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Book Review: The Photographer’s Mind

January 22, 2011 By

I love Michael Freeman books. They are perfect mix of art vs technique. The Photographer’s Eye (review) has to be one of my favorite book about the technical aspect of photography and now I just finished reading its follow up: The Photographer’s Mind. While the Eye book tag line was Composition and Design for Better Digital Photos, the Mind book tag line is Creative thinking for better digital photos.

To reach this goal, the book is divided in three sections: Intent, Style and Process.

Intent

This section is all about what makes a photo looks good, why it looks good and in which context. It reviews the various aspects of beauty, from the perfectly symmetrical face of a model to the cliche and sublime subjects. [Read more...]

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Book review: DSLR Cinema

December 13, 2010 By

I have been reading the DSLR Cinema book for about a week now and I think it is now time to write something about it.

The short version

For those who do not want to read the whole review: this is the best book/training material about HDSLR video I have seen so far. Get it!

The long version

What I like

The first part of the book is all about how to set the camera/lights to ‘get good clips’. It is quite technical and built on the knowledge published over the years on various HDSLR popular sites/forums/shooters. To my knowledge, it is the only book to cover the, so important, how to expose your image so thoughtfully. Actually, I have been in the process of writing a small eBook on the subject for quite a while now and looking at the book content, there is not much else to say!

While the first part dealt with camera setup, the second part shows how various elements can be used to create the film look and uses case studies to illustrate them. This was my favorite part of the book because it is not too often that get have access to this kind of information from other shooters.

The third part is about gear. Good for people who are green to the field but near useless to everyone else who knows about the various parts/rigs available.

Dont dont skip over the numerous appendix, lots of technicalities about HDSLR there. Actually, I think it would have been better to skip over the gear listing of part three and replace it with an expanded version of the appendix.

What I did not like

First of, the biggest flaw of this book, as it was with the book From Still to Motion, is the lack of reference to this site! How could they?

Also, the title should have been HDSLR Cinema and not DSLR Cinema… You can’t shoot a movie with a DSLR!

Seriously, this book has very few flaws. The one thing I did not like was the tutorials on some applications like the H.264 import plugins, how to use PluralEye, Magic Bullet Looks, etc… To me, this type of content should be either be left in the hands of the software developer or distributed electronically. Reading software how-to does not work for me.

Of course, as mentioned before, the whole part 3 of the book could have been removed.

Who is this book for

This book if for people who want to shoot movies with their HDSLR. As the title implies: DSLR Cinema: crafting the film look with video, all the book content is around cinema/film look. People thinking about getting the book to improve their wedding video skill are only going to enjoy part of the book content.

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning, this is a great book. It summarize of all the information available on the net about HDSLR on top of which Kurt has added interesting case studies and behind the scene tips from other shooters.  Buy it on Amazon!

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IndiSLIDER Mini Review

December 9, 2010 By

This is a post from our contributor Jeremy. Regarding my slider, well.. I am still working on it. Getting my electronic slider working has to be my longest project ever! Stay tuned!

I have recently purchased an IndiSYSTEM – IndiSLIDER Mini and as much as I want to say I am in seventh heaven with the thing, it has its fall backs. I know that to go truly “pro” you have to dish out some major money to get a rig that feels like it is solid and worth every penny. Being on a tight budget, and watching other reviews online I went ahead and purchased the deluxe version for under $200. It is a pretty solid piece of equipment. I purchased this piece before purchasing a full blown video tripod and that is a mistake. It nearly tipped my Targus tripod over, and getting a smooth slide was impossible. So for a while I was left with using the legs that came with the slider to get some of the shots I needed.

Usage

Sliders are really made for one purpose, and the IndiSlider Mini does it relatively well. It glides the full 24″ with ease. It has the slightest amount of give when it comes to wiggling on the track that I found cumbersome. The handle that comes with the deluxe model is a must for HDLSR users. Without it, it would be hard to brace your camera and your slide would be choppy. The thing I really dislike about the IndiSlider Mini is that it is loud. When experimenting with a faster revile focus there is a distinct and prominent sliding sound that occurs. If the shot you are making has no audio, or will be dubbed in later, there is no problem at all.

With the handle it is easy to steady the camera and make your shot look awesome, but if you do want to include audio along with the shot, you are better off keeping the sliding motion slow and keeping your ears open to get the shot done effectively. I ended up shooting a scene 5 times before I was happy with the sound quality.

It’s not that I think IndiSystems are bad, in fact I love their whole concept of being affordable to the budget minded film guru. I am still looking online for a way to quite the system down without the use of grease or lubricant, only because I don’t want the residue getting on my other equipment.

I would give the system a solid 3 stars out of 5. Affordability is awesome, it truly does what it was meant to do – if you decide to purchase it, go with the deluxe version – the handle alone is worth the extra money. The professional in me finds the loudness of faster revile shots annoying and it takes up time looking online for ways to get around it.

Pros

Affordable. I like the legs that come with the slider. It allows it to be set on a solid surface (ex: ground floor, table, etc).

Cons

Wiggles a bit and is loud when being slid at a higher speed.

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Review: DSLRBot (camera to iOS trigger interface)

November 9, 2010 By

Disclaimer: Alberto contacted me two weeks ago to place some ads on the site. According to my advertisement policy, before accepting to put the ads on the site, I have to test the product so he sent me the IR cable for free (but I had to buy the app on the iTunes Store).

Anyone who ever tried to do remote recording with a 5DMrkii will tell you: it is complicated. The RC-1 and RC-5 remotes only work if your are in front of the camera (facing the IR sensor)  and since they are using IR, anything standing between you and your camera will block the signal. There are other ways, but nothing simple and cheap.

Say welcome to DSLRBot !

DSLRBot is an iOS application which sends a IR signal via a cable plugged into the headphone jack to the 5DMrkii. The setup time is minimal and only requires you to carry a small cable in your bag. Yes, it is that simple!

Tests

I have played with the application in various conditions (inside, outside, cloudy day & sunny day) and I only had issue once in very sunny situation where the light would hit the camera IR sensor. This is a common issue with IR technology and the solution was to place the IR LED closer to the sensor and voila!

Is it reliable? Except in the situation described above, I never had an issue to start/stop a clip.

Something I have not tested yet: how long can you extend the cable and still get a signal? 6 feet is not enough for some of my special needs.

Other features

While I was mostly interesting in the remote capabilities for video recording, the DSLRBot can do more:

  • HDR bracketing (soon)
  • time lapse (very flexible)
  • very long exposure (as in over 30 seconds)
  • take still images (of course…)

All GUI pages are well done and easy to use. I really like the shot list feature in the movie mode: after you press the stop button, an entry is created in the shot list. You can check/uncheck the shot with a simple tap if you think it is going to be a good take. Once you are done shooting, you can email the list and use it to filter the garbage clips without having to look at them. Just make sure your camera and iPhone are in sync to prevent catastrophic errors.

Another nice feature of the app is how it records GPS location when you take stills. Simple and effective.

Here is a demo of how the HDR menu will work. This is not the kind of shoot I do these days but I may want to revisit my HDR skills to test this once it is released.

Value

This is not the kind of application you use everyday (unless you do specialized shooting), yet if you happen to need one of its features, you will be happy to have this little trick up your sleeve. The investment is minimal in both cost and gear space (who doesnt already have an iPhone?) so you can pack the cable in your bag every time you go out. If you think this is something you could use, get it now so you wont regret it when the need rises.

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Monopod – The lost stabilizer.

November 7, 2010 By

article by Jeremy, one of this site contributor…

Doing a search for video stabilization on the web will bring you tons of great gadgets and gizmos.  Each is great and the tricks DIY folks provide to the masses are a great reference for those Hollywood style shots that make filming great. I am actually going to write about one that rarely comes up in searches, the monopod, and why I think that for the price and versatility it provides –  it is one of the strongest stabilizers in my arsenal.

A couple disclaimers first though.  A monopod is not an end all stabilizer.  While it is great at getting rid of  nearly all vertical vibrations, you can still mess up a shot if your not paying attention to the horizon.  Footage filmed with a crooked horizon line will need to be fixed in post and when that happens you lose the clarity of your video.  Be careful to make sure the shots are straight before filming.  I know this is basic stuff, but a simple reminder never hurts.

I think most monopods are the same: a screw on an extensible pole that you attach your camera to.  Sure there are better quality ones made from unbreakable lightweight material, but I personally have a $30 model that I bought for a recent trip to Alaska.  I needed a stabilizer that didn’t raise red flags in security and didn’t cost me an arm and a leg to check in.  Mine fit in my carry on bag, and if they dont want you to bring it on the plane, the price of mailing it back wouldn’t be nearly as hard on the wallet as a tripod.

Look at models with a pan or fluid head.  I really wish I had this on my trip.  The pan head will help you get a more unique shot.

I love my monopod for the following reasons.:

1. Affordability.

Starting at a measly $18 on B&H, the simple monopod is a great way to get the steady shot that you need for very little money.

2. Traverse.

Lightweight and efficient, almost all monopods can fit or attach to a gear bag taking up little room for people who like to shoot b-roll while walking around.  When shooting in the city, a monopod is a simple and effective way to avoid disturbing sidewalk traffic and the fact you can pick up and move it with little hassle is worth it’s weight in gold.

3. Easy and quick setup

Created with photographers in mind, the monopod is all set for your HDLSR.  The shots I got were simple but effective for what I needed.  I was even able to do a handheld rack focus with ease.  You can’t get any easier than screwing a handle to your camera.

4. No/little vibrations

Part of the reason vibrations screw up shots with the HDSLR’s is the famous jello effect you can get on footage.  The jello effect can happen with shoulder rigs and more.  The monopod is the most cost efficient way to stabilize your video besides the basic tripod.

5. Perfect for capturing b-roll

With all the above mentioned, capturing b-roll on the go can be less cumbersome than setting up a tripod for each shot.  Most of the time you can barely tell that the shots came from a monopod.

The one reason why I don’t like my monopod:

1. You can’t set your camera up to be hands free.

This is a silly reason, but it still should be mentioned.  You will need to carry a towel or a bag with you at all times to put your camera on if you need both hands.  It’s a monopod – if your not holding it up, something else will have to.

Comments from the Admin

I am not a big monopod fan, it just does fit with my shooting style BUT I do carry a monopod to use it as a camera crane.

While you cant control the tilt angle of the camera, it is still possible to get some decent shots by holding the monopod over a group of people. This is best done with a tall monopod and a wide lens (24mm to 35mm). You can then boom up/down the group and get some interesting shots.

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iMovie 11 review

November 4, 2010 By

iMovie is one of these apps may proish shooter dont want to touch, yet could benefit a lot from. I know because I used to be in this category. iMovie felt too amateurish compared to FCP for me to even dare to use it. At each iLife release, I would give it a shot but never managed to complete a project, always feeling too restricted.

Enters iMovie11. It is still very amateurish at its core (Movie trailers & themes), yet it has some very practical features which make it a great tool to edit something in a rush or to get a draft.

Lets review some of its key features.

Good

Edit native H.264

The first of these features is that you do not need to transcode your clips to ProRes. It saves times and HD space so you can start editing as soon as you are home.

Visual segment selection

Being able to visually select clip segments without having to watch the whole clip is extremely useful. While it is not new and it is also (somewhat) possible in Final Cut, it has to be my favourite feature of iMovie.

Rolling shutter

This little checkbox took a lot of people by surprise. First because it is not advertised on Apple site and second because it actually works. Well, for panning shots. You still have to be careful about jelloying your clip but at least pans are not a dont-do anymore.

FCP XML export

Once you have your rough cut, you can export the clip into a FCP XML file to continue the edit in FCP (or Premiere). I dont know if this features was there in previous version but its the first time I went far enough in my edits to make use of it.

Less good

Clip import

iMovie gives you two choices regarding clips import: either move the files to your project folder or copy them. There is no way to just reference them. I guess the development team does not want to confuse users so they decided to put all project related files in a single directory.

Clip grading

No matter which clip I used, I never managed to make the adjustment sliders work. They systematically destroy my clips. If you are not planning to grade your clips in another software, I highly suggest to not shoot flat or you will end up with a near impossible clip to grade in iMovie.

Compression

While iMovie offers presets to most popular video sharing sites, there are no ways to control the quality of each of these presets. And unfortunately, these presets really damage image quality. If you want to do something decent, you either have to use the QT export or Compressor (via FCP XML).

No precise editing

While I love the fast and rough way to select clips to insert in the timeline, I wish there was a way to trim clips at a specific timecode.

Overall impression

If you can’t afford Final Cut or Premiere Pro, iMovie is the way to go. It is way better than Premiere Element (which was a big deception). Then again, even if you cut using pro apps, you may want to give it a shot, it is fun!

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FoV test video Full frame (5DMrkii) vs 1.6x crop (7D)

November 1, 2010 By

My friend Chad sent me this link (thanks!). While most 5DMrkII owners realize the difference between a cropped sensor and the real thing, those who don’t own one usually miss why we love our 5D that much! This is especially true when shooting with a super wide lens.

Actually, there are two cases where I prefer cropped sensors: macro shots (for the same minimum focus distance, you get a bigger magnification factor) and for portrait/headshots since you can use a 50mm f1.4 as if it was a 80mm (which is a great focal range for portraits) or when using a 85L as a 135mm which make even the 135L looks bad.

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Filed Under: On the web, Review, Video Tagged With: , ,

Shape WLB Composite Review (HDSLR Rig)

October 20, 2010 By

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure to shoot a movie for a friend (more on this in another post). Since we were shooting for the Kino Kabaret (kind of a film festival), we had access to a lot of sponsored gear which is how I managed to put my hands on the  Shape WLB Composite. I already talked about the Sumo a while ago, the composite is its big brother.

The good

The best part about this rig is the quick handle system. Simply put, they are the best handles I have used on a HDSLR rig. Contrary to those on the old Sumo which had a bit of slack, once set, these handles wont move at all. If you want to change their angle, simply press the red button at the end of the handle and adjust them to the desired position and you are set. If it takes you more than 3 seconds, you are slow.

The next improvement over the Sumo are the multiple adjustment knobs. Contrary to the Sumo which is built in a straight line, the composite can off-set the camera to the side which make it much easier to use my Z-Finder. Every single part of the rig can be adjusted using either red levers (almost as good as those from Zacuto) or black knob. While it can take a few tries to find the perfect adjustment, once you found it, the rig is both comfortable and super stable.

The less good

The rig was given to me already assembled and looking at the assembly plan, I am glad it was. Contrary to the Zacuto Striker and other small HDSLR rigs which can be setup in less than 2 minutes, the Composite takes some time to assemble and requires tools. Nothing serious when you are aware of it but it could cause some issues if you are in the middle of nowhere and need to make an adjustment.

The only issue we had with the rig was the #$%#% camera plate. I am used to work with the Manfrotto plate system. They are pretty much the standard in photography/videography so I was surprised to see Shape using a different kind of triangle shaped plate. This plate caused us a few issues: first we had to figure out how to remove it from the holder (not as easy as it sounds, some blood was spilled) then we had to used a screw driver to attach it to the camera. This is for me the biggest problem: you dont want to have to use a screw driver every time you want to attach/remove your camera from the rig. It is another piece of gear to keep track of which can get lost and it slows down the shooting. That being said, the plate system is very sturdy and I was never afraid about the camera falling off the rig.

Finally, the rig is priced in the upper end of the market segment. At about 1500$, it is expensive but one has to realize that compared to toys rigs like the RRM Nano series, this is a pro level rig. It will outlast every other piece of gear you own. At least, it feels like it would.

Conclusion

Like I said in my initial review of the Sumo, this rig is perfect for everyone but the traveling videographer (who needs something more compact). It is stable, comfortable, extremely durable, comes with everything you need out of the box and will fit pretty much every physiognomy. If it was not for the tool requirements, I would have given it a perfect score.

Note: I am really sorry about the pictures. We were so busy on the day of the shoot that I totally forgot to take pictures of the rig so I had to use Shape promo pics.

Gear discussed in this review

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Kingston 64gig SSDNow review

October 11, 2010 By

As you can guess form the title, I recently purchased a Kingston SSDNow drive. The plan was to put it in the Macbook pro to replace the standard (and slower) 5400rpm drive. Since it was my first step in SSDland, I decided to play it safe and pick a relatively cheap drive with good reviews. At about 100$, this 64gig drive  is among the cheapest per gig  SSD drive you can get.

It is good to know that not all SSD are made equal. While searching on the net, I realized that there is a big gap in performance between similarly priced drives. I liked the Kingston for its fast read (200mps) and write (over 110mps) speed while not using some of its space for provisioning (some drives reduce the overall space to increase speed, such as the OCZ 60 GB Vertex 2 which is about 50% faster at the cost of 4 less gig and 33% more $).

Installation was stupid easy, 5 minutes max as long as you have the correct screw driver (Phillips 00). The long part was reinstalling all my software (OSX, LightRoom, CaptureOne, web dev stuff and StarCraft II). I am now left with less than 28gigs available on the drive so I decided to skip the FCP install for now.

While 28gig is not much, it is enough to cover a day worth of shooting (in most cases) and I always have my external G-DRIVE to handle backup.

The good

First of all, everything you read about SSD speed is true. While my drive is far from being among the fastest (I should have picked the OCZ 60 GB Vertex 2 for that), I noticed a drastic increase in speed for all my hd bound tasks: booting, browsing pictures in LR, loading maps in SCII… Actually, the limiting factor isnt the hard drive anymore, it is the video card/cpu.

The bad

One of the benefit I did not see is the increased battery life. Since SSD draw less power from the battery than disk based drives, they are supposed to increase the battery life. At least in theory. What I have found with my Macbook pro is a 10-15% decrease.

At first, I thought there was a problem with my drives until I realized the reason why I draw more power from the battery is that I actually do more work! Since I wait less on images to load, I edit more pictures/video which taxes the CPU more.

Conclusion

While there are a lot of choices when looking for a SSD, you don’t need to make a massive investment to get most of its benefits. Give it a try, it could be the best 100$ you ever spent on your latop!

My next step is to install FCP and see how well it is going to manage playing multiple stacked HD tracks.

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Final Cut Pro Smoothcam vs Coremelt Lock and Load X

September 2, 2010 By

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.

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