I had a chance to do some shooting this past weekend with the Redrock M2 and my HVX200.
http://hvx200.moctel.com/Users/ckarcher/
thoughts:
Once dialed in, the M2 is phenomenal: little noticable resolution loss, (even when overcranking) and reliable for use all day. Please note that I was still evaluating the setup and used a cheap used Nikon mount ($80) 80-200mm zoom lense and a borrowed set of old nikon primes from a friend. Some of the longer lense stuff has a white bloom/glow and the wide angle (28mm) has some soft vignetting- this was created by the lenses-not the M2. In my initial testing, I actually like the effect the cheap lens gave the imagery- I may have to go looking for some F*&ked up lenses! ( I've heard a few well known DP's are shooting projects with goofed up glass to try for a unique look.) That being said, I was so pleased with the M2 that I've already ordered a set of fast (f1.2-2.8) primes and a Zoom after spending time with the rig.
I truly believe that the reason why a lot of the online M2 sample footage looks somewhat soft is simply that most of the people posting footage have shot without using any sort of HD monitoring for pulling focus. We used the marshall 7" component HD LCD, which allowed me to pull critical focus and almost always nail it. I also suspect that if we turn up the camera sharpness slightly( +3) we'll see even more impressive sharpness from the M2. Also note we shot cineGammaD, which in my testing, also reduces apparent sharpness in the image-even without the M2.
My biggest concern with this setup was the portability of shooting without needing 3-4 crewmembers to lug around the camera, HD monitor, lenses and gear. I was also concerned about the number of setups we could do in a day, since there is some complexity when adding extra lenses, on camera monitoring/power, ect. I did'nt want to spend 10 minutes setting up the camera, M2 and monitor every time we moved from location to location.
I spent a lot of time researching solutions for being able to keep the HD monitor mounted to the camera and being able to release it off of the tripod and go. As far as I'm concerned, the only viable solution is from Zacuto. We used their fantastic set of rails and a monitor bracket available from www.zacuto.com along with their baseplate. This let us instantly retract the Marshall monitor level with the rear rails (behind the cam) and lock down the NOGA arm, released the camera from the tripod and walk from scene to scene: camera/M2/monitor in my hands and ready to shoot again almost instantly.
Sunday we walked about 2 miles in downtown San Diego with the setup. My AC carried a cartoni CF tripod and small AC pouch with lenses/P2 cards and batteries and I carried the cam and a lightweight battery belt to power the Marshall monitor. This allowed us to easily setup the tripod and camera in about 20 seconds and begin shooting. In 8 hours we logged about 130 shots over 12 4gig P2 cards. I tend to shoot very conservatively with a lot of rehearsal moves before ever recording, so our results were spectacular: I could have easily shot twice the material.
lastly, I should note that once we dialed in the M2 and used a piece of gaff tape to lock in the zoom/focus on the HVX, I never had to change it for the rest of the day: focus on the ground glass wast always tack sharp. ( believe me, I checked it neurotically throughout the day)
I hope this helps anyone considering this setup. The Zacuto rails and plate with the NOGA arm is an absolute necessity. I'll post some production pics later this week.
Hats off to Brian and the Redrock team, the M2 exceeds my expectations and for 1/10th the price of their german counterparts. In the coming weeks I have a few more significant projects to direct and I can't wait to see how much more we can up the creativity with the M2/Zacuto solution.
cheers!
http://hvx200.moctel.com/Users/ckarcher/
thoughts:
Once dialed in, the M2 is phenomenal: little noticable resolution loss, (even when overcranking) and reliable for use all day. Please note that I was still evaluating the setup and used a cheap used Nikon mount ($80) 80-200mm zoom lense and a borrowed set of old nikon primes from a friend. Some of the longer lense stuff has a white bloom/glow and the wide angle (28mm) has some soft vignetting- this was created by the lenses-not the M2. In my initial testing, I actually like the effect the cheap lens gave the imagery- I may have to go looking for some F*&ked up lenses! ( I've heard a few well known DP's are shooting projects with goofed up glass to try for a unique look.) That being said, I was so pleased with the M2 that I've already ordered a set of fast (f1.2-2.8) primes and a Zoom after spending time with the rig.
I truly believe that the reason why a lot of the online M2 sample footage looks somewhat soft is simply that most of the people posting footage have shot without using any sort of HD monitoring for pulling focus. We used the marshall 7" component HD LCD, which allowed me to pull critical focus and almost always nail it. I also suspect that if we turn up the camera sharpness slightly( +3) we'll see even more impressive sharpness from the M2. Also note we shot cineGammaD, which in my testing, also reduces apparent sharpness in the image-even without the M2.
My biggest concern with this setup was the portability of shooting without needing 3-4 crewmembers to lug around the camera, HD monitor, lenses and gear. I was also concerned about the number of setups we could do in a day, since there is some complexity when adding extra lenses, on camera monitoring/power, ect. I did'nt want to spend 10 minutes setting up the camera, M2 and monitor every time we moved from location to location.
I spent a lot of time researching solutions for being able to keep the HD monitor mounted to the camera and being able to release it off of the tripod and go. As far as I'm concerned, the only viable solution is from Zacuto. We used their fantastic set of rails and a monitor bracket available from www.zacuto.com along with their baseplate. This let us instantly retract the Marshall monitor level with the rear rails (behind the cam) and lock down the NOGA arm, released the camera from the tripod and walk from scene to scene: camera/M2/monitor in my hands and ready to shoot again almost instantly.
Sunday we walked about 2 miles in downtown San Diego with the setup. My AC carried a cartoni CF tripod and small AC pouch with lenses/P2 cards and batteries and I carried the cam and a lightweight battery belt to power the Marshall monitor. This allowed us to easily setup the tripod and camera in about 20 seconds and begin shooting. In 8 hours we logged about 130 shots over 12 4gig P2 cards. I tend to shoot very conservatively with a lot of rehearsal moves before ever recording, so our results were spectacular: I could have easily shot twice the material.
lastly, I should note that once we dialed in the M2 and used a piece of gaff tape to lock in the zoom/focus on the HVX, I never had to change it for the rest of the day: focus on the ground glass wast always tack sharp. ( believe me, I checked it neurotically throughout the day)
I hope this helps anyone considering this setup. The Zacuto rails and plate with the NOGA arm is an absolute necessity. I'll post some production pics later this week.
Hats off to Brian and the Redrock team, the M2 exceeds my expectations and for 1/10th the price of their german counterparts. In the coming weeks I have a few more significant projects to direct and I can't wait to see how much more we can up the creativity with the M2/Zacuto solution.
cheers!
