SL2S VIDEO - A mode (aperture priority)

[Jox]

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Hello,
I used in video Log, until now, the SL2S with M lenses, therefore managing the aperture manually.
I have just acquired a 24-90 zoom and the automation of the aperture would sometimes be interesting.
I do not see this possibility in the menus: the video seems to be only possible in M mode.
Is there a trick?
Best regards
 

[Jox]

The automatic management of the quantity of light would sometimes be interesting, by automating the aperture, the iso or a video parameter.

[LocalHero1953]

Not just M mode - I use it in S mode (or M mode). I have never wanted A mode, as I want the shutter speed related to the frame rate. I usually have ISO set to auto

[FrozenInTime]

The video exposure modes seem quite limited:

I set the camera to CINE so that the shutter speed stays related to frame rate with shutter angle.

In this mode, just as aperture priority is not an option ; Auto ISO with exposure compensation would also seem to a useful combination, but is not available.

 

There are also weird bugs such as setting the frame rate for FHD changes the frames rates for 4K and C4K ; it's not possible to have them all sitting at 24 fps.

[Jox]

f I read you correctly, only the M mode is available in "CINE", and the other modes are available when you are not in "CINE".
But filming without the "shutter-angle" is a real shame.
Thank you very much for these interesting elements.
Best regards.

[Jox]

I have just tested: indeed, the A, S, P modes are available in VIDEO mode and in auto ISO (while not in CINE mode) : nice !!!
But, is the ratio 1/2 between S and the frequency respected?

[hansvons]

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In Cine mode, the SL2-S behaves pretty much like an Arri Alexa. That’s not a shame or bug - if one considers the Alexa as a poster child in cine land. That camera does everything manually. The only thing that can be controlled in a programmed way is the shutter to compensate for exposure in speed ramps in the same way as we did back then with the Arri 535. 
 

BTW, I find that the SL2-S shares with the Alexa ISO 800 as the sweet spot in L-Log. Largest DR in high-contrast environments, a fine texture, and tons of juice in the shadows. Auto ISO defies that. 

The only thing I miss is the option to set a fixed TC set-up (e.g. 25 fps for PAL countries) but have the actual speed selectable manually. That gives you the option to over crank the camera to, say, 37,5 fps for a 25fps timeline without postproduction hassle.

I can’t do that with the SL2-S. I can only select a few “classic” speeds, like 24, 25, 30, 100, etc., with their respective recording format. These formats change depending on the fps. “Real” cine camera don’t do that in terms of colour resolution. However they cut down the resolution by windowing the sensor at some point. Mostly, that's happening when you want to over-crank the camera beyond 50 fps, which occurs in classic filmmaking rarely but is, for the YouTube folks, a super-important spec. 

[BernardC]

CINE mode is very useful when you want to be sure that camera settings match between different setups, and that they don't drift during a shot.

For instance, let's say that you are shooting a typical two-person dialog scene using two camera positions. You want to be sure that both cameras are set to the same (manual) exposure and colour temp, even though one angle might be broad-lit and the other short-lit. Leaving both cameras on "auto" creates huge headaches in post, because you'll get a brightness jump at each edit, and the amount of that jump changes from cut to cut.

VIDEO mode is probably more useful in most single-camera setups.

[hansvons]

3 hours ago, BernardC said:

VIDEO mode is probably more useful in most single-camera setups.

I’d argue if consistency and predictable results are important, working manually is the way to go, even in a single camera production. That's very different to stills photography. 

But since YouTube and its millions of amateur filmmakers became an incredible force in filmmaking, viewing habits changed considerably. Image sequence can adjust their brightness at any moment, interviews can be edited randomly with jump cuts, and the audience excepts all of that if the content entertains. 
 

I have nothing against that. Content rules, and that's a good thing.

Edited October 16, 2022 by hansvons

[FrozenInTime]

Video techniques and cinematography for photographers using the SL2-S is one workshop I feel would be worth the money ; so many new concepts, and equal amounts of conflicting youtube and internet based advice.

[LocalHero1953]

32 minutes ago, FrozenInTime said:

Video techniques and cinematography for photographers using the SL2-S is one workshop I feel would be worth the money ; so many new concepts, and equal amounts of conflicting youtube and internet based advice.

I have learned a lot over the past 1-2 years by following this forum, and particularly the advice from @hansvons, @BernardCand a couple of others. I now have a fairly safe workflow for the limited range of video I do: recording theatre and musical performance, and occasional interviews/talking heads. The areas of my skills that need most work at the moment are in colour grading and more advanced editing tools, and perhaps eventually in more creative video recording.

[hansvons]

27 minutes ago, FrozenInTime said:

so many new concepts, and equal amounts of conflicting youtube and internet based advice.

Agreed. As a rule of thumb, real/most cinematographers/directors of photography don't own cine cameras or extensive cine lens sets. That's because, as a cinematographer, you're a hired gun/eye and camera gear for larger productions mostly comes from rental houses that provide the latest and greatest lenses and cameras (whatever that is, could be new Cooke anamorphic primes or Super Speeds from '84, an Alexa 35 from 2022 or an Arricam LT from 2002). And most "real" cinematographers don't have the time or don't feel the urge to become YouTubers. This leads to the fact that most bits of advice on YouTube are second-hand experiences, hearsay or outright bollocks. 

If I were a photographer seeking advice to learn how to shoot a proper motion picture, I'd be starting here: https://theasc.com/asc/education/master-class and deep dive into cinematography's interwebs.

[hansvons]

47 minutes ago, FrozenInTime said:

Video techniques and cinematography for photographers using the SL2-S is one workshop I feel would be worth the money

18 minutes ago, LocalHero1953 said:

I have learned a lot over the past 1-2 years by following this forum

Can't agree more.

I was seeking the opposite. I was looking for sources that showed me (director/DoP) how to take stills. I never did that; most DoPs don't shoot stills. Don't know why. It's a thing. And stills is not like motion picture at one fps or so. It's very different on many levels. At some point, I needed for a project a hybrid DSLR. But I had zero experience with AF, hardly any experience with stills editing, but a pretty good idea of what colours I would expect from a hybrid camera. That brought me to the SL2-S and this forum, which can be an excellent source. Now my main stills camera is an R6.2 because I need B&W stills for another project, and only film can do that for me. It's been an exciting roller coaster experience so far. Kind of annoyed not exploring stills earlier.