DSLR STUFF FROM ALL OVER
Posted by Andrew Disney in Articles, Technical Sep 22nd, 2009 | 1 CommentThis morning feels like the quiet before the storm. In one week we have the super secret Sept 29th Announcement from Canon. In a couple of weeks the 7D will start shipping, making all those who waited out on the 5D mark 2 feel superior… And soon, or maybe never ever at all, RED will give us info on the Scarlett.
Canon-Throat
Canon Rumors has a story from their very own Deepthroat who is saying some interesting things.
1. The 5dM2 24p may never actually come. It seems like the rumors are true - the rolling shutter effect on the 5dM2 would be exacerbated by 24p, and even if we did get a firmware update, we’d be sorely let down.
2. The idea of raw video on a Canon DSLR is more than likely FALSE. The CF modules would never be able to feed that amount of data to a CF card.
3. The 1D Mark4 just may blow our mind - it’s super secret and there’s word of a DIGIC V processor. According to Canon-Throat
This will generate an image with almost no visible artifacts or moire. It will still be a step below RAW video but quality will be usable on production environments and on heavily detailed scenes.
Beards Rule
Yeah, so this video has been out for a while, BUT I watch it everyday. You’ve probably already seen it.
DSLR DESIRES: 1 OF 5 - PANAVISION LENS MOUNT
Posted by Peter Marsh in Articles, Featured, Technical, Video Sep 7th, 2009 | 3 Comments
One very hot topic in the DSLR film world is the coveted PV to EOS lens mount (or Panavision to Canon). We’ve blogged about this before, but now we have a lot more information! In turn, now you will have more information!
As we have mentioned before, the fore runner of the PV to EOS mount is “24″ cinematographer Rodney Charters. Rodney and his crew have been working on a “unknown” promo shoot that I came to find out is called “Indian Gangster.” Check it out on Twitter! They have been busy mounting all kinds of lenses on a 5D.
Oh, but there’s more!!
SUPER OFFICIAL 7D - WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN?
Posted by Peter Marsh in Articles, Technical Sep 1st, 2009 | No CommentsIf you’re reading all the camera blogs, then you know what we’ve already known for the last couple of weeks.
-There is a camera called the 7D
- It’s gonna blow our minds (biblically)
- I made a diagram of what it means
CONTINUE READING HERE - see the price, the specs, and what others are saying
THE RUMOR MILL 2: THE WRATH OF CANON…
Posted by Peter Marsh in Articles, Technical Aug 27th, 2009 | No Comments
So, for everyone who wet their pants with the last post, don’t get too excited yet… Upon further research of the “leaked” specs, I’ve found a couple discrepancies that might make all us filmmakers out there reconsider the 7D afterall…
It is true that the new 7D will have Dual DIVIC IV processors, and for anyone who didn’t read the last post, that more than likely means SLOW MOTION! Or a least variable frame rates for video, which believe me, is worthy enough for pants wetting…
However, if you look closely at the picture to the LEFT, you will see it says the 7D will have a FULL FRAME CMOS SENSOR. Now if that’s true, we will all promptly pull our F-ing hair out and shoot ourselves for pre-maturely buying a 5D Mark II without doing our research…
The real story is; none of the sources I’ve been investigating can confirm that… In fact, most of them are saying the 7D will be a CROP SENSOR camera. If that’s the case, we can all write off the 7D now and continue on our way…
THE RUMOR MILL: CANON 7D - MAGICAL NEW FEATURE?
Posted by Peter Marsh in Articles, Technical Aug 26th, 2009 | 2 Comments
Let’s talk about specs baby… There’s a rumor going around that on September 1st/2nd, we’ll be hearing about a new super sexy Canon DSLR…
I got the specs you’ve been sweating over, and I’ve translated them into regular everyday language for people (…like me) who read “new Autofocus” and immediately think Greg Kinnear is making a Zombie Movie about Bob Crane.
Also… there’s a new magical feature I’m sure you will find utterly mindblowing…
Check the SPECS here… and enter a world of new possibilities
FINALLY! A PANAVISION LENS FOR THE 5D MARK II
Posted by Peter Marsh in Featured, Found, Technical Aug 22nd, 2009 | 1 Comment
Well known cinematographer Rodney Charters has recently posted pictures and video for a promo shoot, unrelated apparently, to his usual gig, FOX TV series “24.” Himself and David Dadson from Panavision loaded up a Canon 5D Mark II with one massive Primo 11 to 1 Panavision zoom lens and took it for a spin.
They quickly noticed the PV to EOS mount they were using and the shear size of the lens was creating a “vignette” look the two of them were not expecting. With a little trial and error, they fixed the problem with 1.4 adapter that evened out the look.
Rodney did the honors of posting a TwitVid for our viewing pleasure. Too bad they didn’t actually shoot anything of significance… Watch it HERE
WHICH DSLR TO CHOOSE?
Posted by Peter Marsh in Articles, Featured, Technical Aug 18th, 2009 | 2 CommentsSo if you are anything like me, it’s hard to keep up with slew of DSLRs that seem to be appearing every few months or so. I’ve decided to put together a list of the available DSLRs and their various price tags (again, if you are anything like me, price tag makes a big difference!). Having checked out a lot of the cameras out there, quality makes a big difference too, so I’ve organized them by HD quality for ease of eyes.
FULL HD (1920 x 1080)
Canon 5D Mark II - $2700 (body only)
Canon Rebel T1i - $900 (with 18-55mm IS lens)
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1 - $1500 (with 14-140mm lens)
Nikon D400 - $? (releasing later this year)
Nikon D750 - $? (releasing later this year)
HD (1280 x 720)
Nikon D90 - $900 (body only)
Nikon D300s - $1800 (body only)
Nikon D5000 - $740 (body only)
Olympus E-P1 - $800 (with 14-42mm lens)
Pentax K7D - $? (releasing later this year)
Also, the next big rumor is that Canon will be releasing a new 1D DSLR that will fix the whole 24p issue that everyone has had with the 5D. Biggest downside? The cool $4000 price tag…
CANON 5D MKII REMOTE FOR IPHONE/IPOD TOUCH
Posted by Peter Marsh in Technical, Video Aug 17th, 2009 | 5 Comments
For everyone who has been looking for a way to manually control the functions on your Canon 5D remotely, look no further! The company onOne Software has developed an iPhone/iPod Touch app that lets you do it all.
-You can remotely fire off shots from your iPhone.
-You can remotely control the camera settings like shutter-speed, aperture, white-balance and more.
-You can view images saved on the camera from your iPhone or iPod Touch.
-You can even look through your camera’s viewfinder remotely!
Below I have included a video that explains the functions better than I ever could. Check it out!
HOT ROD CAMERAS’ PL MOUNT FOR THE GH1
Posted by Peter Marsh in Featured, Technical, Video Aug 16th, 2009 | 5 Comments
I stumbled upon this a few weeks ago, and after seeing it in use, I think we’re going to see a lot more filmmakers using the GH1 as their go to camera. The PL mount allows you attach traditional film lenses to the GH1, such as Zeiss DigiPrimes, Panavision lenses, or those that come with the RED. As a bonus, I found this amazing camera comparison video that pits the Panasonic GH1, Canon 5D Mark II, and The RED against each other. Check it out below!
Red One, Canon 5D Mk II, and Panasonic Lumix GH1 Footage Comparison from Birns and Sawyer on Vimeo.
To read up more on this video, as well as the PL mount, visit Hot Rod Cameras.
THE DP SPEAKS - The Words of Jeffrey Waldron and more 5dM2 Tips
Posted by Andrew Disney in Technical Aug 1st, 2009 | No CommentsMonday morning just as the teaser trailer went viral, our DP, Jeffrey Waldron flew to Puerto Rico to film the behind the scenes footage for the new Johnny Depp film, The Rum Diary.
I finally got him to write up some more notes of his methods with the Canon 5d Mark II.
Also check out his website to see his work. http://jeffreywaldron.com
“On exposure ‘workarounds’: When I found out how the auto exposure/ASA lock worked, I decided to mostly use it like I used to use my Nikon FM’s internal light meter. If I wanted something other than the overall metered exposure, I’d physically point the camera at something I wanted to exposure for (i.e. sky, or filling the frame with a face). I then locked it in (using the * button) and did any other tweaks to exposure manually on the lens aperture ring. The great thing about using these older lenses is that the aperture ring is still on the lens (some modern lenses are only controllable through the camera’s interface). The LCD on the 5D MkII turned out to be a great indicator for eyeballing exposure using these methods.
On ASA ‘workarounds’: I realized pretty early on that while the camera is really sensitive, the extreme ASAs are quite noisy (as would be expected). I’m always impressed at how fast the new DSLRs are until I see what 3200 actually looks like. Even then on a still shot it can be tolerable, but in video. . . it moves! That said, the camera is super sensitive and pretty darn clear at some really fast ASAs in the 800-1600 range which allowed us to take a natural light approach (though the natural light was shaped and directed with grip equipment), supplemented with moderate amounts of additional artificial light. Just a little extra light in certain situations and you can bring your ASA down and silence the noise. It’s amazing to look up from from the LCD of your shot and realize you’re pretty much shooting in the dark.
On the Nikon lenses: We used Nikon lenses because I have them. I bought a Nikon FM a long time ago and started collecting lenses for it. I would cruise Ebay for older AI’d Nikon/Nikkor lenses and find stuff in the $100-$200 range. I amassed a small collection probably mostly from the 1960’s and 70’s of Nikon optics: a 20mm, 24mm, 50mm, 55mm Macro, 135mm, 200mm. I love them, they look great! I’ve been shooting with them on every subsequent Nikon I’ve owned (another great thing about Nikon lenses). So basically, because this was a low budget thing and I have this comfort level with my Nikons, when Andrew called and asked if I had my own lenses I was thrilled. I have nothing against Canon or Canon lenses (there are no doubt some unbelievable Canon lenses out there), but the price, backwards compatibility and quality (here I’m talking less about craftsmanship/engineering but more that intangible mood of some of the older lenses) I like my box of Nikkors. We mostly ended up using my Nikkor E-Series 50mm 1.8 but used the 135mm and the 55 Macro a good bit too.
On White Balance: White balance-wise I would survey the scene and just manually dial the Kelvin temperature in the menu. Manual Kelvin controls are another great DSLR feature that you don’t get on video cameras in the same price range. I was able to dial in warmth and coolness very easily and try out a lot of options. We mixed light a lot since our little lighting package was tungsten. Various strengths of CTB gel and mixed Kinos (2900 and 5600) helped blend into natural and practical light sources seamlessly but also create color contrast. Since the format isn’t RAW, it’s nice to be able to try stuff and control/view all of your color options so accessibly.”
- Jeff
