Should I exchange my EX1 for a EX3?

jujufactory said:
Yes but the EX3 has that great viewfinder (which really makes it feel like a real movie camera) and you can brace it against your shoulder. The EX1 will destroy your wrist muscles or you back muscles if you wear one of these Indian bogus EX1 rigs. The EX1 also looks like a real professional camera on a professional set. Isn't that worth the extra 2000 Euros?
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I think you meant the EX3 looks more pro.........

That said...... Only a true insecure amateur would be concerned about the "Size" of his camera and what other people think!

I once did a print ad for a major Ad Agency for a Major Hotel chain. Total cost of production was just over a hundred grand.

I shot it on a $9.00 plastic camera called a Holga. I had 10 of them cause they all shoot a little different. There on my $2000.00 Gitzo tripod sat a nine dollar plastic camera.

If your concerned about what your clients think about your camera.... Your in big trouble cause your thinking about the wrong thing !!!

frisco
 
Just completed principal photography on a dramatic piece shot guerrilla style in downtown Los Angeles. Don't think I could have gotten away with an EX3, but the EX1 was quick and easy. Sometimes a less "pro looking" rig will get the job done better..
 
US Latin, you're the one driving people nuts by raising some off topic "trolling" accusations. Who elected you to decide what questions are legitimate? What you call trolling I call asking questions which are important to me. If anybody is "trolling" around here it is you by preventing people from asking questions by suggesting they are troublemakers. You don't have questions? Good for you. I do. So please, pardon my French but either contribute to the discussion by helping out or get lost. Thank you.

The Mattbox question is a legitimate one and the EX1 vs EX3 question is more than legitimate as most people have struggled with that issue at one point or another. So once again, and this suggar on top, either contribute by helping out or get lost.
 
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Funny about your question about matte boxes - I think I may be invited to do a review of the latter unit shortly, especially in view of previous, less than stellar reports in its performance and construction elsewhere.

Another point for the EX1 and less so for the EX3 is transport on an aircraft. I managed to get an entire doco style shooting kit into a single backpack that I was able to carry on with me and get shooting moments after I landed. Possible with my EX1, harder with the 3.
 
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ex3

ex3

I personally bought the EX3 because of the time code inputs/outputs and genlock. I also have a use for the interchangeable lens option.

I do alot of multicamera shoots (concerts, sports, etc). These extra features make my life much easier for those types of shoots.

If you will find yourself working on the types of jobs that will warrant an EX3 then go for it, if not, save your money.
 
jujufactory said:
US Latin, you're the one driving people nuts by raising some off topic "trolling" accusations. Who elected you to decide what questions are legitimate? What you call trolling I call asking questions which are important to me. If anybody is "trolling" around here it is you by preventing people from asking questions by suggesting they are troublemakers. You don't have questions? Good for you. I do. So please, pardon my French but either contribute to the discussion by helping out or get lost. Thank you.

The Mattbox question is a legitimate one and the EX1 vs EX3 question is more than legitimate as most people have struggled with that issue at one point or another. So once again, and this suggar on top, either contribute by helping out or get lost.
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lol dude, chill out, it was supposed to be funny... about the question it all depends... if you have the extra money and need HD acquisition in the future then the HVX hands down, but if you are planning on shooting DV only then you might want to save some moey and get the 150 or 170 can't remember which you pointed to... but if you were talking about matte boxes I'd go with toe one on the HVX cause I heard it was nice for the moeny and know nothing about the other lol
 
I think the best option is to get a LETUS lens adaptor onto the EX1 which will give me a better camera than the EX3. The Letus seems to yield really good movie look results in providing a narrow depth of field. However I don't know if ND filters on the EX1 with an open iris won't give me similar depth of field.

As far as Matt Boxes are concerned, I would love to know if anybody here has experience with these Indian Matt boxes and/or cheap Mattboxes nin general.

Also I'm looking for a 500 or 600 Euro tripod with a good fluid head and which can be raised high. Any tripod recommendations in that pricerange?
Thabnk you.
 
I concur, but the lenses would be too much additional money and go beyond the $2,000 unless you plan carefully... I'd go with the SGblade though cause you can use faster shutters and stop down lower giving you more flexibility thanks to it's spinning GG, and it is still very fast, close enough for sure from what I've read, and it starts at $890.- leaving you $1,000 for lenses...

but I'd much rather first get a good mic and follow focus than jump into adapter land with only $2,000.- to spend

the 1/2" sensor will not give you narrow enough DOF on the wide range which will make you zoom in more than you need and walk back making your movie either too stationary or too shaky if you are really admen about throwing things way out of focus, sure it will be more than a 1/3" chip but not "enough" IMO, and in the opinions of a few owners I've talked to BUT, I'll take a well rounded 1/2 rig over a half complete 35mm

remember it is all about content first, so make sure you can control focus, don't get a 35mm adapter with a lens or two and no FF, that would be a bad mistake to make


good luck with the tripod, definitely used for that much money, have some patience and you may find something decent but you really should spend a lot more on your tripod and head if you plan to use it a lot... it is an intrinsical piece to your rig
 
I'm not sure I understand your point.

(1) You claim the SGBlade is cheaper but once you throw in the rails and compare that to the the Letus35 Extreme Starter Bundle which goes for $1,700 and includes the rod support system, lens mount, ring size, custom case, you don't see much of a price difference.

The SG Blade goes for:

SgBlade Image converter: 600 Pounds
Flip Module: 320 Pounds
Rod Support: 120 Pounds
Lens Mount: 50 Pounds
Step Ring: 10 Pounds

That's 1100 Pounds which is just about the same price as the Letus Bundle once you do the currency conversion. On top of that, the Letus is a faster lens and does not require the added weight of a Flip Module. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

(2) As far as Lenses are concerned, on Ebay you can get 50mm Nikon lenses for reasonable money.

This one was sold for 100 Euros:

NIKON NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4 AI

This said, I'm not sure whether any photo lens will do or whether only certain lenses are recommended. I don't know where to get 35mm film Zeiss or Panavision lenses so I'm confused on what exactly you need or where to get it. Ideally I would want a 50mm lens for 80% of my shots and perhaps a 20mm lens for small places or more mobile shots. However, I spoke to an Expert XD CAM HD cinematographer who told me you can't use regular lenses on HD cameras because you need HD lenses to avoid visual aberrations of all kind. So I'm not sure slapping a Nikon on and EX1 will do it. There are tests which support that. Philipp Bloom is the first person I see getting those excellent results without hassle. But here again, perhaps I'm missing something.

(3) I don't know about Follow focus. I don't see Phillip Bloom discussing or recomending a follow focus which suggests it isn't absolutely necessary unless you have a camera assistant next to you (which I don't). Plus the follow focus subject is so confusing because you never know what is compatible with what.

GPro offers the following follow focus:

Follow Focus: 220 Pounds
Len Gears: 30 Pounds

But then I don't know if that is compatible with non Gpro rod systems and vice versa. This whole debade about 15mm rods, 60mm this, height, size, length etc... from one manufacturer to the next leaves me totally confused. The same goes for MattBoxes. Will the Idian Rail MattBox fit on any 15mm Rail system?

Any advice to clear up these issues would be welcome.
 
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I didn't do the math for you just suggesting pieces of equipment in the order I woud invest into them based on what you told us your concerns were... you want to get a pro looking rig, am I wrong? I thought that's what you were concerned with.

_Matte Box, Redrocks is amazing and super affordable.
_AT4073a shotgun mic, it is directional but not super narrow with long pick up, which could make it quite ideal for run and gun. Add to this a decent shock mount and fur.
_FF I'd get the RedRock, it is very good and very affordable.

A Follow Focus shoud help you focus, period, so if you want to go manual they won't hurt and you don't need an AC for that... I thought it might give you more of the look that you were looking for while helpping you nail your manual focus. Not a bad piece of equipment to have though you could certainly put that cash into your tripoid if you don't get a 35mm adapter, which would really help to have with a FF if you do. though operting the EX1 hand held may make it impossible to use the FF as you might want to get your left hand under the camera which would still let you operate the focus ring... not sure.

About the 35mm adapters, I'd get the SGpro over the LEX because I woudn't want to be limited with the LEX... what if you need to capture fast motion stuff and you need to up the shutter... are you going to take the adapter off which would take you a while? Are you getting the adapter for the look, wouldn't your customers get upset? I don't know about that satuff man, that is your deal don't ask me to read your mind I am just trying to help with the points I think I coud bring up that you may not have forseen.

About still glass on HD cameras... if you buy crappy glass you will get crappy results, if your adapter is not set up properly you will get crappy results... but if you don't do those things a lens that ismade for 17MP shots (a round about resolution you could extract from a 35mm still film negative) they shoud do just fine. The main concern with still lenses I woud say is focus throw... then other things like breathing and tracking. If you really want good manual glass get Zeiss ZF lenses or research other Leica, etc... some even pull focus cine style.

I can't remember if the EX1 flips the image... I don't think it does so you would need a flip. There are also other cameras out there like the HPX170 that do flip and disingage the focus ring for protection,but you might be going with the EX for the more compressed codec for post.

BTW, the 50mm will be super cheap, but the 20mm will most certainly not be even close to costing twice as much as the 50mm, and you'd be limited to normal and wide with only two focal lenghs. Also you'd have to switch them and this may not be helpfull in run and gun situations.
 
JuJu... I don't think you can go wrong if you follow what Phillip Bloom is doing with his EX1. His work is just stunning using the Letus Extreme. Yes, the EX1 and the EX3 are internally exactly the same camera. As others have mentioned, for all that extra money to Sony, all you're getting is an interchangeable lens feature which one will almost never use, and the BNC connectors for the outputs instead of Sony's proprietary connectors. Now I wish I had those BNC connectors as I really hate the little Sony connectors on my EX1... BUT I'm not willing to pay thousands of dollars for that benefit.
I have my EX1 on a Cavision shoulder and double hand mount which works superbly well (and only cost about $250US)... and makes it look very "pro" since that's a hot-button for you. Add a matte-box (RedRock and Cavision come to mind) and you've got the best small HD package for the money!
 
I can see getting an EX3 if you want to use the 2/3" adapter and Zeiss Digiprimes/zooms (rent of course). Fujinon and Canon also make Cine style lens that aren't that expensive to rent. One of the issues I've read about when using 35mm adapters is the different look between different lenses, causing issues in Post. But then again, some people have no problems with that.
 
Yea.. that's an other reason why Zeiss ZF primes and other color matched sets with long focus throws are really the only way to go if you can manage to get them... NOT that Nikons aren't great, please don't start that... a little work in post can fix it, but sure is a PITA to have to worry about matching before you can start grading.

Getting into a 35mm adapter is NOT as easy as 1 2 3... there are a ton of variables added, and it is not cheap to do it right... and done right it still isn't a walk in the park... I agree that being able to shoot 2/3 might be best for run and gun seeking shallow DoF... not that I have been running around shooting 1/3 2/3 and s35 my whole life, but it just makes sense and there is a reason why trends develop...
 
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