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Wow...the final results on this lens-sensor (and speed booster) combo are great! All of the properties of contrast, sharpness, noise and color all look REALLY good (even though they're not perfectly realistic). Since the color from this camera is almost always more saturated than my other cameras (currently testing GH4, G85, GX85) I knew it would be a bit on the vivid side and turning it down any more can leave too much work for the LUT to do accurately (in post-production). Another thing I'm considering, is that while the Panasonic G7 seems to produce a lot of color saturation, it may be good to leave my settings a bit on the colorful side if you're going to upload straight to YouTube. However, most of the time I would have to run these through Davinci Resolve (to assemble multiple clips) anyway, so I could easily just add a LUT (or my "YouTube color bump" settings) to deal with the color saturation. [UNFILTERED] Panasonic G7 VIVITAR 2x (Macro Helicoid) Nikon 50 1.8 D Natural "PHOTO STYLE" -0 CONTRAST +2 SHARPNESS +3 NOISE -1 COLOR -4+2 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW OFF iDYNAMIC OFF iRESOLUTION 16-255 LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD DEFAULT Nikon 50 1.8 D VIVITAR 2X Panasonic G7 NATURAL -0-0-0-0 HS -0-0 CUSTOM Nikon 50 1.8 D VIVITAR 2X Panasonic G7 NATURAL -0+2+3-1 HS -4+2 REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). Published: August 19, 2023 at 8:25:18 PM Wow...the final results on this lens-sensor (and speed booster) combo are great! All of the properties of contrast, sharpness, noise and color all look REALLY good (even though they're not perfectly realistic). Since the color from this camera is almost always more saturated than my other cameras (currently testing GH4, G85, GX85) I knew it would be a bit on the vivid side and turning it down any more can leave too much work for the LUT to do accurately (in post-production). Another thing I'm considering, is that while the Panasonic G7 seems to produce a lot of color saturation, it may be good to leave my settings a bit on the colorful side if you're going to upload straight to YouTube. However, most of the time I would have to run these through Davinci Resolve (to assemble multiple clips) anyway, so I could easily just add a LUT (or my "YouTube color bump" settings) to deal with the color saturation. My goal for these camera settings is to improve the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color with the result that it produces an image that looks less "digital" and more "organic" (more like film, etc). The first step is to apply these settings while shooting (produces an image that looks pretty good straight out of camera) but keep in mind there may need to be slight color grading (or a LUT) applied to finalize each shot. SPECIAL THANKS TO

RFI WARNING: The Zoom H1 (v1) has noticeable RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) when used at less than 5 FEET from an iPhone 13 Pro max. This is a major limitation, especially for LAV use, because if the recorder is in the pocket of a groom, and they have an iPhone somewhere in their coat, this is going to cause RFI. "CLOSE" Proximity [3.5 inches / 8.89 cm] Zoom H1 (NO AUX. Amplifier) Saramonic SR-VM4 + Foam (Stock) WAV 24-bit/96kHz REC. SETTINGS OFF REC. LOWCUT OFF REC. LIMITER 20 REC. LEVEL AUX. SETTINGS AUX. BASS AUX. HIGH-LOW AUX. OUTPUT MIC. SETTINGS ON MIC. LOWCUT N/A MIC. HIGH PASS +20 MIC. BOOST (RFI) RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE LESS THAN 1.1ft / 0.34m BETWEEN 1.1ft / 0.34m -2.2ft / 0.67m BETWEEN 2.2ft / 0.67m -3.3ft / 1m BETWEEN 3.3ft / 1m -4.4ft / 1.34m Published: May 4, 2022 at 6:58:17 PM REAL RATINGS After testing each microphone, I like to know if it sounds realistic (accurate lows/bass, mids, highs/treble) in combination with the recorder and/or AUX. amplifier, to see if it needs EQ. LOWS/BASS DO THE "LOWS" SOUND REAL? MIDS DO THE "MIDS" SOUND REAL? HIGHS/TREBLE DO THE "HIGHS" SOUND REAL? NOTES: RFI WARNING: The Zoom H1 (v1) has noticeable RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) when used at less than 5 FEET from an iPhone 13 Pro max. This is a major limitation, especially for LAV use, because if the recorder is in the pocket of a groom, and they have an iPhone somewhere in their coat, this is going to cause RFI. Keep in mind, these settings will not establish the exact level you'll need for every scene (where the audio level "bounces" around -12) but my goal is to provide a good starting point (that comes out clean, after boosting in post). It's also important to use these "recommended settings" for my microphone-specific EQ files to work properly (they won't work as intended if any of the "audio variables" are different). The EQ file was created to correct any sonic imperfections of the microphone or wind protection (foam, furry) and have been created with Audacity (the free audio editor) to make them as affordable as possible. Also, it's important to always monitor (accurate headphones) your audio while recording so you can hear any problems and make any changes needed to your audio. GAFFER TAPE SUPPLIED BY

It looks pretty good, but there is still a little bit too much contrast, which makes it difficult to stay within the dynamic range capabilities of this camera. In the future I'd like to try a Tiffen GlimmerGlass or Tiffen Black ProMist to see if it will help. FILTER: Promaster HGX UV Panasonic G7 + BOOST (Metabones XL .64x) Canon 70-200 2.8 CineLike D "PHOTO STYLE" -0 CONTRAST -5 SHARPNESS +5 NOISE +1 COLOR -2, +2 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW OFF iDYNAMIC OFF iRESOLUTION 16-255 LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST B IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS A IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR A IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). Published: June 4, 2022 at 4:55:34 PM It looks pretty good, but there is still a little bit too much contrast, which makes it difficult to stay within the dynamic range capabilities of this camera. In the future I'd like to try a Tiffen GlimmerGlass or Tiffen Black ProMist to see if it will help. My goal for these camera settings is to improve the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color with the result that it produces an image that looks less "digital" and more "organic" (more like film, etc). The first step is to apply these settings while shooting (produces an image that looks pretty good straight out of camera) but keep in mind there may need to be slight color grading (or a LUT) applied to finalize each shot. SPECIAL THANKS TO

[TESTING...] [UNFILTERED] Panasonic G85 + BOOST (Viltrox NF-M43x .71x) Tamron 75-300 4-5.6 LD Natural "PHOTO STYLE" - 4 CONTRAST +4 SHARPNESS -0 NOISE - 2 COLOR Standard HIGHLIGHT SHADOW OFF iDYNAMIC OFF iRESOLUTION LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST ? IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). Published: June 9, 2021 at 6:19:55 PM [TESTING...] My goal for these camera settings is to improve the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color with the result that it produces an image that looks less "digital" and more "organic" (more like film, etc). The first step is to apply these settings while shooting (produces an image that looks pretty good straight out of camera) but keep in mind there may need to be slight color grading (or a LUT) applied to finalize each shot. SPECIAL THANKS TO

Started test with macro helicoid adapter (no optic in adapter). [UNFILTERED] Panasonic GX85 + HELICOID (Macro Helicoid Adapter) Nikon 50 1.8 D Natural "PHOTO STYLE" -0 CONTRAST -0 SHARPNESS +3 NOISE -1 COLOR Standard HIGHLIGHT SHADOW OFF iDYNAMIC OFF iRESOLUTION LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST ? IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). Published: August 24, 2021 at 6:21:52 PM Started test with macro helicoid adapter (no optic in adapter). My goal for these camera settings is to improve the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color with the result that it produces an image that looks less "digital" and more "organic" (more like film, etc). The first step is to apply these settings while shooting (produces an image that looks pretty good straight out of camera) but keep in mind there may need to be slight color grading (or a LUT) applied to finalize each shot. SPECIAL THANKS TO

With the (stock) FOAM windscreen, this mic has too much BASS (I think it's because the foam is so thick). Also, this microphone does NOT reduce the background noise as much as some similar mics (even some less expensive ones like the Takstar SGC-598 and SGC-600). This means I can't really use this for recording NARRATION, VOICEOVERS or a PODCAST without being in a sound-treated room. That means this microphone would only be good for situations where having some background noise is a GOOD thing (such as when you're vlogging OUTDOORS and trying to tell a story). "CLOSE" Proximity [3.5 inches / 8.89 cm] Zoom F2 (NO AUX. Amplifier) Rode VideoMic Pro R WINDSCREEN: Foam (Stock) 32-Bit Float REC. SETTINGS OFF REC. LOWCUT N/A REC. LIMITER N/A REC. LEVEL AUX. SETTINGS N/A AUX. BASS N/A AUX. HIGH-LOW N/A AUX. OUTPUT MIC. SETTINGS ON MIC. LOWCUT N/A MIC. HIGH PASS +0 MIC. BOOST (RFI) RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE GOOD LESS THAN 1.1ft / 0.34m BAD BETWEEN 1.1ft / 0.34m -2.2ft / 0.67m BETWEEN 2.2ft / 0.67m -3.3ft / 1m BETWEEN 3.3ft / 1m -4.4ft / 1.34m Published: December 26, 2022 at 8:26:41 PM REAL RATINGS After testing each microphone, I like to know if it sounds realistic (accurate lows/bass, mids, highs/treble) in combination with the recorder and/or AUX. amplifier, to see if it needs EQ. LOWS/BASS C DO THE "LOWS" SOUND REAL? MIDS B DO THE "MIDS" SOUND REAL? HIGHS/TREBLE A DO THE "HIGHS" SOUND REAL? NOTES: With the (stock) FOAM windscreen, this mic has too much BASS (I think it's because the foam is so thick). Also, this microphone does NOT reduce the background noise as much as some similar mics (even some less expensive ones like the Takstar SGC-598 and SGC-600). This means I can't really use this for recording NARRATION, VOICEOVERS or a PODCAST without being in a sound-treated room. That means this microphone would only be good for situations where having some background noise is a GOOD thing (such as when you're vlogging OUTDOORS and trying to tell a story). Keep in mind, these settings will not establish the exact level you'll need for every scene (where the audio level "bounces" around -12) but my goal is to provide a good starting point (that comes out clean, after boosting in post). It's also important to use these "recommended settings" for my microphone-specific EQ files to work properly (they won't work as intended if any of the "audio variables" are different). The EQ file was created to correct any sonic imperfections of the microphone or wind protection (foam, furry) and have been created with Audacity (the free audio editor) to make them as affordable as possible. Also, it's important to always monitor (accurate headphones) your audio while recording so you can hear any problems and make any changes needed to your audio. GAFFER TAPE SUPPLIED BY

UPDATE 2: I just finished the updated settings! I think it still could benefit from doing some tests with some kind of diffusion filter (like the Tiffen GG or BPM) but I have to note that this is my last test with this camera because the shutter speed dial completely stopped working (when I turn it, it only goes HIGHER). The problems with this camera started after using a Viltrox EFM2ii (Canon mount focal reducer/speedbooster) during which the screen glitched, then the camera froze. Since then, it has gotten worse, and now I can't use it at all. (I love the Nikon mount version of the Viltrox focal reducer, the non-electronic version, but now I'm going to warn people about using the Canon mount version (because it has electrical contacts, and tries to communicate, and pull power from, the camera). One thing that is really interesting about these settings, is that the SOOC JPEG (in still photo modes) looks really good (and, in fact a bit more accurate than the video footage, because the video footage is still a LITTLE bit over-sharpened). UPDATE: I recently talked with another photographer about this lens (as well as talking with others in the past) and most people don't like it much. I've been working to figure out CUSTOM SETTINGS that help each lens look its best (specific to each camera sensor) and haven't been able to get this combo to look realistic (it looks too "digital"). I've started testing some lenses using Tiffen Black Pro Mist 1/8 filters and may try that here. What the filter does is smooth the transition of light from the highlights to the shadows, keeping the light projected onto the sensor within the dynamic range of the camera. This also causes SHARPNESS to decrease, but I have it turned all of the way down right now, so I can then turn it up on the custom settings, and it should make the image look less digital. [UNFILTERED] Panasonic GX85 No Lens Adapter (Native Mount) Panasonic 14-42 ii Natural "PHOTO STYLE" -1 CONTRAST -4 SHARPNESS +4 NOISE -0 COLOR -2+3 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW OFF iDYNAMIC OFF iRESOLUTION 16-255 LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST A IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS A IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE C IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR A IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). Published: June 24, 2021 at 8:47:25 PM UPDATE 2: I just finished the updated settings! I think it still could benefit from doing some tests with some kind of diffusion filter (like the Tiffen GG or BPM) but I have to note that this is my last test with this camera because the shutter speed dial completely stopped working (when I turn it, it only goes HIGHER). The problems with this camera started after using a Viltrox EFM2ii (Canon mount focal reducer/speedbooster) during which the screen glitched, then the camera froze. Since then, it has gotten worse, and now I can't use it at all. (I love the Nikon mount version of the Viltrox focal reducer, the non-electronic version, but now I'm going to warn people about using the Canon mount version (because it has electrical contacts, and tries to communicate, and pull power from, the camera). One thing that is really interesting about these settings, is that the SOOC JPEG (in still photo modes) looks really good (and, in fact a bit more accurate than the video footage, because the video footage is still a LITTLE bit over-sharpened). UPDATE: I recently talked with another photographer about this lens (as well as talking with others in the past) and most people don't like it much. I've been working to figure out CUSTOM SETTINGS that help each lens look its best (specific to each camera sensor) and haven't been able to get this combo to look realistic (it looks too "digital"). I've started testing some lenses using Tiffen Black Pro Mist 1/8 filters and may try that here. What the filter does is smooth the transition of light from the highlights to the shadows, keeping the light projected onto the sensor within the dynamic range of the camera. This also causes SHARPNESS to decrease, but I have it turned all of the way down right now, so I can then turn it up on the custom settings, and it should make the image look less digital. My goal for these camera settings is to improve the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color with the result that it produces an image that looks less "digital" and more "organic" (more like film, etc). The first step is to apply these settings while shooting (produces an image that looks pretty good straight out of camera) but keep in mind there may need to be slight color grading (or a LUT) applied to finalize each shot. SPECIAL THANKS TO

I'm not liking these settings yet (so will keep testing). I think it needs more SHARPNESS (to preserve the "REAL" feel, even though that can blow out the highlights) and it may need more contrast (at the expense of the same)...the low contrast is actually exposing the noise in the shadow areas (due to the detail being visible) so it's still not looking "REAL". [UNFILTERED] Panasonic G85 + BOOST (Viltrox NF-M43x .71x) Nikon 70-300 4-5.6 ED Natural "PHOTO STYLE" -5 CONTRAST -5 SHARPNESS +5 NOISE -1 COLOR Standard HIGHLIGHT SHADOW OFF iDYNAMIC OFF iRESOLUTION LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST ? IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). Published: June 9, 2021 at 6:28:45 PM I'm not liking these settings yet (so will keep testing). I think it needs more SHARPNESS (to preserve the "REAL" feel, even though that can blow out the highlights) and it may need more contrast (at the expense of the same)...the low contrast is actually exposing the noise in the shadow areas (due to the detail being visible) so it's still not looking "REAL". My goal for these camera settings is to improve the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color with the result that it produces an image that looks less "digital" and more "organic" (more like film, etc). The first step is to apply these settings while shooting (produces an image that looks pretty good straight out of camera) but keep in mind there may need to be slight color grading (or a LUT) applied to finalize each shot. SPECIAL THANKS TO

This is a decent lens-sensor combo, but the propensity of this sensor to oversaturate color (in combination with a lens that's not super balanced or accurate to begin with) makes color accuracy a difficult task, which makes it tough to match other lenses/sensors to. [UNFILTERED] Panasonic G7 + ADAPTER (Non-Optical Adapter) Nikon 18-70 Natural "PHOTO STYLE" -1 CONTRAST -0 SHARPNESS +4 NOISE -1 COLOR -1+2 HIGHLIGHT SHADOW OFF iDYNAMIC OFF iRESOLUTION 16-255 LUMINANCE LEVEL Unsharp Mask* ADOBE POST-PRODUCTION AMOUNT RADIUS THRESHOLD REAL RATINGS After testing each lens-sensor combo, I like to know if the rendering is going to look realistic SOOC (S traight O ut o f C amera) or if it will need a LUT (to match the shots to other lenses and cameras). CONTRAST A IS THE CONTRAST "REAL"? SHARPNESS B IS THE SHARPNESS "REAL"? NOISE C IS THE NOISE "REAL"? COLOR C IS THE COLOR "REAL"? *Click here to learn more about "REAL" Ratings . These ratings are AFTER my custom settings are applied (most combos don't look real good with default settings). Published: September 27, 2022 at 10:09:31 PM This is a decent lens-sensor combo, but the propensity of this sensor to oversaturate color (in combination with a lens that's not super balanced or accurate to begin with) makes color accuracy a difficult task, which makes it tough to match other lenses/sensors to. My goal for these camera settings is to improve the "lens-sensor relationship" by adjusting the contrast, sharpness, noise reduction and color with the result that it produces an image that looks less "digital" and more "organic" (more like film, etc). The first step is to apply these settings while shooting (produces an image that looks pretty good straight out of camera) but keep in mind there may need to be slight color grading (or a LUT) applied to finalize each shot. SPECIAL THANKS TO

TIPS #006 USE "T-LIGHTING" (NOT 3-POINT LIGHTING) I use T-Lighting because it’s faster to set up and less expensive than 3-point lighting (and yields similar results!) T-Lighting is much more versatile because it can be used in spaces with low ceilings. THE DETAILS To take a phrase from a blog post I have about this, "T-Lighting" is a simple, 2-light method that's faster and easier to set up than 3-point lighting but is less expensive (yet produces similar results). If you haven't heard of this, T-Lighting is a 2-light setup which uses the #2 light as both the 3/4 backlight AND as a background light (and the main light is used the same way as it would be in 3-point lighting). It's "faster" because you're only setting up a total of 2 lights (no boom for the "hair light") and it's easier for a number of reasons. Check out the BLOG post for more details, and the lighting diagram. ©2021 SilverLight Photo Co.

MIC. SPECIFIC: One little thing to note, is that in low light (learned this while vlogging after dark) I can't read the MIC. BOOST (mic gain) dial very well (because the paint is a red color) so if you need to see the MIC. BOOST setting in low light, I recommend painting over it with a lighter color, but be careful to not change the position of the mark of course. REGARDING MIC. LOWCUT: When testing this mic on another audio recorder, using the MIC. LOWCUT (either setting) sounded really bad (not natural at all) yet, when using both the FOAM + FURRY (that are included with the mic) the MIC. LOWCUT setting of 150Hz sounds good (it sounds natural and "REAL" as I say). Another weird thing is that the REC. LOWCUT (the one on the audio recorder) didn't sound good with this mic/audio recorder combination (but it sounded better than the MIC. LOWCUT on a different recorder). Anyways, it is really good this higher lowcut setting (150 vs 75) sounds natural, as the shock mount that comes with this mic isn't very effective, and the extra lowcut really helps (which is the main reason why lowcut filters are included on mics anyway). Also, the fact that it sounds more natural with the FOAM + FURRY is great, because this means you can just leave the FURRY on all of the time (INDOORS & OUTDOORS!) AUDIO RECORDER SPECIFIC: An important note specific to this audio recorder, is that the "HI-" REC. LEVEL setting sounds "cleaner" to me (less self-noise) than the next lower setting "MID+". It doesn't seem like it should, because it's a higher gain setting, but that is how it's sounding to me (it's kind of like how the self-noise on the Zoom H1 v1 is lower at a REC. LEVEL of 37 than it is at 36!). Also, because the Zoom F1 doesn't have a lot of options for REC. LEVEL steps (not "numerical" as the Zoom H1) I suggest keeping the REC. LEVEL set to "HI-" on the audio recorder, and then just tweaking the gain (when needed) by adjusting gain dial on the microphone (which is pretty nice because you can set it anywhere between 0-10 with stepless adjustments). "VLOG" Proximity [22 inches / 55.5 cm] Zoom F1 (NO AUX. Amplifier) Comica CVM-VM20 (Shotgun) Windscreen: FOAM + FURRY (Stock) 96k 24-bit REC. SETTINGS OFF REC. LOWCUT OFF REC. LIMITER "HI" REC. LEVEL AUX. SETTINGS N/A AUX. BASS N/A AUX. HIGH-LOW N/A AUX. OUTPUT MIC. SETTINGS 150 Hz MIC. LOWCUT N/A MIC. HIGH PASS 6.5 MIC. BOOST (RFI) RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE BAD LESS THAN 1.1ft / 0.34m BAD BETWEEN 1.1ft / 0.34m -2.2ft / 0.67m BETWEEN 2.2ft / 0.67m -3.3ft / 1m BETWEEN 3.3ft / 1m -4.4ft / 1.34m Published: February 9, 2023 at 2:27:59 AM REAL RATINGS After testing each microphone, I like to know if it sounds realistic (accurate lows/bass, mids, highs/treble) in combination with the recorder and/or AUX. amplifier, to see if it needs EQ. LOWS/BASS DO THE "LOWS" SOUND REAL? MIDS DO THE "MIDS" SOUND REAL? HIGHS/TREBLE DO THE "HIGHS" SOUND REAL? NOTES: MIC. SPECIFIC: One little thing to note, is that in low light (learned this while vlogging after dark) I can't read the MIC. BOOST (mic gain) dial very well (because the paint is a red color) so if you need to see the MIC. BOOST setting in low light, I recommend painting over it with a lighter color, but be careful to not change the position of the mark of course. REGARDING MIC. LOWCUT: When testing this mic on another audio recorder, using the MIC. LOWCUT (either setting) sounded really bad (not natural at all) yet, when using both the FOAM + FURRY (that are included with the mic) the MIC. LOWCUT setting of 150Hz sounds good (it sounds natural and "REAL" as I say). Another weird thing is that the REC. LOWCUT (the one on the audio recorder) didn't sound good with this mic/audio recorder combination (but it sounded better than the MIC. LOWCUT on a different recorder). Anyways, it is really good this higher lowcut setting (150 vs 75) sounds natural, as the shock mount that comes with this mic isn't very effective, and the extra lowcut really helps (which is the main reason why lowcut filters are included on mics anyway). Also, the fact that it sounds more natural with the FOAM + FURRY is great, because this means you can just leave the FURRY on all of the time (INDOORS & OUTDOORS!) AUDIO RECORDER SPECIFIC: An important note specific to this audio recorder, is that the "HI-" REC. LEVEL setting sounds "cleaner" to me (less self-noise) than the next lower setting "MID+". It doesn't seem like it should, because it's a higher gain setting, but that is how it's sounding to me (it's kind of like how the self-noise on the Zoom H1 v1 is lower at a REC. LEVEL of 37 than it is at 36!). Also, because the Zoom F1 doesn't have a lot of options for REC. LEVEL steps (not "numerical" as the Zoom H1) I suggest keeping the REC. LEVEL set to "HI-" on the audio recorder, and then just tweaking the gain (when needed) by adjusting gain dial on the microphone (which is pretty nice because you can set it anywhere between 0-10 with stepless adjustments). Keep in mind, these settings will not establish the exact level you'll need for every scene (where the audio level "bounces" around -12) but my goal is to provide a good starting point (that comes out clean, after boosting in post). It's also important to use these "recommended settings" for my microphone-specific EQ files to work properly (they won't work as intended if any of the "audio variables" are different). The EQ file was created to correct any sonic imperfections of the microphone or wind protection (foam, furry) and have been created with Audacity (the free audio editor) to make them as affordable as possible. Also, it's important to always monitor (accurate headphones) your audio while recording so you can hear any problems and make any changes needed to your audio. GAFFER TAPE SUPPLIED BY

TIPS #007 MAKE IT EASY ENOUGH TO DO WHEN YOU'RE STRESSED I take this tip seriously, because I've been through the "burnout" stuff. Yet, if you make your production methods simple, you always have them to fall back on when you’re too stressed to think. THE DETAILS If you've ever started to feel overwhelmed in the middle of a shoot, you probably know how important this note is. If you haven't felt that, it never hurts to work on streamlining your production methods before this happens (most people wait until after something happens TO THEM before they start taking it seriously). To do this, I start by evaluating the efficiency of the 3 main areas of production (lights, cameras & audio) then I come up with a game plan for my standard shots. For me, this means having a simple lighting diagram for my LIGHTS, knowing the lens focal length for the CAMERAS (and the sensor size) and then having an idea of how I'm going to set up AUDIO (using my "Proximity" method and custom settings). This is kind of like storyboarding, but it's more of a general preparation I do (I call it my Filmmaker's Playbook). ©2021 SilverLight Photo Co.