I was never a big fan of monopods. But if you need one that works for both motion and still photography, the Manfrotto 682b Monopod system may just be the ticket. [click to continue…]
Controlling household or “practical” lighting within a scene is something we deal with all the time in the film industry.
To really set a scene appropriately, a cinematographer needs to be able to use light like a paintbrush. That’s why you need dimmer switches, which are the subject of this week’s Quick Take. [click to continue…]
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Every year, the National Association of Broadcasters holds the NAB Show, one of the year’s most important events for people in the film industry.
Even though film makers technically don’t qualify as broadcasters, this is the event where many manufacturers debut the newest technology and support equipment. And now that video-enabled still cameras have penetrated the market, this year really featured something for everybody.
NAB Shows offer a mix of notable personalities and very intriguing pieces of kit, and NAB 2011 was no exception. Here’s a quick run-down of the things I saw last week. [click to continue…]
Which camera you should buy depends largely on how you define yourself as a photographer.
A few months ago, we ran a post called “Which Lens Should I Buy?”
Today we ask the question on the other side of this equation: which camera should you buy? [click to continue…]
Audio is a very important aspect of any video. Even if your primary focus is on the visual side, bad sound will turn any audience off, so it is essential to get the best possible audio while you are shooting.
But on-camera microphones are some of the worst out there. [click to continue…]
I recently had the pleasure of working with still photographer Sandy Puc. She is one of the coolest people I have ever met in my life. The job was a promo poster for our upcoming Sandy Puc Tours with Pin Up photographer Mike Long, which will be hitting twelve cities over twenty-two days this May. The tour will focus mostly on incorporating video into still shoots for added value. A little bonus b-roll for the client never hurts. We’ll also get down and dirty with all of the tricks I have learned shooting video with HDSLR’s over the past two years. This is going to be one awesome tour. I am so excited to connect with all of the cool people out there who are passionate about crafting images both motion and still. We are going to break it all down and make it seem so simple. Viva La Revolution!
Here’s a lens test between a couple of Tonika zoom lenses and their Canon equivalent. We’re using the Tokina 28-80mm f2.8 zoom lens and the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 zoom. We also put the killer Canon 70-200mm L IS f2.8 zoom lens up against the Tokina 80-200mm f2.8 zoom lens. This was a pretty basic test seeing in which we were really interested in sharpness. We threw in a color chart and a little lens flare to boot. Testing lenses is not the most exciting affair but it does show the difference between them. We used a Canon 5D Mark II in Standard Picture Style at 320 ISO at f2.8 24fps.
First off, the Tokina glass is about one third the price. Both zooms are discontinued so they were purchased used. The Tokina 28-80mm will set you back anywhere between $350-$500. The Tokina 80-200 f2.8 is also discontinued and cost us just over five hundred smackers. They both have manual focus hard stops, which are ideal for video. The Tokina 80-200mm does not have Image Stabilization so we picked it up mostly for tripod work as a “B” camera lens. We used a one-dollar bill to easily show focus and contrast. The US mint does some fine print work. [click to continue…]
Here is a Quick Take Video we shot while waiting for make up on a commercial production. We had both the Switronix Torch LED TL-50 and Litepanels MicroPro Hybrid on set so we thought we would show you the difference between the two LED lights. The Switronix Torch LED is a little smaller than the MicroPro and seems to pack a bit more punch. At about the size of a small prime lens, it’s quite compact with its all-metal housing. Complete with two ¼-20 thread mounts on the top and bottom of the light, it also features a battery indicator light and is fully dimmable. [click to continue…]
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