Clint Fleckenstein
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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I second the ND comment. If I remember correctly, the effect you get from a polarizer filter varies depending on the angle from incident light. It may still help tune out reflections to help your shot overall, but I wouldn’t use it simply to knock down glare. It’s a specific tool for a specific use in specific conditions.
Someone who knows more about the physics of cinematography can probably explain this better (or poke holes in what I said). I’m just speaking from my experience as a DSLR hobbyist shooting outdoor landscapes.
Cf
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I got my serial number, but I did have to check my spam catcher. It was nearly immediate.
Thanks for your work on this, Ian.
Cf
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“I produce wedding videos and post them on the internet. That is where people view them. On computer monitors. Probably not as good as the one I have in most cases.” …
This is no new phenomenon; since the 1930s content providers have been trying to reproduce an accurate picture on myriad different sets of varying quality and manufacture. Even two identical displays will show the same signal differently, so what do you do? That’s where the reference comes in. You cannot possibly put out a signal customized for every display that’ll see it, so you have to put out a correct, accurate signal – and it’s up to them to adjust their displays properly to take advantage of it.
Nobody’s being snooty with you; rather, the only solution to your quest for accurate color and gamma is to get a properly calibrated reference monitor. Period. If that’s not feasible, then trust your camera’s display first.
Have you purchased a cheap Spyder or other monitor calibration tool for your computer’s display? If not, then you’re chasing this from the wrong end in the first place. Most computer displays, despite what they say, are about as accurate as most computer speakers…which is to say, not. Don’t question your Sony’s built-in display before you have established what your computer’s doing.
“The theory of colour and all the talk between the geeks and the so called professionals is mainly bunkum. We all see colour differently anyhow but we will never know how the other person sees it.”
Strange observation from someone looking for help in getting an accurate display.
Again, if you haven’t calibrated your computer’s display then you would be ill advised to go tweaking on your camera’s display in order to match it.
Cf
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Just checking back on this thread – I’m sorry I didn’t see it in time to tell you where the port is. How did it turn out?
Cf
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You took it to this technician with an LCD problem and now the whole “motherboard” is shot? Sorry, that just reads fishy to me.
I’ve replaced the LCD screen on EX cameras and even the little viewfinder on the back of an EX1, and it’s straightforward if you’re even slightly technically proficient. What you described doesn’t sound right, though.
He says he tried an update but “couldn’t do” it? My guess he bricked your camera and it’s his fault. He says he “couldn’t do” the firmware update, which means he tried and failed. That’s not a good sign. The need for a new “motherboard” can be a symptom of a botched upgrade.
I have read of people ruining their EX cameras trying to use the USB port and not the cleverly-concealed maintenance port. Otherwise interrupting a firmware update process on these cameras can be fatal as well. Unless it’s miraculous timing, it sounds like this technician ruined your camera trying to do the update.
Other than the original LCD problem, you shouldn’t have to pay for this repair.
Cf
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I’m shooting film, and I keep getting this annoying artifact: color. I’m really disappointed that it doesn’t have that dramatic black-and-white look that I grew up with. Does anyone know how I can tune this out?
In the mean time, I’m looking for an app for my iPod that will allow me to lay a track of record pops & clicks and/or tape hiss over music and podcasts while I listen to them. Does anyone know of such an app? It must exist, because there’s lots of pop music throwing “record player noise” into their tracks.
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. 🙂 The look you want to achieve is subjective, and there’s nothing wrong with it one way or another. I have to admit to scratching my head as so many people dashed to DSLRs so they could flood the industry with super-bokeh, shallow DOF shots.
I acknowledge the sentimentality of the film-look objective just like the lomo movement. I can even see how one or the other might be more appropriate for a specific production. Even so, I look at material shot with today’s finest digital acquisition gear and can’t help but simply appreciate it.
What I don’t get, and I’m not pointing fingers at the original poster here, is any mindset that mimicking film even to the point of its shortcomings is some sort of higher standard to be achieved. I guess it’s the optical equivalent of audio’s tube-n-turntable crowd.
Enough light-hearted musing. I hope I didn’t throw a hand grenade into the thread. 🙂
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Now THAT is what I’ve been waiting for. Now if I can just get the budget for a couple…
Cf
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I charge my still camera stuff and power my netbook using a cheap inverter. Lower current ones plug into your 12v accy/lighter and deliver plenty to drive a battery charger.
Using an EX3 I did a long interval recording of a 13 million pound dragline crane “walking” across a four lane highway on a temporary man-made cross road in -40F (well, that’s -40C too) at about a tenth of a mile per hour. I parked the truck sideways in the median, rolled down the back window, and shot from the truck due to wind and cold. I ran that EX3 on the inverter for the entire time, a couple of hours at least, while I ran around and shot the run-n-gun stuff with the EX1 outside. Coldest shoot I ever had. My Canon still camera batteries froze up frequently but the Sony batteries had no issues.
For shooting aurora borealis I even bring a 100′ extension cord reel so I can drive a set of Logitech speakers to provide mood music. 🙂 This is all from a relatively small inverter; if you wanted to drive a lot of equipment, you could always get a higher wattage model that connects directly to the vehicle battery.
Cf
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For stuff like this, simple is the way to go. I’d just get a pair of cheap DVD recorders and use the Firewire output of the camera. If the coach isn’t worried about anything but the speed at which he can get game footage, there ya go. No encoding time or programming time…just the few minutes it takes to finalize the disc and make the copies.
I saw a pair of recorders because you don’t want to miss the start of the second quarter while your recorder is still finalizing the DVD of the first quarter! 🙂 But recorders are cheap if you get one without a TV tuner. Just swap the cable to the second recorder with a disc loaded and ready, and you’re able to record while the previous disc finalizes. After the first recorder has finalized you can make a couple of copies relatively quickly on your computer.
I don’t recall offhand if you can feed the Firewire output and the Matrox at the same time…that’s something to look into in case you want to record to the computer as a backup.
I’ve done gigs like that where it’s more “quick and dirty” than one would like, but if you’re giving them what they ask for in a fast and inexpensive way it’s a success…even if the mechanics of it aren’t very fancy.
Cf
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Holy cow – I just saw a pic of the SWIT next to the JVC. Who’s knocking off who? 🙂
Never been a fan of IKAN. In my experience they’ve been okay for framing but worthless for color or contrast.
Cf