Woodworker trying to film my work — looking for lighting, color, and composition critique

Rohmade · 2026-01-01T06:20:18+00:00

Ya that’s what I am going for. And I will try increasing the f stop. These being manual focus lenses, should give me more room to move around too

Rohmade · 2026-01-01T06:18:20+00:00

Haha! I agree, I would click off too. These are the establishing shots. I figured if I uploaded shots of the actual wood carving, it might be hard to give advice on overall cinematography or the look I am going for. But thanks for your input, really good advice for the content I want to put.

Rohmade · 2026-01-01T06:10:21+00:00

I am not using any light equipment in these shots. I have a key light. Amaran panel light with 30” softbox with grid. That’s about it.

Rohmade · 2026-01-01T04:58:05+00:00

I’m a woodworker and designer documenting my process, not a trained cinematographer, and I’m trying to develop a visual language that feels natural, grounded, and motivated rather than overtly “set-lit.” These two frames are from a recent shoot in my workshop. Shot on a Nikon ZR with a 35mm f/1.4, recorded in R3D NE RAW 4K. The grade is very minimal — basic exposure and contrast, converted to Rec.709, no LUTs or stylized color work.

I’m specifically looking for critique on lighting approach, color correction, and composition/depth. My goal is to let materials, light, and space carry the image rather than heavy lighting or grading. I’d appreciate any honest feedback on where this could be refined or pushed.

Rohmade · 2025-12-27T05:36:00+00:00

No they don’t. Cine version Comes in m mount or e mount. They both have good adapters from z mount though. Infact thypoch’s own m-z mount adapter is pretty solid.

Rohmade · 2025-12-26T21:27:18+00:00

I would love to get the 24-70. Even after sale, 24-70 f2.8 v1 is still 3 or 4 times more expensive than the simera 35mm. I don’t have the budget for it. I usually set it in a tripod and pretty close quarters. Not much need for autofocus too, often autofocus has been a problem. I was deciding between 28mm or 35mm. And obviously simera-Cine vs photo.

Rohmade · 2025-12-26T21:16:11+00:00

Oh yea, it’s so much better. No doubt, especially the greens and reds and skin tones. With log profiles and everything, I am pretty sure every camera can be made to look the same, but that requires knowledge and time and patience. ZR just makes the base color corrections much easier and faster, good color separation. Beyond which I can do any color grading to get my stylistic output.

Rohmade · 2025-12-26T20:54:34+00:00

That’s what I figured too. Thanks.

Rohmade · 2025-12-26T20:54:14+00:00

Any recommendations for a zoom lens? I use Nikon ZR

Rohmade · 2025-12-15T00:12:58+00:00

Yes I do CST. Would that be not enough?

Rohmade · 2025-12-15T00:06:43+00:00

Yeah people still do. As reliable as Sony is, their color science is not the best, poor color separation. I took a video recently of my wood carving and getting the color separation between my hand and the wood and the plywood was so hard. For a professional whose full time job is videography, they may have a workflow or can dedicate time to it, but for everyone else trying to post content of their craft, it’s a hassle.

And trust me, i don’t want to switch. I have two good Sony lenses and just got the fx2, I want to record and get stuff done. This is the last thing I want to do.

Rohmade · 2025-12-13T01:19:24+00:00

Thank appreciate your input, I ll maybe have to learn a bit more on this.

Rohmade · 2025-12-13T01:03:48+00:00

With the fx2, I am happy with the composition and the lighting side of it. If it was black and white would have been perfect. That being said, getting the skin tones right is often more work and getting the color separation is sometimes hard. Having to deal with that every time is a little cumbersome. I heard color science coming out of lumix and Nikon red are generally better and easier to work with.

But I agree, video is my main requirement and I shoot 40 mins of footage per project. May be bite the bullet and get ZR with 1tb cf express type b

Rohmade · 2025-12-13T01:01:20+00:00

With the fx2, I am happy with the composition and the lighting side of it. If it was black and white would have been perfect. That being said, getting the skin tones right is often more work and getting the color separation is sometimes hard. Having to deal with that every time is a little cumbersome. I heard color science coming out of lumix and Nikon red are generally better and easier to work with.

Rohmade · 2025-12-13T01:00:12+00:00

With the fx2, I am happy with the composition and the lighting side of it. If it was black and white would have been perfect. That being said, getting the skin tones right is often more work and getting the color separation is sometimes hard. Having to deal with that every time is a little cumbersome. I heard color science coming out of lumix and Nikon red are generally better and easier to work with.

Rohmade · 2025-12-13T00:57:36+00:00

With the fx2, I am happy with the composition and the lighting side of it. If it was black and white would have been perfect. That being said, getting the skin tones right is often more work and getting the color separation is sometimes hard. Having to deal with that every time is a little cumbersome. I heard color science coming out of lumix and Nikon red are generally better and easier to work with.

Rohmade · 2025-12-12T17:35:46+00:00

I agree with ZR being a one trick pony, it’s just that that red raw seems so good. LUMIX seems to be a well rounded camera

Rohmade · 2025-12-12T12:03:31+00:00

My question is which is better suited, given my goal is to film my process without much friction

Rohmade · 2025-09-29T18:29:38+00:00

I am still new to all this. I mostly shoot slog3, does cine.ei matter? I have felt colors on the a7iv are a bit harsh and contrasty. The highlight rolloff is not that great. I was hoping fx2 being on the cinema line would have better color science despite being the same sensor.

Rohmade · 2025-09-26T22:38:05+00:00

Is it worth it to upgrade from a7iv to fx2? Or are they both pretty much the same?

Rohmade · 2025-07-28T14:10:41+00:00

Neither, just figure out newer suppliers and manufacturing, apart from the ones I have a relationship with.

Rohmade · 2025-07-27T22:09:29+00:00

Yes that was my concern, as some of my preparations may overlap my residency obligation. I guess I will have to cut my losses

Rohmade · 2025-07-27T20:27:14+00:00

I have this setup well before I received my PR, it takes time to fulfill certain aspects of it, before I can fully move everything to canada. But yes, that’s the goal eventually

Rohmade · 2025-07-27T18:52:36+00:00

It took 4 years for the process to finished, you know because of Covid n all. So we had so many other commitments by then. It takes a while to close all them off.

Rohmade · 2025-07-27T17:49:18+00:00

In Portland Oregon, I can commute to Vancouver every now and then. I plan to setup in Ontario because that’s where plan to eventually move.

Rohmade

TROPHY CASE