EX1....The New Sheriff in Town

[da24MK]

Hi all,

I'm a cinematographer and I've used almost any Digital camera out there. Genesis, Vipers, F23s, Reds, you name it, I've used it. Then came time, where I wanted to get my own camera for some indie projects. Obviously, I can't afford the Viper or the F23 and you can't even buy the Genesis.

I was looking at the Red One, but truth be told, I'm not a fan of the quality of the images. So, it came down to some Pannys and the EX1/EX3s.

I think the Sony EX1 is bang for the buck and coupled with the Redrock Micro M2e (best lens adapter out there...I tried everything.....SG Blade, Cinevate, all the of the Letus stuff and even PS Technik and Movietube), Zeiss ZF lenses (I own the entire set) and the Convergent Design Nanoflash.....man, the first few images brought tears of joy. We even with intercut some Viper footage and after grading, even the director was going nuts (in a good way). I used some of my connections and modded the cam and the Nanoflash as well. Will be posting some screen caps soon!!

Here's some pics of the setup (missing the Marshall Monitors and the RedRock hand grips)....sorry for the lo quality...taken with my cell phone

 

[Dafilman21]

Very nice setup!

 

[PerroneFord]

That is a thing of beauty (minus the cabling)! I really wish I could get one of those nanoflashes for an upcoming project...

 

[Fohdeesha]

its

so

sexyyy

 

[da24MK]

Haha....thanks guys....but wait till you see some of the footage.....thats the sexxxy part.

I have a friend, who works for a big time digital 444 recorder making company (he promised me not to mention him or his company, but if you know who David Fincher works with you'll get it). I worked with him practically for free for years. Now, it was his time to repay me.....so for like a 1000 bucks more, he installed h.264 chips on the Nano and changed the firmware (which he wrote) and now I also get 10bit Log MPEG-4 I Frame, using a AJA Kona codec (again thats his work)

Sadly, I went to film school and this dude did his Masters in CALTECH, so there's like a lot of tech mumbo jumbo I dont even understand. All I know now, is that I get full raster 422 10bit Log....ie whatever comes out of the HDSDI. Umm....he's also promised me that he could make the EX1 444 compatible with a dual HDSDI, but that wud take a lot of money and a recorder that does 444, so more money. To tell you the truth, I don't think I'll need it, coz this setup is pretty killer.

 

[arrestthisman]

Dude, is this anything we'll see for purchase in the future.

I love you and hate you at the same time right now.

 

[Dlynn_Coffey]

I have a very similar setup as well. I upgraded my M2 to the Encore system. Sweet stuff. I too am using Zeiss lenses.

 

[Max Smith]

Can't wait to see some screen grabs... or better yet, a bit of footage.

 

[da24MK]

Yups, I'm already on it. Its raining cats and dogs here so I haven't gotten the chance to take the cam outside. Will do soon.

arrestthisman: I cannot confirm or deny anything for future purchases. I would love to market the cam, but there are few things stopping us. A) My friend could and would get fired if he was caught B) Finding a price effective enough so that indies can afford it. Already there are many shops out there that are doing such "mods". Also, modification has been going on for decades, its not a recent trend. But companies that have been doing so, like Reel Streem, get bought out by some other big dog and they get shelved. I HATE that!! But at the same time a few million dollars wouldn't hurt.