Is it me or do adapters look best outdoors

djkarn105

djkarn105

Well-known member
It seems like all the adapter footage that is really beautiful / really looks like film is shot outdoors.

Am I the only person that thinks this?

Reasons for this I would think include:
-daylight overcomes light loss issues
-plenty of available light means you can use the lenses sweetspot
- Higher f-stop means less edge softness.
 
Yeah man, i love it!

I just got back from testing out my blade, the daylight at the sunset was just amazing.
Here's some grabs until the video's up. But yeah i agree, but someone skilled can make the indoors look good. if i get a chance i always prefer to shoot outside (less stuffy and takes less time to set up).

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I cant think of any reason why they should look better outdoors so cant agree with the idea apart from the fact that the sun does a pretty good job of lighting things and possible better than some people can light it them selves.

In the right hands (eg a cinematographer) the photography should be just as good wherever you use the device.

(A DOF Adapter does not know or care whether it is indoors or outdoors)
 
William_Robinette said:
I would also say that a good majority of people have no idea how to light an indoor scene properly.
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Aye. It depends on whose work you're watching. It's easy to shoot outdoors if all you want to do is see the subject. I feel that my interior work is often stronger than my exterior shots because I have more control inside.
 
It doesnt help that old redrock and Pro35/mini35 had at least two stops of light loss.
Most HD cameras are rated 320-400 ASA in tungsten. Knock that down by two stops and you have a working ASA of about 80. What that means for interior shooting:
1) You probably need more light.
2) You probably need more power.
3) You're going to be shooting wide open - not the best place to be on a lens.
4) Location shooting is often going to be limited on space. Using larger lighting units may mean more heat, etc.

That's a lot of limitations to make good lighting that much harder to achieve. Yes, the newer 35mm adapters only have 1/2 stop loss but I hear that comes at the cost of funky looking bokeh (Ive just used the pro35 and original redrock myself).
 
I agree that most palmcorders and DOF adapters, no matter how fast the 35mm taking lens, are just too slow. I'm used to shooting interior head shots with my HDX900 and a normal 18X HD zoom, -3db, 720/24P, 1/48th shutter. A typical key light would be a 2'X4-bank Kino Flo on frame edge with a 4'X4' silk or 216 diffusion. The exposure would be at about f2.8.

I've done the exact same setup with my HPX170/Letus Ultimate/Nikon 50mm f1.4, except 0db, and was at 50% exposure. I would have to remove the silk or diffusion or double up Kino Flos for the key to get proper exposure and use larger background accent lights.

This is with a pretty fast adapter and a camera that has a higher ISO than the HVX200. Philip Bloom has the Letus 1/2" relay lens prototype on test and found it to be two stops faster than using the stock EX3 lens. This would make interior shooting with an adapter much easier. However, an EX1 is still about 1.5 stops slower than an HDX900, depending on resolution, frame rate, so a 2/3" camera like an HPX500 and a relay lens/faster adapter could be the hot setup.

Last night I watched a movie called "Fire Proof", shot with a Varicam and Pro35 which had a lot of interiors that looked very nice, most daylight with some big HMI's used through the windows and Kino Flos for close ups(both could be seen in the behind the scenes video).
 
Even with proper indoor lighting, from what I've seen adapters tend to do their best outdoors on a slightly overcast day or a little after sunrise or a little before sunset.
 
Another major factor is that there's just a lot more stuff outdoor, so you don't have to do production design, you just have to pick a good location. Most indoor stuff I've seen are shot in small apartments with blank white walls and a few chairs, not very interesting.
 
Huy Vu said:
Another major factor is that there's just a lot more stuff outdoor, so you don't have to do production design, you just have to pick a good location. Most indoor stuff I've seen are shot in small apartments with blank white walls and a few chairs, not very interesting.
Click to expand...

You can't forget that a lot of people like having a nice bokeh in their images. When you're confined to a small room, you're out of focused images may not be THAT out of focus. When outdoors, you get things that are very deep into space. Not to mention atmospheric perspective comes into play as well outdoors. Something you can't get indoors.

No doubt being able to set up good lighting is a big chunk as to why most indoor footage doesn't look at nice as outdoor. The sun is a pretty good light source. :)
 
One of the main reasons why we bought a DOF adapter for our rental inventory is because so many corporate and cable network head shot shoots end up in small, undecorated locations.

Many clients don't want to spend the money or don't understand the importance of good art direction. My job as a DP is 80% easier when there is an attractive location to light. Therefore, a DOF adapter can make a mediocre location look good, assuming good lighting.

The problem has been that the adapters, in combination with palmcorders, no matter how fast the 35mm taking lens, are too slow compared to a 2/3" camera with ENG zoom lens, or even a palmcorder with stock lens only.

If losing two stops due to the adapter and palmcorder's zoom lenses light loss at longer focal lengths, interiors become problematic due to not having space, power, manpower or budget for more/larger lights. Newer adapters with less light loss, newer, faster cameras and now the option of relay lenses for cameras with detachable lenses will really make interiors a lot easier.

There is no reason, when done well, in a nice interior location, why images won't look as good as exteriors with a DOF adapter, IMO.
 
I prefer shooting indoor myself, when I can control the light without fear of it changing. The sun is fine, but for best result you really have to wait until it's at optimal position and that narrows the time available for shooting.
 
PaPa,

Those are very nice grabs. Lighting is natural looking, the window still has detail, exposures are good. The DOF is shallow, but no too shallow. How much light did you have to add to available from the windows?
 
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