Any Advice for P+S Adapter on Sony 900?

[Steven]

I am a focus puller in germany, and after long years shooting with film cameras I couldn´t avoid to get hired on my first HD feature.

The DP is also coming from the "film world" and so we will shoot with zeiss primes on a Sony 900 with a P+S Adapter.

Has anyone some advice where to get the best "eye focus" with this system?

I understood, that the viewfinder gives only about 60% of the HD resolution,so this seems not the right "monitor" to look at.

We will have a astro on board monitor on the camera; but is this the real resolution?

It is probably also quite difficult to do a quick eyefocus on it in bright sunlight...

We will have a 16" HD monitor on set as well, but who knows,where it will be set up,i doubt it is close enough to the camera,that you can really work(focus on it) with it.

 

Has anyone any suggestions about how the job can be made most "practical".

 

Thank you very much.

 

steven

[Chris Keth]

I am a focus puller in germany, and after long years shooting with film cameras I couldn´t avoid to get hired on my first HD feature.

The DP is also coming from the "film world" and so we will shoot with zeiss primes on a Sony 900 with a P+S Adapter.

Has anyone some advice where to get the best "eye focus" with this system?

I understood, that the viewfinder gives only about 60% of the HD resolution,so this seems not the right "monitor" to look at.

We will have a astro on board monitor on the camera; but is this the real resolution?

It is probably also quite difficult to do a quick eyefocus on it in bright sunlight...

We will have a 16" HD monitor on set as well, but who knows,where it will be set up,i doubt it is close enough to the camera,that you can really work(focus on it) with it.

 

Has anyone any suggestions about how the job can be made most "practical".

 

Thank you very much.

 

steven

 

Get eye focus by looking at a waveform monitor. It's tough to explain but try it on some charts when you check the package out and you'll see. You'll see the "crispness" on the waveform much better than any monitor of the actual image.

[oscar jimenez]

HI, things that Ive learned with Pro35 from P+S

Always check your back focus , system turned off.

Youll have to re check back focus consistently beetwen camera reposition, it is recomended that you should check it. As for focus, tape measure should match very close by what you see by eye, have alwas a Siemes Star or Focus chart for checking flange on back focus. Temperature affects very much variation in back focus ( sounds weird and I didint buy it at first, seemed a lilttle bit exagerated, but yes )

Now that system has got a rotating ground glass ( youll notice a potentiometer in the left side looking from camera operator side ) so the issue is that for avoiding seing the "presence" of that rotating ground glass in the shot, you are to work often ( for not saying all the times ) at a stop of 2.8 to wide open ( which is a little bit hard for focus sometimes ) and usually the potentiometer is set at max and with a low shutter speed on camera ( depending on what kind of situation )

It would be good that you can have your very own "on board" HD-SDI Monitor with a flexible arm to mount on top of the camera handle, it really helps a lot, Transvideo works out very good, but if not, there is always a chance to plug in a small battery monitor if you have a sygnal downconverter plugged in to the camera. Finally, and I repeat: Be sure to always check quickly your back focus constantly, it's somewhat a pain in the ass, but saves having to re shoot something after moving on another shot, then every body will be happy and love u tons!!! ( specially lightning and grip crew!!).

[Steven]

Thank you very much, for telling me your experiences and hints, how to make it "workable".

 

We staart shooting end of this week, and I hope the shoot goes smoothly.

 

Greetings from Berlin.

 

steven

[Anna Baltl]

we use this combination a lot and never (!) without an LH900 http://www.expandore.com/product/Panasonic...tor/BTLH900.htm monitor on board mounted to the handle of the camera with some short photogrip extention that is really fast to take of and easy to adjust. using a magic arm only if really necesary because it takes a long while to adjust it right.

the LH900 can displyay sd and hd and if you wire it up with the base it can also display previews. if you set the peaking to max its really easy and reliable to eye focus.

 

and yes the backfocus is a pain if the camera gets to hot one can never be careful enouh with that

though all that i found that it is quite a reliable combination and the pictures are ok too.

have fun with it!