FGV - 7D/PL with Zeiss Master Zoom

escozooz

escozooz

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Cathy Mitchell Informercial
FGV 7D/PL w/ Zeiss Master Zoom

Director: John McCarthy
http://www.jfmccarthy.tv/

Director of Photography: Matt Workman
http://www.mattworkman.com

Production Company: Last Pictures
http://www.lastpictures.com

Just wrapped a one day informercial with a Canon FGV 7D/PL with a Zeiss Master Zoom. We rented from Arri CSC in NYC and the rig worked flawlessly. We had an on board monitor as well as a client monitor. Arri is creating it's own custom power/HDMI/SDI splitter boxes which will make things much easier in the future.

We had a wiress Arri FIZ controller and pretty much everything you can think of on this camera and it operated very well and the images are pretty stunning. Best of all we had a pro focus puller that could accurately pull focus for out more dynamic jib/dolly shots.

More photos on Flickr.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattworkman/

I'll post the video when it's out ... or you might see it on TV :happy:

Cheers,

Matt
 
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this looks like an amazing rig - and a great shoot that I am sure you made look amazing

one question comes to mind though - that is a lot of gear in front of the camera and, usually the best glass is well ... the best. But I just wonder, since the resolving power of the 7D is somewhat low (Keep in mind I LOVE and own this camera and shoot with it often) - I wonder if that type of glass is overkill - Id be interested to see a comparison of a shot with something amazing like this setup and a much more modest lens setup to see if there is any appreciable different once the image is past the 7d processing, aliasing etc.

all that said - if the lens and rig is available there is no reason to not use it - so Im sure you had fun - but just curious if people should actually PURSUE using a rig like this.
 
Hey Seth,

The images we captured on this shoot will pretty much speak for themselves, I'll post the video when I can. The Master Prime is pretty much the best money can buy optically and we lit the whole day @ 250 ISO T5.6/8. I also dial in a picture setting that fits each scenes dynamic range.

Arri CSC NYC carries a lot of these FGV PL/7Ds and they are very popular. Same goes for Clairmont LA and Birnes & Sawyer LA, I just rented from them as well on another job and they are always renting these.

CSC, Clairmont, Camera House, B&S, etc. are all making custom hardware to support the growing demand for these cameras. The weakest link right now is getting a client monitor with them. The AJA is the most common solution but I've used the Black Magic as well. Arri has an elegant Anton Bauer solution that powers everything but I've heard they are custom building one solid piece that handles the video conversion and power distribution.

Optically the 16-110mm zoom @ t2.8 was a perfect range for our shoot. No lens changing, smooth zooming, and wireless focus pulling. Basically a 35mm sized Varicam, which is usually what we'd use for an informercial. Plus a great looking image right out of the camera and a very small file size. The client was very happy with the footage even playing back at 1080 on a computer.

If these types of rigs are right for any given shoot is up to the director/dp/producer. I was at first hesitant when I started seeing these rigs but after using them, they are pretty much like using a 35mm camera with all of the professional support you'd expect, but with a 7D (1080 h264) file format. The price of these rigs are very low compared to a RED, D21, F35, etc.

I've built them out much smaller as well and used PL Primes like Zeiss Ultra Primes, Standards, etc. for going handheld or just into a small footprint.

Optically they PL lenses are superior to SLR lenses, that's not a question. Whether the 7D can pickup on those differences is subjective. My main motivation is that I can hire a focus puller and he/she can actually confidently pull focus with these rigs. Combined jib/dolly moves require timing and percision from the dolly grip, operator, and 1st AC.

I basically jump between the REX MX and the 7D/PL these days when it comes to picking cameras. For a lot of situations where my post budget for color timing isn't where is should be or we want a 35mm look with a smaller budget the 7D/PL is a game changer.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Cheers,

Matt
 
Looking forward to seeing some footage, Matt!
May I ask why the 7D and not the 5D? Is it because of the lack of HD monitoring via HDMI...?
 
In addition to what Workman has outlined, resolution is NOT the only thing that matters. Highlight roll-off, retention, rendering is a major factor in glass choice.

Being able to shoot into direct sunlight (Master Primes, Cooke S4s) means coatings that are specifically designed to reduce flare and color/contrast washout to the utmost minimum.

Color balance, contrast and micro-contrast all effect the image to great depth.

Breathing characteristics when pulling focus, accurate light measurements (Total Light Transmission).

On the wide end, detainment of pincushion effects and distortion.

On Cinema Zooms, zooming during motion or image acquisition does not see an out of focus image throughout the zoom range.

These are all just aesthetic values that make that big rig worthwhile. Mechanically, also a different story.

These are all things that far exceed the expectations of still photography that have been built into cinema glass. Motion pictures requires much more of a lens than a still photo.
 
Yep got it - I was looking through the "lens" of rez first and foremost - and I see all those other elements you are talking about

to be very clear - Matt, you know I respect your work a whole lot so I wasnt knocking your choice at all, Just trying to get a complete grasp of the reasons behind the choice (other than the rig is available to you like that which is good enough alone)
 
Hey Seth, yeah I didn't take offense to it. We are just having a little friendly professional discourse, that's what these public forums are about. Cheers.

Here is a little quote from my facebook page talking about why one would shoot with this type of rig versus RED, F35, Alexa, 35mm, etc.

"take the 7D/PL away and you have a great lens and all the accessories you'd normally want on a cine-shoot ... then think of the camera bodies as different quality film backs ... could be poloroid (7D), 4x5 (RED), or 6x7 (FILM) or however the analogy works for you :)

On my shoots I like having Cine/PL lenses and full accessories with a focus puller ... if the back one day is a RED MX great ... Arri 235, great ... if on another its a 7D/PL that's great too ... it doesn't really change what my job is ... framing, lighting, moving the camera, etc.

If we did these 7D/PL jobs on 16/35mm and even the RED with the same budgets we'd get worse results in most cases ... if it wasn't down right impossible in the first place.

I would take a 1080p (with the compression and line skipping) digital master over a one light 16mm/35mm interlaced digitbeta for most projects

If I can time the transfer, we go to 2k, then grade and bump to HDCAM or HD uncompressed I'm on board for film"

- Matt Workman from FB Post in response to motivation to shoot with the 7DPL with so many professional accessories
 
good thinking there. I also wonder, for these jobs why a varicam 2700 or 3700 with a great lens wouldnt be an option. While the 7D has a larger frame, the varicam creates a better image with no aliasing or other issues. And a 2/3" frame with a good lighting kit gives you great DOF options but you also have the rock solid workflow and image quality of a great camera.

I am asking cause if you have the budget for that cine lens setup wouldnt you have the budget for other great setups and avoid the 7D issues altogether (even though you can work past them). Is the PL lens worth the additional baggage that goes with the 7D when you can get glass just as good for a 2/3 inch
 
escozooz said:
... then think of the camera bodies as different quality film backs ... could be poloroid (7D), 4x5 (RED), or 6x7 (FILM) or however the analogy works for you :)
Click to expand...
...ha...thanks for saying this. I've always said this about the various cameras that are out there...to just think of them as different film stocks with their own characteristics. I've never shot film but from what I understand different film stocks have their own issues (some good some bad). But the smart cinematographer picks the right stock for the right job.....just like the right camera for the right job.

Dude...you do great work by the way. I appreciate you sharing them with us...:smile:
 
Thanks Ian.

Usually when we do straight informercials we use a Varicam. Recently I've used a P2 Varicam 3700, 3000, etc. I've done multi-camera setups with these cameras and mixed in HVX200s etc. and they've all performed well enough.

However, most of the work I do requires cine-style shooting. You might not consider a 7D cine-style but if you look at it's resume: 35mm sensor, PL lenses, etc. it's closer than a Varicam will ever be ... unless you put a P+S Teknic 35mm adapter on it.

I'm not knocking the established 2/3" world, some very clever AC pointed out that the last two films that won best cinematography at the Academy Awards were shot on 2/3" cameras. Avatar(F23) and Slumdog (Si-2k). I've personally done projects with the F900/950 with Zeiss DigiPrimes. While these lenses are very sharp and mechanically sound, I would have gone with a Panavised Cinealta or P+S Teknic if I could.

In my experience an ENG zoom will not hold focus through out it's zoom range, which I've always found annoying. And the FEEL of a 2/3" camera is not as close to film as say the RED or DSLRs in most cases, purely due to the small sensor size and the type of lenses. I watch a lot of stuff shot with 2/3" cameras and stuff shot with DSLRS and I have to say I prefer the look of DSLRs in most cases.

In the hands of a capable shooter either camera will look great.

If we were tasked with having 5 cameras on this job I'm not sure how that would look with five 7Ds with five Master Zooms. Some of the beauty of the ENG cameras is that you can pull your own focus and adapter wireless transmitters relatively easily and sync timecode.

I suppose the results will speak for themselves. The creatives on set were very impressed with the look and feel of this particular setup. They constantly were comparing it to QVC and saying that we had a much different look than they were used to seeing. They were referring to the DigiBeta, SDX900, HDX900, Varicam look most likely that most broadcast TV is shot with.

In my mind the only cameras I'm really looking at for any project are:

Canon 7D/5D/1D, Canon 7D/1D with PL, REDMX, Phantom, Weisscam, s16/35mm, and if the producers insisted D21, F35, Genesis.

I'd put up a pretty big fight if they pushed for F23, Viper, F900, Varicam P2, XDCAM, HVX200, any lens adapter, etc. I'm aware that Michael Mann and David Fincher use 2/3" with great success but I wouldn't feel comfortable using them.

Just my personal preference there. The reality is that about 100% of infomercials are shot with 2/3" cameras, lol.

Cheers,

Matt
 
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