Please critique this Letus35FE image
 

I like this image, but I'd like some constructive criticism. Thoughts? How can I improve on this?

Shot with Letus35FE, 50mm Canon 1.4 prime, FX1, and a single soft light about 6 feet away. CC with Nattress Basic Warm. Most of the frames were way softer than this, since the DOF turned out to be much too shallow. Maybe next time I won't use a 50mm?

Please be cruel!

* A touch too much contrast - parts of her face seem a little hot.
* Slight chromatic aberration (red outline).
* Bokeh isn't ideal - half-faded spheres.

Wow, interesting. I had noticed that some of the highlights are blown out, but I hadn't caught the red outline. This is exactly the sort of thing I was looking for, thanks.

I thought the image looks pretty good. It is nice and sharp and the Bokeh is decent. Good job. I couldn't really see the red fringing though...

For such a close up, you don't need a Letus, just zoom in with your camera.

David- thanks for the good review! I'm still trying to get the hang of this.
Giovanni- that's a good point. If I had just zoomed in, without the Letus, it would have been easier to keep the subject in focus. However, I do like the extremely shallow focal plane that you can achieve with the Letus. It's difficult to manage, though!

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm wondering if that is actually CA and not a silouhette produced by a backlight of some sort.

While you might be able to achieve a similar DOF without the Letus I think in a production you either use it or not. I like this shot. I have to look closely to see the red fringing and I promise that 99.9% of viewers will never see the chromatic abberations that we all obsess about. We are fortunate to be in the business of moving images which means that context is everything. While it is important to think of our craft photographically, there is so much context involved in the stories of our movies that really make what we do work.

I like the image you posted. I think its cool and contrasty and in the right context I am sure it is perfect. I am sure in another context it might be completely inappropriate.

I'm with Ben on this. I think only gearheads would notice.

It's definitely CA... look at the crease between the woman's left nostril and her cheek.

Thanks everybody. Now I just have to figure out how to get more of my frames to be this sharp. The DOF for this shoot was ridiculously, almost impossibly shallow (I used a 50mm Canon prime). Any suggestions for getting a somewhat more manageable DOF? I guess I could just use a shorter lens with my Letus? What would you guys do?

I'm not convinced there is any noticeable CA in that image. That red outline appears just to be the falloff of a shadow and it is the same shade as her skin (which also appears quite reddish). Also, it seems unlikely considering it is at the center of the frame and there is no noticeable CA toward the edges...

if the scene allows for it you might want to stop down... 50mm@1.4 might be overkill. stopping down just a little could potentially give you better bokeh, less chromatic abberation (if there is any to begin with :P ) and/or a sharper image, not to mention help you keep more than just noses in focus.

the saturation might be a bit much, other than that seems like a nice shot.

stopping down slightly will lengthen your DoF slightly too...making the focus more manageable :)

Looks like it's overexposed too...stopping down would help with that.

I kinda like the overexposure on that pic :)

If you've got a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8 lens, try stopping it down to 2.8. That will not only put it in the "sweet spot" optically, but also give you a more manageable DOF. I like your shot and I disagree that you can get a similar shot just by zooming in. The HV20 gives a, IMHO, really weird, someone mechanical looking bokeh. More like a prism than a nice soft focus.