DSLR video making guide

DSLR Quick Focusing Tips

2011-12-24T13:07:00.000-08:00

When I was a kid, our family only had one camera. It was a 35mm point-and-shoot with autofocus. Today we have all sorts of cameras, from mobile phones to camcorders to DSLRs to point and shoots... the list goes on! But there's one thing all these devices have in common: Focus.

Focusing is adjusting the lens of your camera until you can see your subject in maximum detail. Professionals like to use the term "tack sharp" to describe when the subject of an image is in perfect focus. An unintentionally out-of-focus shot can be distracting to the viewer, and can remove your audience from your video or film. However, intentionally leaving areas out-of-focus can also be used as a storytelling device, bringing the audience's attention to something specific, or obscuring the villain standing behind your main character.

When focusing, the lens element inside your camera moves closer or further from the image sensor depending on which direction you rotate the focus ring. Once the light is properly converging on the image sensor, you will have a focused image.

Shifting focus from a nearby object to a faraway object within the same shot is called "racking focus" and is commonly used to bring the audience's attention from one subject to another. Professionals and amateurs alike do this by using something called a follow focus, and you can build one yourself to make racking focus much easier! Here's a quick example of how racking the focus can add a little bit of drama and tell a story, all within one shot:

Most cameras today have autofocus built in, and you might be wondering why we don't just leave it on all the time. Autofocus can be pretty good at guessing what subject you want in focus, but it may not always get it right. Lots of movement within the frame or moving the camera itself can cause a distracting "pulsing" effect as the autofocus decides what subject should be in focus.

Manual focus is the setting we need to assure all our shots are tack sharp on the subjects we want. Check out the following video showing you how to manually focus on a couple of common camera types:

Here's the breakdown of how you can manually focus on different camera types:

DSLR: Find the MF(manual focus) switch on the lens or front of your camera body, and use the focus or zoom assist button to get the image sharp by turning the focus ring.

Camcorder: Set your focus to "M" near the camera lens, and use the focus assist to establish focus. Some cameras don't have focus assist, so check your user manual first.

Point & Shoot: While not exactly manual focus, you can lock your autofocus before taking your shot by pressing the shutter button halfway down, and then pressing the shutter all the way down to start recording.

Touchscreen Smartphone: Tap the screen where you want to focus (depending on your phone, this may adjust the exposure too!)

One rule of thumb to focus on a video camera is to establish your shot, zoom into your subject as much as possible, focus on your subject, and zoom back out and reestablish your shot. Your subject will remain in focus as long as it's stationary. You can try this technique with DSLR cameras, however the zoom on some lenses can throw off your focus. Most video-capable DSLRs have a "focus assist" button that will digitally zoom on a subject to help establish focus. Explore your user manual or post in our friendly Cameras and Editing Forum if you have trouble focusing with your camera.

Adding Depth to Your Shots

2011-12-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

When most people think about adding depth to videos, they immediately think about DSLR cameras, and for good reason: One of the most appealing aspects of shooting video on a DSLR is the shallow depth of field you can achieve.

With DSLRs, interchangeable lenses that stop down to wide apertures allow you to get those super-cinematic shots, capture bokeh, rack focus, and separate your subject from the background, drawing your audience's eye to the details you choose. Adjusting aperture to obtain shallow depth of field is a great trick, but let's not get stuck in thinking that it's the only way to add depth to your shots.

This great tutorial from Realm Pictures explores six ways to create depth in your videos, most of which don’t call for a DSLR:

1. Depth of field

The wider your aperture (meaning the smaller the number), the shallower your depth of field. As you can see in the tutorial, when shooting at f/22, both Eve and the background are in focus. However, opening up the aperture to f/1.4 creates shallower depth of field, where Eve is in focus while the background is not.

Remember that when you change your aperture, you need to compensate to maintain your exposure. When shooting on a DSLR, you usually want your shutter speed to remain at 1/50th or 1/60th of a second (depending on your frame rate), so you'll want to compensate for a shift in aperture by changing your ISO.

If you're shooting outdoors on a sunny day and your ISO is set as low as possible but you still can't open the aperture wide enough to get the shallow depth of field you want, try using a neutral density filter to decrease the amount of light hitting the sensor. This fun video by stillmotion offers further explanation.

2. Backlighting

Sometimes adding depth is as simple as adding backlighting. As seen in the tutorial, when the sun is behind Eve, a natural line of light around her head and shoulders separates her from the background. The same principle pertains to a three-point lighting system. When using artificial lights indoors, backlighting helps the eye distinguish the subject from the background, thereby adding depth.

3. Foreground elements

Adding an element to the foreground is another simple way to add depth. Placing something closer to the camera gives context to the shot and helps better define the placement of your subject.

4. Perspective

Changing up your shot composition and getting creative with angles also can add depth. The shot with Eve in front of the shed is composed on one visual plane. However, by moving the camera to the side and shooting at Eve down the line of the shed, the vanishing horizontal lines of the structure create depth and draw the focus towards her.

5. Parallax

Parallax is not the name of a more relaxed parallel universe — it’s a property of visual perception whereby an object looks different when viewed from varying angles. In the tutorial, this effect is achieved by moving the camera along a glide track so that the foreground elements move faster than the ones in the background. This contrast accentuates the difference between the two planes and you guessed it adds depth.

6. Smoke and Haze

Bet you weren't expecting this one! In the tutorial, the air behind Dave is filled with smoke. Since there is less smoke between the camera and Dave than there is between Dave and the wall, Dave really pops out from the background.

OWLE Bubo for iphone 4s

2011-12-05T11:15:00.000-08:00

The OWLE Bubo is the simplest and most versatile way to take and share video and images.

SELECT YOUR DEVICE TYPE

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OWLE Bubo for iPhone 4, 4S and iPod Touch
4G
$169.95
OWLE Bubo for iPhone 3G/3GS
$159.95
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$37.50 International Shipping & Handling.
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IF YOU WANT TO PURCHASE THE OWLE & ENCINEMA ADAPTER COMBO KIT AT A DISCOUNTED
RATE, PLEASE CLICK HERE
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WHAT IS THE OWLE BUBO???
The Bubo takes the device you already have with you and transforms it into a fully functional imaging device.
Once equipped with a Bubo, the quality of your images matches the ease of sharing them.

Included Items:

- iPhone or iPod Touch 4G Specific Billet Aluminum Bubo

- Wide Angle/Macro Combo Lens (37mm Back End diameter, 49mm Front End Diameter)

- External Microphone

- Silicone Case to be used with iPhone or iPod Touch 4G
_____________________________________________________________________

What does it do that my iPhone doesn't?

Put simply, everything that a camera does that an iPhone can't.

- The Bubo comes standard with a full size lens that provides crisp image quality
- Also included is an external microphone that captures audio you can share
- It has four tri pod mounting points allowing you to perfect your image capturing
- The Bubo can stand on its own allowing for hands free photography
- An integrated cold shoe mounting point makes using lights or microphones simple
- The Bubo's ergonomic design promotes ease of hand held shooting
- Its tailored weight allows for greater control and no more shakey "cell phone video" affects
- The Bubo even protects your phone from damage during use as a camera

Once you have a Bubo, the days of "sorry for the cell phone pic" become a thing of the past.

DSLR Battery Basics

2011-08-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

Batteries power almost all our gadgets nowadays, and cameras are no exception. When it comes to production, it can be difficult keeping track of all the different battery options, but with a little research, you can find the best solution for your equipment.

In preparation for this lesson, we made this video. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties-

No big deal though! It's a fairly straightforward topic so let's dig in!

Certain cameras still use non-rechargeable alkaline based batteries. While these batteries are generally cheaper, they don't last nearly as long and are only good for one time use. Fortunately, most modern cameras use rechargeable batteries.

Let's look at the two most common types of rechargeable batteries used in cameras. There's nickel metal hydride (NiMH), and lithium ion. Lithium ion is the preferred type for use in high end equipment as NiMH batteries tend to discharge when not in use and do not provide as much power overall. Because of this, most cameras are designed to use lithium ion batteries which are proprietary (meaning they are made for use in those specific cameras). Some lower end cameras use AA or AAA (NiMH) batteries since they're cheaper.

Despite the advantages of lithium ion batteries, there are drawbacks. For one, they don't live forever. After about 500 cycles (draining followed by recharging) their performance degrades quite a bit and they require replacement. NiMH batteries can be even worse, needing replacement after even fewer charge cycles.
Pro tip... Recharging a partially drained NiMH battery can greatly reduce the life of your battery. Unlike NiMH batteries, lithium ion batteries don't need to be fully drained before recharging them!
Most of the time, when buying a battery, you have a choice of buying an expensive name brand or a cheaper 3rd party brand. Both batteries will generally provide equal performance, but be warned that some 3rd party batteries may have not be able to communicate with your camera, so your camera may not display information on how much power is left. Depending on your camera model, you may able to purchase an extended charge version. These will typically be larger than your normal battery but they will of course provide extended battery life.

What if you're on a shoot and running low on power? Well, that's a situation no one wants to be in, so if you feel like you're cutting it close, it's best to have a second battery fully charged and ready to go just in case your first battery dies. Optionally, if you're near a wall outlet, many cameras can be powered via an AC power adapter, so there's no need for a battery at all!
Pro tip... If you have two batteries, bring your charger with you on your shoot so if one drains, you can use your second battery and simultaneously charge the one that has been drained!
It's always a good idea to familiarize yourself with how long your battery lasts in your camera with a full charge under normal use. However, just like people, batteries work best at room temperature. Using your batteries in extreme temperatures can have a negative impact on your battery's life. That being said, the optimal operating temperature for Lithium ion batteries is 68°F, and you're good to go within a 20°F range of that. Anything higher or lower and you could experience drastically reduced battery life, so if you're planning on shooting in extreme temperatures, come prepared with more batteries, or have a way to keep your camera and other equipment in a relatively stable temperature area.

Keep in mind that there are lots of things your camera does that makes your battery drain faster. Using the LCD screen on your camera is a big one. Try looking into your camera settings and dimming your screen brightness, a lot of times it's set super bright by default. If you're looking to be more conservative, cut down on the use of external devices that use your cameras' battery (also known as phantom power, scary stuff). Things like camera lights, external LCD screens and microphones, can all drain your camera battery pretty quick. If you have the option, try buying an external device that has it's own power supply. Obviously, you can prolong your battery life by turning these things off (or even the camera itself) when not in use.

Once your battery has drained to the point where you're unable to use it, the proper way to dispose of it is to recycle! Check with your local, state, or federal environmental agency to find out the best way to do so.

Following these basic tips and general common sense should keep you and your batteries happy as can be, and help your shooting go smoothly. Now go out there and conserve some energy!

Shot Composition Varying

2011-07-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

A fundamental part of visual storytelling is variety. If your entire video consists of one single shot, it's going to be hard to keep the audience engaged for the duration of the story. That's why in most videos and movies there are a variety of shots or compositions that are used to enhance the storytelling. Keeping in mind the tips from our lesson Framing and Composition, check out the most common types of these shots below.

To help illustrate these various shots, we have taken still images from two recent Vimeo HQ videos, Vimeo Man and Texas Intern. Let's dive into these examples!

EWS - Extremely Wide Shot (or Establishing)
Establishing shots are shown towards the beginning or end of a scene, to set the stage and show the full environment. Here we show the exterior of Vimeo HQ, so the audience knows where the story is about to take place.

WS - Wide Shot
Wide shots show the whole subject and their surrounding environment. In this shot, we show Matt at his desk, but also leave it enough room in the shot so that we can see that others are present.

MS - Mid Shot
The Mid Shot gets closer to the main subject, showing more detailed gestures and body language. Here is Matt coming upon Vimeo Man in disbelief.

MCU - Medium Close Up
Medium Close Ups are just a touch closer than Mid Shots, but give greater detail, in this case it's emphasizing Matt and his obsession with all things dslrtool.com.

CU - Close Up
Close Ups fill the frame almost entirely with the subjects face. This emphasizes a character's facial expressions and helps the audience understand their reactions. Here is a close up shot of the Texan, blowing smoke from his pistol while squinting his eyes.

ECU - Extreme Close Up
Extreme Close Ups are super close to the subject, usually detailing just one part of their face, like the eyes or mouth. In this case, it's Vimeo Man's flashy glasses.

Cut-In
Cut-Ins, also known as insert shots, typically show objects or props that a character is manipulating. For example in the shot above we see the Texan's pistol as he is firing it.

Two-Shot
Two-Shots show two subjects in the frame and their spatial relation to one another. Usually both are positioned to fill up roughly the same amount of space within the frame. Two shots are often used during dialogue scenes like in the shot above where Andrea is explaining dslrtool.com to Matt.

OTS - Over The Shoulder Shot
Over The Shoulder shots are also used in dialogue scenes to show conversations between two people but with an emphasis on a particular character's perspective. Here we see Dan and the Texan discussing modes of transportation.

All of these common shot types emphasize different elements of your video. Whether it's the setting, a facial expression, or an object in an insert shot, they all help to tell the story by focusing the viewers attention. It's up to you as a video maker to tell your story in a series of shots, so think of what you want to convey and emphasize that with your shot selection. You'll find that a good dose of shot variety helps keep your audience engaged and watching, and that's a good thing!

Thank you to VIMEO.COM

DSLR Video Importing & Conversion

2011-07-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

For all those DSLR users out there, importing videos is pretty easy these days. We simply stick a Flash card full of our buttery DSLR footage into a computer, drag the files to a folder and presto-changeo! Everything is organized! But if you think you can just drop these files into your editing suite and start editing, you may have another thing coming. The reason being is that when videos come off your camera they are in a H.264 format, which is a finishing format. H.264 is a great format for say, uploading to Vimeo, but editing software such as Final Cut Pro does not support it (albeit, we are seeing a change to this). Consequently, editing with H.264 in Final Cut Pro means choppy playback and frequent crashes. To avoid this, you will need to convert your video files to a format that is better suited for editing.

In the tutorial video below, DSLR video expert Philip Bloom demonstrates a simple way to get your DSLR videos files converted and ready for editing!

First, He instructs you to import your video files:

Plug your camera's compact Flash card into your computer using a card reader (don't use iPhoto etc.)
Drag the entire contents of the DCIM folder from your compact Flash card onto your external hard drive.
Discard the thumbnail files (.THM Files).

Then, once your video files are on the computer, they are ready for conversion:

Download the free software, MPEG streamclip and open it.
To convert all of your video files at once, go to "List" select "Batch List" and then select "Add Files". Next, select all of the files you wish to convert.
Click "To Batch" select "Export to QuickTime" and hit "OK".
You do not want to "join all the files" as it is easier to organize them separately, nor do you want to"Fix time code breaks".
Create a new folder and click "Select".

Now, you are ready to choose the settings that will convert your video files into a better format to edit with:

Philip Bloom recommends you use Apple XDCAM EX 1080p30 (35 Mb/s VBR) if you don't plan on editing the file later with software such as Cinema Tools.
Turn Quality to 100%.
Make sure it is Unscaled and deselect "Interlaced Scaling" and click on "To Batch".
Click "Go".

Pro tip...

Use ProRes 422 as a substitute to Apple XDCAM EX 1080p30 for a higher quality yet less compressed (larger file) format!

And there you are! After clicking "Go" you can cruise around Vimeo for some editing inspiration while MPEG Streamclip coverts your video files to an editing friendly format.

I.S.O Mastering DSLR

2011-06-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Back in the days of yore when everything was black and white, cameras used film. I.S.O. was a measure of the film's speed. The lower the I.S.O. the less sensitive the film was to light and vice versa. Now that we're living in the future, most folks use digital cameras rather than film. Digital cameras still have I.S.O. but now it measures the light sensitivity of a sensor instead of film.
Here's a quick video that explains it even more

So, now that we're clear on what I.S.O. is, let's see what the different I.S.O. settings look like! Leave it to the Vimeo community to upload tons of I.S.O. tests. Here's an especially good one by Amila C. Kumarasinghe. He uses a very low-light setting to take us from I.S.O. 100 to 6400 on her Canon 60D.

If you paid close attention, you'll see that the higher the I.S.O. the more light the camera picked up, but the image started getting noisy. Digital noise makes the color black look grainy and fuzzy (noisy!). Here's another test video from Andrew Schär that shows the noise in each of the different I.S.O. settings on a Canon 60D.

So what's the best way to use I.S.O.? Well, you'll typically want to choose the lowest I.S.O. that still gives you a good image. In low light situations, you'll have to bump it up but try to stay below 3200 if you can!

If you have a camera that allows you to change your I.S.O. you'll usually be able to access it through the menu and it will probably look something like this:

Pro tip... As you're choosing your I.S.O. there are a few settings, even low ones, that cause more noise and you'll want to avoid.

Good ISOs: 160, 320, 640, 1250, and 2500
Avoid using: 125, 250, 500, and 1000. These ISO settings create noise and make your footage look grainy.

Less Budget photography lenses for DSLR cameras

2011-06-08T01:27:00.000-07:00

As much as we might hate to admit it, price is one of the most prominent factors when selecting photography equipment. Even to professionals, cost matters, because higher equipment costs mean less cash in pocket at the end of the day. Profit margins may not be an issue for amateurs, but instead it may be a function of what one can afford. We’d all like to have the best of everything, but in reality we have to pick and choose. In this article, we’ll look at some of the strategies to stretch your dollar and get the best gear for your needs.

Specialize

If most your photography is sports related, there isn’t a lot of sense in spending much money on wide-angle lenses. Instead the large majority of your lens budget should go towards telephoto lenses. Landscape photographers should probably invest mostly in wide-angles, but somebody such as a wedding photographer might have a need for a wide variety of lenses. Even then, it would still be a good idea to invest in a couple really good lenses, and work with those, instead of having five mediocre lenses. It is okay to have different types of lenses, providing you actually use them. Though if the lens would be used for less than 10 to 20 out of 100 shots, it isn’t worth spending the money on. Spend the money on lenses that will be used for 20, 30, or 40 shots out of 100. Your photographic opportunities may be slightly more limited, but the pictures you do take will be of unequaled quality.

New vs. Used

It’s always nice to break the seal on a box containing a brand new Canon L series lens, but is it really worth the cost? As photography has become more popular, especially at the amateur level, there is more movement of used equipment throughout the market. Not only does this mean there is more of it, but also that it’s less expensive. Simple supply/demand economics tell us that the more of something there is, the less it will cost. Lenses such as the Canon 70-200’s are extremely popular, to the point where there are hundreds on sites such as eBay at any given time, new and used. Canon lists the MSRP for the 70-200 f/4L USM at just over $800. However, on eBay, just by quickly scanning through completed auctions, the same lens – lightly used but in great condition – can be found for around $550. Obviously nothing compares to a brand new lens, but if you’re willing to settle for one gently used, but still void of any scratches on the body or glass, you can often save anywhere from 20-40% the cost of a new lens. eBay is not the only place to find used equipment; Craigslist is another valuable resource for finding great deals on used equipment. A notable benefit of Craigslist is that the transactions are more interactive and personal, and you are almost guaranteed to be able to see and try the lens before actually purchasing it, a feature not provided by eBay. NOTE: I have had many successful transactions using both of these sites, but always use caution when buying lenses from any online retailer or website. Ensure the quality of the lens is as described, and never purchase a lens with any notable defects. Don’t sacrifice quality just to save $50. In the end that extra $50 will probably mean a nice, clean, like-new lens.

Primes

Primes are fixed focal length lenses, which often feature a high maximum aperture. Zoom lenses other than those typically selling for over $1000 are hard to find much faster than f/4. There are few under $1000, but the current models as fast as f/2.8 are in the $1500 range. Primes, however, are usually extremely fast and don’t demand the price tag of the upper-level lenses. The MSRP for Canon’s 50mm f/1.8 is only $130. Almost the entire lens, including the mount, is plastic, but that little money for that fast of lens is hard to beat. Canon offers other faster and better built versions of the 50mm, but the price tag reflects this. Having a couple prime lenses in the bag is never a bad idea. They are great for those low light situations when even an f/2.8 isn’t fast enough, or when a short depth-of-field is crucial.

The Other Guys

Commonly referred to as off-brands, Sigma and Tamron have recently made a resurgence into the digital photography world. Taking advantage of the fact that Canon continues to raise prices, these two companies offer lenses that often rival the quality of the Canon lenses, and are almost always less expensive by a decent margin. Until recently, my city’s local camera store only carried Canon and Nikon equipment, but recently they have started carrying both Sigma and Tamron. Every time I ask the associate about a certain type of lens, they not only suggest the typical Canon model, but also always point out the Sigma or Tamron counterpart. The store maintains a very high level of quality for the equipment they carry (even the point and shoots begin around $200), so this is even more proof that these two brands offer a high quality alternative to the expensive Canon and Nikon lenses. The off-brand lenses are made in the various mounts for the respective brands, and work just like any brand-name lens. It’s almost hard to call Sigma and Tamron off-brands anymore because of how prominent they have become in the digital industry.

Conclusion

You may be in a position where money isn’t a factor when considering lenses, but I believe I can speak for most of us when I say it is. The decision between better price and quality is often a tough one, but the best thing to do is research all the available options, and make a decision based on what is best for you. Any of these strategies can be used individually or in conjunction to get the best value for your money.

Thank you to Cameron Shulak

Turn Off Lens Image Stabilization / Vibration Reduction for Tripod Mounted DSLR Cameras

2011-06-06T09:55:00.000-07:00

Turn Off Lens Image Stabilization / Vibration Reduction for Tripod Mounted DSLR Cameras
When you have Image Stabilization or Vibration Reduction active on your lens the internal mechanics detects movement and counter acts it producing a sharp image. When your camera and lens are mounted on a tripod movement is removed, but your lens can errantly activating its IS/VR mechanism creating an image that is less than sharp. For this reason its a best practice to turn off your lenses IS or VR functionality when it is mounted to a tripod.

3 Stupidly Simple Reasons Why Most People’s DSLR Photography Does Not Improve

2011-06-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am presuming that this article will not apply to most of us… but after 3 conversations in the last week which revealed the same photography problems in 3 different people I thought I’d better jot them down.
Warning: none of this is rocket science sometimes the basics need to be said

1. You don’t Take Your Camera With You

If you don’t practice using your camera you’re unlikely to ever grow in your understanding of and skill in photography and if you rarely have it with you – you’ll not get that practice.
Does that mean you need to lug your DSLR and all your cumbersome gear around with you all the time?
Maybe – I have friends who are never without their main camera – but if that’s just not practical, at least make sure you have a smaller point and shoot or even a decent camera phone with you at all times. While the quality of the images you take might not be as great with these cameras – at least you’ll be practicing your composition, thinking about light, color and other aspects of photography.

2. You’re Going too Fast

Many of us lead life at such a fast pace that we rarely stop to see the opportunities right before us to take wonderful images.
You can carry your camera around with you 24/7 for the rest of your life but unless you learn to slow down and to look at the world a little differently you may never actually use it.
As a result I guess one of the tips I find myself giving to some that I talk to is to find ways to slow down or at least slow down temporarily to set aside time to be a bit more intentional about photography. It might start by taking a walk with the main objective of doing some photography but could also be something bigger like a weekend away with your camera or even taking a photography class or tour.
For me its about building photography into your daily rhythm and in time it starts to become a more natural thing as you get in the habit of seeing life a little differently.

3. You are Worried what Others Will Think

I’ve come across quite a few people lately who suffer from ‘framing paralysis’.
They take their camera with them and they even slow down enough to see the photographic opportunities around the – but there’s just something that stops them lifting their camera up to frame the shot.
When I dig a little I’ve found in most of these instances the person is simply worried about what others around the will think if they use their camera. Will they look stupid? Will people think that they’re photographing them?

Its a feeling I’ll admit to having myself in the past and when I asked about it on our Facebook page the other day it seems that it’s quite common.

I guess the key to moving through framing paralysis is to grow your confidence as a photographer. For me the more photos I took and the more I began to exercise the discipline of taking images the easier it got. Another friend of mine got over his paralysis by finding a photography buddy to go out with – two of the taking shots somehow seemed less confronting than him doing it alone.

What do You Think?

Of course the above are very simple things that hold many people back and there are bound to be others that readers here at dPS might have experienced. I’d love to hear from you on two fronts:
what other simple things hold you (or other photographers) back from improving?
what tips and solutions would you give others facing these problems?

Macro Ring LED Light for DSLR cameras

2011-06-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

A macro ring LED light that works on any lens, even some Point and Shoot cameras. These LED Macro ring lights come with a variety of adapter sizes that will attach using the Filter thread of your lens. LED macro ring lights are specifically designed to evenly light very close shots. How well does this particular ring light work? Overall most customers were very pleased with the light for the money spent on about 4 out of 5 stars on average. You can see some fine examples of these lights in use over at Flickr.

This is not flash. The battery operated LED ring light constantly emits light and provides permanent lighting for subjects. With the LED lamp mode controller, you can adjust the three modes: all light, half left light, and half right light. With the power mode controller, you can choose two different power input modes to offers you continuous light.

Definitely very effective on small close objects, but might be a real stretch if used for close-ups of people. It could be used as a clean ring of light in the eye like these Mesmerizing Macro Photos of the Human Eye.

Quick Specs:
6 x Adapter Rings Included! (49mm/52mm/55mm/58mm/62mm/67mm)
Specially designed ring shape is perfect for MACRO photography (close-up).
This light has a double-duty power supply design which allows you to use 2 x AA batteries or DC power
This lighting unit provide a continuous lighting (not flashing), the continuous lighting allows you handle exposure easily.

BUY HERE

Different error codes in canon eos DSLR cameras

2011-06-04T04:37:00.000-07:00

Err 50

"Err 50 Shooting is not possible. Turn the power switch to and again or re-install the battery"

It suddenly happened. At that time I'm using the ONE SHOT focus mode, Manual, F5.6, ISO100, RAW+L jpg, I'd take one picture and then see the message. I'm Using Canon 50D with grip, Canon 10-22mm lens, 4gb 133x CF card. Very frustrating. Also, the shutter seems to move really slow, regardless of my settings. Prior to that "Err 50", last week I also experience "err99" also taking landscape photos outside, also near a harbour. When I got home that day, I search here at DPP thread about "err 99" and find out some hints, they say its maybe the Lens, CF Card, Battery and the worst the Camera itself. I also find out its maybe the firmware, so I updated my firmware from my original firmware v1.03 to the new v1.07 successfully, from that firmware update I didn't experience the "err 99" yet, but here comes "err 50", I just wondering if that "err 50" and "err 99" is connected in any other way. Anyway, did any of you experience this "err 50"? I can't find any post here at DPP regarding this error. Is it on Canon cameras only? If this thing really persist on happening everytime I'm taking photos outside, I have to bring my camera to the shop where I bought my 50d.

Err Code in Canon EOS DSLR cameras

10 Malfunctions related to files have been detected.
20 Malfunctions related to the mechanical have been detected.
30 Malfunctions related to the shutter have been detected.
40 Malfunctions related to the power source have been detected.
50 Malfunctions related to the electric control have been detected.
70 Malfunctions related to images have been detected.
80 Malfunctions related to the electric control or images have been detected.

NA-550D DSLR housing under water rig

2011-06-04T00:43:00.000-07:00

The NA-550D housing is the latest member of the Nauticam family designed to accommodate the hugely popular Canon 550D, Canon’s latest upper entry level DSLR with 1080p HD video function.

The NA-550D housing inherits the renowned piano keys from NA-7D housing and the signature port locking system. The top piano key/rocker key controls AE lock, the middle for AF point selection, and the bottom provides access to the quick control button. One particularly innovative feature of the housing is the play back button, located below the camera's cross keys, and now accessible at the left top side of the housing. This means you can easily play back images underwater with your left thumb while keeping both hands on grips. The housing also features a new fingertip ISO paddle, for changing ISO speed located on the top of the housing. We have also worked on the sensitivity of the shutter release lever which incorporates an enhanced mechanism, allowing a very responsive half-press auto focus.

KEY FEATURES
- NA-550D incorporates two plastic locks to secure housing instead of using stainless steel latches

- Super-sensitive shutter release mechanism

- Aperture exposure compensation swith/lever, no need to be held down while turning the command wheel

- Lens release button is available with the NA-550D housing

- Two optical bulkheads and one electrical input for different lighting choices

- Standard optical pick up viewfinder come along with the housing

Technical Data

Construction:

Housing body: Hard anodized aluminum alloy
Display window: Abrasion resistant polycarbonate
Grip handles: Polycarbonate and rubber

Dimensions:

Width: 180mm (without handles)
Height: 158mm
Thickness: 120mm

Depth rating: 100 meters

How to Repair the Write Protect on an SD card for DSLR cameras

2011-06-03T09:18:00.000-07:00

Are you facing this problem often, that your SD card for DSLR cameras shows " This card is write protected" and you are not able to do anything with that card. Don't worry here is the simple solution for that. The the reason for this post is because this morning I have faced the same problem with my 8GB San Disk got write protected and i was not able to shoot.

Most of the time it happens because the knob in the SD card got broken and you are not able to lock or unlock the SD card.

Please watch this video tutorial carefully and you would be happy to see how easy it is.

Use of DOF (depth of field) button in your DSLR camera

2011-06-02T00:48:00.000-07:00

The DOF preview button in your DSLR camera helps you to check the DOF that will be in the final shot. The lens aperture closes to the predefined value (lets say to f8 for example). The viewfinder gets darker, as less light transfers through the lens. But that is not everything. The DOF you see in the viewfinder is the same as will be in the final photograph. The DOF preview is useful when composing. However, if you have a f2.8 lens and the camera set to shoot at f2.8, pressing the DOF preview button does nothing. As expected, becouse the lens is wide and will be used wide open.

HDSLR Switronix Remote Start/Stop

2011-05-31T12:38:00.000-07:00

With the growing popularity of HDSLRs, weve gotten a lot of questions about doing remote start/stop with these cameras. Today Switronix announced their new Flex DSLR remote, which allows for easy, one-button start/stop with cameras such as the Canon 5D and 7D. Thanks to Ross at Switronix I got to play with it last week; watch my video above to learn more about this new piece of gear.

Setup your DSLR Canon EOS 7D

2011-05-30T11:32:00.000-07:00

When I first got my hands on a Canon 7D I was like, "What is this hunk of junk? How do I make magic with this machine? Where is the go button?" But seconds after I threw this seemingly useless piece of technology into the garbage, I found Tyler Ginter 's video, "How to Setup Your 7D." I quickly cleared the banana peels from the camera and got to work setting it up.

The first thing I did was set my photo mode to shoot in RAW format. Shooting in RAW gives you more control over your image in post-processing. Then I adjusted the "beep" setting. I choose to keep it off so I can be as stealth as possible when capturing people sleeping on public transit. Next I adjusted the white balance. Tyler suggests to keep your white balance set to auto while shooting in RAW, however I personally believe that manually setting your white balance against Jon Bon Jovi's smile is the only way to achieve the purest color. Once I had dialed in all of my settings, I saved them into a custom photo preset.

While shooting photos is cool, shooting videos is cooler. Tyler goes on to explain how to set up custom video presets. He demonstrates how to set your picture style to produce a quality filmic look, and how to shoot in 60 frames per second. I loved setting my 7D to shoot in 60fps, it allowed me to capture every motion in EXTREME detail. After finishing Tyler's tutorial I was ready to take this now worthwhile piece of technology and make some magic with it.

Keeping custom presets is very useful when you shoot in a variety of conditions. Instead of arriving at your shoot location and adjusting all of your settings manually, you'll have some general presets that you can quickly default to in any condition. This way you'll spend less time fiddling with your camera, and more time shooting!

A few points to remember about setting up your 7D:

Make sure you are in manual mode when customizing presets
Shooting in RAW allows you to tweak things like white balance later in Lightroom
Set your video picture style in-camera so you don't get really black blacks
Assigning presets is really handy

What is a neutral density filter?

2011-05-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

A neutral density (ND) filter is a piece of glass that fits over the front end of a lens to reduce the amount of light entering the camera. Now, you might be asking yourself when and why would anyone would ever want to do this? These filters are commonly used when shooting time lapse videos in bright daylight conditions. If it's the middle of the day and you want to capture a nice shallow depth of field you'll need to have the aperture wide open. Also if you're looking to get some motion blur as your subjects move around the frame you'll need a lower shutterspeed. Both of those settings can be hard to properly adjust for in bright daylight conditions. That's where ND filters come into play. Let's check out the explanation below by Olivia Speranza to get a better handle on all this.

Sounds pretty simple right? You're just reducing the amount of light to get a shallower depth of field and/or to blur the motion you're capturing in bright lighting conditions. ND filters are typically sold in varying degrees of darkness from about 1 level of f-stop reduction to all the way up to 13 or darker. There are some special and more expensive kinds called variable ND filters which allow you to simply rotate the filter to adjust the amount of light filtering. Here's a picture of one to give you an idea.

When purchasing your filters make sure your lens has a thread on the end that can support the addition of a filter. If it doesn't, you can get a special ring adaptor to mount the filter.

How to Shooting ENG style with Dual System Audio on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II

2011-05-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

Daniel Plym, Director of Video Publishing at Buzzine.com, gave us a crash course on how he uses his 5D for red carpet shoots. He is a one man operation and breaks down how he combines the 5D with a Zoom audio recorder,Sennheiser Wireless microphone, Pluraleyes software and Final Cut to capture clean audio. This video was used in our webcast Life Without Timecode (Audio for HDSLR) bit.ly/du0XUu and will also be featured in our upcoming Canon EOS Moving Image Workshop bit.ly/bAKLg0

How To Directly Tether Your Camera To An iPad

2011-05-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

Lee Morris of rlmorris.com and fstoppers.com explains how to wirelessly send pictures from any camera to an iPad or iPhone using the Eye-Fi Pro X2 SD card, My Wi, and Shutter Snitch.

BUY here

Top 10 DSLR disadvantages and How to overcome that

2011-05-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

Is there no bad news at all when it comes to this way of video production? You betcha! However, there are also a growing number of ways to overcome them. Let’s review them:

1.Stability

First of all, a stills camera is built to maintain steady for about 1/60th of a second, not to record 24 frames or more per second (i.e. shooting movies). Enter Zacuto. This Chicago-based corporation, founded by people with a history in camera work, cranks out one after the other innovation that helps DSLR-shooters to stabilize their shots. Also: enter CineKinetic (or Visual Departures). Using the Mini- or BabySaddle (or the much cheaper SteadyBag) allows you to create stable shots even while in moving objects such as a car, train, tram, bike or air plane. For those who like to walk: enter Glidecam. And for those who are ready for more professional dolly shots: enter GlideTrack and WallyDolly. However, be careful with too fast movement as the CMOS sensor chips do provide some jello effects (see below).

2.Sound

Second, DSLR cameras suck at sound recording. The built-in mic is miserable and the camera does not feature a professional XLR input. Above and beyond they should fix the Automatic Gain Control (AGC) in the next firmware upgrade and allow at least for on screen manual control of dB levels. Also, there is no way to monitor the audio by headphones as the LCD is turned off when you attach your head-set to the AV Out on the Canon 5D (the 7D has a different plug). But, then again, sound recording was never a topic by design. Enter Zoom. The portable H4N recorder provides the DSLR-shooter a simple device that excels in sound recording, allowing for up to four independent channels at the same time (1x crossed stereo at the front and 2 XLR inputs for external mics). Synchronization is done in post with a reference signal, such as clap of hands or clapper board in front of the camera. It is therefore key to keep recording sound on the DSLR for reference audio purposes. And, if you are editing on Final Cut or Sony Vegas, enter PluralEyes (too bad I’m on Adobe Premiere Pro). If you do want to have manual control of audio on the camera itself then the Magic Lantern firmware hack may be an option.

3.Light

DSLR cameras do beat any video camera when it comes to low level light situations, fair and square. Nonetheless, and this applies to any type of camera, having enough and right amount of light is crucial to the end result. Various suppliers have entered this arena, offering useful equipment at interesting prices. Enter the Dedo Ledzilla and Litepanel Micro.

4.Filters

If you want to go for that shallow depth of field, you have to open up the iris on the camera. In a stills camera this may easily result in over exposure. Most photographers would be tempted to start changing the ISO setting or shutter speed. Shutter should be kept at twice the frame rate you are shooting (e.g. 30p –> shutter at 1/60th, 24/25p –> shutter at 1/50th as 1/48th is not supported) to adhere to the 180 degree shutter rule in cinema. A better way to reduce the incoming light: enter the Neutral Density filters from Singh-Ray (effectively two circular polarization filters combined into one). This gradually reduces incoming light from 2 to a full 8 stops.

5.Viewfinder

In order to be able to judge sharpness, you do need a proper viewfinder. Since the viewfinder on the DSLR is blocked when entering live mode (i.e. required when shooting video), you need to see detail without being distracted from incoming light falling on the LCD screen. Enter (again) Zacuto with the Z-Finder. Is looking through the lens not an option due to the position of the camera? There are alternatives like the 720p native resolution LCD-screen from SmallHD.

6.Rolling shutter or Jello effect

This is indeed a problem on most DSLRs. The effect occurs most when you quickly pan the camera or when fast moving objects enter the frame. Solution: don’t whip pan – record more slowly and speed up in post. If that is not an option (e.g. you have people or moving objects in frame), an After Effects/Nuke plugin called RollingShutter exists to fix it. Now it does feel great again to be on Adobe

7.Editing AVCHD

The DSLR cameras record in AVCHD format using the H.264 codec. Neoscene by Cineform creates an intermediate format using wavelets to decipher those much required intraframe images and alleviates your processor from having to calculate them.

8.Compression versus color

Although DSLR cameras are capable of registering HD video with a full frame (35mm) sensor, a lot of compression is used upon recording it to a compact flash card. This means that component video (4:2:2 or 4:4:4) is typically not available and that color grading is done on a composite signal. This makes heavy color grading, matte painting, chroma keying or rotoscoping in post more of a pain. However, for basic post-production color grading: enter RedGiantSoftware. Using Magic Bullet Looks allows for fast and efficient (or slow and extensively) grading those shots. Philip Bloom explains. If you still want more: Cineform will help you with the process by re-creating a 4:2:2 intermediary file format. Not ideal but workable.

9.30p versus 24/25p
In order to realize that cinema or film look, the video should be recorded the way film is traditionally made. Meaning 24p or 24 full frames per second. In planet NTSC the framerate is 29,97, while 25 in PAL markets. Initially, the stills guys thought they could change the world by going for 30p (dead-on, not drop-frame) as the new standard for video. Wrong idea. Since there are still way more televisions than cameras on the planet, this has turned out to be lost battle from the start. When conforming 30p to 24p you are actually shooting in slight slow motion, or you ask your computer to take out or combine frames. This gives a slightly noticeable visual effect and easily introduces audio sync problems as well. Canon has realized their mistake and is starting to correct it. The Canon 7D now supports various frame rates (24/25/50 in PAL and 24/30/60 in NTSC), while a much-anticipated firmware upgrade for the 5D mark II is (hopefully?) due for release in January 2010. Come on Canon, make us even more happy

1.Recording limit

he recording limit on most DSLRs is about twelve to fifteen minutes for a single take. For what it is worth, from what I heard this has something to do with import restrictions. If they go beyond, these products are no longer regarded as stills cameras and fall in a different tax category. Another story says that it has something to with the 4GB file size limit (support for 720p would partially solve that). Either way, is it a problem? In my opinion, no. Unless you are recording a live event, most shots are likely to be way shorter than that. Most important thing for continuity’s sake is to record the audio properly — you can fill in the blanks in post afterwards with extra material you shot before or after the event (or stills from slides if you’re recording a live presentation).

Shooting from the hip with Zacuto Kit and SmallHD screen
Okay. Enough about the pit-falls. Time to see some more examples of what you can do with these cameras. Here is a wedding recorded with a 7D, and do check out this short titled Perya as well. Also, see the amazing effect of using tilt-shift lenses in this short movie which was recorded in Switzerland, although it appears to be shot in a miniature toy park. To the right is a visual of Michael Robertson (aka Velodramatic, a photographer with 20 years of experience in cycling photography) who shot his first video production with a 5D-Mark II and borrowed Zacuto gear. Finally, here is my very own first video shot with the 5D. Topic is Christmas in London 2009, shot over a period of two days. I used the following gear:

•5D-Mark II
•Canon F1.2 50mm USM II
•Canon F2.8 24-70mm USM
•Zacuto Z-Finder
•Zacuto Tactical Shooter
•Rode Videomic
•Singh-Ray VariND 77mm
(not usable on 50mm lens – 72mm ring (!) – therefore some shots have blown out skies)
•6 Canon Batteries
•Graded with Magic Bullet Looks

Anamorphic adapter for DSLR videography

2011-05-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Attaching this adapter to a DSLR is a relatively simple process, but I still am getting TONS of questions on how to do it. So hopefully this video will demystify things.

The only real spec. you need to keep in mind is the AG-7200 has rear filter threads of 72MM.

The rest is pretty much illustrated in the video. Also keep in mind this video doesn't really go into things like image quality or edge sharpness, and or how to maximize the quality out of the adapter.it's simply how you go about using/attaching it. The comparison at the end was just of fun little test really.

I might make a second video though that talks about anamorphic focus and depth of field with more side by side tests if people want to know more about that in the future.

(Lens used to film the tutorial was the 35mm Flektogon f2.4)

Now its time for you to shoot with the anamorphic adapter and be a movie maker with your dslr camera (canon eos 550D, canon eos 5d mark II, canon eos 60D)

DSLR Mechanics

2011-04-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

In Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, the young James is given a bag of crystals with the promise that “marvelous things will happen; things even you never dreamt of.” With this gift, a world of endless possibilities and wonder was soon unveiled to James— an experience analogous to the gift of the DSLR camera with video capabilities.

With these cameras, the cinematic world of depth of field was now at the fingertips of photographers and filmmakers alike, and at reasonably affordable prices. Additionally, the film look of aesthetic quality blur aka, bokeh, that consumer level filmmakers admired was now available for their creative vision. But what is the story behind these cameras? How do they work? Let's investigate!

DSLR is an acronym for digital single-lens reflex. What that means is actually pretty simple. With various pieces of glass, a mirror, and a prism, light is guided through the camera and then out the viewfinder for you to see. This is great for composing images since what you end up seeing in the viewfinder is not an approximation, it's the same light as what you'd capture when you press record.

Let's follow the sexy DSLR cross section diagram above for reference. Light enters through the lens, then bounces off a mirror to the pentaprism, which then reflects the light around until it's sent through the viewfinder and finally to you, the viewer

When you've decided that you're ready to record here's what happens, the mirror swings upwards and the shutter opens for a period of time (depending on the shutter speed) allowing the light to be projected upon the camera’s image sensor. While the mirror is flipped up, the image in the viewfinder is blocked resulting in a viewfinder blackout. Whilst using your camera for video, the mirror is perpetually in this upward position resulting in a constant viewfinder blackout, but don’t worry because you can still check your image with the LCD on the back

When the Nikon D90 and Canon 5D MarkII were released in 2008 as the first video capable DSLRs, filmmakers were gifted with the power to obtain incredible control over how they captured images, leading to a reawakening of aesthetic beauty in low budget films. Hopefully now that you understand the basic principles of how light is captured with these cameras you'll be inspired to try them out.

Best Memory cards for DSLR video shooting

2011-03-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

Memory cards are the first place your video or photos are saved to when you use your cameras. Take a quick look around your local electronics store and you'll find that memory cards come in many different shapes, sizes, and speeds, but all do the same thing - hold your awesome footage.

Different types of memory cards used for video:
SD (Secure Digital) - This is the most common form of memory card for standard cameras these days. It is considered the industry standard. It is widely used in point & shoot cameras, and is even making its way into Digital SLR cameras. It comes in a variety of physical sizes and storage sizes. MiniSDs and MicroSDs are smaller versions made for mobile phones. There are few different types concerning storage size. SDSC (SD Standard Capacity) is the normal size and can hold up to 2GB. SDHC (SD High Capacity) can hold between 4GB and 32GB. SDXC (SD Extreme Capacity) is the newest and largest size, holding between 32GB and 2TBs of data!
CF (Compact Flash) - On the more professional end, Compact Flash cards are used most often in Digital SLR cameras. They can potentially come in sizes over 2TB! These also come in four different speeds, the normal CF, CF High Speed, CF 3.0, and CF 4.0.
P2 - P2 doesn't quite fit in this list because they only work with high-end Panasonic cameras. While these are bigger and more expensive, they certainly are what you need if you have a professional Panasonic camera.

Things to know about memory cards:
Transfer your videos or photos. This can be done a few ways, all of them relatively simple. Most cameras will come with a USB cord that will connect your camera with your computer. If your memory card is in your camera and you connect the USB into your computer, a folder with all of the files on your memory card will open. You can also use a memory card reader (see photo below) that you would purchase separately, which has slots for different types of memory cards. Some computers and printers have built-in card readers, most typically for SD cards.
Formatting the card. This means to completely erase everything on the card. And I mean, everything. You can format the card with a computer program, but it is easier to do it right within the camera. Make sure you have all of those precious photos and videos saved before you format

Protect the data. On SD cards, there is an optional small tab that you can flip to protect all of the videos or photos that you just took. When this tab is flipped, you can only view the photos on the card, and not delete them, or take new photos. You can also copy the data to the computer.
Be prepared. When shooting video, always bring extra memory cards! Even if you have a really large card that will hold a lot of video, it's a good idea to have a backup card.

Ten Lighting Setups by John Note

2011-03-19T09:40:00.000-07:00

This was a project for John Note's lighting class. Each shot had specific details on which to follow, which are explained in the video. In more depth, here are the ten shot assignments.

1. A three-quarter or waist-high silhouette of 1 or 2 people perfectly exposed for the background
with the foreground ﬁgure(s) completely dark. There should be enough distance between foreground
and background that the spill of one area does not interfere with the other.

2. Invert the lighting in #1, using exactly the same pose and framing with perfectly exposed
foreground ﬁgures at 4:1 key/ﬁll (two stops) and completely dark or just barely visible details in the
background.

3. A waist-high person in soft (diffused) side light, no ﬁll light, and a specular edge light from the
opposite side with the background as dark and unlit as possible. An incident reading of the edge light

should be about the same f/stop as the key light if the subject has light features, or one stop brighter
if the subject has dark features. Expose for the diffused key light.

4. Identical pose and framing to #3 but with added light and shadow (using barn doors, or other
shadowing material) shaping and highlighting the background (think of it as painting the background
with light and shadow).

5. A scene with a standing or seated person, a candle (either held by hand or on a table) seemingly
lighting the person but actually enhanced with additional light, and a circular glow simulating the
effect of the candlelight on the background.

6. A person reading in bed by lamplight at midnight (implied by light, shadow, framing, ratio,
composition, and a “practical”).

7. A person sleeping in bed at 3 am with shadows implying moonlight coming through unseen
foliage or blinds onto part of the scene. You may want to gel the moonlight source or the ﬁll light
with a blue or other color gel.

8. A person in bed at sunrise (implied by light, shadow, color, and composition).

9. Simulate the pose, surface tones, and light of a speciﬁc frame from a ﬁlm of your choosing. If
possible, also turn in a still image of that frame.

10.
Shoot an interior still with at least one person in it using whatever light sources already exist in
the location (lamps, overhead lights, windows, etc.), but without showing any of those sources in the
frame. Now, turn off/cover those sources and replicate, as nearly as possible, that scene using only
artiﬁcial lighting. Also shoot wide shots of both the “natural” lighting sources and the artiﬁcial
sources.

Since it is available in video, instead of using gels, I white balanced off of different color swatches, for a greener look, I white balanced off of a magenta tone, blue look, orange tone, etc...

John also lowered the blacks and raised the mids in Color, to give the video a more filmic look.

Aperture and F-Stops

2011-03-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

Ansel Adams said, “There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.”

While that sentiment is undoubtedly sweet, I have to respectfully disagree. Ansel, my man, you of all people know that there are certain rules that simply can't be ignored when it comes to cameras. Today I'll be going over one of the most important ones-- careful consideration of the aperture

What is this aperture you speak of?

Camera lenses are engineered much like our eyes-- they are responsible for collecting light, arranging it into an image that makes sense of the world around us. The aperture is the diameter of the lens opening, and similar to our pupils, which open and close in varying situations of light, it is controlled by an iris. The larger the diameter of the aperture, the more light reaches the film or image sensor.

(Note: Many point-and-shoot or cell phone cameras have an automated aperture. Keep in mind that it is still important to understand what these mechanisms do in order to take advantage of their capabilities!)

How do I control it?

Aperture is expressed as F-stop and will be indicated on your camera in abbreviations that look like this: F2.8 or f/2.8
The "F" stands for the focal length of your lens, and the number indicates the diameter of the iris opening. When the aperture is opened up by one F-stop, the amount of light which reaches the sensor is doubled.

A handy rule of thumb is that the smaller your F-stop number (or f/value) is, the larger the lens opening (or aperture) will be. For instance, f/1.8 would be a large opening, letting in lots of light, and f/22 would be a tiny opening, letting in barely any light. Make sense? I know, it's a little tricky. Let's tune into our pal --jL for a break down

Okay, so what does it effect?

Along with the shutter speed, the aperture size manages the film or image sensor's magnitude of exposure to light. In most cases, a fast shutter speed will require a larger aperture in order to provide sufficient light, and a slow shutter speed will require a smaller aperture to avoid overexposure.

The aperture also performs a critical function for focus. As the aperture decreases in size, the background and foreground gain sharpness. This zone of sharpness is called the depth of field. A large depth of field means that most of your image will be in focus regardless of its distance from your camera, and can be achieved with an F-stop of something like f/22. This is a popular technique for landscape photographers.

However, if you open the aperture to a wide setting like f/2, you will create a shallow depth of field. Foreground and background will have a soft focus, and the middle region and objects will be sharp. This can sometimes create a more dynamic composition, luring the eye to specific areas and separating the subject from their surroundings. You'll see this technique often in portrait photography, for instance.

But don't take our word for it
Grab your camera and start playing around with your F-stop settings. After all, the best way to learn is through good ol' fashioned trial and error. But be careful! It's addictive.

Frame Rate Vs. Shutter Speed - Setting The Record Straight

2011-02-25T00:53:00.000-08:00

In this day and age of constantly changing gear and technology, there’s a growing set of vocabulary that we video creators are all expected to learn. With so much jargon being thrown around, it can be easy to forget certain concepts or confuse them for other ones. A prime example of this is demonstrated by the confusion between frame rates and shutter speeds. Let’s taken a minute to clarify.

Now let's recap: Although frame rate and shutter speed are related, they are completely separate concepts.

Frame rate refers to the number of individual frames that comprise each second of video you record, also known as FPS (frames per second.) The most common frame rates in video are 24, 25 and 30 frames per second.

Shutter speed refers to the amount of time that each individual frame is exposed for. In video, the shutter speed you use will almost always be a fraction of a second. The number used in setting a camera’s shutter speed refers to the denominator of that fraction of a second. For example, if you set your camera’s shutter speed to 60, that means that each frame is being exposed for 1/60th of a second.

People often make the mistake of equating frame rate with shutter speed. In other words, some people determine that if they are shooting with a shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, that they are in turn shooting 100 frames per second. This is not the case. Depending on the camera you are using and the frame rate you have selected, you are probably shooting at either 24, 25 or 30 frames per second and exposing each individual frame for 1/100th of a second.

The shutter speed you choose can have a very noticeable effect on the style of your video, particularly when it comes to motion. A fast shutter speed such as 1/400th of a second will produce a series of crisp frames that have a choppy look when played back. A slow shutter speed such as 1/30th of a second, on the other hand, will produce a series of slightly blurred frames that have a smoother look when played back. As a rule of thumb, you want the denominator of your shutter speed to be approximately double the number of frames per second that you are recording. In other words, if you are recording at 30 frames per second, you want your shutter speed to be 1/60th of a second.

Canon EOS video control by iPhone

2011-02-22T11:04:00.000-08:00

Can you use an iPhone to control and focus a Canon DSLR? I decided to find out if this madcap idea was possible.

Let me start this by saying that I didn’t really have a need to make this work, it just occurred to me that it should be possible so I thought I’d give it a try. There are some iPhone apps becoming available that allow you remotely control these cameras but so far they are all dedicated to shooting stills so I wanted to see if I could find another solution.

After thinking about the problem for a moment the answer seemed pretty simple, the Canon EOS utility has loads of control over the camera when connected via a USB lead, so after getting the camera connected to the MacBook all I really needed to do was find a way of controlling the MacBook using my iPhone.

Although it’s not really important for this experiment I’ll list the gear I used because I’m bound to be asked multiple times if I don’t :) The camera setup seen here is a Canon 7D mounted on a Zacuto baseplate with a Genus Matte Box, Shoot35 Cinefocus and Rode Videomic. The tripod is a Miller DS20 with Carbon legs.

A quick look through Apple’s App Store turned up a nifty application called Remote Tap by ReadPixel which does exactly that, you simply run a preference pane on the MacBook set up a password and then run the app on the iPhone and before you know it you’re controlling the laptop on your iPhone via the wonders of WiFi.

Controlling the EOS utility on the iPhone is obviously a bit fiddly, you can use the normal iPhone gestures to zoom in etc but it’s still very tricky doing things like selecting focus points and choosing options from menus. One nice feature of the EOS utility is that you can focus the camera whilst its recording, as long as you have Canon servo lenses of course.

Focusing using the iPhone is a bit of challenge, but certainly doable. It’s a lot more reliable to use the AF system before recording, but even during the shot you can adjust focus and do a fairly good job of seeing what’s in focus by zooming the preview window.

This job will be much easier when a dedicated App gets built, but if you need to park your camera somewhere and still have control over it I can see this being a workable solution, one word of caution though – when running live-view through the EOS utility my MacBook was running at full steam on all cores, this would probably run the battery down pretty quickly.

Preparing your gear for a shoot

2011-02-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

It’s the day before the big shoot. You have a lot to consider before simply strapping that camera around your neck and running off to become the next Michael Bay on Vimeo. It’s called camera preparation and everyone does this a little differently. The most important thing is to set up a routine.

Check out this short video on how Jared Abrams preps his cameras with focus and dead pixel tests.

I interviewed filmmaker and all-round rad guy, Zack McTee, about how he preps for his shoots.

AA: Do you have a routine you always go through before a shoot?

ZM: Yeah definitely. One thing I can tell you I always wish I would do is make a checklist and catalog of everything I need to bring. It always seems like you forget something.

AA: Just like packing for a trip and you find out you forgot your toothbrush.

ZM: Totally. I’m not completely sold on the idea that you can remember everything you need to bring, so I think a checklist is important the night before a shoot. I always go through all my equipment, pack the bag nicely, double check that all batteries are charged, all cards are formatted, and all lenses are cleaned and ready to go. As for my rig, I’ll usually customize a setup depending on the shoot I’m going on. Different shoots call for different setups. So I’ll put together a rig that is going to work for the given scenario, take a photo of the rig for reference (in case I forget), and then break it down and pack it up in the case.

AA: That’s also a good idea for being certain you’re leaving with everything you brought. How about other gear?

ZM: Check you tripod bag, make sure the plate is on the tripod, you don’t want to show up to a shoot and realize your dove plate was on your dresser at home. I always have to remember to count my bags when I leave the house. There have been numerous occasions where I leave in a hurry without grabbing the tripod bag.

AA: Yikes, and if you’re traveling far, that could be disastrous.

ZM: Actually, if you’re traveling to a shoot by plane you should decide ahead of time if it’s worth the cost of checking your tripod bag, and sometimes even your light kit — if it’s a small kit. Most times you will find that you could rent that kind of gear locally for less than the cost of checking it roundtrip.

AA: I’ve never rented before, is it really that big of a difference?

ZM: You can get a tripod for $20.00 a day instead of paying $100.00 roundtrip. Plus, it never hurts to tell the client about the money you saved them by not checking bags.

AA: Awesome. Thanks for this wonderful insight into the nights before your shoots.

ZM: No problem. Thanks for the inquiry.

Wrap up:
Set up a routine.
Make a checklist.
Think about the location and tailor your gear to fit.
Take a photo or itemize a catalog for safety.
Count your bags.
Remember you can rent gear, too!

Because I love you, I’ve created a basic checklist you can use and easily add your own things to. Download the PDF

Magic Lantern for Canon EOS 550D/ t2i

2011-02-18T00:43:00.000-08:00

After lots of testing and bug fixing, we believe the new Magic Lantern
for 550D firmware 1.0.9 is stable enough to release it to the general
public.
You can find it on the main 550D wiki page:

Features:
* GUI menus: press the ERASE button to display them
* Bit rate control (QScale parameter) for the H.264 encoder
* Zebra stripes for overexposed / underexposed areas
* Spotmeter, histogram
* Cropmarks (16:9, Cinemascope, Fisheye)
* Simple intervalometer
* Trap Focus: camera takes a picture when something comes in focus
* Wireless trigger with the LCD face sensor & your own hand
* AE bracketing (like on 5D2 ML)
* Rack focus
* Stack focus (Live View only)
* Lens data computation
* Onscreen audio meters
* Manual audio gain, selectable input source, disable AGC and
digital filters
* Display time remaining during video recording
* Debug functions (display CMOS temperature, screenshot, logging)
We also have a new Windows tool for making the cards bootable
(EOSCard), and new install & user guides.
Even with all the testing this version has received, nobody can
guarantee it is bug-free. There is still a small risk in using this
software, and we want to fix all the bugs and improve it. Please read
the installation instructions carefully!
New developments will continue. Maybe coming soon: customizable ISO,
auto QScale, fluent zebras, better UI, scripting... suggestions
welcome.
Many thanks to all the Magic Lantern developers, contributors and
users who made possible this release!

Habbycam Digital Camera Accessories

2011-02-16T20:37:00.000-08:00

Dear photo/video professional,

Habbycam digital filmmaking accessories offer the best price, performance and profit potential. We hope that our products will become a great addition to your inventory.

Please visit http://www.habbycam.com/ and contact me about becoming one of our resellers. We offer great quantity discounts and a brand name that will drive traffic and new customers to your website.

I look forward to hearing from you soon,

Andy
sales@habbycam.com
Phone:818-841-0309

Battery Grip for t2i or canon eos 550D

2011-02-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

Are you confused how to insert a battery grip into your t2i or canon eos 550d, then here is the answer for you, carefully watch the video and you would get all your answers for the questions

Canon eos 550D battery grip

USB Based Follow Focus System for Canon DSLRs just 400$

2011-02-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

SPECIAL DISCOUNT: There is a special Coupon Code to get $50 discount: “okii50″

I’ve never been a huge news aggregator (I leave it to the best), but I couldn’t let this one pass. The boys over at 5D Mark 2 Team have developed a USB follow focus. Yup, thats right, using the USB output on your camera you can now control several of you cameras functions such as:

Toggle Live View mode On/Off
Start/Stop video recording
Take pictures
Set focus / change focus before and whilst recording video using the knob or 2 dedicated Near/Far buttons
Save focus points and do Rack Focus operations before and whilst recording video (*)
Change camera settings: ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed and Exposure Compensation
Trigger camera’s light metering system in both Live View on and off modes
Trigger Auto Focus in Live View mode
Toggle between Zoom Levels x1, x5 and x10
Adjust Focus Zone (white rectangle) positioning with lens set to Manual or Auto Focus mode (the lens mode is automatically detected)
Reverse the direction of the knob to match your lens or preferences
So run over the the 5DMark2Team to check it out.

HDSLR shooting tips and tricks

2011-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

Tripods for DSLR video making

2011-01-31T11:01:00.001-08:00

Being very much aware of changing trends in the video world, Manfrotto revised their proven 503 fluid head taking into account the increasing performance demands of High Definition Mini-DV camcorders. The result is the 503HDV Pro. Has Continuously-variable fluid drag, multi-spring 3 step counterbalance, and sliding balance plate with 58mm of travel.

I’ve used the Pearstone VT-2100 Video Tripod for over 2 years now. And while its not the smoothest head out there its price, and size work very well for HDSLR work. Its a portable, lightweight video tripod that can support cameras weighing up to 15 lbs. Its two-way pan head features separate pan and tilt locks for stable, locked-down shots, or you can pan a full 360° and tilt up and down for smooth tracking of action.

The Vision 100 ain’t cheap, but I have several hundred hours on this head and its the smoothest most reliable tripod head I have ever worked with. Designed and engineered to new advanced levels, it is the perfect head for today’s latest digital camera configurations. Incorporating a drag mechanism employing non-contacting thin film technology, which ensures consistent drag and constant performance over a temperature range from -40°F to +140°F.

Lenses recommended for dslr videography

2011-01-18T10:34:00.000-08:00

I’ve written a bit about DSLR Videography here, and with the rumors of the new Noktor lens (50mm F0.95) for Micro Four Thirds coming, it may be of interest to you which lenses to get for shooting video with DSLRs. Here’s a couple to consider.

Canon

24-105mm F4 L IS- By far this is probably one of Canon’s most versatile lenses. If you’re using a 7D, 1D Mk IVor 5D Mk II this lens will be able to provide a wide range of shooting abilities. The cropped field of view on the 7D will make this a must have lens. It allows for great establishing shots or even panning shots.

50mm F1.4/F1.8/Zeiss 50mm F1.4- The 1.8 is the cheapest and gives great results when stopped down. The Canon 1.4 is one of Canon’s best lenses and provides great results when shooting wide open. The Zeiss is fully manual focus and can provide some amazing depth of field and great image quality in low light.

70-200mm F2.8 L IS- As one of Canon’s most popular lenses, it should be had when doing telephoto shooting or want a flatter look to your video. It could be nice for shot-reverse-shot video.

35mm F2/1.4 L- These two wide angle lenses are very nice and provide some of the best views at this focal length for video. Once again, great for establishing shots.

Pentax

Pentax Normal SMCP-FA 50mm f/1.4- If you have the K-7 or the K-x, this is the lens to get as it will offer you so much versatility when shooting coupled with great imaging capabilities. Great for general use.

Pentax smc Pentax FA 31mm f/1.8 Limited- Because of the 1.5x cropped sensor on Pentax DSLRs, this is an essential lens. Also great for general use and a normal field of view.

Pentax Zoom Normal-Telephoto SMCP-DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 ED (IF) SDM- For all your telephoto work and for a flatter look. Nice for shooting wildlife.

Nikon

85mm F1.4- As one of the yummiest lenses I’ve ever tested, this will allow you to have very shallow depth of field to focus on your subjects while filming. Nice for interviews and profile shots.

24-70mm F2.8 ED- Though not as versatile for videography as Canon’s 24-105, it still gets the job done when using something like a D3s. Great for interviews.

70-200mm F2.8 ED VR II- Nikon’s version of this lens render’s colors beautifully and is very, very sharp. It will help when shooting at 24p. Though I recommend using it with a tripod.

12-24mm F4 G ED- Best used with Nikon’s cropped sensor cameras, this lens will give you a great field of view when shooting video. Use it with the full framers when you’re shooting establishing shots.

Micro Four Thirds

Canon FD 24mm F1.4 L- If you can get your hands on one, this lens will be excellent as you’ll be using nice old-time Canon glass that provides for great color rendition and quality.

PanaLeica 25mm F1.4- As probably my favorite Four Thirds lens, it makes having the adapter all the more useful. What’s even better is because of the 2x crop factor you’re getting a 50mm field of view which is great for general use.

Sigma 18-50mm F2.8- This will probably be your most versatile lens as you’ll be able to use this for wide shots, interviews, shot-reverse-shots, etc.

Panasonic 20mm F1.7- As the favorite lens of current Micro Four Thirds users, it’s obviously great for video. It will allow for great sharpness while still keeping your package compact so you can attach microphones and other accessories if needed.

For Story telling with DSLR, how important is Depth of Field

2011-01-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

With HDSLRs, and now large sensor video cameras, those of us who shoot video have blessed with the ability to shoot insanely shallow depth of field (DOF). For the last 12 months we have been bombarded with videos shot at F1.8 and faster, and while shallow DOF can look gorgeous I believe a lot of people have not fully harnessed the power, and use, of depth using their lenses aperture.

So rather than complain about it, here are some points I have been learning about DOF in my journey as an ever-aspiring filmmaker.

1. Don’t be afraid of Deep DOF

“To make your video look like film use shallow depth of field.” This is a line I hear a lot, especially from DSLR shooters and it could not be farther from the truth. Yes, films use shallow DOF but that does not make them films. Depth of field is a tool with which to sculpt your shots. So just because we can now shoot at F1.2 does not mean we should. I know most of us are recovering from Large Sensor Deficiency Syndrome but with a little education and therapy, we can move on.

2. Understanding Selective Focus

Selective focus is simply using DOF to isolate a subject. The shot below is from Defiance and is an excellent example of selective focus. While there are subjects walking behind and in front of Daniel Craig’s character, our focus is on him:

Using this method you can direct the focus of your audience toward whatever element you desire to showcase. Thus subconsciously telling them “this is important.”

Its also important to be thinking about how shallow to shoot. Study this shot from The Social Network:

We are instantly focused on the character in the center of the shot. As we examine it, we notice to the camera right another key character.

Now look what happens when we look at a shot that is in all ways identical to the last, except for a difference in DOF:

In this shot the DOF is far shallower than the first. Two problems become apparent. The first is how odd and unnatural it looks. The people on the left are now unrecognizable blobs, and the character center screen sticks out too much. This is a BIG problem. The last thing you want to do is distract your audience and remove them from the story. The second issue with this shot is that we can no longer easily discern who the other character is. Are these the two best friends? Or is the character on the right a complete stranger? We now see how critical the use of DOF is for selective focus.

3. Don’t Create Muddy Shots

Something I see a lot on Vimeo and YouTube is “muddy” shots. These are shots where someone shoots wide open at F2.0 or faster and part of the subject is out of focus, creating a “muddy” look. Here is a shot from Abortion, a short I shot last year where I made this mistake:

Notice the talent’s right eye (our left) is just slightly out of focus. click the image to enlarge. While not terribly noticeable on a computer screen, when displayed on the big screen it becomes far too distracting. After making that mistake I created two rules for myself:

Rule One: When photographing peoples faces I make sure their eyes and face are in focus. Its ok if the hair goes out a bit.
Rule Two: If I do put one eye out of focus it has to be at least a 20% difference from the one in focus. This clearly separates the two. When the eye is just out of focus it becomes distracting.
There are a few exceptions but for the most part I find these rules to help keep my shots from becoming distracting.

People aren’t the only thing to keep from shooting “muddy.” Here are two simple shots that show the difference between a muddy shot and a clear one:

Video

The first shot of the showerhead is the clear one. While the handle is out of focus, it is consistently out all the way down. And the sprayer head is completely in focus. But notice in the seconded shot, half the showerhead is in focus and the other half is out. You can tell it looks sloppy when compared with the first shot. See the difference? The same goes for the book text. Notice the first shot the text is readable and you can tell its a page from a book. While the second shot does have the text in focus, you can barely tell what the rest of the image is. Its all cloudy. If we don’t show that it’s a page from a book the audience may spend time trying to figure out what it is and not read it. Which brings us to our next point.

4. Don’t Confuse Your Audience

Something else to consider when setting your DOF is scene clarity. A great example of good shot clarity can be seen in this shot from Inception:

This is a shot from an obviously complicated scene. In situations like this shooting with deep DOF keeps the layout of environment clear to the audience. Again we don’t won’t to remove the audience from the story by disorienting them, which you can see with this scene would not be hard to do.

Using DOF to Create Intimacy

When you really think about it, DOF is just another framing edge. Just like left, right, top, and bottom of the frame can be used to isolate the scene; DOF can be used to control how deep a scene is. This gives the cinematographer the option to limit space. Take for example a parking lot. While in reality it may be a large space, using shallow depth of field one can create a very small, intimate scene with a character.

Check out this shot from Dear Frankie:

In this scene our two characters are dancing on a large set. Using shallow DOF Cinematographer Shona Auerbach has created a very intimate scene. By putting other people and elements out of focus, he has created a moment that, as viewers, we can really focus and connect with the characters.

Conclusion.

So you can see how powerful DOF can be when used properly. Next time you lens your camera and choose your aperture, take some time to think about depth. Ask yourself the following questions:

What am I shooting?
Where am I directing the eyes of my audience?
Is this depth confusing?
How intimate is this scene?
Why am I using this depth?
So get off the computer, grab your camera and some friends, and tell a story!

How to make Canon DSLR autofocus suck less

2010-12-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

After being frustrated by the brutal two-step dance to set the autofocus point on my Canon EOS 40D DSLR (and pretty much every other Canon DSLR I checked), I thought that there was no hope in sight. If you look up focus point selection in the manual, it always just shows the "normal" two-button sequence, which I consider to be inferior to Nikon's "just use the joystick to move the focus point while you're shooting" method. In the end, a lucky search brought me to this blog post by Duncan Davidson that points out the presence of a custom function in Canon DSLRs to change this behavior. Darn... I read my manual from front to back and never clued in that this is what the custom function actually does, or I was happy with the Canon behavior at the time and didn't process the information.

Anyway, on the 40D, it is custom function III-3, but it varies by camera model (see Duncan Davidson's post for some of them):

Choosing "Multi-controller direct" allows me to change autofocus points immediately while I'm shooting -- what I want. I think that the behavior is still subtly different from Nikon cameras, but it works...

The DSLR Cinematography Guide

2010-12-24T10:37:00.000-08:00

Download THE DSLR CINEMATOGRAPHY GUIDE

Click the below link

http://pdfcast.org/pdf/the-dslr-cinematography-guide

DSLR camera settings for better picture and video shoot

2010-12-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

All of us were looking for a perfect settings for our DSLR video and picture settings, this video gives the full information regarding those thoughts, listen to the experts

Basic things you must know while shooting with DSLR cameras

2010-12-16T22:52:00.000-08:00

Now all of you have a DSLR camera and you are ready to shoot some great videos, whatching this video would give you some basic ideas to shoot some great videos. Canon EOS cameras are in the market to do such a lovely function, watch it and enjoy

Keys to getting the best looking footage while shooting.

See the lesson for more details-
http://vimeo.com/videoschool/lesson/15/shooting-video-with-a-dslr

FD lenses in EOS cameras for quality videos

2010-12-15T19:34:00.000-08:00

This is one of the best tutorial about how to use an FD lense in your DSLR camera for video shooting, amazing with the sharpness, though there are some cons, we could shoot better quality videos. DSLR videos are getting greater and greater every day.

You can find the mount adapter here: http://tinyurl.com/2g2dul7
--
Website: http://dslrvideoshooter.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/calebpike
Facebook: http://facebook.com/pages/DSLR-Video-Shooter/110744922316715

Pocket dolly for DSLR

2010-12-08T09:52:00.001-08:00

The man himself gives us the low down on his Pocketdolly signature edition.

Video by Sam Morgan Moore for

DSLR video tips

2010-12-03T02:02:00.000-08:00

Q. How does shooting video differ from stills?

A. They're very different approaches. The whole point with still photography is to capture the moment when something happens. But with video you want the moment before and the moment after, too∧ then you have to chain them all together through montage.

Q. You mean editing?

A. Yes. Montage is one of the primary things that distinguish still images from movies. You see a person's face and then a guy running and then a door slamming—and your brain connects all of these things into a narrative. I really recommend reading Walter Murch's In the Blink of an Eye. He's a genius. Moviemaking is deeply psychological—your brain makes this leap. Murch's thesis is your eyes blink and your brain is making edits. He also talks about the soundscape. Those things are totally foreign to a still photographer. But the study of cinema is a mature science—it's been going on for 100 years. There's a wealth of information out there.

Q. Do I need to storyboard or create a shot list?

A. Editing is the whole thing. Someone who does documentary work won't have a script going in. But there are complications either way. If you're going to try to block the action, there's a tremendous amount of preproduction work to do. If you're going a more documentary route, there's a tremendous amount of postproduction. The post is a slog.

Q. What about software?

A. You can montage in iMovie, which is a very simple program. It works fine for YouTube and things like that. The problem with using a DSLR to produce HD video is that you can't just put a toe in the water. iMovie is fine for very low-res, and the next step is a big step up. Say you want to make a high-res video: To put it in a nonlinear editor like Final Cut, you'll have to transcode the file. H.264, the compression codec that Canon uses, will work native in iMovie but not in Final Cut. It will work in the latest version of Premier, though I don't have personal experience with it or with Premier Elements. Final Cut Pro is not all that easy to use, but you can learn it in a few months. I started with Final Cut Express for four months, but that was a mistake because you can't just upgrade from Express to Pro.

Q. Sounds complicated!

A. The hardest part of the deal is that now you're a filmmaker. You have to learn about time and timing, sound, sequence, montaging. No longer can one picture tell the whole story. The most helpful thing I've ever done for video is studying African dance for five years—it's about rhythm and timing.

Q. What about gear?

A. A lot of these guys are tricking out their cameras in ways that I think are stupid. It's not a 70-pound camera—it's a 3-pound camera. Use it like a 3-pound camera! For part of my Asia video, I used a 21mm f/2.8 Zeiss lens on my Canon EOS 7D in my palm, running after these kids. I set it to f/5.6. There's huge depth of field, 6 to 8 feet or more. I don't want to pull focus.

Q. And for more stability?

A. I use a Manfrotto Fig Rig—it's brilliant—and a Zacuto magnifier for the LCD. For the skateboard video I'm working on now, we put the 7D on a monopod with a ballhead to extend it down into the ramps. My assistant, Dante, who's shooting video with the 7D while I shoot stills with a Hasselblad H3D-31, is also using a larger rig from Redrock Micro.

Q. So shooting isn't that hard?

A. If you know the limitations of your camera, you just work within them. For instance, I use a color meter all the time. You have to get the exposure and the color temperature exactly right. It's like shooting transparencies all over again. H.264 files are 8-bit color. You can't go from daylight to tungsten in the same shot. It's not RAW.

Q. Any other quirks compared with camcorders?

A. With a camcorder, you have autofocus and zoom, but these cameras won't do that. And a DSLR's CMOS sensor scans diagonally from upper left to lower right. So if you pan quickly something bad called jello happens-you get a lot of strange distortion. The 7D handles this slightly better than the 5D. But with the 5D you can get shallower depth of field. If you're shooting someone's face and they're staying in one place, it's just fantastic. With the 7D, slow motion looks fantastic.

Q. What about exposure?

A. You're limited on shutter speed: It needs to be constant. If you're shooting 24p, it should be 1/50 sec—that's the closest to what you'll see in the movies—or less if you like your footage a bit softer. If you're at 30p, for more of a TV look, you should set it to no more than 1/60 sec. And if you're at 60p, it should be no more than 1/125 sec—this gives you a hideous video look. But I use a program called Cinema Tools, which is very easy to use, to pull it down to 24p. This gives you roughly 2.5X slo-mo, and that's really beautiful.

Here's something else you should know: If you're under incandescent or fluorescent light, the shutter speed needs to correspond to the cycle-Hertz-rate of the electricity. In the U.S., we're at 60 Hertz, so you should shoot at 1/60 sec, and 1/30 sec is okay. But in Europe, if you shoot at 1/60 sec, the light will pulse-you need to shoot at 1/50 sec.

Q. And aperture?

A. You don't want to have to change the f-stop and lose your shallow depth of field to keep that shutter speed. On my 5D, I like it at about f/5.6. On the 7D, f/5.6 is still a lot of depth of field. The only time we use those big f-stops—f/16, for example—is with a long lens, because you don't want someone moving and then falling out of focus.

Q. Then there's ISO.

A. If you're shooting outside in sunlight, set ISO 100. The camera has native ISOs, and anything other than the native ISOs look like hell. This is an unknown fact. I learned it from my man Shane Hurlbut. He did a test of these and sent out a newsletter of examples of each ISO. I've written them out and taped them to the top of my cameras. On the 5D, the native ISOs are 100, 160, 320, 640, 800, 1250. ISO 2500 will work, too. The 7D won't go as high—I wouldn't set the ISO much over 800. It's possible to use much higher ISOs, but the image really starts to fall apart. DSLRs handle low light wonderfully, but that doesn't mean you can avoid light. You have to expose and light properly.

Q. What about other camera settings?

A. Turn sharpening entirely off. Go into the menus—in Canons, it's in the Picture Styles menu, and the Standard is the flattest. Choose this and turn the sharpening to zero. This will make it look more like film and less like video. Turn contrast down one notch (-1) and saturation down -1. Outside at night, with a high ISO, I'll bring those down -2. Some people turn these all the way down, but then the image is super flat.

Q. What else must I buy?

A. The solution for your readers is: Buy less crap! Keep it really simple.

Q. Yeah, but there's some stuff you can't do without, right?

A. You need a magnifier—it helps you see better and also helps you brace the camera. A stabilized lens helps a lot.

Q. Any filters?

A. You need neutral-density filters—they give you the control over your aperture, since your shutter speed is fixed. I have a set of glass ND filters in 2- and 3-stop increments. A good ND filter is $100, so it gets expensive if you have a few of these. But with cheaper filters, the color is not consistent. It's fine for stills, because when you're shooting RAW it's easy to fix the color, but it's a real pain for video. You can also get a variable ND filter-two polarizers that cross each other; Singh-Ray makes a very good one.

Q. And memory cards?

A. Make sure you use a fast UDMA card and a fast reader. I standardize my cards—Lexar Professional 600x CF cards, all 16GB. You need about 250 megabytes a minute for video. But don't put in a massive card. If you run the camera for 10 or 11 minutes without stopping, it'll overheat. I've never had my 5D overheat, but my 7D did. I took the battery and card out, and let it ventilate and cool down for a few minutes. If you're going to run a 20-minute take, use a video camera.

Q. A fast computer, too?

A. One of the things that surprised me was that a lot of the editing software runs off the video card, so you'll need the fastest one possible. I'd covered RAM and processing speed, but I had to buy a new 512MB video card for my Mac tower. Also, you're going to run into storage issues right away. That's a big thing to prepare for.

Q. It's all so intimidating.

A. Just go make movies! It's really simple. Point your camera and hit the button.

Motion Control test with DitoGear

2010-11-27T08:29:00.000-08:00

I have recently received the DitoGear DriveCam slider, which can be used in all sorts of ways. Two of its main uses are of course making super-smooth realtime camera movements using the joystick, or doing moving timelapse shots, which have become very popular in the last year mainly after everyone watched in awe how Tom Lowe from Timescapes is cranking out one masterful timelapse film after another.

Motion Control

Motion Control Test with DitoGear DriveCam Slider from Nino Leitner on Vimeo.

Two days ago I met with my friend & director Arne Nostitz (check out his work here) and we had only little time to do a little DriveCam slider test. Our initial plan to do a little timelapse outside didn’t work out, so we came back to his flat and had only about 30 minutes left … we thought, why not do a little motion control shot, utilizing the DriveCam’s unique ability to pre-program movement?

You might have no idea what I’m talking about, so let me explain:

In film terms, motion control is something the visual effects industry relies heavily on nowadays. It’s needed for special effects of all kind when a moving camera is involved

In essence, the camera movement needs to be repeatable 100%, because you record several instances of the same movement that are layered together in post production. For example, if you want to combine a green screen crane shot that was done in a studio with, say, a crane shot of a street scene, the movements of the cameras need to match exactly. This is achieved through a motion controlled crane that is operated automatically following pre-programmed movements.

The fact that you can use the remote controller to pre-program movements into the DriveCam slider is an amazing possibility that allows you to record and repeat the perfect camera movement for a shot over and over again. And that’s why it is also possible to do motion control shots.

So in the 30 minutes we had, we put the DriveCam slider onto Arne’s piano, facing the room from one side. I recorded one very simple movement of the slider from one end to the other, then we played it back three times, always resetting it to the exact same starting point that I marked with a little piece of tape in the beginning.

Arne simply walked through the room in each shot, which makes it look like there are “three Arnes” after post production.

He combined the shots in post production using After Effects CS5, here is his description:

I first put all 4 layers (1 x blank, 3 x Arne) on top of each other and adjusted temporally. Then I played around with a difference key for a while, but didn’t manage to get a good result. Unfortunately, this key is only usable when the footage is really exact – but that is impossible also simply because of the compression. In addition, there are the shadows that I cast and tiny changes in exposition.

So that didn’t work so well, that’s why I moved to masks – at first just very rough ellipses to cut out and look where there is overlapping. At these short moments where there were overlappings I tried the Roto Brush – the first time I used this unbelievable tool. It works similar to the Quick Selection tool in Photoshop: you roughly draw on the areas to be selected and keyed – then you define what the background is. Just like in Photoshop you can correct the mask while holding down the “ALT” key, then you work your way forward frame by frame. After Effects calculates a new mask every time, and it does that very well. In problematic areas, where there is too little contrast between foreground and background, corrections are necessary – but that works very well and it’s easy. That’s it, basically!

The mask can be enhanced through several effects settings (grow, feather etc.), for a fast preview that is perfectly fine.

How to Edit HD Videos by Canon DSLR

2010-11-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

Working with the video of DSLR cameras such as the Canon EOS 550D, 500D, 60D, 5D mark ll, 7D can produce a serious business. HD video
contains four times the number of pixels that standard definition offers, and it’s much more heavily compressed.

Keep in mind that you need a powerful computer with a lot of memory to deal with the extra data and compression. Pinnacle for example, recommends a minimum 512 MB of RAM and a graphics card with 128 MB of RAM for standard resolution video, lthough that goes up to a GB of RAM and a 256 MB graphics
card when working with 1080i HD video.

You can find plenty of software available that supports editing high definition videos. For example, the latest versions of Pinnacle Studio and Ulead Media Studio 8 can import and edit files in HDV format.

Even though the high definition video with these types of looks great when played back on an HDTV, at the present time is there is no way store HD video on a DVD. The only way you can store HD video for playback is on your PC or the same type
of media you used in your HD camcorder.

There is however, a new generation of high definition optical media format coming soon. Products that are based on the HD-DVD and Blu-ray disc formats are very expensive, and they will remain that way for the near future.

HD-DVD players were announced a while back that they will cost $500 and up, and will be available very soon. You’ll also need one of the new HD-DVD drives to write to the disc, which will cost as much again. You can expect the same story with the Blu-ray disc, as both the recorders and the players are going to be expensive for a while to come.

There is one other option as well. There is a DVD player from KISS, the DP-600, which can play back high definition files that have been compressed to Microsoft’s Windows Media 9 format. This can at least provide a stop gap until the price of the HD-DVD and Blue-ray disc players and writes come down to an affordable price.

You can always play back the recorded video you have through the camcorder itself, although you shouldn’t expect to be able to write it out on a disc with the current available equipment and preserve its quality. If you wait it out, the new generation of available media will be everything you need for your HD video.

The best T2i accessories for best video shots

2010-11-15T20:08:00.000-08:00

Good news for all budget DSLR video makers, check this video and get some valuable information about budgeted accessories for your t2i cameras for video making, the whole video is amazing. t2i video making

Kessler Crane for DSLR film makers

2010-11-05T04:04:00.001-07:00

At Kessler Crane™, we understand what it means to shoot on a tight budget without compromising your creative endeavor. We also understand the disappointment in current camera crane / camera jib models on the market. It is this understanding that ignited the motivation to create a quality, affordable, easily functioning camera crane / camera jib that tops others costing 3-4 times as much. After renting/owning more than 9 different makes and models of cranes / jibs ranging in price from $279 to over $2000, we started to notice something…

There was always something missing.

We were never 100% happy. There were positive things about each piece of equipment, but no single product encompassed what we felt were the necessary features of a solidly built crane system.

We decided to change that with our product design background, up to date manufacturing techniques and cutting edge CNC technology, we have achieved our goal. Owning a modestly priced first-rate camera crane / camera jib is no longer a dream.

Best compact flash card for DSLR

2010-10-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

This is a pretty important thing to think about, considering video with a DSLR is captured at a higher bitrate. And on top of that, capacity of the card is equally as important (unless of course you’re ok with changing out the card every 8 to 12 minutes). So for those reasons, I’m making a few recommendations on cards that will work best in a production setting.

Now depending on what DSLR you are using, the card type may be different. Canon DSLRs use CF or CompactFlash cards. Panasonic and Nikon typically use SD cards. So the bit rate and price range will vary based on what you’re using. Call me bias if you’d like, but I’m a Canon guy, so I’ll mostly be talking CF cards. That just happens to be my experience level, so deal with it!

Now, my understanding about bitrates with DSLR video is that they average around 37 to 40 mb/s. That being said, a good way to go is getting your hands on a fast enough card to cover that bitrate. Having said that though, you can still use lower end CF cards, you just run the risk of possibly losing information in your image or even losing a few frames here or there. If you know the bitrate is going to be high (which it always will be with high end HD) then you might as well go with the faster cards.

The second thing to consider when looking for a good CF card is capacity. Cards out there run anywhere from 1GB to 64GB so you have a lot to work with. Canon’s 5D Mark II and 7D put a cap on the largest single clip that can be stored at roughly 4GB which is around 12 min of 1920×1080 video. If you’re making films, you more than likely won’t have a single, continuous 12 min shot. Unless of course you’re Martin Scorsese or Orsen Welles…

The best capacity size if you ask me is 32GB. That will put you in the ballpark of 90 minutes or so of Full HD video. Two of those guys will cover a day’s worth of shooting easy.

So here are a couple picks for some seriously great cards that will really deliver:

Lexar Professional Series UDMA 16 GB 300x CF Card
-Lexar cards in general are really well made and work great in the field. This one comes with a minimum write speed of 45mb/s, so it can actually write faster than that! Definitely worth the price.

SanDisk 32GB Extreme III CF Card
-So I know I said that you should get cards with a higher bitrate, but I’ve used this card many times before and performs fantastically! Goes to show that your bitrate doesn’t need to be exact, but it does need to be high enough to get good results.

Of course there are a ton of card options out there, but if you hunt for the one with a higher write rate, you can’t go wrong!

Easy Setup for High Quality HDSLR Videos

2010-10-22T01:28:00.000-07:00

I have been shooting a lot of podcast episodes for the Home Film School Student series and thought I would share how we shoot and put one of them together.

The Set

We have been shooting recent episodes in Guy Silagi‘s studio. The room has 15 foot ceilings which gave us plenty of room for lights. For the backdrop we used a 107″ x 12yds grey Background Papermounted using a set of background stands. This backdrop is a must have for anyone shooting a lot of interviews and other sit down style productions. It allows one to use it as a canvas to sculpted custom background light configurations. More on that in a bit.

We also setup two directors chairs. These are nice because they are comfortable, and are taller than most chairs giving the camera operator more options for angles and positioning.

Lighting

Key Lights – For lights we used some borrowed lights. The two key lights are Interfit Stellar lights. Sadly they are FAR from stellar. While they are affordable, and produce decent light, we found these to be poorly made. Pieces jammed easy and are poorly designed. We also used some wrap to keep the key lights from spilling onto our background.

Background Lights – For the background we used Guy’s older Smith-Victor lights (New Equivalent). Using a color effects gel kit and black wrap, we could create different lighting patterns.

We typically shoot 2-5 episodes in a day, so this setup gives us a way to quickly change the lighting setup and get a fresh new look. One thing you could do to further diversify your lighting would be to use a cookie with the lights to give the set even more dimension.

Rim (Hair) Light – For the rim light we setup a Smith-Victor flood to help separate the subjects from the background. Mounting it was a Manfrotto Heavy Duty Boom and Stand. While this boom is a little overkill for the small light we mounted, it does come in very handy for mounting all sorts of microphones and lights.

Camera Gear Setup

For this shoot we had a Canon 7D and a Canon T2i. The T2i was used as camera A and was locked down on a bogan tripod. The 7D was mounted onto a Redrock Micro Shoulder Mount and was setup for mobile B cam. This setup allowed me to start the A Cam, pick up my shouldered B cam and shoot OTS (over the shoulder) and over angles during the interview. This triples the production value of the shoot. In the final product there is a diverse set of angles keeping the content even more interesting.

Lenses – On the T2i we had an old Pentax-A 50mm f/2.0. For the 7D I use both the Canon 50mm f/1.4 and the Canon 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens. I used the zoom for tighter framing and OTS shots because the IS made for smoother shots. I used the 50mm for wider shots so I could still maintain decent depth.

In the future I will use the Canon 50mm on the T2i because the Pentax did not maintain consistent sharpness from edge to edge.

Audio

While audio is one of the most important parts of production, audio was also the easy to set up for this shoot. I get a lot of people asking me about what mics I use and other audio gear. But for a huge amount of my podcast and other shoots I use only the Zoom H4n… Thats right. Just the H4n. I find that if you are only recording 1 or 2 people the built in microphones work just fine. Here you will see my audio setup. Just the H4n mounted on a mic stand:

Usually I will position the mic above the talent but in this situation it worked just to place it below them.

Work Flow

Work flow is simple. I used two 16gb Sandisk Extreme cards, back up on portable HDs. Get back to editing suite and edited the two cameras together. Exported the project and use Mpeg Streamclip’s batch feature to export versions for iTunes, Vimeo YouTube etc.

Conclustion

With this setup we can prepare the set for an interview in about 20 minutes. And with these tools we get incredible production value and a low setup time.

I hope this has been helpful and informative. If you enjoyed this let me know and I will endeavor to do more of them. Until then, you can find all the images from this shoot as well as some screen grabs from the episode below. For the full episode from the shoot visit Home Film School Student to see it.

——————————————————————————————————————————

PRODUCTION STILLS

Understanding Sensor Size on Digital SLRs

2010-10-17T11:15:00.001-07:00

You know those numbers on the side of that lens you just bought for your digital SLR? 70-200mm … 50mm … etc? Those numbers are a lot less absolute then they used to be?

The reason? Not all image sensors on digital SLRs are built the same, and the sensor you have has a large effect on exactly what focal length your lens actually is. Here’s why.

[eminimall]

Back in the era of film cameras, SLR cameras had a standard, full-frame sensor. But with the advent of digital cameras, sensor sizes began to change. Sensors on the first generations of digital cameras were expensive to produce, so camera manufacturers simply made them smaller. They created the APS-C sensor, which has become the standard on most digital SLRs.

What was the effect? An APS-C digital camera situates the lens closer to the sensor and introduces a crop factor - typically around 1.6x. What this means is that the operative length of the lens is altered as well. A 200mm lens becomes the equivalent of a 320mm lens, a 20mm becomes a 32mm and so forth.

What types of cameras have an APS-C sensor? All entry level SLRs like the Canon 30D, the Canon Rebel XTi and the Nikon D40 have an APS-C sensor. Only a few, select high-end consumer cameras like the Canon 5D use a full-frame sensor now, although Canon has said that they plan to re-adopt full-frame sensors in most of their digital cameras in time.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to a APS-C sensor? For the photographer who loves shooting telephoto, a cropped sensor can be a good value. For example, the Canon 300mm F/2.8L lens costs upwards of $3000, while a photographer with a APS-C sensor can use the 200mm f/2.8 prime and get the same focal length equivalence for around $700.

Where the APS-C sensor really hurts is in wide-angle photography. It’s tough to get that sort of dramatic wide perspective from a cropped sensor - or it will cost you a lot to do so.

From a technical standpoint, images from a full-frame sensor are usually less noisy and suffer from less chromatic aberration. However, full-frame sensors - especially on the Canon 5D - often fall victim to vignetting, as the sensor does not receive enough light on the corners of the frame.

Is an APS-C sensor a bad thing? No, and many photographers find it preferable. But the full-frame sensor carries with it many benefits as well, benefits that hopefully won’t be limited to high-end cameras in the coming years.

Lilliput monitor for Canon EOS cameras

2010-10-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

Wow, Lilliput is not playing around. There was a time when these 7″ HDMI monitors were first released for about $200 dollars, but this still meant searching for a way to mount and power these bad boys up. Olahf just sent in a video of his unboxing the new 7″ LCD + Battery + Shoe Mount Combo deal he received from eBay. This combo includes a supposedly newer 2010 model of the 7″ monitor + Shoe mount + Battery pack so you’re ready to rock from the get go. You can check out more details of these new monitors + battery packs Following this Link..

How To Slow Motion My 60fps T2i 550D Videos Down To 24fps Read more at LearningDSLRVideo.com: How To Slow Motion My 60fps T2i 550D Videos Down To 24f

2010-10-06T10:34:00.000-07:00

I could see everyone else doing these cool slow motion videos on Vimeo using the T2i 550D but for some reason when I went to learn how to do it I could not locate a tutorial on how to convert or down sample my video clips from 60 frames per second to 24 frames per second. I fooled around with Sony Vegas for a while and slowed down the playback speed from 1.0 to 0.4 and it worked very nicely.

Funny as I am writing this Dereck Willis wrote a comment on other post with instructions on how to do this after I finished it and his instruction were just like mine! I guess I did it right.

Read more at LearningDSLRVideo.com: How To Slow Motion My 60fps T2i 550D Videos Down To 24fps

HDR photography with Canon EOS 550D

2010-09-30T11:41:00.001-07:00

I am not very good at HDR (High Dynamic Range Photography), but I like to keep working at because he helps teach me more about exposure. I’m learning to look deep into the shadows more and see what they look like from an exposure point of view.

I think HDR helps you become better at DSLR video because you are peering in to the shadows a lot more, and understand more about light.

I really like all of Trey Ratcliff’s work (I follow his RSS feed) and I use his HDR tutorial, however I can never seem to get his results. So it is much trickier than it looks in his tutorial. I can tell you about several other people that have tried it a few times and also had the same experience I have had.

If you haven’t tried it you can try it for free to see if you are any good at it. Download Photomatix for free and Lightroom too. I promise it will help your DSLR video skills by just trying a few shots and understand what makes a good HDR image.

Read more at LearningDSLRVideo.com: T2i 550D HDR Tutorial Using PhotoMatix 4.0Beta

I get many people asking me about how I light my videos in my office. I think of this sliding glass door as my huge softbox when I am filming myself for this tutorials. I use a reflector too and that is it for lighting. Natural lighting it my friend.

When we bought this house a few years ago I wanted to change the look of my office but I have been too lazy to do so yet, so the wall paper and paint is definitely not me.

My HDR Checklist Before I Shoot

When shooting with the sun -3, 0, +2 -
Use bracketing -2, 0, +2 (use select button to set bracketing from exposure comp)
After you shoot look to see if the shadows have enough detail
2 Second self-timer mode
Use tripod
Wait for the wind to stop if lots of trees
Manual focus
Set to Aperture Priority mode ‘Av’.
Shoot between F5 and F13 on anything fixed (lens).
After Lightroom file/export to Photomatix

Read more at LearningDSLRVideo.com: T2i 550D HDR Tutorial Using PhotoMatix 4.0Beta

8 Ways to Spot the Pro Photographer

2010-09-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

In the old days, it was easy to pick out the pro photographer in a crowd. They were the one with the biggest lens. These days, with photography so popular and accessible to the masses, it’s getting much more difficult to tell a pro from an enthusiast. We’re no longer the ones with the big glass; have you been to the National Parks and seen the gear that the retired doctors and laywers carry?

Have no fear, I’ve come up with a little game called “8 ways to spot the pro photographer.” I know that it’s by no means a complete list, so feel free to play along.

1. Duct tape on their expensive lens. Let’s face it, we beat our gear up. We use it in less than ideal conditions, and out in the field, a broken lens hood can easily be duct taped back on. And if it works, why change it? You’ll never see an amateur with duct tape on his thousand dollar lens.

2. Slouches from carrying heavy camera bag.Two bodies, six lenses, flashes, filters, tripod, memory card cases, maybe a laptop and hard drives as well? Tools of the trade and it goes with us everywhere. Unfortunately, carrying all that gear has a very heavy price.

3. Still has film in the freezer. Back when we shot film, we pros liked to buy it in bulk. We’re talking multiple bricks at a time so that we’d never run out. Problem was, the technology ran out before our film did. Who doesn’t still have a few rolls still sitting in the back corner of the freezer?

4. Uses the world “Stock” differently than most people. Among the common folk, the word “Stock ” has a well established meaning. Put 10 pro photographers in a room together and that word will come up multiple times, and noone will be talking about the Dow. Or soup.

5. More concerned with other peoples’ appearance than their own. We’re always on the lookout for potential models, and when we’ve got them working in a photo shoot, it’s all about their misplaced strands of hair, ruffled clothing, and those small details that most of us don’t pay attention to on ourselves. (Have you seen my bio shot below?) That is, except when we’re meeting with clients.

6. Contents of camera bag worth more than their car. Like I said above, two bodies, six lenses, flashes, filters, tripod, memory cards, laptop… Costs way more to replace all that stuff than an old Toyota or a used Subaru wagon.

7. The only guy over 25 wearing their baseball cap backwards. Have you ever tried shooting verticals with the brim facing the right way?

8. Always doing something stupid or dangerous in order to get a good angle. It’s all about getting the awesome vantage point, right? We’ll easily sacrifice a little safety if it means getting a killer shot.

Hasselblad the best photographic machine

2010-09-19T20:31:00.001-07:00

The Hasselblad Masters represent photography at its finest; at its most inspired, most communicative, most beautiful. They are young, old, western, eastern, classical, experimental, traditional, modern, and futuristic. They have perhaps but one thing in common: they are masters at conveying an instant, an emotion, with images. Masters of the art and craft that is photography.

http://www.hasselblad.com/masters-2009.aspx

Canon eos 5D mark ll firmware update

2010-09-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

Those EOS 5D Mark II owners who have previously experienced an aperture glitch when focusing where the iris closed or opened, alas Canon has come to the rescue with a solution. With the release of the new firmware (version 2.0.7), 5D users benefit from the following improvements and fixes:

Fixes a phenomenon in which the aperture exhibits abnormal movement when shooting movies in manual exposure mode and Aperture Priority AE (Av mode) using some Canon lenses (such as macro lenses).
Fixes a phenomenon in which the exposure level shown in the LCD panel differs from what is shown in the viewfinder when shooting still images in manual exposure mode.
Fixes a phenomenon in which the Wireless File Transmitter (WFT-E4 or WFT-E4 II) may not automatically power off when used for FTP transfers.
These phenomenon only occur with the Version 2.0.4 and Version 2.0.3 firmware.

Hasselblad vs Canon

2010-09-16T23:14:00.000-07:00

Resolution, Natural Color, Optical Purity, Clarity, and Detail are all key components in defining superior image quality. Each parameter, alone – or a pair, or three – can improve image quality but to achieve ultimate image quality, photographers need a system that excels in all five of these areas. A clear understanding of these quality parameters helps photographers understand what high end digital photography is and what it isn’t. At Hasselblad we focus on constantly improving our performance in these areas striving for perfection and never accepting “good enough” - in order to continuously raise the bar’ of image quality.

Consider Hasselblad Image Quality our promise to you - and your promise to your customer. Consider it three simple words that explain over 50 years if imaging expertise. Three major components are required to produce this level of quality:

Optical system:

The Hasselblad HC/HCD large format digital lenses serve as the perfect complement to even 39Mpix sensors, the largest in the world.

Camera integration:

Hasselblad’s high level of camera integration guarantees optimum physical, electrical and digital operation, squeezing maximum performance and image quality from the lenses, viewfinder, and digital capture unit.

High-end raw converter:

The Hasselblad Raw Converter (HRC) working with our 3FR raw file

The image quality of any camera system is only as good as the lens that forms the image. From the very beginning, this basic concept has guided Hasselblad´s lens philosophy.

Lenses

The V System offers the largest range of superior quality lenses of any medium format system. Our long expertise has resulted in lenses with unrivalled specifications, exceeding even the exacting demands of digital photography. Today´s Hasselblad lens range is the result of mutual collaboration with the world´s best optic crafters, like our long close collaboration with Carl Zeiss.
Our lenses use high performance central lens shutters, making them stable, quiet, and particularly useful for flash work at fast shutter speeds or many other tricky lighting situations. Whether it is a fashion shoot in the studio or an action shoot using portable fill-flash on location, Hasselblad central shutter lenses deliver correct captures at flash sync speeds up to 1/500 sec. That is four times faster than comparable focal plane shutters. And thanks to the T* anti-refection coating and internal stray light reduction treatments, these lenses produce unbeatable image contrast and color saturation.

Compatibility is a word that appears regularly in connection with Hasselblad, though normally with regard to system rather than technique. Lenses that might otherwise be classified as first rate in the film world often do not meet the demands made from digital capture. Our V System lenses were specified and formulated so well that they actually exceeded digital requirements even before a practical digital capability was available. No need to re-invest in another series of lenses when using a digital back therefore. Techniques may change but Hasselblad lenses ensure that Hasselblad quality remains.

Understanding Sensor Size on Digital SLRs

2010-09-10T03:41:00.001-07:00

You know those numbers on the side of that lens you just bought for your digital SLR? 70-200mm … 50mm … etc? Those numbers are a lot less absolute then they used to be?

The reason? Not all image sensors on digital SLRs are built the same, and the sensor you have has a large effect on exactly what focal length your lens actually is. Here’s why.

[eminimall]

Back in the era of film cameras, SLR cameras had a standard, full-frame sensor. But with the advent of digital cameras, sensor sizes began to change. Sensors on the first generations of digital cameras were expensive to produce, so camera manufacturers simply made them smaller. They created the APS-C sensor, which has become the standard on most digital SLRs.

What was the effect? An APS-C digital camera situates the lens closer to the sensor and introduces a crop factor - typically around 1.6x. What this means is that the operative length of the lens is altered as well. A 200mm lens becomes the equivalent of a 320mm lens, a 20mm becomes a 32mm and so forth.

What types of cameras have an APS-C sensor? All entry level SLRs like the Canon 30D, the Canon Rebel XTi and the Nikon D40 have an APS-C sensor. Only a few, select high-end consumer cameras like the Canon 5D use a full-frame sensor now, although Canon has said that they plan to re-adopt full-frame sensors in most of their digital cameras in time.

What are the advantages and disadvantages to a APS-C sensor? For the photographer who loves shooting telephoto, a cropped sensor can be a good value. For example, the Canon 300mm F/2.8L lens costs upwards of $3000, while a photographer with a APS-C sensor can use the 200mm f/2.8 prime and get the same focal length equivalence for around $700.

Where the APS-C sensor really hurts is in wide-angle photography. It’s tough to get that sort of dramatic wide perspective from a cropped sensor - or it will cost you a lot to do so.

From a technical standpoint, images from a full-frame sensor are usually less noisy and suffer from less chromatic aberration. However, full-frame sensors - especially on the Canon 5D - often fall victim to vignetting, as the sensor does not receive enough light on the corners of the frame.

Is an APS-C sensor a bad thing? No, and many photographers find it preferable. But the full-frame sensor carries with it many benefits as well, benefits that hopefully won’t be limited to high-end cameras in the coming years.

Lensbaby new dslr film making gear

2010-09-06T08:08:00.000-07:00

New lensbaby DSLR film making gear, watch it enjoy and experiment the gear

ipad apps for photographers, best for eos cameramans

2010-09-01T09:36:00.000-07:00

PhotoPad by Zagg
PhotoPad is a photo editing software that allows you to do a variety of things with yourimages:

Rotate the image
Crop
Adjust color, contrast, tint and saturation levels
It will also allow you to create ZAGGskins – covers for the back of your mobile device – by using your photos and your tools.

And best of all, this app is free.

Filterstorm
Filterstorm was designed specifically for the iPad, and allows for more intuitive editing on the iPad compared with its desktop counterparts. As a professional, this is one you should definitely give a try. You can do a variety of things, including:

Adjust the entire image by brush or color range
Adjust the brush size
Adjust color balance, brightness, contrast and saturation
Crop, scale and rotate
Sharpen
Vignette
Send your images using email or FTP

While it’s not designed to replace your desktop applications, it’s a great tool to have when you are on the go.

SketchBook Pro
Are you a doodler? Do you like to draw out your ideas as you think of them? Then you’ll love SketchBook Pro. It provides you with a complete set of sketching and painting tools that allow you to design directly with the iPad multi-touch interface. You’ll have high quality brushes and tools that allow you to draw and create a variety of drawings right on your iPad canvas. Perfect for impromptu meetings with friends or your staff.

MOO Business Cards – $21.99 for 50 unique, customized Business Cards, each one with a different design.

Pages
What’s one thing your iPad can’t do? Be a word processor. Or wait, now it can withPages.

Pages gives you all the tools you need to create and share documents. From templates to advanced layout tools, you’ll be able to create documents in no time. Incorporate your photos and videos, resize and rotate your page, create columns, or add tables. This will be a definite tool you can’t live without on the road and everywhere else.

deskPad Office
Love sticky notes? Then deskPad Office is for you. Create to-do lists, add notes to yourself, draw pictures, or add maps – if your monitor is loaded with sticky reminders, this will be one app you can’t get enough of.

PrintCentral
When you’re out creating on your iPad, chances are you’ll find something you want to print. From web pages, to email, to documents and photos, PrintCentral handles it all. It works by printing directly via WiFi, and works with any printer and any type of document via your Mac, PC or 3G.

Evernote
For a free app, Evernote is a very powerful program. You can easily create notes using text, photos and audio files, organize and synchronize them with your Mac, PC or web.
Build up your favorites, and instantly have access to any of your information at any time.

HootSuite
If you use Facebook and Twitter, you have to have HootSuite. HootSuite makes managing your social accounts a whole lot easier. They have a light version, or upgrade to the pro version for $2.99. HootSuite gives you the power to manage all of your Twitter accounts, update your Facebook profile and pages, set up Twitter searches, track your results along the way, and automate a lot of what you do.

Canon EOS 60D

2010-08-31T20:39:00.000-07:00

Canon EOS 60D
For photographers who want to transfer content wirelessly, the EOS 60D includes Eye-Fi connected functions*2. The EOS 60D features a dedicated Eye-Fi section in the User Interface allowing WiFi functionality to be turned off when not required to save battery life
EOS 60D features at a glance:

18 MP APS-C CMOS sensor
Advanced creative features with Basic +
Vari-angle 7.7cm (3.0”) 3:2 ratio LCD
Full HD movies with manual control
DIGIC 4
ISO 100-6400, H:12800
5.3fps shooting for up to 58 JPEGs
9-point cross type AF System
iFCL metering with 63-zone Dual-layer Sensor
Integrated Speedlite transmitter
In-camera RAW processing
*1 1:1, 16:9, 4:3 in addition to the standard 3:2 dimension
*2 This product is not guaranteed to support Eye-Fi card functions (including wireless transfer). In case of an issue with an Eye-Fi card, please check with the card manufacturer. Also note that approval is required to use Eye-Fi cards in many countries or regions. Without approval, use of the card is not permitted. If it is unclear whether the card has been approved for use in the area, please check with the card manufacturer

Redrock Micro for DSLR

2010-08-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

Redrock Micro has announced a new “nano” line of DSLR cinema rigs and accessories. The new line of rigs are designed with discreet shooting applications and low-cost entry – mostly under $500.

Redrock Micro

Hollywood, CA – Redrock Micro, the recognized leader in affordable professional-quality cinema accessories, today announced the new nano line of accessories and rigs for video DSLR cameras. The nano line of equipment is an extension to Redrock’s current award-winning rigs and accessories for HDSLR cameras, and is designed for low-cost entry level, photojournalism/documentary, and discreet shooting applications. The nano rigs are manufactured to precision professional standards, and can be easily upgraded to more advanced rigs as needed. Developed from extensive customer interviews and input, the nano line delivers the ideal balance of economy and professional quality in compact support rigs.

The nano line of products consists of 7 new rigs and 5 new accessories:

Nano rigs:

Grippit™
runningMan™
LowDown™
LowDown Deluxe
Stealth™
Stealth Grip
Stealth V (“vee”)
Nano accessories:

Nano baseplate
Nano focus+zoom lever
microHandle Plus (with integrated shoe mount)
2” 15mm carbon fiber rails
2” handlebar rod
“We developed the nano rigs from extensive input from professional and aspiring still/motion photographers,” said James Hurd, Chief Revolutionary for Redrock Micro. “Customers said they wanted additional options that were smaller, more lightweight, and offered an affordable entry point, all while maintaining Redrock professional quality and interoperability.”

Planet digimag

2010-08-29T20:29:00.000-07:00

PLANET digimag is an online and downloadable digital magazine for Earth’s citizens.

Their content, which is packed with video, animations, graphics, beautiful photos and punchy text, will show you that sustainable living can be fun, engaging and also cost-effective.

They cover the world, exploring and investigating the environmental and lifestyle concerns of our time – climate change, energy, transport, food, society, culture, and of course, biodiversity and Earth’s great wild landscapes.

The last roll of Kodachrome film ever created has wound up in good hands.

2010-08-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

The last roll of Kodachrome film ever created has wound up in good hands.

Famed photographer and photojournalist Steve McCurry, who captured “Afghan Girl” (at left), an image that has been called “the most recognized photograph” in the history of National Geographic magazine, was given the final strip of the iconic film.

The world’s most commercially successful film for much of the 20th century, Kodachrome gained popularity beginning in the Great Depression for its vibrant colors, sharpness and durability. Tragically, the Eastman Kodak Co. officially discontinued the iconic film last year after deciding digital photography is the wave of the future. They decided to give the final roll of 36 exposures to McCurry.

So what will he do with the precious strip? That’s the subject of a new documentary from National Geographic, which follows the veteran photojournalist as he travels the world and attempts to give Kodachrome a proper send-off.

“I thought, what better way to kind of honor the memory of the film than to try and photograph iconic places and people? It’s in (my) DNA to want to tell stories where the action is, that shed light on the human condition,” the photographer said.

McCurry (who has already developed the film at Dwayne’s Photo Service in Parsons, Kan. — the last place in the world that develops Kodachrome film) pointed his camera at a number of New York City landmarks, including The Brooklyn Bridge and Grand Central Station, as well as famous faces like Robert De Niro. Then he headed to India, returning to where he shot some of his most notable work, all on the classic film.

The documentary, which chronicles McCurry’s 6-week trip around the world and the pressure of capturing something important in each precious image, is scheduled to air sometime early next year.

What about you? If you had the very last roll of Kodachrome film, what would you photograph?

Pixelatedimage best for dslr photographers

2010-08-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

it is the title of a book I cherish a lot in Photography. There are many books out there, which talk in length on the technique behind photography and other on the philosophy on it. Not many are there which draws a line in between.

I picked up this book during one of the photography exhibition, caught the book by accident, and I found the book was much better than the exhibition. This is how I was introduced to David duChemin.

David duChemin is a Vancouver-based international assignment photographer specializing in Humanitarian and world photography. A nomad, visionmonger, unashamed do-gooder, and sometimes author, David's photography is online at Pixelatedimage.com.

His words are available at Pixelatedimage.com/blog and in his first book is Within The Frame, The Journey of Photographic Vision.

SLR Lenses for Cinematography

2010-08-22T08:49:00.000-07:00

SLR Lenses for Cinematography

Manual focus SLR lenses from Carl Zeiss offer a harmonic image even under low-light conditions. With digital SLR cameras these lenses show crisp images throughout the entire range. The very smooth focus allows perfect follow focus applications.

Large rotary angle for pinpoint focusing

High quality, smooth focusing mechanism without play

Precise engraving in meters and feet

Stray light reduction for rich colors

Optimum correction of distortion

Practical focusing and aperture setting ring in metal

Application:

With their exact, precise focusing system and superbly balanced bokeh, SLR lenses from Carl Zeiss offer many excellent possibilities for personalized manual composition. All ZEISS SLR lenses are supported by extraordinarily high-contrast color rendition and an outstanding 3D effect in the image.

The Redrock DSLR Camera Bundle

2010-08-20T05:05:00.001-07:00

The Redrock DSLR Cinema Bundle is a comprehensive package for converting video DSLRs to useful cinema production tools. This bundle is compatible with most video DSLRs including the Nikon D90 and Canon 7D, Canon 5D Mark II, and can be adapted for use with full size DSLRs such as the Canon 1D MKIV** and Nikon D3s**.

Special camera accessories and products for all canon eos and other cameras

2010-08-20T02:02:00.001-07:00

These fine companies offer specialty or discount camera accessories and supplies. If you have a photographic need such as improving the ergonomics or functionality of your camera, or simply want to save a little money on supplies, one of these companies may have exactly what you’re looking for.

ClearViewer

The ClearViewer is a folding high-diopter lens that lets you view and focus on the LCD screen with your eye right up to the lens. See fine detail in a variety of lighting conditions. ClearViewer comes in two versions: the tripod socket model and one that attaches to a hotshoe. The company has viewers for several camera models in stock or will make one for your specific camera make and model. Orders are shipped by Priority Mail in the U.S. and International Standard or Priority Mail to non-U.S. countries.

Hoodman

The Hoodman Corporation manufactures unique digital camera accessories that make the photographer’s / videographer’s job a little easier. Their offerings include such things as viewfinder hoods, right-angle viewfinders, camcorder hoods, loupes and eye cups. Hoodman has a 30 day return policy, for any reason. A product will be replaced or you’ll get a a full refund of purchased price.

Lensmate sells a wide range of accessories such as conversion lenses, filters, lens caps and quick-change adapter kits. Their website offers helpful information, tips and samples of photos, including EXIF data, taken with and without various popular converter lenses. This information will prove invaluable in helping you evaluate if a product is suitable for your needs. You can return or exchange an item, excluding any shipping charge, within a 10 day period.

Red River Paper

Red River Paper sells high quality, premium photographic inkjet papers at up to a 40% discount. The paper comes in a variety of sizes, weights and finishes. They sell Fine Art, Coated and Double Sided Inkjet Papers. Red River Paper also sells specialty and roll inkjet papers and paper in big sheets including panoramic sizes. For those who use Epson & Canon printers, they offer genuine ink cartridges at a slight discount. The company has a 30 day return policy.

Richard Franiec’s camera accessories

Richard Franiec manufactures a collection of custom-made, limited-edition camera accessories including custom grips, hot shoe covers, remote cable releases and more. The components are made to the highest standards and help enhance the photographic experience. Shipping rates are reasonable and Richard accepts returns in the unlikely event you’re not satisfied with one of his products.

SterlingTek

SterlingTek sells all sorts of digital camera accessories including adapters, memory cards and card readers, camera tripods and camera bags. Their highly regarded digital camera batteries sell at prices far below the prices charged by the original equipment manufacture; plus the batteries are often a higher capacity. SterlingTek offers a 30 day full money back guarantee on all products. Plus if anything breaks under normal use within the first year, you can send it back for a free replacement.

Bokeh Master’s Kit for canon eos DSLR cameras

2010-08-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

Today we’ll be reviewing a product called The Bokeh Master’s Kit. We’ll tell go through what it is, how to use it, and whether or not you should consider adding it to your arsenal of photography tools.

What is Bokeh?

Before we go into what the product does, you should understand the concept of bokeh. When you have a lens that is of ample quality to produce a relatively shallow depth-of-field, the background becomes extremely blurry when the foreground is in focus (and vice-versa).
Because of a whole lot of complex physics (aka. spherical aberration) and the way light is fed through the lens, out of focus points of light essentially take on the shape of your aperture. In most cameras, this produces a round or near-round (sometimes slightly octagonal) shape representing the points of light in the distance.

Though the lens and aperture are distorting the true image, the result is something quite beautiful and is generally regarded as a positive feature of an image.

The image above is a perfect example of how bokeh can add significant aesthetic value to an image (image source). Keep in mind that this image was taken at f/2.2. If your lens doesn’t go below f/4 or so, you might have a hard time producing a good bokeh.

The Bokeh Master’s Kit

What the Bokeh Master’s Kit does is change the shape of the bokeh in an image by filtering the light through a custom-shaped hole on the front of your lens.

As you can see in this sample image from the kit’s website, the results can be quite fun and unique. So how does it do this exactly? Let’s take a look.

What You Get

To give you a good idea of what you’ll get in the kit, here are a couple of pictures that I took when I first received mine.

As you can see, you get five plastic sheets containing pieces to punch out. The red sheet is a little box that you fold up to hold your disks, and the rest are disks containing different shapes to mold the bokeh along with the holder piece that is placed over the camera.

How To Use It

To use the kit, simply place one of the disks in the holder, place the holder over the front of your lens and use the included rubber band to strap it on.
The tricky part is that you can’t just take a picture of anything. You have to create a setup like the asian doll picture above where a good bokeh is already being produced. Remember that the kit modifies bokeh, it doesn’t create it!

My Real Experience

When I first received the Bokeh Master’s Kit, I was a little hesitant to attach it to my lens with the rubber band. Sure enough, when I tried it, the rig in combination with an autofocus lens (and therefore a moving lens) seemed to be a bad combination as it was wearing on the gears a bit.

Turning the autofocus off was an easy solution, but then you’re forced to manually focus and my focus dial is unfortunately near the front of my lens, which was obstructed by the bokeh kit. In the end I found it to be easy enough to place a disk in the holder and then just hold it in front of my lens while I shot.

However, I think the disk holder would be much better if it were actually a lens attachment similar to a modified polarizer or lens cap. This would really increase both manufacturing costs and the end customer price, but the improved setup would be worth it.

Moving on to usage, I first tried the kit with a low grade Canon 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 lens. Unfortunately, the results with this lens were quite fickle. Though I could fairly easily produce a decent bokeh, it was really tricky to get the kit to reshape it in any way. Despite the fact that I was trying to produce a star, I kept getting Pac Man shapes!

My Success

Faced with failure on my cheap kit lens, I decided to get more serious and pulled out a Canon f/2.8 lens. To setup the shot, I grabbed a few studio lights, set a toy catapult on a pool table, and placed a pile of Christmas lights in the background. Here’s what I came up with straight from the camera.

Just to give you a good idea of what’s going on here, the settings are as follows: 1/15 sec exposure (with flash and tripod), f/3.2, 100mm. As you can see, the bokeh is coming through quite nicely.
This time, equipped with a decent lens and a better setup, the effect of the bokeh kit was instant and required zero fiddling with settings or adjustments. In fact, the results were excellent!

Placing the bokeh kit over the lens considerably darkens the image but as long as you adjust your settings accordingly it’s not a problem. Also, it places a dark vignette around the edge of the photo. Some photographers might find this annoying but I was loving the effect on this particular setup.
Though I was frustrated with the results from the cheaper lens, once I had the right setup I found the kit to be a blast to use. It’s an admittedly cheesy effect but it’s something you can’t normally achieve and is really neat to have on hand for certain occasions.

Conclusion

So should you get one? I vote yes. It’s currently only $25, which you’ll earn back in positive comments from your friends and family wondering how the heck you achieved the amazing effect. The best application I can think of is for children’s portraiture. The fun shapes really lend themselves to kid photography and you’ll no doubt snag a few clients with the originality of the images.
Before you purchase anything, just remember my advice about making sure your lens is up to par and also that it’s probably a good idea to turn off auto-focus prior to attaching the kit to your lens.

For all you do-it-yourselfers out there, the effect is actually pretty easy to achieve on your own. Check out this guide from DIY Photography or run a search on Flickr for “custom bokeh” to see what others have come up with.
Use the comment section below to let us know what you think of the product and whether or not you’ll be ordering one. Also be sure to let us know if there are any other products you’ve been considering purchasing that you’d like us to review.

The revaluation of Canon Dslr video making

2010-08-12T11:15:00.000-07:00

This is the new style of dslr film making, an arri lens is attached to a canon eos 7D, what an idea, i wish one day i could do the same, guys you were thinking of doing somthing like this before, then watch this video, you have your answer for the question, dslr video making with arri lens.

National Geography

2010-08-07T12:08:00.001-07:00

Shoot Great Video with Your Canon DSLR Camera

2010-08-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

Video Tutorials : Blue Crane Digital - Shoot Great Video with Your Canon DSLR Camera
Author: BinhBasket | 11 June 2010 | : 0

Blue Crane Digital - Shoot Great Video with Your Canon DSLR Camera
English | AVC1 854x480 | AAC 160 Kbps 2CN | 2.72 GB
Genre: eLearning

Canon's video-equipped digital SLR cameras can capture professional quality HD video, but getting great video from a still camera is not simple or intuitive. Getting the results you want requires a lot more than exposure, focus and white balance. Happily we've already done the research! You'll learn the skills and secrets to producing great video. This DVD is intended for the still photographer moving into video for the first time. You'll benefit from the wealth of tips and techniques offered in this presentation.

Topics include:

* Sound recording
* Composition
* Lighting and equipment
* Aliasing/Artifacts
* Video compression
* Exposure
* White balance
* Picture styles
* Camera movement
* Lenses
* Tripods and camera mounts
* Video production skills

Learn how to maximize your camera's strengths in just a couple of hours. With this video and a little practice, your video can look and sound exactly as you imagined it.

Whether you shoot with a 1D Mark IV, a 7D, a 5D Mark II, a T2i, or any other Canon DSLR that captures video, understanding the challenges and your options for overcoming them can make all the difference.

Screenshot

mORE iNFO

_http://www.bluecranedigital.com/sgvc.htm

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Tags: Blue Crane, Shoot, Great, Canon, DSLR Camera

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Color Temperature

2010-08-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

Color temperature is measured in 'kelvins' formerly known as 'degrees kelvin'. To get the idea, think of a piece of metal being heated in a fire. First it gives off a reddish glow and, as it gets hotter, the color gets whiter and then, as it really warms up, it starts to give off a bluish glow. In Physics of course, we can't use any old bit of metal for the kelvin scale, we need a 'theoretical black object'. The photographer's color temperature chart is a loose interpretation of the kelvin scale, the numbers are not used in any precise manner.

As photographers all we need to know is that different types of light source emit different colors. 5000 kelvins is what we photographers call white light and is represented by 'average daylight', whatever that is, actually it's fairly obvious if you look at the chart below. We also need to know that household bulbs give off an orange light and a cloudy day will appear blue. Here's a color temperature chart covering typical light sources. In the last column I have put my recommended camera setting for each type of light. As you can see, one setting can cover several steps on the scale.

When we look at objects with our eyes, we perceive white objects as white, and gray objects as gray, no matter what sort of light source we are viewing them by. This is because our brain is making the conversion for us. We 'know' that wall is white so we don't notice that it looks yellow at night (with the room lights on). If you really start to look you can see these color differences to some extent, but they are not as noticeable as they are to the camera.

Modern cameras have 'automatic white balance' so why can't we just leave it all to that? The AWB does do quite a good job but it isn't 100% accurate all the time. So sometimes we need to be able to do a few corrections ourselves