This thread is dedicated to close-range photographic captures utilising macro-optical imaging configurations to achieve greater reproduction ratios. Got it? Good now upload some shit.

Last thread:
>>4376661

Snoybob Edition

Old thread autosaged. Dumb questions go here.

Last days of 2025 edition

All video related questions and discussion is intended for this thread. Here we discuss techniques, gear and anything else related to capturing video footage. Please don't pretend to be an expert if you don't know what you're talking about. Kindly leave your ego at the door.
Posting short films/scripts or other work you've done is encouraged.
We tend to use and recommend DSLRs/mirrorless cameras because they provide phenomenal picture quality for their price, have large sensors (ie the same size used in high-end cinema cameras and higher) and have interchangeable lenses.
In contrast, consumer camcorders often have much smaller sensors and a fixed lens.

>STICKY - https://text.is/QZ1J
>Helpful guide, additional books and more in-depth FAQs - https://web.archive.org/web/20200926115310/https://pastebin.com/kG0gRmTZ

>NO ONE CARES WHAT AN EXPERT YOU THINK YOU ARE. IF YOU’RE ASKING BASIC-AS-SHIT QUESTIONS, YOU CAN’T BE ALL THAT GREAT. SEE ABOVE

Previous thread >>4467259

Quick FAQS
>what’s the best camera available on a “budget”?
The blackmagic pocket cinema camera 4k, or the Panasonic gh5 (can pick one up for like 500 bucks atm)
>what’s a good beginner video camera?
Anything that works, shoots at least 1080p and preferably has interchangeable lenses. Any recommendation beyond that will cause arguments so read the fucking sticky if that isn't satisfactory.
>What's a good sound solution that won't break the bank?
Zoom h1
>Can I use a zoom lens for video?
Yes
>Do I need cine lenses?
No
>Do I need 4k?
No. 1080 looks great on a cinema screen. 4k looks better.
>Can someone tell me if my video is any good?
Yes, but be prepared to receive harsh criticism. If you're going to waste 5 minutes of our time with a shitty out-of-focus montage of nothing then we'll tell you that it's crap
>Is it okay to dox myself?
...Personally I wouldn't but what do I know?

The pursuit of being in the right place at the right time to capture the perfect sky no longer holds its former value when that very sky can be synthesized from colored pixels. When a dramatic reddish dawn or an approaching thunderstorm is conjured with a few strokes in Photoshop, or when a telephone receiver in a model’s hand is seamlessly swapped for a sneaker using Adobe Firefly with context-aware lighting adjustments, the photograph was, at best, merely raw material.

Even the need for initial raw material is obsolete, as AI can generate sophisticated images entirely ex nihilo.

Even the tangible, physical nature of the print offers no reliable refuge: A picture developed on photographic paper from a negative, held in the viewer's hand, might still originate from a digitally generated negative, or the photographer might have used analog means to re-photograph a digitally produced and printed image.

In sharp contrast, painting remains a sanctuary of authenticity. Within a painting, the physical labor and the direct interaction of the artist with paint on a substrate are inherently stored and visible. The viewer holding a painted image recognizes the unique signature, the texture of the applied color, and the clear intentionality of the human creator behind it.

While robots can wield a paintbrush, they cannot yet fully simulate the human touch. The immediate, non-reproducible trace of the human creator in the finished work remains the key differentiator. Traditional, handcrafted creation is reclaiming its significance.

This shift in perception is already evident at art fairs which do not show specifically photographs: Visitors often walk past photographs but pause thoughtfully before paintings. In art, people are not seeking the perfect illusion; they are seeking the visible, verifiable, and therefore authentic trace of another human being.

>don't switch to a new mount in the digital transition so all your customers can still use their old film lenses
>pride yourself for upholding true photographic tradition and having the finest lenses with the most "character"
>release the first full frame camera that can actually make full use of all those "sweet" 35mm pentax lenses in 2016, literally 10 years after the competition
>in the meantime only make shitty APS-C kit zooms
>Release your only monochrome camera for the true affecionados
>It's APS-C
Why is this company such a joke?

Laughing gull edition
Last thread >>4467818

Does anyone use GIMP for photo editing and manipulation? Has it become a "photographer's program" yet, or is it still clunky and freetarded?

Should dishonest photography be shunned?

I shoot black and whit 'art' photos.
I print a lot. So i spend a lot of time looking at the details of each photo. especially if they're hanging on my wall.
that being said, i have a conundrum which, surprisingly, isn't well covered on the internet:

>would you say a leica monochrom, or a medium format (with more bits and more sensor real estate) would produce better black and white images?

If I ask some college students to help me model for my photography do I have to pay them or is giving them the pictures for the instagram enough? What is your guys experience in this?