Rohan Dadswell

I have a SI-2K but can't help without a proper question & info on your issue.

Convert your old Sony Betacam to a Hyper 35 - 5DmII in a Betacam body http://www.electricfilms.net.au/hyper35conversions.htm

Congrats John - well done Good on you for trying something different (anamorphic adapter) and pulling it off with great looking shots.

If the Photoflex boxes are Lightdomes they are only for strobes. The Silverdomes & Cinedomes are made for hot lights and work well. The Chimera softboxes seem to be tougher but if you're not hiring them out and you look after your gear this isn't an issue. Chimera also offer different levels of front diffusion - I've got a couple of 1/2 strength Chimera screens that I use on my Photoflex Silverdomes.

I often shoot with +3 & +6db (as well as -3 & 0db) - I've not seen any increase in noise with these settings. +9db has a small amount of noise but nothing too objectionable, I would say less than my broadcast cameras of a couple of years ago. +12db has visible noise - I wouldn't use it unless I really had no other way of getting the shot. Remember that because you are shooting RAW there is a lot of information captured in the dark areas that can be 'graded up' later so use the higher gain settings sparingly. When shooting in low light situ ations I find it very useful to turn off the .Look (touch the screen center right) so you can see the RAW and have a better idea of what you are capturing. The one thing you MUST do when using the SI-2K (& especially in dark situations) is black balance, otherwise your image will have a lot of 'fixed pattern noise' which is impossible to get rid of. I now try to do this every half hour or so when shooting as temperature changes can effect the noise levels (usually blue channel) in the blacks.

Having to buy the codec to edit SI-2K footage has been one of the big stumbling blocks for the camera - and will probably continue to be so. As I understand it you can buy Neo4K for US$1,000 which will allow you to edit your 2K footage but doesn't have some of the effects, transitions and other extras of Prospect4K. You could shoot in 1920x 1080 and use the HD version. You could also used the two week trial version and transfer all you footage in after effects to another format but you loose all the advantage and ease of editing with the small RAW files with the colour metadata & .look files (& Cineform's new First Light for a pre grade) The Cineform guys often hang out at http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/cineform-software-showcase/ it might be worth asking them direct.

I haven't had a chance to test the PL Cine lens adapter yet but as far as lenses go - a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens. (a 25mm is a 25mm, a 100mm is a 100mm etc.) A 50mm lens designed for 35mm will give you the same field of view & the same depth of field as a lens designed for 16mm cameras when used on the same camera. The differences come from when the field of view of a 50mm lens on a 35mm camera is compared to the same lens on a 16mm camera. So you shouldn't have to change any calculations for your framing or DoF - just use 16mm camera settings

The Optar Illuminas also have a 8mm (8,9.5, 12, 16, 25 & 50) - all T1.3 I have used them on the Aanton A Min and SI-2K and have been quite happy with the results.

and if you miss the shops the first time you can turn around for a second try - now that's what I call planning. Hi John, Yes there is a SI-2K in the ACT - sitting in my shed with a set of Optar Illumina lenses and a few Nikons for telephoto shots. I've had the Mini for a bit over a year - SI sent me the full body about 6 months ago.

Yes John, Canberra - it's the heart of our nation ! (or so they tell me) I'm impressed with the results. I was expecting more distortion and softening - I might have to get one of these to have a play with. I've done a couple of shorts with the SI cropping to scope but this does give a different feel to the shots. What stop were you shooting at?

very cool JB, Love to hear how the Panasonic anamorphic adaptor measures up compared to the SI-2Ks native 'scope of 2048x856. Does the extra resolution outway the extra glass on the front? Are you limited to certain size lenes or will the adaptor work with wide angle and telephoto? Apart from having to drag cables was there any other reason for using the full SI-2K instead of the Mini on the steadicam? cheers Rohan

When this discussion/argument comes up I point out all the extra gear that comes with owner operators. I have a van full of bit & pieces that aren't invoiced for but are there on the job. - C-stands, shot bags, clamps, chairs, hi-hat, cine saddle, blacks, reflectors & stands, extension cables,sun screen, fly spray extra lights etc. As well as stuff like a microdilly & mini-jib that I do charge for and are 'on standby' in the van for when the producer suddenly realizes he can't live with out them. If they want to get their gear from a rental house, get a quote for every bit of kit that you could use on a shoot and then see how good a four day week rate is compared to an owner operator that comes with all the stuff producers never think of. Yes I do 'do deals' on longer jobs bit it has to be reasonable.

The contrast filters bleed light into the dark areas of the shot so the whole picture has less contrast which make it easier for video chips to record. Good for very bright daytime shots, night/dark shots tend to go milky as the black levels are lifted. The black pro mist will be your friend for dark/night type shots but stick with the lower strengths 1/4 or 1/2

Also make sure that you are shooting at quality 3 or 4. Q1 & 2 will be softer.

Make sure that the lens is colomated to the SI-2K. When I first got mine I borrowed a few lenses off a mates Aaton and they all looked a bit soft. Turns out that while both the camera's mounts were within specs they were slightly different and this caused some softness. I think with a zoom this would be even more of a problem. Yes, the SI-2K does not have the 'video sharpness' of other HD cameras but you can always dial in detail sharpness in post if you like that look - but that wont help if the lens is soft. Are you judging the soft look on the camera monitor/viewfinder or in post at full rez?

I've had two Go Easy light kits (4x4) for about 6 months. They have performed fine. I like the ballasts as the dim down quite smoothly and you can select 1 to 4 tubes. They seem fairly rugged. The light heads/barn doors are a bit too plastic - they don't don't feel like they would last a lot of rough treatment but no damage yet. Using standard Kino Flo tubes. Haven't mixed ballasts with other brand lights

The SI-2K is just a bit larger than Generic 2/3. 10.24 x 5.76 mm It doesn't sound much but most lenses designed for 2/3 wont cover this chip. If you want to use them knock the resolution back to generic 1920x1080

That's a shame - it's quite fun to work with. I must say that I'm getting that quite a bit at the moment - people are very keen until it's time to shoot and then they go back to their old video cams. Their loss as far as I concerned. I believe Silicon Imaging will be releasing their new price list in the next couple of weeks. Ofcourse I willing to travel with my kit :rolleyes:

The unit I got (model 201 - I believe they make a 202 which is ment to be better & more expensive) looked fine but the amount of play in the gearbox and the belt drive made it pointless having a marking disc. Have tried to use several times but have always ended up throwing it back in the box and turning the barrel by hand.

With the full body there is a internal/removable hard drive - or at least there was on the last design I saw, haven't got mine yet. Actually I find the touch screen is quite good for hand held so long as you are inside - daytime outside I have a real problem seeing anything even with a hoodman (have got the viewfinder on order also)

The SI-2k is new to all of us :unsure: I'm afraid the only other PL lens I've used is a Kinoptik 5.7mm which was nice & sharp on a mates Aanton but is also soft on the SI - haven't managed to get that fixed yet. The DVR is the software that runs the whole thing - if you're running with the full body the software is embedded & the screen will be mounted on the camera and it all looks like a 'normal' camera (almost) with an internal hard drive. If you are using just the mini head connected to a laptop there will be two or three cables connecting the two units. The touch screen is a clone of the laptop screen - the touch bit allowing you to control the software without having to run back to the computer the whole time. Hard drive can be just about any usb drive which is just plugged into the laptop There are so many way of rigging the mini that is a bit hard to give any useful advice - I don't think I've used the same set up twice yet, it just keeps evolving. I'm assuming that there will be someone on set who knows the unit to help set it up - Once you start shooting it will all fall into place fairly quickly

Hi Jonathan, I'm an owner/operator of a SI-2K (only the mini at the moment, still waiting for delivery of the full body). As an AC the most important thing would be to check that the lenes are matched to the SI camera. I mostly use the PL mount with a set of Optar Illumina lenses and they all needed to be recalibrated as the focus was slightly off and wouldn't focus to full distance. I didn't find this a problem when using Nikon mount & lenes as they focus well past infinity although the Nikon focus marks aren't exact. The zoom in & spot meter function of the screen is very handy for focus checks but work out with the operator who is controlling what (and don't let the director touch anything-it's all so cool & different everyone wants to play) Other AC jobs will depend on the rig - there are so many ways to set it up. When changing the batt that powers the mini head I quit out of the DVR software as failing to do so seems to crash the software anyway. Make sure the latest software version is loaded. If you are running the mini into a laptop away from mains power make sure you have LOTS of spare batts for the computer. I find it very different to any other camera that I've used and it has taken a while to get my head around some of it (and I'm still learning) but the results have been very satisfying. Best of luck with your shoot - and have fun

I've had one (with a Miller Arrow HD head) as part of my travel kit for last year & a half and wouldn't be without it now. I too was dubious about lack of spreader but the 3 position locking system works really well enabling really low shots as well as very high ones. It is a little bit slower to set up than my other pods - the twisting leg locks as opposed to lever locks make fine hight adjustment with the camera onboard not easy (take the camera off). I use it mainly with a fully loaded (matte box, wide angle, sun gun, radio mics, 7in monitor etc) Sony 570 or digibeta and has no problem handling the weight, even at full extension there is very little flex.