2019 has just started and this is our first “deals of the week” post. I went through the current deals on our partners’ websites and selected the top offers currently available, which I think could be interesting for you. Please note that some of those deals are limited in time! The B&H offers listed are for our readers based in North and South America and CVP’s offers are for our readers based in Europe. By shopping at our affiliate partners’ stores you are supporting cinema5D through our buy links, as we get a small affiliate commission when a purchase is completed. B&H: Litepanels Astra Bi-Focus Daylight LED Panel – Now $949 ($547 savings) When it comes to LED lights, there is little need to introduce Litepanels. If pricing was your obstacle for getting this daylight panel, then I’m sure that the reduced cost can help with biting the bullet. By The Way, if your preferred option is a Bi Color LED panel, then the Litepanels Astra 3X Bi-Color LED Panel is also on a special deal now for $764.95 instead of $1,045 ($280.05 savings) B&H: Spekular Travel Kit – Now $486 ($211 savings) Speaking of light and innovation, I hope you heard about Spekular. This young company signed modularity on its flag and as such, it is simply amazing what you can do and achieve when working with their kit (Read Graham’s review by clicking here). It is worth mentioning that their 2 other sets are now on special sale too. The Interview Kit is being sold for $417 ($181 savings) and the Full Star Kit is being sold for $866 ($231 savings) B&H: Core SWX HyperCore 98 Gold Mount Battery – Now $234 ($88 savings) Core SWX managed to position itself as a reputable company which produces quality products and the HyperCore 98 battery is no exception. It is powerful, accurate (the display shows exactly how much is left down to a minute and the D-tap on the battery helps a ton). Oh and when you are stuck with a power drained mobile phone, the built-in USB for charging cells might come to the rescue. B&H: FUJIFILM X-T2 Mirrorless Camera Body with Hand Grip Kit – Now $1,099 ($629.99 savings) True, the FUJIFILM X-T2 is an ageing camera, yet for some customers, in that price point, it might prove to be the perfect companion. Read my full original X-T2 review and see the short documentary I shot by clicking here. AND the camera got a significant firmware update during May 2018. It brought F-Log and high frame recording (120fps in Full HD). See my re-evaluation of the camera after installing the new firmware update by clicking here. As a side note, if you are new to FUJIFILM and looking for purchasing the X-T2 with its 18-55mm kit lens, then this combination is now on special sale too. B&H: FUJIFILM X-H1 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body with Battery Grip Kit – Now $1,299.95 ($329.99 savings) Moving one step up in the FUJIFILM APS-C camera line and the X-H1 can be proved to be an an excellent purchasing choice. Its main advantage over the other offerings from FUJIFILM is the built-in body stabilisation system. (Read my full review and see some sample footage by clicking here). It is worth mentioning that the camera just got a new firmware update which allows continuous recording in order to overcome the 4GB single video file limitation. B&H: FUJIFILM X-T3 Mirrorless Camera with 18-55mm Lens – Now $1,699 ($200 savings) It’s not for nothing that we chose the FUJIFILM as the camera of the year 2018. (See our article by clicking here). This one is simply a very enjoyable and capable working tool for both, photographers and filmmakers. FUJIFILM did a marvellous job (and a huge jump forward) by introducing this little gem. (See my camera review and sample footage by clicking here). The X-T3’s only noticeable obstacle is the absence of internal body stabilisation so in order to somehow compensate on it, this particular offering might appeal for many. Equipped with the 18-55mm kit lens, it can become a nice “All-round Street Camera”. If you already own some more advanced FUJIFILM lenses and are looking into upgrading your camera to the X-T3, then this “body only” special offer will save you $100. CVP our European partner together with Sony and Panasonic now offer “Cash Back” on selected Sony and Panasonic products CVP: SONY A6500 – price after cash back ex VAT: €901.21 (Original price: €1,177.38) If you are after a very small yet capable filming option, then look no further. The Sony A6500 might be the right tool for you. See my review and video sample by clicking here. CVP: SONY 18-110mm f/4 – price after cash back ex VAT: €2,654.85 (Original price: €2,977.05) Back in 2017 we reviewed the Sony 18-110mm f/4 lens and our conclusion was very favourable. If you take in account what this lens can do, its size, focal length and modest price, if documentary shooting is your style or you are a news shooter, then this offering might appeal to you. Mind you that the lens minimum focus distance or “fly by wire” zoom function is not ideal so please test before deciding if it is the right tool for you. CVP: PANASONIC GH5S  – price after cash back ex VAT: €1,579.29 (Original price: €1,809.43) Panasonic is known to be listening to its potential customers so bringing the GH5S to the market was no surprise. If you are looking for a very capable camera which beside its high data rate and 10bit internal recording boosts an improved lowlight capability, then this camera is absolutely a valid option. Mind you that unlike with the GH5, this model does not have an internal body stabilisation system. (See my review and sample footage from the camera by clicking here and Nino’s Lowlight comparison to the original GH5 by clicking here). Did you like this week’s deals? Did you pick something to extend your arsenal, or are your funds still depleted from end of the year spendings? Let us know in the comments!

Back in 2016, the Timelapse+ VIEW intervalometer was a huge success on Kickstarter (read our coverage here). However, the man behind it, Elijah Parker, doesn’t stop once the product is out of the door. He keeps adding features and extends the range of supported cameras. The highly popular FUJIIFILM X-T3 is now among them. To pull off a so-called holy grail shot is one of the more complicated things to do when shooting a time lapse. This technique is used to create beautiful day to night transitions (or night to day obviously). Due to the massive change of light, much more dynamic range your camera could possibly handle, you somehow need to adjust camera settings while shooting which is not an easy thing to do. Timelapse+ VIEW The VIEW intervalomter by Timelapse+ is a tiny device which makes all of this happen. It analyzes the shots already taken by the camera it is tethered to and adjusts settings over time. It offers image previews, a histogram and touch free gestures plus a glove-friendly knob on the side. You even can preview your time lapse while the camera is still recording. For this to work you need the accompanying smartphone app for the VIEW. With it you also can program so-called focus ramps. That means you can program focus pulls while shooting a time-lapse. How cool is that? The FUJIFILM X series of mirrorless cameras, including our mirrorless camera of the year –the FUJIFILM X-T3– is fully supported by the VIEW. The X-T1 X-T2, X-T3, X-Pro2, X-H1 and GFX-50s are all supported for fully automatic Holy Grail time-lapse with the VIEW Intervalometer. When combined with AF-capable lenses the ​X-T2, X-T3, X-Pro2 and X-H1 are supported for the focus ramping feature. Focus Ramping Implementing this focus ramping feature for FUJI cameras was a bit of a challenge for Elijah because Canon and Nikon cameras work differently in terms of processing focus data. He needed to come up with a solution which would work on FUJI cameras, too. The process involved some technical terms such as relative and absolute focus commands, limitations in motor movements, issues with accuracy.. you get the idea. In the end he came up with a reliably working solution and that is all that matters, isn’t it? The Timelapse+ VIEW intervalometer already supports a broad range of DSLR and mirrorless cameras and now the FUJI X series is part of that family. Other popular cameras include the Canon EOS R, the Nikon Z 7 and the Sony A7 III. The above video is from 2017, featuring the X-T1. Since then, Elijah managed to add support for all the other X series cameras, too. The VIEW is currently $419 (with GPS) or $399 (without GPS). Links: Timelapse+ | Changelog (GitHub) Do you already shoot timelapses with your X-T3? What do you think of this intervalometer? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

In this guest review, Vienna-based filmmaker Florian Gintenreiter takes a close look at this combination: the FUJIFILM X-T3 on a DJI Ronin-S. Intrigued? Read on for his hands-on impressions. FUJIFILM X-T3 – DJI Ronin S combo My preordered DJI Ronin-S came in late July and I only had my FUJIFILM X-T2 to put on the gimbal and play a bit, but the XT-2’s weak internal codec (8-Bit 4:2:2 @ 100MBit/s) was prohibitive for professional work, so I waited for my ordered Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K to arrive but it hasn’t been delivered to this date (yes I know I am not alone waiting for it!). Then — much to my surprise — FUJIFILM’s awesome X-T3 camera came out, which sports an internal codec that’s vastly superior to the X-T2, great focus-tracking and got a sleuth of other video-related improvements. I decided to upgrade from my trusty X-T2 and ordered FUJIFILM’s new flagship camera. Check out Johnnie’s hands-on review and footage from the X-T3 here in case you missed it.  FUJIFILM X-T3 equipped with the XF 16-55 f2.8 zoom lens FUJIFILM X-T3 on DJI Ronin-S Apart from our own review, the internet is full with reviews and tests of X-T3’s video and stills capabilities, so in this article I chose to focus on its usability on the DJI Ronin-S gimbal (which was also reviewed on cinema5D in an extensive hands-on and tutorial review here already). As soon as the X-T3 arrived I slapped it onto the DJI Ronin-S and started experimenting. The camera together with the FUJIFILM XF 16-55 f2.8 zoom lens was quickly balanced and handled easily by the gimbal’s strong motors. That’s the setup I took out on a first commercial job. The FUJIFILM X-T3’s vastly improved autofocus-system with enhanced face and eye detection, made it fairly easy to use on the gimbal. Of course the focus slipped here and there, but overall autofocus helped a great deal. Controlling Light I personally don’t like to use vari-NDs because they’re basically polarising filters that can make skin look waxen, the sky unevenly exposed and introduce other strange artifacts. Instead, I used a set of Gobe 77mm screw-on ND filters consisting of ND2, ND4 and ND8 on the FUJIFILM XF 16-55 f2.8 lens. They’re great because filters can be combined, and in addition, the lens sun hood can still be used and the lens-cap can be put on top of the filter. This filter set up helped me to keep the shutter speed at around 1/50 and get a decent low working f-stop. The first shoot with the FUJIFILM X-T3/Ronin-S combo went well, but two things became evident fairly soon: The gimbal is a rather heavy beast and needs to be handled with both hands using its foldable tripod as an extension of its grip. Even though the XT-3’s screen can be viewed when it is on the gimbal (which is further helped by its ability to tilt up and down), its is small and its visibility is rather poor outdoors SmallHD Focus monitor A monitor is needed The DJI Ronin-S lacks mounting points, so I cobbled something together with rig-parts I had lying around to mount my Atomos Shogun Inferno to the Ronin. Then, I installed the F-Log to Rec.709 LUT which is provided by FUJIFILM on their website onto the Shogun. That made it possible to more precisely expose F-Log, while monitoring the image with correct colors and contrast. I took this setup out on the second commercial job and it worked even better, although the Shogun’s additional weight made the rig hard to operate for a longer duration. Recording Externally on Shogun Inferno – Dropping Frames EDIT: Atomos just responded to my support ticket in a most helpful way and are working with me to narrow down the problem. Everything points to the fact that despite me using HDMI 2.0 cables they might be too slow or poorly shielded to handle the 10Bit data stream from the FUJIFILM X-T3.  I will keep you posted on any progress. As the Shogun is also a recorder I tried to record the XT-3’s 4:2:2 10Bit HDMI output to the device for even higher quality files than its internal 10Bit 4:2:0 recording, but I ran into some problems there. The Shogun kept dropping frames. I tested two different HDMI cables and ruled out the SSD I recorded to as culprits. The recordings were missing frames every couple of seconds. Fortunately I recorded everything to the XT-3’s internal cards and those recordings were fine! Through cinema5D I made FUJIFILM aware of the issue and they promised to look into it.  Also, I have informed Atomos about the problem and they have asked for details to be able to work on the problem, which I have provided. Let’s see if and when this gets fixed. It’s also possible that my XT-3 has some sort of hardware problem on the HDMI-out as I have not found anyone with a similar problem on the web. (Or maybe no one is recording externally)…. As a side note, the XT-3 formats its cards with the FAT16 file system so file size is limited to 4GB, which is about 1:22 minutes at 4K 25p 400MBit/s. For longer recordings it will split the clip into 4GB chunks that need to be stitched together in post. That’s a nuisance, but it’s frame-accurate. Because of the dropped frames, recording from the XT-3 externally is not an option for me at the moment, so I decided to stick with recording internally for the time being. The footage out-of-camera is very solid and the quality difference to Atomos recorded ProRes422HQ is negligible for my purposes. I would’t be confident doing green screen work though. SmallRig’s side handle Pimping the Ronin-S As with the X-T3, a lot has been published about the Ronin-S gimbal itself, so I won’t go into any details here. (See Nino’s full Ronin-S review and tutorial here). In a nutshell, it is an awesome piece of equipment, which plays well with the FUJIFILM X-T3 even though it is currently not yet supported to be controlled by the gimbal. When it comes to Pimping the Ronin-S, Chinese accessories company SmallRig has designed a side-handle for the Ronin that made my makeshift Shogun contraption obsolete and the Ronin much more comfortable to operate. On top of the grip is a cold-shoe and a few 1/4 and 3/8 inch mounting points for adding accessories. Because of the Shogun’s weight and problems to record the XT-3’s output I got the small, lightweight SmallHD Focus monitor and attached it to the handgrip’s cold-shoe mounting point. The SmallHD Focus — with its ability to put a LUT on the image, numerous image analysis tools like false colour, peaking, waveform, its quick touch-interface and its low weight — is the perfect monitor for being used on the Ronin. I just had to mount it upside-down, so its own bracket would be clear of the Ronin’s handle. Future Improvements Camera: I hope that FUJIFILM will consider changing the X-T3 internal recording files system to FAT32. This will allow for clips to be larger than 4GB, which will make the X-T3 an even more useful camera in general. I will also be looking into the possibility of powering the camera from the gimbal — it should be possible because the Ronin has power-taps built-in. Gimbal: I hope that DJI will add support for the X-T3 for at least start/stop control and one-shot AF. I don’t know if that’s possible but maybe they could even add support for the manual-focus-wheel like it has for the Panasonic GH5. There is already a thread in DJIs forums about that. I made sure to second the request for a FUJIFILM support there and if you’re interested in the combo, maybe you will too. DJI has announced a few accessories for the Ronin-S that have the potential to make the device even more useful: A separate battery charger, a cheese-plate, a command unit, a top-bracket, a GPS unit and most interestingly a focus-motor that can be controlled via the Ronin’s focus-knob. Nothing of this has come out yet. But the focus motor has me interested! Last but not least, I decided to get the SmallRig cage for the X-T3, which makes it possible to add an HDMI cable clamp to protect the rather flimsy micro HDMI port of the XT-3. The additional weight is not a problem for the Ronin-S. A Word on Editing For maximum quality I have recorded everything in 4K using the H.265 10Bit 4:2.0 400MBit/s all Intra codec. Even though I’m using a 18 core iMacPro with the Radeon Vega Pro GPU and a fast RAID, my system struggles with the codec, so I transcode to »Optimized Media« inside FinalCutProX or DaVinci Resolve respectively to get smooth editing speeds. FUJIFILM X-T3 – DJI Ronin S combo Conclusion This DJI Ronin/ FUJIFILM X-T3-Rig combination is something that I’m confident now to take out on any shoot. The XT-3’s really good autofocus that includes face and even eye tracking makes it a breeze to use on the Ronin even without a focus puller and a wireless focus system, which makes it ideal for one-man-band shooters. I intend to have the X-T3 and the Ronin in my trusty bus to keep handy for those jobs where budget does not allow for a larger gimbal or Steadicam, which to my opinion, it can not fully replace, yet… Are you using either the Ronin-S or the X-T3 already? Are you combining the two too? Let us know in the comments below! 

Hot on the heels of Canon’s EOS R announcement, FUJIFILM have just announced their new camera, the X-T3. If I’m not mistaken, it is the first APS-C sensor size mirrorless camera that records in 10-Bit internally. We were lucky enough to get our hands on a production model to check its video capabilities. If you are short of time, let me start with my conclusion. The X-T3 is the BEST camera FUJIFILM have ever presented, when it comes to video performance. Interested in finding out more?  FUJIFILM X-T3 A bit of History If you’ve been following the development of FUJIFILM’s cameras, I’m sure you have noticed that something very interesting is happening. From the moment the company has noticed that shooting video with large sensor mirrorless cameras is much in demand, they responded by fulfilling that demand and since then haven’t stopped refining their products. The X-T2 was their first camera to include 4K recording and F-Log picture profile (Externally first and then internally via a firmware update). Then, the X-H1 came and brought even more possibilities for the creative video shooter: In-Body Stabilisation System, Internal F-Log recording and the ETERNA film simulation picture profile, just to name a few. (See my FUJIFILM X-H1 review here). An easy way to identify what codec you are using by looking at the LCD   FUJIFILM X-T3 at ISO 8000. On top and bottom of the picture, an ungraded parts FUJIFILM X-T3, What is new (in no particular order) Now, there is a new kid in the block, one that – in my humble opinion – surpasses both, the X-T2 and X-H1 in terms of video performance. FUJIFILM have listened carefully to feedback given by filmmakers and created their best ever video orientated mirrorless camera. Including a completely new sensor and the processor behind it, led to some fundamental progress. So what is there to be so excited about? Here is a complete list of enhancements – some to be found for the first time inside any of FUJIFILM’s cameras: (Besides the H264 codec), the camera is now equipped with a new H265 codec (When a manufacturer decides on implementing 10-Bit internal recording and yet at the same time stick to a modestly priced recording media, H265 is the obvious choice) A choice between two different types of compressions. Long GOP/ALL Inter 4K, 10-Bit, ALL Intra, 4:2:0, 400Mbps internal recording (Up to 30p) 4K/60p (in H264 mode), up to 200Mbps External 4:2:2 10-Bit recording via HDMI Excellent autofocus system (Working well in lowlight conditions and slow-motion too). In addition, “Eye detection/Face detection” focusing method is functioning in video mode too Zebra pattern Simultaneous support for 4K/60P 4:2:2 10-Bit HDMI output and 4K/60P 4:2:0 10-Bit internal SD card recording The headphone jack is now built into the camera body itself, no need to purchase the camera grip for that purpose Good Rolling Shutter performance. We have measured 9ms in 4K/25p recording mode, placing the camera above FUJIFILM’s own X-T2 Good Dynamic Range. With 11.2 stops of DR, this little camera is doing rather well against its competitors. High Frame Rate Recording. The camera can do up to 120 frames per second in Full HD mode. Due to some internal changes made by FUJIFILM, the result when shooting slow-motion is better than what can be found in the X-T2 or X-H1. Mind you that the only downside when comparing that feature to the other two cameras is the greater crop factor . (1.29X vs 1.17X  ) Improved lowlight capabilities. FUJIFILM worked their magic on that front too and one can shoot comfortably up to ISO 8000. In some conditions, ISO 12,800 can be used too.  Full HD now supports double the data rate of the X-T2 and X-H1 (200Mbps vs 100Mbps) No sensor crop factor when shooting in 4K mode up to 30p. When Shooting 4K/50/60p the crop factor is 1.18X New and improved noise reduction processing Future firmware update will bring HLG HDR picture profile (BT2100) New EVF diopter lock. Small thing but very useful… Not new but worth mentioning, as so many other manufacturers are struggling to get it right: In video mode, all the related photo functions in the menu are greyed out, making it easy to concentrate on the video menu items Front tally light (A useful feature that can be found with the X-H1. Nice to see that it migrated to the X-T3). Dynamic Range Comparison   Rolling shutter chart. The X-T3 is doing well! What Could be Improved:  While there is an overall improvement in regards to the camera specifications and performance, it suffers from the absence of the following: No internal body stabilisation system. Obviously, a  smaller camera body has to accommodate a smaller IBIS mechanism which apparently was not available at the time of releasing the camera. (If I may guess, some extra functionality is needed to be reserved for the future X-H family of cameras). As with all other FUJIFILM cameras in this category, the LCD screen cannot be swivelled. (Tilted only). If you think that this type of feature should be found at lower end cameras only, think twice. This is the age of mobility and “selfies”. With such a great autofocus system, a camera with a swivelled LCD screen could have appealed to a greater number of users. Camera start time (In video mode) is too slow Some of the menu quirks that were found in the X-T2 and X-H1 were inherited by the new camera. For example, by pressing an assigned button to digitally “zoom in” for easier focusing confirmation, when starting to record, the enlarged portion of the picture will NOT “jump” back in to the actual recording perspective. The result – especially when shooting “documentary style” – can be disturbing… In long recording sessions, be prepared to have many short video clips. With such a high data rate, ALL intra, 10-Bit recording, a single video file will reach its 4GB FAT32 limit quickly 20 minutes recording time limit when shooting in 4K/50-60p but the good news is, when shooting  4K/24/25/30p the actual recording time has been increased to 29:59 min WITHOUT the grip, as opposed to only 10 mins on the X-T2″ Man at work during lousy weather with the X-T3. Photo credit: Arturs Slosbergs In the Field: By now I can say that I’ve collected enough X-T3 hours in order to share that this is a well thought through camera that has one major limitation, the exclusion of an Internal Body Stabilization System.  Once you work with such a feature you actually don’t want to look back. Other than that, this is a very easy camera to work with. Please allow me to highlight some of my favourite features: In manual focus mode, the ability to tap on the screen and instantly get an accurate focus The autofocus is simply incredible. It is fast and accurate. I’ve challenged it with fast moving airplanes and 95% of the time it worked very well. I love the ETERNA film simulation picture profile. If you need to deliver nice looking results fast, don’t hesitate using this profile. The only thing that prevented me from using it during the video above, is its reduced Dynamic Range. (We’ve measured 9 stops of DR vs. 11.2 stops when using F-Log). On such a cloudy day, I needed every extra stop so the decision was easy…. Sound quality. In the above video, I did not use the internal audio recording option as my system was wireless and suffered from some interferences, but overall, the sound quality coming out of this little camera is impressive. There are enough buttons to assign different purposes to. On top, the LCD screen can serve as 4 “additional buttons”. Just assign a movement to it (Up, down, left, right) and there you go with additional functionality. The current slow motion option is truly nice. (1080 up to 120fps). I was surprised to see how well it was upscaling into my 4K timeline. The native camera ISO is 640. In case you are stuck outdoor with no ND filter around, there is a way to lower the ISO all the way down to 160 (at the expense of DR) I’m sure that many of you are wondering if I had any overheating issues. Well, during my work I did not encounter such a problem, but saying that, only time can tell if this issue actually exists. FUJIFILM X-T3. Photo credit:Arturs Slosbergs Conclusion  It is no secret that FUJIFILM is heavily invested in making affordable cinema lenses for E (Sony) and X (FUJIFILM) mounts (MK and MKX series of lenses). In my opinion, this is guaranteeing us that FUJIFILM will not stop here. Further more, by introducing the first ever APS-C sensor size camera that can shoot 10-Bit video internally, FUJIFILM is positioning itself at the forefront and becoming a serious candidate to consider when thinking of shooting video on a mirrorless camera. It is one of those companies that have no higher video market share to protect and as such, they are free to move forward as fast as their R&D capabilities and budget allows. This particular camera should get some love and attention from the filmmakers community. For the users who are heavily invested in lenses from other brands, I can only hope that some sort of a program can be established by FUJIFILM or alternatively, some other solution can be found in order to make people actually try it. We hear a lot about the love for a particular  “color science”. This camera can easily produce “analogue looking” images and further more, if you take photos with it, in my opinion, it is the one that looks less digital. FUJIFILM X-T3 Movie Recording Modes About the Above Video The shooting conditions at Radom airshow were FAR from being perfect. Rain, clouds and lots of noise made it challenging to execute, but all in all the camera performed well. On a few occasions, the camera froze and I had to turn it off and on again in order to revive it, but I could not isolate the problem. (It happened during shooting in different frame rates and resolutions). I want to believe that using a non-final firmware version was the issue. (It will be useful to hear about that from other users, in case they face a similar problem after getting the camera with the final firmware version installed).  Camera Settings F-Log picture profile. Sharpness and Noise Reduction turned down to -4, Mainly H265, ALL Intra 400Mbps DCI 4K/25p. (At times I’ve used H264 codec, 4K50p, 1080/100p). Grading is a very subjective thing… I chose FilmConvert for this job. (FJ Prov 100). Some shots were stabilized in post. You can Download an ungraded version of this video for you to explore and grade by clicking here. Edited on Adobe Premiere CC latest edition.  Lenses/Filter used FUJINON XF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6 R LM OIS, FUJIFNON XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS PZ,  FUJINON XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR,  FUJINON XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS, FUJINON XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR, Heliopan 82mm Variable Gray ND Filter (This filter tends to soften the image a bit, but I like it as it kills the “video harshness”) The music used in the video above is courtesy of Music Vine. Get 20% off with code C5D20 (valid until 31st March 2019). Music tracks: “a new tomorrow” by Clemens Ruh, “Blood and sand” by Monobox, “Discovery” by ak, “Fires on the horizon” by This patch of sky, “Skyride” by Josh Stewart The Baltic Bees Jet team – Photo credit: Arturs Slosbergs A special thanks to the entire Baltic Bees team (Pilots, technicians, Arturs and Laura). Without their support it wouldn’t have been possible to complete this project. Head to www.balticbees.com to learn about their activities. By the way, if you are a pilot and looking to join an aerobatic team, drop me a line and I’ll connect you to the guys. What do you think about the new FUJIFILM X-T3 camera. Do you find it interesting enough for shooting video? Share with us your thoughts in the comment section below. 

FUJIFILM is in the process of significantly expanding its range of interchangeable lenses for mirrorless cameras. Next up is the FUJINON XF 8-16mm f/2.8 zoom lens. It is due in November, but some specifications have already been published. Let’s take a quick look at it! The new FUJINON XF lens seems to be a pretty impressive ultra-wide zoom with a consistent f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range. Apart from this lens there’s another yet to be released lens: The FUJINON XF 200mm f/2 along with a new 1.4x teleconverter. FUJINON XF 8-16mm f/2.8 This  lens is not quite ready for shipping, yet. But, and that’s part of this post’s purpose: We have a prototype of the lens at the office and certainly will put it through its paces. Until then, let’s look at the specs of this upcoming ultra-wide zoom. First up, this lens sports a FUJIFILM X-mount, obviously. If we want to convert the focal length range to the “normal” 35mm equivalent, we have a zoom range of 12mm to 24mm. The FUJINON XF 8-16mm f/2.8 zoom consists of 20 elements in 13 groups and that includes 4 Aspherical elements, 3 ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements and 3 super ED elements. The whole thing weights 805g and is 121.5mm long while the lens diameter measures 88mm. Lens elements and rubber weather sealings (shown in green). The iris is made out of 9 rounded blades which can be adjusted in 1/3 EV steps. Minimum focus distance is 25cm, measured from the film plane, so don’t expect a macro lens here. Auto focus is also available, of course and, according to FUJIFILM, it’s high-speed and quiet. Let’s hope it is! There’s also a decent amount of weather sealing going in in this lens, so it seems to be a perfect companion for some serious outdoor shooting. FUJIFILM claims it will be fully operational down to -10°C/+14°F. Pricing This lens is already listed on B&H and as we approach this years November you can get the FUJINON XF 8-16mm zoom for about $2.000. The other new lens, the FUJINON XF 200mm f/2.0, a 200mm prime with an impressive f/2 aperture will be available in November, too. The kit with the lens and the 1.4x teleconverter won’t be cheap: almost $6.000 need to be spend. If you are into video shooting, the perfect companion for these lenses, the FUJIFILM X-H1 mirrorless camera, sells for about $1,650. Links: FUJIFILM Blog | Lens Roadmap Are you a FUJIFILM shooter? Let us know what you think about the addition of this new wide angle lens in the comments below!

The New SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 Anamorphic Adapter was just announced during this year’s Cine Gear, enabling simple conversion of a broader range of traditional spherical lenses into 1.33x anamorphic. SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 Anamorphic Adapter and FUJIFILM’s MK 50-135mm lens Anamorphic conversion is widely popular and the name SLR Magic regularly gets mentioned when discussing this subject. Their SLR Magic Anamorphot 1,33x–40 adapter has been out for some time. This adapter offers a simple solution for converting small still lenses into anamorphic lenses (we reviewed it here). The new SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 is bigger, adapting to more widely used lenses, and as stated by SLR Magic, was optimised to work with FUJINON’s MK range of zoom lenses. SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 Anamorphic Adapter in a Nutshell This screw on anamorphic adapter that is meant for existing spherical lenses was developed to fit and work well with FUJIFILM’s MK series and SLR Magic’s own micro primes (Just to name a few).  It accepts bigger lenses than the already existing SLR Magic adapter. (82mm front thread, up to 65mm front diameter). The Adapter has a 112mm screw front with 114m clamp on the front for universal mattebox compatibility and a front thread that will alternatively allow the use of screw in filters and diopters. The adapter has a separate focus ring, so dual focus operation is required. SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 Anamorphic Adapter How Does it Work? For those who don’t know how an anamorphic adapter works: the SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 is a lens adapter that screws directly onto the front of your existing lens (the receiving lens). The receiving lens needs two meet two reuirements  for compatibility – It has to have a 82mm front diameter thread and the front glass element should have a diameter which is no greater than 65mm. The adapter then converts your image by a factor of 1.33x – which, when coupled with a 16:9 plane, equates to the popular 2.35:1 aspect ratio. 1.33x versus 2x What is good about a 1.33x anamorphic adapter is that it works on 16:9 sensors – it is therefore much more compatible. 2x anamorphic needs a 4:3 sensor to work ‘properly’ (there’s a way to work around, but in general, this is the requirement). 2x is more traditional and applies more stretch to the image; therefore some aesthetics related to anamorphic (such as oval out of focus detail) is more apparent. Focus Ring Similar to some other anamorphic adapters, the SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 has its own focus ring. Whilst the Anamorphot 1.33x-40 only had a two-setting ring  (general use and macro), this one requires constant focus adjustment like a normal lens, meaning you have to adjust the focus on both the anamorphic adapter and the receiving lens, making it possibly tricky to track focus during takes. For anyone familiar with anamorphic adapters, dual focus rings aren’t uncommon. Like with many cost-effective solutions, there are often drawbacks, but we were told by SLR Magic that they worked hard to improve focus adjustments on the adapter itself, with calibrated and accurate focus markings, minimizing the need to “guess” where the optimal focus position is in correspondence with the taking lens. FUJINON Collaboration Naturally, SLR Magic state that their new Micro Primes are the perfect match for the SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x-65 anamorphic adapter, but rather surprising, is the additional collaboration with the lens manufacturer FUJINON. “We are proud to announce that we have collaborated with FUJIFILM, and optimised this new adapter for their ever so popular MK range of zooms, namely, the Fujinon MK 50-135mm T2.9… When mounted on a FUJINON MK 50-135mm, the integration of the adapter to lens appears like a singular unit.” Specification SLR Magic Anamorphot 1.33x – 65 Lens Type: Anamorphic adapter Front thread will allow the use of screw in filters and diopters Front diameter for Matte Box: Φ114 Objective front filter thread: Φ112 Objective rear filter thread: Φ82 Lens Coating: Multi Coated Close Focus: dependent on receiving lens compatibility (4 feet when using the FUJINON MK lenses) Weight (oz./g): 780g I’m very keen on trying this new product. I have a decent amount of experience with SLR Magic’s anamorphic products and by collaborating with FUJINON I am hoping to see a matured, high quality adapter that can produce great looking images. Pricing and availability The Anamorphot 1.33x-65 anamorphic adapter will cost $1,499 and be available at the end of June. SLR Magic special offer for Cine Gear 2018 SLR Magic is currently offering a trade-in price program for SLR Magic Anamorphot customers and early adopters for a limited time only. You can email them directly for more details and eligibility. Nino is currently in L.A , covering Cine Gear, so expect a short hands-on review here at cinema5D soon. A more in depth review featuring the new SLR Magic adapter together with a FUJINON MK lens will be published towards the end of June. What are your thoughts about the new Anamorphot 1.33x-65 anamorphic adapter. Will you consider buying it together with a FUJIFILM MK lens and a Sony a7X camera in order to create an affordable anamorphic working solution? Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.  

UPDATE, May 17th: FUJIFILM has pulled down their newly released 4.0 firmware due to malfunction. None of the discovered problems are video related. For more information head to the full press release here: http://www.fujifilm.com/news/n180517.html FUJIFILM has just announced a firmware update for its popular X-T2 camera. The update contains the much anticipated internal F-Log recording, 120fps in full HD mode and more! Man at work It is nice to see that FUJIFILM has listened to their customers, who requested internal F-Log recording in order to upgrade the quality of their work, especially after including that features in the newer FUJIFILM X-H1. If you have been following our recent FUJIFILM coverage, you know that we’ve already hinted towards the arrival of an internal F-Log recording for the X-T2 back in November 2017 when interviewing Watanabe-san of FUJIFILM. I’ve already tested and reviewed the X-T2 back in 2016, so although this is not a full X-T2 review, I’ve decided to take it for a spin and see how well (Or not) it behaves with the new firmware update and check if it can match with the newer X-H1 performance, when it comes to shooting video. The advantage of using F-Log (Taken from the timeline. Click to enlarge) Why would we want record in “F-Log” log-gamma mode? In a nutshell, the are two main reasons as to why to shoot in this mode. The first one is to get the best available dynamic range the camera can provide. This will allow for the opportunity of recovering highlights and seeing details in the darker areas of the image in a better way. The second reason is the possibility to paint the footage and color correct the recorded flat images to your liking. Look at the above slide taken from the timeline and see the highlights in the background. This shows the difference between an image with  “backed color” (Left) and one that a LUT was applied to (Right). It’s easy to spot where the highlights are preserved in a better way.   Dive into the FUJIFILM X-T2 menu, in VIDEO MODE FUJIFILM X-T2 in the filed (New firmware related observation): If you are familiar with FUJIFILM’s camera menu, then setting up the X-T2 won’t be a problem although one might find it challenging to locate the new F-Log settings. Unlike with the X-H1, this option is buried in a sub menu (4K MOVIE OUTPUT) and not on the front MOVIE SETTING page. I can suspect that due to a hardware limitation, this option could not be brought to the front menu page. When it comes to grading the F-Log footage itself, I’ve gotten a bit of a mixed bag results, especially when referring to skin tones. (I can relate what I see to 8bit color sampling limitation). As the firmware is now available to download I’m actually very curious to hear and see what people will come up with. (I’ll update this post with my observation after double checking the footage I’ve got). One more thing to be aware of is the possibility to get “turn off and on again” error note. I got this message multiple times during my shooting day and I could not determine why it is happening. On the positive side, the new 1080/120fps setting really looks good! (The footage in my video is all upscaled to 4K in order to match the rest of the timeline setting). Last but not least, the ability to enlarge and customize the location of indicators or information in the viewfinder and/or LCD monitor is a superb thing. I guess you have to be over a certain age in order to appreciate such a feature….. FUJIFILM X-T2 vs. X-H1 (Video mode): Although the bridge between the cameras has just been narrowed, to my opinion the upper hand still goes to the X-H1. With its higher data rate recording, Internal body stabilization, the possibility to shoot in ETERNA film simulation mode out of the box and touchscreen autofocus (Just to name a few), the X-H1 certainly has the lead. FUJIFILM Firmware Ver. 4.00 Update – Key Features: Internal F-log to SD card recording function. Addition of 1080p 120 frames per second mode. Compatibility with the newly developed FUJINON MKX18-55mmT2.9 and FUJINON MKX50-135mmT2.9 cinema lenses. Aperture information can be displayed on the monitor. The upgrade allows users to select T-stop or F-stop. The upgrade allows users to check the focus distance with the distance indicator shown in the monitor. Automatically corrects the distortion and the color/brightness shading. Camera automatically calculates the White Balance based on the lens position and delivers the color expressions with Film Simulation modes. Ability to enlarge and customize the location of indicators or information in the viewfinder and/or LCD monitor (this feature is newly available for all cameras that get the firmware update). Conclusion: FUJIFILM did well in listening to their customers by giving “new life” to one of their most popular cameras. All in all, this is a capable video shooting device that can perform well when treated right. (Don’t forget to take a stabilized lens or a tripod with you when out and about). I also have to highlight the camera’s sound quality! To my opinion, FUJIFILM is doing exceptionally well when it comes to sound recording in the X-T2 and X-H1 compare to other stills cameras manufactures.   The “caffe latte” part of the above video was shot on FUJIFILM X-T2, F-Log enabled and was edited in Adobe Premiere latest edition. Color graded with FilmConvert (X-T2 F-Log profile). Downloads:  FUJIFILM X-T2 firmware Ver 4.00. ETERNA LUT for F-log, Ungraded version of the video to play with. (Then press the download button). Many thanks to Dinah, her family and the staff at caffe latte. Find out more about the place by clicking here. Music by Art-List Tracks: Clear Skies by Rex Banner and DuDa by Gran Torino What do you think of the new FUJIFILM Firmware update? Are there any X-T2 users who are welcoming the F-log feature? Let us know in the comments below.

The FUJIFILM X-H1 flagship camera is now shipping and it is nice to see that FUJIFILM has kept its promise to deliver an ETERNA LUT in time for its F-Log gamma picture profile.  ETERNA – The new film simulation by FUJIFILM In my FUJIFILM X-H1 review you could see some sample footage taken with the included ETERNA film simulation picture profile, which – to my eyes – was very pleasant to look at. Now, shortly after hitting the market, FUJIFILM is offering three free LUTs for downloading. One of them is the ETERNA LUT, which will bring your F-Log “flat” image to look as if it it was shot with the original ETERNA film simulation picture profile (some visual differences may occur depending on the filming environment). It is worth mentioning that the FUJIFILM X-T2 does not have the ETERNA film simulation picture profile built-in, although it can record in F-Log mode when connected to an external recorder. So if you are after the ETERNA look when filming with the FUJIFILM X-T2, this is a nice solution for you. Speaking of the which: if you had a chance to look at the interview I did with Jun Watanabe-san form FUJIFILM, it is encouraging to know that they are seriously considering adding an internal F-Log to the X-T2 camera. Let me add that I wish that the ETERNA film simulation picture profile should be considered too… For more information, please head to FUJIFILM’s download page. If you already had a chance to use the new ETERNA film simulation picture profile in your project, share your opinion with us!