Topics

1

Feature Requests / [WONTFIX] Wheel for Exposure in Exp. Override mode

« on: August 21, 2012, 07:14:20 PM »

I was wondering: is there any specific reason why it is not possible to use the "exposure wheel" (in other, erm... 600D terms: the ONLY wheel) for setting exposure in Exposure Override mode? Thing is, this is possible if I select exposure from ML menu and press zoom in... but it would make everything much simpler without those few extra clicks...

I would just set Exp Override on, and forget that such thing exists at all, and just  set exposure via the wheel.

2

Post-processing Workflow / Digital Intermediaries

« on: August 21, 2012, 06:33:56 PM »

I do a lot of processing, not everything within Premiere (my main app for doing effects and cutting).

A typical example is a HDR video or timelapse: I usually do tone mapping offline with a tool like the VirtualDub-based toolchain, or that, combined with Luminance HDR or Photomatix pro (for tone mapping).

Thing is, I usually end up with a bunch of .tiff-s or .png-s, directories around 10 gigs or so, which is too much for archiving (I like to archive sources from which I compile my cuts). Long story short: I want to turn those still files into some kind of single (compressed) file.

So far I have been saving 200 Mbps H.264 files (high profile, every frame is a keyframe), because it is:
- compressed
- so far I could not differentiate between framegrabs from the 200 Mbps material and the originals, not even with heavy processing on them.

Of course I might be wrong, and I will figure out one day this is not the right thing to do, so let me know if you have a better or different workflow!  The only thing worrying me at this point is that (at least with HDR video) I get three consecutive (and lossy) compressions: one in the camera, one for the intermediary and one for the final result. At least from my audio experience, three consecutive lossy compressions are NEVER a good idea...

3

Share Your Videos / Blobrain - android game promo

« on: August 19, 2012, 02:01:05 PM »

Recently I have created a promo video for an android game created by a friend:

It is nothing spectacular, but ML was used extensively:
- exposure override (kit lens was kind of slow as I did the shooting in a darkened room to cut out screen reflexions from my XPERIA S)
- the brand new zebra to spot over-exposure
- waveform (once you enable, you don't want to switch it off  )

Interestingly enough, I rarely have aliasing issues with my 600D, but this time the finite resolution of the phone screen resulted in some spectacular moire patterns... so I had to record things a bit out-of focus and add some sharpness in post with "unsharp mask".

4

User Introduction / Weldroid

« on: July 21, 2012, 12:19:26 PM »

Hi All,

Better late than never 
Tamas Zsiros, Electrical Engineer from Hungary, currently staying in Stockholm, Sweden.

I do electronic music (glitchy IDM, ambient, with quite some distortion), sound design and audio engineering at night. Everything is CC-licensed and free.
http://weldroid.net

Lately, I have been putting together some videos from those crappy shots I take with my beloved 600D since this March. I have been running ML practically since then from day 4 or 5.

Some examples:

There's also a Vimeo channel if you prefer that:
https://vimeo.com/weldroid

5

Hardware and Accessories / > 1.3x CBR?

« on: July 18, 2012, 01:30:06 PM »

Back in a day I got eth Sandisk Extreme 30 MB/s:
http://se.farnell.com/sandisk/sd4903/memory-sd-ext-iii-16gb-30mb-s/dp/1782321?CMP=KNC-GSE-FSE-GEN-KWL
I can reach x 1.3 CBR with this, but 1.4 gets a bit unreliable already.

This one claims to be three times as fast:
http://sandisk.com/products/memory-cards/sd/extremepro-uhs-1-95mbs/?capacity=32GB

Any good/bad experiences, or maybe other brand that let you shoot higher bitrate?

6

Hardware and Accessories / Manual focusing help (video)

« on: July 15, 2012, 09:52:25 AM »

Inspired by the great response I got at the kit lens upgrade thread I keep bugging with my beginner's questions.

It seems people are happy using full manual lenses for video work. Still, on a real manual lens (where there is no electronic coupling between the lens and the camera, let's say a Samyang 35mm or an old Nikon with an adapter) the only feedback on whether a shot is in focus or not is visual. TBH I sometimes struggle even with magic zoom to get things sharp, and there are times when I realize during editing that I have a shot that is unuseably out-of-focus.

So are there any tricks you can use to get focus right when you have a lens that is all optics without any electronics?

- EVF?
- External monitors?
- Other tricks?

7

Hardware and Accessories / Lens upgrade for 18-55 (600D)

« on: July 10, 2012, 08:56:04 PM »

I did not want to hijack the other (very similar thread):
http://www.magiclantern.fm/forum/index.php?topic=1144.0

I'm currently shooting videos (primarily) with my 600D. I did not listen to good advice and got the 18-55 ISII kit lens with my camera. I would like to upgrade (mainly to improve low-light performance), budget is around 1K, and - as I do a lot of handeld stuff - I need optical stabilization.

I see two routes:
Plan A: get ONE ~1/2.9 constant aperture EF-S zoom lens with a range similar to the kit lens. Sigma, Tamron, maybe even the Canon (but I really suspect I'm going to be ripped off if I get the Canon).

Pros:
- I got used to being able to zoom, I'm not sure if I can live without
- Stabilization
- no swapping lenses, one compact package

Cons:
- not sure if this will be a huge improvement over the kit lens (people's opinion are so different in this regard)
- EF-S means less future compatible if I ever upgrade to something that doesn't work with EF-S
 
Plan B:
Keep the kit lens as a basis, and get a fast 20-30 mm-ish fast prime for low light and maybe a Tokina 11-16 for wider-angle timelapses, etc...

Pros:
- better low-light performance when using the prime (one stop)
- better optical performance when using the prime
- at least the prime can be future compatible (and the Tokina a bit maybe)

Cons:
- lens swapping slowing me down: I don't do any scripted work, so fast response time is essential
- more gear, more to carry around (and I can not carry around much due to some back problems)
- I have tried to set my kit lens to 30mm to see if I can live with a fixed focal length and it felt rather "claustrophobic"

If I put all this together, I actually lean towards plan A. Not being a seasoned photo/video veteran (my primary art form is music), I have tried to educate myself from the net and the general feeling is that zooms are looked down and real men uses primes and swaps lenses or just sticks to a standard lens. But still the engineer in me assesses and comes back with plan A.

I would appreciate any comments, suggestions. I was looking around the place I live, and it is very expensive and almost impossible to rent these kind of lenses for just a weekend.

(This is the kind of thing I usually do: https://vimeo.com/weldroid)