SHANE HURLBUT’S HDSLR CAMERA PROTOCOL

By Scott Macaulay

D.P. Shane Hurlbut has been active in both HDSRL shooting and also, through his blog, HDSLR instruction. Check out this recent video outlining a D.P.’s camera protocol when shooting with these cameras.

Hurlbut Visuals Camera Protocol from Shane Hurlbut, ASC on Vimeo.

(Hat tip: Photocine News.)… Read the rest

A FREE GUIDE TO DSLR CINEMATOGRAPHY

By Scott Macaulay

If you’re a regular reader you’ll know that Koo’s No Film School is one of my favorite blogs. It has rapidly become a trusted source for new product news and evaluations as Koo looks at what’s new from the point-of-view of the working independent filmmaker. He also comes up with a lot of great finds, like this beautiful footage from d.p. Timur Civan, who put an ancient 1908 Wollensak 35mm F5.0 Cine-Velostigmat hand cranked cinema camera lens on his Canon 5D Mark 2, achieving a vintage, analog look. Check this out:

102 year old lens on 5D mkII – Video Footage by Timur Civan from Timur Civan on Vimeo.

But the main thing I wanted to tell you about in this post is Koo’s The DSLR Cinematography Guide. When he unveiled it I called it “astonishingly detailed and useful,” and now that it’s been beautifully designed and looks great on the iPad, it’s even more so. You can download it here. The cost? Zero. Nilch. Nada. Okay, something — your email address. That’s it. For simply being part of Koo’s list you get a book that is a fantastic primer for any filmmaker thinking about buying a DSLR. Head over there now. … Read the rest

UNBOXING AND SHOOTING WITH THE CANON 60D

By Scott Macaulay

Geek.com posted these two videos from J.J. Kim at Orange Wedding Films containing info on the new Canon 60D. The 60D sits between the Rebel T2i and the Canon 7D in their product line, and it has a flip-out LCD screen, which is obviously an attractive feature for anyone interested in shooting handheld video. The first is an unboxing video and comparison with the Canon 7D.

Canon 60D quick review video from Orange Wedding Films on Vimeo.

The second is test footage comparing the 60D to the 7D.

Canon EOS 60D vs 7D short sample footage from Orange Wedding Films on Vimeo.… Read the rest

CANON ANNOUNCES THE EOS 60D, WITH FLIP SCREEN

By Scott Macaulay

In our current issue Roberto Quezada-Dardon writes about the upsurge in HDSLR activity from manufacturers and accessories makers. Now, the new releases are coming fast and furious. Via Engadget, Canon has announced the EOS 60D. And it’s got a flip-out screen. From the site:

Well, what do we have here? Last we heard about the Canon EOS 60D it was just a twinkle in our articulating screen of a peripheral vision. And now it’s official — my, how times have changed. Here’s what we know about the 50D successor (with definite nods to the Rebel T2i’s feature set): the 18-megapixel DSLR has a single DIGIC 4 processor and boasts 1080p H.264 video with an in-camera movie editing feature, manual audio level control, a “flexible” (read: articulating) 3-inch LCD screen, an ISO range of 100-6,400 purported to be expandable to 12,800, and support for processing RAW images from within the camera itself. Look for the little photo shooter to hit retail at the end of September for just a dollar under $1,100 body only, or $1,400 with a bundled 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS zoom lens.

… Read the rest

SUMMER ISSUE ONLINE

By Jason Guerrasio

Select stories from our Summer issue are now available, including this year’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film. (Read the press release here.)

You can now read online our interviews with Amir Bar-Lev on his new doc, The Tillman Story; Gaspar Noe talks about his psychedelic look at the afterlife in Enter the Void; we look at the latest innovations in DSLR cameras; and some of our friends give their favorite apps, program and Web services.

Plus, Lance Weiler’s Culture Hacker column focuses on transmedia while Anthony Kaufman’s Industry Beat looks at the realities of the Do It With Others new media tools.

The issue hits stands next week, but you can read the whole issue now on your desktop by subscribing to our digital issue. Learn more here.

Enjoy.… Read the rest

STATE OF THE ART: HDSLRs IN 2010

By Roberto Quezada-Dardon

Roberto Quezada-Dardon looks at new models, new techniques and recent innovations.

Bonus Articles: Shooting: Tiny Furniture and
Street Style

“HOUSE” SEASON FINALE SHOT ON CANON 5D

By Scott Macaulay

If you think that DSLRs haven’t caught on for filmmakers in a big way yet, think again. Following up a series of Twitter posts by its director, the website Peta Pixel reports that the season finale of House has been shot on the Canon 5D. The site compiles director Greg Yaitanes’ tweets into an impromptu interview (a neat journalistic trick I will make a point to try sometime), including this summation of his experience: “i loved it and feel it’s the future. cameras that can give you these looks.”

Check out Peta Pixel for the whole conversation. The episode airs May 17. The Canon 5D Mark 2 can be bought at B&H, body only, for $2,500.… Read the rest

ZACUTO’S DSLR SHOOTOUT

By Scott Macaulay

Zacuto, which rents HD cameras and DSLR camera accessories, gathered professional DPs and colorists for a “DSRL Shootout.” They compared the Canon 7D, 5D Mark 2, ID, the Panasonic GH1 and Nikon D3s and compared them to footage shot on Kodak and Fuji stock. The results were evaluated by a range of DPs, including indie cinematographers and ASC members, at AFI and Skywalker Ranch. The results are pretty astonishing. The first episode, a 35-minute piece in which all of these camera’s latitude are examined, is up but it’s not embeddable. See it at the link above. The trailer, however, is below.

… Read the rest