Canon 7D optical illusion…

I don’t know how it’s done, but if you watch this picture for a while, a Canon 7D magically appears in the background…  Click the pictures for a larger view, click again for an even more megapixels. Pictures were not made with a DSLR camera.

The expert eye will eventually recognise the RedrockMicro DSLR Field Cinema rig, with a few added parts. I was already VERY satisfied with this great shouldermount rig, but i spent some extra bucks on extra bits that made it totally perfect. It works like a charm and it looks so good!

Don’t mind the Cokin french flag. This is NOT a matte box. If i had the budget for a matte box, i’d opt for the RedrockMicro matte box that is made for this set, but budget ends somewhere. The buck stops here
RedrockMicro changed all the metal rods for carbon fibre rods, making the whole structure as rigid as can be and very light. Carbon is virtually indestructable and the cage protects your camera and lens.

Here with Micro FollowFocus, Nikon 50mm 1.4 lens, simple SD video monitor, Rohe video mic, Canon remote, Zacuto Z-Finder.

I’ve added one of the nifty multiclamps and i abuse it to create a second leg for the rig – since i like to push one of the handles up to control the followfocus. Inserting an old spare rod brought me an extra leg and an extra grip.

Maybe hard to see, but i’ve added one extra cage part (lowest one with red thumbscrew) at the top, and one extra cage part at the bottom (out of view here) to make the whole construction mega mega rigid. Feel like being able to drop it off a cliff and continue filming there…

One last pic. The remote is stuck on the shoulderpad with velcro. The 7 inch SD monitor helps me going through the menus, but to focus it’s not of much help – need a HD monitor here but – again – out of budget for now. The blue magic arm is something special! Just one thumbscrew makes it rigid and locks all joints. Very smooth, very handy.

And now for the 1000 dollar question: can you make movies with it?
I haven’t found that out yet. The same with my iPhone – it is rumoured that it can make telephone calls too, but haven’t figured that out yet either  ;-)

That was a very corny remark, i know. I shoot the following clip with this rig: http://www.youtube.com/user/marvelsfilm

To see how this rig was originally intended, look here: http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.472981/it.A/id.593/.f old picture with the steel rods though.

That’s all folks!

Martin Beek.

Facebook

Yep, on top of everything i have been lured into registering a Facebook account.

Come be my friend   Click here…

Martin B.

Can anyone please mail me the 7d000109.fir file?

THANK YOU ALL!! STOP SENDING ME FILES !!

Can anyone please do me a tremendous favor by sending me the previous 1.0.9 firmware file?

I have installed the 1.1.o firmware and – believe it or not – vertical banding/stripes has increased significantly. Want to do some testing. Lost mine.

Thanks!

pls send to m.beek at marvelsfilm dot com

Changed look and feel of our weblog

Don’t be alarmed, there’s nothing wrong with your screen – i have changed the whole look and feel of our WordPress weblog.

This design offers a broader surface for the message text – something that was bothering me in the previous design. Too many lines were broken off or misaligned with images. I think this is a lot better..!

Martin

YACFR -> Yet Another Canon Firmware Release… 1.1.0

TINSOP -> That is not solving our problems…

After months of complaining about pattern noise & basking & blocking at low ISO with Highlight Priority set, providing Canon with pictures and movies, today i received a email from Canon saying that they were happy to announce that a firmware version was released today, that solves all of my problems.

That is the second email in two months i receive from Canon, that promisses to “solve all my problems”.

Alas… this firmware addresses different issues (again).

What has been changed in Firmware Version 1.1.0?

The following improvement has been incorporated.

1. Corrects a phenomenon that in images captured by continuous shooting, and under certain conditions, barely noticeable traces of the immediately preceding frame may be visible.

This phenomenon is not noticeable in an image with optimal exposure. The phenomenon may become more noticeable if a retouching process such as level compensation is applied to emphasize the image.

Our recent musicvideo shot w. Canon 7D & RR DSLR Cinema Field bundle

We did two musicvideos in october, one shot with the Sony EX-1 and the RedrockMicro M2Encore 35mm. DOF adapter, and one with the new Canon 7D (with RedrockMicro Cinema Field rig).

 

 

 

 

The first “EX1″ clip may not be released into the public domain yet (maybe next week), but the “7D” clip can be viewed at: The Marvels Youtube Channel (press the HD button!)

The 7D clip was shot on a Sandisk Extreme CF (60mb/s card), using a Nikon 35mm 1.4 E-series lens (with Canon convertor). Terrific noise-free images (mainly) because of HMI lighting (4 x Arri HMI kit & softbox).
Original footage 1080p/25fps, 1/50s shutter, cut w. FCP on iMac, shaded/graded using FCP three-way color and Joe’s filters.  No Magic Bullets used here…

Hope to post the Ex1 musicvideo before the end of next week.

Martin Beek
Marvels Film

Follow Marvels’ shorts, Canon 7d, Sony EX1 and RedRockMicro news on twitter

Follow me in twitter:

http://twitter.com/martinbeek

 

Ordered the RedrockMicro DSLR rig; exciting!

After having compared 101 DSLR rigs, inlcuding the wellknown Zacuto rigs, i have eventually chosen the RedrockMicro Field Cinema DSLR Rig.
It will arrive next week or so and that’s SO COOL – i’ll be able to show it off in a week during the DSLR Shooters Gathering in Amsterdam.

I’ll keep you posted… Read the previous post about the RR Field Cinema DSLR rig: the Article

Martin.

Canon 7D Picture Style updated

I have updated the download file of the Canon 7D Picture Style with Cine-gamma (S) Curve.
The Picture style settings have been normalized and the Gamma S-curve has been optimized
Pleas read the updated article below, or jump to:  the article.

Great news for Canon 5D-MKII owners: 24/25fps !

A press release from Canon Europe announced that the company is developing a firmware update to enable the 5D Mark II to record high definition 1080p video at 24 and 25 fps, providing a choice of video recording frame rates like the new EOS-1D Mark IV and EOS 7D offer!

When the 5D Mark II was first released last year, its full 1920×1080 video capture at 30 fps bested competitors like the Nikon D700 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A900. Then, in May of this year, Canon released a firmware update that added manual exposure control for video to the camera. Now, with a firmware update due in the first half of 2010, the 5D Mark II will be able to record 1920×1080 video at 24 fps and 25 fps as well, making it compatible with the NTSC and PAL broadcast television standards in the U.S. and Europe, respectively and allowing budding filmmakers to create the cinematic look of film using the lower 24 fps frame rate.

Read the Canon press release. 

Martin Beek