Mike Wilhelm

Videomaker.com & Magzine Editor, Film Lover, Professional Video Geek

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[mikewilhelm]

[mikewilhelm]

Rottach-Egern Bavaria, Germany on a cold April morning. Shot with the Sony a7 with the 35mm 2.8.

[mikewilhelm]

Review: The Fujifilm X-T2 Takes Great Photos, but Is It a Good Pick for Videographers?

The Fujifilm X-T2 is a superb stills camera. We loved the image quality and physical control scheme, but found the video capabilities to be average, at best.

I reviewed the X-T2 for Videomaker during my trip to Macedonia. 2,000-word story short: great stills camera, mediocre video camera. I’d love to own one personally! Hopefully I’ll get a chance to shoot with this camera again some day.

Let's get this out of the way up front. We loved the X-T2. It has all the right controls in all the right places. Aperture is controlled on the lens, including an auto setting. ISO and Shutter both have dedicated manual controls with markers that let you dial-in your settings without ever looking at a monitor or viewfinder. It's beautiful. For about 20 minutes we struggled to learn how to enable aperture priority for still shooting, only to realize that if we turn the ISO and Shutter dials to auto while manually setting the aperture, we were effectively in the mode we were looking for.

Yet, the XT-2 is an imperfect video camera. It struggles to keep up with the features and innovations brought to market by leaders like Sony and Panasonic. What we’re left with is a camera that compromises. Similar to how the GH5 is a spectacular video camera with mediocre photo capabilities, the Fujifilm X-T2 suffers from the opposite problem.

Read the full review on Videomaker.com

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Octoberfest 2015. I love this photo because it features my wife bringing me food! Shot with the Sony a7R II and Sony’s 35mm 1.4

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Heather and I were maried at this spot in 2010. The water wasn’t nearly this close at the time! Shot with a Canon 5D Mark iV and the Canon 16-35mm 2.8

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Taken from the top Eagle Rock on Tahoe’s western shore. Shot with a Canon 5D Mark IV and the Canon 16-35mm 2.8.

[mikewilhelm]

This is my favorite shot from the July 4th weekend at Lake Tahoe. Those rocks are normally part of a breakwater that is four to six feet above the water line. This is the highest we’ve ever seen the rocks and we go to Tahoe several times a year! Shot with a Canon 5D Mark iV and the Canon 16-35mm 2.8

[mikewilhelm]

This photo was taken at Matka Canyon in Macedonia. Apparently I suck at photography because I took about a hundred photos and this is the only one I like. Matka has an amazing river and all my photos showing it suck! 😫 Shot with a Fujifilm X-T2 and a Fujinon 16-55mm 2.8.

[mikewilhelm]

We had a really great time at NAB this year with Videomaker. Even though there were no major camera announcements aside from a couple iterative updates from JVC, Sony Pro and Panasonic, it still felt like a very healthy show. Nikon didn’t show but Edelkrone returned (with a killer new jib). GoPro actually had a new product to show us, which is rare for them at NAB. Chris and I got a very early look at Canon’s new Compact Servo 18-80mm and made a world’s first hands-on video in the process. All the while we experimented with Facebook Live video and were able to share the experience from the floor and exclusive press events in real time with our audience.

Overall, super fun! Would go back again (for a sixth time).

[mikewilhelm]

Here is our Sony a7R II review, from a video-first perspective.

Jason Miller did a great job with this!

[mikewilhelm]

Sony Announces a7S II — Internal 4K, ISO 409,600 and 5-Axis Image Stabilization

Many have been speculating since the release of the a7R II earlier this year that Sony would soon be releasing the a7S II. From IBC 2015 Amsterdam, Sony Electronics today introduced the latest addition to their a7 lineup with the a7S II. Offering High Sensitivity up to ISO 409,600, 5-Axis Image Stabilization and Internal 4K Recording.

Standard ISO 100 – 102400, Expandable to ISO 50-409600 QFHD: 3840 x 2160. Internal recording and HDMI output, both at 4K resolution, are available in full-frame An SDXC memory card with a Class 10 or higher speed rating is required for XAVC S recording UHS Class 3 memory card is required for recording at 100 Mbps 5-axis image stabilization system 169 point Autofocus new picture profile settings; S-Gamut3.Cine/S-Log3 and S-Gamut3/S-Log3 Full HD at120fps at 100 mbps XGA OLED Tru-Finder

I predict this will be the camera that indie filmmakers lust after for the next year or so. 

[mikewilhelm]

Sony Announces PXW-FS5 — Smaller, Cheaper Version of the Popular FS7

There's been a lot of action in the camera department at IBC this year, at least from the Sony booth. Not only did we get a new version of the a7S, but Sony Pro has just announced a smaller and cheaper version of the popular PXW-FS7 which came out last year.

Super 35 Exmor CMOS Sensor (same as the FS7) 3200 Max ISO (1200 higher than the FS7) 3840 x 2160 up to 30fps, (100Mb/s XAVC Long) 1920 x 1080 up to 240fps, XLR Input x2 HD/3G-SDI Output x2 Variable ND Filter from 1/4 to 1/128 Complete tech-specs are available from Sony.

Not sure this will make quite the splash the FS7 did this year, but we will see. RAW would have been nice. Not DCI 4K would have been great. Love the compact size though.

[99percentinvisible]

The creative process explained by Honza Zamojski

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Here is my long-winded review of the GoPro HERO4 Session. 

[fdbpodcast]

Check out the amazing hand-drawn lettering that @leogomezstudio made for us! Killer work! #film #filmmaking #podcast #bourbon #cinema #vscocam by fdbpodcast

[mikewilhelm]

I was fortunate enough to be this week’s featured guest on the Filmmaker’s Drinking Bourbon podcast. Regardless of whether or not you want to listen to what I have to say, this podcast is worth subscribing to. Listen on iTunes or Soundcloud: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/filmmakers-drinking-bourbon/id991235729?mt=2

https://soundcloud.com/filmmakersdrinkingbourbon/episode-012-videomaker-magazine

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My review of the GoPro HERO4 Session is now online. Spoiler alert: you shouldn’t buy it.

http://www.videomaker.com/article/18332-gopro-hero4-session-review