EX1 35mm Adapter Shoot

[thefilmaddict]

I did another day of shooting with the Brevis and the EX1.

The first shoot was at a playground on a snowy day. I was running out of light.

This time I shot on a sunny day near some rail road tracks.

The file is bigger for your viewing pleasure (or not), but still compressed for the web. It's a H264 quicktime movie.

http://www.morrisbrothersfilms.com/ex1andbrevis2.html

[sotty]

Nice and sharp. I do notice some vignette and cinescreen dark diffusion in the bottom left and right and slight on the top corners. The Ex1 is 1/2 chip, are you able to zoom in anymore or is that max?

Also very nice on the ratio, ( 2:35:1, ? )
Did you simply crop the top?

[thefilmaddict]

Thanks!

As far as the vignette, it does not show up on a HDTV, just on files for the web. It's a tough thing to figure out in the field because it does not show up on the Sony LCD. I think that I can zoom in more. Is there a disadvantage to zooming in more? I should keep track of my zoom settings in order to figure out what will eliminate the vignette issue.

What is cinescreen dark diffusion? Perhaps I don't have my Brevis set up properly. It came in parts, so I had to put it together. I am no engineer.

As far as the ratio, I just exported a file with those dimensions. I went onto apple trailers and copied the size that they make their 480p movies. It does not quite work with my EX1 footage because the image is stretched a bit. Maybe you can't see it because my footage lacks humans! Cropping would be a better option next time. I am not quite sure how to do that in Final Cut Pro. Any ideas?

If anyone has any tips on how to get the Brevis to look even better, I would love to hear them. I am quite happy with it, but would love to perfect the look and have clean corners.

[philip bloom]

the ratio looks squished to me!!

nice and sharp though! You with or without flip?

[thefilmaddict]

Philip,

Thats with the new flip module. It's a good add to the Brevis. No upside Marshall monitor, I just use the Sony LCD. It's also nice in edit to not have to flip the footage (one less step in the process).

Good eye as far as the ratio. I will output a new file today and make it the right ratio. Sorry!

NOTE: I fixed the image. I made it 1/2 original size.

[PaPa]

looks pretty good. But i have to say i wasn't a fan of the bokeh. It had the hazzy look to it.

Was this the CFL1 screen?

[bill totolo]

Nice work, love the colors. So what light loss are you experiencing with the flip module?

[thefilmaddict]

I am not sure about loss of light. I don't think that it's very much. I shot on a very bright day. I used the -3db gain switch to help keep the light under control. I've heard that they like you to use nd filters in front of the 35mm lens (I forget why). I did not have any, so I had to use the internal EX ND filter(s).

I think that this is the CFL1.

Bokeh refers to how the edges of the out of focus shapes look, right? Soft is what most people want, right? I don't have many lenses, so I don't know what to look for and how bokeh differs. What don't you like about it exactly and do you have an example of bokeh that you prefer?

I normally just go for what looks good to my eye. Some of you guys are very technical and that's why I love DVXUSER. I learn something new everyday!

[thefilmaddict]

I bet the cinevate site will give you details about loss of light using the brevis with flip module.

I was using a 55mm lens.

[PaPa]

I am not sure about loss of light. I don't think that it's very much. I shot on a very bright day. I used the -3db gain switch to help keep the light under control. I've heard that they like you to use nd filters in front of the 35mm lens (I forget why). I did not have any, so I had to use the internal EX ND filter(s).

I think that this is the CFL1.

Bokeh refers to how the edges of the out of focus shapes look, right? Soft is what most people want, right? I don't have many lenses, so I don't know what to look for and how bokeh differs. What don't you like about it exactly and do you have an example of bokeh that you prefer?

I normally just go for what looks good to my eye. Some of you guys are very technical and that's why I love DVXUSER. I learn something new everyday!

its how it renders out of focus area. For example, your footage, if compared to sgpro bokeh, would show that your bokeh is quite soft and hazy looking. Film bokeh is out of focus, but sharp looking. Nice circles, nice hexagons, and less diffused looking.

[frankygunpowder]

I enjoyed it! I had my mind set on getting the HVX, when in a better financial position, but this and other clips like it has just made things a little more complicated for me.

Hope to see more from you in regards of shooting some movement. Keep up the good work!

[thefilmaddict]

Franky,

I've owned both cameras. They both rock. I prefer the EX1 because it's higher resolution, holds more HD video and the LCD kicks major arse.

There are advantages and disadvantages of both. It would be best if you could test them both in person.

I will promise you this, for the price, the image is amazing and I would never go back to tape.

Good luck!

[frankygunpowder]

Thanks, I appreciate it!

[Dennis Wood]

That slight edge issue on a few of the shots is because the base unit is not quite aligned to the flip module. In other words, if you zoom out a bit, all of the lines you see should be perfectly horizontal, or vertical. Right now, your imaging element will look like it's about 2 degrees rotated to the left.

Papa will be happier with the bokeh if you dial in a few stops on your 35mm lens. Shooting with a wide open aperture is great for shallow DOF, but dialling in a few stops will tighten up the bokeh. This is not a Brevis-specific tip and applies to pretty much every lens out there. As the aperture blades are brought into the visual field, they change the way out of focus areas are rendered.

[thefilmaddict]

Dennis,

Thanks for the info. To recap:

1. Close down the 35mm lens for better bokeh (by how many stops?)

2. Allign the flip module better (I would love to, but part of my Brevis is stripped and it tends to rotate in the middle of a shoot)

3. Zoom in a bit more (Z71 to Z75 is the sweet spot)

All footage was shot in Bristol, CT (the home of ESPN).

[thefilmaddict]

I went out and shot more test footage today.

This time I zoomed in to Z75 and closed the 35mm lens down to F4.

The footage looks OK. The center of the image is sharp, but the outside edges are soft. I di0d not get this before. What am I doing wrong? I am trying to perfect the Brevis35/EX1 setup before a big shoot.

[philip bloom]

what is the camera set too? the wider open the camera iris, the softer the edges

[thefilmaddict]

That's a good question, Mr. Bloom.

I had a lot of light.

I used -3 gain.

I switched from ND1 to ND2 a couple of times.

The EX1 iris was all over the place.

What will give best results? Should I try to keep the iris open or closed? What to you try to get?

Thanks for your help!

[philip bloom]

please call me Phil.

The smaller the aperture on the camera the better edge to edge you will get. Same problem I had with the Letus Extreme and EX1 until their new achromat fixed all that.

[thefilmaddict]

Good to know. To recap:

1. Close down the 35mm lens for better bokeh (I now shoot at f4, is that good?)

2. Allign the flip module better (I did this)

3. Zoom in a bit more (Z71 to Z75 is the sweet spot - I did Z75 and it seemed to work)

4. Close down EX1 aperture for sharper edge to edge

THANKS PHIL!

[philip bloom]

1: don't be religious about f4. I shoot wide open A LOT. f2.8 will work pretty well. You using CF1L?

2: Yep

3:sure

4L most important part until there is an ex1 fix, that is a new achromat. The only way to get perfect edge to edge with this camera

[thefilmaddict]

The loss of sharpness from edge to edge in some of my shots is strange. I did not have this problem on earlier shoots. Perhaps it's because I had my iris opened too much on the EX1. The only other thing that is different this time is that I zoomed in more. Could that cause sharpness issues?

[thefilmaddict]

I shot everything last time with the 35mm lens wide open. I went to f4 this time because someone complained the the bokeh looked bad. Could closing down the 35mm aperture cause sharpness issues?

I don't mean to keep asking the same questions, I just want to nail this the next time I shoot.

[thefilmaddict]

Here are some stills from the new Brevis shoot:


http://www.morrisbrothersfilms.com/brevisbeach.html

[thefilmaddict]

Here's the video Beach scenics - big file, might take some time to load.

http://www.morrisbrothersfilms.com/ex1brevisbeach.html

[frankygunpowder]

Here's the video Beach scenics - big file, might take some time to load.

http://www.morrisbrothersfilms.com/ex1brevisbeach.html

Really nice footage. I'd say this is my favorite ex1 footage you've shot.I love the warm colors. Really sharp too. I do believe you achieved the edge to edgde that you were striving for. I think this deserves it's own thread. Any CC? Care to share your settings?

I do believe you just sold me an EX1 :beer: (when in a better financial position, anyway.)

Looking forward to more.

[thefilmaddict]

Thanks!