In one Gear and Out the Other
It’s a big decision for any filmmaker or production company to switch camera systems. Mostly, you are buying into a new ecosystem which requires a complete rebuild; from camera bodies to lenses and potentially some software investment, unless you’re loaded, it’s not something to take lightly.
So, in 2022, I was faced with this predicament when Canon unexpectedly released the RF Dual Fisheye 5.2mm lens. My company, Neon8, had already invested in the Z Cam VR180 cameras for our VR video work, but this release got me dreaming of a more pleasing convergence of kit. I could use the same camera bodies for regular film and VR film as well as pro quality stills. Wow! This ‘singularity’ became a bit of an obsession.
I was lucky enough to receive the Canon R5 and the Dual Fisheye lens to test drive from Canon UK. It’s fair to say, it took a bit of getting used to. I’d used a Canon 5D MkII previously, but only for a short while and I admit, I found it very clunky for video compared to my trusty Panasonic cameras. So, I had never considered switching systems until this point. This potential camera system switch, for me, was as monumental as the career switch which got me into filmmaking. Going into the unknown is always a risk.
Jumping Ship Part I: From Audio to Visual
I started my whole videography adventure with a hacked Panasonic GH1. I’d sold a bit of my music kit and invested in an eBay purchase. I was in the pub at the time and vividly remember my regret at being the winning bidder on this red GH1 (hacked to supercharge the bitrate and improve image quality). These were the days of Magic Lantern software hacks for Canon 5Ds and the like. Cinematic videography was coming to DSLRs and mirrorless cameras and I wanted a part of it. It was Guerilla digital filmmaking for the masses. But I still thought “WTF am I doing buying this?”. I did have a hobby camera already. The Lumix GF2 was my gateway drug. It was a great little cam for family pics and understanding apertures and focal lengths, but its video capabilities were very limited.
Around this time, 2011-ish, I’d started using Adobe After Effects for some music visuals. I was also using VDMX and Ableton on a Mac to create visuals for my live set and found myself going deep with audio-visual software. I loved using the virtual camera with shallow depth of field settings and 3D objects in an After Effects compositions. I felt like I was really beginning to understand how a camera worked. It was also becoming clear to me that I was actually spending more time on the visuals than the music.
My music making had evolved to have a strong element of cinematic sensibility. From my early dalliances with 80s electro synth pieces to a much more rich and textured sound, I learned to become a sculptor of music using the DAW (digital audio workstation) as my tool of choice. It gave me access to sounds and techniques that would have been very difficult to reproduce on my own 20 years earlier.
The Micro Four Thirds Years
When I was in the epicentre of my music making, I never thought I’d ever become a filmmaker. I couldn’t see past the creative discipline I’d chosen. However, reality sometimes forces your hand. Whilst I had some small wins with my music, and I managed to become a full-time artist for a short while, it truly became a slog that began to lose its sheen. By the time I’d become a Dad, the constant hand-to-mouth financial existence became something that stifled my creativity and had me wondering what else I could turn my hand to. The lack of inspiration I felt was a call to pastures new. However, It had to be something that didn’t render everything I’d picked up in my career, as useless. Change was needed in my work and life, but I still clung for dear life onto the vision of remaining in a creative pursuit.
A very tentative start to my filmmaking career started at the back end of my music career and began to really take hold after a couple of years. By this time, I had a Panasonic GH3 (bought from Japan to eschew the 30 min record limit) and I have to say, I absolutely loved that camera. It was rock solid, produced great quality visuals and the battery life was stellar. It really was a fantastic product. By this time I also had some nice Micro Four Thirds lenses, including the Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4. Another advantage was the very portable size of the Micro Four Thirds system. The cameras and lenses were smaller (and cheaper!) than their full frame counterparts. This was especially useful in some of the environments I was filming in. It turns out one of my strengths as a filmmaker is to be that fly-on-the-wall guy. I could be invisible much easier with a GH3 than with a hefty rig sat on my shoulder. I looked like an amateur photographer and that made people feel more relaxed. I was fairly comfortable with that impression for filming in hospitals, care homes and other potentially sensitive situations, which I often found myself in.
Who’s been Full Framed?
I was happy with my lot using the Lumix Micro Four Thirds system for a number of years – in which time I was rocking a couple of GH5s for my setup. Then came Panasonic’s entry into the full frame market, so in 2019 I sold one of my GH5s and invested in the Lumix S1 with a 24-105mm f4 as my main fly-on-the-wall rig. What I loved about Panasonic was their regular firmware updates. Over the course of a couple of years the S1 gathered many features that made it a fantastic hybrid camera and left it not far short of the Netflix-approved S1H. I’d also bought a Sigma 40mm f1.4, which I have to say is one of my all-time favourite lenses. The autofocus on L-Mount camera bodies was really pretty bad, so I used it in manual focus mode quite often. I realised I loved using a general 40mm field of view, but it also became a 64mm lens when using the APS-C crop mode on the S1. I loved that versatility. The shallow depth-of-field compared with my best micro four thirds lenses (Nocticron 42.5mm f1.2 being my highlight) was also given a healthy boost.
I felt confident with my kit and the quality of the films we were making. I really had no urge to change this setup. However, I did have other creative urges; the itching to dive into VR filmmaking was taking hold.
Part II to follow…
