Brevis + HVX + Nikon >> Part 1

C

Christopher Barry

Veteran
A test shoot conducted with another DVXuser, StMad.

We did not get far before I busted the FW connection to my laptop. Lesson learned, don't move equipment with cables attached, and use that gaffer's tape in the tool kit...

Just a few clips, early days for me with this equipment.

http://www.siliconcine.net/

Edit 2007-03-27: Added Part 3, more clips. Explanatory notes here, at the top of page 2.

Edit 2007-01-29: Added Part 2, more clips. Explanatory notes here, at the bottom of page 1.
 
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Very cool, the new diffuser looks like a real winner. I'm sure the Nikon glass doesn't hurt either.

How did you control focus, did you have a follow focus unit, or did you use the HVX focus ring? I assume you monitored using DV Rack and flipped the display? If so, how much of a problem was the delay?

Sorry about your FW port!
 
720p WMV file looks good. The .mov file is pretty dark, though. What happened between the two?

Thanks for sharing. I'm trying to figure out where to put some rental money I'm getting for my camera and one of these adapters is probably going to be it.
 
I had only watched the 720p WMV file, but based on Kholi's post downloaded the MOV file to compare, and to me, both files have the same gamma.

The MOV file would be much smaller if it didn't use 16-bit integer audio. AAC would likely bring it down to a size that is comparable to the WMV version.
 
THoff said:
I had only watched the 720p WMV file, but based on Kholi's post downloaded the MOV file to compare, and to me, both files have the same gamma.

The MOV file would be much smaller if it didn't use 16-bit integer audio. AAC would likely bring it down to a size that is comparable to the WMV version.
Click to expand...

Really? They look the same? On my Apple 23" HD they look completely different. I wonder why that is. Guess they're okay elsewhere!
 
Did you make any changes to the brightness controls in either QuickTime Player or Windows Media Player?
 
THoff said:
Did you make any changes to the brightness controls in either QuickTime Player or Windows Media Player?
Click to expand...

Newp, never mess with them at all. They're both on default settings. Only player I mess with is VLC and that tends to go back to default whenever you close and reopen. Have no idea why the Quicktime is playing back darker than the WMV file. Strange.
 
Watching the video repeatedly, it seems the lens breathes quite a bit. Christopher, exactly which Nikon lens is that?
 
THoff said:
Very cool, the new diffuser looks like a real winner. I'm sure the Nikon glass doesn't hurt either.

How did you control focus, did you have a follow focus unit, or did you use the HVX focus ring? I assume you monitored using DV Rack and flipped the display? If so, how much of a problem was the delay?

Sorry about your FW port!
Click to expand...

Hey THoff. I am using a Camera Turret servo based FF. I had the servo gear modified by Joel Arthurs at HysonFilms who made my HVX and Nikon lens gears. That is why the FF moves were kind of snappy. The servo unit model is completely repeatable and there is no slack in the gears, issues with some FF units mentioned in other threads here on DVXuser. I did not lay some tape on the FF controller and put focus markers on this shoot, I just approximated zones and whipped the focus slider. I will post some photos of the unit later.

Monitoring: DV Rack for recording and monitoring in 1080p24 mode, can do pixel for pixel when full screen mode. The delay annoys me, even on lock down shot, yet it is definitely workable, imo. I also had a Dell 2405 component HD configured. I inverted the Dell mounting bracket 180 degrees, so it is now flipped (don't press the release button on the Dell stand, the monitor will fall to the ground because the prongs are now releasing fully). I prefer the Dell for monitoring, even though it is noisy and displayed crawling visually. I have since the shoot purchased a component to DVI converter box. The noise is gone, the image is way brighter, perhaps too much, so I need to figure out calibration when I get a chance. The plan is to have a broadcast monitor for post and on a shoot, like an LH1700.

FW will be solved by a PCMCIA FW slot card and some new 6-4pin FW cables on order. Good lesson for on a set and any real production.
 
I was wondering how you achieved the snap focus. The lens seems to have pretty shallow (but pleasing) DOF even at F4, and you got the focus right on despite the unavoidable delay when dealing with the FW connection.

One other thing you can do to protect the FW port would be a cable coupler. It does increase the chance of an accidental disconnect. It would probably be a bad idea for a FS-100 and mobile shooting, but for a shot with a tripod and DV Rack, a coupler could allow two cables to pull apart easily so the FW port doesn't get yanked off the motherboard.

http://www.revealcable.co.uk/acatalog/Firewire_Couplers.html
 
Kholi/THoff, thanks for the feedback regarding the files. I am new to encoding game. The basic edit was in Prem Pro 2 (PP2). When encoding to QuickTime H264, the footage becomes a lot brighter, so that codec, used by many here, just does not work for me from PP2, nor Vegas. So I used MPEG-4 codec.

THoff, I will have a look again at the audio compression options and replace the QT movie on the website in due course, if I can figure it out. Thanks for the tip.

As for the lens, that is a Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor. I also have the older manual focus 50mm f/1.4, however, it is so stiff, I was concerned it would burn out the FF servo motor. Some tests in due course to distill your observation. Perhaps the fact I was snapping the focus made the 'breathing' quite pronounced. Definitely a known problem for the stills lenses, it would be interesting to see a comparison between, say Canon and Nikon. I wonder if the particular focus range effects the amount of breathing?

One thing I can say, as an observation, is that many of my lenses have about 2-4mm of focus pull rotation between say infinity and say 2 metres, as with my 50mm. This makes for a very fine range to deal with on certain shots. You don't want any slop in your FF unit and you want to know exactly where and when to start the FF move. This adapter stuff has lots of little quirks, yet I am happy to play and learn.
 
THoff, thanks for the coupler details. One of my local suppliers has these, I may grab some for the kit. Next time, I will use some gaffer's tape to lock off the cable to the camera and laptop, so that only the cable is damaged next time.

For focus, DV Rack would be fine if I placed markers on the FF controller, however, if the talent was moving, I would need to have the FF controller marks and have the talent hit their location mark. If all on the fly, it could be a bit of fun to find focus with DV Rack. I was using the Dell 2405 and DV Rack for the shoot.

Next test, I will fully document the HVX aperture settings, the Nikon settings and post details for each shot. I was shooting some shots on the Nikon at f1.8 all the way to F8, and the HVX was was set to a range of F4 to F4.8. I am new to this, so I will collate accurate info next time and post the detail. It might be a month or so before I do another Brevis test with Steve (StMad) though.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of the Brevis. Looks good, the breathing of that lens was pretty apparent, felt like a slight snap zoom almost.
 
Aram, the Brevis is on the road at the moment, and when it returns, I will do some A/B tests with various lenses to observe the breathing. I used the current model AF 50mm f1.8 for that shoot and will compare it to my older MF 50mm f1.4 in about a month.

Perhaps the fast/snap moves I was making with the motor FF made the breathing more apparent, coupled with the particular focus range I was dealing with, namely foreground flower, talent and background objects some 1, 2 and 3.5 metres from the lens, respectively. I am very happy with the Brevis, looking forward to learning more about using it and the HVX.
 
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