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Sony FS100 Prime lens vs Zoom lens | Shawn Lam | Blog
Shawn continues his lens testing with a comparison of the Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.4 prime lens and the Sony SAL1650 DT 16-50mm f/2.8 wide angle zoom lens:

I saw a very slight advantage for the prime lens at f/2.8 in both sharpness and contrast but not much of a difference afterwards. The prime was also a bit more consistent when it came to light transmission across the different exposures. I was also interested to see the depth of field differences at the various f-stops.

14 Cameras in one year Part TWO | Philip Johnston | HD Warrior
The second part of a look back at 14 interesting cameras released this year:

Panasonic HDC Z10000
I first saw this 3D camcorder at IBC 2011 and it had an impressive number of features for the money. 3D is not for everyone but if you are looking at a semi pro 3D camcorder this must be one of your choices.

Get Your Free Copy of “Becoming the Reel Deal” | Evan Luzi | The Black And Blue
If you're interested in working as a camera operator, then Evan's The Black And Blue blog is indespensible, and now he has an electronic book he's giving away for free:

Becoming the Reel Deal covers topics such as duties within the camera department, film school, resumes, and how to leverage opportunities to your advantage.
While I can’t promise you’ll instantly get a job when you finish reading it, if you follow my advice, I can guarantee you will put yourself in a better position for long-term success.
This isn’t about getting one gig — it’s about launching a career.

Breaking In | Alex Walker | Wide Open Camera
A short post on thoughts on how to get into any creative business:

I’ll tell you how I managed. Just share your work. It doesn’t matter how you feel about it, just do your absolute best no matter what and share your experiences online. It doesn’t work to just upload to vimeo or youtube; you need to advertise. Make connections with camera blogs and equipment manufacturers, collaborate with fellow filmmakers, write articles, etc.

Editing Tip: Working With Bad Footage | Jackson Wong | Videomaker
This short article has some basic tips on dealing with bad video and audio, and points to more detailed articles:

As for the sound of your given footage, this may be the most important part to fix. Clean audio can save the day, and that’s exactly what you’ll want to do, clean up the audio. Most editing programs have low-cut or high-pass filters, and these can be used to automatically adjust the tones in the video. To adjust specific sounds, look for digital noise reduction.

Post-processing in the digital age: Photojournalists and 10b Photography
| Olivier Laurent | British Journal of Photography
They don't do retouching, but they do, do image manipulation. For documentary/new reporting, is that okay? A good reminder of how changing the contrast/coloring of an image can increase an image's impact.

10b is quick to point out that it is not a retouching firm. The term is often associated with Photoshop experts, who are hired to alter the look and shape of fashion icons, for example. So when it comes to defining Palmisano's role, it can get tricky. Is he a "digital photo editor", a "Photoshop editor" or a "post-producer"? "Post-producer semantically belongs to the world of video-making and sounds a little too vague," says Valentina Tordoni of 10b.

10,000fps!? - The Slow Mo Guys | TheSlowMoGuys | YouTube
A cup breaking at 500 fps through 10,000 fps, shot with the Phantom Flex. Notice the use of sound effects in this video...



Lighting With Home Depot Lights: Part 2 | Shane Hurlbut | Blog
Lighting with a budget light package:

The Cinematography interns and I grabbed our Hardware Store Action Packer and set out on our minimal lighting mission. “What do you want to key him with?” I asked. Derek held up a cool white florescent trouble light. “I like it.” We will make General Taylor a little green. We taped that to a C-stand and armed it out overhead to mimic a desk lamp. I said, “we will need some fill.” We just happened to have another one of these which we rigged back slightly camera right. What are we missing?

Canon 600D and latest Magic Lantern hack to bring adjustable frame rates & HDR video | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
Magic Lantern is a firmware hack for Canon DSLRs, and a new version adds new features:

I am really impressed with the way the Canon DSLR hack – Magic Lantern – has recently been progressing. Enabling video on cameras that didn’t have a video mode is a miracle in itself! (50D). Putting all the settings into a menu system on the camera rather than in a Windows app like PTools with the GH2 hack – also pretty good. As well as higher bitrate recording, ML has evolved to give us ISO 12,800 recording, peaking, crop marks, false colour, zebras and now even variable frame rates.

A Letter to Stanley Kubrick about the Newly Invented Steadicam | FilmmakerIQ
Very cool, the letter sent to Stanley Kubrick alerting him to the Steadicam:

The operator can run and the camera moves through the air as if held on a string from above. I saw a roll of film this morning shot by Haskel where the operator sits on a crane – the crane comes down the the ground, the operator gets of the seat and walks away, no cut. Not only will this thing safe[sic] a lot of money and time by avoiding tracks, but you could do shots and think of shots which would not enter your mind otherwise.

Cinemek Storyboard Composer HD | Cinemek | iTunes
This storyboard application for the iPad 2 is currently 50% off; it's $14.99, down from $29.99.