So I finally got around to using a Micro Four Thirds camera for something it unarguably excels at … video

I’ve had the right gear sitting here for years now, but there have been myriad other distractions.

I had a Lumix GH3 for years, and people have made feature films with that camera, even without 4K video and other bells/whistles. I upgraded recently to a GH4 – still trailing the pack by half a decade as Lumix will soon launch the GH6, and the GH5/GH5S are rusted-on staples in the videography world.

I also have the trifecta of old Russian lenses that are commonly used for making cinematic-looking video – the Helios 44-2 58mm, the Mir-2 37mm, and the Jupiter-9 85mm.

I’m over the steepest bits of the learning curve with FOSS video editing suites Shotcut and Kdenlive. So what’s next?

Here’s a recent ‘proof of concept’ exercise. Archery is, in my humble opinion, the perfect subject matter for poetic style documentary film-making. Maybe there’s even a niche for archery doco’s that aren’t just blokes with veins popping out of their foreheads while they grunt and haul back on some way over-powered reflex or compound bow?

I’m hoping so.

Start here … just a minute and a bit of your time, with the Helios 44-2 lens showing just how beautifully it can render a forest scene near dusk. Watch it on a phone if you have no choice, but much better – watch it on a nice big computer screen with 4K resolution selected in the YouTube options, or a big tablet/iPad I guess. Check out the earthy colours, the crisp resolution in the narrow band of focus, and the nicely smeared edges and background.

Talk about subject separation …