Weisscam, Canon cameras, cockfights?

Weisscam, Canon cameras, cockfights?

First off - Weiss shoot went extremely well. She got a little hot every now and again but as long as we kept the sun off it, there were no problems. The camera is a beast and is 100% production worthy. Robust 1080psf images from 1-2000 fps with a great toolset for fine controls. The paint, capture, record workflow is straightforward and very easy to troubleshoot. With a forthcoming firmware update, it will also be able to shoot and output sync sound frame rates, 23.98 & 29.97. Once this happens and the word gets out on how high quality the HS-2 is, I promise you will start seeing it on a lot of sets.

The spot we shot was for Nerf Supersoaker so if you see a commercial with a bunch of backlit teenagers shooting each other with water guns in super slow motion, that's what we were doing down here. Director/DP was Norry Nevin who is an incredible artist. I highly recommend you check out his work at www.stonecore.com

Sync sound shots for this were believe or not, 5D mk2. I'm always amazed at where this camera turns up. Seems like these days, DP's and directors always have one in their bag and find some way to use it.

What's really got me excited though is how much fun I'm having shooting stills and video with my 7D. I had today off in San Juan, Puerto Rico and I went to the old part of town which is beautiful but sleepy and tranquil. Great to sit and have a coffee while admiring the Spanish colonial architecture but not necessarily the best video subject matter. Perfect for stills though and I ended up shooting almost a whole card. By the time I got back to the hotel the sun was setting so I went down to the beach and videoed the waves, joggers, and the gorgeous sundown over the city. Everything I needed to do this fit in my small backpack. What a blast these cameras are. The Fader ND, Zacuto parts, and Superflat Picture Style are definitely the key to a good video experience. Despite some shortcomings, I don't care, at this point I'm sold on the HDSLR. I'll be posting the results of the day as soon as I have a chance to do a little editing.

Also of note, I didn't know this but a certain primal, ancient, animal vs. animal sport is alive and well here. The Puerto Rican producers insisited on taking us to watch roosters eviscerate each other at a legal cockfighting venue. Definitely not my cup of tea but an interesting cultural experience nonetheless. All I could think about was how amazing it would have been to have the Weiss in that pit.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating this legal but ethically questionable activity but as you can imagine it was extremely visual and honestly, perfect subject matter for high speed videography. Anyone who wants to make a doc on cockfighting in Latin America let me know. There's a fascinating culture to it. Apparently Cuban-Americans in Miami raise the best birds but they obviously can't fight them there so when they take them to the ring in Puerto Rico, it's a big deal for the cockfight aficionados. How you get a fighting chicken onto an airplane I have no idea.. Is this not a documentary waiting to happen?

Not taken with my 7D

You don't take a big camera out at a place like this unless you'd like a shiv to the kidney.

Sent from my mobile

To IS or not to IS? That IS the question...

To IS or not to IS? That IS the question...

Super lame title for this one but sorry, couldn't resist ;)

Actually, after doing a few tests it's not much of a question at all in my opinion. I set up shop at B&H today and tried various Canon lenses on my 7D and I now feel confident that, yes, if you want to shoot handheld with HDSLR's, having a lens with Image Stabilization (IS) is tremendously helpful. I have the 24-70 2.8L zoom and it's quite a nice piece of glass but the more video I've been shooting, the more I find the inevitable camera shake with this lens to be unbearable. The Zacuto setup helps take the curse off but really, if you don't want to feel your body's every little twitch and tremble on the video, you need to be on sticks or you need to go with an IS lens. I've heard that an IS version of the 24-70 2.8L is on the horizon but that's just message board chatter so who knows really. For now, if you want a fast Canon multi-purpose zoom, it seems were stuck with this one. The obvious alternative is the Canon 24-105 IS which is a wonderful lens but at f/4, it's a little slow for most of us doing video. Part of the reason I got the 7D is I want to be able to pull it out of my bag and shoot a little HD whenever I feel like it. Spontaneous filmmaking. Shaky video is nauseating to me and completely unacceptable for the kinds of images I'm hoping to create with this camera. If I have to shoot at f/4 to use this camera the way I want to, then that's just how it goes.

This video was shot with the 7D at 1/50" shutter, 1080 24p, f/4 on both lenses - EF 24-105 f/4L IS and EF 24-70 f/2.8L (no IS). Shots were done hand held with no additional support or aids - just the camera in front of my face.

Canon Lens Tests on 7D from Ben Cain / Negative Spaces on Vimeo.

Addendum 01/20/10:
I exchanged the 24-70 for the 24-105 IS. I now have the video camera that I can whip out of my bag at a moment's notice and roll with. I shot a bunch of long lens stuff handheld in Midtown today and I was very relieved to find that I can "pretty much" operate this camera the way I want to. Close enough anyways. I'll post some footage from that in the next few days. The IS function of the lens combined with the Zacuto Rapid Fire is a great "low impact" solution for spontaneous filmmaking and image capture. I can deal with the f/4, just need to keep the lens open and the Genus Fader Variable ND is the way to do it. I'm sure I'll be needing faster lenses but for now they can be rented easy enough at one of the many photo houses in the city for 40 or 50 bucks a day. Not that I have any intention of using this gear professionally. This is purely for my own amusement and desire to independently make images.

Hopefully Canon will wise up and realize that you need IS to shoot handheld video with these cameras. When they put out the 16-35 and 24-70 in an IS version, I'll go back to B&H and pick them up. I'm surprised more people aren't talking about this because this is huge issue in my mind. The camera shake on the non-IS lenses is truly hideous unless you're on sticks or a very heavy, weighted down shoulder rig.

Canon 7D, 24-105 f/4L IS, and Zacuto Rapid Fire with Z-Finder. A video/stills solution that shoots excellent photos and acceptable video that you can carry around in a small backpack for just under 4 grand. I've got to say, I'm pretty happy with it.

Addendum 01/21/10:
I'm quite certain these IS lenses were not designed to have their IS feature permanently turned on for hours on end. The lens emits a distinct "grinding" sound that I'm sure is normal but indicates some strain on the motors. Because this nice but mass produced lens is designed to be used for short bursts of fractions of a second as opposed to being constantly activated, I'm assuming I'm going to wear the lens out far sooner shooting video than I would just shooting stills. Anyone know anything about this?

Canon Delivered

Canon Delivered

In a surprise move from a large, international corporation, Users had a list of features they wanted, and Canon listened. Sort of (APS-C?). It's still not the camera I was hoping for. I'm waiting for the TRUE HDSLR - a camera that is fully committed to both shooting stills and video while compromising neither. Basically what RED has promised the Scarlet/Epic will be. The 7D is a stills camera with some really great video features but it's still not the camera that I think we'll have sometime in the near future. I'm stoked for the 7D but can't wait for the full frame version which will be the next iteration of the 5D Mk II. Read this guy, HD Warrior's post. He's got some good points. I think it's easy to get caught up in the hype and not take a step back and actually evaluate what this thing can and can't do. Nonetheless, it's a tremendous step in the right direction and if you want to see some truly awesome images of HDSLR's in action on professional sets, I recommend you follow Rodney Charters (DP of 24), on Twitter. From a technology standpoint, this is where we're heading and I'm loving it.