Use a Monitor because it's hard to check focus otherwise. Also, a quick release is fantastic to help the frequent battery changes. OIS lenses can help.
I flew M5 with a7s last week with three different lenses: Canon 24-105 4L, 50 1.2L and a Sony 20mm Pancake. Worked perfectly I even tested the face tracking feature with the Sony lens and did a walk n talkish scene in front of person and it kept the focus on the face
What is good option to focus manually, I saw there is a follow focus system available, but what are the most using to focus while filming? I own a a7s sony and want to buy the m5 soon, but want to know first what I need to operate for one person. I use the Canon EF 24 - 105 4L. And anyone experience with zooming and rebalancing? What time does it costs to zoom and rebalance? Can anyone tell me? thanks in advanced! Aaldrik
What lens do you plan on using? I am using a Sony 28-70 lens and there is minimal barrel movement for zoom. If you do need to rebalance you should only have to adjust the forward/back (tilt axis) which takes a few seconds. Jeff
Hi Jeff, Thanks for the reply. Sounds promising. I am using the canon 24 - 105. I won't be zooming that much, but I used a glidecam Hd2000 before, and that was a big frustrating to balance it in the first place, let alone rebalancing when zoom. It will be or full zoom, or 24mm. Anyone knows a good solution for the focusing with one man control?
There have been many discussions about OIS lenses on gimbals. Personally, I disable OIS when using my MōVI. My experience is that OIS is better suited to small movements common to hand-holding, which aren't necessarily the same as what happens on a gimbal. But you should test this on your setup. Don't assume either is the better way. And if you can't tell the difference, flip a coin.
I've done a bunch of 5dmk3 with the 24-105 lens on the M5 and M10. I balance for the middle zoom position and then set the gains down a bit so I don't see any oscillations when I go to the FOV limits. Works great when I don't have time to rebalance for run and gun work. Jeff
@Jeff, great advice. Can I ask what do I need to handle the M5 alone? Do you really need a follow focus for most cases? And If you have one, is it even possible to focus and handle the M5 in the first place? (no experience so I trust your answer)
"Do you really need a follow focus for most cases?" That all depends on the shot you are after. Most cases you will get away with AF providing the camera focus system behaves as you want it to. Rack focus with different objects in the foreground/background will need a follow focus system. Jeff
New here, and have the M5 on order for my A7S. What are your thoughts on the FE 16-35 lens? Was thinking of getting that for weddings since you can easily switch between 16mm for venue / establishing shots and 35mm for people, with some slight rebalancing. Also, AF seems to work rather well so that would also be really helpful for single op mode.
Malcolm, I've been using the 16-35mm Canon lens on the A7s with Metabones adapter and so far it seems like a good combination on the M5. I'm not using AF, only focus peeking in manual focus mode, so can't comment on how well the AF works with the Metabones setup. Yes it does require slight tilt balancing when zooming to different focal lengths but it takes little time to do. Good luck.