Video about the SL shot entirely with the SL

[dfarkas]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Hey guys. Thought this might be of interest.

 

I've been trying to dive right into video production using the Leica SL, so figured the best way to do that would be to produce a project from start to finish. In this case, we made a video comparing the merits of shooting with M lenses vs the 24-90 on an SL in an urban setting. Here is the finished result:

 

 

Be sure to watch in 4K at full screen (click the full screen icon in the bottom right corner). 

 

 

Tech notes:

 

Video shot in 4K DCI (4096x2160) at 24p on Leica SL (Typ 601) in L-Log and recorded to Video Devices PIX-E5H over HDMI in Apple ProRes 422. 

 

Lenses used: 

• Leica Summilux-TL 35mm f/1.4 ASPH 
• Leica Super-Vario-Elmar-T 11-23mm f/3.5-4.5 ASPH 

 

Editing and color grading in Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015.4, with custom L-Log LUT creation in Davinci Resolve 12.5 using Datacolor SpyderChecker. 

 

Sound recorded using Sennheiser AVX ME2 and Video Devices PIX-LR. No post production was performed on vocal audio. 

 

Mostly shot handheld. Unfortunately, the 3D gimbal I purchased for the shoot arrived DOA and a replacement took a few weeks to get. So, the walking shots are a bit on the shaky side.

 

 

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions on best practices for getting the most out of the Leica SL for video.

 

[digitalfx]

Nice work David!

[rriley]

Enjoyed the video!  Thanks

 

And...which camera bag were you using in the video?

[MyLeicaM]

And...which camera bag were you using in the video?

 

First of all, enjoyed the video.

 

Ona The Prince Street

https://www.onabags.com/store/messenger-bags/the-prince-street.html?color=smoke

[scott kirkpatrick]

Nice shooting.  Have you also worked out a workflow for the Mac users with Final Cut X?  I thought the sound was pretty good for what I assumed was a one-person operation, or did you bring a sound man along?  Could you show the whole rig used, microphones and eternal recording equipment?  And the pastry options seen in Miami looked attractive.

 

scott

[jaapv]

Very nice, thank you. One thing I noticed, you are "working" the camera a lot more when using the zoom lens .

[dfarkas]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Nice shooting.  Have you also worked out a workflow for the Mac users with Final Cut X?  I thought the sound was pretty good for what I assumed was a one-person operation, or did you bring a sound man along?  Could you show the whole rig used, microphones and eternal recording equipment?  And the pastry options seen in Miami looked attractive.

 

scott

 

Scott,

 

I don't see how Final Cut X would be much different. As long as you can create a LUT (or use on from another user who has) for L-Log, grading in whatever program you choose should be a piece of cake. For some shots, I felt that Davinci Resolve would have offered a more powerful color grading toolset, but Premiere's Lumetri Color slider controls are so much like the ones found in Lightroom that it was so easy to just jump right in. And, I didn't have to round trip the footage out to Resolve and back to Premiere. 

 

No sound man. Just me. As I noted above. The vocal track in the video is the vocal track recorded on location. I didn't even have to adjust audio gain. The Sennheiser AVX wireless mic system sets levels automatically so that it will pick up a whisper or tone down a scream, with no clipping. The AVX XLR receiver is plugged into the PIX-LR which has the same incredible sounding Sound Devices analog mic pre-amps and analog limiters found in their $3k+ mixers. At $400, the PIX-LR is an absolute bargain for smooth, pleasing pro audio. The PIX-LR attaches directly to the bottom of the PIX-E5H, feeding audio directly into the video (up to 8 independently controlled audio tracks). No syncing is required in editing to match up the audio. I'll try to dig up a photo of the rig to post here. 

[scott kirkpatrick]

Ah, a wireless lavaliere!  That should isolate Luis the roving street photographer's comments nicely.  I was thinking this sounded like a boom mike and powered cables to a Beachtek mixer, but that just shows how long it has been.  Were you using the T zoom instead of the 24-90 SL zoom?  Does that mean that the video 4K (8 MPx) signal comes from inside the central APS-C area of the SL's chip?   

 

scott

[dfarkas]

Ah, a wireless lavaliere!  That should isolate Luis the roving street photographer's comments nicely.  I was thinking this sounded like a boom mike and powered cables to a Beachtek mixer, but that just shows how long it has been.  Were you using the T zoom instead of the 24-90 SL zoom?  Does that mean that the video 4K (8 MPx) signal comes from inside the central APS-C area of the SL's chip?   

 

scott

 

I used the 11-23 T and 35 f/1.4 TL lenses for all shooting. For 4K, the SL uses a Super35 frame size, which is almost the same as APS-C. Since 4K is 8MP, and there is no interpolation, a smaller area can be used. This is also ideal for using PL mount cine lenses, which are also designed for the Super35 frame size. 

[dfarkas]

Very nice, thank you. One thing I noticed, you are "working" the camera a lot more when using the zoom lens .

 

Yeah, the 11-23 stopped down has sufficient DOF to be able to move around with the camera a bit more. Shooting the 35 Lux wide open (with an ND filter) requires a bit more precision. 

[Guest]

 

Let me know what you think and if you have any questions on best practices for getting the most out of the Leica SL for video.

 

 

Great video, I disagree on one point I find the M-lenses faster to shoot with.

[TheGodParticle/Hari]

I used the 11-23 T and 35 f/1.4 TL lenses for all shooting. For 4K, the SL uses a Super35 frame size, which is almost the same as APS-C. Since 4K is 8MP, and there is no interpolation, a smaller area can be used. This is also ideal for using PL mount cine lenses, which are also designed for the Super35 frame size.

Lovely video, David!

 

I'm planning to use some Arri PL lenses on the SL, but to shoot stills.

 

Any experience with this? Anything above 40mm should cover the full sensor, no?

 

Cheers,

Hari

[dfarkas]

Lovely video, David!

 

I'm planning to use some Arri PL lenses on the SL, but to shoot stills.

 

Any experience with this? Anything above 40mm should cover the full sensor, no?

 

Cheers,

Hari

 

Hari,

 

PL lens to shoot stills? Okay. Why not?

 

PL-mount cine lenses are usually relegated to follow-focus rigs, not typically what I would use for hand-held shooting. Also, I'm not so sure about the image circle changing much over 40mm. If you look at the recent announcement of the M 0.8 lenses, one of the big selling points is that the adapted M lenses will cover more than the usual Super35 cine size. If you have a spec sheet showing cine lenses with a 43mm image circle or greater, let me know. This would be interesting info. For comparison, the Leica Summicron-C lenses have an image circle of 36mm - not big enough to cover full frame 35. 

[waterman1]

David,

I have just received my SL and the 24-90mm zoom so this video came at the right time. I enjoyed watching how comfortable Luis was in walking around with the SL. I have not had any issues using this kit for street photography in DTLA. I will begin to shoot some video to take advantage of the great abilities of this beautiful machine.

I will look forward to your reports from Photokina in a couple of weeks.

 

Sal

[wlaidlaw]

David and Luis,

 

Many thanks for making the video, which very nicely done. Might I request your next video be on your very competent video techniques with the SL (shot on an SL?). Whereas I am very comfortable using the SL for still photography, video is all a bit of a mystery to me and my efforts to date have not really been watchable. For example, were you using auto-focus or manual? I am particularly interested in what the perceived advantages are in taking videos in Gamma L Log colour space. Does this make any sense at all for the amateur videographer or is this best left to the pros? In order to use this mode, I believe iMovie, which I use at present, is not capable of restoring correct colour balance and I would need to upgrade to software like Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve. Neither of these options are cheap, particularly the more expensive DaVinci, although it might be more sensible long term, given that there have been a few hints emerging from Apple that like Aperture, Final Cut may be dropped. 

 

Wilson

[dfarkas]

David and Luis,

 

Many thanks for making the video, which very nicely done. Might I request your next video be on your very competent video techniques with the SL (shot on an SL?). Whereas I am very comfortable using the SL for still photography, video is all a bit of a mystery to me and my efforts to date have not really been watchable. For example, were you using auto-focus or manual? I am particularly interested in what the perceived advantages are in taking videos in Gamma L Log colour space. Does this make any sense at all for the amateur videographer or is this best left to the pros? In order to use this mode, I believe iMovie, which I use at present, is not capable of restoring correct colour balance and I would need to upgrade to software like Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve. Neither of these options are cheap, particularly the more expensive DaVinci, although it might be more sensible long term, given that there have been a few hints emerging from Apple that like Aperture, Final Cut may be dropped. 

 

Wilson

 

Wilson,

 

We are certainly looking at making videos about using the SL for video. Going through this learning process myself has made it abundantly clear that taking still pictures is much, much easier than moving ones! I'm hoping that I can use my mistakes and successes to help others shortcut the learning curve. 

 

To answer your questions:

 

I was manually focusing. I found it to work better for smooth focus transitions. The AF tends to look to jarring mid-shot. I'm hoping that future SL firmware updates will address this. Of course, I was also using a PIX-E5, which allows me to tap anywhere in the image on screen and get a 2x or 4x magnification anywhere in the frame while the video is running. This makes getting critical focus wide open while moving very doable. 

 

The whole video was recorded using L-Log. I do plan on doing more testing under a variety of conditions to see how much benefit there is for shooting in L-Log vs. normal. Once you apply a LUT, it looks like normal footage so you don't necessarily have to be a pro color grader to use it.

 

iMovie would not be my preferred video editing software of choice. Davinci Resolve is actually free of charge for the non Studio version. So, that's the least expensive option. I'm a big fan of the entire Adobe Creative Suite, so I went the route of Premiere Pro. If you already have an Adobe CC subscription, this too is very affordable. I do the complete suite for $50/month. That gives me PS, LR, Premiere Pro (PP), Audition (sound editing), Illustrator, After Effects (AE), and a bunch of others. Considering I used to spend $2500 for this package before the subscription model, $50/mo is a bargain for all the tools you get. 

[viramati]

Great video but my god the 24-90 is just HUGEEEEE and even makes my SonyA7rII and 24-70GM set up look small

[scott kirkpatrick]

Wilson,

 

We are certainly looking at making videos about using the SL for video. Going through this learning process myself has made it abundantly clear that taking still pictures is much, much easier than moving ones! I'm hoping that I can use my mistakes and successes to help others shortcut the learning curve. 

 

To answer your questions:

 

I was manually focusing. I found it to work better for smooth focus transitions. The AF tends to look to jarring mid-shot. I'm hoping that future SL firmware updates will address this. Of course, I was also using a PIX-E5, which allows me to tap anywhere in the image on screen and get a 2x or 4x magnification anywhere in the frame while the video is running. This makes getting critical focus wide open while moving very doable. 

 

The whole video was recorded using L-Log. I do plan on doing more testing under a variety of conditions to see how much benefit there is for shooting in L-Log vs. normal. Once you apply a LUT, it looks like normal footage so you don't necessarily have to be a pro color grader to use it.

 

iMovie would not be my preferred video editing software of choice. Davinci Resolve is actually free of charge for the non Studio version. So, that's the least expensive option. I'm a big fan of the entire Adobe Creative Suite, so I went the route of Premiere Pro. If you already have an Adobe CC subscription, this too is very affordable. I do the complete suite for $50/month. That gives me PS, LR, Premiere Pro (PP), Audition (sound editing), Illustrator, After Effects (AE), and a bunch of others. Considering I used to spend $2500 for this package before the subscription model, $50/mo is a bargain for all the tools you get. 

 

Very helpful, and I will be interested in hearing more.  However, $50/month ($600/year) still strikes me as expensive software that I wouldn't use enough to justify the expense.  Currently I spend $69 or $99 every few years for a CaptureOne major upgrade and have purchased FinalCutPro licenses twice in 15 years.  Could you tell us more about LUTs -- that's not something I have used in the still photography workflow.  (In our family, the video is done by my son.)  And do you attach the audio receiver and the HDMI recording monitor to the camera or both to an external frame?

 

scott

[wlaidlaw]

Wilson,

 

 

 

iMovie would not be my preferred video editing software of choice. Davinci Resolve is actually free of charge for the non Studio version. So, that's the least expensive option. I'm a big fan of the entire Adobe Creative Suite, so I went the route of Premiere Pro. If you already have an Adobe CC subscription, this too is very affordable. I do the complete suite for $50/month. That gives me PS, LR, Premiere Pro (PP), Audition (sound editing), Illustrator, After Effects (AE), and a bunch of others. Considering I used to spend $2500 for this package before the subscription model, $50/mo is a bargain for all the tools you get. 

 

David, 

 

The free version of DaVinci Resolve is only 1080p not 4k. I have a 4K TV in France and I did a short video on the SL just to see if I could spot the difference. Yes is the quick answer. 4K videos if I could learn to make them more interesting and watchable, are stunning on a 4K screen. Once the PL adapter comes out, I would be very tempted to get it and buy a used Cooke or similar PL lens with follow focus to see how I got on with that. Then of course, I would need to employ a focus puller to focus it for me  .

 

I used to watch commercial movies being made round my office in the historic district of Spitalfields in London. It was fascinating watching the focus pullers constantly consulting their focus distance running order note books and setting the focus distance on the big movie cameras (mostly Arriflex with the occasional Panavision) and the directors shouting at the actors for not being on their correct coloured chalk marks on the ground. 

 

Wilson

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica L-Mount

[dfarkas]

David, 

 

The free version of DaVinci Resolve is only 1080p not 4k. I have a 4K TV in France and I did a short video on the SL just to see if I could spot the difference. Yes is the quick answer. 4K videos if I could learn to make them more interesting and watchable, are stunning on a 4K screen. Once the PL adapter comes out, I would be very tempted to get it and buy a used Cooke or similar PL lens with follow focus to see how I got on with that. Then of course, I would need to employ a focus puller to focus it for me  .

 

I used to watch commercial movies being made round my office in the historic district of Spitalfields in London. It was fascinating watching the focus pullers constantly consulting their focus distance running order note books and setting the focus distance on the big movie cameras (mostly Arriflex with the occasional Panavision) and the directors shouting at the actors for not being on their correct coloured chalk marks on the ground. 

 

Wilson

 

According to Black Magic's website (https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/compare), the free version is limited to UHD output, which is 3840x2160. The SL will record in this UHD 4K resolution as well. It won't be quite as cinematic as 4K DCI (4096x2160), but it's pretty darn close.  

 

The PL adapter is available now.... just not from Leica. It is sold by CW Sonderoptic dealers. I'd be happy to get you one.