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Monday, January 02, 2012

Quick Links

So You Want to Buy a RED Scarlet? | Matt Jeppsen | ProVideoCoalition
Subtitled "Do you really need that new camera? An intervention," Matt offers reasons not to buy that new Scarlet, C300 or PMW-F3:
Oftentimes client requirements and expectations do not push the capabilities of your camera…and while YOU personally might want something more powerful/interesting/snazzy, can you justify the additional cost? Will you honestly use those features? Will those features add value to your work? Be honest. Some questions relevant to the Scarlet might be; How often do you really overcrank? Are you aware of Crop Factors when overcranking Red? Does that have to be slower than 60fps? Do you honestly need higher resolution acquisition, or will you most likely still work in 1080p? Are you pushing the limits of your current acquisition codec, and why specifically?


Red Scarlet X Footage at ISO 320-6400 & at 3K 48fps & 4K | Cinescopophilia
Three tests shot with a Scarlet; at ISO 320-6400, 3k 48fps, and 4k:
Phil Holland and the Scarlet X camera called Skully have joined forces to do some camera tests. We are lucky enough to see RED Scarlet X footage at ISO 320-6400 at 3K 48fps and at a full strength 4K from Phil and Skully.


Cinema EOS White Papers | Canon
Canon has some white papers and articles on the upcoming C300, including:
New 35mm CMOS Sensor for Cine Motion Imaging:
Canon's EOS C300 has a totally new CMOS imaging sensor, dedicated to outstanding video image quality. This White Paper takes an extremely detailed look at the technologies that make this happen.
Sensitometric Characteristics of the EOS C300 Digital Cine Camera:
A technical analysis of the EOS C300's sensor and processing system, and how they combine to produce the camera's tonal reproduction and contrast range.


Canon C300 January 1, 2012 1:06 PM | Rodney Charters | UStream
Another video from Rodney Charters of Drew Gardner and Lan Bui playing with a C300. They demo a rig with a Zacuto LCD Viewfinder, and there's some interesting information; like the fact that waveform isn't sent out HDMI. This is a recording of a live stream they did.
"Suffice it to say, in a general way, we are ecstatically thrilled with this camera, and the excitement builds, and we can't wait to get hold of it for real use. I'm hopeful there's one of these in my future quite soon."
Rodney also posted this picture with the caption: This is the camera of the decade! | Mobypicture



Canon C-Log on the C300 compared to S-Log | Alister Chapman | XDCAM User
A look at C-Log compared to S-Log, which begins by suggesting that S-Log works well with 10-bit, but Canon couldn't do that same because it's an 8-bit device:
Anyway, back to the Canon C300. From what I can tell, C-Log is an extension of the cinegamma type of gamma curve. It appears to have more in common with cinegammas than true S-log. It looks like the compression starts at around 60% and that there is a little more gain at the bottom of the curve to lift shadows a little. This earlier start to the compression will allow for a greater dynamic range but will mean fewer bits of data for skin tones etc. The raised lower end gain means you can afford to underexpose more if you need to. As the curve is not a full log curve it will look a lot more agreeable than S-Log on an uncorrected monitor, especially as the crucial mid tone area is largely unaffected by strong compression and thus a large gamma miss-match.


The Canon C300 For a Day | MiH INC | Vimeo
"Mike Gurley gave me this great opportunity to test out the New Canon C-300 for a Sunday. Great fun working with such a beautiful camera."

Canon C300 Day 2 - Discussing shooting with the C300 | The Bui Brothers | Vimeo
"Today I finally got the Canon c300 out and shot some stuff with it! Drew and I discuss, footage to follow very soon."



FS100 Solid Cat | Golden Wedge | Vimeo
Attaching a Vivitar 800mm F11 Solid Catadioptric Telephoto Lens to the NEX-FS100 and ending up with the equivalent of a 1200mm lens. He's using a Novoflex T to E-mount adapter, and shows a special adapter plate he had made to mount the combined lens/camera. The lens he is using is from the 70's, and I don't know if it's the same as this one: Vivitar 800mm f/8 Series 1 Manual Focus Mirror Lens



SLR Magic announces HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 M-mount lens | DPReview
An interesting lens which won't be available until September 2012.
Hong Kong lens maker SLR Magic has announced the HyperPrime CINE 50mm T0.95 lens for the Leica M mount. The lens, which can be easily adapted for Micro Four Thirds or Sony NEX cameras, is designed for low light and shallow depth-of-field videography and available-light photography. The lens features 12 elements in 7 groups and, the company says, is optimized to be shot with the aperture wide open.


A Cameraman's New Year Message | Matt Allard | DSLR News Shooter
Opening with the statement "I feel we are becoming overly obsessed with new technology and buying the latest product" Matt looks at some of the new gear of the past year, as well as what will be coming soon:
How much will the 4K concept camera be? Well given the 1D X is going to be between $6-7K US I can’t see it being any less. How the 4K camera will record and to what media remains to be seen. Regardless of price and features I’m sure the 5D mkIII will be a big seller for Canon. The 5D mkII still remains one of the best bang-for-your-buck cameras around. In my view DSLR cameras with HD video will continue to flourish. The quality of the image and the price point ensures they will remain relevant for years to come.


The quest for a small, light, levelling video tripod and head | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
Andrew is looking for a new tripod head, though I suspect that if you're looking for a video tripod head it's a case of: small, smooth, cheap, pick two.
There are some fluid 3 way heads but these are all designed for photographers. None of them seem to match the smoothness, adjustability and consistency of torsion throughout the travel of the head that a dedicated video head gives you. But none of the video heads have levelling or the 3rd axis for a roll built into the head itself.


PluralEyes for FCP X: Beta Update | Email | PluralEyes
An update to the PluralEyes beta for FCPX is available:
Syncing multi-camera and dual-system audio projects has never been easier now that the widely used and much-loved PluralEyes works with Final Cut Pro X.

We won't mail you every time there is an update, but some people had trouble even getting started with the first beta, so we wanted to be sure everyone knows that a new version is available. This release fixes lots o' bugs and is recommended to anyone who wants to try PluralEyes with FCP X.

Reminder: when it is released, the upgrade with FCP X support will be free for all current users of PluralEyes for Final Cut Pro.
Download the free beta here.



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