a6400 for video?

[ushere]

i've just retire from a career in tv and video production. and for the last few years have been shooting with a sony ex1 camcorder. i've done all sorts of projects with it; docos, tv, ads, promos, clips, etc., etc., and got my wife a nex 7 a few years back which i have often used as a second b camera. very impressed with the hd results, not so much on the limited record time, or audio input...

anyway, decided to sell up the ex1 and look at the a6400, perhaps with the 18-135 mm kit lens (i have pancake and 18-55 mm with the nex 7).

was wondering if anyone here has used the a6400 for 'serious' video work, and if so, could give me pointers, suggestions, etc.,

anyway, thanks for the time, stay well

leslie

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Welcome to the forum Leslie!
I'm always excited to see more a6400 users like myself. Definitely no professional work on my end, but I enjoy playing with the a6400 and making cooking videos. I was originally planning to use it for travel vlogs, but it really isn't suitable for that unless you add a gimbal.

The 18-135 is a nice light lens, but I always felt like it was more geared towards photography work rather than video work because of the variable aperture. Maybe you might be more interested in the 18-105 f4? A bit heavier, but constant aperture and internal power zoom are its selling points for many vloggers.

What are you planning to film in your retirement?

 

[ushere]

hi chris,

thanks for the reply...

variable f's have never proved a problem, especially if i want to control dof. however, not having used either of the lenses is a bit of a shot in the dark (pun intended;-)). is the 18-135 mm internal zoom as well or does it extend lenght? if so, then it'll have to be the 18-105 since i'll probably want to use a matt box for filters, etc.,

i wrote 'retired' but i'm still getting approached for projects, especially 'low budget' doco style for the various horse associated businesses in the area, along with a few galleries, and of course, my wife's gallery - you can get an idea of what i did / do from my website

as yet i haven't sold my ex1, but i don't think that's going to deter me from getting an a6400, but it might delay getting a more serious lens for it ;-(

btw, i use resolve as my main nle, that's after using nearly every other system over the years. prior to that i used sony vegas, for which i still have a soft spot, but i've generally found soft spots have underlying problems, just as being on the cutting edge often leads to bleeding to death (financially).

still, the more info i gain, the better equipped i'll be in making any final decisions...

stay well

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

The 18-105 is the only APSC lens I know that has internal zoom. The 18-135 extends, but as I said, the tradeoff is that it is lighter and has slightly more reach. Our Webmaster Timothy has a useful blog post rounding up the best choices in lenses for the a6400, its worth checking out if you haven't already:

Best Sony a6400 Lenses Guide - AlphaShooters.com

A guide to the best lenses for wide-angle, portrait, macro, street, wildlife, sport and astro photography with the Sony a6400 mirrorless camera.

www.alphashooters.com

For what its worth, I think the a6400 would be fine for most of your videos (I clicked through 3 of your videos). The only weakness the Sony APSC sensors currently have is rolling shutter when doing fast panning, but that doesn't seem to be your style.

 

[ushere]

thanks for that, chris, most appreciated.

certainly looks like 18-105 is the go to for my needs. as you have gathered, most of my stuff is talking heads and the like, pans, when required, eg. on art works, are always going to be on the slow side (though i generally prefer working from high-res stills and doing moves in post - that way i can always get the timing right ;-))

not sure about the horse stuff though, paddock shots and the like, but since i still have the ex1 i'm not too worried. that said, i doubt i'd be happy with any dslr since there's no zoom lenses that come anywhere near the X12 on the ex1 - a few years ago, when dslr's were all the rage among aspiring videographers, i looked into zooms for them. in those days i was doing a lot of horse shoots; parades, paddock shots, etc., and a min X10 was required. the cost of adapting a proper tv zoom lens, along with a decent canon, fuji lens itself, worked out at around $4>5k, and made for some very unwieldy equipment indeed, so stuck with proper camcorders. i still think that for serious 'run 'n' gun' work, nothing will ever beat a dedicated camcorder.

again, thanks