AF-100, con job or dream come true?

I wish they continued to use ccd sensors as well, but they cost more to make. I may be wrong, but I dont think ccd sensors are as good in low light. or does that have to do with pixel size only?
 
There are a lot of issues....heat dissipation, power consumption...it is just not possible to build a CCD in some form factors. Being an old geezer, long accustomed to focal plane shutters, the jello phenomena of CMOS doesn't bother me at all.
 
Well thank you, but I just hate the idea that I have to "avoid" certain issues. Like what if I want to shoot a scene that has lighting? Or in a rave with strobe lights? I don't want my creativity to be limited by my camera. That is what I worry about. But coming from you guys and the best in the biz, I think I'll be okay with it.

Thanks again.
 
TheDingo said:
CMOS global shutter technology will get here eventually ( I expect to see global shutter cameras within 5 years )
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"Will I get rolling shutter artifacts when shooting with ALEXA?

That depends. ALEXA uses a CMOS sensor with a rolling shutter. The pixels are read out from the sensor sequentially, starting at the top left of the image and then read line by line until the bottom right is reached. It is possible that a fast event, like a photographer’s flash, is over when only part of the sensor has been read out, leading to a frame with only the top part exposed by the flash. It is also possible that straight vertical lines will be slightly bend during a fast pan (an effect sometimes called “skew”). However, ALEXA’s read-out speed is very fast, so this effect is not very prominent.
The ALEXA Studio can be used in electronic shutter mode, in which case it functions like all other ALEXAs and like described above, but it can also be used in rotating mirror shutter mode, in which case a physical, half moon shaped mirror (see image) rotates in front of the sensor. This mirror shutter has the function of a global shutter. While the light strikes the sensor, the pixels are exposed and accumulate a charge. When the mirror fully covers the sensor, the charge is read out. This eliminates any rolling shutter artifact and works just like a film camera does in terms of exposure."

http://arri.com/camera/digital_cameras/learn/alexa_faq.html
 
it's a tool man, give a monkey, a DVXuser and a carpenter a hammer, and you will get mixed results. The same applies to this camera.
 
Tyrant Lizard said:
Well thank you, but I just hate the idea that I have to "avoid" certain issues. Like what if I want to shoot a scene that has lighting? Or in a rave with strobe lights? I don't want my creativity to be limited by my camera. That is what I worry about. But coming from you guys and the best in the biz, I think I'll be okay with it.Thanks again.
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Don't worry so much about all these potential issues, you'll drive yourself crazy instead of actually going out and using the camera. You're limiting your creativity most by spending time posting about issues you haven't run into yet instead of shooting. Good luck!
 
OK, well, this is a working example not a narrative example, but in this video after about a minute 20, when the dark shots start, you'll see plenty of photo flashes, and then theres a shot i got of an insane lightning strike, now, in that lighting strike is about the absolute most horrible rolling shutter shot i can imagine, and i used it, and the client Loved-The-Sh*t out of the video.

so like i said, this is a client example, but i show it as a notion that we the technical people notice things a lot more than the average viewer.

 
I think that rolling shutter artefacts are now accepted by audiences as the normal effect of shooting on video. They are not seen as problems - just a characteristic.

Like how film grain and lens flare are actually seen as pleasing qualities of shooting on film cameras where in actual fact they are technical limitations and errors.
 
Nice job on the BEF piece, imdjay. Great editing. Nice that you could get that dancing in sync to your score. I saw a couple of snap zooms there, what lens(es)?

So there you go. Rolling shutter. No show stopper, no creative license suspension, everything good! To the OP, take the advice given here and go shoot something. You'll like it
 
hscully said:
Nice job on the BEF piece, imdjay. Great editing. Nice that you could get that dancing in sync to your score. I saw a couple of snap zooms there, what lens(es)?

So there you go. Rolling shutter. No show stopper, no creative license suspension, everything good! To the OP, take the advice given here and go shoot something. You'll like it
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all day shots were the lowly 28-135, and all the night shots the 50 1.8, they like me to stay very very low profile for those events. so it's just me and my backpack running around.

i think it's even time to do a little re edit of that piece, take out a verse or two to tighten it up and get rid of some shots that i don't care for.

that shoot actually turned up the best compliment from any client i've ever gotten, since the lady who organized the event was bummed to hell about the rain storm, after she saw the video she replied back... "As you know, the night didn't turn out the way I envisioned, however the video makes it look like the night I pictured"

no asking about rolling shutter, partial white frames...nuttin.

actually that lighting shot was a frickin miracle, the photographer and i were standing there watching the sky....

Darren: "man, i wish i brought more cards"
photographer: "man, i wish i brought my tripod"
Darren: "eff it, i'm going to get one these damn strikes"

5 minutes later i get lucky as hell. though the audio you hear in that is a different strike i captured years ago.

moral of the story? well... not quite sure, just pickup a camera and start shooting!
 
Wow guys, thank you so much for answering this question so well. I really appreciate the love of shooting on here. I know this is an important issue to all of you guys on here, so of course you want to spend time on it. I just want to say how cool it is to be able to talk with pross about this issue.

My last response was actually several pages late (I didn't know we had 3 pages running!) so thank you for all of the info and sweet links too! (Jon Furtado ,Kevin Marshall, Filmguy123, imdjay!)

Naso: I don't really intend to do a lot of whip pans but I don't like to be limited. (I'm not a "Bourne" fan if that's what you mean, man ;) )

imdjay: Your video was exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. It looks to me, man, like if I want to do some serious lightning footage or shots with flash photography, I'm gonna have to rent an HMC150 or some other high def CCD.

Gary Askham, I hear you, man. I've thought the same thing myself. About the transformation of digital artifacts from film and how there is a new standard for scratches, dust, hair etc being ripple, skew, jell-o. I just will never be pleased with the rolling shutter effect on strobe light.

We all know this wont be an issue in our lives someday. For now, on the equipment at hand, I've got to make do.

Thanks y'all.

Trex.
 
Remember, don't be a "Tyrant" in worrying about things before they even prove to be a problem! :happy:

Gary's very correct in that viewers tend to absorb camera "limitations" and "artiifacts," perhaps subconciously, and feel they're just a part of the video process...

And if you want some lightning, intense lightning, here's some I shot overcranked.
Yes, there's some banding, but I think it kind of gets lost in the context of the subject matter.
And if a viewer did specifically notice it, they'd probably think something along the lines of "Gee, I guess that's what happen when you film intense lightning...", end of story.

So shoot more, obsess less! (that should be the motto here- DVXuser- shoot more, obsess less...).

 
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Chuck, thanks, man. That's amazing. It's perfect. Exactly what I've been looking for. I can see the banding.

I love the video man. The SUPER WIDE shot with the house at the bottom of the frame is incredible. I didn't even see it down there til the second time around. Wow. Amazing stuff. Beautiful storm, dude. Did you capture the raw audio?

I would love to play around with this file in After Effects to see if I can fix the banding in some shots. I can see that it's not in every one, and it looks beautiful. But there are a few that are severely effected and could be cleaned up (I think).

For me, I know what it looks like and what I want it to look like. I care about the skewing because it's what I want to see. And what I want the audience to see.

Thank you.
 
now that was some sweet lightning, and shows how the af100s faster pixel refresh(and other settings) helps quite a bit as compared to the 5d in my lightning shot
 
imdjay said:
actually that lighting shot was a frickin miracle, the photographer and i were standing there watching the sky....
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Remember that on the AF100, it's pretty easy to catch every lightning strike. Just turn on the pre-record mode. Then after the lightning hits, just press the record button and it'll save that strike, each and every time.
 
Barry_Green said:
Remember that on the AF100, it's pretty easy to catch every lightning strike. Just turn on the pre-record mode. Then after the lightning hits, just press the record button and it'll save that strike, each and every time.
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yes indeed, though perhaps i didn't mention that the cam for that vid was the 5D, not the af.
 
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