Well, he should be happy with it. It's not easy to look good on camera. Most of those who are new to it (though I have no idea if he is or not) look like deer caught in the headlights.

I thought he did a great job of looking relaxed and natural. Some people never get there.

My favourite shot was the low shot of him through the feet. Got a chuckle out of it. The seaweed (plants in the stream?) was great, too.

Oh, heck. It was all great...

Phil

Did you figure out why you weren't getting good edge to edge focus? I think you mentioned that this was a problem with both the Brevis and the Letus.

yes the ex1 seems to have very minor spherical aberration at close up zoom, this can be fixed with the right lens in front of the adaptor. Am sure the appropriate guys are working hard at it right now.

But i need to stress it barely shows, you have to really look for it and it really only shows on wider lenses.

yes the ex1 seems to have very minor spherical aberration at close up zoom, this can be fixed with the right lens in front of the adaptor. Am sure the appropriate guys are working hard at it right now.

But i need to stress it barely shows, you have to really look for it and it really only shows on wider lenses.

Hey Phil, do you mind sharing your zoom and focus settings on the EX1 and Letus? Stuff looks great!

yes the ex1 seems to have very minor spherical aberration at close up zoom

Have you checked this out on other cameras? That is, are you sure it's not something unique to your particular camera?

Hey Phil, do you mind sharing your zoom and focus settings on the EX1 and Letus? Stuff looks great!

I'm sure Phil won't mind my butting in here as we have had this very conversation. The answer is, you have to zoom until you lose the fall off on the sides. The reality of my Letus is I'm losing quite a bit of my field of view to eliminate the fall off. A 20mm lens is behaving closer to 26mm.

On the other hand, edge to edge seemed quite good on my set-up.

vince

I have complete another little short called "South Bank"

You can read about what I used to shoot it on my website and of course see it!

Phil, great stuff as always though the music isn't too my taste!;)

Question. The very first shot. How many frames a second, and you are also panning during the shot. How did you accomplish that without it being jerky? Just put extremely soft constant pressure on your fluid head as it moved right?
Thanks
Steve

OMG!
That was absolutely beautiful man!
That's it, I got to get out of this freaking desert!

You've got the magic bro when it comes to shooting this stuff. I see why Sony has looked you up ;) LOL

Reminds me of the film Koyaanisqatsi. I'll second the question about the pan during time lapse. How'd you do that without a motor?

Thanks

The sequence was edited in 720p as most of it was 720p due to overcrank. All the timelapse was 1080p which gave me the ability to zoom into the shot and then pan along in the motion tab in FCP giving the illusion of motion controlled tripod.

Phil

Are you receiving money or favors from Letus in exchange for the link on your blog?

Hi Mark

I have links to both Cinevate and Letus next to each piece of work so people can go to their respective websites.

The Letus one does register that I sent them for that I get a tiny percentage if someone buys something from them. The Cinevate one doesn't.

I don't believe that effects my integrity in the slightest. As I am sure anyone who has emailed me and asked my opinion will attest I have always been honest and recommended what I believe is best for them! The money I get is barely enough to pay for my coffee each day!!

One company did ask me to become a "sponsored shooter" for them, which meant basically just using their products and nothing else and produce nice stuff using them for people to see. I declined even though it meant free stuff for ever. Without impartiality my opinion is worthless here. They agreed and withdrew the offer.

Am desperate for Cinevate to help me out and get my EX1 working better with the flip but not heard a peep in ages, I feel like I do need to redress the balance but until I can produce images perfect enough with it I can't, so Dennis, PLEASE let me know how your fix is coming along?

I big up the EX1 because I love it not because Sony pay me. I wish they would though as apparently people are buying them because of my recommendation, something I find quite astonishing. Although they are paying me for three days to be on their stand at the broadcast exhibition at the end of the month. But, just my normal daily rate.

I will continue to use whatever I like the best at this moment in time. This will constantly change as new equipment comes out, when it does I am sure I will get whatever it is and try it out, if i love it, you will here!!

Phil- I called Cinevate, last week, Hubert said the flips were going out the following week. Let-us see if that happens. The ND really helped my EX footage in the bright sun. I was impressed with the footage. Nice to have a video camera with a DOF. Opens up a whole new world of footage from a video camera.

I got CA and I await the Leopard version of Magic Bullet to fix this.

The SDI out of the EX does not seem to be as sharp as the component out, have you seen this at all? or is is just me?

I will post the newer footage over the next few days @ my blog @
http://web.mac.com/stevecahill/Steve_Cahills_Blog/Blog/Blog.html

I've always thought of that as an HD to SD technique. Just hadn't thought of its as something one could do going from 1080 to 720 (slaps head). Thanks.

It also amazes me you can get shots that would be impossible in New York City. They are very restrictive about where you can bring cameras and even more restrictive if there's a tripod involved.

For example, $10,000,000 liability insurance and over $10,000 to have MTA staff on hand if one shoots in the NYC Subway System according MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority).

Not only do you have a good eye, I am amazed you get the time to set up those shots without being harassed . . . or maybe there's a story behind some of those shots.

Thanks

The sequence was edited in 720p as most of it was 720p due to overcrank. All the timelapse was 1080p which gave me the ability to zoom into the shot and then pan along in the motion tab in FCP giving the illusion of motion controlled tripod.

I do agree that you have become the guy here that when you mention a piece of gear on your blog or here that I open a safari window and google it to see more about it..... you should feel good about you promoting through real life experience and not as a paid shil.... makes me feel better reading it anyways. Mike Curtis of hdforindies.com does a good job of balancing his blog time with earning some coin by linking products he cheers on his amazon page.

so how bout other things your sweet on?

Phil, what coffee do you drink? Right now I'm on the fence between Illy and Lavazza with my lapovoni..... think I'm leaning toward lavazza for my caps.

Shoes? I like the look of Puma suedes but they are a bit flat footed for me and at the end of a day of shooting my feet ache.... so I switched to black NB runners... nice and light and I feel like I'm walking on clouds.... great with the merlin/vest/armex1 combo.

shavers..... I gave up on blades and switched to just rotory but I'm still not happy. I think it might be one of those things that one is never completly satisfies with and just comprimises. kinda like film look plugins...hehe

Dang coffee .... repeat post!

The SDI out of the EX does not seem to be as sharp as the component out, have you seen this at all? or is is just me?
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I'm seeing just the opposite going to my 1920x1080 Dell monitor. We also hooked the EX1 up via SDI to a $5,000 JVC pro monitor. It was nothing short of excellent.

Thanks

The sequence was edited in 720p as most of it was 720p due to overcrank. All the timelapse was 1080p which gave me the ability to zoom into the shot and then pan along in the motion tab in FCP giving the illusion of motion controlled tripod.

This footage is the exact reason I can't wait till we have 4K camera's to shoot with... I'd love to be able to pan and zoom from 4K down to 720...

It'd be like shooting with a meriod of camera's all at the same time....

good job again Phil...

Edit: I haven't tried it out yet but Cineform has on their site a Cineform Prospect product in Beta that will allow the EX footage be encoded into unlimited spatial resolution.... its called
Prospect 4K... this could be an interesting experiment... take 1080 footage, encode to 4K and then pan and zoom on a 720 timeline..

looks like I won't have to wait on 4K camera after all.. :-)

Not only do you have a good eye, I am amazed you get the time to set up those shots without being harassed . . . or maybe there's a story behind some of those shots.A lot of the "south Bank" stuff was shot at Waterloo station concourse.
- Its a complete zoo in rushhour, but it is a fairly big concourse and honestly 99% of people really couldnt care less what you're doing - as they only have (literally) 82seconds before their train home leaves.... all they want is to make it onto their regular train to get home in time for their favourite TV programme..

What you *can't* do though is leave a bag unattended anywhere. that sort of thing is a complete no-no in London and has been for many years and for good reason...

The one piece of South Bank I thought was (perhaps) a little scary for Phil is when the roller-blader did the jump coming straight towards him, and fell, and to me, judging by how OOF it was, it looked like those skates really came pretty close to the camera !! Phil can you comment on how close the guy got to you ?!?!

I got CA and I await the Leopard version of Magic Bullet to fix this.



my magic bullet looks works great on leopard. which magic bullet do you mean?
It also amazes me you can get shots that would be impossible in New York City. They are very restrictive about where you can bring cameras and even more restrictive if there's a tripod involved.

For example, $10,000,000 liability insurance and over $10,000 to have MTA staff on hand if one shoots in the NYC Subway System according MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority).

Not only do you have a good eye, I am amazed you get the time to set up those shots without being harassed . . . or maybe there's a story behind some of those shots.

I go to a spot, set up and look around trying to get certain shots, then I move to another spot. I am pretty quick. it was funny as there was another crew there shooting on DVCPRO HD varicam with a huge entourage for a corporate shoot, then there was little old me with my little camera and tripod!

I do agree that you have become the guy here that when you mention a piece of gear on your blog or here that I open a safari window and google it to see more about it..... you should feel good about you promoting through real life experience and not as a paid shil.... makes me feel better reading it anyways. Mike Curtis of hdforindies.com does a good job of balancing his blog time with earning some coin by linking products he cheers on his amazon page.

so how bout other things your sweet on?

Phil, what coffee do you drink? Right now I'm on the fence between Illy and Lavazza with my lapovoni..... think I'm leaning toward lavazza for my caps.

Shoes? I like the look of Puma suedes but they are a bit flat footed for me and at the end of a day of shooting my feet ache.... so I switched to black NB runners... nice and light and I feel like I'm walking on clouds.... great with the merlin/vest/armex1 combo.

shavers..... I gave up on blades and switched to just rotory but I'm still not happy. I think it might be one of those things that one is never completly satisfies with and just comprimises. kinda like film look plugins...hehe

Am decaf at the moment as I drink too much of the damn stuff!

Shoes, always loved pumas, but have started wearing some adidas y3 trainers. I don't dress like most cameramen in the UK. I don't wear Timberlands!

Shavers when i can bothered (!), gillette mach3 ultimate power or whatever the latest is called. I like wet shaves best

Women, I have always preferred brunettes, but have a soft spot for redheads.

My favourite colour is blue.

A lot of the "south Bank" stuff was shot at Waterloo station concourse.
- Its a complete zoo in rushhour, but it is a fairly big concourse and honestly 99% of people really couldnt care less what you're doing - as they only have (literally) 82seconds before their train home leaves.... all they want is to make it onto their regular train to get home in time for their favourite TV programme..

What you *can't* do though is leave a bag unattended anywhere. that sort of thing is a complete no-no in London and has been for many years and for good reason...

The one piece of South Bank I thought was (perhaps) a little scary for Phil is when the roller-blader did the jump coming straight towards him, and fell, and to me, judging by how OOF it was, it looked like those skates really came pretty close to the camera !! Phil can you comment on how close the guy got to you ?!?!

I wanted proper rush hour but they would not let me come until 10 which was a shame as it was much quieter than I had wanted.

I had a pass around my neck and for about 30 seconds had a chaperone. I was asked by police a lot if I had the pass then I showed them so no problems. If I had my nice 20x HD lens on my f350 I could have got so much better shots of people. But the longest lens I had with me was just a 105mm so I had to be much bolder and in your face than I had wanted. Never a good thing when trying to catch natural reactions.

The Skater landed about 3 foot from me. I had my 85mm Shift Tilt Lens on so it looked closer than it was!

Am decaf at the moment as I drink too much of the damn stuff!

Shoes, always loved pumas, but have started wearing some adidas y3 trainers. I don't dress like most cameramen in the UK. I don't wear Timberlands!

Shavers when i can bothered (!), gillette mach3 ultimate power or whatever the latest is called. I like wet shaves best

Women, I have always preferred brunettes, but have a soft spot for redheads.

My favourite colour is blue.

Decaf? Phil, try the real italian "espresso". Short, hot, strong, but less coffeine than all the other variations. Not to be mistaken with Cafe Americano, Short Black and the likes. Even bought a real espresso machine just to get that quality. No more high blood pressure ever since. There is an Aussie magazine "Crema" that explains all ins and outs...

Shoes? Italian brands like Magli or the Aussie things from RM Williams.
Italian again...

Without impartiality my opinion is worthless here.

Thanks Phil for making that clear. As has been said before, your insights and opinions are much appreciated!

my magic bullet looks works great on leopard. which magic bullet do you mean?


I'm using Magic Bullet on Leopard as well. No problems.

The original Magic Bullet doesn't work on Leopard but Magic Bullet Looks is fine. And a great program as well.

steve did you say you were going to the broadcast forum?

Yes I will be there first thing on the first day.

Your latest film is awesome Phil, I really love the over cranked shots of people walking around the station, although I think I too would be a nervous wreck shooting somewhere like that.

I filmed in a small country town in Norfolk yesterday and even there I got some abuse from a bunch of road sweeping blokes and was very wary of some hooded kids that seemed to be following me. I'm not a small chap, but I was quite glad to get the gear back in the car!

Keep up the good work mate, and I'd still like to do a shoot with you one day if your ever up for it.

Paul.

hey Paul, I lived Bury St. Edmunds from 80 - 86 and still have a scar on my knee from an incident with a moped and a sugar beet near the five-way to Thetford. someday I hope to take the wife and kids back and show them the sites.

hey Paul, I lived Bury St. Edmunds from 80 - 86 and still have a scar on my knee from an incident with a moped and a sugar beet near the five-way to Thetford.

This is the best sentence I have read in 5 years. It's pure poetry and I'm not joking.

vince

Ouch, that sounds painful Christopher, you gotta watch those beets!

Is anyone else going to the broadcast forum? I was planning to go down on one of the days, but not sure which one yet.

come find me on the sony stand!

The original Magic Bullet doesn't work on Leopard but Magic Bullet Looks is fine. And a great program as well.

Right, should've typed the full name, sorry. Magic Bullet Looks is working very well for me on Leopard.

Magic Bullett looks demo version worked but after applying settings they were way off after going back to FCP with the settings, the color was way different then in the looks suite. They are sopose to release a ver for Leopard soon.
Not sure why I was having prolbems.

Your latest film is awesome Phil, I really love the over cranked shots of people walking around the station, although I think I too would be a nervous wreck shooting somewhere like that.

I filmed in a small country town in Norfolk yesterday and even there I got some abuse from a bunch of road sweeping blokes and was very wary of some hooded kids that seemed to be following me. I'm not a small chap, but I was quite glad to get the gear back in the car!

Keep up the good work mate, and I'd still like to do a shoot with you one day if your ever up for it.

Paul.

Paul,

Never show fear!!! If you act like you belong there, people will leave you alone. I once found myself surrounded by a gang of young men in Freetown, Sierra Leone. I played cool and they finally relaxed and let me be. I was scared inside, but never let it show on the outside and you will be o.k.

Daniel Weber

I am going to Videoforum on the opening day so will come and say hello to you Phil.

By the way I just ordered a Letus Extreme through your banner link, so make sure you get the credit for it!

Don't know what the waiting time is for it though!

For Christopher Witzke. As for "seeing the sights of Norfolk, those two phrases don't pop up much! :) I take it you were in the US forces based at Mildenhall? I have been there a few times to watch the speedway.(at Westrow) good day out as well.

I was a teenager over there with my parents... my dad was a tech rep ( CIA ) on the SR-71... and yes, Mildenhall. I got the photography bug from him, although his camera was 110,000 feet up. he passed away 3 years ago... I remember showing him my digital back for my hasselblad and when I mentioned it was 22MP, he chuckled and said "is that all?"

Hope you get it soon Steve. I get a very small percentage for orders trough my banner, but thanks anyway.

See you at the end of the month!

Hope you get it soon Steve. I get a very small percentage for orders trough my banner, but thanks anyway.

See you at the end of the month!

Sure. Just had a thought. I will have a simular setup once the LEX arrives in a few weeks ( EX1, Letus EX, Nikon lenses etc)

If you find yourself in a position where you need to do a two cam shoot, for interviews etc, I could be available for the experience.

cheers thanks

And me,i want some experience.I'm available to shoot anything.

I downloaded the 720 version and the colors are all screwy, like green. Someone must tell me what I have setup wrong in Apple Quicktime.

Another short! This time it is a Landscape Study around Dungeness Nuclear Power Station on the South Coast. Very different to my last short. I just wanted to show having a 35mm film adaptor is more than just shallow DOF.

You can read about it and see it at my blog on my website.

p.s. Charles, no idea what you have done wrong!

Phil, Hi!
Good job as always!
Do you have a little hard time to achieve edge to edge sharpness, some shots seem to be softer on the outside of the frame at the same focal distance, is it a fact, or you do it in post, like vignetting on some shots?

Do you already know your settings say for a 50mm 1.4 lens and just dial it or you still have to look at the monitor?
DO you usually shoot with iris on camera somewhat closed down can it be wide open for least light loss?

Best regards, Oleg.

Hi Oleg

those are using the shift tilt lenses.

I don't use a monitor just the screen. I check focus on both the camera and lens each time I change lenses. The iris changes depending on what light there is or how much shallow DOF i want.

Phil, Footage again looks very good....

Thanks for sharing the same....

ray

Did you solve your quicktime problem?

I have uploaded again ad black and white. Always wanted to see some adaptor footage this way. It suits the bleakness

Hi Phil, Yes.... rebooted both of my workstations and now it all seems to work.... very strange...

I had actually seen the issue yesterday with Steve Cahill's blog site, his site
would actually lock up my systems... but yours was still working so I just thought it was his site... but this morning your blog site would load but with a "plug in " error... who knows what apple is upto... maybe they fixed some issue overnight and I just needed to reboot....

seems OK now....

back to the footage.... wow, the black and white version realy changes the mood... as like " Synister " type mood... very dark....

would be nice if you could download both versions.... :-)

am really pleased with the black and white. First 35mm adaptor stuff I have shot that has ended up black and white.

I will add a link to download the colour one soon!

Ray- any particular page, Mac or PC and what browser are you using? I was updating blog so that could of been issue can you try again.

http://web.mac.com/stevecahill/Steve_Cahills_Blog/Blog/Archive.html