Quick Links

Panasonic AG-AC160 Video Review | Philip Johnston | HD Warrior
Philip's video review of Panasonic's AG-AC160 [$4,675]. This is a 1/3"-Type 2.2 Mp 3MOS Sensor camcorder with a 22x lens. He demonstrates a number of things including the digital zoom functionality that works well at 2x, but falls apart by the time you get to 10x (i.e. 220x!!). He really likes the optical lens, which is very sharp, and does some comparisons to the Sony HXR-NX5U [$3,999], which has a similar lens and sensors, but is 18 months older; he thinks the AG-AC160 is slightly better.
I like the way he answers email questions from readers in the review.



Sound Design on Tom Guilmette’s PhantomFlex Vegas Hotel Video | Ron Dawson
| Dare Dreamer
Ron looks at Tom Guilmette's "Locked in a Vegas Hotel Room with a Phantom Flex" and thinks that part of the reason it has been so popular is because of the creative use of sound in the video:
But, IMHO, what makes this video so entertaining is NOT the crazy slow mo. It’s the sound design. Tom Guillmette (filmmaker, cinematographer, and edumactor) enhanced the video by adding sounds to the images that take it to a whole new level. It’s an excellent example of the power of audio to make even the most simple divine.


"Sound" | SoundCloud | Vimeo
Speaking of sound, a short video that explores the importance of sound in our world.



The Shane Hurlbut Master Cinema Series | Ton Guilmette | Blog
Speaking of Tom, he went to the launch of the Shane Hurlbut Letus Master Series Rigs and offers his thoughts. These aren't going to be cheap - the complete package will cost about $6,500 - but this is designed from the ground up for the professional cinematographer
I am really impressed by the ‘Man Cam‘ and ‘Shoulder Cam‘. These two configurations renewed my love for the Canon 5dmk2. I can now comfortably shoot aggressive handheld with the small camera systems and achieve the results I want. The leveling viewfinder option on ‘Studio Cam‘ is also exciting and will help me when I work off a tripod or dolly system.


SLICING And DICING With Chris McCaleb!!! | BlackBoxTVExtras | YouTube
Chris talks about making web videos, and provides a tutorial on post-production:
Tip #3: Make sure that your Sequence Settings match the footage that you shot.


CatDV Supports Translating Final Cut Pro Projects from FCP7 to FCPX
| Danny Greer | PrmeiumBest
A quick look at CatDV, which offers the ability to translate sequences between Final Cut Pro 7 and Final Cut Pro X:
With most workarounds, it’s not a perfect situation. It’ll be a cuts only version of your original project (no transitions, no plug-ins added, etc). You’ll likely lose some clip metadata you may have had in your previous project. Multiclips and nested sequences won’t be supported.
It’s definitely not ideal….and not the workflow I hoped for when I first heard FCPX announced. But it’s better than nothing.


Phone 4S 1080p Video Is Great, But Can’t Beat a DSLR | Christina Bonnington
| Wired
A look at the comparison between the iPhone 4S and Canon 5D Mark II posted by Robino Films (I think the article primarily draws from the description and comments on the video page itself.):
Despite its great-for-a-smartphone camera specs (which we describe below), Robino Films said the iPhone fell short of the DSLR in six areas: compression (the iPhone 4S produces noisy video, even in daytime shots); sensor size (the iPhone’s is extremely small); lens quality (great for a smartphone, but nowhere near that of a DSLR); and the inability to adjust frame rate, shutter speed or picture style. However, Jones said, “the iPhone 4S is holding very well against the 5D’s standard picture style.” The smartphone also produces a warmer image overall.



Dragonframe 3.0 | Website
If you're interested in stop motion work, then you might be interested in Dragonframe. Previously called Dragon Stop Motion, it has been rechristened, and version 3.0 was recently released. Features include: a new frame-based timeline editor, lip-sync for multiple characters with replacement mouth and eye sets, directly within the audio workspace, and new vector-based drawing tools.


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