Questions and Answers

Ask away and I hope to be able to answer you!

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Jim C.
March 8, 2010 at 16:26

Hi Philip,

I have been a fan ever since I saw your tutorial “Grading ‘Return to Dungeness’.”

I teach video editing at a high school in the US. We have made several documentaries but have the opportunity to do more. I would like to incorporate more of a film look to the next one but the budget is almost non-existent.

We have a Panasonic AG-DVX100BP that we are using right now but I also have the funding for a Canon T2i and one of the slower primes. I can add more gear/kit/stuff next funding cycle.

My question is: In your opinion, is the T2i going to give us major advantages over the Panasonic in terms of “cinema look”? Is the T2i worth building an advanced program on? Or should I hold out for a 5DMkII knowing that it will be at least a year before that could happen. We edit on Final Cut Pro and use Magic Bullet Looks.

Thanks for your time.
Jim C.

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- pbloom
  March 8, 2010 at 17:49
  
  absolutely! it’s HD for a start and gives you the same sized, almost, as a s35 camera or RED. Mark III is not super close as far as I know.
  
  Reply
Logan
March 4, 2010 at 20:02

hey phil, I’m new to the DSLR world, though this summer I am planning on selling my DVX and everything with it to jump into DSLR. I have been looking at a number of cameras and I was wondering if you could give some quick advice? I have been looking at the canon T2i, and the 7D. they are almost identical from what i can see though if i spend the money on a DSLR I want to spend it on something “professional” you could say. I don’t want to buy a camera that will be out of date in a year. any quick advice?

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- pbloom
  March 5, 2010 at 03:35
  
  this business moves fast…the investment of just 800 bucks for a t2i wouldnt be too bad would it?
  
  Reply
Jason
February 24, 2010 at 16:15

Hi Philip,

forgetting about frame rates for a moment and just looking at image quality (aliasing, moire, noise), i am wondering how much the LENS is to blame and not the camera.

At first i thought it was all the camera, but after much research online, i can see how an excellent lens (like cinema style lenses) can reduce aliasing, moire, etc.

With that in mind, do you think it would be possible that a camera like a t2i/550D or a T1i/500D can produce as great an image with an excellent lens? For image quality, how important is the lens versus the camera body?

I’ve seen your 5d/ 7d comparison, but i’m wondering if this goes further with the consumer models as well.

Thanks in advance Philip. You rock!

-Jason

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- pbloom
  February 25, 2010 at 02:58
  
  I get the T2i tomorrow. Most of it is purely down to the cameras chucking lines away to scale the image down to 1080p. Lenses help, but not enough to justify buying cinema lenses
  
  Reply
  - Jason
    February 25, 2010 at 18:39
    
    Looking forward to your review of the T2i Philip. Can you please do those comparisons where you shoot the same scene with 2 or more camera bodies (T2i, 7D,5d), but with the exact same lens/stop/frame? i think we all need to see this.
    
    thanks so much.
    
    Reply
Elisa
February 24, 2010 at 10:27

Hi Philip!

First of all: your work is so amazing!
I´m a german student and i want to write a thesis about time lapse photography. I´m in search of a book or professional articels about it. I didn´t find anything excepting lots of tutorials and personal blogs. So
do you know a book?
thanks

Elisa

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Juergen Heinemann
February 23, 2010 at 01:25

Hi Phillip,
My name is Juergen Heinemann. I am a Cinematographer getting ready to make the jump to a 7D. My question is this. I have a Dual 1 gig G4 Power Mac. And I’m concerned it’s not going to be fast enough to handle the video. I’m running FCP 5.1.4 on it right now. Would it be possible to use Proress? Or should I just Bite the bullet and upgrade? Any advice would be much appreciated.

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M
February 22, 2010 at 11:49

Hi, first off you helped me a lot with your instructional video. I purchased it and it was worth every penny to me.

Im looking to make a tourism documentary and I require some tracking shots to be made down a long street, however i cannot seem to keep the camera steady, no matter what the video still shakes whenever i take a few steps forward.

Im looking to purchase either a Zaguto Gunstock Quick Draw or a BlackBird Stabilizer.

Im not sure about the Zaguto because the shoulder stock is against my shoulder and when i move would the camera still produce unsteadiness?

The Blackbird Stabilizer appears very steady when I move but it’s a weighty accessory and I hope not to have to lug that around.

Which would you recommend? Thanks very much for your reply.

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- pbloom
  February 23, 2010 at 02:14
  
  quick draw is useless. rapid fire is much better and the one i use all the time
  
  Reply
  - M
    February 23, 2010 at 09:28
    
    Thanks for your reply, i’ll look into a tactical shooter instead.
    
    Another serious problem i have is my movie is really incredibly noisy in low light situations, im currently using the 17-55mm F2.8 Canon EFS lenses. I notice you use the Canon Prime 50mm F1.2 L Lenses in some of your videos.
    
    Is that the contributing factor to the better low light videos? If so, i’ll have to dump some money into purchasing that lens.
    
    Thanks!
    
    Reply
    - pbloom
      February 23, 2010 at 15:39
      
      what ISO are you using?
      
      Reply
      - M
        February 23, 2010 at 23:30
        
        i try not to go over 1600 ISO, even when the video looks too dark. Is my F2.8 lens causing this?
        
        Reply
Jack
February 20, 2010 at 23:14

Philip,

So I need a little handheld advice with the Panasonic 300. I’m shooting a run and gun doc in a week and I have little experience on the 300. I’ve tested with it a few times and it feels great. Also, I’m confident using the Panasonic camera interface, since I own hvx200, but I’m a little worried about using a shoulder mounted camera, something I’m not used to. Although I have worked a lot with the old JVC HD200u, my body of work has been mostly on “palm cameras” (Ex1 and said Hvx). Do you find a noticeable difference in technique with shoulder mounted vs palm styled cameras? Since you’re a man with plenty of experience using both designs, do you have any advice that might help me during the shoot?

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tomaspernek
February 14, 2010 at 18:52

Hi Philip

Was wondering if you have heard any news about the 5D mark II firmware? Got a 5D mark II and ordered a 550 the other day.
We are going to Austria in march to film some skiing. Do you think it is possible that the firmware is out until then?

Any tips about what lens I should get for the 550? Have pretty much decided to go for the Canon 50 mm/1.4, but…?

Really inspired by your timelapse videos by the way, gonna try do some of that:)

Thanks for a great blog, read it every day…

Cheers from Sweden!

/Tomas

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Olli Collins
February 13, 2010 at 15:41

Hi Philip

Wonder if you can help. I’ve just bought a couple of zeiss primes with Contax C/Y mounts and a cheap “dumb” adapter to connect to my 7d. the problem i’m having is my in camera light meter is total of by about 4 stops and what i see live view in stills mode is super dark compared to the image it takes. video mode what i see on screen is what i get recorded though? but metre reading is still wildly inacurate. do you think it’s the cheap adapter? i’ve ordered an optix v5 chipped on the has Af confirm etc.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers

Olli

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Aaron Keeling
February 12, 2010 at 18:58

Hey Philip,

I’m a film student at USC, and I’m about to go ahead and take the dive and purchase a Letus adaptor, probably the elite. But what’s holding me back at the moment is my general confusion with lenses, and which one is the best for me.

I’m really new to understanding lenses and don’t really know much, so I was hoping you could help me in choosing the best one.

What I’m really looking for is shallow depth of field. This has been something I’ve been trying to achieve for quite some time, and it’s really the reason I’m looking into buying the Letus.

I have a Canon XH A1 (not the greatest out there, but definitely really good, especially considering my somewhat limited price range).

I’m looking into buying probably 1 to 2 lenses with the Letus. Which ones would you suggest?

Thank you so much!

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Riaan
February 11, 2010 at 07:32

Told you there’ll be more questions!

Any ideas for macro lenses? I’ve used 35mm lenses with extension tubes on the big HD (video) cameras before. Got great magnification but the pic was a bit fuzzy. I’m talking macro as in getting an ant’s head full screen.

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Riaan
February 11, 2010 at 07:08

Are the Zacuto viewfinders the best available for DSLR’s? Are there any available that can be adjusted like a Betacam vf for different body positions, or are they all set in one position behind the LCD? That could be quite uncomfortable and limiting, no?

I’m looking for DSLR kits for wildlife filming. I’m getting too old to drag all the heavy stuff along. (Currently shooting XD HD) Is the 5D mkII a good option? Any suggestions on lenses, tripods, mics. I use FCP for post at the moment.

Can medium format lenses (Mamiya 6:4.5, Pentax 6:7 or Hasselblad) be adapted for DSLR’s at all? Would it be worth the exercise? Is the glass good enough? Old medium format lenses can be picked up fairly cheap nowadays.

Thanks for a great site. More questions soon.

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- pbloom
  February 11, 2010 at 11:29
  
  if you are after cheap glass get a fotodiox pro adaptor and buy old Nikon lenses. Work just fine for video. Macro tubes are ok. I have just bought a 100mm F2.8L f2.8 Canon Macro, there is a non L series and that is very good too and almost half the price
  
  Reply
Riaan
February 11, 2010 at 06:58

Hi Philip

Which intervalometer do you use with your 5D mkII? What’s the story about some only being able to record 99 frames?

Thanks

Riaan

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- pbloom
  February 11, 2010 at 11:27
  
  i use the canon one and the ebay knock off. Set frames to 00 or — and it’s infinite, ignore the 99 thing
  
  Reply
Aaron
February 7, 2010 at 13:48

So have you ever heard of a faulty LP-E6? I have three with my 7D and it seems that whenever I use one of them and record video, the files are faulty. All of the other batteries are ok, but the one produces the “?” on the screen when I try to play the files back.

Thanks!

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- pbloom
  February 7, 2010 at 22:30
  
  never heard of that. is it under warranty?
  
  Reply
Brian Grant
February 7, 2010 at 13:18

I’ve recently been shooting with the Sony EX3 HD. Excellent stuff. Trying to make a decision as to the best way to archive the footage. (Long Term Storeage) Am thinking about Blu-Ray but would appreciate your opinion.

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PJM Zdanowski
February 7, 2010 at 10:02

I’m in trouble – wha should I buy? A video mic or stereo video mic? Think: documentaries.

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- pbloom
  February 7, 2010 at 22:30
  
  VIdeo Mic. Stereo Mic cant get very good sound apart from atmos
  
  Reply
Jonathan Farber
February 1, 2010 at 14:21

Ok its time I grew up.

I bought FCE with the thought that I’d learn this and move upto the FCP but I am nervous about the learning curve… so I’m sat here thinking is Premier a better solution, easier etc..?

The truth is I have got my self in a rut with iMovie and I really need to move on and up my game. I love my Z5E and my 5Dmk2 but i know that I’m wasting them using a basic editor.

Thoughts? advice?

Jonathan

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- PJM Zdanowski
  February 7, 2010 at 10:03
  
  iMovie really wastes what you do. If you are using Mac go with FCP – don’t waste time on FCE.
  
  If you are on PC – Adobe or Sony Vegas.
  
  Reply
mauricefit
January 22, 2010 at 22:56

Hi Philip
I used an EX-3 for timelapse. I am having a difficult time setting the camara so that the exposure is adjustable as the timelapse goes from afternoon to night. What would you suggest? auto exposure?

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mauricefit
January 22, 2010 at 03:12

Hey Philip
I love the timelapses. I own an EX-3 How do you adjust your camara when shooting from mid afternoon to night so that the exposure is enough as it gets dark. Do you put it in manual?
Thanks

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Jenna Bush
January 17, 2010 at 03:28

Hi Phillip,
I’m a film student looking to buy the Canon 7d. What kind of lens do you recommend to start out with? I heard the zoom lenses are difficult to focus. Is this true? Also, I’d like to keep the price down as much as possible.
Thanks!
-Jenna

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- pbloom
  January 17, 2010 at 03:33
  
  that is the downside of the DSLR that shoots video Jenna. There is no one lens that is cheap and great am afraid. All the cheap zooms are poor. All the good zooms are expensive and prime lenses mean more than one lens.
  
  Reply
Paweł Zdanowski
January 14, 2010 at 11:50

Hi Philip!

I will be buying a 7D next week or so and I was thinking about some all purpose lens to begin with.

I own an Canon EF 50 mm 1.8 – but it wil be like 80mm on 7d.

I will be shooting some short movies and mini documentaries.
So i decided to go with a wider zoom:

Canon EF-S 17-55 mm f/2.8 IS USM

Do you think it is a good choice?

Also there is a lot rumble about 7D overheating issue. I’m going to Sierra Leone for a bigger project sometime next year, so it could be an issue. Have you experienced this problem?

Thanks for the reply in advance! And thanks for all the good work you do! The community owns you a lot.
If we ever met I’m buying beers!

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- pbloom
  January 14, 2010 at 21:03
  
  hi Pawel. that is a very good zoom lens for the 7D.
  
  I personally have not had any overheating issues.
  
  Best
  
  P
  
  Reply
claudioagmfilho
January 13, 2010 at 19:06

Oh my God you’re so ingenious thank you so much for sharing that with great questions and answers from up above…

I really have been appreciating all of your work…
as you know prob i am the guy from Brazil in sou America
i love the way you keep the HD IMAGE on your web videoography…
It’s pristine…

I wish I were as smart as you are…

A perfect filmmaker; I think in my view…
Phil I was wondering tho if you know how to do something else that I have been seeing a lot on movies on the vimeo site lately; and that is:

You know how like when a camera is focusing on the road and there is the sun there…shimmering just above the asphalt?

then you see something that looks sort of that heat that comes off of it?
sort of hovering over the road?

Its like there is a transparent mist in the air and its a fluctuation in sort of waves of heat?

It gives you the feeling of scorching heat coming out of the asphalt at noon or at the hottest part of the day ?
when the son is the hottest!!!

Well I was wondering how to achieve that effect?

Thank you phil

I love your work
claudioagmfilho

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- pbloom
  January 14, 2010 at 21:07
  
  that’s simply heat haze Claudio, coming off the hot tarmac
  
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