Jim Simon

Damn. It's gone from there now, too. I'm late to the game I know, but I'd really love to see that test footage.

So, Ram. How is the low light performance of the 200 with the Letus? I'd like to add a more cinematic feel to some of my event shoots, and am looking at this hardware combination. But I don't always have the lighting control I need, so low light performance is a concern. (Think of shooting people at a candle lit table from 20' away that you cannot add any light to.)

Mispost. Sorry.

I'd like to add a little twist to the discussion. It's my understanding that the DVCPro HD codec uses a fixed data rate of 100 Mbps, when shooting at 1080P. That means each frame has so much data associated with it. That data/frame is fixed. Dropping frame rate does not up the data/frame, it simply drops the overall data rate to less than the total available 100Mbps. It's the data rate per frame that is fixed, not the overall data rate. Fewer frames per second equals lower overall data rate, not a fixed overall rate with more data per frame.

I noticed you used the same camera that I was looking at purchasing. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with the registration of the piece. Even locked down shots have very noticeable drift. I know this is a common problem due to the plastic pressure plates in the Super 8 cartridges, but I was really hoping one of the better cameras (such as yours) would produce a more stable image. To me, that drift says amateur. That is not a comment on your talent, per se. But it's a rock solid picture I'm looking for, and that film audiences are accustomed to seeing, whether it's a tripod or handheld shot. I may have to step up to 16mm.

Given the weight distribution, it might make more sense to put the tripod block more towards the middle, after the camera block, rather than at the very end.

Or some very complex ones. It's very common for a director to shoot a particularly difficult stunt or demolition scene, for example, in one take using multiple cameras. The explosion of the White House in Independence Day is one such take. They made only one scale model, so they had to get lots of coverage for the single take of it's destruction. The building demolition at the beginning of Lethal Weapon 4 was also covered with multiple cameras and shot in one take, as that was a real building scheduled for demolition, not a special effect.

If you really intend to do a film out of the final edit, there's only one camera you should be looking at. The DVX100B from Panasonic. It's the only one that has real progressive CCDs and shoots in a special kind of 24P that allows the full progressive frames to be reproduced without artifacts.

Even unexposed film has been shipped to distributors worldwide for many decades now. Where do you think those rolls of 35mm on the shelves of Wal-Mart come from? I still think this is a non-issue.

The height is constant. It's 1. The width (1.78, 1.85, 2.35) is the variable in this equation.

The claim is that the reels were improperly packed and crushed, not exposed to excessive heat. The driver would have roasted in heat enough to cause the damage his pictures show. I still think this is a non-issue. Films have been getting shipped to theaters all over the world for many decades now.

Sorry, but I just don't see that shipping would be hot enough to cause any damage to film. I can't believe a shipping company, at least not a reputable one like FedEx or UPS or DHL, would be so irresponsible as to leave packages in an excessively hot vehicle. Personally, I think this is a non-issue.

The question still applies. What makes you think being mailed will expose the package to heat?

What makes you think adding postage will create heat?

If it is possible to use the Blackmagic files without their card, then I agree, that's the way to go. Always better to start out with the highest quality you can.