What Camera Should I Buy?
Added 2018-08-14 11:17:09 +0000 UTCWith my savings for new camera gear growing each month, it'll soon be time to decide exactly what to buy :)
I've been researching a number of camera and lens combos for a while and there are a few possibilities to choose from, each with some flaw and area of speciality.
Before I decide anything, I thought it would be nice to get the opinions of the people who have/will be funding the new gear :)
So my questions for you is, what do you think is most important?
1. Brute force resolution - e.g. 25k or even 32k HDRIs.
2. Low-light capabilities - cleaner night HDRIs with the stars; lower noise.
3. Shooting speed - Fewer artefacts from moving subjects, especially clouds and sunsets; more accurate and consistent lighting; shoot in places without attracting as much attention; less likely to miss opportunities.
Let me know using the form here: https://goo.gl/forms/bBHlfifrhsI3I8I12
Solving one of these issues is trivial, but solving two or even all of them at once is where things get complicated. So if I know what your priorities are, that'll help me decide what to go for.
For reference, this is my current gear:
- Canon 600D (18 MP APS-C sensor), using Magic Lantern for exposure bracketing.
- Canon 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 lens (always shot at 10mm).
The limitations of my current gear are:
- Maximum resolution - 16k (my current max) seems like a big number, but without dedicated backplates it's only high-res enough to stay sharp when using a 35mm camera in your 3d software rendering at 1080p. Zoom in any more and it becomes pixelated. I do however already shoot backplates fairly often when it's important, negating this issue.
- Awful low-light quality - wonder why I don't shoot more nighttime HDRIs? This is why. It's a crop-sensor with a maximum aperture of f/4.5. Noise is everywhere.
- Slow shooting speed - the 600D has a tiny buffer and slow processor, meaning sometimes ~5s delays between shots, giving time for the scene to change around me (e.g. clouds/people/light moving) even during consecutive exposure brackets. This can lead to artefacts, inconsistent lighting in the final image, and missed opportunities.
So clearly what we want is to solve some or all of those problems, without introducing any serious new ones.
Comments
Hi :)
Poly Haven
2018-09-06 09:27:10 +0000 UTChi
Yulduzxon
2018-09-06 06:16:20 +0000 UTCYep, resolution and bitdepth. I don't remember what I said in that video, but I don't need to write metadata to the EXRs (HDR can't store metadata either). I use RawTherapee to write the raw files to linear tiffs (which do have metadata), then merge those exposure brackets in blender to EXRs. I don't really trust PTGui's merge algorithm. I probably just don't know how to use it properly, but it gave me questionable results and makes the whole stitching process extremely slow since you're dealing with over 100 raw images instead of just a couple after merging. Philip has a Sony RX100 V, which can do 1/32000 and has a built-in ND filter.
Poly Haven
2018-08-30 09:53:18 +0000 UTCOooh waw, i didn't realise that, so it's only the resolution that really affects vram usage? In the live stitching video, if i remember correctly, you are not using EXR for the workflow? Is it now the case / a part of the ’new’ workflow you are developing? Did you found a trick to write metadata to EXRs files? What do you think of the hdri merging algorithm inside PtGui? Is it good enough to have accurate enough hdris? Is it ok to do all the : tiffs bracket merging + stitching + final export, inside of Ptgui? So what kind of fancy camera Philip has? Will the new workflow include the new equipment ?
Nikola
2018-08-29 08:58:00 +0000 UTC
