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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

DJI Zenmuse X5R Review

Cheers Mate and I agree about the X3 and X5. The DNG format has to go for me to get a lady boner about the X5R.

The Osmo is a nice little bit o kit . . . I mean for a DJI first gen and all ;-)
 
Zeb B said:
Cheers Mate and I agree about the X3 and X5. The DNG format has to go for me to get a lady boner about the X5R.

The Osmo is a nice little bit o kit . . . I mean for a DJI first gen and all ;-)
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Just use the proxies from the SD card or even within the newest Premiere? Then the DNG format doesn't matter!
 
Zeb B said:
Don't use Premiere. On Resolve for Color / NLE now
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Resolve would still utilize the proxies from the drone itself. Still, ProRes or DNxHR would be great but then you lose the RAW. So I wouldn't trade DNG...personally. I like the flexibility with DNG and then H.264 proxies.
 
Matt Ryan said:
I don't care whether you were paid or not and wouldn't ask.... but it actually is required by law to disclose if you are getting free product or paid to promote, so Zeb wasn't totally off base: https://www.socialmediaexplorer.com...nd-noise/disclosures-for-bloggers-and-brands/

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/bus...tcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking

Your review was top notch and looks like a high end advertisement, so I get where he's coming from. I love what you did and not knocking you at all. Just trying to clarify.
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Well, shows you what I know on the matter. Foot in mouth, I can admit that :)
 
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Luke Neumann said:
Resolve would still utilize the proxies from the drone itself. Still, ProRes or DNxHR would be great but then you lose the RAW. So I wouldn't trade DNG...personally. I like the flexibility with DNG and then H.264 proxies.
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Yup. To my point that this is a 1st Gen effort - DJI used an off the shelf RAW format. Waiting for something more bettah since it's bound to be the next improvement. Wonder if that could be done through firmware or if it's a board level upgrade.

Now that we're buds . . . gotta say that the looking up at the sky through the tree tops shot seemed real crunchy. Also have to say nice camera work - some of the best air to air I've seen
 
Zeb B said:
Yup. To my point that this is a 1st Gen effort - DJI used an off the shelf RAW format. Waiting for something more bettah since it's bound to be the next improvement. Wonder if that could be done through firmware or if it's a board level upgrade.

Now that we're buds . . . gotta say that the looking up at the sky through the tree tops shot seemed real crunchy. Also have to say nice camera work - some of the best air to air I've seen
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I don't know if that would change in a 2nd gen. Compressed RAW is...well, we all know that it's tough. BlackMagic still uses DNG and they're on their 3rd iteration? ProRes and DNxHD would be nice options but personally, I would still use DNG so it wouldn't change much for me.

Crunchy bad? It was a weird shot. The sky directly above was lost so I brought down the whites as far as I could and then colored them blue. Recovering Whites brought back everything but directly above the camera.
 
Luke Neumann said:
Well, shows you what I know on the matter. Foot in mouth, I can admit that :)
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haha no worries, I put my foot in my mouth many times as well! Not many people realize that they are committing a crime when they do a review and do not add a disclosure if they are being paid/sponsored/or given free product. It's not well known but it is there.
 
Luke Neumann said:
I don't know if that would change in a 2nd gen. Compressed RAW is...well, we all know that it's tough. BlackMagic still uses DNG and they're on their 3rd iteration? ProRes and DNxHD would be nice options but personally, I would still use DNG so it wouldn't change much for me.

Crunchy bad? It was a weird shot. The sky directly above was lost so I brought down the whites as far as I could and then colored them blue. Recovering Whites brought back everything but directly above the camera.
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No weird compression artifacts in that shot? That was a major issue with the X3 / X5 . . . fine detail like leaves, grass or whitewater. Codec just puked up chunky blocks of RGB ;-)
 
Matt Ryan said:
haha no worries, I put my foot in my mouth many times as well! Not many people realize that they are committing a crime when they do a review and do not add a disclosure if they are being paid/sponsored/or given free product. It's not well known but it is there.
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It makes sense though. I get it. Personally, it's all about integrity and I have never uploaded an opinion that wasn't my own (alone). If I don't like a free product someone gives me...I just don't make a video. I have always thought that was the right way to do it. Send it back to them and say "I could have uploaded a review but it would have been bad" and they usually agree. So that way, I keep it "real" why also getting to try out stuff for free. Time to rethink that I guess...
 
Zeb B said:
No weird compression artifacts in that shot? That was a major issue with the X3 / X5 . . . fine detail like leaves, grass or whitewater. Codec just puked up chunky blocks of RGB ;-)
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No, I mean the compression is one of the main reasons I hated the X5 and why I couldn't wait for the X5R. I have been impressed.

Maybe it's the recovered whites and the key on the remaining white sky? Are you seeing it in the blue or on the trees? Part of it could be that I recovered some shadows from near black as well. That is a tough shot for any camera to get. I mean, I have captured it using HDRx on a RED but other than that, all other cameras have failed on either the high or low end.
 
Luke Neumann said:
No, I mean the compression is one of the main reasons I hated the X5 and why I couldn't wait for the X5R. I have been impressed.

Maybe it's the recovered whites and the key on the remaining white sky? Are you seeing it in the blue or on the trees? Part of it could be that I recovered some shadows from near black as well. That is a tough shot for any camera to get. I mean, I have captured it using HDRx a RED but other than that, all other cameras have failed on either the high or low end.
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Coolio. I'll take a looksie at the DNG's once settled. Thanks for providing those!
 
Looks cool. Nice production values. These days corporates are increasingly looking at youtube channels with a large subscriber base. I found that you have more than 100,000 subscribers in youtube. So I won't be surprised if DJI or any other corporate hooks up with you. The script of the video gave a slight impression that this may be a paid review. Slight tweaking of the words may dispel this notion. Overall well done.
 
Sabyasachi Patra said:
Looks cool. Nice production values. These days corporates are increasingly looking at youtube channels with a large subscriber base. I found that you have more than 100,000 subscribers in youtube. So I won't be surprised if DJI or any other corporate hooks up with you. The script of the video gave a slight impression that this may be a paid review. Slight tweaking of the words may dispel this notion. Overall well done.
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I never use a script for reviews though. I sit down with a mic and then ramble for a while. Then edit it down so it's concise (somewhat).
 
This basically convinced me to get this platform over the Phantom 4. When you think about it the price delta is totally justified and actually a bit of a STEAL.

Thanks Luke
 
I've been using the X5R for the past month or so and I've been really impressed with it. I've used it a lot with the Olympus 14-42mm simply for the ability to change focal length while in the air - for me that's pretty significant. One of the big pluses for me is the ability to pop the camera off the Inspire 1 and use it on the Osmo as a hand held gimbal- for documentary work this is fantastic!

One major issue when using the X5R on the Osmo is fan noise. It's pretty loud, so don't plan on using it in close quarters for critical sound.
I don't see the X5R competing in any way with RED's line up. I use this in the same way I've used the BMPCC as a additional camera system dedicated to specific tasks.
 
Thanks for the great piece Luke. Beautiful footage, very descriptive of the product. A few questions:
Where do you like to put shutter speed in order to stay sharp, but avoid judder?
At what aperture do you find yourself usually shooting?
These questions imply the use of ND. Correct?

Thanks, Tim Eaton
 
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