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Shooting with ex-1 and letus adaptor


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I was asked to post the details of my last music video shoot

 

Because I work with artists with EXTREMELY limited budgets (here in the Bay Area), I usually do everything myself (shoot/dp/etc/). Here's the latest vid I shot with a EX-1 and letus just using a 50mm 1.4 Nikon .. handheld.

Oh wait there are two HVX shots in here (naked) -- one of the stuffing money shots and one of the overhead walking to train shots.

 

I edited as well.

 

Now that I've lowered your expectations, check it out:

 

http://www.vimeo.com/8159876

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i'm sorry, but i think the diffused and glowing highlights look terrible. not sure if you used a promist or a soft fx, or if it was the letus ground glass or done in post, but next time i'd say go less intense with it. sorry, just my thoughts.

 

impressive undertaking though, that you do it all yourself.

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i'm sorry, but i think the diffused and glowing highlights look terrible. not sure if you used a promist or a soft fx, or if it was the letus ground glass or done in post, but next time i'd say go less intense with it. sorry, just my thoughts.

 

impressive undertaking though, that you do it all yourself.

 

bravo, great effort. I do though, agree with the above post about the highlights. I am researching this type of set up for a friend's indie feature. I was told the ex1 looks very videoy and your blown out highlights sort of confirms this. Was it an intentional choice? How does the footage look with out the adapter? Lastly, is there and adapter available for the ex3? It would seem to me that shooting through LESS glass would be favorable.

Edited by Chris Burke
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  • 2 weeks later...
bravo, great effort. I do though, agree with the above post about the highlights. I am researching this type of set up for a friend's indie feature. I was told the ex1 looks very videoy and your blown out highlights sort of confirms this. Was it an intentional choice? How does the footage look with out the adapter? Lastly, is there and adapter available for the ex3? It would seem to me that shooting through LESS glass would be favorable.

 

Some of overexposure is from not using a mattebox .. particularly shooting a white car in direct sunlight... no way to really get around that. I did do diffusion in post to give it that look that you two don't seem to like .. ha ... but it's all good either way. When doing EVERYTHING yourself there are things that you simply cannot do, especially on a budget and with time constraints. So no mattebox with follow focus, for example. (Which I think is the culprit in your 'blown out highlights' statement.

 

Without the adapter it's still going to be blown out ... even more so I think because there's going to be MORE light pouring in.... but the focus will be sharper. That's one thing the letus does is cause softer focus overall... but this is something I prefer over that harsh, overly focused HD look.

 

The letus works on the ex3 too, btw.

 

Anyway I'm happy with the finished product. Obviously it is not perfect but good times either way. I want to thank both of you for the constructive crticism .. this is what we all need to improve so we should always embrace it.

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Here's the latest vid I shot with a EX-1 and letus just using a 50mm 1.4 Nikon .. handheld.

...

Now that I've lowered your expectations, check it out:

Nice work. Was the vignetting an artifact of the Letus, or did you apply it in post?

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Blown out highlights are due to contrast range being greater than the ex can handle. The Letus while reducing light kinda screws you as you can't stop down too much without seeing the ground glass. All things being equal i'd've just as soon left the letus at home and gotten a matte box and set of filters (nd pro mists and a pola perhaps) as well as a differant car. Still given limitations it's not too bad of a video. Though I ought add it's a lot if results like this which prompted me to wash my hands if lens adapters all together.

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Blown out highlights are due to contrast range being greater than the ex can handle. The Letus while reducing light kinda screws you as you can't stop down too much without seeing the ground glass. All things being equal i'd've just as soon left the letus at home and gotten a matte box and set of filters (nd pro mists and a pola perhaps) as well as a differant car. Still given limitations it's not too bad of a video. Though I ought add it's a lot if results like this which prompted me to wash my hands if lens adapters all together.

 

agreed, and i would have grabbed a 1/8 or 1/4 black frost to take the edge off that "overly focused HD look" you don't like.

 

next time, maybe try exposing for the highlights and looking at how punchy and rich an image that exposure offers. just another option.

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