Today I spent a day at the Races. Starting at the ungodly hour of 430am we filmed with trainer Mike Mitchell at the Hollywood stables. It was funny, I have family in the racing business in England and generally the people working in the stables are generally young blonde students (huge sweeping generalising there!) here they seemed to be Latin American guys with MASSIVE filmic moustaches. Much more fun for me to film, as people know I tend to like to film interesting looking people than the obvious pretty ones!
The idea for this shoot was to do some test footage using Illya Friedman’s new PL CAMERA. Which is simply a very nicely modified 7D. Read the linked blog for more info on it.
We had a great crew. Jarred from Cinema 5D who provided the fantastic Cooke lenses as well as a RED zoom and a Century Optics zoom as well as the Matte Box and filters. Chuck with his litepanels (which we didn’t need in the end), RAWworks owner Neil who is organising the event, Creative Director Jeremy and sound man Bobby…very very odd Bobby!
I mostly shot using the 25mm and 100mm Cooke S4 T2 primes. What a GORGEOUS image these lenses give you. Yes it was a lot more fiddly and time consuming using these lenses with a mattebox for NDs than my normal “run and gun” set up but it was worth it. The images below speak for themselves!
Jeremy is going to do an edit together of the material and we will premiere it my HD-DSLR masterclass on Saturday on the Warner Bros lot in Hollywood. I saw the venue today and it’s fantastic. There are still some places left so please come. You don’t need to own a camera to come, just have an interest in these camera. We will be projecting lots of cool stuff on a great big screen Your chance to see how well these cameras hold up.
One very cool thing is Illya had a wide zoom that I used on one of the frame grabs of the horses walking in circles…this is a Tokina 11-16mm modified into a PL mount lens and now cost $3500. Same optics though…show you how good that lens is!
Below are some screen grabs of the shoot and some BTS pictures taken with my GF1 and the new Noktor.
Illya
Jeremy and Bobby
95 comments
Pretty awesome! Lens looks extremely soft on the 7D. I really have no experience with this sort of glass due to my budget.
Sharpness is turned all the way off on the 7D as recommended, it will be re-sharpened slightly in post.
Amazing. What tools are you guys using to sharpen in post? I’m flattening my profile in the 5D and correcting in Magic Bullet Looks, but I’m not sure about the best sharpening tool for FCP on the Mac.
Pardon my ignorance, but how does one turn the sharpness all the way off on the 7D?
in the picture profile settings
You explain all that good stuff very well in your 7D DVD. ***RECOMMENDED*** –per my blog.
Nick, Along with this blog and Cinema5d i would sugest you go to Shane Hurlbuts sight (DOP of terminator salvation etc), choose hurlbut visuals, then go to his blog. It’s amazing for info and as an introduction to shooting films with these cameras (he’s shooting his latest movie for theatrical release on 7D/5D/1D – printing to 35mm). You can also subscribe to the inside track newsletter which is excellent also, with lots of fantastic info about these cameras.
Those sites and:
7dcinema.blogspot.com
Wow that is a great blog!
Why only resharpened slightly. I still dont understand why you wouldnt eventually want a nice sharp video picture afterwards? Is that a stylistic choice or does eliminate some sort of technical flaw… Also why does turning down in camera sharpening help when editing.
reduces aliasing and moire and you simply add a wee bit of sharpening back at end.
Beautiful shots there, great work. Again, would love to go to the classes, but alas, I’m in Australia.
OMG, seriously, filmmaking is severely changing these days. I’d love to just own that gear and make make and make films, I feel like a kid again when talking about these toys. I’m selling my whole HVX200A w/Letus Extreme Zacuto Kit in order to buy one of these babies, would u recommend me to wait and see what they reveal on NAB or should I just go ahead and get a 7D, a 5DMII or a 1DMIV?? (if thats the case, which one?? i cant decide!!)
i wouldn’t wait.
If you have cash 1dmkiv is awesome…if you like full frame the 5dmk2 or if you are on more of a budget or want to use cinema glass the 7D
really? don’t wait? I was waiting for NAB to buy mine. do you not expect anything to come out? I actually am planning to buy the new Sony NX5U. http://bit.ly/aZJ9Kr
Anything thoughts on this camera?
I’m struck by the very Film like tones and contrast levels. Colors are spectacular. I can’t make it all the way out west but look forward to hearing how things go during your class.
woohoo…that looks incredible !!!! nice nice nice nice nice and reeeaally beautyfull DoF !
cheers
Glad to here we don’t need a camera for the Masterclass, as my T2i hasn’t yet! can’t wait to see the film on saturday.
Glad to hear we don’t need a camera for the Masterclass, as my T2i hasn’t yet! can’t wait to see the film on saturday.
Trully game changing Phillip. Simply exquisite.
These images are absolutely amazing! If these are just frame grabs I can only imagine how awesome the footage is. The images look like something straight out of Hollywood Movie.
BTW, how much would those two lenses cost to rent?
wow beautiful results. That really is stunning what this little thing to put together. Wish I could afford those lenses!
me too!
oops! Sweet mama mia!
Looking forward to seeing the final edit!
Can’t wait to see the video Saturday.
CB
Philip, Thanks for a great day. You were very cool.
Jared
Those shots look absolutely amazing! I’m signed up for the PM class…I can’t wait.
great stuff Eddie
Hey Phil did the lens over heat with hdmi connect bro.
the lens overheat?
Leotard!
That 19th one is awesome! That dof! U got the focus totally right on Micky!
Love it!
Looks great, I can’t wait to see some footage!
Lovely!!!
Looks amazing Phil!! live the dream buddy..
Hey Philip,
I’d love to be at your Masterclass on Saturday but I live in Australia 🙁
If you land a client down under one day, you wanna come do a Masterclass in Oz?
The film grabs are awesome! Can’t wait to watch this movie! Will you post it on your blog right after the HD-DSLR workshop? It would be great!
Very pretty, that’s some fat glass.
Hi Phil,
Looks great. Do you think the problems with rolling shutter and sampling will be enough to keep cinema lenses on HD DSLRs from being a regular occurrence?
rolling shutter is very evident when using these lenses
Philip, that looks simply AMAZING! How did the lens perform at night time : P ? I can only imagine! When you were filming, what did you have the lens stopped down to? Theres no way you had it wide open correct?
wide open most of time!
Philip- Do you post a schedule of your Masterclasses? I’m having trouble finding it.
this is first one. no schedule yet
Please keep Orlando, FL in mind. Cheers.
Those frame grabs look great. Goes to show that good glass is always worth it. If the budget allows of course.
I’ve got access to some old school 35mm cooke lenses, unfortunately there’s really no way for me to put them on my 5D….AAAAAAARRRG!!! I hope a simple solution for using all cinema lenses isn’t far off. The new Zeiss primes are an exciting upcoming option but I sure would like to use the free cookes.
What solution is this you speak of?
The hotrod cameras PL mount?
http://www.hotrodcameras.com?
yep, links and details are in this blog
Sweet Glass!
Philip -if i said to you “you can only keep on of your canon’s the 7d or the 5d” which would you choose?? (providing the firmware update was already out).
Doesn’t the Tokina 11-16mm warp the image when panning or tilting?
a little
wow great stufff to hear
Hi Philip,
Fantastic looking stills, very much looking forward to seeing the footage in person Saturday!
So excited to see the footage!!!!!
Are you working on getting a set of the new Zeiss Full Frame Compact Primes to play with?
trying to
I just want to know why the goat was smiling at you so creepy like.
flirting
Always an inspiration Phil.
Is that the Ikan 5.6″ monitor and if so is that the field monitor of choice?
no it’s the Marshall. WAY better than the ikan 5600
Great images. Love the sky behind the horse. Like to take a peek at the edit if you are allowed to publish it, ATB.
Hi Phil, Just wanted to know if you have gotten the chance to play with one of these yet? http://vimeo.com/9912459
I found a site that has it for $120 with free shipping and handling, but wanted to see what you though about it first, could work well on a rig.
yes it works well
The grabs looks intense. Looking forward to seeing the finished edit!
Love where you work is taking you Phil, always a joy to see what you release next! Keep on truckin’ brotha!
I’m looking to buy my first professional camcorder. I have $4,000 to spend. What would you suggest? A Sony NX5U, Z5U, or go the route of a 7D with some good glass?
Philip,
I enjoyed your Saturday class in Hollywood a lot. I also enjoyed meeting you in person at the end of your morning presentation.
Kindest and sincerest warm regards,
Lisa J. Kassner
good to mee you too Lisa. P
Nice work again. What iso were you shooting at, was there any noise reduction in post? The images look very clean.
Cheers,
Bill
160,320,640 and 1250 ISO
stunning photos ! wow ! 😀
what scene file did you use? the blacks and under exposed areas seem to be free of noise.
Stunning…when are you going to start using that Glidecam?
what a great video,
the color is awesome !
HI,
why did you choose theses ISO values : 160,320,640 and 1250 ISO ?
and not 200, 400, 800 and 1600 ISO for example
is there a technical issue ?
thanks
flenoir
how do you get the sharpness back in post ? is this a filter?
in built filter with FCP
I seem to have issues with grain/noise when I use the Sharpen filter in FCP. Do you run into this? If so, how to you remedy? Thanks for all the great info by the way!
the tiniest amount…that’s all
Hi Phill….
why did not you used the 7D and 5D PL mounts for these, what happens to these horses in the 5D or 1D MK IV?
thanks for sharing
Because I was using a specially modified 7D which takes all PL lenses.
hey phil what model is the Marshall monitor on the picture? it’s come with the shoe adaptor
hot shoe is extra…it’s the 6.5″ marshall
Awesome stuff – would wonder how different the footage would look if u had a custom 5D PL mount – either way – fantastic looking shots.
Is the rolling shutter more pronounced with the cinema lenses due to the type of glass used or ?
i don’t think soi!
Smashing good! I especially appreciated the Loscil soundtrack. Scott Morgan is really great to work with (I’ve licensed some music from him in the past – really cool guy).
I’m having an issue with the light metering not working in manual mode when shooting video. I’m using Leica-R lenses with Leitax adapters that do not have chips. Light metering works fine when shooting stills. But when I shoot video (my primary use) the light metering goes wacky.
Logically the light metering works fine for stills and these adapted prime lenses, so why does it fail to function properly in video mode?
Did you experience this when using these primes? Any solutions or settings I don’t know to change?
If anybody can help on this I’d really appreciate it!
Did this have anything to do with that new HBO show, “Luck”? If not, they need to hire you. Holy moly, great work.
nope, nothing to do with it!
Hay Phillip,
Have you noticed the 7D picture noise is Less @ 640 ISO and more noise in 320?
I know that your aware of the two different types of noise in these cameras.
One is Signal To Noise Ratio.
And the other is Chroma Noise.
I’ve run some tests, And have found that when your in the 640 ISO Color Noise is Less. I use to think 320 ISO was the best overall, But on the scope and to the Eye, i have found this not to be true when viewing raw on a 50″ Samsung.