Guest post by Jeremy…
Video stabilization is a great tool for tweaking and smoothing video that was shot with out (or even with) the use of some sort of rigging to keep the vibrations at a low rate. I use Final Cut Pro to edit my video, and have always been impressed with the results of the default Smoothcam filter/effect. I was asked by Alain to do a review on CoreMelt Lock and Load X and give my honest opinion.
I ran the video through 2 different tests, the first was a simple pan that was shot without the use of my tripod. The footage was about equal on both parties results. I was impressed with Lock & Loads X (LLX) speed. It took Final Cut Pro over 2 minutes to analyze the footage, while LLX analyzed it in under 15 seconds, with a render of about 20 more seconds. The final end product were about the same. I left everything on the default settings for this run and was impressed with the results.
For the second footage, I decided to test a moving object, an old spinning mill wheel at a local resort. FCP’s Smoothcam took over 5 minutes to analyze the footage, while LLX took only 45 seconds with a render time of 30 seconds after that. These results were not as cut and dry.
The Smoothcam render has a noticeable wave coming from the right side of the screen, at the base of the mill. If your looking at it, the footage seems like it is spinning. I know this is due to the fact of how Smoothcam processes the data.
LLX’s footage was a bit rough around the edges, I had to go in and play with the settings to get a decent shot. I actually ran the footage through two different ways, one in the “lockdown” stabilization mode, the other in the “smooth single shot” option. I was not as impressed with the footage. I did some tweaking on the “lockdown” mode to get it as smooth as possible. I admit, I could be doing something wrong, but compared to the “smooth single shot” the footage was better. The “smooth single shot” mode is the default setting when you start LLX to process the footage, and what I have noticed on the video I shot (along with the video on the demo real on Coremelt’s website) is that when using this method, the stabilized video becomes wavy, almost like your video was being projected onto a white screen blowing in the wind. With the hints of movement, it can make your audience feel seasick. I am going to continue using the trial and if I come across findings that alter my judgement, I will post them below.
Pros
It’s fast, and non intrusive to the editing process. The whole process is very easy and the support from CoreMelt’s website walks you through step by step with great explanations on the science that goes on behind the scenes. Coremelt’s plug ins have a reign of success because they are efficient at what they do. For panning shots, I encourage you to try the LLX plugin.
Cons
I was not impressed with the really shaky footage. The warping effect would deter me from using this plugin on anything more than panning shots. Any action shot I ran through the process was playing too many tricks on my eyes. Even though I got the same experience with the Smoothcam filter, I was more impressed with the footage for shots like this. Even on the footage they have on their website’s demo reel, the you can see there are issues with the periodic wave of pixels going in and out.
Result
As stated before, panning shots are awesome and LLX is a time saver. Is it worth the $150 price tag… not in my opinion. Even the time ratio equation doesn’t work for me. Since Smoothcam can work in the background, it isn’t so intrusive I would consider buying a program to help, I would invest it in better stabilizing gear to get the proper shot in the first place. I am not badmouthing CoreMelt’s programs, they have other great plugins you should try for yourself.
I just saw on Planet5D a Red Rock Micro product announcement: the Nano rigs. Basically, these are small HDSLR rigs similar to the Zacuto Striker line but cheaper.
—Disclaimer—
I haven’t tested these rigs yet. Actually, knowning RRM order policy, it could take months before I do. They build everything in JIT mode (just in time) which basically means that once you place an order, it could take a while to get it. Here it is, directly from their web site:
Build to order
All products are product on a build-to-order process. You place your order and pay in advance, and we put your order into the production process and ship it to you when it is ready. This process allows us to minimize inventory costs, and helps us to provide the low prices to you without sacrificing quality.
I don’t know if things have changed, but I know some visitors contacted me last year telling me they had to wait weeks before getting their gear (many had to cancel their orders and moved to the Z store).
—End disclaimer—
So, let’s take a quick look at these rigs.
The LowDown
WTF? Do you really think I am going to trust a camera hot shoe to hold my HDSLR? Unless you are using one of the smallest HDSLRs, I would totally advice against this rig and even Canon says (somewhere that I can’t find for the sake of Google) that you should never hold your camera from the hot shoe! Have they tried it with a 5DMrkII + 16-35L?.
Also, from a usability point of view, I really wonder if they ever tested the rig outside of a studio photoshoot. The position of the handle is totally wrong! With the camera weight all in front of the handle, a lot of pressure is put on the wrist to keep the camera straight instead of pointing down. A few minute of this and your wrist is either tired or injured. Look at this model, does she look relaxed?
GripIt
The product description says:
The Grippit is a simple economical way to create added stability in a minimalist rig. A sturdy rubberized grip combined with the nano DSLR baseplate keeps hands off the camera and results in smoother video.
Do they test their products or what? How can handling your HDSLR in one hand increase stability? Don’t they know basic math: the further a point is from its center of rotation, the less stable it is. This rig put the axis of rotation about 6 inches off the camera. How could this be more stable than just holding the camera in your hand?
The only use I can find for this rig is for very small HDSLR that are actually lighter than the GripIt so it adds from weight to it.
Running Man
This one is actually ok. It looks like a simplified version of the Zacuto Striker with less adjustment knobs. I will have to wait until I get better pictures of the rig to comment.
Conclusion
You may think I don’t like RRM and you are right. My experience so far with their products has been very bad. The HDSLR revolution started two years ago and this product line does not offer anything new from a design perspective. To me, it looks more like a marketing push to increase sales than anything else. Come on! These are not real new products, these are just new packaging of already existing parts.
There is a reason why I don’t put RRM ads on my site, and I don’t think this article is going to help! If you see any bloggers excited about this announcement, you can bet they are building a relationship with RRM.
This part 2 of Jon Lightroom 3 review. You can see the introduction in is first post and the second part here.
ACR 6.1
The newest incarnation of Lightroom uses the new Adobe Camera Raw 6.1 for it’s RAW conversion. Since this is a review of Lightroom and not ACR, I’m not going to get into the nuances of the newest ACR suffice to say that overall it appears to be an improvement over previous versions. One of the first things new users will notice is an exclamation point icon on the bottom of some images. This message is that LR wants to apply the new ACR default settings to the image. Upon allowing the update, you will notice a slight change in the handling of shadows, color rendition and a few other areas and overall, it looks good. If you’re someone who prefers the camera manufacturers software for RAW conversion, you’re probably still going to prefer those. The color rendition, quality of detail and overall fidelity provided in those programs (Canon Photo Professional, can’t speak for NX2) still has an edge over Adobe’s CR. This should be expected, given that ACR accommodates almost all types of RAW images and therefore isn’t quite as specialized as those from the Camera makers. That said, for those who do prefer ACR for it’s convenience and options will be very pleased with the new engine overall.
The only downside to the new engine is that you need to have ACR 6.1 running on your system, meaning you need to be running Photoshop CS5. If not, than you will need to render RAW images in LR before opening in Photoshop, which means an extra TIF (if that’s your selected preference for external editing) on your drive and more time spent waiting for an editable-image to be created before being re-opened. Of course, LR offers the option of “open anyway” rather then “render using Lightroom” but the results are inconsistent and frankly a bit unreliable for accurate rendition and conversion. So, if you’re not running CS5 be prepared for a little extra leg work to reap the full benefits of Lightroom3’s develop Module.
Noise Reduction Improvement
Adobe is pushing heavily the improved performance of Noise Reduction in LR3, which is no surprise since Noise Reduction is an item of large interest for photographers given the “Noise Wars” being waged between the camera manufacturers to push the high-iso-noise-performance envelop further and further. So the question is, how good is LR’s new noise reduction? The short answer is very good, in fact certainly better than previous versions of Lightroom and Photoshop. Luminance and color noise are handled nicely with details staying largely intact (compared to previous versions) and realistic. To get a sense of the improvement, I’ve set up the comparison below between LR3 and LR2, Aperture3 and noise Photoshop plugins Nik Dfine and Imageonic Noiseware. I’ll be posting the results soon.
Lens Correction Tool
Another crucial addition to the develop module is the inclusion of the Lens Correction tool. The LC too is taken directly from Photoshop, with all of the same parameters with the exception of scale and edge transparency (I would not recommend using the LC tool for scaling anyway). In addition to the default Photoshop parameters, Lightroom has raised the bar by including it’s own camera/lens profiles- similar to DXO software. These profiles, when applied, automatically correct a the image based on the lens and camera preset detected by LR. This is an excellent feature, and works well for most images. I would, as a recommendation use the automatic profiles as a starting point, as different images shot in varying situations will certainly require different levels of correction. Another great feature is the ability to batch lens correct, as the lens correct option has been added to the list of options when syncing develop settings across a number of photographs. Overall, the LC tool is yet another vital work flow time saver especially when trying to stay solely in Lightroom for image editing.
As some of you may remember, a few weeks ago I discussed the backup strategy/workflow outlined by Chase Jarvis and promised a tutorial on how to use GIT to add versioning & multi computer sync to your workflow.
While I havent completed the GIT tutorial yet, I decided to git a shot to Dropbox to take care of the multi-syncing across computers and off site backup. So far, it is working very well.
As noted in the initial post, I am not using these versioning/backup solutions to store the RAW stills/original H.264 files but only to store the XML and project files which are much smaller.
While I find the GIT workflow more flexible and faster, Dropbox is a nice alternative to anyone who does not want to learn a new command line tool.
This time, Jemery is looking for a cheaper alternative to the ‘official’ Manfrotto tripod.
One misconception that rookies might have is thinking that their old tripod will work just fine for shooting videos with an HDSLR… please don’t make the same mistake I did. If you are going to get serious about shooting video, there are things you will have to purchase in addition to your camera. A follow focus is a must for video, along with a slider of some sort. I had been shooting with a very dependable Targus tripod, just a run of the mill light weight – take it anywhere system… it took only a few shoots to look like an fool thinking that I would be alright with what I had.
Being budget conscious I scoured local stores first, then Amazon for a tripod that would fit my budget (needed to stay under $200) and provide stability along with a fluid head. I purchased the Ravelli AVTP Professional 75mm Tripod
I give this tripod a solid 5 stars. It is an inexpensive alternative to a higher and more pricey system and will serve its purpose well. Even with the dolly you can get shots that work well.
Pros
Inexpensive, solid and sturdy. Allows for little vibrations while shooting. I don’t mid that it is heavy, it can hold 20 pounds of weight effortlessly and that is worth it’s bulkiness to me.
Cons
Stiff while panning. It takes a few tries to get the muscles in your body to remember the tension. There are screws that you can adjust to make panning easier, but if you mess up you can ruin the panning entirely. Not willing to take that chance – not yet at least.
Now the Admin take on this
As stated by Jeremy, there is a big difference between still and video tripods and trying to work with the wrong kind of support system is asking for troubles. I have shot with a vast array of tripods and while the Manfrotto 525MVB
A bowl allows you to setup the tripod first, then make it level with the ground instead of having to adjust each leg separately until the whole thing is level. This is a major time saver and well worth the extra money.
There are a few other things to look for but I will keep these for a later post.
Moral of the story? While heavy, the Ravelli is a very affordable entry level video tripod with some pro features. Of course, you can’t expect it to perform as its 1000$ Italian cousin, but at a fraction of the price, it is hard to go wrong with this tool.
This part 2 of Jon Lightroom 3 review. You can see the introduction in is first post.
Import Dialog
One of the first things you’ll notice about LR3 is the new import Dialog, which is largely different than previous versions. The simple dialog box of old is gone and replaced with a full screen window complete with a large preview area. The preview area is the most significant improvement- you can now preview images and video before importing and can un-check any you don’t want to ingest- a nice feature (and overdue!). However, in exchange for a more sophisticate import dialog we are also given a slightly more complex interface, with essential source and destination information on opposite sides of the screen. This can make a normally simple task of simply importing, renaming, and adding metadata, cataloging and backing up a little more tedious. It also doesn’t help that they’ve now included a few seemingly unimportant options for these tasks, for example the rename images by shoot in addition to custom name. In other words, LR3 will add the words “shoot_whateveryouwant-1”. It would be just as easy to do this with a custom name, and with this option they’ve just made the list unnecessarily longer. Another annoyance of the new import dialog is that you will get it when importing ANY new images, even simply updating a folder. This essentially creates an extra step in the workflow, i.e. importing tiffs or psd back into LR after they’ve been processed in Photoshop. For photogs who require speed and consistency and are used the efficiency of previous versions of Lightroom in this regard may be surprised when they find themselves being slowed up by these little nuances of the new import dialog.
Read the rest of this entry »
This post is from our other contributor, Jon. Jon is a pro photographer with a lot of experience who will be covering the HDSLR movement from a pro perspective. Go take a look at his portfolio, some great rock climbing shots there!
Since Adobe created Lightroom 4 years ago the software has changed the way photographers work in such a profound way that many have wondered if this little gem might just someday replace the need for Photoshop all together- for most photography needs anyway. Anyone who has used Lightroom extensively as the de-facto front line in their digital workflow can attest to the power of the program as not only an essential digital asset management tool, but also as a potent developing and publishing tool.
With the release of LR3, the gap between what is necessary in Photoshop for photographers and what is achievable in Lightroom has once again shrunken. Why do I mention that? Well, in the past Lightroom has been most valuable as a digital asset management (DAM) tool- importing, renaming, adding /editing meta data, organizing, cataloging etc have all been staples of the program since it’s introduction, along with the added benefit of being able to publish images to web galleries, contact sheets, print, or various resizing options. But LR has come a long way since it’s inception and with each new incarnation it’s become more and more relevant as a developing tool as well. While it has not yet replaced Photoshop for the really heavy lifting in digital imaging, for many photographers it may well be a one stop solution for the majority of their work.
The focus of this review will be to cover the most significant new features in LR3 that I will break down by module over the new few posts. In the meantime, here’s a quick overview of the new features. Be sure to stay tuned for a more in depth analysis of each in the subsequent posts.
So what’s new in LR3?
Accelerated Performance via new 64-bit software engine
Adobe claims that the new version has accelerated performance over previous versions, which we can assume comes in large part from the new 64-bit engine. In case you’re unfamiliar with 64-bit, in short it allows for better leveraging of your systems RAM and therefore potentially increases performance. However, to reap that 64-bit lovin’ you’ll need to be running an operating system that supports 64 bit – Mac Snow Leopard or Windows 7. More on this to come..
Support for Video Files
The key word left out here is “limited”, as the support for video does not extend beyond the Library Module, meaning you can import and achieve general cataloging and organizing tasks but that’s about it. However, we’ll be exploring some of the possibilities with this new feature that may surprise you.
Camera Raw 5.7 Processing
LR uses the newest Adobe Camera Raw engine, which is a much improved and powerful RAW converter found in Photoshop CS5. However, if you’re not using CS5 (and therefore ACR 5.7) you’ll have to jump through a couple extra hoops to gain the benefits, which I’ll be covering.
Noise Reduction performance
In short it’s excellent, far better than anything we’ve seen from Adobe to date. I’ll be covering this individually since it’s sure to be a topic of interest for most photographers. I’ll be showing side-by-side comparisons with previous versions, as well as comparisons to other NR software like NIK Dfine and Imagenonic’s Noiseware Pro. Should be interesting.
Improved Watermarking
Perhaps one of the biggest improvements over previous versions is the improved watermarking feature, which is such a vast upgrade from the horrendously limited version that it alone could be worth the upgrade. Forget having to create a droplet in Photoshop and batch export in LR in order to have a custom watermark. LR3’s new engine has full support for custom watermarks and more flexibility for creating a simple text based watermark.
New Import Dialog
A nice upgrade to the import dialog, overall it’s more of an aesthetic change than a complete revamp. Of course, previous versions were great and for those used to the simplicity and speed of past versions it may take some time to grow on you… I’ll explain why in upcoming posts.
Lens Correction Tool
Finally! One of the most useful and essential upgrades in the new software is the all mighty lens correction tool, taken directly from Photoshop. For those of you familiar with this tool it is an absolutely essential tool and a welcome addition. Not only does LR now include the tool but also has built in camera /lens profiles (similar to DXO optics) for precise and automated lens correction.
Tethered Shooting
Another welcome feature, the new tethered shooting option eliminates the need for the camera manufacturer’s propitiatory capture software getting in the middle of shooting tethered and importing to Lightroom. Is it as effective as Nikon Capture or Canons Digital Photo Pro? I’ll let you know when we get to the Library section of the review.
There are a few other less significant new features I’ll be covering that are not game changing per se but still nice features for some folks. These include the ability to add film grain, improved slideshow capabilities (including exporting slideshows to mp4 and support for audio), new publishing options, and some new print options, among others.
I’ll also be breaking down what WASN’T included in the new update, and what we can /should expect from Adobe in the future with Lightroom.
My trip to Iceland was my first serious photo trip. And, since baby girl is coming soon, it will probably be the last one for a while too! Anyways, I seriously geared up for this trip and brought with me every single gadget I could think of.
The first of these gadget I want to talk you about is the Columbus V-900 geo tagger. I may have bitched a bit (ehh.. a lot) about Aperture 3, but one of its coolest feature is the addition of Places. While I could complain for a while about the way it was implemented (like the requirement to be connected to the internet), it is still a great tool for the travel photographer.
I am sure some of you are thinking “Why use a separate device? The iPhone can do the job!”. True, but having a separate gps has a few benefits:
- it has better reception / precision
- much longer battery life
- smaller
- more robust
- always in tracking mode
I am sure the iPhone can handle the requirements of most people, but if you are not comfortable having your iPhone hanging from the back of your bag while in the rain, please keep reading…
The device
As you can see on the picture below, it is much smaller than a GPS or iPhone. This is a nice thing when you think that you will have to carry it with you all the time. Also, its simplistic design ensure that you don’t accidentally turn it on/off. While it is not water resistant, I have found that putting it in a ziploc bag does’nt affect performance while keeping it safe.
The front panel of the device has a single button and 3 status LEDs. While the device captures your location every few seconds, you can also click on the button when you are at a special place to make it easier to identify the location afterward. This is a feature I should have used more during my trip to set some reference points to ease the photo-GPS associations.
The features
The geotagger comes with a lot of features but I have to admit that I restricted myself to the bare minimum: geo tracking. For examples, the Columbus can beep when you exceed a predetermined speed, record voice messages or be connected via Bluetooth to your computer to acts as a GPS.
In my case, I received the unit only a few days before my trip and read the instructions while on the plane. Not wanting to jeopardize my logging, I stayed away from all these features.
Once the trip is captured, you have to transfer it to the computer. I dont understand why but the computer will not recognize the card while it is plugged in the V-900, you have to use a separate card reader. It is not so much of a problem but still, it means you have to carry one more peace of hardware in your bag. It is also worth noting that the USB cable used to charge the device cannot be used to plug an external HD to your computer. I discovered this the hard way. So, if you plan to carry a single USB cable for both your Columbus and External HD, you better use the HD cable for both.
Now that your log files are on your computer, you have to convert to a format that is readable by your favorite application. In my case, I had to convert them to the gpx format for Aperture. The task is done using the free application provided by the manufacturer. IMPORTANT NOTE: the version that comes in the box does not export to gpx, you have to get the latest version (free on the manufacturer website).
Conclusion
My overall impression of the device is positive. While it is not the cheapest of the bunch, its high precision and long battery life make it stand out from the rest. I would advice it to every travel photographer or location scouts. There are some hurdles, like the cheap USB cable, but nothing to worry about.
Amazon does not sale this device but offers instead the VGPS-900
For those still waiting for the story about my trip, here is a teaser of the locations we shot at. FYI, my plane landed in Akurery and we drove around the island clockwise.
Edit: I have had two visitors pointing me toward the Amod AGL3080 GPS Data Logger
Disclaimer: Light Craft Workshop is now a sponsor of Canon5dTips.com. If you read the sponsorship page, you know that I only agree to promote products that I actually use and love. So if it wasn’t good, I would not recommend you to buy one, as my painful Pocket Wizard TTL experience proved.
If you don’t know what a ND filter is or why you need one, take a look at this post on the subject (coming soon).
From the readers is a new category of articles I am working on. As a blogger, I get daily emails about what gear one should buy or how to do X thing. Since the answer to these questions is generally of public interest, I have decided to turn them into articles. If you have any questions you would like answered, feel free to contact me.
Of all the lenses related question touching the 5DmrkII, one that keeps coming up is What should I do with the kit 24-105L4IS? I receive questions about this lens at least once a week and it is a popular topic in forums as well. While I cant provide a straight answer that will hold true for all readers, I think I can give you some interesting pointers.
First, lets see why people have this lens in the first place. Most of the time, it is because it is a popular kit lens. After doing some maths, a lot of prospective buyers saw that if they bought the 5DMrkII kit and sold the lens, they could save some money over the body only box. Proud of their calculation, these fine accountants rush to the store and get the kit then realize how hard it is to sell the 20-104L4IS at their expected price.
Why? Supply and demand. While the 24-105LIS is a great lens (more on this later), too many people did the 5D kit thing and now want to sell theirs too, pushing the price down. While this lens used to worth about the same as the 24-70L, it is now advertised on Craigslist at around 900$ or lower.
But, why people want to sell the lens? Is there something wrong with it? Is there something better for the price? Actually, for its price, the 24-105LIS is an incredible lens. While the f4 aperture might be a bit small for photography work, it is perfect for video. The image quality is very good for still and even better for video and the huge zoom range means that it is a great do it all lens. Add IS to the list and you get a very decent lens for photo and near perfect for all around video. I have shot a few clips with a 24-105 hand held and it worked way better than I expected thanks to its IS. If you dont remember how useful IS can be for video, check this old clip.
So, if it is so great, why so many for sale? From my personal experience, I can see three reasons:
- As mentioned above, they think they can turn a quick profit.
- They realize (a bit too late) they need a wider aperture lens for their shooting style.
- They follow the herd and forum trolls without even giving the lens a real try.
Last night, I was discussing with a few other cinephotographers about how people (mostly converted photographers) want to shoot video wide open while they would get much better results by using a small aperture. Unless your storytelling requires strong subject isolation, an aperture of f4-5.6 is fine for most CU and medium shots.
Let say that you really need a lens with wider aperture. What could one get for selling the lens? While the choice is quite easy for most photographer, since they will pull some more cash out of their wallet and go with the 24-70L2.8, for videographers there are a lot of other options. A popular choice is to go with a Canon 50mm f1.4
What ever you do, make sure you dont overlap the focal range and that you are getting at least two stops of light in exchange. Also think about the complication involved in a multi-lens kit. Switching lens in the middle of a shoot is not practical, even more so when shooting in a dusty environment.
I just finished reading this post and I am not sure if I managed to clear the situation of just put more confusion into the mix. If I did so, sorry! The general idea behind this post was to show how great the 24-105 is and how hard it is to replace such a versatile tool.
Post publication edit: as stated in the comments, I screwed up and invented 2 lenses… lens models corrected now to reflect current Canon offering!
