This is big news, for all those people struggling with the 500D/ T1i and it’s 20fps 1080p or 720 30fps with lack of manual control and can’t afford a 7D then this camera is for you. It’s retailing for just $800 body only!
1080p: 1920 x 1080 pixels at 30fps (actually 29.97fps)
1080p: 1920 x 1080 pixels at 25fps
1080p: 1920 x 1080 pixels at 24fps (actually 23.976fps)
720p: 1280 x 720 pixels at 60fps (actually 59.94fps)
I went over to Ealing Studios last month to meet Chris Jones, co-author of “The Guerilla Filmmaker’s Handbook” and the soon to be released new pocketbook version. I have had the green edition since it came out and it’s an essential purchase. The new pocketbook is an updated version with all the new developments. Hence my involvement. Read more
actually best if we put them back on as it’s taking place in Chicago and it’s ‘effin freezing there, especially after coming back from Dubai the other day!! Brrrrr
Organised by Zacuto, I am going over to their HQ where we will be pitting the Canon 1dmkiv, 5dmkII, 7D, Nikon D300s, Nikon D3s, Panasonic GH1 against….35mm Film.
Film is beautiful and I would love to shoot on it sometime, but most of us just can’t afford it so just how good do these cheap pretenders do at giving us that coveted “film look” without actually, like, being film!? Of course we already know these cameras are not going to be able to match film in a number of areas, but can it beat film in any? How good can they look?
Shooting identical scenes with different conditions then taking them into a professional grade and then projecting them onto a 40 foot screen.
Should be a lot of FUN.
Despite my advancing years, I am one of the new breed of DPs who have only ever shot digital but have always craved the the look of film. We are getting so close now with the RED and other camera….it’s these crazy cheap HD-DSLRs that have taken us all by surprise and it these that ill be taking charge of.
I also really want to get the best out of the Nikons, so if anyone can recommend the optimum picture profile settings for them would be very appreciative. I hear the low light of the D3s is incredible…
Watch this blog for news and do come to the meet up on Monday if you can!
EDIT: All test are done and the results have been gobsmacking. Stay tuned for further information. I will share info as soon as I get permission to share
Lots of us will be in Chicago for the big Zacuto shoot out next week. Cristina Valdivieso, Jon Connor and of course I will be there. So a meet up would make sense. Steve Weiss will also be there…so good chance to get revenge on one of his critiques!
We have all seen the announcement today of the oversized Apple iphone/ tablet thingy called the “ipad”. It looks the next gadget to have for sure…but what intrigues me is would it be possible to get an adapted version of the Canon live view software for the Mac onto the ipad, connect up a USB lead to the Canon HD-DSLR cameras and we would have a very nice monitor that doesn’t disable the camera’s LCD screen, like we can do with our laptops currently…I know it’s not running OSX but surely it must be possible…?!
We have the camera connection kit which turns the dock connector into a USB port…so it must be possible!?
Am not saying I want to use the “iPad” as a dedicated monitor, for that I recommend a dedicated monitor! But just something instead of giving director my laptop which is current situation.
Only one thing though…SURELY Apple had seen this MadTV spot from 2006 before they decided on the name?! Please do not watch the below video if you are a bit prudish!
Yes it’s that time again, the wait has been long and many questions and theories have been posed since the last once aired but the most anticipated event of the year is upon us again…yes…”Lost” returns to our screens next week! But until then here is the latest episode of “Critics”! Enjoy!
It’s about time someone came out with a four battery charger for the Canon LP-EP6 batteries. So far nobody has. When I finish a day’s job with my cameras I have a row of single chargers to charge my batteries. It’s messy, especially when I travel with them.
I have come across the Delkin dual charger which is certainly better than what I currently use. It charges two batteries simultaneously, tells you how much left there is to charge and is pretty cheap….about $50 gets you a dual charger and two plates. The charger can charge all sorts of different camera’s batteries so you need to make sure you get the plates for the EP6 batteries.
Hi everyone, as you know from this post am going to be a doing a number of workshops all over the place this year. As I work out the details what I would like from you is what do you want to learn from them…
Here are some examples of what I would like to know…
How advanced do you want it to be?
Should there be a separate beginners and advance workshop?
Which cameras do you want covered?
What topics do you want covered?
Do you want to do practical shooting?
Do you want to know about post? My problem is am a Final Cut guy so am limited to that.
Do you want small workshops or large workshops (small workshops will cost more of course but be much more hands on)
It’s the end of my Dubai shoot. We haven’t got everything in the bag so I will have to come back at some point to finish it off.
One of the best things I did whilst here was move hotels on my own money so I could have a killer view to do lots and lots of timelapses. I moved to the new Atlantis Hotel on the Palm Jumeirah in Dubai. Initially I was on the 4th floor and here is what I put together of some of my timelapse tests last week.
I showed them to my producer and he loved them, I said it would be much better if I could be higher in the hotel, so he made a couple of calls and I got moved to the 18th floor where the views were spectacular.
I also went out and did some other timelapses, from the ground looking at the same buildings as i could see from my room. Of the world’s most expensive hotel, also some of and from the world’s tallest building.
Both my 5DmkIIs and my 7D were used as was my Lumix GF1 which was used for a large number of the shots in this piece including the star timelapses.
I was mostly in aperture priority mode. The second shot was done over 24 hours from my balcony and the camera took a shot every 15 seconds. The others varied between 1 second and 4 seconds. Mostly AV mode but the shot of the Burj al Arab and the one from the top of the Burk Khalifa I had in manual so when it got dark it looked dark.
When shooting timelapses I find I tend to throw away about a third of them as they don’t quite work. But I am getting better, learning from my mistakes. After all it’s only by making mistakes do you improve! I am using a plug by CHV for FCP called Long Exposure which evens out some of the flickering. It’s very cheap. I also graded this strongly using Magic Bullet Looks. Don’t forget you get 20% off of MBL from Redgiantsoftware.com by using the code Bloom20
Lens wise I used the 70-200m F2.8 Canon. 16-35mm F2.8 Canon. 24mm F3.5 TS Canon, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, Panasonic 20mm f1.7, Olympus 17mm f2.8, Canon 24mm F1.4, Sigma 10mm Fish Eye
I mostly shot aperture priority mode to cope with the light change Sometimes in manual. You don’t need expensive cameras to do this. The GF1 is a cheap camera and there are even cheaper ones out there like some of the powershot series with built in timelapse. It’s great fun, very boring to shoot but ultimately the most rewarding.
GF1 in action
Shooting on the world's tallest building
The world's most expensive hotel!
I must say that I really had a lovely time here. I enjoyed Dubai much more than last time. Big thanks to all the crew. To Arun, thanks mate despite the accident! Ryan, Elie. To Ian for hiring me again and to Graeme for being the jolliest man I have ever met.
I want to dedicate this film to Sky Vasser, daughter of my friend Vanessa Vasser whom I worked with on “Nightshift” who died at a tragically young age. I only met her a handful of times but she had enormous personality that I will never forget. My thoughts are with you Vanessa.
This Tuesday (Jan 26th) at 2pm EST I will be taking part in a live podcast with Dave Warner of Lensflare35.com, esteemed photographer and new fan of shooting video on HD DSLRS Scott Bourne…oh and some fella called Steve Weiss, not sure what he does!
We will be talking about convergence, HD-DSLRs, fusion and Steve’s love of High School Musical and Hannah Montana TV shows!
Lots of us will be in Chicago for the big Zacuto shoot out next week. 
