» Posts Tagged ‘hdslr’
Canon announced all the way back in October 2012 that they had worked out what we had previously thought impossible: uncompressed HDMI (which really just involves making the output fill the screen and removing overlays). While it’s not necessarily going to be a magic bullet for better image quality, there are plenty of uses for clean HDMI, including better workflow options. Unfortunately for those who were looking at the beginning of the month for the firmware update, Canon has now pushed it all the way until the end of this month. Click through for more. More »
Many were hopeful that Canon was going to rid all of their DSLRs of moire and aliasing, but they’ve saved those improvements to all but their most expensive cameras. The full-frame Canon 6D, which was announced back in September, is about a $1,000 cheaper than the Mark III, but unfortunately suffers from aliasing and moire (something that is absent from the Mark III’s image). Mosaic Engineering has been developing anti-aliasing filters for Canon and Nikon DSLRs, and they’ve finally come out with one for the Canon 6D, the VAF-6D. Could the new filter make it the perfect full-frame camera in terms of price/performance in Canon’s lineup? Check out the first sample video below. More »
As we approach midnight in most places around the world (with some already celebrating the new year), the hardworking team over at Magic Lantern has delivered more updates to the trusty Canon DSLRs. We now have a second alpha for the Canon 7D — a camera that we previously thought was unhackable — and more updates are on their way with support for the Canon T4i, 6D, and 40D. Check out all of the exciting developments below. More »
9 New Panasonic GH3 Test Videos Show the Camera's Capabilities and Limitations
You’ve seen the test videos and the first short film made with the prototype models, but now the production models of the Panasonic GH3 have been around for almost a month. Those filmmakers who decided to take the early adoption plunge have been out there kicking the GH3‘s figurative tires and uploading their resulting videos. Here I’ve picked out those videos that should answer lingering questions about moire, ISO, the wireless app, overall image quality, and how the GH3 compares to the GH2 (and popular DSLR’s). I’ll also chime in occasionally with my thoughts on the brief hands-on experience I had with the camera: More »
There are a good deal of relatively inexpensive rigs out there that can help you achieve a nice dolly shot. For small-scale dollying you might use Cineskates, or for shots that require a greater amount of movement with larger subjects, you might go with Rigwheels. But there might be times when the size of your subject might make these tools — and even a full dolly track setup — inadequate for the job. But with a DSLR, some planning, and a little post work, you can put together a beautiful dolly shot of a tall building: More »
Canon 5D Mark II, 5D Mark III, and the New 6D Face off in a Moire and Aliasing Test
If you’re looking for a new full-frame camera from Canon, you’ve got some options now that the new Canon 6D is beginning to ship. We’ve already seen some samples from that camera, but it’s hard to know how it compares to the other models without looking at all of them directly. Mitch from planet5D has gotten a hold of the Mark II, Mark III, and 6D simultaneously to see if the new model still exhibits some of the same issues that the Canon 5D Mark III has fixed. More »
Panasonic Officially Starts Shipping the GH3 (Plus New Test Videos)
Some of us have been waiting for this since the camera stat rumors in September, and others since the GH2 was hacked. Despite earlier news of a slightly delayed release date, it looks like Panasonic has officially begun shipping the GH3. If you’re just now learning about the GH3, be sure to check out the camera’s stats and past videos. However, if you’ve been following the news, jump in and check out the latest test videos: More »
With all of the recent camera announcements, it’s easy to forget that Canon introduced a new budget full-frame camera, the Canon 6D. While it doesn’t sport all of the features of the 5D Mark III, it should be a step up from the aging 5D Mark II (which hasn’t come down in price very much thanks to Canon’s new minimum pricing agreement with resellers). Johnnie Behiri, who often tests out the latest and greatest cameras, took a pre-production Canon 6D for a spin and gives us his thoughts and some footage below. More »
The team over at Magic Lantern continues to make things happen. The camera has barely been released and they’ve already gotten inside the firmware for the Canon EOS-M mirrorless camera (which shares a similar sensor with the Canon T4i). A firmware update is still a little ways off, but it’s another good sign that most (if not all) Canon cameras can be hacked with a little bit of work. Also of note, Magic Lantern has released the 3rd Alpha for the 5D Mark III, which addresses a few issues from the last Alpha. More »
Learning to shoot timelapse videos on a DSLR can be quite daunting at first, but Preston Kanak, a frequent contributor to Philip Bloom’s site, has already produced a couple great videos giving an introduction to shooting timelapse on DSLRs. His ultimate goal is to create a series of videos and release one each month that details a bit about producing a timelapse video and what exactly goes into the process. If you happened to miss either the introduction or part 1, or you want to skip right ahead to part 2, click through to check them out. More »
Nikon introduced the D600 back in September, shortly after Sony gave us a number of new cameras. In terms of full-frame DSLRs, only the aging 5D Mark II and the new Canon 6D are anywhere near the price range of the $2,100 D600. Unfortunately, Nikon released the camera without the ability to change the aperture in live view. While this isn’t a deal-breaker for those with manual lenses, if you want to use new automatic lenses, it’s a real problem. Another issue for filmmakers is that the camera does not display a full picture in live view in order to make full use of recording the HDMI output. A new firmware update, however, may fix these issues and make the D600 a contender. More »
8-Bit is Still 8-Bit, Why DSLRs Are No Match for the 12-Bit Blackmagic Cinema Camera
People have done as much as possible to argue against the test that was performed with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera by Marco Solorio and OneRiver Media. That test compared the 5D Mark III and the BMCC, and even though the superior resolution and dynamic range of one of those cameras should have been obvious, many still prefer the Mark III and complained that a better picture profile or some post sharpness would make the differences less noticeable. Well, Marco is back with a new test, and (in my personal opinion) it’s hard to argue against these results, as he’s pulled out all of the stops to really test the Blackmagic Cinema Camera and show why 8-bit will always be 8-bit, and what it means when you’ve got the capability for 12-bit images. More »
That’s right, Canon is going to be giving users clean HDMI in a future firmware update for the 5D Mark III, and it’s not coming from the hardworking folks at Magic Lantern. Canon has innovated in some ways in the DSLR space, but they have made a clear distinction between their video and photography product lines. Lack of clean HDMI is a feature their competition already has — namely Nikon and Sony, who both have cameras with clean HDMI — with the Nikon D800 being the first full-frame camera out of the gate with a fully uncompressed 1080p. Obviously Canon has a plan for announcing this now, the only question is, when will you actually be able to get it? More »
The first alpha for Magic Lantern on the Canon 5D Mark III added quite a few of the basic functions that were released in the major 2.3 release. The second alpha has just been released, and it brings some interesting features, including clean HDMI, a High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode in video, and gradual exposure, which allows the camera to slowly ramp up to the selected exposure settings, rather than abruptly changing them. Check below for the rest of the details. More »
Good things continue to happen for the Canon 7D. With a rapidly changing camera landscape (and far too many options to choose from), many people are still holding on to their trusty DSLRs — and that includes quite a few 7Ds. Just recently the first alpha of Magic Lantern was made available for the camera, and now it looks like clean HDMI may not be too far off. It’s been available for other Canon DSLRs through the firmware hack for some time now, but this is the first testing that has been done for this camera. Check out the video below to see the first results in action.
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It seemed like an impossibility, and many people had written off ever having the ability to use Magic Lantern on the Canon 7D (including me), but it has finally become a reality: the hack is working successfully and is available right now for use on your own camera. Hudson and Indy were the major players who made this possible, and g3gg0, in a post on the Magic Lantern site, described in detail what went into the release and what is, or isn’t, working. More »
Announced along with a hundred other cameras from Sony (including a full-frame mirrorless camera), the new A99 SLT full-frame camera is an attempt to take the reigns in the small camera race in both still photography and video. The specs are certainly there, with a 24 megapixel sensor and uncompressed HDMI, but as we know, specs don’t always tell the whole story. Johnnie Behiri, a BBC freelance cameraman/editor (among other things), got a chance to test out the camera and has given us some test videos along with his impressions. More »
There have been some rather exciting updates regarding the Magic Lantern firmware hack recently. The first big announcement was that the third party firmware was now working on the Canon 5D Mark III, and then we got the fantastic news that it’s also being ported to the Canon 7D. There have been new developments with the 7D, and we are edging even closer to a final release. Click through for a video showing off the newest firmware working on the camera. More »
Nikon has been steadily improving video quality in their DSLRs, but they have mostly lagged behind their competitors until the release of the D800, which had more resolution than the Canon 5D Mark III as well as the ability to record the HDMI output. The one area where the D800 was not as stellar as the Mark III (thanks to the 36 megapixel sensor in the Nikon), was low-light performance. With the release of the Nikon D600, Nikon is hoping to at least match Canon’s offerings (the 5D Mark III and the brand new Canon 6D) not only in video quality, but in low-light performance. CheesyCam, a gear review site we have featured here before, takes a look at the Nikon D600 vs. the Canon 5D Mark III: More »
Blackmagic Cinema Camera Shows the Canon 5D Mark III Who's Boss
It’s hard to really explain to some people the advantages of one camera system over another. There are many people who just glaze over when you start talking about 12-bit RAW and ProRes 4:2:2 HQ. If you are one of those people, then we’ve got a comparison for you, which gives you pretty pictures and hard evidence to compare two similarly priced cameras: the Blackmagic Cinema Cinema at $3,000 and the Canon 5D Mark III at around $3,500. The test was conducted by OneRiver Media, who also recently took the camera for a go in this short film. Click through for the test video. More »
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Observer: Great advice, and definitely true and important!!! Thank you ;) 15 Golden Rules of Moviemaking from Director Danny Boyle
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