Notes On Video

Canon EOS 7D Firmware Version 2 Coming Soon | CanonRumors There's been rumors of a Canon 7D firmware update appearing over the last couple of weeks, and CanonRumors now has what appears to be complete - unofficial - details of the update, which includes lots of things for still photographers, and even something for video shooters: MANUAL ADJUSTMENT FOR AUDIO RECORDING LEVELS During EOS Movie shooting you will be able to manually adjust the audio recording levels to one of 64 levels, whilst the sound volume during playback can be set to one of 11 levels. During movie recording noise from the aperture is reduced and the camera also has an automatic wind cut filter. Jag35 Street Runner Review | Rick Macomber | Vimeo Rick has put together a nicely shot review of this camera rig: The Street Runner is a new affordable rig from the folks at Jag35. It's very similar to it's bigger brother, the Field Runner, which has two front grip handles, a top handle and a slightly di...

The next Pub Night at Rule Boston Camera is Tuesday June 12, 6:00pm to 8:00pm and will feature DP Zach Zamboni. RSVP: events@rule.com

Canon announced a new, lost-cost pancake lens along with the T4i . Specifications are listed below: This EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake Lens [$199.99] from Canon is a welcome addition to Canon's line-up of EF lenses--a light, inconspicuous "normal" lens. At a featherweight 4.6 oz, this is the lightest lens (along with the 50mm f/1.8 II lens) in the EF family. It's less than one inch long, so it will never draw unwelcome attention to you when you're shooting in public. A bright f/2.8 maximum aperture allows you to shoot under pretty much any lighting conditions, and the sophisticated lens configuration, including one aspherical element, guarantees high image quality from the center to the edge of the frame. The optimized coatings used in constructing the lens greatly reduce ghosting and flare, and deliver superb color balance. STM functionality provides quiet, smooth and continuous autofocus during video operation. The circular aperture formed by 7 diaphragm blades...

Continuous AF during HD Video Recording For the first time in a Canon EOS DSLR, the EOS Rebel T4i includes Canon’s new Movie Servo AF for recording video. When used with Canon’s new EF and EF-S STM lenses, the camera can provide smooth and quiet continuous AF while recording video. This technological breakthrough enables the new EOS Rebel T4i to achieve AF while still retaining a DSLR camera’s signature background blur and image quality, producing stunning videos of parties, events, summer vacations or graduations. When shooting video with Canon’s STM lenses, AF also remains silent, helping ensure you only capture the sound of the scene being recorded. The EOS Rebel T4i features a built-in stereo microphone, a first for the Rebel line, that includes an attenuator function to reduce audio distortion in extra loud situations. Canon also announced two new STM lenses, the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens and EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens. Estimated delivery is end of June. Pre-orde...

Don't Mean To Be Alarmist, But The TV Business May Be Starting To Collapse | Henry Blodget | Business Insider Interesting suggestion that television is in the same place as newspapers was a few years back...i.e. heading for doom ... We still consume some TV content, but we consume it when and where we want it, and we consume it deliberately: In other words, we don't settle down in front of the TV and watch "what's on." And, again with the exception of live sports, we've gotten so used to watching shows and series without ads that ads now seem extraordinarily intrusive and annoying. Our kids see TV ads so rarely that they're actually curious about and confused by them: "What is that? A commercial?" Anatomy of a video file | Bryan Hastings | Macworld A look at MPEG4 and AVCHD: AVCHD (pronounced by its initials) stands for Advanced Video Coding High Definition. It arrived on the scene in 2006, is more fully featured than MPEG-4 and is rapidl...

I like wide-angle lenses. Whether using video cameras or still cameras, inevitably I find that I need to get further back to get the image I want. And sometimes, you can't physically move back far enough. I think I also like the somewhat distorted point of view you get. I better admit up front that my favorite lens is Canon's 16-35mm L lens. It's a great lens - particularly if you have a crop sensor camera like the Canon 7D . Solid, smooth, and it produces a great image. I love this lens. But at $1,600 it is expensive. What about something a bit cheaper? Samyang has a reputation for making good quality, inexpensive lenses. But you might not have heard of them because they aren't sold under the Samyang name here in the United States. Instead, they are sold under a variety of names including Rokinon and Bower. I already have another lens from Samyang, the 35mm f/1.4 lens , which at $499 is a good deal itself. But I recently got to play with the Rokinon 14mm f/2....

I bought one of the original Lensbaby's - now called the " Muse " series [$149.95] - several years ago. I think that was before we were using DSLR's to shoot video and still thought of them as just "still cameras" And as a still effects lens, the Lensbaby can be a lot of fun; it provides a very ethereal, unworldly feel to an image. Lensbaby Muse The problem with the Muse model is that it uses a flexible tube that you push and pull against to create the effect. That's mostly okay for stills, where you can push it into place, hold it still for a second while you take a picture, and then let go....and try again if it didn't work out. But for video, that doesn't work quite so well. Actually, that flexible tube can be pretty stiff to hold in place even while taking stills. Lensbaby then followed the original series with the " Control Freak " series [$309.99], which use three metal rods to keep the lens in position. An improvement - I...

I just saw a review of the Sony MDR-V55/BR DJ style Headphones : Review: Sony MDR-V55 DJ Headphones | Cam Curran In terms of comfort, the MDR-V55s fare well enough, but in the end, any pair of on-ear headphones has the tendency to make you pretty hot after a few hours, not to mention some slight pain on the outer ear. They're highly adjustable however, and rugged in a way many DJ-style headphones can only aspire to; these are not a flimsy set of plain ol' plastic-and-foam cans. From the description, I'm not sure I'd like them. I've already had a bit of experience with Sony headphones over the last few years: The first high-quality headphones I ever bought were a pair of  Sony MDR-7506  [$99.99] that I bought in the late 1990's. They weren't cheap then, but they are still going strong (they have been repaired with Gorilla glue, and the outer cover of the headphone pads have peeled off.] I like the sound quality of the MDR-7506's , they are light, a...

CHART OF THE DAY: The Explosive Growth Of The iPad | Jay Yarow | Business Insider Pretty amazing chart showing the growth of the iPad vs the iPhone and iPod . Of course, when you think about it, it's probably unsurprising that the iPad sales are faster and higher than the iPhone ...the iPhone  establishing the business, but being a specialized and more expensive choice. Three choices | Oliver Peters | digitalfilm Olivier looks at Adobe, Avid and Final Cut Pro and offers his interpretation of which environment will appeal to which users: In closing, remember this is just a simple way to present the options. There’s nothing that says you can’t mix and match After Effects and/or Pro Tools with EDIUS, Media Composer, Vegas, Media 100 or any other variation. My world is headed primarily to an Apple/Adobe witches brew of applications. RAW 1080p is Coming with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, but Can You Afford the Hard Drives? | Joe Marine | No Film School The problem with...