Thomas Dobbie

Ooops! sorry about the image. I didn't realise it would be so large. Tom.

Thank you Christopher. As Stephen says,Dedo's are excellent for this type of work. Although I sometimes use a large area light,especially when I'm shooting on Red,just so the shadows don't block in too much. Best Tom

John, thank you so much for your kind comments. I don't seem to make it down south much these days,but hopefully meet up next time. Hope your well. Tom.

Hi, just to let everybody know,my website is currently down for maintenance. Hopefully back online in a few days with some new work on it. Tom.

Hi Stephen, They're from the master Macro,although the Leitz also exhibits the same thing. The Master Macro also flares very easily,I liked that,and lit deliberately to emphasise it,but of course it's not always desirable. It's quite difficult to get the Leitz to flare. The Master Macro and the 100mm Leitz also breathe to a certain extent,but the 135mm Leitz has virtually no breathing or CA. Hope you're well. Best Tom.

Just put my latest watch & jewellery reel on Vimeo. It's all commissioned commercial work,so I've kept it short,so as not to bore everybody. Please take a look if you get the chance. Any comments,good or bad would be appreciated. Tom.

Sorry Dave,I'm not sure we were reading the same article.The author of the blog is certainly no Red fanboy,and his condemnation seemed to be equally directed at both parties.

I think this is worth reading,eloquently sums up the whole situation. http://salahbaker.blogspot.com/2011/12/clash-of-pr-titans.html

My understanding is that Reduser is owned by Jarrad Land.So I suppose in theory he could ban Jim Jannard :-) A more cynical man than I,might be tempted to think that this was calculated.It certainly won't do any harm to Mr Blooms web figures and 'click through business'. I'd be surprised if it did any harm to the sales of Scarlet,after all,Bloom's fan boys are not really potential Scarlet buyers. All very boring really,and nothing to do with making images.

Hi Stephen, I'm finding exactly the same thing with my Epic X,looks like it'll pay for itself in about 4 to 6 months. As you know I'm mainly a stills photographer,so I'm not pushing the Epic and I don't rent it. There's certainly a lot of interest in the camera.

I didn't make it to NAB,but I had a brief play with a non-working prototype of the Epic at Red Day in London. Form factor was to my mind very impressive,with good weight and balance. The body was configured with the battery handgrip and had one of the Red primes on it. It felt very familiar to me,perhaps because it's only slightly larger than something like a Mamiya RZ,medium format stills camera. Recently,I also got the chance to play with the Alexa,when I was out at Arri GB,it was also a non-working prototype. Totally different design philosophy,equally impressive. Ergonomics are excellent,and everything falls easily to hand. If you've used any other Arri camera,you'll feel very at home with this one. Operators are going to love it.I'm certainly looking forward to using it when it's available. They're both very different but interesting camera's. I've got slight concern's about the robustness of locking system for the modules on the Epic,seems like there's lots to go wrong,but I'll reserve judgement until I see the final product. Tom.

I'm not much of a social network animal,but I do enjoy Twitter. There's a very lively group of filmmakers on there,and some excellent links posted. Give it a try,you can always delete your account if it's not for you. Tom.

Hi James, you should check out http://timescapes.org,lots of how to do,and technical info there. Very friendly and helpful forum,I'm sure you'll find what you're looking for. Tom.

Hi Erica, I'd second Ben's advice,go for a Video DSLR.I personally use the Panasonic GH1,it's cheap,does reasonable video,but being M 4/3 format,you can get adapters for pretty well any lens you care to name for it,but the Canon 550 is also very good. Their chip size is not too far away from S35 or Red,so you get something approaching the DoF & FoV of a 35mm camera. There's been a lot of very nice work done with these little cameras. Just my twopence worth. Tom.

I'm sure this will not be a popular view. Although I own a Red,I'm certainly no lover of the hype that surrounds the company.Yes I think Jim has brought a lot of that upon himself,with Reduser. Certain of his post's have been somewhat antagonistic towards the industry in general and aimed firmly at his fanbase. I don't visit Reduser,so I largely avoid the fanboyism and cult status that the members of that forum attribute to Red. It's a tool,with all the flaws any tool has,but one that's improving fairly rapidly. I don't think it's easy for a man like Jim,to admit when he's made mistakes,but in his recent post's to this forum,he seems to be doing just that,and to be reaching out for dialogue from the industry. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's recognised a change in the tone. However there are obviously those here that are very suspicious of that,and seem to be unable to cut him any slack. I wonder how many of us would be able to stand up to the scrutiny that he gets,and not be found wanting. I do agree with Mike,his creative work,while perhaps not being to everybody's cup of tea,is in my opinion,impressive. While many,quite correctly,will find fault, and criticise Jim for the product he produces,and will be quick to point out any inaccuracies in his post's,I do find it very mean spirited to criticise him on a personal level for his creative output. My twopence worth. Tom.

Keith, Off topic,but WTF,your post reminded me of what a good friend of mine said at my 50th,sadly it's becoming more appropriate as I rapidly approach my 60th. Three rules for the older man. 1 - Never pass the up the opportunity of visiting the toilet,and plan your trips accordingly.The bladder isn't what it was. 2 - Never trust a fart,you may get more than expect 3 - And most important,NEVER waste a hard on,even if your on your own. :lol: Regards Tom.

"I'm realistic and would say most of my recent work hasn't been shot on film." That's true for me also,but I do still shoot on film,not the smaller formats,but 10x8 & 5x4. All my cine work is digital,although I keep on trying to convince clients. I've got a job coming up next month where film is really the best choice,and I've been able to convince the client that film is the best choice,but only for the stills part of the job. It wasn't an easy job to convince them,I can tell you. Yes,film will always be here,and as long as it is I'll continue to use it if I can. However I won't use or recommend film,if digital would be better for what I want to achieve. Choose the best tool for the job. Tom.

Haha,because we enjoy pressing the buttons,they always work. I also read that piece,perhaps a little premature in sounding the death bells for film. I know it has largely happened in stills,particularly with commercial work. I for one still shoot occasionally on 10x8,although it's getting harder to get it processed. But seriously,I haven't had my Red upgraded to MX yet,but recently I did get the opportunity to have a play with a pre-production Alexa at Arri UK,and I hope to shoot with it soon.Seriously impressive camera,especially from an operators point of view. It looks like an ordinary shoe box,rather than the post-apocalyptic shoe box that the Red is. However I also had a chance to hold Ted's Epic prototype at the London Red day. I must say that Red have learned an enormous amount since the early days,regarding ergonomics.(Spec's influence perhaps?) If you can deliver on this one Jim,with real 4K,100fps & 15stops DR you'll have a camera to be very proud of. Tom.

Hi Stephen, Followed your link to the discussion on RedUser,reading through it confirmed why I haven't visited that forum for over a year,other than for the software updates posted by Jim. Of course I'm banned,but that's by the way. I did have to laugh at you being branded a troll,well!,perhaps a polite,gentleman troll. Sorry we missed each other in Zurich last week,great studio though. To get back to the original question,I'm a Red owner and I wouldn't base any job upon Red's timeframe.Use what's available at the time you need to shoot. I used to laugh at the now famous disclaimer Jim gives at the end of his post's "Everything in life changes... including our camera specs and delivery dates..." believe me it's true. Having said that,buying Red was the correct decision for me,but not for everybody. They're a frustrating company to deal with,but I must be honest,and say that they've ultimately delivered what they said they would. Just a couple of years down the line,LOL. As to delivery dates on the up & coming cameras,I'm not holding my breath. Even as an owner,I don't expect my camera to be upgraded to MX for at least another 6 months,and I don't think I'll have an Epic in my hands before this time next year. I did however have an Arri Alexa on my shoulder 2 weeks ago,and it's a very impressive camera. I fully expect Arri to meet their published delivery times,but Arri are a very special company. I'm still waiting on my M9 from Leica. Shades of Red!!!! Tom.

Hi Craig, Not sure if I'd agree with Vico's post solution,but I certainly agree that Red has lot's of issues at 2k.It wouldn't be my first choice,and I own one. Go with film,really nothing better. Tom.

Hi Vincent, Very nice work.I thought the music worked well,but also thought it was slightly too long. Tom.

Hi, I've just discovered this thread,fascinating stuff. I picked up an Optex 1.33 anamorphic adapter on ebay,bought on a whim. These were apparently made for the BBC to use with their SD video cameras to enable them to shoot 16.9. I've been using it on a Panasonic GH1 with various lenses,but without much success,in fact I was about to sell it. Thought I would give it a last chance and managed with the aid of various step up/down rings to fit it onto a Zeiss/Hasselblad 50mm and suddenly everything changed.Sharpness is acceptable and the flares are good. Finding the correct host lens seems to be the key,coverage is sufficient for a cropped sensor DSLR like the 7D,but I've also tried it on the Hasselblad with a P45+ digital back.Although there's quite a bit of cut off,as one would expect,the results are very encouraging. I'm still playing,but when I get the chance I'll post some results.My next step is to try and get it onto my Red. I can see though that I've started something which I know is going to lead to an expensive obsession. Tom.

Hi Stephen, A cautionary tale,really rather pathetic,it's very easy to get banned from Reduser,but for the boards delectation, here's all the gory details as I remember them,it was a quite while ago. I posted a critical comment about a subject and got an extremely rude reply from an administrator. I happened to point out the rules of the house,which state that you shouldn't post anything that would get you a punch in the nose in a bar,and that the administrator would get a punch in the nose if he said it to me in person. I then received an extremely foul mouthed DM from said administrator,accusing me of threatening him and banning me in perpetuity. I was really only joking,but it taught me a valuable lesson about what you can say over the internet. It kind of pissed me off at the time,especially the venom expressed in the message and the language used. I must say that if any employee of mine had replied to a paying client in such a manner,their feet wouldn't have touched the ground as I threw them out the door. However,on very occasional visits to Reduser I see things haven't changed much,still a load of rubbish posted by the majority,obscuring the interesting post's by the few. BTW the administrator wasn't Jarred. Hope you're keeping busy,I'm going to Basel end of March to see a client. I might have some time in Zurich for a beer if you're around. Regards Tom.

Haha,looks that I'm in good company being banned from Reduser. I see your ban has been lifted Stephen. Regards Tom

It's been pretty uninteresting for a while now,although you still occasionally get the odd gem. I suppose they see showing ageing Hollywood blockbusters as a way of maintaining viewing figures. Personally I find it a turn off,or rather turn over. Tom.