Mike Brennan

Jim, further to this thread http://www.cinematography.com/forum2004/in...st&p=183752 about Gamma radiation affecting ccds, how is RED shaping up in this regard? Also have you noticed cosmic radiation hits that lightup one pixel for one frame in duration, can be seen live with a large monitor and eyes well adjusted to dark. Happens in SD and HD ccd cameras wondering how it effects larger CMOS sensors. The hit is coloured in three chip cameras depending on which ccd that gets hit. Can be mistaken for recording problem or dust on filmouts ect. Some more reading here http://www.stsci.edu/instruments/wfpc2/Wfp...HTML/W2_41.html I've seen them at a rate of 4 per minute in UK. Mike Brennan Mike Brennan

I have a 3000 on loan for two more days, anyone have any ideas for loops to put it through? 1st generation picture quality is best I've seen in a EFP style camcorder. But will wait to put the pictures through an edit to see how AVC I behaves. After years of losing pixels and bit depth we are back on track. Next step less compression! If the client likes P2 then you would be wise considering the highest quality HD camera you can afford, 3000 doesn't add that much to total kit package and you'll be taking the high ground with full res and 10bit recording. If you need HDSDI out, time lapse 11x or +22x lenses, camera remotes in the near future then 2/3inch camera is the way to go now. In a years time depending on RED development the decison will be different as there is a 35mm size sensor camera on the way from Sony as well as more tricked out smaller cams. Mike Brennan

Sounds like a serious project. Would you be brave enough to test both Dalsa and RED at same time! Mike Brennan

John, And to all readers if it hit a nerve I'm sorry, I obviously didn't recall that the person I had professional respect for and described as "well respected", Mr Pytlak had passed away. The point of the post was seeking clarification from Tim on his policy, not a critisism of any forum member. That John Holland responded by nothing more than being discourteous to me is regrettable under the circumstances, so lets forget it. Mike Brennan

Stephen, The complaint was made to Tim in a PM and I think also more subtly on the forum as I recall some spirited responses. To reiterate, it was the frequency of the links to Kodak sites that I felt were inappropriate not the posts per se and the point is such linking was allowed when a link to RED.com has been denied. Mike Brennan

That well respected Kodak employee (whose name escapes me) regularly posted links on the Cinematography.com HD forum to numerous Kodak sites. Despite a protest from me that the frequency of the links was inappropriate and creating noise, he wasn't curtailed. So I don't understand that it is considered wrong for a forum member, on the RED sub forum, to link to the RED website that has a free download of software. Please clarify. Mike Brennan

Anyone tried RED 4k from camera to 4K filmout? Mike Brennan

The concepty of copying full quality data on set/location/in the hotel/ as the only means of keeping the show on the road on set will be short lived. Give it 5-7 years until 4K digital cameras will create two copies within the camera body on an affordable removable medium that becomes the property of production. Both camera crew and production need rock solid contracts, terms and conditions and procedures to erase good takes on set! Especially on low budget movies where an owner operator could provide the technical team. For a while at least, personally I wouldn't want the responsibility of providing and managing such a tech team. It should be managed by production :) I guess it was cost effective rather than best ergonomics to put the camera menue display on the back of the camera right where a battery is need for balance. A horseshoe shaped battery sitting over the rear of the camera is an idea... or move the camera display, ideally duplicating it on both sides of the camera. Like Mike Most I also have been curious from day one about the quality/usability (delay, timecode,sync) of the HDSDI outputs. Time will tell and as time has passed 4:4:4 as an option is on the back burner. Mike Brennan

I would believe that most REDUSERS are counting the minutes.... Mike Brennan

Gilbert, HDCAM 140mbs has to be uncompressed to 1920x1080 4:2:2 10bit to edit. Storage works out at about 8GB per minute. XDCAMHD can be edited whilst still compressed, but is only available at the moment in a relativley poor camera that has 1/2 inch chips and lenses. An older f900 will deliver better pictures than a 750 especially for large screen work. You may find that an older f900 will be same price to rent as a 750 but be carefull that the f900 is in good condition. A f900 or Panasonic 900 with a lens and a few batteries and mattbox would be up to £1800 week if you can find an owner operator who wants to be part of your gig. But the first hurdle is insurance of rented equipment. Please look into this now as you may find it impossible for you to insure kit to the satisfaction of a company based outside of Lebanon. The rental compay may insisit on an asistant to go with the kit. I think an owner operator who would would accompany the kit and who has their own insurance is a good option for you. Pity that I've sold my f900 then! In general it is not possible for citizens of one country to takeout insurance policy in foreign country unless they have a business (in the foreign country). It is understandable that rental compaies are very wary of accepting a rental to a foreign company with a foreign insurance policy. You can offline anything at home without even much experience :) but "finishing" including colour grading and audio to a professional standard takes experience. The new EX camera from Sony is meant to have 1920x1080 pixels and 14 bit AD. If you are on abudget this is worth considering, as is the RED camera. Mike Brennan

From DP perspective and one who has many conversations with Dave at DSC labs about new types of charts when HD began to take off, I'd like to see a chart/s for daily use that reveal 1/ Dynamic range of camera 2/ Resolution of camera/lens 3/ Tracking of colours in highlights. 4/ Noise in shadows. 5/ Alaising issues. 6/ Colur patch A rear illuminated chart is the way to go to create a wide dynamic range. A portable LED illuminated chart/screen that can be used in daylght would be neat. Mike Brennan

[quote name='Mitch Gross' post='194327' date='Sep 18 2007, 12:43 PM']I doubt they would use the RED One unless they were specifically going for the shallower depth of field. There are some cheaper routes with HD-SDI. I'm not going to argue quality, just note that it can be done with professional equipment. Sony XDCAM 350 and Panasonic HPX500 immediately spring to mind, and these cameras could inexpensively use the 2/3" B4 mount lenses the station would already have on hand (the Sony with a low cost adapter).[/quote] In 2004? at HPA I suggested using Genesis for TV news anchor work and John Gault quickly put the idea down saying that Genesis wasn't a TV camera. However the 1st big job after Superman was a multicamera pop concert in Sydney. BBC use diffusion panels to diffuse the newsroom background behind the anchor so I do believe that 35mm DoF has a place for live TV work. In fact watching the SD transmission on a large HD set one can see scratches and marks on the panels. When HD transmission becomes common "studio rash" will be a a prblem but 35mm DoF for the mid shot would work well. Someone needs to make a CCU control for RED. Mike Brennan

Can someone point me to the data/poll/survey that proves audiences prefer film acquired and projected images over digital? Surely Kodak ASC Arri would have brought such a study to our attention by now? A USA university ( I think MIT) conducted a study showing a narrative story on both film vs electronic and the audience actually prefered the electronic. Anecdotal evidence suggests that digital cinemas in multiplexes have higher sales , despite less dynamic range. I do understand that the term "organic look" is often used to describe the look of film, but it is hardly a descriptive term and is well past its sell by date. These days "organic" conjurs up the "natural" and "chemical free" so the film process is hardly that! Turning the tables, CMOS and CCDs are made of sand and effected like film by electrons so they too can be described as being organic. The repeated use of the phrase obfuscates rather than illuminates. Doug Slocombe prefers 60fps to reduce the flicker, we all prefer the tight grain and resolution of 65mm to 35mm, put the two together and you get a smooth flicker free image that is more like digital than 24fps 35mm film. Film grain evokes a particular look and has its place in the same way a soft filter, noir lighting or fast editing has a role. What I have seen of RED so far doesn't raise digital into a new plane of dynamic range, but the resolution and 12bit recording are impressive steps forward. A 14bit AD would help a little. Mike Brennan

The f950 has been replaced with the HDC1500 which is delivering less noise and greater dynamic range even with its basic gamma curves. More gamma curves to come which will make it even better. Beware that the HDC1500 needs a software mod to output 4:4:4 Mike Brennan

Anyone care to begin to define how 4k digital will compare in "look" vs single chip HD at 24p (genesis D20) vs 3 chip HD 24 at 24p (f900) vs 3 chip HD at 24p @360degree shutter. (f900 with shutter) Now consider 4k single chip @360 degree shutter vs the above. Miami Vice and Collateral are similar but usefull examples of 2/3 inch @360 degree shutter. Having seen 4k on a digital projector it could look a little too real, a bit like a 70mm movie that to my eyes anyway occasionlly starts to look electonic due to lack of grain. Mike Brennan

When I shot with Viper and edited on an iQ the FIilmstream LUT built into the iQ was rubbish. Ditto the LUT on the HDlink from Blackmagic (as of 6 months ago) Mike Brennan

I understand the concept that we don't see the smallest of differences in brightness compared to shadow, but we are talking about recording an image from a device that is already far less able to precieve what the eye sees. So shouldn't we be worried about capturing a good range of highlight and shadows? A connected question, is the eyes relative lack of ability to resolve brightness any different when we are watching TV, cinema or on a sunny day at the beach? Watching different scenes with different contrast and absolute brightness? If the eye has difficulty with bright objects then surely we shouldn't be sacrificing tonal values at the high end where there is often information that the cinematographer needs to impart on the viewer. Put the bits where the eye needs most help or where the eye is most sensitive? Sorry this is couched in general terms rather than more technical:) Mike Brennan

I understand that a fairly techi test was made but that isn't in public domain, where Zeiss had slightly better contrast and Canon had better resolution in general across a number of parameters. But pretty easy to test go for it! Mike Brennan

I'm wondering if decision to use of log space to record camera output should be subject dependent. Given that log uses up more bits in the shadows at the expense of the rest of the picture, can we imagine a project where log recording would be counter productive to the overall look? We are more sensative to information in the shadows, but how often is the important part of the image in the shadows? Like a beach movie? Ski or field Sports movie? If bright punchy images with rich blacks are required, is this a reason not to use log recording on a f23/f950 ? I've shot on Viper filmstream and regularly use f900 user curves ect and am wondering what others think... Mike Brennan

Anyone used the Fujinon 16x6.3? How does it compare to superzooms and 22x7.3? Does it porthole at the long end? Mike Brennan

I heard that at the moment Mrs Kinetta ain't writing anymore cheques for R&D ... Mike

Personally I had not noticed nor any of my owner operator friends could pin point pixel loss to airline travel, when this question was ressurected by the pro film community in 2001. Facility companies in UK had int he ninties reported loss of pixels on brand new SD cameras, shipped by air over the north pole route. When HD came along we became a little fussy. Sony began shipping by sea and the problem apparently diminished. (not sure of the dates on this) But many owner operators travel on multiple flights for years with no apparent harm. A friend has had 32 flights with a f950 in the last three months without a problem. SO either pradiation has more of an effect on a new camera or pixle masking is hiding the real number of dead pixels. My theory based on this evidence is that some pixels are more susceptable to failure in flight than others. It is posible that the factory pass the ccd block as OK but when it is shipped by air travel these "prone to failure" pixels would die. The two large Rental compaies in UK reported that they had never had a near new camera returned with failed pixels that could be attributed to air travel during the days when the cameras were shipped by air. But now they are shipped by sea they occasionally get a near new camera back from a purchaser with failed pixels. My theory is that every new camera should have a flight to put it through the wringer to find any susceptable pixels. It seems that after a few flights likely hood of pixel loss is remote. Also how many digital stills camera criss crossing the globe that also should be affected... An ideal sample group digital camera touting professional pilots.... That's my theory for the day anyway! Mike Brennan

Hi Evangelous, As Phil said colour fringing on left hand side of frame is a characteristic of many opticval blocks. I did a comparison for High Definition magazine it may be downloadable form the www.definitionmagazine.com It has frames from Fuji Super zooms and Canon zooms that both suffer the fringing. In respect to f900R output the best approach is to use a seperate HDSDI oytput and compare it to onboard output. Sony and those who have the new HDC F23 camea for rent would prefer us to use the F23 to record into SRW1. So any fact/rumour/hint/disinformation they propogate to encourge use of F23/SRW1 combo is to their adavntage and helps them sell/rent F23 cameras. I don't know if f900R on board output is inferior to Miranda MDC/evertz adapter or not as I haven't done any tests. Mike Brennan However and respected en

:blink: :blink: :blink: :lol: I should have written "Sony maintenance manual *apparently* mentions that HDSDI is for monitoring only" as I havent seen it with my own eyes but this was mentioned by USA HD expert in his recent investigation following noise complaints. Shaun, I'm glad it isnt presenting a problem for you when recording to HDCAM. Did a split sreen of the recording from camera alongside the recording from the deck show any differences? I wonder if HDCAM is too noisey to use as a reference when the complaints are about 4:2:2 low compression 10bit recordings? You mentioned that one of your clients found the output of the f900r noisy when recorded into SRW1. The relevant test is to fit a Miranda 902 or Evertz box to the back of the f900r and compare this output with output from HDSDI board inside the camera. Mike Brennan

Are film schools in USA and UK allowed to screen DVDs to students or do they have to get a licence? Does the same apply for screening 2 minute extracts? Mike Brennan