the editman.com

Production using one of my Canon 7D, Canon 16-35L and 85/1.8 lenses. Shot in Sweden a cold day on a cliff facing the sea.

I've searched for shorter HDMI cables and today a set of two 0.5m HDMI cables arrived. I'm planning to use one between the splitter and monitor. I do have two HDMI mini to HDMI in 0.5m lenght on the way so things are looking good when it comes to un-nesting that cable nest!

I got it on ebay and this is the item number 220587443990

During the two first days shooting Actimel commercials, with Swedish skistar Charlotte Kalla and Danish Karin Mortensen, we used a Canon 7D from Syndicate and their lenses with BNC mount. They take these cameras and rebuilt the mount to have cine lenses on. I brought my 7D and lenses as a backup set if the camera would fail.

The last days we spent in Denmark and in the northern part of Sweden. Both my 7D's were main cameras and we used my lenses this time.

I had more time the first two days to shoot a BTS video and these are some clips put together. Used only a Z-finder as support.

Last shoot all my cables were a snakes nest onto the Canon 7D rig. I realized something had to be done. This weekend I had some time to put together a mount using a spare plastic rod clamp. First of I measured where I could drill holes to mount the clamp to the small splitter box. Once drilled and put together it looks great on the rig and will improve on the nesting.

I'm trying to get hold of shorter HDMI mini to HDMI cables in 0.5m length and eventually I will get them. The cable I have now is a bit to long but it works. I've discovered a bug in the camera or is it when connecting a splitter? If the splitter doesn't have any power and everything is connected to the 7D an error on the display can occur. The camera is locked and you have to remove the battery to reset this bug. It has happened twice but now when I know about it I won't be a big problem in the future.



The position of the side rods is carefully placed. It's in line with how the cables run from the HDMI output on the camera through the splitter and then to my Marshall LCD-monitor mounted in the front end of the top rods. When working in a studio or indoor environment, where you have access to power outlet, I use a power adapter to the splitter and when outdoors, in battery only mode, I have a small rechargeable 7.8Ah battery on order.



To make this rig even easier a central power unit that can power monitor and splitter could be something to look into...

One thing that I did cut back on when investing in lenses was the 85mm lens. I got the cheap Canon EF 85/1.8. Not a bad lens, actually it's great if you look how the images come out. But it's lacking in built quality. I've had my eye on the mighty Canon EF 85/1.2 lens. I think this is the best still lens you can get for a Canon camera! Pricey so one have to think twice before investing.

The more I use my Canon 7D cameras to do video jobs one thing is very apparent. They have a very short focus range on the ring.
A quarter of a turn from nearest to infinity. When you do marks on the FF wheel it's often a question of mm in-between and focus pulling is hard when it's so short.
So I began to look at alternatives and for a reasonable price the Zeiss still lenses seams to be one, if not the best compromise price/performance if you plan on using lenses for video work.

Zeiss has a series of lenses; 18/3.5, 21/2.8, 25/2.8, 28/2.0, 35/2.0, 50/1.4, 85/1.4, macro 50/2.0 and macro 100/2.0 that suits a video lens series quite well. I always found the fastest lenses the best since it makes it easy to lit scenes. Fast meaning 2.0 or faster.

To choose the Zeiss Planar T 85/1.4 ZE was in the end an easy choice. Couldn't really find any alternatives that fast. I can compare it to the Canon EF 50/1.2 L in size. Built quality is even better than the Canon 50/1.2 and the Canon is already a very solid piece! Focus ring is smooth all the way and just enough tension to feel great when turning that follow focus wheel. It has hard stops and goes a long 270 degrees around the barrel. It has marks from the near limit onto 15 meters and then a short leap to infinity in feet and meters. Did a fast comparison with the 85/1.8 lens and they seam to be about the same sharpness when in the nearest focus and zoomed in 10x on the 7D.

Zeiss is kind enough to put in a very decent lens hood. All metal with a velvet inside to avoid reflections near the front element. Since it's a EF mount (ZE) it's controlled through the camera when it comes to every parameter except focus. But it beeps when in focus so that's at least something for stills.



I had to put it on one of the cameras and attach a ff gear wheel. This lens sure looks and feels tasty on the 7D! Not sure if I'll be using this lens to make many stills but I'll sure give it a try next time I feel like bringing a 85mm lens. If it turns out as I hope, further on I might get the 35/2.0, 50/1.4 and 100/2.0 lenses from Zeiss for a series of video/film-lenses. This way I have a still series and another sets for my video jobs.

These are some clips put together from a Friggs commercial shoot just out of Grisslehamn in Sweden.

The idea was to have a nude girl, just as she was created, standing on a small cliff looking out the sea. All in black and white and trying to make it as tasteful as possible.

I was 1st AC and DP was Johan Palm. I put one of my Canon 7D on a smaller than usual rig with a Marshall LCD monior on the back. We had a splitter to get another view for the client/producer.

To make this BTS video I used my second 7D. I have to say if compared to the GH1 the Canon is much richer and feels less video. Didn't have to much time shooting the BTS and really there was not to much variation but anyway a short feature from this day.

Lenses used for the commercial: Canon 16-35L and 85/1.8. ND was a Fader-ND and we had a graduated filter inside the mattebox to even it out a bit.

I attended the Swedish Bartenders Guild yearly competition. A very exciting day since my cousin was one of the competitors in the advanced classic group.
He won the whole thing! Brought both my Canon 7D camera and 135L and 100L lenses to cover this event.

His drink Chili-Vanilli and his cool and professional performance took him to the final where he crushed the other competitors.
One thing that become apparent was how much alike we are in certain facial expressions and features.

We were many family members cheering and celebrating his victory this day. So great to be apart of this experience.
They also had "flaring" were they juggle while making a drink to the beat of some tunes.



I tasted his winning drink and it was a very good mixture that in the end gave him a first place. He's now off to Singapore for the world championship later this year and I wish him all the best of luck!

With an ash cloud lurking from Island we had a shoot in the outskirts of Stockholm.
On a low cliff our model stood naked facing the sea free as nature made her. Always tricky when working with nudity and making it tasteful.

I think we succeeded well this time. A black and white commercial.

Here Johan and Chamoun frames the shot. We used one of my Canon 7D and a 16-35L lens. It's not often we use this lens but this time it came in handy. The small cliffs didn't offer much flexibility to place a tripod. I made the rig a bit lighter for this job. But having cables going back and forth between camera, splitter, converter and monitor makes it a snakes nest. I have to figure out a better way to get it slimmer.



Our model had a rough day. About 5 degrees Celsius and a slight breeze made her really cold and between shoots she was pretty wrapped up in clothing to keep warm. I froze a bit even I was fully dressed and she stood there naked! Impressive.

This video is actually made up of stills taken with my Canon 7D. A short sponsorship 10s spot for the Finnish Koskenkorva vodka.

We had the camera on a jib arm and shot against a black drop in our studio. Lighting we had two kino 4x4 bouncing of one of the studio walls and a small Dedo light bouncing of a reflector to fill in the label.

I'm excited, everyone is excited! Nothing from Panasonic after the excellent, but still a DLSR-like camera GH1 and now a fully fledged video camera with a micro 4/3 sensor.

Just look at that HVX style camera with a still lens! I was going to write about hardware I got today but now forget it.
I work in a very trend sensitive business - commercial. The Canon 7D has been on everybody's lips but this seams to be the king to be when it's released.
Expect it to be available in the fall/winter of 2010 at around $6000 I hear. Well worth every penny if they just get the basics right.

I don't expect Canon to sit still. This is something that will, if it's not already done, trigger other manufactures to come with similar products.
Is it to early to claim HD DSLR dead? How awkward will a 7D feel when this baby hits the market?

The upside is all equipment, even Canon lenses, can be used on and with this camera. Something I realized some time ago. Invest in things you can use with any camera so you just have to sell the body and move on to a better body. Thing is I love the HVX200 form factor so this camera will feel like second nature to me. Will I get one? Well I think we'll see more cameras just like the AG-AF100 during 2010. The future looks bright my friends!

I've looked at this type of construction before so I wont take any credit inventing it. But when I walked in a sports shop and saw a skater kit, complete with track and wheel for about $30 I said to myself - Hey, why not try building something like a skate dolly!

To complete the assembly I got a metal plate, pre drilled with lots of holes. I had to drill holes for the tracks and for a 3/8 screw to get a pan/tilt head onto it.
I had a Manfrotto 391RC laying around so I put it on and made this short video. A quick test so not 100% smooth.

Used my Canon 7Ds and 16-35L and 35L lenses. No lighting or grading just straight edit in Avid and then to vimeo.

Enjoy!

Stuff just keeps coming. This week I sold of things I never or seldom use,
so even though my equipment grows I try to get rid of things I can do without.
The Hoodman H-700 is not an item I could do without.

The H-700 fits my Marshall V-LCD70XP and is one of the recommended hoods for this monitor.
Without a hood forget about monitoring in the sun!

I don't think the velcro straps you tape on the side of the monitor is a perfect solution.
On top and bottom, the hood has a velcro piece sticking out. It would have been better with this on all four sides.

I tried to take a picture illustrating the hood but I'll get better pictures next week when we're about to shoot in the archipelago nearby Stockholm.
You see the back end of the Marshall at the end of the hood. Pretty black inside that hood?

I needed a large bag for everything else but my cameras, lenses and monitor and I got a Lowepro Magnum 650 AW.
About the largest bag I could find that suited me.

This is a big bag. Lots of space inside but I still managed to get it stuffed in half an hour. Gee I gotta slim down my equipment...

I can even fit a Dell XPC 15.4" laptop in the laptop bag on the left of the Magnum AW. It fits inside and even has a hood integrated in the case.
To call this a shoulder bag is pushing it. I dare anyone to carry this one around with the gear I put inside for longer walks.

All my audio equipment fits inside, all rods/mattebox/follow focus stuff fits, filters, shoulder rig, battery chargers... you name it, it's inside.
One thing I promised my self was to really slim it down after I packed it. Not an easy task since you never now when or where you're going to need those seldom used tools.

My Lowepro Computrekker AW plus is my backpack. It's also stuffed most of the time. It's heavy but the Magnum became even heavier.
These bags are of top quality and it's comforting knowing everything inside is well protected.

My tripods and a camera slider I have on order, have their own bags. Two Pelican 48" padded tripod bags.
And my small fluorescent lighting kit has it's own padded bag. I'm pretty "kitted" with bags now :)

I was looking for a remote and timer remote and did a search on ebay and got this one.
Really a no-name timer "JJC" is the closest thing to a brand name I can find on the back of the remote.

It has programmable time-lapse from 1s and up to 100 hours and you can have it set to unlimited frames.
You can also use the big button to remotely trigger the 7D for stills. It does not control video in any way.

This timer is small and weights next to nothing but feels solid to hold. I'll try some time-lapse later on when the opportunity occurs.

It didn't take me long before I had my first short film made with my new camera slider.
It's a very simple thing but can accomplish some really cool images.

Now I can't say to much about how it performs but at first it was rather stiff.
When going back and forth for a while it seams to loosen up a bit.
It's sturdy yet light and It can be a fun and creative "dolly" to use.

Update april 2010:
I had my slider for a couple of months before selling it. It worked somewhat okay but the whole dryline thing is not my thing.
The dryline plastic bearings do get stuck and if the camera is not balanced it will get stuck.
I always had to put pressure on the sliding plate to get smooth slides.

Here's "Shoes" made with the camera slider and my Canon 7D:

I'm trying out different hardware between shoots to improve the rig and this time it was the new stuff Giottos MH1304 and the EASOM cages that was in focus.
The cages are a bit to small to really allow mounting on any side so these images shows one way to have them together with a 7D.

Back of the rig and there's ample space for the 7D on the left side but not on the right.



One cage to the left and the other to the right.



I attached the Giottos head on the cage and the Marshall V-LCD70XP to the head.
This head is very good. It holds the Marshall in place and it's light weighted.







A closeup of the little Giottos head. Another great thing about this head is the rubberized knob.
My BP970 batteries have arrived but the Canon mount for my Marshall will be delivered next week.
Probably my 7" lens hood as well.