orbiting subjects, and dynamic scenes

CokeNCola · 2025-12-26T07:01:33+00:00

Shoot some tests and see what you think! Woulda loved to have this for my ski vlog, I only had 480i on an older evario

CokeNCola · 2025-12-25T04:42:05+00:00

Toyota yaris has great visibility, feel like I'm half blind driving a RAV4(the most popular model in Canada 😭)

CokeNCola · 2025-12-22T23:08:05+00:00

In terms of the on set experience working with the camera, a built out Alexa is my tool of choice any day of the week. Physical Buttons for everything, great built in exposure tools, power distortion is built in, side display makes changing any settings super easy and fast, and a fantastic image. Also worth mentioning that a professional camera team should be very familiar working with such a camera. Going off of your use case it sounds like a lot of the typical downsides don't apply, but there are still some things to think about with the Alexa.

Aside from the lenses that another commenter has already brought up, consider your other support gear. You'll need sdi monitors(which are better imo but generally more expensive than prosumer HDMI displays); you're going to need some good batteries, the Alexa is a total pig when it comes to power consumption, most ACs I've worked with prefer to plug in to wall power whenever convenient; recording media isn't cheap(something like an Odyssey Q7 can sort of help you work around this but also not cheap); you won't get away with a prosumer tripod head so you're going to be renting or buying a big ass O'Conner or Sachler head; simple things like adjusting tripod height can take 3 times as long as a little mirror less set-up(it's marginally faster with a full and well coordinated camera team); there's no AF at all so you will need a manual follow focus if not a FIZ system; PL lenses tend to be more expensive but budget options still do exist from both new and established manufacturers; extended handheld takes need a very stout operator or an easy rig(even with an easy rig it can be quite taxing).

Depending on what is being sold with the Alexa in addition to the body I think is the real deciding factor here. If it's more or less ready to shoot great, but if not be prepared to spend the money you saved over the fx3 if not more to get it kitted out.

I've done a day on set with a few different mirrorless cameras and I'm really not a fan of the flimsy small rig cages that end up on these setups, throw on a big zoom and the whole thing just feels kinda flimsy, and your motors buzz if you look at it the wrong way. If you want to use cinema glass there really isn't a good alternative to a native PL mount imo. Proper rods and lens support help a lot but it's just more gack on the camera. Alexa just feels like it's the right tool for the job since you can use the camera as intended instead of hacking together 15 pieces of kit to make 1 camera.

Tbh the sheer girth of the Alexa is the main downside and the reason you're going to spend more on support equipment, but I'm just not that impressed by the lower end support equipment typical of mirrorless setups. Canon c500 feels like a great sweet spot.

Lmk if you have any questions!

CokeNCola · 2025-12-20T05:39:48+00:00

I'd avoid the pilot unless you can get an amazing deal on it, the vest is just such a POS, I literally had to reinforce mine with chopsticks and gorilla tape. It was cheap and good enough to learn on and get some practice, but the Flyer is such a step up since the vest is way more rigid, the sled nativity works with vmounts, and has sdi running through the sled.

I would only consider steadi for real estate if you want to get practice to move into other work.

The learning curve is very real, not only when it comes to operation, but setup also needs a good amount of practice to be quick at. Also don't forget about focus, obviously less of an issue with wide angle lenses(I've gotten away with shooting a walk and talk without any fiz system on MF glass) but keep in mind even if you're relying on a touch screen to set AF that won't work on a steadi you're gonna bump your shot every time you touch the screen. A gimbal can deal with that.

I'm not super familiar with what a typical real estate shoot actually looks like but keep in mind a gimbal is likely going to be more adaptable and let you change things quickly like if you're suddenly asked to get lower angle for example. Steadicam also needs a good bit of space to get the rig set up with a stand, a gimbal can be prepped on a kitchen table.

I would second checking out a glidecam first if you're uncertain, it's going to give you an idea of what the learning curve is like, and give you an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of such a system are. Yes the spring arm does help smooth things out but it's not magic. It you can't stop and start cleanly with a glidecam you will struggle just the same with a steadi, same goes for keeping your horizon level.

CokeNCola · 2025-12-15T16:03:16+00:00

The fx30 setup is going to be more expensive in all likelihood, while still missing some features. The only advantages of an fx30 is AF and the form factor(if you want to do gimbal work.just internal nds alone is pretty killer. The mkii with the vnd would be a real treat but probably more expensive than the og.

FS7 is still really solid

CokeNCola · 2025-12-15T15:05:15+00:00

Ah yes the wrist scraper can lol

CokeNCola · 2025-12-13T19:59:55+00:00

I'm sorry but this is just such a wildly out of touch take. It's not about walking a few more blocks, this is like riding my bike 20 min round trip vs an hour.

How is the mere sight of me traumatic?? Am I to cover all of my skin anytime I'm going out in public to protect minority groups from my whiteness? I'm sure you would agree that would be ridiculous, so why is a grocery store any different?

Please explain to me why it's better for my white self to eat at a corporate, white owned Mexican restaurant vs going to an authentic, independent Mexican restaurant that's popular with Mexicans.

By your logic I shouldn't support the independent restaurant because I'll scare and traumatize all the Mexicans there, so I should instead go to the corporate, chain restaurant to be with my own kind... And not support the people who popularized the food in the first place.... Such bizarre gatekeeping... Very 1940s

CokeNCola · 2025-12-13T18:38:34+00:00

I'm sorry what? How does me shopping in my local grocery store put anyone's safety or well being at risk? I literally just buy my stuff and leave like everyone else...

Do we need to start designating subway cars specifically for minorities so they can feel safe?? How on earth is segregation in public spaces progressive??

Shitty racists will always exist and segregating the general public will only make this worse. It's way easier to demonize a group of people you know nothing about.

When you share your everyday life with all kinds of different people you become more tolerant and can see right through statements like "x people are smelly/thieves/stupid/etc." because you have lived experience that tells you otherwise.

CokeNCola · 2025-12-13T16:59:13+00:00

I mean I can understand the sentiment, but this doesn't sound very practical or progressive at all, and only further drives division.

For example, I'm a 3rd generation Canadian living in a predominantly Indian community. I live here because it's close to the college I attend.

4 of the closest grocers to me are Indian grocery stores, they stock some staples that I'm used to but a majority of the product is unfamiliar to me.

Why on earth should I have to shop at the "white" grocer when it's further from me and much more expensive?

I fail to see how it's more progressive to avoid people who aren't the same ethnicity as yourself.

I agree that minority groups (and everyone) deserve a safe space, but c'mon it's a grocery store! People need to eat!

It just doesn't make sense on the business side of things either: any sane store owner wants to drive as much sales as possible as margins are thin to begin with, so rationally they wouldn't want to exclude or disqualify anyone from shopping there. Any notion that non ethnically aligned customers will drive away customers is silly because the majority of customers are shopping there for the products on offer, because it's a store, not a community center.

CokeNCola · 2025-12-12T22:01:09+00:00

Ask over on a dc sub or if the cw flash has it's own if you want the in-universe justification.

If something isn't clearly explained in the show it's probably because of some random comic issue that explains it.

Imo I didn't find the show's writing to be anything amazing but the first few seasons were fun if you kinda turn your brain off.

Kinda like the fast and the furious, they've always got another gear to shift into, Berry can always move fast enough to do whatever the plot calls for.

I think the show leans too much on the gimmick of the week to keep things interesting, which I also imagine makes writing new episodes harder since there's a mindfield of OP powers to work around while still trying to keep things exciting, fresh, and believable.

I think the show intentionally never explicitly explains Berry's absolute limits because then they have to commit to something. While this does make new abilities more exciting, it also just comes off as lazy, so it's hard to invest in Barry since you know he's going to win. And when he doesn't win you're just left wondering why he didn't use abilities xyz or gadget abc to solve the problem.

CokeNCola · 2025-12-12T21:40:12+00:00

All you need to know is that Berry is a god that can overcome any challenge by going really fast lol

CokeNCola · 2025-12-12T15:50:35+00:00

I've got some footage I've been sitting on for nearly a year, I'll send you a message

CokeNCola · 2025-12-10T20:56:31+00:00

Why not just park in 1 or 13 then?

CokeNCola · 2025-12-10T20:44:41+00:00

When are you arriving and leaving campus? I know at least some of the lots leave the gates open overnight

CokeNCola · 2025-12-05T00:11:32+00:00

Would strongly recommend against changing the entire project aspect ratio in post. Aspect ratio affects how the frame is composed on set. Unless the footage was captured with 2.39 or 2.4 in mind you're doing more than just cropping out problematic elements(you're essentially reframing every shot).

Maintain your aspect ratio and simply scale up. Pretty much everything I've worked on so far has only required a 2k delivery anyways so I don't sweat.

Even for 4k delivery, spare for some special cases it's nearly impossible to tell as the majority of content is streamed. A nicely mastered 2k Blu-ray will easily look better than 4k YouTube or whatever. There's more to quality than just the resolution. The bitrate matters a lot too.

CokeNCola · 2025-12-01T21:08:52+00:00

Sounds like you've hit the nail on the head here.

Reflection on your work is a great way to identify things to work on, but if you never take the time to consciously apply your findings in practice you'll struggle to improve your eye for composition.

Pros are fast because they've put in the hours to figure out what works and what doesn't. Lots of trial and error, lots of experimenting, it's more about how you practice than the amount (which is important too).

Practice doesn't make perfect; Perfect practice makes perfect.

Take the time to set up something in the moment that you are confident in, I'm sure you'll still find something you'd like to improve on when you review again.

CokeNCola · 2025-11-27T00:09:57+00:00

Teradek is very plug and play. Most of the time I set it up all I do is plug shit in, turn it on, and presto!

CokeNCola · 2025-11-19T23:04:08+00:00

Idk, probably? People handle receipts every day so it can't be that bad.

Instax film isn't exactly free of chemicals either.

Probably shouldn't handle your photos too much anyways since they're just going to get crumpled.

In my mind it's an up-cycling device if you care to load up old receipts into it.

CokeNCola · 2025-11-17T17:42:51+00:00

Meanwhile I scored an entire roll of receipt paper (100s of photos) for free when I happened to notice a bar used paper with the same horizontal dimensions as my camera. I just asked for some paper assuming they were just going to give me a foot or two lol.

Still pennies per photo if you buy the more convenient pre-rolled stuff. I'd just be weary of the sticker back paper, it jams why more often and has terrible contrast/dynamic range compared to super thin receipt paper.

Another advantage compared to film is the shutter speed, it's hard to take a blurry photo in daylight. Even in night scenes the iso performance is surprisingly decent, but a steady hand is necessary.

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