News from Here & There

My lousy way of getting it done is better than your great way of not doing it.
- Terry Rossio

Shooting Outside
Canon Live Learning and StillMotion has a short video that gives advice on shooting outside on a sunny day (not that those of us in New England have to worry about those..)  It shows the effect of shutter vs aperture priority, and also the use of a neutral density filter. Nice little introduction for those who haven't really played with aperture and shutter much. The audio is clear, but seems rather trebly; I assume that's because of the little lapel mic he seems to be using.

introduction to shooting outside from stillmotion on Vimeo.



Jag35 Monitor X
Jag35 is coming out with an LCD "screen viewing aid" which provides a shade with magnification. It will fit most 3" screens including the Canon 5Dmk2, 7D, 60D and Nikon D7000. Price $150, available in November.
Jag35: Monitor X



The Groucho Walk
I was listening to a discussion of Roy Blount's new book Hail, Hail, Euphoria!: Presenting the Marx Brothers in Duck Soup, the Greatest War Movie Ever Madeand one Google search lead to another and it was funny to find this explanation of the "Groucho Walk" for Steadicam operation:
If you need to walk and film at the same time and don't have access to a truck or any kind of stabilizer. Walk like Groucho Marx. The exaggerated walk helps steady the shot.
Painless Technology: The Groucho Walk
Cinematographer Billy Williams mentions being advised to walk that way when he first started shooting hand-held: WebOfStories: Billy Williams / Cinematographer




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sony GV-D200 review

Image
Sony GV-D200 I've been using a Sony GV-D200 deck to transfer old Video8 and Hi8 tapes. Some of these tapes are over twenty years old, and no longer having a Hi8 camcorder that worked I was concerned that if I didn't do something about transferring them to a more modern format soon, I might never be able to. While Sony no longer make camcorders that use these tapes - that I know of - Sony does still sell the GV-D200 deck (or Video Walkman, as it's sometimes labelled.) They also offer the GV-D800, which is almost identical but adds a small LCD screen for about $120 more. I didn't think I'd need a screen since I was using this to capture to the computer, but you will need an external monitor when you first set it up. Physically, the device is small. At 5 7/8" wide, 5 3/8" deep and 2" high, it's the smallest video deck I've encountered. I used to have a Video8 deck that I thought was small; and it was twice as deep and twice as high. The t...
Read more

Response: Which iPhone to Get?

Image
In response to my iPhone musings, I got the following reader email which actually sums up a lot of my second and third thoughts too: You might have a point about the fancier camera, but otherwise I would buy the smaller model. Its screen is about the same size as that of my Nexus 4, and I don't feel at all like it limits me with a too-small screen. But I do sometimes stretch to get my thumb the reach to the other corner of the screen. It is plenty big for a phone. A phone is a pocket thing. (Well, in my case it lives an ancient REI soft sunglasses case that I have on my belt.) Ubiquitous, handy, convenient, almost always with me. Small is crucial for all of that. Certainly a large screen is cool, but you need a place to put it: don't break a fundamental feature of a pocket phone by getting too big. That is what your small tablet is for. I have my phone with me almost always. I have my Nexus 7 tablet with me nearly as much. The bigger screen is great, yet it fits in some...
Read more

Should you buy the Sony NEX-FS100 Kit Lens?

Image
The Sony NEX-FS100 is available in two configurations: B & H : NEX-FS100U Camcorder only $4,999 B & H : NEX-FS100U (with 18-200mm lens) $5,599 But what does that extra $600 get you? It get's you this: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for NEX Camera This lens is also available separately for $799.99, so at $200 off you'd think everyone would be jumping on it. But not so fast... In his article about switching from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Sony NEX-FS100 , Paul Antico  at Need Creative says of the kit lens: 7) Its 18-200 F3.6-6.3 kit lens absolutely sucks and should be avoided (thankfully, you can order it without one) [ 1 ] But is it that bad? At B & H 's site, 43 reviews give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. That's not a bad rating, though many of these people are using it for stills, and the most common complaint noted is how large and heavy it is. Of course this feeling of size would be exacerbated when you put it on a tiny camera ...
Read more