Andrew Reid

Nice grade sir. What are you using to grade and edit CinemaDNG?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU71wZBoA1E[/youtube] This from Michael Hession at Gizmodo. It really is a great idea - he has used the stills burst mode (the fastest ever on a DSLR) of the Canon 1D X to piece together a short video at 14 fps. The video has the dynamic range, resolution and overall quality of photographs. It is a massive step up from the video mode but of course 14 fps is shall we say - a retro frame rate. However I actually think it is a valid style. It has a certain appeal, a certain old Super 8 magic to the motion - but from a far larger sensor.

[quote name='nickname' timestamp='1345596690' post='16173']it´s really funny that you are surprised that there´s so many sony news on a blog you write yourself.[/quote] I don't set the news agenda, I just report what is hot. Sony is hot at the moment. I'm surprised, since their past history consisted of a lot of overpriced stuff and no 24p on their DSLRs. A fantastic turn around in just 1 year. We've had the FS100, NEX 5N, NEX 7, Alpha A77, now we shall look forward to genuinely ground breaking stuff like the full frame video camera and hybrid stills / video A99 return to full frame DSLRs. They also have 4K TVs in the pipeline, are ruling the CMOS sensor supply chain, have provided Nikon and Olympus with some of the best photographic sensors on the market and have some genuinely exciting technology coming out, so yes I am surprised. By comparison, Canon have... Rehashed an APS-C sensor in 5 cameras, split all the interesting stuff off into $15,000+ Cinema EOS cameras completely out of reach for most people, and not innovated enough with their mirrorless offering.

Where did you find the rumour? I appreciate your news posts but the hostile attitude, we can all do without. Peace from now on?

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/kineraw-s35-shoot-1.jpg[/img] This much anticipated 'Chinese Alexa' basic kit has been officially priced for pre-orders at a shocking $6300.

I still don't think the difference between the 1D X and 5D 3, after post work applied to both, is large enough to warrant spending £5200. For a start the D800 is £2400, the 1D X is £5200, over double the price. That is a pricey moire fix. Aliasing still there. As for C300, I definitely prefer the fine noise, codec and resolution on that over the 1D X but I'd buy the 1D X instead because the C300's price is just bonkers. Watched Philip's video and it is a lovely piece of work. The close up shots look great, plenty of detail. But the true test was some of the forest and field wide angle shots, and there it is not that much different to the 5D 3 sharpened in post. Dynamic range did seem better, but again not massively so. One thing I did notice that even from the compressed Vimeo download .vid file there was less of that horrible mosquito noise when you bring up the lows in post, so I think the 1D X grades better than the 5D 3. To sell my FS100 and 5D 3 for 1x 1D X? Hmm. No peaking, no articulated monitor, no XLR, but great stills. I wouldn't do it but I can see some who would be happy doing so.

[quote name='QuickHitRecord' timestamp='1345559074' post='16129'] I struck up a long conversation with a Panasonic rep at a film festival in May, and I urged him to suggest that they put a liability waiver on the box and release a truly open-source camera (i.e. the GH3). I am sure that I am not the first person to suggest this to them, but the folks at Panasonic were interested enough to call me a couple of times talk about it. I didn't get a sense of whether they will be doing this with the GH3 (or at all), but either way it looks like Sony has beaten them to the punch! [/quote] That's interesting. I think it is necessary for Panasonic to stop the hack project and provide us the features themselves, it is much less risky and better for us. The reason the apps are so great is because it encourages developers (not just hackers) to make proper apps with plenty of functionality. Imagine what the talented guys at Magic Lantern could do with an SDK?

[quote name='richg101' timestamp='1345557947' post='16128'] yippie! the layout is largely the same meaning the housings i have been creating wont need much modification to accept this new model! I was dreading to see a horribe rework of the shape liek thay have done with that ugly nex f3 [/quote] I think the NEX F3 is ugly too. NEX 5N much nicer, as is 5R.

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sony-full-frame-video-camera.jpg[/img] If this [url="http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/sr5-first-e-mount-full-frame-cameras-are-high-end-camcorders-nex-7-alike-cameras-in-2013/"]rumour[/url]Â at SAR is true it could turn the industry on its head. Sony is about to wage war on the Super 35mm format, and wage a war on pros being locked into one line of lenses. Their higher end video cameras are going full frame with a mirrorless mount.

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/sony-nex-5r.jpg[/img] The NEX 5R is coming on August 28th according to [url="http://www.sonyalpharumors.com/hot-more-nex-5r-pictures/"]Sony Alpha Rumors[/url] - and Sony is finally taking DSLRs into the '10s. This camera features a new app platform (a first on a camera like this). The camera has WiFi built in and the apps could be more interesting than just a few gimmicky filters, because it is possible Sony may provide a full SDK / dev kit for developers. This would be required if third party apps are planned. But it may also be the case that only Sony will provide apps, with each firmware update. A dev kit is basically an open door for hackers to improve video functionality, after which we won't call them hackers but developers.

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/lighting-tokyo-1.jpg[/img] Imagine if every photo was lit using a flash gun, well the same goes for cinematic scenes. Often some of the most interesting and varied light is already right in front of you. Not everything has to be studio light rig based. I don't think of 'lighting a scene' as always directly controlled, often it is wild. Lighting you can control is only half of the cinematographer's job and so many films make use of the sun as a key light. Terrence Malick has based a career on magic hour light! The world of natural light is expansive and varied. As someone who has chased light a lot with DSLRs, and avoided the expense, power requirements and weight of having to carry lights around with me, here are some of my tips for a successful natural light shoot.

I agree that if you are using 1/100 and F5.6 in a dimly lit location, and under exposing at ISO 500 your GH2 footage is going to look terrible. Put an Alexa, or even an FS100 into that situation and it copes much better. The photosites on a sensor with 16MP are always going to be small and need a good signal to 'perk them up'. If you avoid under exposure, and use a fast aperture, then the GH2 can play with the big guys in low light just fine. Over well exposed surfaces even at ISO 1600 it can work wonders. Fill light and crush the blacks. Totally the right approach with the cheaper cameras. And often it looks GREAT.

Loved some of his movies (including Top Gun!), even though I am more interested in the more 'arty' camp of his brother rather than the rock 'n roll of Tony, he was a great guy and will be sadly missed. Such a sad way to end a great life. Update: Apparently he had a terminal illness and chose to end it before he became a burden to his family and unable to life life to the full. He went out on his own accord and of his choosing, typical of the guy I'd say. RIP mate

Erm, really? Where's the proof? Just curious as it is quite a big claim.

The problem with the internet is that our personalities are hidden behind opinions, we are like walking opinions. So people judge one another over their opinion, which is wrong because in real life people judge each other by what kind of PERSON they are. I'm really tired of the personal attacks just because one happens to disagree with someone one said. Just to pick up on what Steve said over at Pro Video: "[color=#000000][font=Times, Helvetica, 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Geneva, Verdana, sans-serif][size=4][background=rgb(201, 224, 246)]Many people did not like the GH2 if you listen to the comments—me being one of them—I thought it looked to video’ish and over lit. It didn’t capture the nature of the dark moody scene. The scary part is that so many viewers thought the supermarket lighting was attractive."[/background][/size][/font][/color] The GH2 didn't light the scene - if it wasn't dark and moody that is not the fault of the camera. Almost all my natural light shoots with the GH2 have gone for 'dark and moody' and it handles the shadows just fine. I don't think Colt's lighting was 'supermarket lighting', I felt it best matched the scene because of the size of the window and the brightness of the outdoor area, dark and moody made no sense to me. There you go, so I don't agree with Steve in this instance but I still respect him as a person and what he does with his life. Amazing isn't it, how it's possible to do both. To question, to disagree, is healthy in real life - so I don't see why disagreeing needs to be so destructive when it is a typed statement on the net.

[quote name='HellKat' timestamp='1345303087' post='15987']But, man, learn your place.[/quote] How about you learn your place? Are you forgetting it is my blog, where do you suggest I put my own personal opinion if not on here? Being offended by what you perceive incorrectly as a bias implies you have certain rights which I've trodden on. Sorry for stomping on your rights over my blog sir! You don't have any right and I can write what I want.

[quote name='HellKat' timestamp='1345303087' post='15987'] Although I agree with a number of things you mentioned in your critique of part 3 (in particular, where you talk about endless reminders about the importance of creativity which BTW often look like mantras lacking any sunstance), I think the overall tone of your blog post (and your advices) are not appropriate. Part 3 does not confirm your major leitmotif regarding GH2 - not a surprise, you do not like it. Here is a piece of advice for you - next time you do what Zacuto did with their overall excellent and amazing effort by its scale and contribution to the filmmaking community, and then we'll see if you are up to the challange yourself. To finish on a positive note - I respect what you do and check your blog almost every day. Equally, I respect your contribution to the community (even if I sometimes disagree with all your biases). But, man, learn your place. [/quote] Really idiotic comment that does nothing to address the facts.

It's a very complex thing to fix especially in a cheaper camera, the BMD already has a refrigerated sensor to cope with 2.5k raw, doubling the scan speed of the sensor would considerably increase cost, cooling requirements and power consumption. I'd say it will be around 2 years before the scan gets considerably faster on DSLRs, and 4 years before global shutter comes along to anything under $30,000.

[quote name='evil_thought2' timestamp='1345264860' post='15948'] I am entitled to my opinion. GH2 fanboys had no trouble trumpeting GH2 performance in earlier parts when they thought the over-lit GH2 was doing good. Now when they don't like GH2 performance in more objective test where all cameras are using the same lighting, we are being told the test is now flawed. This is funny. Part 3 clearly has shown GH2 is nowhere even close to any video camera. It performs exactly like a $700 m4/3 camera. [/quote] This gets boring very quickly. 1 - it wasn't just fanboys trumpeting the GH2, it was Francis Ford Coppola. 2. I find the fanboy thing offensive because it implies a lack of technical judgement, clouded by emotion. Go and tell the grading studio Andy Lee knows in the UK who said the GH2 holds up brilliantly in post - and they have been dealing with stuff from Red and Alexa for years.

[quote name='dbp' timestamp='1345202758' post='15881']The lower end cameras need more time and equipment to truly compete, yet in scenarios where that budget and equipment is available, those cameras would be passed over for something further up the chain.[/quote] Where does this view come from? It's weird. If anything the lower end cameras need less time and equipment to compete, as has been proved outside bloated studio setups like this time and time again by people with talent and a tripod, and not a lot else. Musgo's DP couldn't have delivered that look on a micro budget feature, without the GH2 ably assisting them. [media]http://vimeo.com/33025136[/media] I am sure a lot of effort went into it, but a lot of equipment, grading and money? Not really. It isn't just creatively good it is technically good too with fantastic detail, colour and decent dynamic range. I can only truly speak for the amount of effort that goes into my own work and the below video took me 4 hours to shoot and the same again to edit, and it is completely ungraded straight out of the camera. [media]http://vimeo.com/33047750[/media] I stuffed that GH2 into a location with tricky lighting and it did a superb job for me.

[quote name='jgharding' timestamp='1345202214' post='15880']Lighting everything the same -- in effect purposefully mis-using a less-forgiving piece of equipment -- then saying "look, cheap cameras aren't as good" is a bit of pointless academia IMHO. The spec sheet already tells me that information.[/quote] Yes this is bang on correct, they wouldn't mishandle an Alexa in a scientific test so why mishandle the GH2 by getting the exposure and focus wrong in 2 out of the 3 empirical shots?

[quote name='evil_thought2' timestamp='1345183267' post='15865']there is no coverage of part 3 on this site. [/quote] Conspiracy? Really? http://www.eoshd.com/content/8766/revenge-of-the-zacuto-shootout-2012-part-3-review Be more patient next time.

[quote name='HurtinMinorKey' timestamp='1345219499' post='15911'] I'll admit, watching "artists" try to be scientists is entertaining. [/quote] Even more entertaining the other way round! :o

[img]http://www.eoshd.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/zacuto-shootout-revenge-part-3.jpg[/img] The third and final part of Zacuto's debate provoking documentary on cinematography and cameras is out. Part 3 is to me kind of like Revenging the Revenge because it goes back to a non-creative scientific (empirical) test of the cameras. They appear in order of cost from the $500 iPhone to the $70,000 Sony F65 and each are treated with the same lighting, similar settings and the same grading to match as closely as possible.

[quote name='mopixels' timestamp='1345220447' post='15914'] Why not cheap FS100? It seems to have the sensor and all the features of a FS100. What is missing? [/quote] The sensor and all the features.