Now that 2009 is almost over, it is a good time to look back at all the products we have tried during the year and see which one stood above the rest.
My first idea was to name a product of the year but I quickly realize that it would not work and I should split the contenders in various categories.
Shoulder rig
While not a rig by it self, the Shape telescopic arm has to be the best stabilization device one can get. With some tinkering, it could be installed on pretty much any rig or even at the bottom of a bare camera. I can foresee similar version of this product to be in the catalog of every manufacturers in 2010.
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In case you are in needs of more memory card (who is not!), Amazon is selling some fast & big CF cards today in their ‘End of Year deal’ section.
The best deals are with the Lexar Pro UDMA 16 GB 300x CF card
Just a quick reminder: HDSLR dont need super fast card to record video, any recent CF card will be fast enough. The added speed is only useful to save time when transferring the data from the card to the computer. Even then, you will need a fast card reader such as the LexarCF FireWire 800 Reader
Amazon also has a nice rebate on the Pelican 1520 Case
I hope you can all spend this day with the people you love and care about.
Vincent Laforet updated his blog with some interesting content last night.
First, he republished the Nocturne film on various video hosting platform and added a behind the scene video (available only on his site). Wish it was longer.
Finally, he teases us with a upcoming announcement of another film contest. To all the people who are sponsoring these contest: you know that it is -25 degree outside? Cant you make these contest during the summer?
Hopefully, submission will not have to be exclusive and contestant will be able to submit their films to more than one contest (the other being Can-do fest). I would hate to have to choose between two contests to submit my film to!
With the increasing visibility given to the 1DMrkIV, you can tell that the Canon marketing department is hard at work in the preparation of the release of their new body.
Also, from what I head, the release date of the 1DMrkIV would be after the Olympics. I bet that it is only when the demand for the IV has stabilized that they are going to release the 5DMrkII firmware update. Just a feeling 
Some people are just luckier than me. The folks at Still Motion put their hands on a 1DMrkIV and had the great idea to make a side by side video comparison with the 5D and 7D. Read their comments here and check out the clip.
UPDATE: SOLD!
While I love this lens, I dont use it enough to justify its presence in my lens box.
I have been playing with Animoto for over a week and think it is something you guys might be interested in.
What is it?
Animoto used to be a slide show creation web application but it has recently added video capabilities. So you can now mix stills, video and music to create a very pro looking video.
Think of it as Motion for dummies.
What sets it apart from other slide show apps?
First, it is web based. This mean you don’t have to install anything and once created, the slides are already available to others (according to your security preferences) and can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Second, the transitions are gorgeous and fit with the music. What ever the number of pictures you sent and the beat of the song you selected, the transitions will always be in tune with the music.
Third, Animoto supplies a bunch of royalty free songs you can use without worrying about being sued.
Finally, if you pick a pro account, you can remove all references to Animoto in the clip/player and make it look like the whole thing was your own creation.
Show it to me!
To demonstrate the application at its most basic, here is a clip made by letting the system run free. I just selected a bunch of pictures from a lingerie fashion show and then picked a song from the library. I did not reorder or adjusted anything other than spotlighting a few of my favorite shots.
WARNING: VIDEO NOT SAFE FOR WORK
This is the “brute” stuff coming out of Animoto. It is always possible to go back and tweak the display order afterward but I was curious to see what would happen if I let the system run wild.
Why you might need it?
Clients (at least in the wedding and portrait business) are now asking/expecting slide shows, often the same day as the shoot. While it is possible to generate one in Lightroom or Aperture, they tend to look more like a PowerPoint presentation than the work of graphic artist.
Using a solution like Animoto creates a very pro looking product in a very short amount of time (pick your selects and song, upload and then then download the high resolution file and you are done!).
How much does it cost?
Animoto prices its service according to the flexibility it gives you. Either you use it for fun or as a pro, the commercial account being the only one I would recommend for any client work since you can remove the Animoto logo and claim the work as your own! Prices are:
- 30$ for the all access pass for a year.
- 99$ for the 3 month commercial (keep reading to make this 4 months) access.
- 250$ for the full year commercial access.
Rebecca, our Animoto friend gave us a coupon code to get an extra month out of any 3 months commercial package purchase if you enter 5dtips on this page or use this link to get the other packages. The promo code is good until December 31.
On the flip side…
While super easy to use, it would be even better if the developers added a LightRoom / Aperture plugin to directly export the pictures to the site at optimal size and also a compressor droplet to downr sample the clips to a reasonable size.
My other suggestion would be a bit more flexibility on the aspect ratio of the video so it would work better in portrait mode. Then again, I guess they would have to redo all their animation/transitions…
In conclusion…
While it is not a tool I would use for every job (I am a control freak when it comes to slides), I think it does an incredible job at quickly creating a pro looking slide show. I did not have the time to test it with video but will very soon.
Unless you have a WFT-E4 or are into long repetitive bulb exposures, this update does not change anything for you. It would have been a nice present from Canon to give us the 24p before the holidays, but I guess they are really going to stick to their schedule of 2010 (probably after the 1DMrkIV is out too).
You can get it here.
From the initial reports, it does not seem to include any undocumented features and compatibility with Magic Lantern has to be confirmed.
Last weekend, I had to opportunity to participate in the production of a small movie entirely shot with a 5D. We had a lot of gear to play around, including a SmallHD DP1 field monitor.
It was my first time shooting with an external monitor and it quickly became a key item on the set. As you can see in the picture below, the camera was installed inside the car and it was near impossible to focus by looking at the LCD. Also, the director had to stay at the back of the car so the monitor was very useful for him to see the actual composition and the actors performance.
As promised, here is the review of the 5D training DVD from F-Stop Academy. A lot of people are interested in getting HDSLR training DVD for Christmas but dont know which one to get. By the end of this review, you should have a better idea of which one is better for your needs. While this video is targeted at the 5DMrkII market, almost all of its content is also valid for other HDSLRs.
I have decided to keep a similar review format to the one I used for my previous review of the 5dFilmschool DVD.
Notice: I reviewed the electronic download version of the training. And, as always, I suggest this format for a better viewing experience.
Pace
The pace of the clip is quite fast. Blasting over 25 chapters in less than 75 minutes could seem scary but it is in fact a very good way to cover everything one has to know to get going with an HDSLR. And if you miss something, there is always the rewind button!
Precise
Each concept is demonstrated with actual footage from the 5D. I really like the example with the Vari ND filter. The only example that I did not find convincing enough was the demonstration of what happen when a high shutter speed is used instead of staying around 1/60 as we already outlined in a past article. I would have expected a side by side comparison with a footage shot at 1/60sec.
Useful content
Philip covers a lot of ground in this training. Actually, he covers pretty much everything you need to know to start shooting your first clips. He starts from the very first step, reviewing all the gear in his bag and shows how/when/why to use each of them.
While most of the content has already been talking about somewhere on the web (or even this site!), the DVD regroup everything in a single content packed DVD. In a bit more than an hour, you will get pretty much every bit of useful content that has been written about and all of this illustrated with nice examples. you might even learn a few tricks! Not a bad deal if you ask me!
Entertaining
Philip is an entertaining guy and shares a few of his recent experiences with us during the training. I was quite surprised to see how easy it has been for him to ‘convince’ his clients to agree to use the 5D instead of a conventional camera. I also like the aesthetic style of the video. While the video is shot with a big Sony video camera, the training is littered with clips from the 5D. These clips are either from past jobs or footage taken while making the DVD content. I am sure they did this on purpose because when you see side by side clips form the 5D and those form the video camera, there are no doubts in your mind about which one you want to use.
Verdict
My wife went to Guatemala to do some humanitarian work and I wish I could have shown her this movie before she left. It would have saved me hours of explanations and I am sure she would have remembered everything.
While I think everyone will find at least one interesting/useful bit of information on this DVD (even I did learn something!), I think the people who will benefit the most from it are those who are either new to HDSLR or dont want/can spend the time to browse the net and learn all of these things. This make this DVD the perfect companion gift to a brand new 5DMrkII for Christmas!
So, should you get this DVD or the other one from 5DFilmSchool (review)? While some of the content overlap between the two products, the F-Stop DVD talks more about how to shoot and get good images (Bloom style) while the 5DFilmShool is more about the various steps required to make a film (with a story/directing line) with high production value.
My advice: get both if you can afford them
Next up: 7D training from F-Stop Academy.
