CVP’s experts answer your questions
Posted on Sep 5, 2025 by Pro Moviemaker
The technical experts at Britain’s top filmmaking retailer are second to none. Write in to pick their brains
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I shoot on a Sony A7S III and there is a new firmware upgrade available. I’m wary of upgrading in case anything goes wrong. What are the benefits on my camera and should I go for it?
It’s understandable that there is some hesitation when faced with a firmware update for any piece of equipment, but they are generally pretty safe if you follow the manufacturer guidelines when installing. In the case of the A7S III, this can mean updating to previous firmware versions you might have missed before installing the latest one. The A7S III received its latest major update in April (Ver. 4.00) and brings features such as a new Log shooting mode, adding a shot marker and new grid options.
I would like to invest in a medium-price set of three prime lenses, then buy more over time as I can’t afford a full set right now. I don’t want anything too obviously vintage-looking as I’d rather have something clean so I can use it for more projects. What do you recommend? I shoot on a Sony FX9.
If autofocus is important, then sticking to native Sony glass is your best bet, as the brand makes some great lenses at varying prices. If you are looking at cine lenses, then something like Nisi’s Athena primes are a great option at an accessible price. There are eight lenses in the complete set, each have a fairly neutral look, are small and lightweight, and if you buy them in E-mount they will feature a drop-in filter mount.
I’m in the market for a new camera to partner with my Panasonic S5. I was thinking of the S5 II or one of the new S1 range but unsure which one to go for. I only use it for shooting video, not stills. What’s the best value-for-money option?
The best value-for-money option is the S5 II X. Yes, it’s a little older, but it’s a brilliant camera for the money and has the same sensor found in the newer S1 II E. The newer S1 range does however offer some substantial improvements, and if you were looking for that next step up then the S1 II would be the better recommendation for someone looking to shoot just video.
I film weddings with a mirrorless camera and shotgun mic on the hotshoe for audio. But lots of couples want the speeches recorded in full. What’s a good solution for recording the audio from all the speech makers? It needs to be not too expensive and fast to set up.
I would recommend two approaches. First is to get something like the Sennheiser Profile Wireless – a 32-bit float all-in-one wireless audio system with two transmitters, to which you can connect lav mics, and a receiver that can attach to your hotshoe and easily connect to your camera. Another approach would be to get yourself a mini field recorder, like the Zoom F3, and see if you could get a line-out of the audio desk at the wedding – assuming they are using a mic and have this option. But it’s best never to solely rely on this.
I use a mix of cameras, from a Canon EOS R6 to a Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K, and often hire in help who use a variety of brands such as Sony or Nikon. What would be a good colour grading and editing pipeline to combine everything?
Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve will be your best friend here. In your colour management settings, using something like DaVinci Wide Gamut/Intermediate for your timeline colour space – and then Colour space Transforms on your input and output nodes to convert the various brands’ gamuts and gammas to this space – will mean the various colour-correcting tools will behave a bit more consistently across the various clips.
How do I correctly expose Log footage without using zebras or waveform monitors?
Most modern cameras will have some form of exposure tool – usually zebras – on which you can then set a value to match the IRE value of middle grey for your chosen Log curve. If your camera lacks zebras, waveforms or false colour it will be tricky to expose accurately, so your best option would be to get an external monitor that can provide these tools.
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This article was first published in the September/October 2025 issue of Pro Moviemaker
