5D Mark III: Worth The Upgrade?

I was unimpressed by the 5D Mark III's impressive list of upgrades for a few major reasons: 60fps at 720p, no clean HDMI out and no real LCD improvement (including peaking assist).  Then today I read the 5DM3's bitrate is 91mb/s in 1080 ALL-I format.  Suddenly I stopped caring so much about outputting to an external recorder.  Not only will shooting internally keep down costs, it'll keep you from bulking up with (necessary) add-ons to an already unfriendly pseudo-video camera.  But before I get carried away, I'm still waiting to find out if the video is 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 and 8 or 10 bit.  If it's the latter in both cases, then I will be buying this camera.

But do I really want an HDSLR as my only camera?  Truth is, I HATE shooting documentaries on HDSLRs.  When you hear people talking about how great these cameras are, it's important to take that with a grain of salt.  Not only will these not make you a better shooter, they will actually make you a far worse shooter if you're accustomed to shooting on dedicated video cameras.  Fact: you will need to spend thousands of dollars in add-ons to make an HDSLR come close to performing like a real video camera.  So why bother?  I'm not completely sure.

With the 5DMII, the 7D and others of their ilk, people are shooting gorgeous video that's blowing up in movie theaters the world over (70% of all Sundance entries this year were shot on HDSLRs).  Problem is, I make most of my living shooting documentaries and when you're running and gunning, the last thing you want is a rig that's going to slow you down or cause you to miss a shot.  This is precisely what happened to me the other night and I'll never forget how frustrated I was.  So much so that I almost plunked down the money to buy a C300, until I saw the cost + tax + duty in my B&H checkout.   In this day-and-age I'm not going to over-invest in cameras again, at least  not until the technology stops outdating itself every other month.  I can't make enough money off of a camera to justify a large investment anymore, so that's why a camera like the 5DM3 becomes my best option.

If you've got the extra money to buy the cine add-ons (most importantly, a REAL viewfinder), plenty of time to compose your shots, choose your lenses, measure your focus, record your sound independently and fuss, fuss, fuss...then HDSLR shooting is for you.  If you get paid to shoot a high percentage of useable footage in the real-world, then rent a real video camera.

The Wait is (ALMOST) Over: Canon Poised to Announce 5D Mark III

On March 2, 2012 Canon will announce the long awaited, 5D Mark III.

Taken from Canonrumors.com:

5D Mark III/X:
22mp
61pt AF
100% VF
3.2″ LCD
Dual CF/SD Card Slots
Headphone Jack
Price: Around $3500 USD

Pics: www.canonrumors.com

(UPDATED SPECS)

Unsurpassed Image Quality22.3 Megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor
DiG!C 5+ Image Processor
ISO 100-25600 (expandable to L:50 H1:51200, H2: 102400
Full HD Movie (ISO 100-12800 (H:25600)

High Performance Operation61-point high-density reticular AF (up to 41 crosstype points)
6.0 fps for high continuous shooting
Intelligent viewfinder with approx. 100% coverage
3.2-type, approx.1.04m dot (3:2 wide) Clear View LCD II
iFCL metering with 63-zone dual-layer sensor
Shutter durability of 150,000 cycles

High end featuresSilent & low vibration modes
Dual card slots (CF & SD)
High Dynamic Range (HDR) Mode
Multiple Exposures
Comparative Playback function
Improved durability & water and dust resistance

SPECIFICATIONSAvailable Colours – Black
Megapixels – 22MP
Sensor Size – 36 x 24mm
ISO/Sensitivity – 100 – 25600
Autofocus Points – 61 points
Lens Mount – Canon
LCD Size – 3.2″
Liveview – Yes
Viewfinder – Optical TTL
Min Shutter Speed – 30 sec
Max Shutter Speed – 1/8000 sec
Continuous Shooting Speed – 6 fps
Self Timer – 10 sec, 2 sec
Metering – Centre-weighted, Spot, Evaluative, Partial
Video Resolution – Full HD 1080
Memory Type – Compact Flash
Connectivity – USB 2, HDMI, Mic Input, Wireless (optional)
Battery – LP-E6
Battery Type – Lithium-ion
Charger – Includes Li-Ion Charger
File Formats – AVI, RAW, H.264, MOV, MPEG-4
Dimensions – 152 x 116 x 76mm
Box Contents – Battery Pack LP-E6 .. Battery Charger LC-E6 .. AV Cable AVC-DC400ST .. Interface Cable IFC-200U .. Eyecup Eg .. Wide Strap EWEOS5DMKIII .. CR1616 Lithium Battery+


Comparison Chart:

 Photo: Gizmodo

The Carbon Rush: Brand New Trailer!

A new film I'm proud to have been the Director of Photography on, now has a brand new trailer online:

The Carbon Rush tells an important story of how a specific (and highly publicized) aspect of Environmentalism has been co-opted by Capitalism, to the ruin of many. Theatrical dates TBA.

36.3 Million Pixels?! Nikon's D800's MP Overkill!

Nikon just dropped a new egg in everyone's wish basket: the D800 (replacing the D700). As an $3,000 HDSLR the D800 matches much of what the impressive $6,000 D4 has to offer: full frame sensor, uncompressed HDMI output at 4:2:2 / 8 bit, dedicated headphone jack, 30 minute record time, and switchable crop. It's a great unit at half the price of the D4 and if you plan on taking advantage of the most MPs available, the RAW time lapse options of shooting at 7360 x 4912 pixels are worth salivating over.

But, with mucho MPs comes a few problems: decreased light sensitivity and (the biggest issue for HDSLR users) more line skipping / info binning. What's that you say? With all those bits being crunched into a 1080p frame, you're going to subject to moire and aliasing. Contrary to popular perception, a few less MPs is probably more for the HDSLR user. Although it's possible Nikon has geeked a fix for this bit crunching, the proof will be in the footage...so go see for yourself:


The D800 will be available late March.

Steve McQueen's Shame: The Pleasure of Pain

Is it possible to thoroughly appreciate a film you didn't enjoy watching?  101 minutes through Steve McQueen's Shame and I was left feeling a narrow range of nausea, anxiety and emptiness.  Days later, I'm still exhausted and still thinking about what I'd watched.  Like McQueen's Hunger (referenced in Shame's opening shot), Shame forces its audience to endure the anguish of Brandon, Michael Fassbender's sex addicted protagonist.

McQueen's tool of choice to convey discomfort is the long take; trapped by both time and space within the filmed frame, Brandon can run (as he literally does in one shot), but he can't escape the bleakness of his existence.  Subsequently, neither can we.  A film that offers little hope for redemption, Shame is exceptional in its ability to put us inside the mind of a tortured individual.

Game On: Nikon's D4 & JVC's GY-HMQ10

For the past few months I've been living without a dedicated video camera in my camera bag.  This is the first time in a very long time I've been flying blind.  The reason for this is simple (as mentioned in previous posts): I'm waiting for the right camera.  As time passes and more and more great cameras enter the arena, I'm (ironically) less and less inclined to buy a new camera.  Why?  Today, it seems every client wants something different with budgets ranging wildly from project to project, there isn't ONE camera to fit the bill.  This climate begs the question: why buy when you can let your client rent?  This doesn't change the fact that I'm not just a shooter, but also a writer/director and when the time comes for me to go to camera on my own projects, then I don't want to rent...I want to own.

Two companies who've lost a lot of ground in the HD video game made a splash at this year's CES in Las Vegas: Nikon and JVC.  Nikon's brand new D4 is a low light beast with new HD video capabilities that leap frog Canon's current lineup of DSLRs.  For starters, the D4 boasts1080p at 30 or 24fps (or 720p at 60fps) with a B-Frame data compression allowing you to record h.264 clips for up to 20 minutes per take on dual memory card slots (CF and XQD).  The D4  also allows full manual control over exposure while shooting, along with a remote shutter and power aperture with silent operational adjustment.  

But the biggest selling point of all is a biggie: uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2 HD output through the camera's HDMI port.  No on-screen menus, no letterbox, nothing but the signal you want to feed to an external recorder.  Big, but not as huge as it would have been if it were 10-bit.

Another great tool is the D4's ability to switch from full-frame to Nikon's DX format (a 1.5x crop factor) or to a 2.7x crop at the standard 1920x1080 resolution.  This provides whatever lenses you've got in your kit with and incredible amount of increased range and versatility.  Considering a situation where've only got room for one lens and this feature is a life saver.  Finally -- for added incentive -- Nikon's promising "less instances of rolling shutter distortion."  Not exactly sure what "less instances" will translate to in the real world, but any improvement is a welcome one.

While the D4 is pricey at $6K for a camera that still isn't a dedicated video camera, it is a viable option...for now.  My only concern is that Canon is quite certainly poised to return fire with a revamped 5DM3 and 7Dx.  The only questions remaining are: when and what will these next gen cameras boast for features?

Next up is the JVC GY-HMQ10, a dedicated prosumer video camera boasting a 4K image and competitively priced at $5K.  While this isn't a true 4K sensor, it somehow (the tech is beyond me) stitches together four quadrants of 1080p into a 4K stream.  The GY-HMQ10 delivers real-time 3840x2160p footage at 24p, 50p and 60p as well as offering a high speed 1/2 inch CMOS sensor with 8.3 million active pixels, a 3.5in touch LCD monitor, a built-in f2.8 10x zoom lens with optical image stabilizer, and shoots up to two hours of 4K video recording to SDHC or SDXC memory cards.  Pretty impressive.

These two cameras have definitely got me thinking.  Before I make any decisions I'm going to try to get my hands on both and once I do, I'll report back here (hopefully with test footage).

New Life / Old Genre: Gavin O'Connor's Warrior

The sports genre has become as much of a cliche as the many cliches it has spawned: Rocky's Theme, Eye of the Tiger, etc.  At this stage of the game,  breathing new life into this old genre and sucking in an audience while surprising them along the way, is next to a near impossible feat.  Somehow, writer/director Gavin O'Connor has pulled it off with the MMA masterpiece Warrior.  

Despite its complete checklist of boxing film / sports movie cliches, Warrior reaches so far beyond these cliches it practically redefines them.  While respectful to reference (the original) Rocky, O'Connor legitimizes Warrior as a serious film, crafting it with visual and thematic nods to Michael Cimino's grand epic The Deer Hunter.  Simply put, this isn't a sports film for meatheads (not that it won't please them), this is a sports film for audiences hungry for stark cinematic realism.

Burgeoning superstar Tom Hardy (once again) mesmerizes as the tortured lead Tommy Conlon, who -- along with Nick Nolte and Joel Edgerton -- make up a three headed beast with lethal acting chops.  For a film I expected to detest, Warrior proved itself to be as big of an underdog champion as the unorthodox heroes it portrays.