Enough About Mount Diameter Already!
This fixation with mount diameter is nothing more than a distraction. There are so many other factors involved in lens design, and so much room for improvement - none of which have anything at all to do with the mount diameter. The following are just a few off the top of my head: Breathing - the change... Continue Reading →
Canon Takes One Step Backward
We learn from Dave Etchells’ exclusive interview with Canon’s product planning executive Yoshiyuki Mizoguchi that, contrary to the sanguine prognostications of online pundits and influencers, that the follow-up to the decidedly underwhelming EOS R will not be a high-end model with 75 megapixel sensor, dual card slots and IBIS aimed at pros, but — an entry-level... Continue Reading →
Award for Worst YouTuber of the Week
We've decided to start handing out awards for the worst YouTuber of the week. It was a tough call, but this week's prize goes to JSFILMZ for his hilariously incompetent video comparing the skin tones of the Blackmagic Design Pocket 4K to Sony's a7 III. In his post in the Sony thread (I kid you not!) over... Continue Reading →
Does Competition Really Benefit the Consumer?
“Competition benefits consumers, spurring manufacturers on to create better and better tech and keeping prices in check.” We hear this so often that I’ve come to doubt it. But I think each company’s idea of what exactly remaining competitive means is just encoded in their DNA. For example, Fuji hit one out of the ballpark... Continue Reading →
Ricki
Screen shot, Sony a7 III, 85mm f/1.8, Saigon Life Cafe.
Phuong: Extended Version
I've tweaked the audio, given the video punchier blacks, used the new comic book effect in Final Cut Pro sparingly, reduced the duration of a couple of clips, added new footage of Phuong shot a couple of days ago and removed the green tint in some of the clips. https://youtu.be/vq6wjan2TqU "Evening Forever" by KieLoKazLicense
Saigon Life
A screen shot from this afternoon's shoot with Phuong at Saigon Life Cafe.
Saigon Life
A screen grab from today’s shoot with Phuong at Saigon Life Cafe. Sony a7 III, 85mm f/1.8.
Final Cut Pro 10.4.4 Comic Book Effect
A new feature in the effects pane allows you to turn your live action video into animation at the click of a mouse. It’s pretty cool!
Good News: No More Cats!
At long last, I think I've found a model, so hopefully this will be the last cat screenshot I post for a long, long time. I still need to find some assistants for sound and lighting though. And I'm hoping to be able to try out my newfangled fog machine.
Vlogging in 2018
Since switching over to the Sony a7 III, YCImaging's YouTube channel looks dramatically better. The clean image and excellent detail is achieved by downsampling the 4K image from 6K and there's the wonderful full frame shallow depth-of-field, along with pleasing skin tones. Meanwhile, though I dig his meticulous attention to lighting and the orange and... Continue Reading →
Character
The online forums are brimming with opinions on what constitutes a good lens. And many of those commenters would have us believe that lens reviews, which consider factors like extraordinary resolution and an absence of aberrations and vignetting to be the hallmarks of good design, as entirely misguided. In sum, they prefer vintage lenses with... Continue Reading →
Life in Saigon: Two Vignettes
Here are my two favorite clips of life in Saigon, one shot with the Lumix G85, the other with the Fuji X-T2. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/77C-JyHSypg https://youtu.be/pEXdWV-4jyM
A Must Watch
Just like I've been sayin' for months... 😂😂😂 Now that superior color science has been debunked, Canon and Nikon fanboys can go on about their cavernous holes. https://youtu.be/EMfCDujQywY
Taking the Film Look to the Next Level
We talked a little bit about the film look in a previous post, but one technique we overlooked was adding atmosphere through the use of haze or fog. Ideally, we'd use a haze machine, but fog machines are much less expensive and easier to come by here in Vietnam, where Karaoke supply shops are just... Continue Reading →
The Film Look
Movies have contrast. They've got glorious blacks and whites, not weak-ass shades of grey. Rich blacks create solidity and make colors pop off the screen, while bright whites give sparkle and direct the viewer's interest. Cinematic images are about drama and the most effective way to achieve striking shots is through awesome lighting. Shoot against... Continue Reading →
Andrew Reid Is an Idiot
Andrew Reid, self-proclaimed filmmaker, gear reviewer and founder of EOSHD, who incidentally peddles in-camera profiles for as much as $49.99 (you heard right - that's not a typo!) continues to lash out at his peers, first by slamming DP John Brawley for failing to show the proper deference, next by bashing Blackmagic for not sending... Continue Reading →
ID Theft – A Reminder
A couple weeks ago I was preparing to make an estimated tax payment to the IRS when to my horror I discovered a ton of money had been withdrawn from my bank account over a period of weeks through what is known as ACH (clearing house) fraud. They’d been transferring huge amounts of cash on a daily basis.... Continue Reading →
The Daejeon Chronicles 