May 2012
1 post
2 Weeks with the Canon C300
I think it’s fair to say, that anyone who I have worked with or spoken to about cameras knows that I am a fan of Panasonic and their camera systems. For the most part, I have shot on Panasonic cameras since 2005, seven years or so. That’s a lot of time dedicated to one menu system and methodology.
So when I had the opportunity to shoot with a C300 at my client’s request, I was a...
April 2012
1 post
NAB Short List 2012
As I prepare for a week in Las Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters show (NAB), just 2 weeks away now, I start to think about problems that I need solutions for. Sometimes there are several vendors with solutions to my problems, other times, there is only one solution, and occasionally, there is no solution to my unique (apparently) situation. Of course, I always find things that I...
February 2012
1 post
January 2012
2 posts
Anonymous asked: I am interested in the title(s) of the music that is used for the Iditarod Insider videos. Where does that music come from? Do you have a title for the music that accompanies the free music montage #1 that was posted on 3/15/11? Thank you.
First Take: Sonnet Echo Thunderbolt to Express34...
Sonnet first announced their Thunderbolt adapter back in April at the NAB show. I placed my order in September when they announced the product was ready to ship. The units did not actually ship until December.
I mainly use the E34 slot for a Matrox PCIe card that allows me to run my Panasonic PCD35 P2 card reader in the field. I do have some drives with eSata connections, and I have run those...
November 2011
6 posts
Canon C300 Thoughts
I followed the Canon event on the live Engadget blog, great job by Michael Gorman on his coverage. Here are my thoughts.
Here is a great page with C300 specs from DVInfo.
Here is a link to the Canon Product Page for the C300.
I will start with the price, because with price comes certain expectations. The estimated price will be $20,000, and that is of course without glass. Quite frankly,...
Anonymous asked: Great post Art. I've been on the fence regarding my next camera as well. I'm considering selling the ol' HVX and going with a Canon SLR. I appreciate the full frame 5D but am drawn to the AF, and other advanced features of the 7D. That being said, there's always the hope that Canon will develop a model that "does it all." It seems the moment you drop a load of...
The next great cinema camera
I am thinking about my next camera purchase today, November 1st, 2011, days before Canon and Red have independent announcements about their next cameras.
Red is expected to announce that their Scarlet camera is ready to ship with a yet unknown feature set. The Scarlet was originally announced at NAB 2008 as 3K resolution for $3,000 based on a fixed lens ⅔” sensor. All kinds of rumors are...
Anonymous asked: Art, NJFCPUG site is down. I've not received meeting emails for some time. Is the group defunct?
Anonymous asked: I watched you talk about the AF100 and the birger lense at a symposium in Columbus, Oh in Sept. I never did get the model number of the birger lense.
Anonymous asked: Recently I attended a symposium in Columbus Oh in which you provided a demonstration and talk about the AF100 camera. You mentioned several options on lenses sighting the various pros and cons. I would like to ask what lense might be a best fit if most of the shots are the distance of a width (not length) across a basketball court plus about 20 feet for a stage? The shot would be that of...
September 2011
2 posts
Panasonic's New Pro SD Card
Ever since the release of the Panasonic AF100 camera, I have been shooting lots of jobs with it. This has been a departure from my P2 workflow somewhat. First, I no longer need to bring my PCD35, as my i7 MacBook Pro has a built in SD card slot. Secondly, I am not swapping and offloading as many cards as I do with P2, since I can get 3 hours on a single 32GB card.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I...
Panasonic to show AVC Ultra products at IBC?
In a blog post on Tumblr, PanasonicProVideo pointed to an announcement at IBC on Friday that would offer high end features, “we will offer features that are indispensable to the high-end production market, such as 4:4:4, 2K, and 4K, as well as compatibility with new progressive formats.”
After hearing about AVC Ultra for several years at NAB, it will be nice to actually see this...
June 2011
1 post
Anonymous asked: Hello
I have EX1 , 5D Mark II with good glass collection and XHA1 , I only have $8300 budget .
I want the AF101 but it's 8 bit only :(
what will you advice please
I have EX1 , 5D Mark II with good glass collection and XHA1 , I only have $8300 budget .
I want the AF101 but it's 8 bit only :(
what will you advice please
May 2011
1 post
iMac as pro editing system? Yes, and here's how I...
Apple announced the new iMacs today, May 3rd, with little fanfare, but the update has significant importance. The addition of Thunderbolt as given new expandability to a machine that many pros have stayed away from.
The iMac, in it’s recent configuration is a good machine. Speedy processor, great screen in both quality and size, and an all in one package that makes it easy to deploy. The...
April 2011
2 posts
WatchPanasonic AF100, Kipon Adapter, Canon 15mm Fisheye, F2.8, ISO400, ND4, 1/120th shutter, 1 sec interval, 60 minute record
The next generation of Final Cut Pro has been demoed. Here’s what we know, and what we don’t.
In witness of 1700 people or so at the FCP UG Supermeet in Las Vegas last night, Robert Townhill, Director of Pro Video Product Marketing for Apple and Randy Ubillos showed a preview of Final Cut Pro X.
There are lot’s of write ups about what was said, but this recap from Larry Jordan...
March 2011
3 posts
Dear Santa,
For NAB this year I would like the following: A new Final Cut Studio with integrated server and shared storage. A new MacPro with Thunderbolt, and a Birger mount for my AF100. If you feel like I am not asking too much, I would also like a new MacBookPro, and some more work this year.
I have been really, really good. I have not fired any clients, or called their ideas stupid. I have...
3 tags
Extreme P2 on the Iditarod Trail: Anchorage
The 2011 Iditarod Sled Dog Race begins on the first Saturday in March. It is a 1150 mile endurance race, which dates back to 1973, with roots much older. The race pits a musher and dog team (16 to start with) against each other, and sometimes themselves.
My job here is to prepare cameras and editing systems before heading out on the trail to shoot, edit, and blog.
The production team consists of...
My Iditarod Adventure Begins
Today is the official start of Iditarod 39, the 1150 mile sled dog race in Alaska. I am working as a shooter/editor/blogger and system support engineer for the documentary team known as the Iditarod Insiders.
I begin my journey at 7am AST, with a drive to Willow, about and hour from Anchorage. I setup edit systems and cameras, then fly from Willow to Anchorage, Anchorage to McGrath on a 2 seat...
February 2011
4 posts
Native AVCCam Editing in FCP coming soon
Panasonic Solutions Company has introduced AVCCAM Importer software, a QuickTime plug-in that eliminates the need to convert AVCHD files to ProRES422 files before editing in Final Cut Pro.
AVCCAM Importer is a software for Apple Final Cut Pro to enable direct editing of an AVCHD “.mts” file without conversion. Since AVCCAM Importer is a plug-in component for Apple QuickTime, QuickTime Player...
LightPeak fuels my Apple Dream
With the talks of a rumored new MacBookPro with LightPeak technology floating around the net, I find myself thinking about “what if”.
What if LightPeak is as great as it sounds. What if LightPeak can combine things like firewire, ethernet, and fibre channel into a single high speed port. What if this is the technology that Apple has been building their next generation production suite...
Anonymous asked: Art, very good article about "A Week with the 3DA1".
I was wondering if you have some some workflow in PC to work with, and if there is some kind of solution for a PC laptop-
We have to do a documentary, but must edit on production.
Regards,
Emilio Ommidvar
Arauco Films
I was wondering if you have some some workflow in PC to work with, and if there is some kind of solution for a PC laptop-
We have to do a documentary, but must edit on production.
Regards,
Emilio Ommidvar
Arauco Films
Working Anywhere
As I sit at LAX airport waiting for my flight back home, revising a spot using my laptop and Final Cut Studio, and am reminded how powerful a tool we have, and sometimes I forget that.
The spot I am working on is for the Iditarod Insider, a web video subscription service for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race.
The video was delivered via FTP as I was flying out to Los Angeles. When I arrived at my...
December 2010
4 posts
AF100 Impressions in Real World Production
Last weekend I had the opportunity to shoot with nearly finished Panasonic AF100 camera. Panasonic calls this a PL sample, the nearly finished and ready for mass production version.
The shoot was a series of holiday promo’s for the PBS/Sprout channel. We originally considered the Canon 5D for this shoot, due to time and budget constraints. I was hesitant to use the 5D for “on...
November 2010
4 posts
FCP for iPad? Seems likely
Apple submitted this diagram for patent application. Could be new version of Final Cut on iPad. Article link here.
Anonymous asked: Art, I own an HPX500 like yourself. I want to use the SDI output to record PRORES (HQ) on a KiProMini in 1080-24pA. Do you know if the KiPro will remove the flagged frames to give me true 23.98 recordings?
Anonymous asked: Hi,
I found your site when I was googling the image of the KI Pro mini back panel. Couldn't remember if it has SDI i/o. Have you bought one yet? Any luck getting a straight answer on the mounting bracket? Shortly after IBC, i was getting breeze from an underprepared rep at AJA.
Thanks for the pics of the AF100. I almost bought an HMC-150 last month (job that didn't...
I found your site when I was googling the image of the KI Pro mini back panel. Couldn't remember if it has SDI i/o. Have you bought one yet? Any luck getting a straight answer on the mounting bracket? Shortly after IBC, i was getting breeze from an underprepared rep at AJA.
Thanks for the pics of the AF100. I almost bought an HMC-150 last month (job that didn't...
Sony F3 vs Panasonic AF100
Sony has officially thrown their hat into the entry level large sensor digital film market with the F3 camera. While the response is not a surprise, the price point and feature set is a bit surprising.
Sony will offer the PMW-F3 in two kits, one with 3 prime lenses (Sony lenses in 35mm, 50mm and 85mm) for 20,700K euors, and another kit without glass for $14.5K euros. It is not clear whether the...
October 2010
1 post
September 2010
9 posts
Panasonic AF100 official list price at $4995. Confirmed.
New Mattebox from OConnor with handles. Looks interesting!
Thoughts on my next camera system
At the time this post was written, the start of the IBC show in Amsterdam, details are emerging about the new Panasonic AF100 camera. The AF100 has been officially named the “DSLR Killer” when DVXUser creator Barry Green gave his initial thoughts after shooting with an early prototype at IBC.
I have been a vocal supporter of the P2 format since the introduction of the HVX200 at the...
Barry Green comments on AF100 from the IBC show floor. Read Here.
Update: AJA KiPro mini will list for $1995 and be available in October.
AJA announces new KiPro Mini
AJA has announced KiPro Mini at IBC. Smaller version of KiPro, looks perfect for my new AF100 rig.
WatchOne of my favorite jobs. Produced by Bernie Mitchell, Videography by Lou Leta and Tom Chartrand.
More about 3D editing in Final Cut Pro with Neo3D
More of my ramblings about first 3D edit in Final Cut Pro using Neo3D and the BT-3D2550 monitor.
A few words about shooting and editing 3D
I wrote up a summary of my experience shooting and editing some 3D footage with the Panasonic 3DA1 camera at the US Open.