RFI WARNING: The Zoom H1 (v1) has noticeable RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) when used at less than 5 FEET from an iPhone 13 Pro max. This is a major limitation, especially for LAV use, because if the recorder is in the pocket of a groom, and they have an iPhone somewhere in their coat, this is going to cause RFI. This test was at CLOSE (3.5 inches) proximity with the MIC. BOOST at +0, the REC. GAIN at 37, the AUX. amp at LOW/Full Dial. "CLOSE" Proximity [ 3.5 inches / 8.89 cm] Zoom H1 AUX: Neoteck NTK059 Takstar SGC-598 + Foam (Stock) WAV 24-bit/96kHz REC. SETTINGS Off REC. LOWCUT Off REC. LIMITER 37 REC. LEVEL AUX. SETTINGS OFF AUX. BASS LOW AUX. HIGH-LOW @FULL AUX. OUTPUT MIC. SETTINGS Off MIC. LOWCUT N/A MIC. HIGH PASS +0 MIC. BOOST (RFI) RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE LESS THAN 1.1ft / 0.34m BETWEEN 1.1ft / 0.34m -2.2ft / 0.67m BETWEEN 2.2ft / 0.67m -3.3ft / 1m BETWEEN 3.3ft / 1m -4.4ft / 1.34m Published: April 3, 2022 at 4:10:08 PM REAL RATINGS After testing each microphone, I like to know if it sounds realistic (accurate lows/bass, mids, highs/treble) in combination with the recorder and/or AUX. amplifier, to see if it needs EQ. LOWS/BASS DO THE "LOWS" SOUND REAL? MIDS DO THE "MIDS" SOUND REAL? HIGHS/TREBLE DO THE "HIGHS" SOUND REAL? NOTES: RFI WARNING: The Zoom H1 (v1) has noticeable RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) when used at less than 5 FEET from an iPhone 13 Pro max. This is a major limitation, especially for LAV use, because if the recorder is in the pocket of a groom, and they have an iPhone somewhere in their coat, this is going to cause RFI. This test was at CLOSE (3.5 inches) proximity with the MIC. BOOST at +0, the REC. GAIN at 37, the AUX. amp at LOW/Full Dial. Remember to always monitor your audio while you're recording (using accurate headphones) because good settings can't fix bad audio. Also, these settings will not establish the exact level you'll need for every scene, but the goal is to provide a good starting point that will become clean, after adjusting in post. Additionally, these "custom settings" are used to make the Microphone-Specific EQ files work (as they won't work as intended if any of they aren't used). The EQ files were created to correct any imperfections of the microphone and/or wind protection (FOAM and/or FURRY) and were made in Audacity (the free audio editor) to make them as affordable & universal as possible.

LOOKS GOOD but need more sample footage to create and test the LUT. Any links below are affiliate links. FILTER: None Nikon 55-200 VR ADAPTER: Nikon F/G-M43 Panasonic G7 Natural "PHOTO STYLE" LENS-SENSOR LUT CONTRAST -3 SHARPNESS -1 NOISE +5 SATURATION -2 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW Standard iDYNAMIC OFF LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD Blur / Sharpen DAVINCI RESOLVE POST-PRODUCTION LENS @FULL WIDE LENS @MID-ZOOM LENS @FULL TELE REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST ? IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS ? IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR ? IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). NOTES: LOOKS GOOD but need more sample footage to create and test the LUT. The goal of our camera settings is to improve what we call the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color to create an image that looks less digital and more organic (more like film, etc). Therefore, the first step is to apply the custom settings while shooting, and the second is to add a lens-sensor LUT, to finalize the image.

REAL REVIEWS Long-term reviews of budget photo & video gear. KIT PLAN RECOMMENDATION: BASIC KIT Panasonic GX85 This image is 100% REAL, and no A.I. (or Photoshop compositing) were used to make it, and I know because I took it myself. Quality? LIGHT USE OK Yes MEDIUM USE OK Yes HEAVY USE OK No Portable? POCKET No CAMERA BAG Yes BACKPACK Yes Affordable? AVERAGE NEW PRICE $ 1,067.28 *Indicates SALE price. Amazon AFFILIATE LINK AVERAGE USED PRICE $ 462.49** **Indicates BUY NOW price. Ebay AFFILIATE LINK Common? ON AMAZON Yes ON EBAY Yes Easy To Use? SKILL LEVEL MEDIUM These reviews are just my opinion and are focused on my Q.P.A.C.E. packing method, so they're not comprehensive. I wrote these mostly to help me remember what items worked for my KIT PLANS (and which didn't). If I said anything negative I apologize, as these products still may work well for you in your situation, but they were not Q.P.A.C.E (Quality, Portable, Affordable, Common, Easy-to-Use) enough for my budget filmmaking KIT PLANS .

Something most people don't tell you about camera settings is they need to be specific to each sensor-lens combination... Filter Lens Sensor Settings Notes (None) Quantaray 50 2.8 MACRO Panasonic S9 Natural A lot of online reviewers say this lens is the same as the Sigma EX of the same specifications, and people are saying it's pretty good. However, on the camera sensor I tested it on (the Panasonic LUMIX S9) this lens isn't faring very well, for a number of reasons. Some of these problems were solved with my CUSTOM SETTINGS (and LUT) but some of them cannot be fixed, and I may need to sell it. First, I was expecting this to be a lens with a lot of SHARPNESS (because it's a MACRO lens) but on this sensor, it was not sharp enough. As an example, usually f/8 is the sharpest part of the lens, but as I was shooting around f/8, there wasn't enough SHARPNESS. Then, the weird thing is, the results were less sharp than a lot of the samples I saw of the Sigma version, that were shot at f/2.8 (and I know they were shot on different sensors, but it was strange to see that difference). Also (on this camera/sensor) the COLOR accuracy of this lens was lacking, as it doesn't seem to start with a full spectrum of color data, but the Panasonic LUMIX S9 sensor & color processing don't seem that accurate anyway. The COLOR was improved with my CUSTOM SETTINGS and LUT, but when you start out at default settings, in any picture profile, this lens-sensor combo doesn't deliver accurate color. Lastly, this lens isn't very well built...it's kind of PLAS-ticy, (which makes me think it will not LAST...likely). (None) LENS: Sigma APO Macro 70-300 4-5.6 Panasonic G85 Natural First off, there are a number of lenses with a similar external physical design to this lens, and so far this one is the best (both optically and in other ways). I tested one of the similar versions, a Quantaray with with almost identical lens markings, but printed in green. The Quantaray version did not have the MACRO function, nor did it have the APO designation, though there is more than one version of the Quantaray out there (and one with an LDO designation, which might be the same as the Sigma APO designation, but I need to test that). Second, even though I have not tested (at the time of this writing) all of the other versions, so far this is the best one (of this vintage). So, I am referring to just this physical, external lens design, not earlier or later versions of the lens. The main reason I like this version, is the optics are better (on my test with the G85) and because it has the MACRO function. One thing I was really impressed by was how the CUSTOM SETTINGS were able to render an image that has enough SHARPNESS to accurately pull focus manually (yes, the back screen on this camera is pretty accurate too) so that's good! Overall, these CUSTOM SETTINGS bring the image (video or JPEG stills) to a good starting point, but it will need a LUT to finish it, and can't be used SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera). (None) LENS: Quantaray Tech-10 70-300 4-5.6 Panasonic G85 Natural This lens was made by Sigma (but the version I tested was a Quantaray, one with green lettering). There are a number of versions of the 70-300 from Sigma that LOOK very similar, but there are a couple of differences, and a few ways to identify this version. First of all, this is not the MACRO version, and there is no MACRO switch (though it actually has the same little square panel where the macro switch is on some of the other models). Second, it is not the LDO version (Low Dispersion Optic version). So, is this version of the 70-300 lens a good lens? Well, I tested a very similar Sigma APO version on the same day (with the same camera, the G85) and the optics on the APO version were a lot better. I tested the MACRO version of the Sigma APO, which also made me not want to recommend this non-macro version, because it's just much more convenient to have macro available, if and when you need it. So, these CUSTOM SETTINGS do help make this lens better on the Panasonic LUMIX G85, but I do not recommend picking up this version if you can get either the MACRO version, or the Sigma APO version (I'm not sure if the Quantaray LDO is the same as the Sigma APO, as I haven't tested the LDO version of this lens yet). (None) LUMIX S 18-40 4.5-6.3 Panasonic S9 Natural I'm very impressed with this camera so far, but it's the first LUMIX full-frame camera I've been able to test, so it's been pretty interesting (after testing so many Micro Four Thirds bodies, which I still like). If you've used the LUTs and CUSTOM SETTINGS for the other cameras we've tested, you will feel right at home with our process...but this has the option to use REAL-TIME LUTs (so we are going to have to create some new procedures to make sure these settings can work, with or without REAL-TIME LUT)...more information to come! For the CINEPEER Weebill 3E 1. Make sure to open lens before calibrating gimbal 2. Make sure to flip out the screen (on S9) before calibrating 3. I mounted the S9 ALL THE WAY BACK on camera plate 4. The plate is positioned at 1.5 (on plate rail, for THIS LENS) 5. There are other adjustments (had to mark with a pen, for this lens) (None) Minolta AF 28-85 3.5-4.5 Panasonic G85 Natural Still testing, but so far not a good lens for this sensor... CPL Rokinon 24 3.5 Tilt Shift Panasonic S9 Cinelike D2 This was my second test of this lens-sensor combination, and last time I was using the NATURAL profile, but I found that the characteristics of this lens (color rendering, etc.) are working better with CINELIKE D2 (so that's what I use now). My use case for this lens is focused on architectural content. I'll need to create a Lightroom preset (for processing bracketed still photos) as well, because that is the traditional workflow...but I'm kind of interested in seeing if I can be a little bit innovative, and try out the real-time LUT option as well :-) (None) Quantaray 35-70 3.5-4.5 Panasonic S9 Natural I am pretty sure this is a Sigma lens (based on the identical physical design, with minor differences in the rubber grip design...and the bright green lens identification lettering). This is only my second test with the LUMIX S9, and I must say these results are really good, especially for a lens that is not well spoken of, thanks to people judging the lens by the reviews people wrote a long time ago, when the lens was used mostly on film cameras. CPL Samyang 18-28 4-4.5 Panasonic S9 Natural Stills were taken from video at: 6K, 30p, 4:2:0, 10-bit, LongGOP, LPCM, 200Mbps This was my first lens test with the Panasonic LUMIX S9, and so I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do these tests (this was done WITHOUT the real-time LUT function, so I may do another test starting with the RAW still image, then make the LUT, then figure out the remainder of the settings...not sure what the workflow is going to be, yet). I think I should test again, with -1 SHARPNESS. (None) Promaster 70-300 4-5.6 LD Panasonic G95 Natural Ok, so I'm getting used to doing tests on the G95...and this was only my 3rd test, but I'm already seeing the potential of this sensor. First of all (and I say this a lot) I have to say that image this sensor produces is MUCH different than the G85 (and GX85) and I'm getting close to saying it really is better...but the approach to the custom settings is a lot different (will explain more in later, in a BLOG post). So then, the CUSTOM SETTINGS specifically for this lens are working pretty well, and creates an image that is not perfect SOOC, but it is a really good starting point, to add a mild finishing LUT later. I've been noticing that G95 lets you push the HIGHLIGHT SHADOW curve a lot farther than the G85, without it looking wierd (the G85 goes into that fake HDR look a lot of the time, when you push it beyond -3+3 in the curves). (None) Nikon 50 1.8 D + Vivitar 2x MACRO Panasonic G95 Natural These are initial settings for use in my product studio (it's for eBay products on a white background) and so I'm not going to say these settings are good for everything, yet. Also, note that these settings are specific to using a very old Vivitar 2X MACRO teleconverter (Nikon F, AI vintage). STUDIO FLASH NOTES: To trigger the studio flash, we're firing a little flash from the hot shoe (pointing to the side) and using 1/160 shutter speed (to sync with flash) and using ISO 200 and an aperture value of f/8 (and the aperture is manually controlled on the lens barrel). Page 1 of 1 The goal of our camera settings is to improve what we call the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color to create an image that looks less digital and more organic (more like film, etc). Therefore, the first step is to apply the custom settings while shooting, and the second is to add a lens-sensor LUT, to finalize the image.

The rubber "ZEN" coating is now so sticky I can't use the push-pull zoom/focus! (It got worse after I cleaned it, note to self.) I did finish my testing, but it doesn't zoom anymore, so it's no longer useable! Other than that, this lens is sort of impressive optically, and I stopped testing some of my other old Sigma AF lenses of a slightly newer vintage (mid-1990s) because they weren't good enough optically, but THIS one is a little bit older, and I'm impressed. Any links below are affiliate links. FILTER: None Sigma 75-300 4-5.6 DL ADAPTER: Nikon F/G-M43 Panasonic GX85 Natural "PHOTO STYLE" LENS-SENSOR LUT CONTRAST -2 SHARPNESS +1 NOISE +3 SATURATION -0 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW -2+2 iDYNAMIC OFF LUMINANCE LEVEL 16-255 Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD Blur / Sharpen DAVINCI RESOLVE POST-PRODUCTION LENS @FULL WIDE LENS @MID-ZOOM LENS @FULL TELE REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST A IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS A IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE A IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR B IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). NOTES: The rubber "ZEN" coating is now so sticky I can't use the push-pull zoom/focus! (It got worse after I cleaned it, note to self.) I did finish my testing, but it doesn't zoom anymore, so it's no longer useable! Other than that, this lens is sort of impressive optically, and I stopped testing some of my other old Sigma AF lenses of a slightly newer vintage (mid-1990s) because they weren't good enough optically, but THIS one is a little bit older, and I'm impressed. The goal of our camera settings is to improve what we call the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color to create an image that looks less digital and more organic (more like film, etc). Therefore, the first step is to apply the custom settings while shooting, and the second is to add a lens-sensor LUT, to finalize the image.

Almost done testing this one...I may need less COLOR (but that is because of the issue with VLC displaying more color on a MacBook Air, I sure wish companies would prioritize color ACCURACY. Same issue with Nvidia updating their display driver on my Dell XPS17). Any links below are affiliate links. FILTER: Tiffen Black Pro Mist 1/8 Panasonic 25 1.7 ADAPTER: None (Native Mount) Panasonic G85 Natural "PHOTO STYLE" LENS-SENSOR LUT CONTRAST -1 SHARPNESS -5 NOISE +5 SATURATION -0 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW -5+4 iDYNAMIC OFF LUMINANCE LEVEL 16-255 Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT 44 RADIUS 5.6 THRESHOLD 100 Blur / Sharpen DAVINCI RESOLVE POST-PRODUCTION LENS @FULL WIDE LENS @MID-ZOOM LENS @FULL TELE REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). NOTES: Almost done testing this one...I may need less COLOR (but that is because of the issue with VLC displaying more color on a MacBook Air, I sure wish companies would prioritize color ACCURACY. Same issue with Nvidia updating their display driver on my Dell XPS17). The goal of our camera settings is to improve what we call the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color to create an image that looks less digital and more organic (more like film, etc). Therefore, the first step is to apply the custom settings while shooting, and the second is to add a lens-sensor LUT, to finalize the image.

Since my #1 tip (for making filmmaking easier) is to "always shoot with (at least) 2 cameras" one of the most important things is that my cameras work well on these dual-camera rigs. This means they need to have good IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) to minimize vibrations (unless they are used in the studio only) to be good Budget Filmmaking CAMERAS. Budget Filmmaking FILTERS & CUSTOM SETTINGS ABOVE: I used to say "My favorite filter, is NO filter at all". However, as I've tested a number of lens-sensor combos, I've found filters can help keep light within the dynamic range capabilities of some sensors! So, Do Filters Improve Image Quality (or Make It Worse)? BUDGET FILMMAKING FILTERS Tiffen This camera is the first camera I would buy, because it has good IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization) a decent sensor, weather sealing, a flip-around screen (good for vlogging) a mic input, and an EXCELLENT kit lens (the 12-60 3.5-5.6). SETTINGS Amazon AFFILIATE LINK B&H N/A Ebay SEARCH OfferUp SEARCH ALWAYS CHECK THE "USED" MARKET!

I don't like these results so far. When using this lens on a Canon DSLR, it always produced excellent results, but something about this lens-sensor combination (maybe the METABONES speedbooster) is making this look pretty bad (not realistic looking in a lot of ways). The SHARPNESS is good, but the CONTRAST and COLOR are strange. The CONTRAST makes it difficult to achieve realistic looking dynamic range, and the COLOR either looks fake when turned up, or drab when turned down. In the future I may try adding a Tiffen GlimmerGlass or Black Pro Mist filter to attempt to control the dynamic range, etc. Any links below are affiliate links. FILTER: UV (Promaster HGX) Canon 70-200 2.8 ADAPTER: Metabones XL (.64x) Panasonic GX85 Natural "PHOTO STYLE" LENS-SENSOR LUT CONTRAST -4 SHARPNESS -4 NOISE +4 SATURATION -3 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW -2+2 iDYNAMIC OFF LUMINANCE LEVEL 16-255 Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD Blur / Sharpen DAVINCI RESOLVE POST-PRODUCTION LENS @FULL WIDE LENS @MID-ZOOM LENS @FULL TELE DEFAULT Canon 70-200 2.8 METABONES XL Panasonic GX85 NATURAL -0-0-0-0 HS -0-0 CUSTOM Canon 70-200 2.8 METABONES XL Panasonic GX85 NATURAL -4-4+4-3 HS -2+2 REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST C IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS A IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE A IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR C IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). NOTES: I don't like these results so far. When using this lens on a Canon DSLR, it always produced excellent results, but something about this lens-sensor combination (maybe the METABONES speedbooster) is making this look pretty bad (not realistic looking in a lot of ways). The SHARPNESS is good, but the CONTRAST and COLOR are strange. The CONTRAST makes it difficult to achieve realistic looking dynamic range, and the COLOR either looks fake when turned up, or drab when turned down. In the future I may try adding a Tiffen GlimmerGlass or Black Pro Mist filter to attempt to control the dynamic range, etc. The goal of our camera settings is to improve what we call the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color to create an image that looks less digital and more organic (more like film, etc). Therefore, the first step is to apply the custom settings while shooting, and the second is to add a lens-sensor LUT, to finalize the image.

I’ve been working on getting my FZ1000 to look realistic, using SOOC (Straight Out of Camera) settings, and I’m pretty happy with what these settings now (and it’s REALLY EASY TO REMEMBER). These settings are mostly for 4K PHOTO mode use, so I'm also doing this so I can either use 4K PHOTO mode to grab stills, or to shoot video and be able to use it without doing color grading (though it may need a little sharpness adding in Davinci Resolve, my video editing software of choice…also super good for color grading). Note that the smaller sensor on this camera produces a little bit more NOISE than I would consider perfect, but it's not bad if you look at it as kind of an organic "film look". IMPORTANT NOTE: One setting that you have to be careful to not forget, is to set the "Luminance Level" to 0-255 (not the default setting of 16-255). The easy way to set it to 0-255, is simply to switch to 4K PHOTO mode (which will default to 0-255). You can set it without doing that, but it's a lot more difficult (I don't remember the exact sequence). I should also say, I've found ISO 200 to create the most real-looking image on this camera (maybe it's the "native ISO"?) So, if you can use ISO 200, I do recommend it even over 125 and 160, even though they're lower. The image degrades noticeably above ISO 400, and I sometimes go up to ISO 800 when needed, but be aware that it's going to look like it has more "film grain" (which isn't always bad, but it won't match your other footage, if the other footage was shot at a lower ISO). Another thing to note, is this camera doesn't work with a VND (variable ND) and so if you need to use a ND filter outdoors (to follow the 180-degree shutter rule, which I sometimes do not) the only option is using a straight ND filter (ND8 has been the best strength in my experience). This is both interesting and somewhat distressing, and the inclusion of internal ND filters in the FZ2500 seems like an admission of this issue. What happens is, at the longer telephoto focal lengths, using a VND filter makes the image look really bad; so bad, you would have to try it yourself to believe it! It's interesting that a similar thing happens with a lot of the 70-300 lenses I've tested (also at and near the long end of the zoom range). My theory is it has something to do with the enormous amount of space between the optics when the lens is in the extended telephoto position. Any links below are affiliate links. FILTER: ND8 (Gobe) Leica 25-400 2.8-4.0 ADAPTER: None (Integrated Lens) Panasonic FZ1000 Natural "PHOTO STYLE" LENS-SENSOR LUT CONTRAST -3 SHARPNESS -3 NOISE +4 SATURATION -2 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW -1+3 iDYNAMIC OFF LUMINANCE LEVEL 0-255 Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD Blur / Sharpen DAVINCI RESOLVE POST-PRODUCTION LENS @FULL WIDE .47 LENS @MID-ZOOM .46 LENS @FULL TELE .43 REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST ? IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS ? IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE ? IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR ? IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). NOTES: I’ve been working on getting my FZ1000 to look realistic, using SOOC (Straight Out of Camera) settings, and I’m pretty happy with what these settings now (and it’s REALLY EASY TO REMEMBER). These settings are mostly for 4K PHOTO mode use, so I'm also doing this so I can either use 4K PHOTO mode to grab stills, or to shoot video and be able to use it without doing color grading (though it may need a little sharpness adding in Davinci Resolve, my video editing software of choice…also super good for color grading). Note that the smaller sensor on this camera produces a little bit more NOISE than I would consider perfect, but it's not bad if you look at it as kind of an organic "film look". IMPORTANT NOTE: One setting that you have to be careful to not forget, is to set the "Luminance Level" to 0-255 (not the default setting of 16-255). The easy way to set it to 0-255, is simply to switch to 4K PHOTO mode (which will default to 0-255). You can set it without doing that, but it's a lot more difficult (I don't remember the exact sequence). I should also say, I've found ISO 200 to create the most real-looking image on this camera (maybe it's the "native ISO"?) So, if you can use ISO 200, I do recommend it even over 125 and 160, even though they're lower. The image degrades noticeably above ISO 400, and I sometimes go up to ISO 800 when needed, but be aware that it's going to look like it has more "film grain" (which isn't always bad, but it won't match your other footage, if the other footage was shot at a lower ISO). Another thing to note, is this camera doesn't work with a VND (variable ND) and so if you need to use a ND filter outdoors (to follow the 180-degree shutter rule, which I sometimes do not) the only option is using a straight ND filter (ND8 has been the best strength in my experience). This is both interesting and somewhat distressing, and the inclusion of internal ND filters in the FZ2500 seems like an admission of this issue. What happens is, at the longer telephoto focal lengths, using a VND filter makes the image look really bad; so bad, you would have to try it yourself to believe it! It's interesting that a similar thing happens with a lot of the 70-300 lenses I've tested (also at and near the long end of the zoom range). My theory is it has something to do with the enormous amount of space between the optics when the lens is in the extended telephoto position. The goal of our camera settings is to improve what we call the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color to create an image that looks less digital and more organic (more like film, etc). Therefore, the first step is to apply the custom settings while shooting, and the second is to add a lens-sensor LUT, to finalize the image.

"VLOG" Proximity [ 22 inches / 55.5 cm] Zoom F1 (NO AUX. Amplifier) Takstar SGC-598 + Foam (Stock) WAV 24-bit/96kHz REC. SETTINGS OFF REC. LOWCUT OFF REC. LIMITER "HI+" REC. LEVEL AUX. SETTINGS AUX. BASS AUX. HIGH-LOW AUX. OUTPUT MIC. SETTINGS Off MIC. LOWCUT N/A MIC. HIGH PASS +10 MIC. BOOST (RFI) RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE LESS THAN 1.1ft / 0.34m BETWEEN 1.1ft / 0.34m -2.2ft / 0.67m BETWEEN 2.2ft / 0.67m -3.3ft / 1m BETWEEN 3.3ft / 1m -4.4ft / 1.34m Published: April 29, 2022 at 3:21:22 PM REAL RATINGS After testing each microphone, I like to know if it sounds realistic (accurate lows/bass, mids, highs/treble) in combination with the recorder and/or AUX. amplifier, to see if it needs EQ. LOWS/BASS DO THE "LOWS" SOUND REAL? MIDS DO THE "MIDS" SOUND REAL? HIGHS/TREBLE DO THE "HIGHS" SOUND REAL? NOTES: Remember to always monitor your audio while you're recording (using accurate headphones) because good settings can't fix bad audio. Also, these settings will not establish the exact level you'll need for every scene, but the goal is to provide a good starting point that will become clean, after adjusting in post. Additionally, these "custom settings" are used to make the Microphone-Specific EQ files work (as they won't work as intended if any of they aren't used). The EQ files were created to correct any imperfections of the microphone and/or wind protection (FOAM and/or FURRY) and were made in Audacity (the free audio editor) to make them as affordable & universal as possible.

I-5 freeway overpass up holgate facing north to seattle from right ©2025 SilverLight Photo Co. If image is black & white, final photos or videos are in post-production (check back). I-5 Overpass on Holgate to N (RIGHT) < All Scenes Behind-the-Scenes SUPPORT US TO GET FULL BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCESS (& PRODUCTION DETAILS) GET ACCESS GENERAL NOTES (Parking, etc.) *As A.I. (artificial intelligence) started sneaking into the photo & video production industries, I decided to go for 100% realism in my work. What this means for me, is to shoot for realistic-looking photos and video content. My approach includes using custom, lens-sensor specific CAMERA SETTINGS (and sometimes lens-sensor LUTs when needed). I never use A.I. to generate images, and I don't do tricks using Photoshop. There are adjustments I make to produce more accurate PRINTS but my goal is to limit editing as much as possible.