Radioactive Lenses
We have enough to worry about as professional photographers, dealing with deadbeat ad agencies, stressed-out brides, and clients who wonder why we don’t do three or four extra days work without charging. Do we now have to worry about getting radiation poisoning from radioactive lenses? I own one of these so called radioactive lenses, a Canon 55mm f/1.2 lens like the one in he video above, so decided to look into the question further. My answer is – I don’t think so, but let us get some facts up on the table for your own consideration on radioactive lenses. Radioactive lenses
Read moreWPPI 2014 – Get ready for Las Vegas!
WPPI 2014 – Get ready for Las Vegas! from Triple Scoop Music on Vimeo. Have you ever wondered why 13,000 photographers go to Las Vegas instead of someplace warmer in the middle of winter? This new film is an exciting, inside look at what makes WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) one of the photo industry’s must-attend events. Acclaimed Director /Cinematographer Sion Michel and Producer Roy Ashen from Triple Scoop Music (http://triplescoopmusic.com ) explore the incredible mix of acclaimed photographers, well known educators, and visionary companies that come together each year in Las Vegas for the WPPI show. What happens
Read moreFuji X-T1 Field Test
Chris Niccolls is joined by Nick Devlin discussing the just released Fuji X-T1 camera. The X-T1 is the latest in the Fujifilm “X” series camera lineup, and may be the first Fuji X that crosses the line into the “general” camera category. Appealing to a much larger audience, thanks to greatly improved autofocus, the X-T1 also features weather sealing. Though there are no weather sealed lenses shipping yet, there are two announced. While many have posted first impressions online of the Fuji X-T1, most are based on reading the specification sheet, not hands on. I find the most value from
Read moreThe Value Of Failing
Sergey Brin On Taking Moonshots & The Value Of Failing Whatever your thoughts on Google (I happen to be a big fan myself), Sergey Brin is not just a hero to a generation of young Americans, he is also one smart dude. In the above video (start at 1:54), Sergey extols the virtues of the value of failing. We’re conditioned from birth to be the best. We’re encouraged to take our first baby steps. To say our first words. To learn to recognize what we want, and prepare ourselves to go out and get it. “The most necessary task of
Read moreZoetrope Optika
Zoetrope Optika from August Bradley on Vimeo. No sooner do I finish my story about the new Sony Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 Sonnar, then out pops this fine example of creative filmmaking using it’s sister lens, the Zeiss 55mm f/1.4 Otus. Without question, the Otus is one outstanding lens. Especially in the hands of a master filmmaker like August Bradley, with an excellent concept in mind for Zoetrope Optika. Bradley’s vision and imagination are legendary. His color pallet and use of the breathtaking sharpness combined with fantastic shallow depth of field work in Zoetrope Optika are exceptional. Zoetrope Optika was not an inexpensive
Read moreSony Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA Lens
Cats With Class-LA Battle of the Bands Full Set. from TheCameraForum on Vimeo. The Winning Thirty Minute Set At The Los Angeles Battle of the Bands. Performed by Cats With Class: Victor Arno on Drums; Suzanne Birrell on Bass & Vocals; James Liu on Clarinet & Sax; Julie Morgentaler on Vocals & percussion; George Woo on Keyboard. Video by Chuck Jones. Filmed on location @ The Los Angeles Battle of the Bands. They won!!! I used my Sony A7R and the new Zeiss Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 ZA lens to record the event. DxO rates the Sony Zeiss Sonnar
Read moreHuelux: 5D Mark III Does 4k Ultra HD
Published on YouTube Jan 28, 2014 Randy Halverson is a driven person, as driven as anybody living in rural South Dakota can be I guess. Randy and his two Canon 5D Mark III’s sure did some traveling last year, covering South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah shooting in 4k. Oh, you didn’t know the 5D Mark III could shoot in 4K? It certainly can if it is done in time lapse. Here, in this YouTube hosted Time Lapse, you can experience first hand for yourself what all the 4k fuss is about. Some say why bother, others say it is the wave
Read moreLumix GH4 – The 4 Is For 4K
It seems so long ago, but it has only been about eighteen months since Panasonic announced the GH3. The GH3 has proved to be an able follow-on to the GH2, and an improvement in every regard. Panasonic saw the light with the wide acceptance of the original “hacked” GH2 and realized there was a market for a high performance micro-four thirds sensor based camera system. The GH3 was developed and has been marketed with that target audience in mind, and is today arguably one of the best DSLR style camera bodies for recording video. With the advent of 4k overtaking
Read moreCineDrones Are Awesome
CINEDRONES ARE AWESOME from ANTIMEDIA on Vimeo. CineDrones are Awesome, and so is the way they are flown by Antimedia, a filmproduction company from Norway. Years of experience from all over the world make their fully customized Cindrones highly effective high-end production tools in everything from feature films to TV broadcast. Custom design makes it possible to bring Cinedrones into extremely challenging environments and have them operational in a short amount of time. This is one of the feature that makes their Cinedrones an awesome tool! This film is a selection of scenes from their productions completed in this past
Read moreFiilex P100: The P = Pretty!
Pay Particular Attention II from TheCameraForum on Vimeo.This video is about Paying Particular Attention to what goes on behind the scenes, where the real dealing takes place. [Pay Particular Attention Song and Video ©2013 Suzanne Birrell as performed by Cats With Class: Victor Arno on Drums; Suzanne Birrell on Bass & Vocals; Evan Hauser on Trumpet & Vocals; James Liu on Clarinet & Sax; Julie Morgentaler on Vocals & percussion; George Woo on Keyboard. Produced by Chuck Jones.] I’ve used all kinds of photography lighting over the years, none of them any better than the light provided by this Fiilex
Read moreThe Phantom Miro – A Remarkable Little Camera.
ANTIMEDIA – PHANTOM MIRO SHOWREEL from ANTIMEDIA on Vimeo. How do you avoid annoying AutoFocus? Mount a manual focus lens. How do you get slow motion? Insanely fast frame rates with a Phantom Miro. in this case, 1,200 frames per second, then you slow it down to a “normal” thirty frames per second rate when you play it back. Simple, right? In concept yes, but in execution it can be a very difficult undertaking, and hence my story about why the Phantom Miro is such a remarkable little camera. Extreme slow motion requires special high speed digital cameras. Few cameras made can
Read moreMulti Camera Editing Two Stray Cats
A Man Ain’t A Man from TheCameraForum on Vimeo. We are now setup and operational with the latest Mavericks OSX and the latest Final Cut Pro X. One of the exciting things Apple has evolved in Final Cut Pro X is multi camera editing. What is multi camera editing you ask? Good question! Final Cut now gives you the option to automatically sync up footage shot on multiple cameras, and get lip sync with an independent soundtrack. Furthermore, FCP X will create a “composite clip” which can be edited to switch camera views at will until you get your edited
Read moreZoom Q4 First Look & Image Sample
Zoom Q4 from TheCameraForum on Vimeo. Zoom calls their Q4 a Handy Video Recorder. Sony refers to their HDR-MV1 as a portable Music Video Recorder. But what is in a name? In the end, what sold me was features. The Zoom Q4 is packed with them, and while maybe not as specifically marketed at musicians as the Sony product, the Zoom Q4 is possibly the closest thing I have experienced to professional quality recording gear at a truly miserly price. MSRP on the Zoom Q4 is only $299, including the DeadCat. As the footage shows, while it is not without
Read moreZoom Q4 vs Sony HDR-MV1
Introducing the new Zoom Q4 Music Video Recorder. I don’t know if it is the exuberance of it being New Year and the Chinese Year of the Horse or what, but for some reason this year is starting with a plethora of good sounding, purpose designed live recording devices for capturing live music. The end of October last year brought us the Sony HDR-MV1 announcement which I covered HERE. Below I post a good review, if a bit long, featuring one of the first actual Sony HDR-MV1 production units. These are just starting to hit retailer’s shelves here in the
Read moretexBlend
Sometimes, you don’t need a reason to create something beautiful, other than just the urge to do it. This is the philosophy I feel behind texBlend, the iDevice texture blending product brought to market by Uwe Steinmueller, my close friend, frequent contributor here, and owner of OutBackPhoto.com. texBlend is not a product with a compelling “must have it for work” required software mandate, though its use would certainly spruce up the creative content in any marketing related piece. Indeed, the concept behind texBlend is a simple one. Pick a subject photo, then pick a “texture” recipe and apply it. Easy
Read moreSalerno And Me And My GH3
Great story, client with low production budget, good but public shooting location, no lights, crew or assistants? I grabbed my Panasonic GH3, and Panasonic’s fantastic 12-35mm f/2.8 Lumix zoom, and went for it. The Panasonic GH3 is a fine video camera for a lone storyteller. All of this footage I used in this movie was shot solo, in ambient light, and recording ambient sounds. All of the soundtrack was assembled and constructed entirely from audio recorded on location directly onto the GH3 from a Rode VideoMic Pro, and/or the GH3 internal microphones. The GH3 strengths are many, a few
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