The ARRI ALEXA has become so popular that many clients are asking to use it in ways outside of the traditional Digital Cinema market. Documentary and ENG-style productions, long the playground of 2/3” cameras, are now beginning to use the ALEXA. With this demand, AbelCine has worked to adapt the camera to the style of “One Man Band,” everything-on-the-camera shooting.

Audio
The ALEXA does not have the traditional mounting points for microphones, nor does it provide power for them. Importantly, it also only accepts Line level audio, as opposed to the Mic levels that commonly come out of microphones and wireless mic receivers. To attach a standard shotgun microphone, we use the K-Tek K-SSM Short Shock Mount, which nicely isolates the microphone from the camera and allows precise positioning. The smallest professional two-channel mixer available is the Sound Devices MixPre-D.

Lensing
Super-35 lenses are large, heavy, expensive and do not have servo control handgrips for efficient operation. Fast-moving productions have come to rely on compact, high zoom-ratio lenses with built-in motorized zoom servo handgrips. The HDx35 B4/PL Optical Adapter allows these lenses to be used on the ALEXA for efficient, ENG-style shooting.

Power
Documentary-style crews are used to powering accessories off two-pin P-Tap (PowerTap) sockets commonly found on camera battery plates. The Anton Bauer QR Quad PT sandwiches between the battery plate and a battery, and provides four P-Tap sockets for power. Anton Bauer also makes the QR-Hotswap-AR, which provides mounting for two batteries as well as a topside mounting flange for attaching accessories such as wireless microphone receivers.

Cables & Mounting
Having assembled the various parts, AbelCine created some custom cables and mounting hardware to attach it all cleanly and efficiently to the ALEXA. We call this configuration the ALEXA One-Man Band Kit.

There’s no denying that Canon HDSLRs have made a big impact on our industry, and while proving to be an amazing tool for cinematographers, some of their limitations become apparent in post-production. While the native HDSLR image is often lauded its for high contrast and saturation, this can also prove challenging to color correct and grade.

To solve some of these issues, Technicolor and Canon have teamed up to release a custom Picture Style designed to increase the dynamic range of the images produced by the Canon HDSLRs. Loading the Technicolor CineStyle profile replaces the standard REC709 profile with a log color space for maximum latitude.

When you load the Picture Style with Canon’s EOS utility software, you can see that it adds the “CineStyle” profile to the standard drop down list.

I’ve included some sample images of the Canon “Standard” and “Neutral” styles compared to the Technicolor CineStyle.

Canon Standard

Canon Neutral

Technicolor CineStyle

While the Technicolor CineStyle appears flat and washed out, the low contrast image provides a true, neutral starting point for your colorist.

Technicolor has also released an S-curve LUT (Look Up Table) for Apple Color and Magic Bullet LUT Buddy. Both the Picture Style and S-curve LUT are available from Technicolor’s website here.

For a while now, it’s felt as though the market for new 35mm PL lenses was relatively slow, as we’ve been using the same lenses for years. With the numerous 35mm PL mount cameras now available for the cinematographer to choose from, we’re happy to see that the lens manufactures have responded with new, exciting lens options. We are fortunate enough to have the new Canon FK14.5-60mm T2.6 wide angle cine-zoom lenses on display at our booth this year, and the response has been great thus far. Canon has also announced a companion lens, the FK30-300mm T2.9-3.7.

Watch my video above as I walk you through some of the features of these two new lenses.

At this year’s Canon Expo, we had an opportunity to see Canon’s recently announced EOS 60D HDSLR. The 60D is a full-featured HDSLR positioned between the Rebel T2i and the 7D, with one notable exception – the 3” LCD now articulates, solving the problem many video shooters had with high and low angle shots. HD video functions are similar to the rest of the EOS line, with H.264 1080/24p/25p/30p and 720/60p/50p recording on to SDHC & SDXC cards.

…continue reading Hands-On with the Canon EOS 60D

We sell a number of different quality shoulder mount rigs for HDSLR cameras, but often we have customers that just want to keep their cameras small and lightweight. One of the major advantages of shooting with an HDSLR is the ability to blend in with a crowd without anyone knowing you are shooting video. Here are a couple solutions that will allow you to add function and stability to your HDSLR camera, but still keep it small and relatively invisible.

iDC Run & Gun Kits

iDC has made a Run & Gun Kit for the Canon 5D Mark II, 7D, and Rebel T2i that is both small and very functional. The Run & Gun kit combines a modified Hoodman LCD viewfinder with a simple follow focus. The follow focus butts up against the lens and rotates focus or zoom using friction only, so there is no need for gears. The system does not utilize rods, which keeps it small and light. Additionally, the viewfinder is designed to quickly attach and detach from the camera for easy viewing. When held up to your eye with one hand on the camera body and the other on the follow focus, the Run & Gun kit is very stable and easy to use.

Zacuto Target Shooter

If you are looking for a small way to stabilize your HDSLR, then you might like the Zacuto Target Shooter. This small support is designed to add an additional point of contact with your body for increased stability. It may not seem like much, but with both hands on the camera, the extra support is sometimes all you need. The Zacuto Z-Finder Pro can also be added for better viewing and yet another point of contact with your body.

Manfrotto Monopod & Fluid Head

A unique solution that one of our sales agents, Matt Livingston, came up with is combining a Manfrotto 685B Neotec Monopod and the Manfrotto 701HDV fluid head. While using a monopod is not popular in the video world, it can be used as a useful stabilization tool for HDSLR cameras. Matt combined the monopod with the 701HDV head to allow for quick position changes as well as fluid pan & tilt control. Check out this music video Matt shot using his monopod creation, and four Canon 7Ds (with Zeiss ZE 21mm, 35mm, 50mm, and 100mm macro lenses) and a Canon 5D Mark II with a Zeiss ZE 85mm.

Recently, I got a chance to play with one of Canon’s newest lenses the HJ15ex8.5 2/3″ ENG-style HDTV lens. It features Canon’s advanced Vari-Angle Prism Image Stabilizer (VAP-IS) technology, allowing users to adjust for specific shooting situations – perfect for handheld work while walking, running, or on a moving vehicle. Check out the video to see my overview of the lens’s key features.

Canon has a new HDSLR camera and a new Final Cut Pro plug-in. The EOS 550D (or Rebel T2i as it is also called) is their latest HDSLR camera, with an 18 MP APS-C size sensor and the ability to record full HD video. In terms of video, the specs are very similar to that of the 7D:

• 1080 recording at 24,25, and 30
• 720 recording at 50 & 60P
• Full Manual Video mode
• HDMI output
• Stereo Mic Input

The big differences from the 7D is a lower ISO range (100-6400), and it records to SDHC or SDXC cards instead of CF cards. The sensor is not exactly the same, so some comparison will have to be made, but the price is significantly different at under $1000. Read a full review of the new 550D at DPreview.

The other big news is that Canon is developing a plug-in for Final Cut Pro. It will allow importing of ‘EOS Movie’ footage into FCP through the Log and Transfer mode. The plug-in will convert the QuickTime movies created in Canon HDSLR cameras into Apple’s ProRes 422 codec at approximately twice the speed of Apple’s standard conversion. Additionally, users will also be able to add timecode, reel names and metadata to footage quickly and easily. This is great news for anyone working with Canon HDSLR cameras. A beta of the plug-in will be available in March.