Adorama Flashpoint Matte Box Pro Review

This week I am reviewing the Matte Box Pro from Adorama's Flashpoint product line. I was looking for a better matte box because my existing matte box was a little hard to adjust in the field. I ran across the Matte Box Pro from Adorama and was given a chance to try it out on a field test. Check out the review to learn more.







Here is a link to the Matte Box Pro.


Thanks for stopping by,

Mark

New Sony FS700 4K Video Camera

This is a quick post this week. I love video and have been producing video content using my DSLRs for several years now. It has gotten to the point where I know I would appreciate having the features of a true video camera. In that vain I have fallen in love with the Sony FS100. Being so close to NAB this year I decided to hold off on purchasing the FS100 to see if any thing new would come out of Sony and it has. The new FS700 has just been officially announced in Europe. Here is a link to the Sony's European web site:

http://www.sony.co.uk/biz/product/nxcamcorders/nex-fs700e/features


Cheers!!

DIY Manfrotto Video Head Accessory Adapter (SmallHD DP4 Mount)

This week on Your Video Tips we discuss how to make a very simple adapter to allow the use of standard 4-20 threaded video accessories with the metric threaded mount common to Manfrotto video heads. Normally this metric location is used to mount the Pan Tilt handle. If you're like me you may have always thought it would be nice to be able to attach either a light, microphone, or monitor to that mounting point.


In this video I show you how easy it is to make a simple adapter that is very strong and allows you to mount any standard accessory to the side of your Manfrotto video head. In this video I am using the Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod which is a great tool for producing stable video at events such as weddings where floor space is a premium and a monopod can give you the little extra bit of stability.

For this project you will need a 4-20 coupler and a metric M6 1.0 threaded bolt. I used a stainless steel bolt to negate the need to use a threader to get the metric bolt into the 4-20 coupler.

Have fun with all the new options you have for a compact mounting solution on your next gig.

Cheers

Mark

THE ARMORY SOUTH PORTLAND MAINE

This morning I met with Eric Anderson, well known local special effects artist, and spent some time walking around the Armory located in South Portland Maine. The Armory served as a national guard outpost for many years. Once it was abandoned it eventually made is way back into the hands of the town of South Portland.

Seeking a creative use for the space the town council has been working with Hollywood veteran production designer and art director Eric Matheson who has worked on such films as Empire Falls, The Cider House Rules, and Amistad to name only a few.

Mr. Matheson is leading the Fore River Sound Stage company and is spearheading the efforts to renovate the aging armory and configure it to become a focal point for film production here in the state of Maine and New England. Clearly there is work to be done but given the natural beauty of our state and depth of talent that can be found here and through out New England it seems only fitting that there should be more opportunities for major film production here in Maine. If you agree please feel free to contact your congressman and ask the hard questions on state initiatives and incentives for the film industry. Who knows perhaps someday a film about Maine will actually be able to be filmed here as well.

A big thanks to Eric Matheson and Eric Anderson for letting me spend some time in this remarkable space.

SmallHD DP4 Firmware Version 1.2 Focus Assist +

This week on Your Video Tips we look at the new firmware update for the SmallHD DP4 monitor. The new firmware version 1.2 for the DP4 adds an update to the Focus Assist function that in my opinion truly makes it a powerful tool.

If you have had the SmallHD DP4 for while now you are probably aware that the Focus Assist function in firmware version 1.1 would highlight the edges of things that were in focus but it also dramatically darkened the frame such that maintaining your composition may have become a challenge. In version1.2 the new Focus Assist + eliminates the darkened frame and gives you a very contrasty image with focus edges that pop off the screen.

I think you'll see from the video example here that you can stop using just peaking and start using Focus Assist + which for us older shooters is a real plus.



I have found one issue that may be problematic depending on how you use your DP4. The 1:1 mapping function has been fixed to allow you to use custom scaling options without losing the scaling data. However when you invoke the 1:1 mode and re-position the 1;1 window this information is lost each time you leave the 1:1 mode. In short if you use 1:1 to punch in on the talents eyes and did this by positioning the window next time you punch in the window will be back at its default location and you'l need to re-position it again and again. Not good.

Small issue aside the use of 1:1 could become a less used feature when you see the new power of the Focus Assist + function.

Thanks for stopping by,

Mark

Shallow DOF on the GH2

With HDSLRs the talk is all about shallow depth of field and of course the ruling champion in that regard is the Canon 5D MKII, but that’s not to say you can’t get some pretty decent shallow DOF looks from some of the other popular HDSLR cameras on the market. One such camera is the Panasonic GH2. Using the Micro 4/3 sensor size, the GH2 has a sensor that is about 9 times larger than the average sensor in your common HD video camera including many professional HD camcorders. This larger sensor size, aside from improved image quality and low light capabilities, allows us to get the coveted shallow DOF look.

Like I said the Canon 5D MKII with its full frame 35mm sensor is the king of shallow DOF but don’t think for a moment that cameras like the GH2 can’t achieve a really nice DOF or Bokeh look. If you combine the techniques that have been used for years by shooters using 1/3 or 1/2.5″ sensor you can get a very shallow DOF effect that will isolate your subject in the frame and draw the viewers eye. Here is a small short done using the Panasonic GH2 and the Canon 50mm FD lens for the shallow DOF shots. There are a couple of DOF shots at the start and one in the middle.

DEMONSTRATION OF THE TECHNICOLOR CINESTYLE SETTINGS FOR CANON CAMERAS

I use my Canon DSLRs to capture both stills and video. As a still camera you always have the option of capturing you photos in the RAW form which gives you a tremendous amount of data to work with when manipulating the image. In video mode however the camera must do everything it can to reduce the amount of data it is generating in order to get as much video onto the limited space of a memory card. I know, it’s kinda hard to think of a 16 Gig or 32 gig memory card as limited but when it comes to video they are just that. With this in mind the camera does what it can to fit the video image into a small 8 bit color space. In the process of doing this a lot of information can be lost from the video image. This lost data can make it very hard to “grade” film term, for adjusting the look. So the good folks at Technicolor developed a better picture style for the Canon cameras which gets much more visual data into the video than would normally be possible. This extra data makes editing and coloring the video much easier. Here is a video I made to demonstrate how much additional data is captured when using the CineStyle profile. When you watch this you will find yourself saying “I like the look of the Standard profile best” and that’s fine but this is what you might want as an end result after you edit, not what comes right out of the camera. Here is the demonstration:

The CineStyle profile can be found here at the Technicolor web site, CineStyle Profile for Canon Cameras .