11/12/2009 Zion Movie shot with Panasonic GH1 and Canon 7D

We shot this movie at our S to Zion National Park. Besides Video we shot mainly stills.

We also posted it on Vimeo.

This is a first edit version.

Filming

Cameras: Panasonic GH1 and Canon 7D
Filters: Sing-Ray Vari ND and Lee Graduated Neutral ND 0.6
All shots from tripod: Miller Solo DS-10
Captured at 1080p 24p
Time Lapse in last clip was shot with 7D in M-JPEG shooting every 5 secs

Lenses: 14-140mm on GH1 and mainly 24-105mm on 7D

Editing

Transcoded to 1080p Pro Res LT (for the GH1 using Neoscene and Quicktime)
Time Lapse assembled in Quicktime Pro
Editing: Final Cut Pro 7
Color Corrections in FCP
Music: Royalty free stock music that comes with Final Cut Studio

Exported at 720p for the Internet

Here is our take on using the GH1 and 7D/5D2

We use the GH1 in brighter light because it is good and easier to use:

- EVF
- Swivel LCD
- Live Histogram (just adjust the exposure via the Vari ND and keep f-stop/shutter speed constant)
- The 7D/5D2 LCDs are hard to read in bright light and these cameras don't have any exposure aids

The 7D/5D2 is our choice in low light

- Here I control the light via ISO/Aperture and no ND needed

10/20/2009 Canon EOS 5D Mark II: Statement on Firmware Development (via DPReview)

Canon confirmed that they are working on a firmware update that allows the 5D Mark II to shoot in 24/25p. This is great news for all filmmakers.

10/17/2009 Nikon D300S Test Video

We have currently a Nikon D300S for review. Our Nikon D300 review can be found here. We liked the D300 a lot as a still camera. That is why we will concentrate more on the video aspect that the D300S adds to the D300.

10/7/2009 Vintage Car Shop 2

Some tests handholding the 5D2.

10/3/2009 Las Vegas Bellagio Fountain at Night (5D2 + GH1)

9/27/2009 First test clips from our new Canon EOS 5D Mark II

9/24/2009 First 8 Weeks working with HDSLRs

9/20/2009 GH1: San Juan Bautista Chicken Festival

9/16/2009 GH1: Point Lobos in Fog

We love to photograph at point Lobos in fog. This video shows some of the feeling.

9/15/2009 Videos with a pre-production Canon EOS 7D

With tele lenses: http://vimeo.com/6564777

Low light with 50mm f/1.2: http://vimeo.com/6552300

Here is our Canon EOS 7D Review (preview) Diary.

9/1/2009 GH1: Hollister Firefighter Training

Wanted to document a training of the firefighters. Light was very difficult and I did not really know what to expect. Also I was the sole operator.

- Left sound as is because the engines are just noisy in real life
- Shot at 720p with kit lens
- Edited in FCP

Thanks to all people involved.

• Video at Vimeo

Best you download the video to your hard disk and play from there (you need to create a free Vimeo account though)

8/29/2009 Combining Video and Stills

The diea is to show the scene and the resulting photo from that scene. This is a concept we like to improve over time. The stills have black side bars. We did not want to crop or resize the original photos.

• Vimeo
• YouTube

Note: We used to high f-stops vor the video. Should have used either ND filters of higher shutter speeds.

8/22/2009 Editorial and Introduction to "Video for Photographers"

We thought it might be a good idea to present our view on this subject.

8/21/2009 New Version of "Lost Memories" in B&W (V5)

We improved the video in Final Cut Studio by using some transitions. We publish the videos at 3 different places because different viewers have different experiences with the video hosts.

• SmugMug
• Vimeo
• YouTube

8/18/2009 Panasonic GH1 Video: Vintage Car Shop

SmugMug GH1 Video Gallery

GH1 Video at Vimeo

Lense used

• Panasonic m4/3 14-140mm Kit lens
• Olympus 4/3 12-60mm lens for indoor shots to keep ISO down

Lessons learned

• Motion not smooth in 1080p
• C-AF works but has sometimes issues to keep track fast enough
• Manual focus easy and fun to use
• Need still smoother fluid head
• Getting on speed using Final Cut Pro 7. We think Final Cut is worth the investment into learning it (there is a lot to learn here)
• Use now ProRes 422 LT codel for editing (we cover the basic workflow steps later)

8/17/2009 First Panasonic GH1 video and single frames

We shot or first very short video with GH1

• Different ISO
• Different video quality settings
• Different lenses (14-140mm kit lens and 7-14mm)

At SmugMug we show this video in full size and also feature single frames out of the video stream.

SmugMug GH1 Video Gallery

GH1 Video at Vimeo

The SmugMug gallery also includes single frames extracted from the video.

First conclusions about the GH1

• The GH1 is clearly the most complete HDSLR (below $5,000 for sure) as of today
• So far we are quite pleased with the quality
• The automatic lens distortion and CA corrections are a big plus
• The GH1 features electronic wind filters that make the sound recorded by the camera often more usable outside (compared to other HDSLRs)
• Live histogram and full manual mode very helpful
• Swivel LCD essential
• 720p is quite usable but 1080p shows more fine details
• Right now we convert everything to 30fps (we are not ready to aim for the so called "filmic" look)

Our videos are shot to get simple yet nice documentaries of:

• Places
• Scenes
• Events

But we also plan to experiment with more abstract form of videos.

8/14/2009 First Canon 5D Mark II video

Tested the Canon 5D Mark II on an experimental video. All shots were freehand (smoothened with Final Cut Pro 7 SmoothCam).

8/8/2009 Earthframes (V1 video from stills)

One of our video projects is to make a more abstract moie "Earthframes". This is a first idea using just still photos.

Here is the full version hosted at Smugmug.

8/7/2009 Living History Version 5

The Living History documentary is work in progress. Version 5 replaced the sound recorded by the camera with an externaly recorded sound track (recorded with the Olympus DS-40 voice recorder at th same time).

Here is the full version hosted at Smugmug.

8/5/2009 Cisco Jim: Song 1 Video

Shooting Info

• Camera: Olympus E-P1
• Sound recorded by E-P1
• Tripod
• One take

Editing

• Converted clips with QTAmateur
• Import into Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
• Corrected clips for:
  • Brightness
  • Perspective
• Added title
• Export to Vimeo at 1280 pixels wide

Lessons learned

• Nice quality
• Sound good
• Always a problem is ambient noise

8/4/2009 "A Morning Walk in Hollister" video

We host also now our videos at Smugmug:

• Cleaner presentation
• Larger size
• Good quality

Here is our new "Hollister" video.

Shooting Info

• Camera: Panasonic TZ5 (amazing what it can do)
• Tripod

Editing

• Converted clips with Voltaic
• Import into Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
• Corrected clips for:
  • Brightness
  • Perspective
  • Shadow/Highlight
• Added title and music
• Export to MPEG4 at 1000 pixels wide for Smugmug

Lessons learned

• Nice quality
• The zoom lever is not precise enough
• No hotshoe to use with a spirit level
• LCD only usable with HoodLoupe
• No live histogram in video for better exposure control

8/3/2009 San Juan Bautista: Living History Video

Here is our "Living History" video.

Shooting Info

• Camera: Olympus E-P1
• Olympus Lenses
• Tripod

Editing

• Browsed the clips in Olympus Master 2 to delete unusable clips
• Converted clips with QTAmateur
• Import into Adobe Premiere Pro CS4
• Corrected clips for:
  • Brightness
  • Noise
  • Perspective
  • White Balance
  • Shadow/Highlight
• Added title, section names, credits and music
• Toned in Adobe After Effects CS4
• Export to MPEG4 for Vimeo

7/27/2009 Mike Kobal adds a note on the Olympus E-P1 in video

7/19/2009 Mike Kobal's Take on HDSLRs

Mike evaluates the top recent HDSLRs in the market. These are brief notes but show at the same time real work with these cameras.