Another "which camera?" thread

The most important thing about shooting with an HDSLR is experience with it. Getting familiar with it and knowing its limitations and what you can and cannot do with it is very important. So I agree with you Giriki, that you may want to skip it if you don't feel you have the time needed to learn it.

I can't say I know what it is like in Finland, but do you know anyone or anywhere where you can meet anyone who you can collaborate with. Depending on the content you are shooting, it is very hard to light, run camera, run sound, coach your actors and pay attention to script continuity all at the same time. Whenever I am running camera I always have a director or at least a script supervisor paying attention to what the actors are saying. I'm trying to make sure I'm hitting my mark, that everything is in focus, that the light stand isn't in the shot, etc. And sound is its own beast.
 
well Giriki this is some test grading i did from a film i Dped... with my 7d. homemade shouldermount and zfinder jr.

http://vimeo.com/13410432

(7d audio...which will NOT be used)
I've done alot of handheld with this and i can say i luv it. you just need to learn how to do it.

The full hd argument doesnt really fly much with me...as long as something looks good. i'm good. Sometimes these technicalites are just 2 overwhelming and distracting and annoying. shoot and if it looks good to you then fine. it has already been proven many times these cams hold up on the big screen.

I for one am all for owning gear. (well core gear). its very liberating and educational to have ur own camera whenever u want to shoot.
 
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sorry i cant help with the dvd...but if its good enough to be screened on George Lucas's theatre and passed by him and his team in addition to Tarrentino and being used extensively by Shane Hurlbut ect...its good enough for me :)

The good thing also about the dslrs is if u have a solid kit with good lenses...then ur just changing bodies in the future :)
 
I don't know if your concerns with the 7D and the "big screen" are well founded. Take a look at Philip Bloom's site. He took the 7D and 5D to George Lucas' ranch and watched footage on the big screen with very good results. That being said, I agree the 7D has short comings with aliasing, jello, etc, but it also has its strong points, mainly low light, interchangeable lenses and shallow depth of field.
It sounds like you want to own and not rent.
Let me throw this out there. Buy a 7D and a few good Nikon lenses, extra battery and a couple 16GB cards. Should cost less than $3,000 (or the T2i and save $1000). Buy a HMC150 (HD CCD 1080p, 24 fps camera), a couple cards and extra battery. You can probably buy a barely used one with the extras for around $3000.00.

This is the setup I have, along with a T2i and they complement each other very well. The low light and shallow depth of field shots can be accomplished with the Canon and the rest with the Panasonic. This also allows for some multi-cam shooting.

Just food for thought, but I don't think you will be disappointed. this should take care of your camera needs and you still have $3k for the balance.

Good Luck
 
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First ... why not forget the slow lurking camera movements ... your first film just might make the audience sick without them anyway ... just joking. Why not use a tripod and carefully set up each shot from storyboards and with appropriate or at least planned lighting. Now on to your question ... why not rent or borrow an SD camera and shoot your film on mini DV and don't worry about shallow depth of field ... just use the aperture controls you have and try to keep things in focus. My recommendation is buy a used Panasonic AG-HVX200 or something similar (or rent it or better still borrow it, maybe have the owner DoP, you Direct and keep the tapes). Then after you shoot this movie if you want to do it on a 7D or 2ti or 5D do a reshoot ... and see if the results are any better.
But be sure to use a tripod!
 
Giriki said:
Yes, that's the plan, use storyboards to map out the film so I'll not complicate things any further. And definitely plan everything BEFORE shooting anything.

El Director, I would really appreciate it if you could share some of your footage early.

So, is DSLR my only option? Or should I really consider buying EX1+35mm adapter from US?

Btw, I'm still waiting for someone to give me a DP with RED for 10k/month, ha.
Click to expand...

Okay, so first things first...

What's the synopsis of the story?
How many pages is the script?
 
Giriki said:
That really isn't the subject of this thread, but I can tell you that it's a romantic comedy and the script is currently 110 pages. I say currently, because it will go under 1-2 major rewrites before it's something I would make. So, yeah, 7D could fit that criteria, but the gear is a multi-year investment so I want to get it right the first time. What if my next film is Bond-like action film? Would 7D cope with that?
Click to expand...

A fellow member of a Final Cut users group I'm a member of, was making a promo/recruitment piece, but actually may turn into a full length film about Navy Seals (US Naval Special Forces), used a number of 5D and 7D cameras to get such shots as sliding down ropes from a helicopter, with the camera mounted to the man's helmet, to get that 'realtime you are there look'.

The movie did include some film film footage, some 5D and 7D footage. They used the DSLR's for shipboard work, the simulated operations, such as the helicopter scene, even a beach party scene... The film film footage was pretty much only used for the really 'static' shots, where they could take the 'hours' to setup...

I don't think its out to the general public yet, as it was done more as an adjunct to recruitment for the Navy program.

When I saw the footage he got out of the 5D and 7D's, I was convinced I would not by another 'video' camera...
 
Most of the HDSLR issues are completely manageable. A lot of people blow it further out of proportion than it needs to be.

Rolling shutter is an issue on the RED One too. Whip pans and intense hand held is the only time you notice it. The way around it is to not do whip pans and use wider lenses if doing intense hand held work.

Moire is controlled by wardrobe and set design.

The codec isn't the best, but it is manageable. Transcoding to Cineform or ProRes helps too. Make sure your camera has the sharpness and contrast set to their lowest settings. This will give you more latitude in post.

FYI, I'm working on a HDSLR training series. Click on my link below to see our YouTube videos. We plan on launching in September.
 
As far as jello, just make the camera bigger (I use my tripod as a shoulder mount) and keep the pivot behind the sensor. Doing that alone as eliminated most of the jello issues for me.
 
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