jon lawrence

Hi, can anyone recomend a good lens for a canon xl1s. I'm trying to acheive a more "cinematic" feel with the camera and I read that the best thing to do would be to buy a either a x14 or x16 manual focus lens. To be honest I'm a little in over my head. Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks for your help. To be honest I think I got a pretty good deal despite the camera being listed wrong and I probably should've researched the camera better before I brought it. I'm not planning in shooting anything in low light at the moment so this camera should be all I need for the time being, I just didn't want to have to buy another camera if I should require to shoot in low light at some point. I've tested the camera and it seems to be working fine. The only thing I'm having trouble with is working out how to set the apature manualy. I tried some auto shots outside in the sun and the f-stop reads at between 11 and 32 which might be to over exposed. Also there is a dial on the side of the camera with open, 2, 4, close and stop. At the moment it is set to open and it will not move at all. I don't want to try and force it in case it breaks. Does anyone know whate this is and if it's behaving correctly?

Hello, I brougth this camera from ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...N%3AIT&rd=1 It was advertised as a 814 xl however, on receiving the item, I'm not quite sure it is. Could anyone clarify this from the pictures provided? Secondly, does anyone know where I can find a manual for this camera on the web? I've googled it a few times but am yet to find anything. Many thanks, Jon lawrence.

Hi, I was curious about the relationship between shutter angle, shutter speed and aperature. I read that shutter speed is used to control the amount of motion blur e.g a small shutter angle would restrict the amount of motion blur which is used to give a stuttered feel. If so, would that mean I'd need a larger aperature to compensate for the loss of light reaching the film? I'm confused to weather shutter speed and shutter angle are, in some respects, the same thing. Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi, I was wondering if the Canon 814 AZ camera comes with the option of locking the exposure as I've heard it 's a must for panning shots. I've read the specification and it doesn't mention any thing about it. Is exposure locking a bit of a luxury on cameras? Any help would be much appreciated.

Considering the amount of members on this site who work in the industry, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice on how to become a professional cinematographer. Is film school the best option? If so where? I live in England where there are very few films schools and the ones that do exist are far too expensive. University is an option, however most courses only have access to dv and maybe a couple of 16mm cameras but that?s as far as it goes. Also I?ve read that most people who take film production courses at university struggle to find work as there is such a large gap between the technology used in education and industry. I was thinking maybe photography is a better option as you?re dealing with lighting, film, apertures etc. Maybe taking a more specialised course in lighting, then trying to get an assiatant job is a good idea? To be honest I don?t have the first clue. Any help would be much appreciated. Jon Lawrence

Hi, I'm new to filming with super8 and I have a few questions about light meters. I have used one before in a photography studio and was wondering if it is the same as using it with film. Is it as simple as holding the light meter by your subject pointing at your key light source, taking a reading, then setting the aperture on the camera? Or is there more to it when using super8? Also can anyone recommend a good light meter which isn?t too expensive (I?m thinking around £100?) Any help would be much appreciated.