Comments after 20 hours of use at DVinfo.net

Chris Harding · January 26th, 2013, 06:57 PM

Hi Guys

Well so far I have clocked up 20 hours on the EA-50 with 4 weddings now using it as the B-Cam and around 10 Realty shoots at various locations and so far so good.

I have learnt (the hard way) that even the stock lens has a fair amount of shorter DOF compared to a small sensor camera so I have had to take that into account. Normally I just "point and shoot" on stuff like speech cutaways and if the framing includes someone's head fairly close to the camera and then people at a table a bit further away, with small sensors everything is in focus whereas with the 50 you do need to be careful of which people to include in your frame...the overall look is much nicer though and I'm sure Don which find my comments useful for his weddings.

This will probably horrify the purists but so far I'm shooting in FX mode (50i) only and the results are good.
In low light with the stock lens the iris obviously varies with zoom but I find that up to 24db gain the image is pretty much noise free .... 27db has visible noise and 30db is not really acceptable at weddings as you have speckles all over the place.

Already mentioned, a 50mm prime didn't work at all for my style of shooting ..I had to be just too far away so I'm picking up a 19mm Sigma F2.8 on Tuesday and with give that a whirl...I think it might be very nice for doing weddings and still keep a reasonable mic to subject distance for live interview audio.

With the videolight battery behind the shoulder pad along with the receiver, balance is very nice. (Don you might not need your ENG rig at all..I haven't used mine since the cam is lighter and more stable too)

Overall I'm pretty happy with performance and end result at this stage so shortly a second EA-50 is on the cards as soon as my busy period slows down a bit!

Anything you guys here find you like/don't like?

Chris

Chris Harding · January 27th, 2013, 04:19 AM

Just thought of another issue I noticed last night shooting in full auto (yeah I was a bit tired by then and it's an easy way out)

The EA-50 a couple of times when using a video light actually switched the shutter to 1/100th rather than 1/50th and applied extra gain to compensate ..I would have thought that 1/50th at F3.5 and 0db gain would be a better setting than 1/100th at F3.5 and 15db gain ... What I normally do when I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed is at the reception just switch the cam to manual BUT I only turn off shutter and keep it locked at 1/50th and then let gain and iris work the rest out!!

If you are using the cam in bright sun without ND's then in auto the camera seems to favour a lower shutter like 120th and an iris of F16 so I normally up the shutter to 1/400th so I can get the iris in a better sweet spot.....Actually in bright sun I find the it underexposes a bit since it's getting too much light!! Quite often on clips shot outside and in the sun (at weddings you sometime have no choice!) I find I have to lift Gamma level from 1.00 up to 1.22 to make the image look normal.

Chris

Peter Rush · January 27th, 2013, 09:57 AM

I love the DOF - nice enough to isolate the subject but less than the 5D, which I find hard to manage so that's a thumbs up! some operation similar to my previous Sonys so that's good - I don't like the mic cable retainer as it doesn't live up to it's description as it just pops out all the time plus the cable is in the way. I might revert to my Rode NTG-2 and route the cable underneath.

My weddings pick up again next month so I've had little chance to 'really' use it but I'm happy using it without the viewfinder as it's what I'm now used to, but a sun hood for the LCD screen would be helpful - I might try and fashion one.

Chris Harding · January 28th, 2013, 08:12 AM

Hi Peter

Is that the little plastic clip with two slots in it to the right of the handle at the back?? Mine is useless too and my mic cable pops out constantly!

If you start to use the camera on your shoulder with the loupe tube, do yourself a favour and stick a square of the rigid "briefcase" foam between the LCD and the body..it stops the tube and LCD trying to fold inward .... it's temporary but it works for me so far. My piece is 35mm wide and 45mm high and deep.

Chris

Neil Chamberlain · January 31st, 2013, 01:10 PM

Re the sun hood - I know it's cumbersome but the viewfinder splits of course. When the lens bit is angled down it makes for an OK sunshade on the LCD screen - I used it like that on a few exteriors on a recent corporate and, tho' not ideal, was fine.

Peter Rush · February 1st, 2013, 02:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Harding

Hi Peter

Is that the little plastic clip with two slots in it to the right of the handle at the back?? Mine is useless too and my mic cable pops out constantly!

If you start to use the camera on your shoulder with the loupe tube, do yourself a favour and stick a square of the rigid "briefcase" foam between the LCD and the body..it stops the tube and LCD trying to fold inward .... it's temporary but it works for me so far. My piece is 35mm wide and 45mm high and deep.

Chris

Yes that's it Chris - as my mother would say 'neither use nor ornament!' I'm going to use my Rode mic and route the cable underneath - the supplied short cable untethered will drive me mad.

Neil - I'm so used to using LCD screens now as I rarely shoot from eye level that a sun hood is very important - fortunately the loupe-tube comes off with 2 small screws leaving me a perfect hood! Very Happy!

Chris Harding · February 1st, 2013, 03:08 AM

Hi Pete

Yeah that is the most useless clip I have ever seen... and yes, the darn Sony cable is too short to re-route too.

OK, I'm interested..how do you do an outdoor event in bright sunshine without the loupe tube?? I also have another issue in that I need glasses (or the loupe) to see the LCD sharply...I do have some neat little fresnel lenses that would drop over the lcd very well too..... With me, I alway seem to be in a position where all the bright light is shining directly onto the LCD and I cannot see a thing. However I might try dropping down the loupe in a Church where it's dark. Wedding receptions are also pretty dark so that also might be an easier way to watch what you are filming ..Just bear in mind that I shoot 90% on the shoulder!!

Chris

Peter Rush · February 1st, 2013, 04:01 AM

Chris I was very much old school, being brought up initially on 16mm and then onto Panasonic DP800 and JVC (urgh!) DV500 and was pretty happy using the VF but when i moved onto my Sony Z1 and FX1 cams, they were the first cameras I'd used with flip-out LCD screens and I found them quite liberating - so much so that my shooting style changed considerably and I love trying to film from unusual angles - quite often I'm walking behind the bride with the camera just a few inches from the floor to get the flow of her dress, or holding it high over the suit guys as they raise their glasses!

Bright sunlight meant using the viewfinder until I fabricated a sun hood which did the trick. I also like sometimes to interact a little with the people I'm filming, which seems a little harder if my camera is attached to my face.

Bright sunny days are not as common over here as they are for you Chris but I have purchased the Genus ND fader which I'll try out at the weekend If i've time.

Steven Digges · February 1st, 2013, 07:54 PM

Same here Pete, I thought a good ol sharp B&W view finder was all I would ever need. Now in resent years I am spoiled by LCD screens. I was thinking about buying a shade but your post reminded me I have a ton of old camera bag dividers out in my AV bone yard I can make one out of. I love the little gems I pick up on this forum.

Steve

Chris Harding · February 1st, 2013, 10:01 PM

Hi Steve

Believe it or not black foam board is remarkably durable too and ultra light..(got from the art and craft store)

I actually made my loupes with an eyepiece and just a foam board box ..stuck with a hot glue gun and it lasted all season too. It's also virtually weightless and two rubber bands hold it on the LCD. I use that on my Panasonic AC-130's very successfully!!

Chris

Robert Moran · February 5th, 2013, 10:22 PM

I've used the camera for about 30 hrs on various shoots from town meeting to doing nature videos and video of local musicians and thus far, it works well. The DZ is key in my work as framing primes is essential in the kind of stuff I do. The xlrs work really well and the quality of stills is amazing. Will have more work to show once I get done editing some material I did in very low light for some blue grass musicians who jam with the best of them in a little cafe in CT.

January 26th, 2013, 06:57 PM	#1
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Comments after 20 hours of use Hi Guys Well so far I have clocked up 20 hours on the EA-50 with 4 weddings now using it as the B-Cam and around 10 Realty shoots at various locations and so far so good. I have learnt (the hard way) that even the stock lens has a fair amount of shorter DOF compared to a small sensor camera so I have had to take that into account. Normally I just "point and shoot" on stuff like speech cutaways and if the framing includes someone's head fairly close to the camera and then people at a table a bit further away, with small sensors everything is in focus whereas with the 50 you do need to be careful of which people to include in your frame...the overall look is much nicer though and I'm sure Don which find my comments useful for his weddings. This will probably horrify the purists but so far I'm shooting in FX mode (50i) only and the results are good. In low light with the stock lens the iris obviously varies with zoom but I find that up to 24db gain the image is pretty much noise free .... 27db has visible noise and 30db is not really acceptable at weddings as you have speckles all over the place. Already mentioned, a 50mm prime didn't work at all for my style of shooting ..I had to be just too far away so I'm picking up a 19mm Sigma F2.8 on Tuesday and with give that a whirl...I think it might be very nice for doing weddings and still keep a reasonable mic to subject distance for live interview audio. With the videolight battery behind the shoulder pad along with the receiver, balance is very nice. (Don you might not need your ENG rig at all..I haven't used mine since the cam is lighter and more stable too) Overall I'm pretty happy with performance and end result at this stage so shortly a second EA-50 is on the cards as soon as my busy period slows down a bit! Anything you guys here find you like/don't like? Chris

January 27th, 2013, 04:19 AM	#2
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use Just thought of another issue I noticed last night shooting in full auto (yeah I was a bit tired by then and it's an easy way out) The EA-50 a couple of times when using a video light actually switched the shutter to 1/100th rather than 1/50th and applied extra gain to compensate ..I would have thought that 1/50th at F3.5 and 0db gain would be a better setting than 1/100th at F3.5 and 15db gain ... What I normally do when I'm bright eyed and bushy tailed is at the reception just switch the cam to manual BUT I only turn off shutter and keep it locked at 1/50th and then let gain and iris work the rest out!! If you are using the cam in bright sun without ND's then in auto the camera seems to favour a lower shutter like 120th and an iris of F16 so I normally up the shutter to 1/400th so I can get the iris in a better sweet spot.....Actually in bright sun I find the it underexposes a bit since it's getting too much light!! Quite often on clips shot outside and in the sun (at weddings you sometime have no choice!) I find I have to lift Gamma level from 1.00 up to 1.22 to make the image look normal. Chris

January 27th, 2013, 09:57 AM	#3
Peter Rush Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK/Yorkshire Posts: 2,069	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use I love the DOF - nice enough to isolate the subject but less than the 5D, which I find hard to manage so that's a thumbs up! some operation similar to my previous Sonys so that's good - I don't like the mic cable retainer as it doesn't live up to it's description as it just pops out all the time plus the cable is in the way. I might revert to my Rode NTG-2 and route the cable underneath. My weddings pick up again next month so I've had little chance to 'really' use it but I'm happy using it without the viewfinder as it's what I'm now used to, but a sun hood for the LCD screen would be helpful - I might try and fashion one.

January 28th, 2013, 08:12 AM	#4
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use Hi Peter Is that the little plastic clip with two slots in it to the right of the handle at the back?? Mine is useless too and my mic cable pops out constantly! If you start to use the camera on your shoulder with the loupe tube, do yourself a favour and stick a square of the rigid "briefcase" foam between the LCD and the body..it stops the tube and LCD trying to fold inward .... it's temporary but it works for me so far. My piece is 35mm wide and 45mm high and deep. Chris

January 31st, 2013, 01:10 PM	#5
Neil Chamberlain New Boot Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Oxford United Kingdom Posts: 21	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use Re the sun hood - I know it's cumbersome but the viewfinder splits of course. When the lens bit is angled down it makes for an OK sunshade on the LCD screen - I used it like that on a few exteriors on a recent corporate and, tho' not ideal, was fine.

February 1st, 2013, 03:08 AM	#7
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use Hi Pete Yeah that is the most useless clip I have ever seen... and yes, the darn Sony cable is too short to re-route too. OK, I'm interested..how do you do an outdoor event in bright sunshine without the loupe tube?? I also have another issue in that I need glasses (or the loupe) to see the LCD sharply...I do have some neat little fresnel lenses that would drop over the lcd very well too..... With me, I alway seem to be in a position where all the bright light is shining directly onto the LCD and I cannot see a thing. However I might try dropping down the loupe in a Church where it's dark. Wedding receptions are also pretty dark so that also might be an easier way to watch what you are filming ..Just bear in mind that I shoot 90% on the shoulder!! Chris

February 1st, 2013, 04:01 AM	#8
Peter Rush Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: UK/Yorkshire Posts: 2,069	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use Chris I was very much old school, being brought up initially on 16mm and then onto Panasonic DP800 and JVC (urgh!) DV500 and was pretty happy using the VF but when i moved onto my Sony Z1 and FX1 cams, they were the first cameras I'd used with flip-out LCD screens and I found them quite liberating - so much so that my shooting style changed considerably and I love trying to film from unusual angles - quite often I'm walking behind the bride with the camera just a few inches from the floor to get the flow of her dress, or holding it high over the suit guys as they raise their glasses! Bright sunlight meant using the viewfinder until I fabricated a sun hood which did the trick. I also like sometimes to interact a little with the people I'm filming, which seems a little harder if my camera is attached to my face. Bright sunny days are not as common over here as they are for you Chris but I have purchased the Genus ND fader which I'll try out at the weekend If i've time.

February 1st, 2013, 07:54 PM	#9
Steven Digges Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,828	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use Same here Pete, I thought a good ol sharp B&W view finder was all I would ever need. Now in resent years I am spoiled by LCD screens. I was thinking about buying a shade but your post reminded me I have a ton of old camera bag dividers out in my AV bone yard I can make one out of. I love the little gems I pick up on this forum. Steve __________________ www.CorporateShow.com Been at this so long I'm rounding my years of experience down...not up!

February 1st, 2013, 10:01 PM	#10
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use Hi Steve Believe it or not black foam board is remarkably durable too and ultra light..(got from the art and craft store) I actually made my loupes with an eyepiece and just a foam board box ..stuck with a hot glue gun and it lasted all season too. It's also virtually weightless and two rubber bands hold it on the LCD. I use that on my Panasonic AC-130's very successfully!! Chris

February 5th, 2013, 10:22 PM	#11
Robert Moran Regular Crew Join Date: May 2011 Location: Redding, CT Posts: 71	Re: Comments after 20 hours of use I've used the camera for about 30 hrs on various shoots from town meeting to doing nature videos and video of local musicians and thus far, it works well. The DZ is key in my work as framing primes is essential in the kind of stuff I do. The xlrs work really well and the quality of stills is amazing. Will have more work to show once I get done editing some material I did in very low light for some blue grass musicians who jam with the best of them in a little cafe in CT.