Looking forward into 2012, I’m proud to announce that I now offer a Sony FS100 in house to compliment the other camera systems.
The intent is to use the Sony FS100 to replace my beloved and often used Canon 5D camera system. The camera sports an S35 sensor, crazy low light capabilities, resolves more resolution and retains more sharpness than current DSLR video cameras. It also has 2 XLR audio inputs, which saves a bit of time on the editing/post side of things.
Not retiring the 5D yet, but it will become more of a “B” camera for now!
For starters, I’m initially biased. We have an Epic in-house and a Scarlet on the way. Keep that in mind…
The Canon C300. At first hated on by many in the online world, then the camera found a resurgence of positive press with blog/filmmaker superstars posting their positive impressions. Being in Denver means that the “new” camera demos here will always months later. In any case, I finally got to touch and hold the C300.
Ergonomics
a) Weight – The camera is surprisingly light. A nice handheld feel to it, much MUCH better for video than any DSLR setup. I was able to do some fairly smooth “jib” moves just by properly holding the camera, and warp stabilizer would easily take you the rest of the way.
b) LCD – The LCD rotates 270 degrees, up down, mirrors, it’s removable, it’s awesome all around. Bravo Canon.
c) 3D – For 3D setups, the handle, LCD, and side handle all come off. The camera gets quite small. (like the Epic!)
d) Buttons – Canon has done a pretty good job with buttons. AFter some familiarity, I’m sure it would be cake. The Alexa still is the king of simplicity.
e) Back LCD Much like the 5D and other DSLRs, the C300 has a LCD on the back that lights up. Nice to do quick status checks, see audio levels, etc.
f) Hot swapable Compact Flash Cards. Saves you cash on media, that’s a plus.
g) The XLRs that mount near the LCD screen on the top are… well, I would imagine you’d have to do some cable management. Not my favorite position for XLR.
h) The rotating arm on the side comes off. I thought it would be like my Sony EX1R… a nice quick release button and do a quick-action snap! Not so! You have to loosen the ring next to the handle, then the handle practically comes off, then you have to tighten again. Not exactly easy when you’re holding the handle to begin with. This could have been better designed.
i) Size. Size is a plus.
C300 next to 5Dmk2
Image
a) ND comes in 2, 4, or 6 stops and is controlled by pushing a + or – button. It’s electronic (EDIT: Electronically controlled, it’s still an Optical filter, thanks Gregory) which I guess is nice because apparently it won’t get stuck like a mechanical ND, though I haven’t had that issue on any of my cameras…
The compression of my cell phone took out some noise from a picture of the 3" screen. not a great representation
b) ISO – People are ranting and raving about the amazing 20,000 ISO on the camera. I don’t see it. I cranked the camera to 20,000 (using 6 stops of ND indoors lol) and it was crazy noise. Sure, it’s relatively amazing, but I wouldn’t shoot anything at 20,000. Maybe some filmmakers think the noise “looks like film”. To me, it looked like noise. However, that said, it did look VERY clean around ISO 4000/5000. That’s impressive. The camera is rated natively at 640 in regular mode and 850 in Canon’s log mode, so there’s lots of room to play there. We can replace our 2k’s with cell phones and shoot with the moon instead of the sun.
c) Speaking of log mode, Canon has an interesting “cinema lock” setting that locks you into 24p and canon’s log mode. I recently read on a blog that Sony’s S-log still retains more information, and for a $3000+ upgrade, it darn better! But there was a big noticeable difference when switching from “standard” to the “log” mode on Canon, and my suspicion is that the 50mbps 4:2:2 codec inside helps with highlight control.
50mm f1.2 and c300
d) DoF – There were several C300s at the demo, and one of them had the Canon 50mm F1.2. Needless to say, RIDICULOUS depth of field. It’s like shooting with a macro lens…except your subject is 8 feet away! Luckily, Canon has included several focus modes. Peaking, we’re all familiar. Magnification, we’re all familiar, and they also included a new mode that uses contrast in three squares that show a vectorscope at the bottom of the screen to determine focus. When the vectorscope is at it’s highest point, the image has the most contrast within the red square on the screen and you know you’ve found critical focus. Very cool. Apparently this is also on the XF305, but I haven’t shot with that camera so I wouldn’t know!
e) Manual mode only! One thing that’s too bad about the EF versions of these C300′s is they are ONLY manual mode. No auto anything (except xlr audio). No auto focus, no support for the IS, it’s almost like a dumb mount, updated: IS and lens metadata are supported along with control of the aperture on EF lenses.
f) 8 Bit out SDI. No need to beat a dead horse, but seriously!??! Really Canon?!? maybe it doesn’t matter. Or maybe it’s of critical importance to sales.
Price
The street price is still unknown. To me, this is where the camera will fall short. It has a great image, it’s fun to hold, great design etc etc, but I’m not ready to pay any more than $8000 for it. I still think an F3 shooting out 10bit 4:4:4 is the champ for price, even though the ergonomics of the F3 body are janky. It’s 8-bit out only which is FINE for most stuff… but I still feel a bit cheated somehow. And the fact that you have to choose between EF OR PL mount… I have both! Hate to plug the Epic here… but being able to switch mounts is a HUGE plus.
Times like these make it awfully difficult to sleep at night…
James Drake Films is proud to offer the Red Epic-M camera system. This camera is an unbeatable tool to craft and create your vision at the highest quality.
Simply put, the Epic captures 14 megapixel frames in raw format. Much like shooting your [favorite brand] DSLR, but in video form. And in high speed. The Epic can shoot 96 FPS at full 5K quality or a staggering 300 FPS at 2K quality.
It’s small and can be configured to lightweight setups, has 13.5 stops of latitude in regular shooting (up to 18 in HDR), and has the incredible REDCODE compression technology that makes shooting RAW video feasible. The Epic is the most advanced camera system in the world (in my opinion).
Better yet, Red Digital Cinema is famous for improving the functionality of their cameras over time. With their previous camera, the Red One, it took a while to mature but the camera now, with many free upgrades, is a workhorse around the globe on commercial, narrative, and documentary gigs. I’m excited to see what new developments come to the Epic over the next few months!
This camera looks REALLY good out of the box (with a touch of minor color correction for contrast). Red has developed “redcolor2″ and “redgamma2″ as a color/gamma combination that looks fantastic. Unlike the DSLR cameras (which I still love for other reasons), the Epic has UNREAL detail in the shadows and rolls off the highlights brilliantly. I can’t say enough about the image quality. A very famous Hollywood DP just recently said the Epic captured “the best images he’s ever shot”.
Just a few years ago, it would take a large crew and a ton of gear to achieve quality at this level. We can now go out and shoot the BEST of the best with a camera system that fits on the back of a sedan.
Let’s go shoot something brilliant. In the meantime, here’s a slow motion dog video (there’s a tradition of shooting your family with these Red cameras…):
The Red Epic camera is available for rent at 5kinsight.com
Save Our Youth is a mentorship organization based out of Denver Colorado. They do amazing work.
This has been one of my favorite projects… EVER. Working with Jorge (the star) has been a real treat. He was brave and shared his story so that others may be interested in helping kids in similar situations.
From their website, saveouryouth.org
Save Our Youth transforms the lives of at-risk youth through mentor relationships providing the skills for success in educational, emotional, and spiritual development.
Shot over 2 months, I forced myself to occaisionally break away from the busy daily schedules and find inspiration in the incredible morphing shapes above.
Variation of wind speed, color, types of clouds, altitude, weather, and time of day make shooting clouds, a seemingly flat subject, fascinating. On the tech side, choosing the proper speed, anticipating cloud movement, and finding the perfect vantage point complicate what seems to be a simple shoot.
The video doesn’t quite do justice to the amazing Colorado skies.
Shot on the Sony EX1R
Music: Death Cab for Cutie, Brothers on a Hotel Bed
Short piece shot and edited for the good people at Suss Buick GMC The video will be showcased on their website (though I think they’re still working on the new updated version)
We shot the project over 2 days in a variety of locations around Denver.
It begins on the coast of California, finally ending on the East coast in Georgia.
2605 miles.
10 states.
Zach Crees is a burn tech and surgical assistant inspired by stories like Don’s and will ride his bike across the US to raise funding and awareness for burn survivors starting July 2011.
This video features Don Keller, a triumphant survivor of a fire that has found inspiration through cycling.
You can give to the Burn Unit by visiting this link
Shot on the Canon 5D Mark II with Technicolor’s Cinestyle picture profile.
Tim Tebow has taken the front and center spotlight not only in Denver, but around the US. I had the opportunity to work with Fox shooting an interview before the thanksgiving football games, 2011. I was hired as a camera operator, but also fulfilled many roles as the crew was small.
We shot on three Sony F3 cameras with Ultra prime lenses (love that glass) and about 15 lights spread around the Broncos indoor training facility in Denver.
It’s 2011. We’re all well acquainted with the ever-growing content on the web. Anyone can learn more technical information on the internet in a week than I did when I was in film school for 4 years (though the hands on doesn’t factor in). Best of all, content creators are often accesible to start a dialog about their work. We can learn. We can connect. We can watch…
Find Your Unique Angle
So… the internet is a gigantic vortex sucking us in, taking over lives, making the organic mechanical and the mechanical digital. I find myself making conscious notes about how the things I shoot relate to things “online”. Overnight, the world of video shrunk. There isn’t an angle, location, or character undiscovered. Depressing. But we’ve been here before. The invention of the printing press resulted in an explosion of authors ultimately leading scholars to conclude that there are only 3, 7, 20, 36 plots available to be explored. Writers didn’t stop writing. The amount of authors has only since increased. Finding a truly memorable book is a more challenging prospect in the noise of the marketplace, but money still changes hands and books rise to the best-seller list.
I digress. Forget about books, this is about filmmaking. There really isn’t much new out there. Resolutions increase and color gets more depth. As we’ve seen, ”Everything is a Remix“. How do we find inspiration in that? What prompts the filmmaker to pick up the camera once again to film the same garbage over and over?
The answer I’m coming to is environment. You, the video/film/media maker, must carefully choose your surroundings. That means the people you know, the professional environment, the weather, everything. All of these things wrap into your frame of view into the world, which seeps into your footage creating something that HASN’T been discovered… you’re unique voice. Because despite having a limited number of plots, locations, characters, etc, your perspective is your own. Sure, it may and will be similar to those around you. So choose your environment carefully. Christopher Nolan doesn’t use the internet. There’s a lot to be said in that.
People are more impressionable than they would like to admit.
One of my latest jobs was camera operator for Fish the Baja, premiering on Versus HD on December 28th. I didn’t have much of a chance to take many still pictures, but the few I got tell a little bit about the trip. (click on pictures for larger versions)
A few of my friends were quite jealous as I left 20 degree weather in Colorado for 80 degree weather in Mexico. I have my jacket on in the picture above because despite the temperature, the breeze (or sometimes heavy wind) on the Pacific side can make 80 feel like 50.
60 Feet Long, built from the ground up for fishing, The Success is the Ultimate Sportfisher
5 days we stayed on the “Success“, a boat built from the ground up by its captain to be the perfect sport fishing boat. I’d never stayed on a boat for that duration. I have to admit, I was a bit nervous of being incapable to shoot because of seasickness. There were some fairly rough swells in the ocean, rocking the boat quite a lot. Staring through the lens of a camera is probably one of the worst ways to prevent seasickness. In any case, I was fortunate to quickly get over the very minor symptoms I had and wasn’t inhibited from shooting at all.
The picture above shows the walkway around the whole boat, perfect for fighting big fish. Underneath the hull, the boat has two 12.5L John Deere engines, allowing this boat to easily reach over 22 knots! For our excursion, we cruised along pretty slow, a) for the fishing and b) the 1200 gallons of fuel the ship holds get costly real quick.
Speargun
Instead of going during a normal fishing trip, we were privileged to tag along on a “crew trip” on the boat. Two of the crew were adament spear-fishers. Imagine… jumping into the Pacific 25 miles from shore with hundreds of feet of water underneath you, diving to 60 feet, and shooting a 50 pound tuna out of a school of fish.
Baja Sunset from the Pacific
An excellent trip, would love to do it again in a heartbeat.
