H1 + Letus35XL handheld at DVinfo.net

John Benton · May 10th, 2007, 01:29 PM

I use the Letus35XL and the H1
I love doing handheld, but it is heavy so I use a "steady stick" that supports it from the waist.

I Love Shooting this way!
I find it hard to focus with the stock VF (even with peaking)

Here are 3 scene studies I just shot this way:
http://r-e-e-l.com
See the "FEATURED" clips
I am afraid I lost focus at some critical times, but it's still pretty fun

They are encoded with Flash - which isn't the best but gives better playback cross platform

J

Oleg Kalyan · May 11th, 2007, 12:24 AM

John, just wanted to ask you what kind of lighting you used in production?
It's hard to tell in Flash video.

John Benton · May 11th, 2007, 07:23 AM

Oleg,
Some of these use natural light, supplemented by a small lowel light kit:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Light_Kit.html
...This might be good for weddings because it it's manageable (2 lights & stands fit over your shoulder soft case)

btw: Yeah I don't like the Flash encoding, but what is the best way to encode for the web crossplatform with immediate playback? Think I should do a post in the H1 forum

j o h n b e n t o n
_______________
http://thereelshit.com

Steven Dempsey · May 11th, 2007, 12:22 PM

Nice John. I thought the woman acted very well and natural. I felt like I was witnessing real dialog, not something read from a script.

I like the handheld style. It seemed a little dark in places. In my experience, I have found that the relay lens version of the Letus has a number of limitations, including loss of full focal length of the lenses (for instance, 50mm is more like 85mm) and, compared to the Letus I use with my XHA1, much softer.

Anyway, care to give us more information about what you are doing with this film? I'm assuming it is a film or is it just test scenes?

Also, in the credits page of your Web site, there a lots of typos. I was also expecting to see some brief bios and photos when I clicked on the "Actors" page.

Nothing you don't know already, I'm sure. Thanks for sharing.

John Benton · May 11th, 2007, 12:34 PM

Steven,
Thanks,

I have just thrown this site up for a scene study workshop I do with actors...I have to go in and really look at what I wrote up for statements(and check the spelling--eeek)

The names on the "Actors" page link to their own individual blog pages I made and a few of them have taken advantage of...

The Relay on the Letus is dark, but the original footage looks a lot better -- I dislike the Flash encoder...and yet I want these to play without waiting...

and yes, the Maginification of these lenses on the Letus bothers me, can't get a good wide shot...

Steven, your footage always looks great and doesn't take long to start...how do you encode h246? Mac/PC?

Thanks for the feedback,
Some of the footage still looks sloppy to me, but I have such a good time shooting and working with actors,
John

Steven Dempsey · May 11th, 2007, 12:38 PM

John,

I usually encode for WMV for all of my HD stuff. I downrez to 720 with a bitrate of 10mbps using Vegas but any other NLE should be able to do this.

For the SD stuff I have done in the past, I used Sorenson Squeeze and I think it's the Sorenson codec I'm using for compression, can't remember right at the moment.

I'll go back and check the links on your site. With Flash encoding, it's not always obvious where the links are :)

Andy Lunn · May 17th, 2007, 03:00 PM

seems like the adapter wasnt set up correct to me, images round edges seemed too soft. Check the adapter mate.

May 10th, 2007, 01:29 PM	#1
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	H1 + Letus35XL handheld I use the Letus35XL and the H1 I love doing handheld, but it is heavy so I use a "steady stick" that supports it from the waist. I Love Shooting this way! I find it hard to focus with the stock VF (even with peaking) Here are 3 scene studies I just shot this way: http://r-e-e-l.com See the "FEATURED" clips I am afraid I lost focus at some critical times, but it's still pretty fun They are encoded with Flash - which isn't the best but gives better playback cross platform J Last edited by John Benton; May 10th, 2007 at 03:13 PM.

May 11th, 2007, 12:22 PM	#4
Steven Dempsey Disjecta Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 937	Nice John. I thought the woman acted very well and natural. I felt like I was witnessing real dialog, not something read from a script. I like the handheld style. It seemed a little dark in places. In my experience, I have found that the relay lens version of the Letus has a number of limitations, including loss of full focal length of the lenses (for instance, 50mm is more like 85mm) and, compared to the Letus I use with my XHA1, much softer. Anyway, care to give us more information about what you are doing with this film? I'm assuming it is a film or is it just test scenes? Also, in the credits page of your Web site, there a lots of typos. I was also expecting to see some brief bios and photos when I clicked on the "Actors" page. Nothing you don't know already, I'm sure. Thanks for sharing. __________________ Try my Digital Therapy: http://www.pinelakefilms.com/digital_therapy.html Films on ExposureRoom: http://exposureroom.com/members/disjecta.aspx/videos/

May 11th, 2007, 12:38 PM	#6
Steven Dempsey Disjecta Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Seattle, Washington Posts: 937	John, I usually encode for WMV for all of my HD stuff. I downrez to 720 with a bitrate of 10mbps using Vegas but any other NLE should be able to do this. For the SD stuff I have done in the past, I used Sorenson Squeeze and I think it's the Sorenson codec I'm using for compression, can't remember right at the moment. I'll go back and check the links on your site. With Flash encoding, it's not always obvious where the links are :) __________________ Try my Digital Therapy: http://www.pinelakefilms.com/digital_therapy.html Films on ExposureRoom: http://exposureroom.com/members/disjecta.aspx/videos/

May 11th, 2007, 12:24 AM	#2
Oleg Kalyan Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: MOSCOW Posts: 860	John, just wanted to ask you what kind of lighting you used in production? It's hard to tell in Flash video.

May 11th, 2007, 07:23 AM	#3
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	Oleg, Some of these use natural light, supplemented by a small lowel light kit: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Light_Kit.html ...This might be good for weddings because it it's manageable (2 lights & stands fit over your shoulder soft case) btw: Yeah I don't like the Flash encoding, but what is the best way to encode for the web crossplatform with immediate playback? Think I should do a post in the H1 forum j o h n b e n t o n _______________ http://thereelshit.com

May 11th, 2007, 12:34 PM	#5
John Benton Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: NYC Posts: 658	Steven, Thanks, I have just thrown this site up for a scene study workshop I do with actors...I have to go in and really look at what I wrote up for statements(and check the spelling--eeek) The names on the "Actors" page link to their own individual blog pages I made and a few of them have taken advantage of... The Relay on the Letus is dark, but the original footage looks a lot better -- I dislike the Flash encoder...and yet I want these to play without waiting... and yes, the Maginification of these lenses on the Letus bothers me, can't get a good wide shot... Steven, your footage always looks great and doesn't take long to start...how do you encode h246? Mac/PC? Thanks for the feedback, Some of the footage still looks sloppy to me, but I have such a good time shooting and working with actors, John

May 17th, 2007, 03:00 PM	#7
Andy Lunn Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Leeds UK Posts: 94	seems like the adapter wasnt set up correct to me, images round edges seemed too soft. Check the adapter mate.