mtheory

Looks great...but damn...they just couldn't get those holy skin tones right. What a bunch of amateurs. Oh wait...
 

Canon's last great camera, before the era of microwaved meals like the 7D Mark II.

I am forced to blow my own trumpet again - and with my back ache, I need to limit how much I do this! :)
 
I am absolutely certain that there is a difference between rendering of imagery between smaller and larger sensors.  I see a difference, and obviously professionals who spend £80k on a medium format digital back see it as well - otherwise they'd just shoot 36x24 and pocket the difference.
 
 
 
What you are disregarding is that dof isnt just about the ratio between the in focus and out of focus blur.  It's about the intimate step between the two.  Generally when comparing a longer and a shorter focal length (both of the same quality), the longer focal length will be higher resolution with less aberrations, distortion, and less vignette wide open.  This is known as a rule which is rarely broken.  a fast 50 will always be better than the same quality fast 35mm.
 
when you add these apparent strengths of a longer focal length and then obtain a wider fov by increasing the format size you maintain the quality of the longer focal length while gaining the same fov as the wider lens delivers on the smaller format.  This is what makes the difference - the ratio between in focus resolution and the amount of blur is contributing to the clear difference between how different formats render the same fov's.
 
The reason fast zeisses lenses are known to have their 'zeiss 3d pop' is because they are able to deliver large amounts of defocus blur while also delivering very sharp in focus subjects.  A 50mm 2.8 hasselblad distagon on 6x6 format 50iso will out perform a 25mm f1.4 (if there was such a thing worth mentioning!) on s35mm at 50iso when we consider both will render similar fov and dof ratio but the 50 f2.8 distagon is razor sharp at f2.8 and the 25mm f1.4 will be nasty and need to be closed to f2.8-f4 before it comes close to the resolution of the 50.
 
the 25mm will be 'in focus' on the subject,  but in comparison to the 50mm lens the in focus area won't look sharp.  

Yeah maybe I should have allowed multiple votes, but I think this might be more fun. There is so much you can do with two primes (a wide and a long). I also really like my 24mm and 85mm, but on S35. The 24 has low distortion, enough background de-focus (2.8) and not too weird perspective (what is the term for the opposite of background compression?). 85mm is a beautiful focal length and I would probably have chosen that if it wasn't so limiting on S35.  :)

Absolutely, raw is still a benchmark for ultimate image quality. Let's be clear, I'm not denying that.
 
For me, now it's all about how close we can get to that beauty....but with more practical solutions like the GH4, A7S and D750.
 
I am over regular raw shooting now, as I ran out of space at the local aircraft hanger where I stored my hard drives.

He always said that he took this massive break from action movies in order to actually dive into the oceans before he gets too old to do that ( Abyss and Titanic were only made because he wanted to physically dive into the ocean, the films were just an excuse ), so maybe he can finally focus on proper sci-fi action again.
 
After Avatar, I'm really hoping he returns to previously planned projects like Battle Angel, one of the best sci-fi graphic novels of all time, or his Hiroshima movie. Also, in 2018 the rights to the whole Terminator franchise revert back to him...so he might actually do a proper Terminator III. He said if he does it, it will be a very massive re-imagining of the whole concept of cybernetics, so I don't imagine Arnie will be coming back.
 
He also joked he'd love to do Prometheus II . :D Probably just to piss of Ridley Scott, who was always sour for being passed on for the Alien sequel.

Now all we need to do is persuade video game makers that setting the frame rate of their game to sub 60 fps doesn't make it a "cinematic experience", it makes it jerky and nauseating to watch and we will have a full house!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cinematography-roundtable-roger-deakins-5-751367
 
Deakins, Libatique, Cronenweth, Beebe... wow, that's alot of damn talent sitting at one table and sharing wisdom.
 
Interesting opinions on 4K and dynamic range.

I read the latest EMPIRE magazine today, it had an interview with James Cameron ( not available online ) and he was asked about whether he was still set to release Avatar sequels in 60 fps...guess what...he backtracked completely...saying that he will film 48fps, and not the whole film but only parts of it...in fact, he said he will only use HFR on horizontal panning shots!
 
:D
 
Victory for us and death to HFR! He must have gotten the message that audiences hate it after Jackson's massive mess with Hobbit in HFR and wisely decided to almost completely abandon the idea. I think we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief now, - 24fps is here to stay. 

I talked to London Camera Exchange in Manchester and they said a lot of Sony bodies were selling now. Used to be mostly Canon and Nikon. Times are a changin. Don't say I didn't warn them...

I was in a big independent camera shop in North Wales at the weekend, chatting to a seriously knowledgeable photographer (i.e. nerd) behind the desk (who shoots stills with a 5D3). He got the 7D MkII out and said "I've been waiting impatiently for this camera for YEARS and it is a massive let down as  stills camera because Canon have crippled it for you video guys". I looked bemused for a moment and said "but ... it's a crap video camera". He couldn't believe it. He was practically on the floor with laughter. Who knows what Canon are doing ...

Thats terrible, 40 minutes discussion and what !!!!!!!!! 1 minutes about 4k and high resolution............. all the rest of the 39 minutes about lighting, composition, framing, colours, styling.... Pffff bunch of amateurs, didn't they here about the latest Panasonic 4k wonders that you can put in your pocket or Sony cameras that don't any more lighting because you can shoot at 100 000 ISO.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cinematography-roundtable-roger-deakins-5-751367
 
Deakins, Libatique, Cronenweth, Beebe... wow, that's alot of damn talent sitting at one table and sharing wisdom.
 
Interesting opinions on 4K and dynamic range.

That's why I'm in general not so ga-ga over the 35mm shallow DoF look. Plenty of work out there where the client wants to have enough of the image sharp that the FF advantage just goes away, leaving me with the disadvantage of a unnecessarily large kit.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cinematography-roundtable-roger-deakins-5-751367
 
Deakins, Libatique, Cronenweth, Beebe... wow, that's alot of damn talent sitting at one table and sharing wisdom.
 
Interesting opinions on 4K and dynamic range.

LOL.. kudos to you Stab for being so candid, I've certainly worked with people that seemed to have that same philosophy, especially back in the analog days. In the end though, you don't need to worry about keeping secrets or trying to use a technical advantage to get work, there is no substitute for experience and talent. It's good karma to share what you know, some of the people you help will be clients some day, and there will come a time when you yourself will need help from someone. 

I have two answers. One is, there are secrets that are safe out there in the open. How to make a good film, be it a short narrative film or just a clip fragment, has nothing to do with an easy advice, and be it the best advice. Two, sadly, state-of-the-art gadgetry enables state-of-the-art junk. The pioneers of filmmaking with their primitive equipment (compared to which a 7D comes close to Trumbulls dream-computer-interface from Project Brainstorm) made better clips than most of us. 
 
A professional photographer went on a safari tour for a travel agency. He asked me for advice because he wanted to shoot video with his 5D as well and try to sell it for the client's homepage. I told him, capture moving motifs, don't move the camera too much. Vary the framing of your shots, that's important for interesting editing. It's almost like preparing a slideshow. He nodded, got it.
 
He came back, disappointed. He made everything wrong. He used the wrong shutter. He panned a lot, at the wrong speeds. He asked me to edit it and to insert some stills where he hadn't got the shots right. I declined the offer.

Look Stab you are exactly the person that you are worried about.  
 
I don’t post much on the internet but this idea is so misguided I had to come out and say something.
 
I’ve been in the business for 14 years now and I thought that with FCP v2 and miniDV as a tape format the industry would explode within 2 years and belatedly it has, but not how I expected it to.  It was DSLR’s that really changed the game.  No one is transferring film to miniDV so they can cut film jobs in FCP, people are now shooting with digital negative!  The Blackmagic cameras are absolutely amazing because they are giving people digital negative for less than what we used to pay per hour to grade film negative.  
 
We used to pay $1,400 an hour to grade negative in a DaVinci suite but now resolve is free.  The burden is on operators and artists to add the value.  Now that everyone is shooting digital negative we have added a grading suite to our post house and we bill ‘only’ $1,000 and hour to grade jobs.  We have one of Australia’s most sought after colourist in our employment and they are busy, even at $1,000 an hour.  Any director or DOP can now grade their own jobs in the same software we use (for free I might add, you don’t really need the desk) but the top end directors and DOP’s understand the value a professional colourist brings to the job.  Our colourist’s are happy to share their tips and tricks with me, an editor, but also our assistants or anyone that wants to know because their unique skill and mastery of their craft will keep them in demand even if I were to leave and offer grading at half the price.     
 
A lot on people new to the industry find the Blackmagic raw footage difficult to deal with because that have never graded actual negative or dealt with a digital negative work flow.  Everyone just chucks on a LUT and called it a day while a real colourist can dial in any look you want, live, with clients in the room and match the look between all the shots.  Experience is where the values is and everyone I know shares their experiences.    
 
Some of the advice offered on the web is incorrect or misguided but its amazing what someone like Shane Hurlbut shares for nothing.  I’m sure his paid subscription is amazing but you can lean pure gold from him for free.
 
A influx of “new kids†to the business offering services at a significant discount to us is going to erode our profitability.  They/You (Stab) already have.  As richg101 said a lot of these people do a shocking job and won’t get rehired but we still suffer because clients demand we cut our rates to compete.  Sure we’re delivering jobs shot on Alexa with Cooke S5’s professionally graded from the camera RAW, at a quality that is the same as when we worked with 35mm, but something shot on a 5D roughly graded from the h.264 looks 90% as good (sometimes 99.9%).  Most clients can’t tell the difference and don’t want to pay the difference.   
 
I’m not complaining, in fact this has been great for me on personal level because I’ve been able to get my personal projects up to the same quality as my professional ones.  Professionally I’ve never been busier.  Sure budgets are dropping but there is more work than ever before, with the web there is a much higher demand for video content at every level.  I’m always going to share all of my secrets because we all learn together, I’ve learnt a lot about DSLR’s and the like from the people on this site (respect ANDY LEE) and I really appreciate it.  I’ve just started my own blog to share my knowledge with people other than my assistants and to help me solidify the lessons I’ve learnt from my professional experience.  
 
People I’ve worked with and helped are now all over the world working in different parts of the business.  I helped an friend get his head around the basics of shake and now he’s VFX artist at D-Neg having worked on the latest Avengers movie.  An ex-assistant is the post supervisor for a company that cuts both movies and TV series work, she’s a good friend and back in the day I helped her and I know she’d do the same for me if I so required.  This business is all about the connections you make because you really never know where the next job will come from.  If you turtle up and withhold knowledge why should anyone share their knowledge with you, or hep you when you need it?  
 
There is no problem sharing your knowledge with others it makes you a better artist as you debate different ideas, experiment together and get inspired by others creativity.    
 
Stab you seem to have experience behind you so don’t worry about the new kids just worry about the next job.  I always wonder how I can make the next job so amazing that people will be beating down my door just to work with me.  Experience means your next job is better than your last so just think of the head start you have.  You have the head start of experience so please help new people learn the ropes, others have done it for you so don't turn you back on the film making community.            

And specially if you live in Canada film schools here are shit. i went to best film school that Canada has to offer took a loan and teachers are exactly what you said nobody was working in any industry but they head some rellyyyyyyyyyyy kick as facilities and equipment in that school and they wore sponsored by avid and panavision, and when you get out of that school good luck getting a job in any field that is production or post production. Because here its such a small industry.
 
When i think of it they did have a super awesome animation courses pixar and sonny would come and recruit maybe i should have taken animation ohhhhh well
 
Shit all that post production shit you can learn now over you tube or 500 dollars worth of training dvds.

as with most schools, the people teaching are quite often the ones who never made it in the real world.  If they had done, they'd be on set rather than taking the money from people who don;t know better.  Obviously this is a generalisation, but unless you're being taught by someone who actually has some proper background, don;t pay a penny! 
 
put the money in the bank, and live off it while working for free in the real world in a decent place with real people.

If you want to understand the criticism against Canon, imagine a Ferrari that can only do 80KM/h.

I have every copy for the past 25 years since I started .along with Cinefex ...its a great magazine

Ouch!   :)
 
As for Canon's EF lenses, well, that IS the only thing they're protecting at this point, but if Sigma and others keeps coming out with equivalent (or much better) product than Canon does at substantially lower prices, it's game over for that part of their business, too.
 
I'm very interested in what Canon does with the 5d Mk IV, but only for curiosity's sake. If all they do is add 4k and only marginally improve the image quality, that's pretty much the most I expect from them - shooting to duplicate Sony technology from a year ago. If Sony gets their 21-stop sensor out in an A7S Mk II or A8S (and especially if they can put in 10-bit 4K recording in-camera), that's pretty much it for Canon in the indie video/film world as far as I'm concerned. If they can really go for it and do IBIS, that would be epic, but that might be too much heat dissipation for an IBIS sensor to handle at this time.
 
If the 5d Mk IV is what I suspect it will be, then they're so far behind the development curve, it'll be another 4 or 5 years before they can adapt to the new reality. They have a lot of VERY interesting-looking patents that have leaked over the last few years - which haven't made it into actual products. They're basically IBM from the early 90s, coasting on their R&D and reputation. They have the technical chops to do the necessary, but don't have enough vision to figure out that coasting only works until you get to the bottom of the hill - which they are approaching very soon, indeed.
 
The company I'm really wanting to jump in head-first to the cinema game is Sigma. I'd love to see some cine Art lenses...

But then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable ...

And he can dance.  And if Footloose taught me anything, it's that if you can dance, you can change the world.