Epic-W Still Photos

[Rakesh Malik]

You are specifically referencing shooting video for stills, right?

Nope, stills. Using stills mode.

 

[Andrew R Lewis]

Nope, stills. Using stills mode.

Cool, thanks.

What shutter speed do you like with those settings but going handheld?

 

[Brody_B]

When I'm shooting stills, I use 3:1 and drop the frame rate to 13fps. The shutter speed depends on the shoot; for portraits on sticks I use 1/100th of a second.

I pretty much shoot with these settings but use 11fps and get 2:1 compression. Really really enjoying the Heliums for stills.

 

[Rakesh Malik]

Cool, thanks.

What shutter speed do you like with those settings but going handheld?

I haven't tried hand held with it yet, mostly because I don't have a particularly good way to operate hand held -- I'll probably at some point acquire a DSMC2 side handle for that purpose, though. For these portraits I used 1/100th of a second, but they were on a tripod.

Other than that, my settings were similar to Brody's; I'm only able to get 3:1 compression though, my guess is due to currently not having any of the faster minimags (just 120GB mags right now).

That said, I'm with you Brody... stills with this camera rock. And will only get better with IPP2, since it will make post so much easier.

I'm hoping that Affinity and On1 will add R3D stills support to their raw processing software... I've exporting PSDs from RCXPro so that I could do the final editing in On1 Photo Raw or Affinity Photo, which makes the workflow less pleasant than with my Sony a7r, for which I can use On1 Photo Raw for rating images and most of my editing needs, and Affinity for stuff that On1 can't do.

 

[Andrew R Lewis]

I haven't tried hand held with it yet, mostly because I don't have a particularly good way to operate hand held -- I'll probably at some point acquire a DSMC2 side handle for that purpose, though. For these portraits I used 1/100th of a second, but they were on a tripod.

Other than that, my settings were similar to Brody's; I'm only able to get 3:1 compression though, my guess is due to currently not having any of the faster minimags (just 120GB mags right now).

That said, I'm with you Brody... stills with this camera rock. And will only get better with IPP2, since it will make post so much easier.

I'm hoping that Affinity and On1 will add R3D stills support to their raw processing software... I've exporting PSDs from RCXPro so that I could do the final editing in On1 Photo Raw or Affinity Photo, which makes the workflow less pleasant than with my Sony a7r, for which I can use On1 Photo Raw for rating images and most of my editing needs, and Affinity for stuff that On1 can't do.

Thanks! I have the new sidehandle and it's great for quickly making adjustments on the fly especially going handheld. I'm going to set one of the user assignable buttons to switch straight to stills mode with those settings so I don't get caught off guard for good photo ops. I'm also about to take delivery of the new EVF on Tuesday, hoping that is a good tool for stills as well. Do you have any ideas for a good shoulder strap solution? It's one of the main pain points I have in trying to use my Epic-W more for stills.

I've never used either of those editing tools, I'm a photoshop guy. But as a new guy to stills I'm open. Thanks for your help!

 

[Rakesh Malik]

Thanks! I have the new sidehandle and it's great for quickly making adjustments on the fly especially going handheld. I'm going to set one of the user assignable buttons to switch straight to stills mode with those settings so I don't get caught off guard for good photo ops. I'm also about to take delivery of the new EVF on Tuesday, hoping that is a good tool for stills as well. Do you have any ideas for a good shoulder strap solution? It's one of the main pain points I have in trying to use my Epic-W more for stills.

For shoulder straps, I recommend looking at Peak Design's offerings. Best I've seen yet, even better than Black Rapid, which is quite good.

I'm probably going to add a side handle as well as get some Sigma Art zooms (SLR versions) for travel and adventure photography/filmmaking. The Zeiss CP.2s are great lenses, but they're bulky and heavy, and with 3 of them + some batteries, my 30L pack is nearly full, which is not ideal for more than short hikes and trips to set.

I've never used either of those editing tools, I'm a photoshop guy. But as a new guy to stills I'm open. Thanks for your help!

Once you try them, you probably won't want to go back. Affinity Photo has a lot of Photoshop in it conceptually, but instead of trying to be a jack of all trades like Photoshop is, it is just a photo editing application, and very inexpensive. On1 is also just for photos, and allows me to do a lot of what Photoshop does, but far more efficiently and without bothering with Photoshop.

They both support the medium format digital raw formats, so I'm hoping R3D stills are on their list... I've put requests in for both, but there aren't that many people using Epic-W for still photography yet, so I'm guessing that the demand for R3D still support is currently low. Still, I'm hoping. Epic-W stills look even better than Sony A7R stills...

 

[Brody_B]

I'm hoping that Affinity and On1 will add R3D stills support to their raw processing software... I've exporting PSDs from RCXPro so that I could do the final editing in On1 Photo Raw or Affinity Photo, which makes the workflow less pleasant than with my Sony a7r, for which I can use On1 Photo Raw for rating images and most of my editing needs, and Affinity for stuff that On1 can't do.

Totally... Can't wait for more photo apps to start allowing R3D use, kinda the next step in the progression of this tech. I am really enjoying the Video/Snapshot photo work flow. Twice now I have had a client prefer a frame next to the one I triggered over the actual triggered snapshot/photo/marker/what every you want to call it. Being able to search for a similar frame that was near my triggered points is just great. This photo system is as basic, and and as thick as you want it to be. Totally digging it. BTW you gotta get that side handle, paired with a slim Battery, or battery belt with expander module I can hold this thing all day just like my old mk3, it quickly begins to feel natural.

 

[Rakesh Malik]

Ya, eventually... I need to make money first -- preferably before I end up with another soul-sucking IT contract.

I also need bigger media cards, the 120's aren't ideal for backcountry trips. The HyperCore Slims are sweet though; I'm hoping to get two more at some point, as well as some Sigma Art zoom lenses for their compactness. Much better for climbing trips...

 

[Derrick Peachey]

Hey guys,
I am coming from a video background but I am super intrigued by the concept/reality of grabbing high quality photo's from my videos. I read about being able to capture 35MP photo's from the RED...but that's in stills mode at the lowest compression correct? If I were to shoot video in 8K at the lowest possible compression (6:1 I think?) at 24FPS. What is each Frame's MP? That's one of my concerns.
I believe I have an understanding of the Pro's and Con's of using Stills mode vs Video but if I have 2 Epic-W's, 1 shooting in video mode the other in stills mode with the same settings, is the difference in quality noticeable(when printed or otherwise)? Is there a shutter speed that I should always shoot above? 24FPS 1/48 at minimum? Everything seems to make sense for this photo from your video to take off on paper but I don't see it EVERYWHERE like I would expect to see it (Maybe I don't know where to look?). I have run my own tests but I cannot see differences really. Can I shoot video and deliver high quality photography(in print) as well? Do any of you?
Whats your experience capturing photo's from your RED's?

 

[Nick Morrison]

Hey guys,
I am coming from a video background but I am super intrigued by the concept/reality of grabbing high quality photo's from my videos. I read about being able to capture 35MP photo's from the RED...but that's in stills mode at the lowest compression correct? If I were to shoot video in 8K at the lowest possible compression (6:1 I think?) at 24FPS. What is each Frame's MP? That's one of my concerns.
I believe I have an understanding of the Pro's and Con's of using Stills mode vs Video but if I have 2 Epic-W's, 1 shooting in video mode the other in stills mode with the same settings, is the difference in quality noticeable(when printed or otherwise)? Is there a shutter speed that I should always shoot above? 24FPS 1/48 at minimum? Everything seems to make sense for this photo from your video to take off on paper but I don't see it EVERYWHERE like I would expect to see it (Maybe I don't know where to look?). I have run my own tests but I cannot see differences really. Can I shoot video and deliver high quality photography(in print) as well? Do any of you?
Whats your experience capturing photo's from your RED's?

We pull stills all the time, but mostly for Web, not print.

Works great, even on Dragon sensor.

I'm sure Helium and 8K are even more versatile.

To combine print and video, consider shooting video in slowmo, as the faster shutter speed from high speed sharpens the motion blur and makes pulling stills easier.

 

[Rakesh Malik]

Honestly, there are only really two advantages in technical terms to using stills mode for photography. One is shutter speeds, and the other is data rate.

If you don't care about how much disk space you consume, and you're shooting slow movement, pulling still frames from your footage works great.

Most of the time when I'm doing photography though, I end up with either much higher or much lower shutter speeds than what look in video.

In landscapes especially when shooting f/64 style (which really needs a view camera to do right, even a tilt/shift lens only gets you half way there), typical exposure times are a minimum of 2 second, especially for magic hour, civil twilight, and flowing water shots.

But... I've also pulled frames from clips that would have printed fine. At 24x30 or so, same as what I've done in the past with my A7R... but with the Epic-w the color is better.

 

[Derrick Peachey]

Thank you Nick and Rakesh for the replies .
I have the Epic-W but not the Weapon so slow motion at 8k is out for me. That would have been more resourceful then 30FPS. I am going to have to print some stuff out and just see how it goes because the still frames have to be decent(or acceptable to client) quality as a print too.
I have never had anything printed out so I wonder if its a complicated process to print. Any experience or recommendation for prints being delivered or showcased to client?
Rakesh, the stills look different from capture in camera to post? or just to your eye(as you look at the monitor while capturing and look at playback)?
Are you getting soft edges, blurriness around the subjects even with high shutter speeds(even though the movement speed can be captured)? That is what I am afraid of. Like ghosting on the prints.
You capture your photography in stills mode only correct? Have you tried in Continuous recording mode?
Thank you for your time,
Derrick

 

[Rakesh Malik]

There's no reason to expect anything different in stills mode than you'd get in film mode other than feeling more free to use non-cinematic shutter speeds and lower compression ratios due to the lower rate of capture.

This is a frame pulled from some footage I shot; it wasn't intended for printing, it was intended for 4K masters, so we used 8K WS at 12:1 compression. While I would have used a different style of lighting and framing for a fine art print, I think it would make a decent print in spite of the 12:1 compression. 24x30, probably not; but that's one of the benefits of stills mode, since evn with the slower minimags, I can lower the compression to 3:1 for stuff that's specifically intended as photographs that I'm aiming to capture at print quality.

 

[Derrick Peachey]

Awesome Rakesh, Thank you so much for your time. I totally get it.

 

[Rakesh Malik]

No problem. I'm looking forward to doing a lot more photography, both motion and still, with my Epic-W.

 

[Dominik Muench]

Final I got to do some first stills on the Epic-W.

 

[Matteo fontana]

I think they're really good ...
:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[rand thompson]

Dominik,

just trying an alternative grade using your images above. Let me know and I will delete them.

[/url]Untitled_1.1.1 by rand thompson, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled2_1.2.1 by rand thompson, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled3_1.3.1 by rand thompson, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]Untitled4_1.4.1 by rand thompson, on Flickr[/IMG]

[/url]more con curve_1.5.2 by rand thompson, on Flickr[/IMG]




here is the grade in Resolve


https://www.dropbox.com/s/9yprs44qhfbtwz7/Dominiks Grade_1.3.1.png?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zlxqmh8uszd3mqw/Dominiks Grade_1.3.1.drx?dl=0

 

[Dominik Muench]

dig it, thanks for that I really need to get into Resolve.

 

[rand thompson]

Thank you for the beautiful images!

Resolve is a whole lot easier than most people think.