Andrew Reid

I think these were tested on the Magic Lantern forum and came out similar to Komputer Bay, which I have no issues with but, still, are they worth the extra money?

  Good point.   By the way Rich I have been shooting with your FF58 this weekend. The golden cast light rope photos of Susanna are with the FF58 here  15aaefc88d960e08c33e20169cf1fac1   I had the 85mm F1.2L with me but the FF58 is the one that gave me the best feel.

  No, DO overlook it. GPU just isn't very good compared to Nvidia GTX series and CUDA.

  Indeed focus is very tricky! But I checked very careful for focus issues and took several shots. In each one I found the same and had to rub my eyes in disbelief.   The Leica is not back focussed because if it was off by a tiny amount to the back the strap lugs of the M5 bodies would be sharper than the strap lugs on the SLR Magic shot. Also as you can see, the camera on the back row far left is blurrier on the Leica shot than on the SLR Magic shot. I think they just handle roll off from the focus plane differently, maybe depending on the part of the frame.   Also I have seen MTF charts from a leading photo blog, who did the same test between the two lenses. These will be published soon. Those show the SLR Magic as being better resolving wide open. So the MTF chart actually backs up my own samples.   Click to enlarge -  

If I could take my time and it was a relatively straight forward shoot where I wouldn't expect to do a lot of re-takes, I'd choose the BMCC.   If it was any more complicated than that I'd go for the GM1 (or my FS100) because you can do as many takes as you like and not even think about data management.   Just make sure on either occasion to take plenty of batteries with you :)

  And only one of them anywhere near affordable ;-)

  Yes I did. Highly recommended but no scart socket so be careful what you plan to use it with :)

EOSHD is launching a Shooter's Guide for lenses on the Sony A7R - pre-order it here to get $10 off the launch price Currently the best (read expensive) full frame lenses for low light are the Zeiss Otus 55mm F1.4 and the Leica M Noctilux 50mm F0.95. How does the SLR Magic HyperPrime 50mm T0.95 rate as an alternative? Read the full article here

You will have to get past the armed Iscorama Communist Red Guard first!

  It's true, 2x Isco with single focus, like a 2x version of the Iscorama 42.   https://vimeo.com/13004933   And yes very lucky to get it back in 2009 for £100 before anyone knew what it was worth. At the time I didn't even value it that much myself and wanted an Iscorama!!

  Yeah the 2.39:1 certainly appeals to more people than 3.55:1 but if you can shoot 4:3 using full 1280p sensor vertical res on the 5D Mark III with Magic Lantern raw, 2x looks amazing. It's like turning the anamorphic amp up to 11!

The surprising thing is that Nikon had first claim to the 36MP sensor, which is Sony's most advanced to date (manufacturing wise) on a new process. Maybe they paid a lot for it, but Sony doesn't seem that hung up about giving their best sensors to competitors… yet.   On the medium format front, those sensors could have incredible low light and dynamic range properties. Traditionally medium format has not been much good in low light instead going for resolution. So if they do a 54MP medium format sensor and a 24MP one that would be the right strategy. Give the users a choice. Form factor could be interesting too.

Psst… I'm having an end of year clear out Where would we be without the end of the year and the impending doom that is Christmas? Enjoying summer? Revelling in the most fruitful year for filmmakers and camera geeks on record? I'd much rather 2013 just carried on! Alas the year is starting to wind down now for the Holidays and this seems like a good moment to look back at the most amazing (and not so amazing) events of 2013... Read the full article here

  Which explains why Canon wiped $2.5 billion off their 2013 profit forecast.

It includes a share offer and was only 1 year (2011) but Forbes are a good source. Who knows, may be wrong. I have no idea about such matters and nor should it matter. The point is, their management are not into change. They want to keep the status quo ticking along and they don't really understand the gravity of the situation, with regards the internet age and technology and Canon's lack of progress in those areas.

No it was in dollars not yen, look - http://www.forbes.com/profile/fujio-mitarai/   More from Canon...   Interview, mainly about mirrorless - http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdc.watch.impress.co.jp%2Fdocs%2Fnews%2Finterview%2F20131209_626786.html   Sparkling career but please retire guys and let some young blood revitalise the company.

  I still have my LA7200 and yes it is soft at the edges. I'll do a comparison vs the SLR Magic as I know a lot of LA7200 users are thinking of making the switch. If you move quick enough you might actually save money as the eBay price for the LA7200 has been hyper inflated for a while now. Can't see it staying up there above $1000 for much longer.

Out this coming weekend.

  I'll know more soon about this, when the SLR Magic diopters arrive at EOSHD HQ. Andrew has had my Tokina as a reference and guinea pig!

  I haven't tried this lens but it may well work. Ideally though you should be keeping it mated to a lens with a smaller rear element than 50mm, to match the 50mm rear of the anamorphic. Such large glass as F1.2 - i.e the Canon 50 and 85 L lenses, are HUGE! It certainly won't be sharp at F1.2. At F2.8 you should get outstanding performance but like I say I haven't tested the 50mm.   I have tried it on the Olympus OM 55mm F1.2 and it does play well stopped down to 2.8, whereas the Iscorama vignettes a bit.

  The Sigma at 18mm itself on the MFT SB doesn't vignette on the GH3, I have tried. But you can't expect an SLR Magic or Iscorama anamorphic to cover the wide end. You can use it fine at the 35mm end without vignetting.

If you have the near / far focus out of whack with the prime lens focus distance your oval bokeh will turn on its side. So maybe a mistake on my part of it appears so in the video. I'll check it out.   Here's a better example of the stretched bokeh of this lens...     I shot shot it now.

  It is exactly the long term strategy for making money I have an issue with regards Canon. They have been very successful at short termism actually. They have not kept up with technological changes and market shifts especially towards mirrorless technology. Maybe they think they can just turn on the tap late and get away with it? I don't know.   And more worryingly even Sigma are making better lenses now, just look at the performance of the Sigma 35mm F1.4 vs the Canon L equivalent.

  There's tons lacking on the photography side too actually. They don't have a mirrorless system with EVF. They have something like a grand mirrorless lens range of what… 2 lenses!?   So no really portable full frame camera for stills like Sony has with the A7R, A7 and RX1.   There's no high megapixel body for stills. Canon 22MP to Nikon / Sony 36MP is a big gap. Their CMOS manufacturing needs to move off the current outdated process to achieve this high megapixel count and it seems they are late doing this.   Their contrast detect AF is still slower than Micro Four Thirds and 95% of Canon lenses don't have internal silently focussing stepping motors for AF. Even on 70D the live-view AF is way slower than the Panasonic GX7 / Olympus OM-D E-M1.   They don't have the variety of bodies either… They are all almost identical to use, similar size, similar ergonomics, similar black trad. SLR design, etc.   The lens range is incredibly strong but very pricey, look at the new Canon 35mm F2.0 IS. That began at 700 euros and they had to drop the price 200 euros before it started selling. Compared to Sigma 35mm F1.4 you have to really need IS to consider the Canon. It's a nice lens, I use it, and light… but at 700 it was a non-starter for me.   Photographers are also complaining about the EOS M2. They were awaiting a proper update but instead had the range cancelled altogether in the US and Europe where the last one sold poorly due to being rather rubbish.   Trust me, it's pretty much only momentum and inertia which is keeping Canon in the game at the moment.

  It doesn't vignette on the Pocket with original Speed Booster. Good all the way.   On 1.86x crop GH2 which turns into something slightly larger than the APS-C sensor the Sigma was intended for you do get some slightly dark corners at 18mm.