There are some online forums where people are just going nuts over Adobe offering only Creative Cloud software as basically a rental. I see there point about wanting access to be able to change their work. However maybe they should close their mouths and open their eyes a little for other options, that is while Adobe figures out a solution that will hopefully keep everyone happy. Here is a PhotoShop clone with a nice UI running in your web browser. The funny part ? it uses flash ! it runs fine and does all the BASIC photoshop things you'd want for picture retouching and basic graphics work. Its an option to consider....

Interested in SpeedGrade CC but can't stand waiting until its officially release ? Adobe has posted some new tutorials today

Robbie Carman shows how to use the new SpeedGrade CC Look Manager http://adobe.ly/17JynOt

Color grading with masks in the redesigned SpeedGrade CC UI http://adobe.ly/15mOmEU

Discover the amazing new Shot Matcher in SpeedGrade CC http://adobe.ly/ZDShVS

Working with the new Snapshot Browser in SpeedGrade CC http://adobe.ly/YrWMWc

New Luma Waveform gives you even greater precision in SpeedGrade CC http://adobe.ly/12amWNO

Color grading Premiere Pro CC sequences in SpeedGrade CC http://adobe.ly/ZN3lDP
 

GoPro HERO3: Black Edition is here ! Took advantage of NAB discount deal. Short review : the hype it true, its that much better. Sharper, higher FPS at any frame rate, 45mbit/sec  ProTune mode. All good, all better.

Not often I say so many good words so fast but this camera earns it.  More to come soon but the Hero3 is amazing

April snow shower bring what ???? Shot with stills mode. Amazingly clean, sharp , detailed.

My first and only timelapse on my trip to Vegas this year. Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens with 60D shooting RAW. Processed in Adobe camera raw and AE. Pleasantly surprised to see AE accept the native canon RAW files. I allowed me to get a lot more out of the image than was initially appeared. I still may want to grade this a bit more, in particular to fix the tree.

Meanwhile I have a new van. Looks a lot like the old one. Just based on what was out there, same color, but next version up from the old model. Nice to have it and just itching to customize it a bit for production needs including some LED interior lights, removing the built in 3rd row seat and a cover for the floor well where the seat would normally fold down. If I can gain a 100lbs of cargo hauling ability I'll take it !. I can always put the middle seats in if I need to. 

This is the strangest NAB I've ever been too. I've been to 14 now and I've seen a lot of stuff I can't talk about :) and gone to more parties than I can remember. This year seeking something of a more different experience I drove out. My plan was to take a week off after the show and spend some time camping out in the desert among several areas in southern UT and northern AZ. It was all depending on where the road took me. The road however took me to a different place than I expected.

I left home in WI with plenty of time. I didn't have a hard drive at all and took a some good stops once I hit Denver and the Rockies. Hiked in some snow ( should of brought snow shoes ! ) and came down the far side of the Rockies following sections of the Colorado River. Rt 70 over the Rockies is a spectacular drive, in particular the Virginia River section which is like driving thru a smaller version of the Grand Canyon. I even got out in a few places where ever I could.

^{Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens 60D • click for full size image}

Heading further down the road I got into some more deserted areas of Rt. 70. How deserted ? well nothing for 60 miles between 2 towns. Thats better than a few years ago when it used to be 103 miles. There are however exits leading to dirt roads tha wander off into mountains.

^{Dawn at Ghost Rock UT, 60D + Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens • click for full size image}

 I eventually stopped at Ghost Rock and spent the night camped out there. I spent time doing some cool nite shots and time-lapse. 

^{Rokinon 8mm T/3.8 Cine 60D hand held !  click for full size image}

^{Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine Lens wide open • click for full size image}

My Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine Lens did TL duty while the Rokinon 8mm T/3.8 Cine gave me a few good shots, and the 35 1.5 also made a few great shots as well. All good fun and a great start of what I figured was another week of this after the show.

Sunday I went to the lake Mead area. Climbed a small mountain, had fun. The shot above is interesting because if you look you really can't tell the scale of things. How big is that tree really ? 5 ft ? 15 ft ? actually its about 1ft tall and shot with my 8mm from about a foot away.

 The Lake Mead area really isn't the most spectacular area, but it was close to town and I could drive into Vegas the back way which I had never done. Well on my way into town, about 12 long blocks from the strip fate raised its hand. The front seal on the transmission had given out a ways up the road and was leaking. Actually the real problem was a clogged transmission filter prevented proper circulation of fluid causing it to overheat and foam. The front seal released it all out. I lost power and dove across 2 lanes of traffic onto a side street using just momentum and quick thinking. Getting out and looking underneath tranny fluid was pouring out the bottom.  This was REALLY bad.

When I pulled off  the street it was right next to a garage. I bought 3 quarts of tranny fluid and poured it in. It was just enough to get it off the street. The mechanic wasn't in, but would be the next morning to take a look at it. I took a cab to the room pretty freaked out I was in deep shit with no way back home that was going to be easy.

Monday, the next morning I talked to the mechanic at the garage and he gave me his thoughts on why it failed and what to do - replace the filter, refill the fluid and add some leak seal, then see what would happen. He did it and all seemed ok… maybe. The problem is once the seal lets loose its only a matter of time before it fails again requiring replacement. That replacement of a cheap part means taking the engine and tranny out making for a very labor expensive repair. I hoped the fix worked. I went to the show and was there for the BMD press conference, various other show events, the Media Motion Ball and Adobe parties that nite. They where all great. Honestly after the BMD 4K S35 camera and the Adobe announcements / technology demo's you could mostly of gone home. Sure there was some other very cool things but there were the two that were the biggest I think.

^{Media Motion Ball Crew... Hey I'm in the shot for once !}

Now if you have ever been in Vegas on the strip you know internet can be hit or miss and usually its barely functional if you can get it. The hotel internet was useless where I was staying. My iPhone was getting very intermittent data access varying from slow to nothing. My wonderful partner Sharon back at home managed to get me some flight info and give me some options to get back home if it came to it. Matthew my business partner was sharing the room with me was also having hit or miss internet.

All this time I'm trying to figure out what the plan is. Is the van really fixed ?  Is the fix good enough to get me home on a drive that goes over the Rockies to 11K ft in altitude ? Would it survive a demanding drive for the transmission with long uphill and downhill grades ? or was it plan B to fly back home ? and what did I do with the van ? and what did I do with all the extra stuff I have with me ? Its a lot more than a suitcase of clothes this trip. Could I get things done in a day or two or would I have to stay around in Vegas or even LA to get things done ?

Tues I got my van back. I drove it back to the hotel and all seemed ok. Went to the show, made my appointments and all was good. I checked underneath the van when I got back and there were signs of some leakage.

Wednesday I took my van out to drive it a bit and parked it in a new spot. I looked underneath to see I had clean concrete and hoped for the best. Wednesday finally got me to the central hall and I was able to check out yet more 4K cameras, projectors and LED screens. Looked amazing. No doubt 4K will become the new production standard for work with shelf life. That said 1080HD is still good for most work… well just keep telling yourself that until you see how much better 4K looks. 4K makes 1080 look like SD. Of course I've seen 8K too and thats just another class unto itself as well. Back in the real world 4K I think will creep into TV production and high end corporate work over the next year or two and become somewhat common. Give it 5 years and it will pretty much be standard even if consumer penetration of the market is still low for displays. Util you have sub $2k displays consumer adoption will be slow.

Wednesday nite I looked under the van. Crap ! small 2-3 inch sized puddle. I tape some paper over the spot in an arch to triple check its really my van making that spot. I come back a few hours later Wednesday nite after another party and the paper is wet, just a little. In my mind the leak seems to be enough that if I where to drive like this there would be no telling if it would let go or not, or if I would be pouring fluid in very 50 miles just to keep going. Thats not how you want to drive thru some of the most desolate and arid desert. You also have to consider complete seal failure. So I'm forced to plan B.

All this time I've been talking to various friends to setup some options. Several friends from LA offer me a place to crash for a few days if I need it. THANK YOU to all of them, Doug and Greg and Phillip. This is part of simply knowing the IMUG community for over 15 years -  having friends across the globe. However I was hoping to stay local if possible.

I had been posting on Facebook about my travels to the show over the last few days. I had 3G service in most areas which was great. One person following my trip was an old friend from NY who had moved to Vegas many years ago and said hello. Next thing you know he is VERY generously offering me a place to stay and to help me dispose of the van. Its so rare that I ever ask anyone for a favor, but this time I am. I was really pretty overwhelmed that some one would do this. Needless to say, I owe Warren Markowitz Esq. a big favor for helping me out. Warren is an old friend from way back when I was living in NY shooting stills and video there. Amazing what happens on facebook !...oh and if you have too much fun in Vegas he'll get you out of jail 

I drove out to his place with the van. I stopped twice to check to see if or how bad it was leaking. It wasn't !$@#$@#! I then start thinking maybe what I had seen leaking with nothing but the last of the fluid from the original leak finally draining out. Without having a few more days to test it, there was no real way to know. The risk of getting stuck in the middle of nowhere with almost no simple options to get home was more than daunting and potentially life threatening.

On the way to his house I found a UPS store. I shipped 2 large boxes of stuff back. One of the things that had been stressing me out was getting back all the extra stuff I had brought. Some camping gear, some extra clothes to deal with all the different climate changes of basically winter to summer, and the collection of bits I just always have in the van for production work. Needless to say this got some odd looks from the 2 folks in the UPS store while I packed stuff until I told them what had happened. Well 2 large boxes and $167 later it was on its way back via ground shipping. OUCH! but done.

I made it to Mark's house on the far edges of town just fine. Nice place away from the commotion of the strip. He helped me out with getting a nearby hotel room for $33 for the night. The hotel was a WAY off strip casino and it was fine. It was reasonably quite and I even played the penny slots for a $1 profit and a cocktail. Fun… I needed it after the last couple of incredibly stressful days. Oh and of course while I had struggled to find anything beyond dial up speed internet this place had one of the fastest internet connections I've ever had in a hotel. 

last look good bye !

Mark agreed to help me get rid of the car - to either scrap it or sell it or give it away to some one who could use it. He also got me to the airport on time where I'm writing this in the plane thats taking me back home.

Update : After getting back home I  sent Mark a text. The car sat had there for a few days for me to send the title back. It had a small puddle under it so I guess the leak really wasn't sealed after all... too bad, it had been a good van. Would of been a bad drive, I made the right call.

^{Me on top of mountain in Lake Mead Area. Can't wait to go back. Rokinon Rokinon 8mm Cine + 60D • clicl for full size image}

I'm coming back home without a car. I don't care I can manage that. It just snowed again dumping 6 inches of it in my area. Spring is just not showing up ! I don't care. What I do know is that my loving partner is going to be at the airport to pick me up and thats all I really need. I also found I had some friends I count on who helped me get through a hard one. Thank you all… because if I've said it before, NAB is about the people.
 

This is what NAB is really about - the people. Here is a shot I took at the Media Motion Ball thats a bit of history celebrating the aniversery of AE turning 20 ! and to think it seems like a couple years ago when I started with V3.1. Even though its wed morning right now I still haven't had a chance to visit the central hall and look at cameras. Ok, Monday morning I saw the camera that counted, the BMD 4K S35 camera for $4k. Shipping june or july, yes it has a lossless cinemaDNG RAW ! and is otherwise mostly identical to the current cinema camera in production. The funny part is that RED was right next to BMD and the backside of BMD's booth looked like is was part of RED's. 

Adobe is SHOWING technology and features it expects to have in CS Next which is all very good and steady improvements that show they are taking the pro users very seriously. 

I"ve also had a rather weird trip that I post about when I get back... how ever long that takes. I drove out here, had major car problems, and have to decide how to get back. Each has its ups and downs. I'll have to decide tonite. With great luck I've had several people offer to help me if I need to stay here in Vegas or in LA for a few days to get things setup so I can get back home. That is the magic of the internet, facebook. Its great that people are still willing good to each other and offer help when some one needs it. That for me is a far better experience at NAB, 2000 miles from home than any new camera or bit that hangs onto it. NAB is about the people...and the gear very secondarily.

DataColor as made a minor update to the software for its Spyder3 series products. When you download be sure to download the version for your model as the software is model specific. I'm also curious if anyone has tried the the Spyder4 and if its actually any better than the 3. Speak up !

UPDATE 1 : so far calibration on the laptop looks better and seems to actively be working. Before with 4.0.5 it seemed to have problems actually being applied.

UPDATE 2 : calibrating 2 different screens attached to my main edit system seemed better... sort of. The damned ASUS P248 10bit panel is still a bit red, the samsung I added a bit dark. Interesting note, seems like the now have the room light detector turned off as a default now. YA! because who works in a black room with no windows where 130nit is bright ? no one. Please give me flamethrower mode brightness :)

This release address the following

Spyder3Elite 4.0.7 Macintosh

What's Fixed in 4.0.7

issue on OS X 10.8 with multiple monitors of differing gamuts
particularly with wide-gamut monitors this may result in improper plot of monitor gamut
What's Fixed in 4.0.5

OS X 10.7 compatibility
all installers require authentication (i.e. user must enter username and password to install software). This fixes permission errors during installation that occur on some systems.
 

Busy week doing a studio shoot. Studios are nice, easy, fast, but  expensive. Pick your compromise like a lot of things in life.

We shot a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3 and 2 60D's. It'll be interesting to see how it works. I had my Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine on the GH3 as the main camera. Sure there is a crop factor that makes it more like a 70mm for full frame or 50mm for S35 but that worked ok here. Its really an amazingly small camera for what it is. It was the "straight" chromakey angle and we'll see how well it keys. We set it to 70mbit Iframe recording. The 60D's used a mix of Rokinon 8mm T/3.8 Cine Lens and mostly the Rokinon 14mm T3.1 Cine and several other lenses including an OM 50 1.4, Jupiter 9 85 2.0. Sound went to each camera via wireless and recorded on Sound¤Devices 552 Portable 5-Channel Production Mixer and Stereo Recorder. A skateboard dolly plus the 14mm made for some great dramatic moves in less than 10ft of "track" aka PVC pipe. The GH3 had my Rok 35 1.5 mounted on it with an EF->M4/3 adapter. Looks amazingly sharp :) which is a good thing for keying. 

There is a petition on Whitehouse.gov to get the government to do something to slow down patent trolls - make them pay for all legal costs when they loose. Sign it here. Given that patents can be very expensive to defend ( really they should be ! ) the trolls simply take advantage of that to extort money from businesses everyday because its cheaper to pay them off than to go to court and win against them. Send a message to companies like LitePanels enough is enough.

New Blackmagic Cinema Camera 1.2 software update includes time lapse recording, aperture indicator, ExFAT disk format and Thunderbolt support for Windows!

Blackmagic Design today announced a new software update version 1.2 for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera which adds exciting new features including time lapse recording, aperture indicator when using compatible EF lenses, as well as ExFAT formatting for SSD disks. The Blackmagic Cinema Camera has now been certified by Intel for capture and playback with Thunderbolt™ computer hardware operating under Windows™. Blackmagic Cinema Camera 1.2 software update is available to download now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design Website.

The exciting new time-lapse recording feature allows customers to capture incredibly stunning time-lapse video in CinemaDNG RAW 2.5K, Apple™ ProRes or Avid™ DNxHD. Customers have an extremely wide selection of capture rates with this new time lapse recording feature as they can select from every second frame all the way up to one frame per 10 minutes.

The addition of the new aperture indicator on the status strip and SDI output overlay for EF compatible lenses allows customers to easily check F stop settings on the LCD display screen!

With the addition of Windows for Thunderbolt, users with certified Thunderbolt hardware will now be able to use a wide range of Windows based software as well as Blackmagic Design’s UltraScope and Media Express software over Thunderbolt with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera.

Support for Windows formatted ExFAT SSD disk adds flexibility for customers to use either HFS+ or ExFAT formats. ExFAT is a Windows based operating file system that features state of the art technology, including large sized disk and file support, wide compatibility and high performance. In addition, Mac OS X also supports ExFAT disks, so ExFAT formatted disks can be plugged into both Windows and Mac OS X machines without any third party software required. Simply insert the formatted disk and the camera will automatically detect format, ready for recording!
 

Big impressive lens vs. small almost embarrassing lens. The winner ? you guessed wrong already !

I was more than expecting that the Vivitar 400 5.6 was a good lens. In fact I'd already reviewed this lens and its been a part of my regular package for a while. Its true I don't often have a need for 400mm, but when I do, its there. I've used it to get a number of memorable shots that needed the reach.

A few weeks ago I came into a pile of lenses. In the bunch was a great Takumar 50 1.4 that had my attention. Several weeks later I got to try the Tamron 400 6.9 and wasn't expecting too much. Its a wimpy looking skinny lens thats very light weight  and not at all impressive or interesting. Its even an M42 screw mount making it even more dated.

Lets go take it out and shoot a few shots. Its 10 deg F ! I quickly learn why screw mount lenses suck in the real world ! changing lenses is miserable because of the precision required to get it to go together.  Then turn and turn until it locks. Its a far cry from "modern" breech mount twist lock mounts that are 45 to 90 degs. So I fire off a bunch of shots on the Tamron 400 6.9 and then do matching shots on the Vivitar (Tokina made) 400 5.6. 

Ok, its not impressive and down right wimpy looking.

Far more impressive looking and a bit nicer handling. A much more pro looking lens.

RESULTS

Judge for yourself which lens came around to surprise me.

Vivitar 400 5.6 { click for full size image }

Tamron 400 6.9 { click for full size image ]

These images are full frame images from the 5K original stills. The difference in sharpness came to surprise me to say the least. This is especially true since the Tamron 400 6.9 you can't give away, at least until now !

Now for the 1:1 crops -

Vivitar 400 5.6 1:1 image crop

Tamron 400 6.9 1:1 crop

Once I warmed up back home I took a look at the images and got a surprise. The ugly near worthless on ebay lens made better images than the Pro looking lens. Poking around online it seems for STILLS purposes the Vivitar 400 5.6 is not that great of a lens. I guess every company makes a stinker and this was theirs. That said, when shooting 1080 it looks just fine, at least on a canon dslr. There in lies the rub - what is your purpose ? if its 1080 video that's incredibly more forgiving than 5K stills  are or video via something like a Scarlet or Epic. Another factor is the  handling of one lens may well be  better than the other for sure or just the client impression level when needed.  The Vivitar 400 certainly works well with a follow focus. Until you ride focus at 400mm wide open you haven't lived. I found the Tamron focus is a bit stiff in 10F temps and a follow focus probably wouldn't turn the lens very easily.

This quick test has even me thinking about what makes the best image for a given job... and that one should not get too hung up on what a lens looks like or seems to be rather than the images it actually makes ! TEST TEST TEST ! you don't know if you gear is hitting its marks or not utnil you do and this is a great example of being surprised by a lens I never expected would be that great. In fact I was expecting it would have a real funky look instead of being sharp and reasonably contrasty. 

Ok, so it only took me 2 years to get done ! Here is shooting on a really old Kodak lens for yet another unique look. This setup seems have a more muted color palette  which is cool. The lens also vignettes a LOT _. Very much a period look. What surprised me a bit was that the DoF wasn't as shallow as I was expecting. The lens starts at F4 and goes down to F128 ! That's something you don't see on modern glass. In fact focus was less critical than I expected.  I think the focal length is around 75 or 80mm which is a modest wide angle for what amounts to a 6cmX9cm or so negative. The lens itself appears to be a very simple 3 or 4 element design uncoated. 

Some extra details - I'm shooting the back of the camera on a ground glass I got on ebay. I had to cut it to fit the image area. I mounted the ground glass using velcro. This makes it easy to remove to clean the other side if I need to. What I will say is that shooting off the ground glass you are loosing some resolution. Some other tests I did with paper seemed to produce a sharper image. Maybe I need a thinner ground glass but the one I got was fairly cheap and got the job done. I did add noise to the images to break up the ground glass pattern. 

Last, to mount the camera I made a simple mount. I drilled 2 15mm holes 60mm OC into a block of 1"X3" maple. this let me use the camera's own 1/4-20 mount to mount it onto my wood block. A simple set up that works great. So I hope you enjoy this ultra vintage look because after this, its wet plates !

Have a great new year.

BMD continues making some very worthwhile improvements in Resolve. Here is the news :

Fremont, CA - October 29, 2012 – Blackmagic Design today announced the release of DaVinci Resolve 9.0.3, a new update to the world’s most advanced color correction tool. The update includes a new timecode feature to add timecode to non timecode cameras, improved CinemaDNG control palette, AAF and XML clip management, enhanced stereoscopic 3D grading and support for XML round tripping in the new release of Final Cut Pro X version 10.0.6. Resolve 9.0.3 is available immediately for free for existing DaVinci Resolve and DaVinci Resolve Lite users.

This new DaVinci Resolve software allows, for the first time, cameras that do not support timecode to be used for professional shoots and still offer accurate and synced timecode for editing and conforming. By simply recording timecode from a timecode generator onto one of the cameras audio tracks, combined with the new Resolve Media Pool timecode reader feature, any camera can become integrated into professional workflows. Through the feature, Resolve is able to read the linear timecode from the audio tracks and instantly update the video timecode for those clips.

Blackmagic Design feels that this timecode reader feature will allow dozens of cameras to be used in high end production workflows where previously their lack of timecode support would have limited their ability to sync audio and be used in the post production process.

The new DaVinci Resolve software update also includes the ability to display camera metadata related color temperature and tint on the CinemaDNG color palette, giving colorists more precise color correction capabilities when working with CinemaDNG files, such as from the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Additionally, Resolve users now have the ability to specify clips that are located in multiple folders in the Resolve storage library when importing AAF/XML, as well as the ability to reset automatic image transform alignments while adjusting stereoscopic 3D convergence.

DaVinci Resolve 9.0.3 is the latest version of the recently introduced DaVinci Resolve 9, which includes a completely redesigned user interface to optimize workflow speed. This significant user interface overhaul was created to harness the power of multiple new technologies added to DaVinci Resolve in the last few years, including automatic 3D eye matching, multi layering timelines, XML support, plus more camera and file type support. The new user interface is extremely fast to use and eliminates unnecessary clicks and settings. A job can be up and running in three clicks: one to log in, one to drop media into the project and the next to grade.

Other updates in Resolve 9.0.3 include:

Enhanced ARRI RAW de bayer;
Support to playback and grade grayscale DPX files;
Support to playback and grade Phantom Cine grayscale images;
Enhanced Canon C500 RAW support;
Burn ins are now also available for SDI output;
Improved audio waveform GUI update speed;
Updated JL Cooper panel connection for OS X 10.8.2;
Support for single frame sequences without numbers in the frame;
Output sizing is now linked to the track mode;
Addition of new keyboard shortcuts;

Adobe CS6 Premiere Pro XML speed changes support; A very welcome fix as I ran into this a day ago. thanks... now lets try it out !

Additional fields for ALE export.

Done ! Check it out. I shot this a few days ago and it looks great. I took advantage of fall colors and now I don't want anything less . It was also nice to have help from Josiah Winterhoff running camera for me - THANKS !

A great short clip. Yes they get the camera back ! Moral of the story, gear theft may not always be done by humans.

Of course GoPro's are near indestructible. Here one falls from 12,500ft in free fall without its case. It lands in the grass and continues to run catching the skydiver's actually landing. Hmmm... these cameras seem to take images all on their own !

Today Rokinon announced yet another cine lens - the 35mm T1.5. Given the great optical performance of the stills version, I really want to try this one out.

B&H has them available for pre order here.  Pricing at least at B&H is $539 which is only $40 more than the stills version. A VERY reasonable price considering you could spend $15 or so just for a lens gear. Also of note - this lens has DoF markings ! So I'd expect that the other cine lenses they have should be shipping soon for not much more than the stills. This also means I"d expect the 85mm 1.4 to also get the cine treatment. This is all pretty exciting that we finally have affordable cine glass with great performance. For about the price of one Ziess cine lens ( the "cheap" ones or cine modded still lenses ) you can have the entire set of Rokinons.

I've got a long week of work doing mainly audio and some B roll shooting on my GoPro's. I picked up a new one yeasterday and like it so far.... and remember just try to have fun on long jobs like this !

I'm also working with a pile of new Sennhieser wireless and their new amazing lav mic thats super tiny and sounds great. More on this next week

grabbing shots of planes arriving at EAA Oshkosh's week long airshow and plane meet ! The next time you are out on a shoot complaining a plane made some noise in your outdoor interview shot, just try it with nearly 1000 planes around !

Sometimes your best work gets done under crazy deadlines and unrealistic budgets. I think this qualifies as one. Its a promo video for the regional United Way Charities. Special thanks to Pam Rucinski of Rucinski & Reetz Communications who wrote and produced this.  Another special thanks to Colleen Parquette who did a lot of shooting on this and about half of the editing. 

Jay is one of those writer's I really respect because he's always (99%) right on techincal subjects he writes about. Thats the kind of writing I like. So here is one on ISO, EI and ASA. Don't dismiss this as a 101 level article. While it starts that way, it does get into some good stuff on how to evaluate your own camera. Worth checking out .

The Full article is here

Coming Up

I've mentioned a couple of product reviews. They are all close to being done. The problem ? I keep jumping back and forth between them and never seem to get ONE of them done. Its not just writing, taking product pix but also putting together supporting material like a video samples I shot in Hawaii last week with this lens. I was also expecting to get a lens to add to my vintage lens shoot out, but it never happened. This of course had me put it on hold waiting... so its just been a series of events like that.  However, that said I am committing to finishing one review for release next week including all its sample material. Its *that* close to being done ! Have a great weekend everyone, and a safe fun Canada Day and 4th of July next week !

I don't do 3D. Its an entire series of careers unto itself and I know better. That said this is worth a look because it shows something completely new - using a 3D game engine to create 3D animated movies. Even editing happens live in the app which had formely been an internal tool only. Its got 7 years of development now and looks pretty nice. The question is how long before you get asked to do mocap or shoot green screen live performers mixing into something like this... maybe sooner than you think.

Finally got this done ! of course the hard part is getting new shots as you work, and wanting to swap them in which means taking something out... An endless delema with the world's worst critical. Comments welcome... but be polite :) !

This is work ! Bad politics mean lots of work as the mud flies this week here in WI. Stay tuned.

Also planned is a new product review at the end of the week if things stay on track. 

Adobe released AE 11.0.1 update today. Various bug fixes are there, but the big news is official support for Kepler class nVidia GPU's like the 680. Official word is here. You get the update automatically via the Adobe Updater.

Its been a while since I turned up something special to watch. Great music, great shooting, great editing. How often do I ever say that ? well today :) enjoy some pure pleasure.

I have 4 32G Sandisk Extreme cards and they work great. For the normal price of a 32G card, get a 64G card on this 50% off weekend sale.  Sorry you missed this great deal, but even for $59.95 its a great deal.

Click on the image to directly go to B&H. Yes it does has a link which gives this site a small commission, so if you need a card, please consider supporting this site. Its very much appreciated !

You all know about the cobler's kids... right ? so a look at some of mine :)

Not happy news today for Avid right before NAB. Stock is down 17% to $8.50 after a poor quarter. Read more here. As others have said, their editing products are actually a small part of the company's revenues. Much comes from shared storage hardware and software as well as their other product lines like M Audio and ProTools. While they have made great efforts to turn their business around over the last 2 to 3 years, the marketplace doesn't seem impressed. Perhaps crapping on your customers for years is a hard thing to wipe off.... While the New Avid isn't the old one, time will tell how things works out.

A nice behind the scenes look at the QA process at Zeiss - vibration, shock, thermal extremes. Good stuff and part of the reason why they cost as much as they do.

Do you even remember who Ampex is ? If you needed a hint today, here you go. Finding these things has been pretty entertaining. Meanwhile I'm making progress on the vintage vs new lens shootout. Its just a monster to edit.

Actually this classic video is from KTTV LA, 1961. 72 Special effects and A / B Roll tape editing on Quad. I am not responsible for keyboard damage when you spill your coffee on this one.

Finally shot ! My mini-epic lens shoot out Vintage vs New Lens test. Just going thru the footage and stills was great today. Some surprising and not so surprising results. I'm off to edit and get it out sometime next week.

Its Live ! Show #6 where Carey and I go head to head in a grade off, working on each other's projects. Check out our best show and see what happens when you swap projects

Show #5 for you viewing pleasure! Dedicated control surfaces and monitors. We've got some great info on how to select a good or great monitor for your suite.

Today In Production Releases Part 3 of our looks at Davinci Resolve - Workflow. How to get your projects in and out of Resolve.

So here is my promised surprise today !  

“In Production” is a brand new video chat program where hosts  I and long time friend and friend Carey Dissmore discuss tools and topics related to the video production business. I think we both have a unique perspectives as independent production business owner/operators. We aren't just here to talk about stuff in a generic review sort of way, but to share insights on using those tools in the real world. Does this thing _really_ work work better, does it make you money faster & easier ? Can you use this with a client in the room ? 

This show will be produced periodically as series around specific topics. Our first series is on the topic of Color Grading and DaVinci Resolve. This series is comprised of 6 episodes, to be released weekly. The first two episodes are embedded below.

We hope you like this show and, as always, welcome your comments.

In Production : Intro To DaVinci Resolve 

Direct YouTube Link

DaVinci Resolve : Grading Basics

direct youtube link 

Friday present, new drivers from Matrox for the MXO2 series products.

For  more info & links to the drivers CLICK HERE

Beta Version of new MXO2 2.5 for use with Adobe CS5.5

Matrox is pleased to provide a Preview Release of Matrox MXO2 2.5 for use with Adobe CS5.5 software on Mac OS.

This beta release provides many fixes and improves overall stability for users of the Adobe Creative Suite 5.5.

Important: This software is provided as is. We recommend that you back up your system before installing new software and we do not recommend that you update your MXO2 software if you are in the middle of a project. Please report all of your findings (positive or negative) to the special section on the MXO2 web forum. Your feedback is important.

Tech Support will be handled through this dedicated forum section of our user forum; no phone support will be available until the final release is available to the public.

These beta drivers available here, will only work and install in conjunction with Adobe CS5.5 software. No other version of Adobe Premiere Pro will work with these drivers. If you do not have Adobe Premiere Pro 5.5, then you do not need to download and install these drivers.

We recommend all Adobe CS5.5 users upgrade to Adobe Premiere 5.5.2 before installing the Matrox Utilities 2.5 driver version.

This 2.5 beta release also supports the following additional NLE's:

- Apple Final Cut Pro 7.0.3

- Avid Media Composer 5.5.3 (only for MXO2 Mini & MXO2 Mini with MAX)
 

Sorry to break your heart today but since you and some of your spammer friends where making a mess of things here, we had to change things. It had just gotten completely out of hand.

I had been wasting way too much time cleaning up your defacements of my site, so now you can't anymore. No more comments, at least not as they had been. Now you have to be a real person to comment.

Honestly, do you think ANYONE would every click on one of those links ?

At the end of the day, are you doing the world any good ?

Are you bringing happiness to anyone ?

Are you easing anyone's burdens ? or making them worse ?

Karma is a  bitch my friend, in this life you get what you give. I hope you consider finding a better way in life.

To My Visitors

I spent a lot of time cleaning all the spam off the site. A thankless task but done.If I some how removed one of your comments... sorry !

Going forwards you'll need to be logged into facbook to post comments. That is my best assurance you're a legit user. I know this might be an inconvenience to some but I had few choices given how bad things had gotten. Over the last couple of weeks it went from a couple of bad posts to a situation where I'd remove them, and a couple days later there were new ones. It simply got crazy and I needed the best _fast_ fix. The old comments will still display, but you can't add new ones that way. 

Perhaps the guilty party may decide to apologize, but some one I don't think that will happen.

Avid released an editing app for the iPad. Cool we can have a computer with 2001ish computing power choking thru h264 clips. Maybe the iPad3 will be decent with this. Now I'm sure it works ok, but I couldn't see really trying to edit something on an iPad. The screen is too small, and clicking and dragging too coarse for what editing really needs to do. Even still, I'm sure some cheap TV stations will send reporters out with these and tell them to edit stories... and it will happen. 

JUST ANNOUNCED ! Blackmagic has support for FCP 10.0.3 broadcast video output. Press release follows-

Fremont, USA - February 1, 2012 - Blackmagic Design today released Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1, a software update for its capture and playback products that adds broadcast monitoring support with the new Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 update. < \br> Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1 for Mac OS X is available for download now and is free of charge for all Blackmagic Design customers. This update includes support for all current DeckLink, Multibridge, Intensity and UltraStudio models.

Broadcast monitoring in Final Cut Pro 10.0.3 allows video output to external monitors and other equipment using the SDI, HDMI or analog video outputs from Blackmagic Design video hardware.

Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1 includes a new control panel for selecting the video output format from Final Cut Pro X for output to devices such as broadcast quality monitors, HDTVs and projectors, so you can see exactly what your master will look like in television colorspace.

Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1 also includes Media Express 3.1 beta. Media Express provides capture, logging and management of video files to Final Cut Pro X compatible formats including ProRes and uncompressed video. Media Express features timecode accurate video capture from professional VTRs with RS-422 control, the ability to log additional metadata and to create custom bins for managing all project video media.

Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 includes XML 1.1 for exporting primary color grades to DaVinci Resolve. This improved XML support makes it easier to move projects from FCP X to Resolve as any primary color changes carried out during editing can now be imported and applied automatically within Resolve. Once a project has been color graded with DaVinci Resolve it can be reopened simply within Final Cut Pro X for any further editing.

“We are extremely pleased to provide immediate support for the new monitoring feature in Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3,” said Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. “Now working with Final Cut Pro X is even better since our customers can accurately view projects on whatever monitor they choose and can ensure that their final output meets crucial broadcast standards.”

Availability and Price
Desktop Video 9.2 beta 1 for Mac OS X is available now free of charge from the Blackmagic Design support page at www.blackmagic-design.com/support.

Press Photography
Images of all Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagic-design.com/press/images.

About Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci EmmyTM award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check www.blackmagic-design.com.
 

Tamron 70-200 2.8 wide open, max close focus. From this weekend, shot hand held actually. Near Macro. Full res shots are equally nice. Who says modern glass doesn't have nice bokeh ? or at least has to be super expensive to get it.

Ok Canon, when do I get MY turn ? Nice shoot including some great low light shots showing just an amazingly clean image. As I had noted before, and this shooter also concludes, the C300 as its set up right now seems to hard clip highlights rather fast. So the ideal sitiuation is to under exposed to protect the highlights as much as you can. Nothing really that new with a video camera, but worth noting as the C300 doesn't seem to handle highlights as nicely as the others - F3 / Epic / and even eos dslr's with less dynamic range.

On the other side the C300 doesn't shy away from being sharp in a pleasing way. I think its pretty much very film like when film is having a good day. 

A few shots from this weekend. Yes I did get out on the ice for a few of these shots. This shot was done on a Vivitar 24 F2.0 + 60D. The lower shot was on the Vivitar / Tokina 400 5.6 + Kenko 1.4X converter. Hate to say it but its not an ideal combination for stills. With an 800mm full frame equivalent it was more then too tempting to not use when the chance to shoot eagles over the weekend came by. Many hours of standing in 10-20deg F temps. While not the shots I expected to get, I still got something nice. For video purposes, it may or may not of been usable. Thats why you go out and shoot tests and learn your gear so you know what it will and will not do ! 

Vivitar 24 F2

Vivitar 400 5.6 + Kenko 1.4X 60D

Even still, with nearly 500 frames shot, a couple great images did emerge. They weren't the ones you'd see in certain national wildlife mags, but maybe ones that dealt more with the art side of photography.

We've all heard about how dslr's should let  people make movie's free of big financial concerns. All you need is a good script, good actors, camera, sound, pizza and locations. Here is perhaps an actual example of it happening. These are pretty few and far between. Here is a micro budget production at its bare essentials. Looks pretty cool to not be tied to too much gear as many of the jobs I'm on are. 

What caught my eye was that this was shot on a GH2 that I had been thinking about getting, but in the end opted for another 60D.

And the actual trailer. I'm not a huge horro film fan, but it looks pretty good.

Another C300 test video makes the light of day. Ungraded, "normal" settings. What you'll notice right away is that the camera is sharp ! no more detail dialed down low. There are some really nice night shots in here towards then, all very clean at ISO 800 and sharp. 

What did did notice is some hard knee effects in the highlights where the camera seems to hold them up to a point and then just blows out. Maybe some better camera adjustments will make for a bit less harsh of an edge. Either way, its still looking very nice.

Scarlets are making it out into the wild. While not a cheap camera, or simple camera to use in production this sample came by my eyes. The thing you'll notice right away is how sharp it is, even for Vimeo which sometimes tends to smooth things out a bit. Really suprisingly sharp. This could be the camera that makes or breaks some lenses as being suitable for work or not.

I think we've all gotten used to dslr material with the sharpness dialed down. Me personally, I got tired of the look and I've had my sharpness up a bit. If the camera is gonna moire, its gonna do it and there isn't much you can do about it by dialing down the sharpness. It does help a little in smoothing it out, it may help on really small borderline cases. However with nasty ones like you get on fabric, they are gonna happen regardless. Ok, maybe if you put some REALLY strong diffusion on the lens it will be ok, but otherwise it'll be there. 

SO enjoy - even from the vimeo preview you can see the sharpness. As for the short story, whatever, its a test shoot.

Announced a day or two ago the folks creating magic lantern have announced bring HDR to eos cameras. Sort of. Its a hacked 2 frame expsoure scheme with one normal frame and 4+ stop exposed frame. That means you have to shoot 60fps to get 30fps, with the obvious problems like what if things move enough during those frames that the images don't align. Ok, maybe talking heads might work, but I think with a lot of other things it won't. 

And I Quote from their forum

" Frame rate is an issue. In this test, the raw data was shot at 25 FPS meaning the effective output rate was 12.5 FPS. So if we want 30 FPS then we have to shoot at 60 (bummer). Since we are peaked at 1080p @ 30 FPS, and 720p @ 60 FPS, we can only do HDR 1080p @ 15 FPS and HDR 720p @ 30 FPS. Rather, with the Scarlet you should be able to do 3k @ 30 FPS with HDRx if I remember correctly."

thats right, in 1080 your max frame rate is 30 so this is 15fps output. 720 isn't so great with these cameras, but you could get 60->30. Its a fun experiment and  not a practical production tool.

MORE HERE

Don't get me wrong, I really like what these guys are trying to do, but ML just isn't practical to use on real production work where you are running around shooting like crazy and dealing with all the things you need to. The very last thing I want to worry about is loading ML every time the camera gets shut off. Then if you do like most folks and format your cards clear in the camera, you have to reload ML onto the cards. Really not practical !

So my challenge to the ML guys - load your code into the camera's firmware assuming there is room for it.

It seems that Tokina released the 35-105 3.5 they made for Vivitar once Vivitar went on to a model II which was 3.2-4. Here is a sample of the Tokina 35-105 ( mislabeled in the video BTW ) which looks pretty nice. These shots have been "graded" so its hard to say what the real look of the lens is, but according to the author its sharper wide open then the original lens.

More investigation shows there are at least 2 models. The RMC version is different from the generic Tokina which appears to be the same as the Vivitar version.

Just watch. C300 looks awesome. Being from NY I loved seeing the regular locations rather then the ones the features always seem to always shoot. Whats beyond impressive is how well this camera works in natural night light. Having shot around NYC, its generally pretty bright, but these guys shot in places with even lower light levels. Its impressive to say the least. This camera means you don't have to have 12K's and 18K's to light up a night scene ( well unless you plan to light up mountains :) ), Far more modest 575's, 1200's and 1800's will get the job done. I think it would  be really liberating on every level to not be tied to big lighting gear for nite scenes. So like I said, just watch it. They also did some quick gamma setting tests and the main thing I was : The EOS mode is over exposed by 1-2 stops, and the graded S log shots really didn't display what I thought they would. They probably needed to drop the exposure 1-2 stops to try to gain something back.

Canon EOS C300 = Awesome from Jonathan Yi on Vimeo.

The answer is, yes I can be in Chicago tomorrow for a noon start to shoot for 2 days. Ok, so that lets me somewhat off the hook for a block post today.

First I have to save I've been working the last 3 days on a reality TV show pilot for a network. Long hours, but I met some great people. 

On this shoot the camera of choice as a Sony Z5U palmcorder. Runs for hours and hours on its large size built in battery. I wasn't thrilled to shoot 1080i60 but if thats what they want, its what I'll do. These cameras are perfect for long days of fast moving shooting in tight spaces. I also had my GoPro's shooting some great POV angles and timelapse. On this shoot I setup the GoPros in a couple of places I could not be because there was live ammo being fired. Don't panic, this is WI. Everything was VERY safe !

While I was working, this amazing video came to my attention. Yes its shot on dslr's, and some full size shoulder cams ( looks like varicams ) and 35mm. If you don't like Duran Duran, you'll still like this video, I promise ! Watch it in 1080 because its a lot easier to see the various grain patterns or lack thereof. Its got some interesting very well produced shots in it. 

Ok, add in 5 super models and great locations just to make this great. 

The point though - this great peice clearly mixed and matched various formats and mixed them into a smooth seemless flow. Editing and grading where also very well done.

Check it out. In this day and age of no budget music videos, this one shines as to why spending money with talented people does matter ! 

Ok, maybe not quite like the Zacuto camera shoot out, but still very revealing. No the 4S iPhone doesn't quite outgun the 5D, but.... well.... I did say "not quite". To be sure the 4S has more compression, and lower quality glass, ect but stll you could certainly use it for a quick B roll shoot, POV shot, ect, slip it in and at least on lower sized web mov's no one would probably every notice. really ! Ya the pixel peepers will gladly point out the differences, but clients, most of them won't know the difference unless you point it out. Would you really do that ?

The shooter here used settings on the 5D to try to mimic the 4S as much as possible including using AWB. The 5D is a bit cooler / less saturated, but nothing you couldn't correct in 10 secs of mouse twitching. The 4S also seems to have a bit more highlight compression and shadow compression. It seems biased towards protecting highlights, which is fine as a consumer camera. The 5D in stock settings seems set to preserve more shadow detail assuming the shooter will do what they need to do to hold highlights. Still, you could mix these cameras together and have a minor effort to match them if shot this way AND you are outputting smaller web mov's where the differences, well, may just not be there once color corrected.

You know I don't post vids here that aren't worth your time, at least I hope you think that way when watch them. All over the web you'll here about "brilliant" direction which is usually pretty bad. Here is one thats a lot of fun, there's a a bunch of details that are interesting, and this video really makes fun of music video, yet still says something. Ya, shot on dslr, but nice directing for a change, girls in skimpy out fits, and a chicken suit head. Need anything else in a music video ?

Think you work hard on shoots ? dig this. Totally worth the watch, then check out how it was done. Hint : no store bought expensive slider but a lot of cool DIY gizmos and lights.

Here is the Main Page for how this was created. Click on each storyboard image to see a complete  how it was done of each shot.

On this page all the rigs used in shooting this but alas no peek at the camera or shooting setup. 

Another lens from Samyang. Nice specs, full manual lens, to bad it focuses backwards. What here they thinking ? Maybe they will have another version that focuses the right way like the 85mm.

Complete Info Here

QTchange is one of those small must have apps. It lets you change all sorts of bits in a QT mov file likes its TC, reel name and even FPS rate. For example, shoot at 60fps and change the QT file to play at 24. 

My biggest use is setting TC for all the dslr clips I shoot. With this QT app you can set them to Time Of Day along with setting a reel name of your choice. Of course you can batch process an entire folder of clips, but new in 1.8.4 is the ability to process single selected files for special cases. Of course that new feature may of been my special request :).  For $25 this app is a no brainer for its utility and time savings. Even though dslr's won't take external TC, at least being able to set it from either file creation or the companion .THM file can make syncing audio much easier. It can also create TC burns as well. It does those sorts of fixes nothing else does for a price that pays for itself in one use.

Have fun, be safe, new challenge for your little camera -

If it weren't so true....

There is a LOT of over reaction right now about project / XML import. apple has been clear its coming, and given the uproar, probably REAL soon.  this is OS X 10.0, which was more an experimental / beta release then anything else. then 10.1 got better, faster, and finally 10.2 was usable for everyday work. I remember those transition days.  How many of you remember starting up 10.0 and poking around, looking for apps that worked, ect ? There was a lot of the same fallout back then, but look where things have gone.

This firmware release  is a bit old dated 3/24/11 but no one seems to of noticed much.

 if you are trying to get the new techincolor cinestyle installed, you need this and the latest version of the EOS utility FOUND HERE.

To actually install this and get it to work :

Install Firmware 1.0.9 onto the camera

Install V2.10 of the EOS utility

Set camera to M or B mode, go to what canon calls the menu item, but its actually a part of their funky UI in the small window.

Hit the Camera Icon in the small control window, then under the Shooting Menu part of the window, select a user defined setting.

You'll now notice that Register User Setting is now available. Hit it

A dialog opens, and hit the Open File button. Select the style and load it, Hit Ok

This will only work in STILLS mode on the camera. If the Load File Icon is grayed out / doesn't work your in video mode.

Now change the camera on its dial to video mode.

Go to the Shooting Menu area of the small UI window

Select Register User Setting however this time when you go to load the style, the Load File button is grayed out. 

I bet you just had a WTF moment, this is supposed to work, right ? Check this out :

Open the pop up menu, Cinestyle is at the bottom !

Talk about convoluted screwed up UI ! ok, at least it works but hopefully you won't have to waste an hour messing around to figure all of this out.

Now on for some camera tests.

"Turn The Screw"  

This is NOT your average low budget music video. Its got some really great images, CG and composite work. Shot on a 5D. It looks like far more money was spent on it. Some great treatments and imagination. Take a look.

You heard it hear first, just sit and wait with anticipation :) !

 Sad breaking news today as we get word that Restrepo Documentarian Tim Hetherington Confirmed Killed in Libya. Photographer Andre Liohn wrote from Misrata on his Facebook page

 " Hetherington died in Misrata when covering the front line. Chris Hondros is in a serious status. Michel Brown and Guy are wounded but fine."

Further updates say that Chris Hondros is now also dead.

Enter Lights From China

I'm back from NAB, almost ! I'm in the minneapolis airport posting this saturday afternoon. The very best stuff at NAB I can't talk about.. NDA's and all. What I won't talk about is the zillion product announcements you've read everywhere a dozen times. What I will talk about are some emerging trends at NAB which requires a bit more thought and consideration in taking in so many things.

First I went and did some rock climbing with my GF. Good for concentration ! Dig the lectrosonics T shirt :)

The shots were taken with my 60D + Tamron 17-50 2.8 and I didn't shoot any video while there ! I was really in civilian mode. However, some of the peace and quite was broken up by some guys shooting a car commercial with a helicopter, hanging a RED out the side on a Tyler mount. Pretty hard not to make amazing pictures in a place like this ! Its the same spot they shot parts of Star Trek "Generations"

The rest of the week as I catch up with work and follow ups from NAB conversations, I'll start putting up some things I saw at the show worth thinking about, but here is a starter : Tungsten lighting is dead.

Another great timelapse ! Ok, terrible sound track, but the shots make up for it.

__________________________________________

Photographer Terje Sorgjerd braved -25 degree Celsius (-15 F) temperatures to capture this mesmerizing collection of photographs. Then, by assembling the 22,000 photos, he created a time-lapse video of the rich color and dynamic shapes of the Northern Lights that would normally be difficult to see. Adding the atmospheric Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard song "Now We Are Free" from the movie Gladiator to the mix, and Sorgjerd has created a masterpiece.

__________________________________________

Sub Zero - winter night timelapse from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

Technicolor is shutting down its Hollywood facility, putting 360 people out on the street. This is due in part to their loosing a contract to Deluxe for handling Universal's work. They are opening a new facility, but only hiring back about 100 people when it opens. LA Times article . Part of the reduction is also due to falling demand in film processing. There simply isn't any other work around to make up for the loss with Universal. Many of us may be saying good riddance to that last century medium called film, but its also taking away some needed jobs as well. Hopefully every one finds something new. 

Canon basically revamped it consumer line of HD palmcorders, the Vivixa series. Some nice improvements to be sure. They also announced the XA10 camcorder which is a continuation of their pro-ish camera line. Its small, its AVChd, it has a decent lens with 8 blade aperture. There was no dslrnews though today. Maybe they will put out some firmware updates over the next day or two, maybe not. Given that CES is a consumer event, this isn't too suprising that there's no dslr news. Here is...

Read More "CES started today, No News From Canon to Get Excited About, Well Maybe"

Get it HERE What is new in it ? ------------- Firmware version 1.0.8 incorporates the following fixes. Fixes a phenomenon in which captured images may become overexposed when using the camera's built-in flash or an external Speedlite in combination with the lenses listed below:* a) EF300/4 L IS USM b) EF28-135/3.5-5.6 IS USM c) EF75-300/4-5.6 IS USM d) EF100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM Firmware version 1.0.8 is for cameras with Firmware Version 1.0.5. If the camera's firmware is already...

Read More "Canon Releases V1.0.8 Firmware for 60D today"

Convergence - Short Film shot on Sony PMW-F3 from Martin Scanlan on Vimeo.

35-105 Lens Test Finally Done !

Vivitar 35-105 3.5 LENS TEST from Steve Oakley on Vimeo

A Nite In Cincinatti