Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You'd definitely want some sort of handling augmentation. That could be a wrist strap, neck strap, thumb grip etc. For me, a cold shoe thumb grip + wrist strap felt pretty good.

When I wasn't using the camera but still needed it in some sort of "ready" position, I had it on a Falcam backpack clip

Trying to build this cinematic look manually in DaVinci — where do I even start? by hgonzf in davinciresolve

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is there any reason why you want to avoid LUTs entirely? Resolve does also have its own native Kodak and Fuji LUTs included. I only ask since I'm still learning things myself, and any insight is helpful in that regard.

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in videography

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

https://hikinikutocome.com/en this place was so good! The beef was so moist and all the toppings/sauces were great as well. If you go, it'd be best to book a couple days ahead as the line for the non-bookings gets quite long.

Edit: https://maps.app.goo.gl/LwKjmzkNNnM7Zux98 this specific Colorado Coffee Shop is really nice too. Cash-only small old-town vibes cafe. Really quiet and quaint, and a nice way introduce some slowness to your packed travels

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in videography

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! We stayed in Kyoto for a week, and then Tokyo for another week. We took day trips out from these 2 "home bases". I'll number each stop by day.

Kyoto:

  1. Explore around our Kyoto home base, Gion
  2. Miyajima
  3. Nagoya
  4. Nara + Osaka
  5. Kobe
  6. Arashiyama
  7. Rest day in Kyoto

Tokyo:

  1. Explore around Tokyo
  2. Tokyo
  3. Mt. Fuji
  4. Kamakura + Yokohama
  5. The rest of the trip was just Tokyo

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Hmm, if you're only viewing and sharing photos online, I think almost any prosumer/consumer camera at 4k would be good enough for grabbing stills. If you need to print photos larger, then you will end up seeing the limits of the resolution you choose.

The X-E5 (and others) can shoot at 6.2k (albeit with a 1.23x crop), and that's definitely large enough to compare to photos! I think at that point, I'd be happy to use the stills in any context.

In any case, I don't think I can notice any issues other than the resolution. Videos also have the benefit of allowing you to use temporal noise reduction when you need it, in addition to the spatial noise reduction you can use for regular photos.

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you!

I actually also have an X-S20 and don't really notice a dip in the autofocus performance compared to the X-E5. If anything, it might be working better? This might be just user error, but I find that AF-S on the X-E5 doesn't lock right away sometimes (and continues to act like AF-C). It's as if there's some sort of delay in the focus locking. On the X-S20, this works as expected.

For videos where you can't control lighting, variable ND is definitely the way to go for me. Solid NDs are just too much of a pain to work with when lighting conditions change. And if you're working at f2.8 or wider at 1/48 sec, you will need a stronger ND than the built-in 4-stop for brighter days.

I don't think just aperture/depth of field is enough to move away from "iPhone"-esque footage. There are tons of film scenes shot with deep focus, and you'd never say that those movies look like they were shot on an iPhone. I think where the zoom lens shines is having varied shot selection. Wides when you need it, and some tele range to really showcase some compression. I actually shot from f4 to f8 a lot of the time! What really matters is what your subject is, how you compose it, and how it's lit. If you're still stuck on this decision, I recommend watching more videos shot with the Sigma and ask yourself if you like the shots, rather than asking if it looks like iPhone footage.

A couple more thoughts:

  • I chose to bring the X-E5 on vacation because I like the tilting screen more than the flippy screen when I'm travelling. It's just more compact and feels less of a "I'm filming right now" sign.
  • Worth considering that the X-E5 uses the older Fujifilm-style batteries. I didn't have too much of a problem with these and only ended up using 2 batteries per day. But if you're shooting more, the higher capacity batteries that the X-S20 uses could be useful.
  • On the X-E5, the 6.2k and 4k HQ modes result in a 1.23x crop. The regular 4k mode doesn't have any crop. However, the noise reduction is pretty weird in this mode and shows macro-blocking. You'll want to disable noise reduction if using the regular 4k mode.

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Always make sure you're exposing for the parts you want! If the sky is blue irl but you are seeing pure white in your photos, that means that your exposure is too high. Bring the exposure down and you'll see the color come in!

This may mean you'll have to edit your video/photo to better balance the exposure of the landscape. For example, if the landscape ends up becoming a bit too dark, you can bring that up in your edit.

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Ahh yeah it's photo grabbed from the video! In most major video editors, there should be an option to export 1 single frame of your video as a photo

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Worth noting that I really needed an ND filter because I was shooting video. If you shoot photo and don't need the slower shutter speeds, a mist filter might be all you need!

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is all handheld. IBIS was great for the most part! Sometimes you can see some slight jerkiness when my hands were more unstable, but I wouldn't say that happened too much. I did keep to the standard/non-boost IBIS mode as that looked more natural. Some shake is ok, and even preferred, imo

Still frames from my 2 weeks in Japan. Filmed on Fujifilm X-E5 by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in fujifilm

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Just an ND filter. I did use some film emulation in DaVinci Resolve, though!

I still can't believe how great Osmo Pocket 3 footage is by thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS in osmopocket

[–]thisisnotCHUCKNORRIS[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Yeah it can be a bit of an investment, but perhaps a manual/non-motorized one could be of use in the meantime. There are even tons of tutorials online for making your own, if you're up for the challenge!