Thanks so much for this @Cory, I believe you were one of the reasons I switched to the GH5 in the first place!
To @Jillian, Chris Staring, @Alexander, and all other users, I’m going to recap everything we’ve learned in this forum and in the slack channel that is being laid to rest. Big thanks to everyone above for adding to this discussion. There is so much important information to keep track of for different kinds of shoots, so I’m going to post it here for my own sanity and to help others moving forward. Feel free to reply with any edits and I will update and or amend.
@Alexander’s favorite affordable, mobile set-up for 4K 8-bit color full frame DSLRs:
- Sony Alpha A7R II (or III)
- Sony FE 16-35mm f/4 ZA OSS // or Sony FE 16-35mm f2.8 for lower light
- SanDisk SDXC 512GB Extreme Pro 95MB/s UHS-1 U3
- Not addressing audio here, but you’ll need a mic!*
My comments: PROS include having a full/partial frame sensor. This will allow you to use lenses without needing to calculate a crop factor. Also, this will allow more light due to using the large sensor. CONS include only having 4:2:0 8-bit color, which may lead to a lower quality green screen key. However, this is based purely on camera specs and not actual evidence/comparisons. Happy to hear any thoughts on this.
@Andrew’s favorite set-up for affordable, mobile set-up for 4K 10-bit color footage for micro four thirds DSLRs.
- Panasonic GH5 (must use the latest firmware update that allows for 4:2:2 10-bit ALL-intra recording)
- Olympus M. Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro (I believe, this is/was the same lens Depthkit uses in their studio with their Black Magic studio cameras)
- Delkin Devices SDXC UHS-II V90 128 GB (The 10-bit recording mode requires you to have a badass SD card that can handle the footage. I’ve tried many cards, and they fail after a certain amount of recording. After doing research, I read that they must have a UHS-II or V90 rating on them. The mentioned card works great for me)
My comments: PROS: I can rest well knowing I have 10-bit footage for my keying. CONS: This 10-bit footage may be overkill. I am not a keying expert, but technically speaking, 10-bit footage should provide a better key then 8-bit. Another con is that you are dealing with a micro four thirds sensor which will not give you as much light as a full frame sensor. You must make sure you light your subject well so you aren’t maxing out your settings on the camera.
@Cory’s amazing guide and formulas to determine a proper lens to use:
Some cameras have bigger “full frame” sensors than others, and some cameras crop the sensor based on which resolution you are shooting. My rule of thumb is ideal focal length = horizontal dimension of your camera sensor x .48 (this calculation is for zero sensor crops.
Example: A7Sii sensor is 35.6mm x .48 = ~17mm
It also depends on the effective aspect ratio you want to capture. For a squarer frame, you’ll want the vertical FOV to match between color & depth cameras, which means using the wider focal length on the color camera.
However, if you want something more widescreen (shooting portrait, and you know your subject is going to keep their arms at their side) then you can use a slightly longer lens to match the horizontal FOV of the depth & color cameras.
Other camera/lens set-ups used in the past by me:
- Canon 5D MK III
- Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM