Magic Lantern 5D Mark III raw video and camera reliability

Friday, 24 May, 2013 13:11

5dmk3raw_to_ssd

Image by Daniel Schweinerr (5D Mark III SSD attachment research)

5D Mark III raw recording install guide in 4 steps

Which compact flash cards for 5D Mark III raw video? A buyer’s guide

Raw video recording on the 5D Mark III has been met with an overwhelming reception from users and a fantastic reception from most pros. Some are more guarded as they think their camera will blow up. What are the facts?

Learn more ...

Canon 1D C vs 5D Mark III Raw (and C300 / GH2 resolution comparison)

Wednesday, 22 May, 2013 19:17

5d3raw-vs-1dc

This test was conducted jointly with my good friend and neighbour Rudi at Slashcam – you can read his take on it in German / in English.

In the battle of the 1080p cameras, the game has changed. Here’s how the 5D Mark III in raw recording mode compares to the best 1080p output from the Canon C300 and 1D C.

Learn more ...

2.5k CinemaScope anamorphic raw on the 5D Mark III

Monday, 20 May, 2013 20:33

Get the EOSHD Anamorphic Shooter’s Guide for a comprehensive guide to anamorphic lenses, which ones to use, how to get them and how to shoot

Download the 2.5k 2560×1280 Vimeo file and playback on a 2.5K or 4K display for best results

Download a pack of DNG frames from the original raw files to judge quality

The spec sheet is impressive. 14bit linear bayer raw is sub-sampled from a 6K sensor, giving 1280 lines of extremely clean resolution with an anamorphic compliant 4:3 aspect ratio.

This is in a similar league to the image quality of the Sony F35 (Superman Returns, Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland) which cost $250,000 just 5 years ago.

Learn more ...

The impact of 5D Mark III raw video and what does Vincent Laforet think?

Saturday, 18 May, 2013 02:06

This was a great week. It is the first time we’ve seen this kind of moving image from a full frame sized sensor in raw. A pristine 2K 14bit image that’s like a 24fps digital film negative or a digital scan of VistaVision. It’s also a breakthrough for accessibility bringing raw video to many talents for the first time, when the only other accessible raw shooting cameras out there have been in extremely limited supply.

Learn more ...

Filmmaking tips from J.J. Abrams – plus is he actually any good?

Saturday, 11 May, 2013 17:32

With the rise of J.J. Abrams, TV’s aristocracy has morphed into cinema’s with JJ Abrams to direct Star Wars Episode VII in the UK next year.

J.J. Abrams comes from a family of TV industry figures, his father a TV producer and his mother an executive producer. His sister is a screenwriter. Now with a string of successful TV shows behind him, he’s had a string of hits at the box office too.

Learn more ...

3.5k Canon 5D Mark III raw video with Magic Lantern and latest updates

Wednesday, 01 May, 2013 23:52

These past days I’ve been trying to make myself useful to Alex at Magic Lantern, testing the DNG raw video recording on the 5D Mark III with a nightly build of Magic Lantern.

Here’s what the video quality looks like in the DNG video modes at 30fps.

Click the image below to expand…

Learn more ...

The full Panasonic GH3 review

Monday, 15 April, 2013 22:39

Above: my GH3 kitted out with Leica 14-50mm F2.8, Lanparte follow focus, carbon matte box and baseplate

Six months in the making here is my final and full review of the Panasonic GH3 jointly published with DPReview.com. I highly recommend checking out that review as well, to which I contributed the video mode insights.

The Panasonic GH3 is an affordable $1299 hybrid camera and has a special legacy to build on with indie filmmakers.

Does it succeed?

Learn more ...

Why Blackmagic will ship in July

Tuesday, 09 April, 2013 15:48

Let’s go misty eyed for a second and imagine you’re shooting a Terrence Malick inspired scene at magic hour this Summer, a warm breeze drifting through the air.

The sun glints through the trees and the scene begins “action” – with 4K with a global shutter for $4000. Is this really going to happen?

Learn more ...

Making sense of the new Blackmagic Production Camera and Pocket Cinema Camera

Monday, 08 April, 2013 23:25

For the second NAB in succession Blackmagic are bulldozing down the image quality / price barrier for film production. 4K compressed raw, global shutter and Super 35mm was the unique preserve of Sony with the F55 until today, and that was a $36,000 camera. This is a $4000 one. Gone is that extra margin – unsettling stuff for the big guys. Here’s my own personal look at the cameras and the consequences.

Learn more ...

Will we see a new professional Panasonic GH-series camera at NAB?

Wednesday, 27 March, 2013 15:48

The Panasonic GH3 was a big update over the legendary GH2 and I am putting the final touches to my review (and a lot of other future material). I’ve been shooting a lot with it alongside by cinema cameras, the FS100 and Blackmagic Cinema camera. Where are the Panasonic pro cameras? Well the GH3 is $1300 and that leaves quite a large space above it for a high spec ‘DSLR-type’ camera from Panasonic. I’m getting more and more clues and info as to a possible high end GH camera, and if true this would be a dream for indie filmmakers and a brilliant move by Panasonic.

Learn more ...

Forum hot topics – Anamorphic, Metabones Speed Booster, raw GH3 footage and more

Thursday, 28 February, 2013 17:34

“They each have their own unique character. Which image do you prefer?”

Iscorama VS Iscomorphot 8 2x VS Iscomorphot 8 1.5x by QuickHitRecord.

This is a new weekly series on EOSHD.

The forum is really booming at the moment. A while ago on the site I decided to redirect the article comments system into the forum and that has seen a big increase in the number of people using it not just to comment, but to add their own content. Some of it deserves to be given wider attention so the best posts will from now on be promoted to the front page.

Learn more ...

ProRes vs ProRes – A first look at uncompressed HDMI with the Nikon D5200 vs the Blackmagic Cinema Camera

Sunday, 24 February, 2013 19:49

In the early days of DSLR video the codec was probably the weakest part of the camera. With the advent of uncompressed HDMI out – the codec is no longer a weak point but sensor sampling becomes an Achilles Heel.

Can the Nikon D5200 benefit from a hike in image quality from using an external recorder?

Learn more ...

How to avenge the price of the Canon 1D C and make the camera pay for itself

Friday, 25 January, 2013 02:31

I heard a great quote today in the world of motor racing. One of the top engineers at Mercedes F1 had shifted into a management roll, but he was really better at the sporting side. He said he was a racer not a businessman. For ‘racer’ replace it with filmmaker and his quote applies equally to artists…

“I’m not an entrepreneur I’m a filmmaker, I want to make films without the incumbent thoughts of trying to make a profit”.

These days artists are expected to also be businessmen, to survive. Thankfully there’s such good stuff at low prices for filmmakers, to spend $12,000 on a camera body has to be somewhat more than just an artistic decision. It has to pay its way…

I’ve thought of five ways to become a Canon 1D C owner without taking a huge gamble on your finances.

Learn more ...

Is 3D really dead again or just resting?

Sunday, 13 January, 2013 00:10

3D was oppressive, attention seeking and now 3D is dead. Quietly dropped by all consumer electronics firm if the 2013 CES is anything to go by.

Or is it?

Learn more ...

Why I think Canon have forgotten the indie filmmaker

Saturday, 12 January, 2013 00:59

Canon entered the indie filmmaking market in 2009 with the 5D Mark II whether they intended to or not. The live view stills mode enabled a rudimentary video feature. This provided the basis for a whole new business, that ignores completely the indie filmmaker.

Learn more ...

1D X has traces of 1D C firmware but Magic Lantern ‘will never touch 1D series’ as Canon threatens potential hackers with legal trouble

Wednesday, 09 January, 2013 20:02

A few months ago I reported back what Canon had told me officially at Photokina – that the 1D C had some very minor hardware changes over the 1D X (like a headphone socket) but that the camera was fundementally the same camera with a firmware update to enable 4K recording. The Canon product manager was technically knowledge and utterly adamant this was the case, there wasn’t a hint of doubt in his eyes when I had this discussion face to face on the basis of mutual trust.

Later Canon were keen to point out I had got it all wrong and that the 1D C had a different circuit board, etc. etc. and was well worth your extra $6,000.

So why are there traces of 1D C firmware in the 1D X?

Learn more ...

Editing raw video on a $900 Hackintosh (with $5000 Mac Pro levels of performance)

Saturday, 22 December, 2012 00:53

With the raw format becoming affordable for the first time this year (Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Red One, Ikonoskop) many aspiring filmmakers are considering taking advantage. But to edit raw you need to up the ante on the hardware side.

What is the most suitable (and affordable) editing rig for raw – Windows, Mac Pro or Hackintosh?

Learn more ...

EOSHD’s top 5 cameras of 2012

Friday, 21 December, 2012 02:28

Starting with number…

5. Sony RX100

Get the full countdown after the break…

Learn more ...

The Hobbit HFR Review – my verdict on 48 frames per second

Saturday, 15 December, 2012 15:58

Above: Peter Jackson in the camera department of “The Hobbit”

Peter Jackson chose to take a controversial step away from the cinema look and shoot The Hobbit at 48p HFR. I’ve now seen it in glorious 48 frames per second and that isn’t the biggest problem. Jackson is shooting The Hobbit like an epic but the material this time is not of epic proportions, and the action sequences are typical popcorn schlock. The Lord Of The Rings was an allegory tale with the horrors of Word War II echoing throughout, an epic work of art. Perfect material for an epic film (and LOTR was a huge leap in CGI technology at the time the film was shot). The Hobbit is simply 6 chapters of a thin children’s book stretched to 3 hours.

Learn more ...

4K, 48p HFR and the challenge for set designers and makeup artists

Tuesday, 11 December, 2012 23:04

“Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second.” – Jean Luc Godard

“Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.” – Jean Luc Godard

Cinema used to be an illusion, but now the camera is putting extra pressure on filmmakers to keep up the illusion. Drawing on a conversation I had a few months ago with a VFX supervisor, EOSHD presents the challenges and problems that 4K and 48p (HFR) bring to the film set.

Learn more ...