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Again and again the comment about white text on black background has come up, people do seem to prefer black text on a white background.   So I have changed it.   I'd like to hear feedback on this point, it's really key... If you liked the previous style better let me know. But if the white style looks as smart, I'm happy to keep it if it saves eyes!

Hong Kong, China (September 12, 2014). SLR Magic will present a new CINE lens to the public from the APO-HyperPrime lens family in the upcoming Photokina 2014 fair in Cologne at the SLR Magic booth (Hall 5.1, L-011). The SLR Magic APO-HyperPrime CINE 50mm T2.1 is the first lens of the family. It achieves outstanding images under challenging lighting conditions. When taking pictures with many image-dominant, open light sources, it is common for correction defects to show up. Because the SLR Magic APO-HyperPrime CINE 50mm T2.1 is an apochromatic (APO) lens, longitudinal chromatic aberrations are corrected by its unique optical design and special selection of optical elements. The color defects are therefore significantly lower than the defined limits. Bright/dark transitions in the image, and especially highlights, are rendered with no colorful artifacts. Read the full article here

I’ve been asked to do a movie with longer clips, no digital zoom effect, movement, no indian ;) … Here it is ;)
 
My impressions ont the lens : solid, heavy (420g), compact, sharp at full aperture T2.1, only 8.5cm minimum focus distance.
The ND filter : good first impressions, and two great options on it : lever and hard stop ! Perfect for video ! A sunday afternoon in the parc Majolan (SLR Magic 10mm T2.1 on GH4 4K) SLR Magic 10mm T2.1 on GH4 4K and 96fps 1080p mode This is my second movie with the upcoming SLR Magic 10mm T2.1(eq. f1.8), and their upcoming variable ND filter ! (released in october 2014) 1st movie is here : SLR MAGIC 10mm T2.1 (f1.8 eq.), shot between T2.1 and T5.6
SLR Magic ND variable filter GH4 4K cinema mode + 96fps 1080p mode
EOSHD cineV settings +0, -5, -5, -2, +2 (eoshd.com) but pedestal on 0 No color correction Music : Robert Wyatt « Sea Song »

Thanks Andrew for posting this and the kind words. One correction has already happened in this video. It is funny because I have talked to Sony a couple of times about the histogram issue and they said they would add it to their request list --- BUT they don't have to because there is a way to turn it off. David Sikes says, “In the menu, go the second tap—the gear—and under its second page there is an option called “Exposure Set. Guideâ€. Switch it off“ It works!

  Ok going slightly off topic but any interest in a FZ1000 review? I have it in Berlin. Tried it out and quite impressed but wondering whether to spend the time on it or not.

yes Bollington , they are repairing a dead Nikon Bourne lens for me

Andrew, have been a long time fan, your blog is a daily read for me! Feedback: The new magazine style layout needs some consideration, I have "Pictured: Venerable 5D Mark II used on new Mad Max movie" post showing 4 times on the homepage! This is redundant and unnecessarily taking up valuable home page real estate. 1.Head post 2.Latest News 3.Creative Filmmaking 4. Archives Also, since I read EVERYTHING you post I was a perfect fan of the old school one post in line blog style. Content vs Style? White/Light background is much better, black background makes me feel tired, and therefore want to spend less time on your site. Keep it up!

I think what people are saying above is accurate, it's a word that gets used a lot, and the meanings of it change quite quickly within the videography community. I think it's constantly used as a kind of gold standard that video has to aspire to, but which is always out of reach (JJ Abrams said something along these lines when justifying his decision to use film to shoot Star Wars 7, rather than video like the prequels). In other words, it means "not video", but the question of what is "not video" shifts all the time as video changes. One example: I remember in the days of the HV20, which was just before the DSLR video revolution broke, people were really hung up on shallow depth of field, in part I think because it was very expensive and cumbersome to achieve with a small-sensor camcorder. People would attach their HV20s, upside-down, to a "depth of field adaptor" with a focal plane that needed to vibrate in case a speck of dust landed on it, and get a razor thin DoF that was a nightmare to focus. Then, as soon as large sensor video became readily available with DSLRS and mirrorless, videographers got less fixated on shallow DoF. This is good, as "cinema" shouldn't be stereotyped by one aesthetic, as it covers an enormous number of styles and practices. Citizen Kane is frequently voted the best film of all time, and what is it famous for, cinematographically speaking? It's incredibly DEEP depth-of-field. So deep in fact, that some shots are actually trick shots made with back-projection: http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/2007/10/10/do-filmmakers-deserve-the-last-word/ Nowadays, Kane DP Toland could just use a GoPro... :P

A lot of the time when I think "cinematic" I think muted colours and contrasty tones. I guess you could say Saving Private Ryan is my benchmark. But it's really all about context. There's a lot of aerial shots in LOTR that I find very cinematic. Yet the same type of shots in The Hobbit I find to be less so. I guess it's because the latter is a more silly movie and of course LOTR had more original orchestral music. I'm not sure how much grading helps either. Things like changing the overall look to be more teal or orange is very cliche now. Sometimes grading does make a dramatic difference to how something is perceived. Such as 58 secs into this video the mushy artificially lit scene ends up getting a properly cinematic spy drama look. But most of the time it really is simply about composition and lighting. The Sony a7s can see in the dark, but it still can't save a poorly lit scene. If light isnt hitting your subject or background in the right way, then there's nothing to draw the viewers eyes into. Probably the best way to get a cinematic image is to think in terms of caravaggio or chiaroscuro.

panny 14mm 2.8 is very good and cheap on ebay - look for a cheap gf2 with one on the front as a bundle on ebay Olympus 17mm 2.8 is also very good the new Sigma 19mm in micro 4/3 mount is killer too !! very very good those are the 2 wide I use - both are rectilinear so no bends lines at the edges . I dont go wider than that as it look unnatural I have a Sigma 10-20mm but it has very bendy edges so does not get used much. ps- the Vivitar Series 1 19-35mm is also rectilear and very good and cheap on ebay its a very useful lens to have

It's like the infamous explanation of pornography from a 20th century U.S. Supreme Court Judge, "(It's) hard to define, but I know it when I see it." When it comes to good cinematography, I say it's an overall quality that is a sum of all it's parts. It doesn't have to have DOF or great lighting, but if it artistically defines and supports the story, then it's happening.

  Yep, it's responsive so layout changes depending on screen size. On mobile it should be like using an iPhone app. No need to zoom in on a large webpage. Just the headlines and images to scroll through and large text.

Nice but can we remove or shrink the banner from the forum? It takes up an amazing amount of space.

This looks like the 2 diopter solution.

How the heck is he doing this? I can't wait to learn more.

Thanks Inazuma. All the portrait shots (+ nature shots) have been done with the Olympus 45mm. Riders actions (tricks) with the Canon 35-105mm and close-up bike while he go with the 135mm 2.8. Hope it will help you.

you are refering to Full Frame - Im not doing that as I dont ever shoot full frame so no need to referance it - as the G6 is not full frame. a 28mm Nikon + speedbooster (x0.7 ) = approx a 20mm field of view lens = wider than the original 28mm Nikon on a dumb adaptor remember a standard lens on a G6 is 24mm (equivilant of human eye field of view) ps also a G6 with a x0.7 speedbooster = approx Super 35mm Hollywood film camera perspective / APSC field of view So the speedbooster makes the G6 like a cinema camera in terms of lens lengths. So when Fincher says he uses a 27mm Zeiss Master Prime - you can put on a Nikon 28mm on your G6 with speedbooster and have a very similar field of view you can quite happily shoot an entire move with 20mm 28mm 35mm 50mm primes on a G6 you can get 20mm via your 28mm with speedbooster so no need to buy a 20mm lens (they are expensive)

I just got a Carl Zeiss Pancolar 50/1.8 for $100 and it's just freakin awesome, sharp throughout all stops, loads of contrast, Zeiss bokeh!! My Canon FD 50/1.8 is pretty good too, very sharp, best skin tone too for video/film.