A few Q's before I pull the trigger - and yes I have searched!

G

GRIMWORX

Well-known member
Ok guys I know these are questions that you are bored to death of, but they are quick to answer! If you could be so gracious as to spare me 2 mins, GREATLY appreciated!:engel017:

Im going for the SGblade adapter, and will be shooting primarily music videos/narratives.

1. How necessary is a follow focus? Of course, the more gadgets the better and they are quite obviously incredibly useful...but is it compulsory? Am I dead it the water without it?

2. Same question as above for an external monitor. Most of my videos will be high energy, lots of movement - I know what you are thinking, however I wont mind a bit of off-focus shots. Will I have no chance with the viewfinder and EVF DTL on my hmc 151? Can I really not tell if my shots are in focus - if so what extent are we talking about?

3. Im worried about operating the camera on my own? Will I need an extra hand to focus for me? For shots when I want to be free to move around (anything not on tripod I guess) am I going to need some kind of shoulder mount? Does any particular model lend itself to letting me operate totally on my own? I am on a budget here please bare in mind!


I KNOW these are questions that are probably going to piss a few of you off. Truth is im very serious about film and have been shooting for a long time - I've just not been fortunate enough to get my hands on 35mm adapters! There is so much information on it over the internet, but what I really need to clear up a few grey areas is a friendly chat!

I love bokeh and am fully ready to commit to the adapter - just need to know EXACTLY what I need to buy before I take the plunge, I dont want to end up with an adapter that I cant focus, cant tell if its out of focus till its too late, or need an army to operate without arranging one!


One last time, cheers guys, its very much appreciated.
 
1) not necessary if you are pulling focus. very necessary if someone is pulling for you, especially if there is a camera move.

2) not necessary if you are shooting talking heads at 2.8 or 4. very necessary if you will try to focus at 1.4 while dollying towards/away from a subject and/or a subject that is moving. soft shots will be anything between barely usable to absolutely not at all. it is likely that you will *think* you have focus because the LCD looks good, but in post it will be disapointed. remember, soft shots on a 1/3" chip at f1.7 are very different to soft on a full frame at t1.4.

3) operating on your own when on a tripod is totally possible. operating while hand held is tough with a HH camera like the Ex-3 but virtually impossible with a small form factor. i have tried the shoulder mount route and was not satisfied. balance was never correct nor comfortable. that being said, with a rail system, i feel comfortable to 'man-handle' an HVX/letus extreme combo by putting my right hand through the strap/record button area and my left hand on the lens itself pulling focus. zooming is a lot tougher! i am considering an hpx370/letus combo for an upcoming documentary, as shoulder mount is a paramount concern to me.

it is a slippery slope my friend. be wise and buy only what you need and can afford. also beware that to be able to pull off some of what you want to do is going to require equipment and lots of practice.


Jason
 
My opinion varies from Jason's

1) Although not absolutely necessary, once you've used one you'll wonder how you managed without it. I highly recommed a follow focus.

2) Depends what camera you are connecting the blade to. Some LCD flip out and view finders are no where near sharp enough to even ensure a soft focus. If you have a camera like that, then you absolutely need an external monitor. If you're not getting a flip module with the blade, then you'll need an external monitor as well.

3) I agree with Jason's comments on this item
 
mvansomeren said:
My opinion varies from Jason's

1) Although not absolutely necessary, once you've used one you'll wonder how you managed without it. I highly recommed a follow focus.

2) Depends what camera you are connecting the blade to. Some LCD flip out and view finders are no where near sharp enough to even ensure a soft focus. If you have a camera like that, then you absolutely need an external monitor. If you're not getting a flip module with the blade, then you'll need an external monitor as well.

3) I agree with Jason's comments on this item
Click to expand...

The camera is a hmc 151...
 
I'm using an HMC with the blade. It works great, no vignetting and no soft edges.

I'm using it without the flipmodule, the flip will give you a bit less edge to edge sharpness. I don't have the reason to use it since the unit gets more bulky and heavy.
Use the flip option in your camera.

When it comes to focusing with the built in lcd; It can be done, with a good result.
I do it by using the expanded zoom function, and it never lets me down.
But I would highly recomend you to use a monitor if you can afford it. If you're like me and can't afford it- don't worry, it works without it.
I'm using it also without any followfocus, allthough it's not the easiest when doing a pan or tilt and pulling the focus, it needs some practice =)!

The HMC's detaillevel of the display is pretty damn good I have to say, just make shure that the detail option for the monitor is activated, it will make the LCD a bit more noisy but more sharper.
 
hmmm interesting, if I can manage, I would love to do it. Im just kinda worried im jumping into a mine field. Its a whole nightmare of trouble, but is the magic look worth it?

Ive been shooting fully zoomed in at low apertures for any sort of DoF shots ive wanted so far...Not ideal, but hey it gets the job done to a degree.

Im wondering how long its going to take for HDSLR to get their game together and bring an affordable product to the market, or even better, camcorders step up to interchangable lenses. Maybe I would be better off holding fire and waiting?

I am making do...I suppose???????????????
 
Well, once you have done the whole set up; Installed the adapter, zoomed in and tuned the backfocus, tape the zoom ring and switch the focus ring to iris function.

After that, the trouble is over. Now it's a question of time to get used to it. Always use the lenses at F4, if you have the light for it, as it will give you the best result in my opinion.

I had the same thaughts as you. But today I can't imagine to shoot without it, it really makes a difference. It is not that it gives you a special effect, it is a totaly different feeling and deep in the picture. If you want to have that special pro' look with the DOF and colours go for it.
Now I may be a 35mm nerd, but I love the challenge to set it up correctly when shooting, so it's not totaly the image, it's the adapter itself that I find very interesting.
 
Im just worried about how much cash/what im going to have to buy to actually be able to start using it effectively. Im not planning on doing any shorts or anything - just music videos right now. So I perhaps dont need a wide array or 'gadgets' and can probably make do with just a 50mm for the time being.

But I need to be realistic. What essentials would you suggest I would HAVE to buy?

Thanks for the help btw, im just so confused as to go for it or not. Its alot of cash and a huge commitment for me. Film is big in my life, but im currently a student is all. Learning film of course :)
 
If I were you, I might just get a 5D/7D. Its decent for short run times and non-audio sync material. If you decide to go the adaptor route, you'll want something beyond 50mm. It is a great focal length, but very 'normal'. Music videos really require abnormal looks, think exaggerated wide (20mm) and compressed tele (85mm+). If money is an issue, get cheap manual primes and try to save some cash for an external monitor.

You can get by without a mattebox, FF, rails and monitor if cashflow is tight.


Jason
 
If you're refering to "rails" such as the supportrails for the adapter and camera; No, he must have them. Without the rails the cameras lens will snap or get really jiggly with the Sgblade, or any other adapter.

I would never put such a big strain on the Pannis leica lens.
 
If i was to go for the NON FLIP module, how easy is it to recitfy in post?

If the non flip has a better image quality, is lighter, and also £200 cheaper...

Can I somehow just select them all at the same time and flip them, or is it more fiddly? I just cant see why EVERYONE wouldnt go for the NON flip considering the above comments?

I use premiere, PC.
 
I'm working mainly with Premiere CS5. It's really easy, just select the clip in the timeline, go to effects, click on motion, and type 180 degrees and the image flips up the right way. Any editing software will be able to flip it right for you, so don't worry about that.
There is one way to do it if you want all the clips at the same time. Drag all the clips to the timeline. Select all the clips on the timeline, press "Nest". Now you have one big file. Simply do the flip as described above.

I've been researching it a lot and yes, it is cheaper and better IMO. You have less stuff that needs to be aligned, less bulk and weight. Not to meniton to edge to edge sharpnes that is better (it is perfect).
Allthough without the flip you may get a bit more chromatic abberation.

I tink that most people use the flip these days because the price on them isn't that high any longer. Mostly because many cameras out there dosen't have the flip function on the LCD, and they don't have to flip all the footage in post.
 
I dont want to have to flip everything every time I put it into the timeline... im often working with 50-100 clips, it would make it a nightmare!

Is there no decent way to have them all flipped in the import bay?
 
Not that I'm aware of, I don't think that Premiere will do it, maybe some other software in between.. I just get used to look at it upside down when I do the first raw editing :Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)

Just go with the flip then, it's probably the best choiche for you.
 
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