Messages

1

General Help Q&A / Re: Cost efficiency of the EOS M + ML setup

« on: August 25, 2022, 11:58:18 PM »

Thanks, Skinny.
I decided to go for a used Sony a6300 for my film making project. Can't risk out of focus or pink framed takes.
Will still get myself an EOS M, though. Just for the fun of it. It's cheap, it's small, it's capable and it can take nice still pics too.

2

General Help Q&A / Re: Cost efficiency of the EOS M + ML setup

« on: August 24, 2022, 11:42:53 AM »

Thanks, Walter. Your posts are always very helpful.
I will check out the price sniping tools that you recommended.
Who knows, maybe there's a deal waiting for me to complete it in Germany.

3

General Help Q&A / Re: Cost efficiency of the EOS M + ML setup

« on: August 24, 2022, 10:46:49 AM »

I can see your point, Walter. You are probably a photography enthusiast who already had a few lenses laying around.
In my case, I am starting from ground zero. I don't own any equipment and have yet to buy everything that will be needed.

By the way, where did you get your 79 Euro EOS M from? They go for around $200-$250 on eBay now, no lens included, body only.
Alternatively, you can buy at $180 from Japanese sellers and then pay extra 20% VAT plus 5% of customs tax, which creates extra hassle and makes the price go even higher than $200.
A 512 GB SanDisk Extreme Pro goes for $110-$120 on Amazon these days.

4

General Help Q&A / Cost efficiency of the EOS M + ML setup

« on: August 24, 2022, 08:59:15 AM »

So, in theory all you need is $200 for a used EOS M (with kit lens included).
Sounds affordable and very lucrative. However, then you will be forced to spend at least $350 more on a nice, sharp, wide angle lens in order to compensate for the heavy crop in higher resolutions.
And then you will need some extra $120 for a SanDisk Extreme Pro, as the EOS M + ML setup cannot use cheap SD cards.
That is a total of $670 that you simply have to spend on a rather alternative and experimental system...

For that same money (or even less) you can buy a second hand Sony a6300 (with kit lens included) that can shoot in real 4K without extra crop at 24 fps, and that will have 425 phase detection auto focus points at 0.05 sec AF speed, and will offer continuous shooting capabilities. The Sony will also perform way better in low light conditions, it will be much more stable than the EOS E + ML setup and will not cause you any headaches like pink frames or crashes.
The a6300  will also have a S-LOG profile, so you will be able to color grade all you want.

Maybe I am wrong or maybe my calculations are messed up, but the only advantage that the EOS M + ML setup has over the Sony a6300 is its capability to shoot RAW video. And that advantage can actually be a disadvantage for people who do not want to fiddle with format conversions in post.

Don't get me wrong, I am still going to get myself an EOS M, because I love the idea and because it will allow me to upgrade gradually and not throw a larger sum of money all at once.
I am just thinking if there is a way to cut the total cost of the EOS M setup down.


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5

General Help Q&A / Re: Five questions

« on: August 24, 2022, 08:34:02 AM »

Thank you so much for your replies, guys. Much appreciated!
Things are starting to make sense now.
I guess that the horizontally stretched 5K should do the job for my film making project. Or maybe even the 3X zoomed 2,8K (as long as it is continuous).

6

General Help Q&A / Re: Five questions

« on: August 24, 2022, 02:59:32 AM »

Thank you for your reply, Walter.
Regarding question N#3, I think I found the answer.  Zeek said in one of his YouTube videos that the 5K mode looks a bit soft and blurry as compared to the other modes. Makes sense.

7

General Help Q&A / Five questions

« on: August 22, 2022, 12:38:16 PM »

Hi guys, I have five lame beginner questions regarding the Canon EOS E and Magic Lantern.

1. What is a "build"?
Everybody on the internet is talking about downloading the latest "build". But is a build just another name for the latest version of Magic Lantern, or is a build some sort of of an add-on that you install after you have already installed the main Magic Lantern firmware?
Where to get the latest build?

2. Assuming that I have a good and fast SD card (SanDisk Extreme Pro), would it be possible to shoot 4K at 24fps, 10 bit continuously or will it only shoot a few seconds and then crash?
What is the highest resolution and bit rate that allows continuous shooting?

3. It is my understanding that the 5K modes in Magic Lantern are not real 5K, but are up-scaled 1080p.
Doesn't the picture quality get super bad when you up-scale 1080p to 5K?

4. What about the rolling shutter problem at high resolutions? Has it been solved or is it still present?

5. And finally: do you guys think that it would be possible to use Canon EOS M with Magic Lantern installed to shoot a short action movie where there will be lots of dynamic shots with lots of movement in them?
How good and how fast is the auto focus on ML anyway?

Thanks!