William Mims
Forum Replies Created
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B&H Video, out of NY, has a Cartoni HiDV Fluid Head ($ 749).
Let me just say this, save the difference elsewhere and get the Cartoni. Hands down, the sweetest fluid head I have ever used. You will not regret it. 75mm bowl, I got a nice tripod for under $ 250. The Cartoni handles my EX3 with extra stuff on it just fine, it’s velvet smooth, and very nice. It has some nice lock down features and you can tilt it +90 degrees.
Here’s a flash I learned the hard way-cheap fluid heads are not fluid, they are friction with a honey like substance that will ozz out on a hot day in the trunk-then your sunk for sure. trust me. A tripod/fluid head is not the place to cut corners. At one time or another I have used them all, Sachs, O’Connors, Vinten, etc. This Cartoni is the best I have used.Mims
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Michael Slowe:
I went to “Vortex” and was quite impressed when their products. I would recommend anyone viewing this thread to go to their web site. I was fortunate to have spent over twenty years in “Hollywood” honing my skills in lighting on film so I see the ‘3 point lighting’ he mentions in advertising the booklet on “lighting for interviews”. For anyone not familiar with proper head shot lighting that book is a must. I may also order that just in case I might be able to gleam another useful tip. (You never stop learning) As far as the DVD/book on the EX 3, I can’t wait until it arrives and is found in my ‘location’ bag. I am sure it will replace my American Cinematographer Manual I relied on for so many years. Thanks for your information-most appreciated!Mims
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Michael Slowe:
One area that is also of interest for distributors is the look of your final product, and therefore the settings on these great cameras. In another thread you mentioned: Doug Jensen in their wonderful double DVD EX workshop How can I get more information on that DVD?
Thanks,Mims
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George:
I am in the same situation so I will be watching this thread to see what the experts say such as Michael Palmer. The broadcast distributors like Discovery Channel in the past have found fault with 4:2:0 verses 4:2:2. I read a thread by Michael where he mentioned the new convergent nano flash which records the EX 3 without compressing to 4:2:0. I am currently planning a feature film and want to use EX3’s. Based on what Michael stated, I don’t see any way around not using the nano flash for my projects. I am wondering if there are other recorders that do the same for less money and is that saving (if that is the case) worth taking a chance putting a lot of work and money into a ‘spec’ project only to have it turned down because of substandard quality (imagined or real by the distributor).Mims
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It is probably too late to get my two cents in on this topic, but I’ll give it a shot, anyway. Backstory: Hollywood two decades, rented everybody’s tripod, fluid head at one time or another. Saclr., O’Conner, Vinton, Miller, for film cameras.
This time around I wanted to own something really nice. I looked at all the above, remembered what I liked and didn’t on those expensive heads that I used during those years and I really didn’t want to spend two grand on that equipment.
B&H Video, out of NY, has a Cartoni HiDV Fluid Head ($ 749).
Let me just say this, I know your budget is $ 600, but bite the bullet and save the difference elsewhere and get the Cartoni. Hands down, the sweetest fluid head I have ever used. You will not regret it. 75mm bowl, got a nice tripod for under $ 250. The Cartoni handles my EX3 with extra stuff on it just fine, it’s velvet smooth, and very nice. It has some nice lock down features and you can tilt it +90 degrees.
Here’s a flash I learned the hard way-cheap fluid heads are not fluid, they are friction with a honey like substance that will ozz out on a hot day in the trunk-then your sunk for sure. trust me. A tripod/fluid head is not the place to cut corners.Mims
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Hey Guys this just in:
I ran across a blog that lists the settings on the EX 3 for that “film look” I started asking with this thread. You all have made some important input about the subject but this is what I really wanted to know:
Check out- marvelsfilm.wordpress.com/…/marvels-ex1-and-ex3-profile-settings-for-filmic-look/ –
In this article he states the amount of tests he did to find the right settings. I am a big fan of “24” on Fox, I know that it is shot with Sony cameras but it looks like Panavision to me. The other half of the game is of course, lighting.Mims
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Michael:
Just looked at your picture of your EX3, showing the Nano. Wow that is a beautiful set up you have. Who’s focus and matt box do you have? And was it worth it focus pulling wise?Mims
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They were called: a Steenbeck or Kem table ( K.-E.-M.) I actually preferred the Movieola. The Steenbeck had a lot of torque and would snap your footage if you made a sloppy tape splice or had a small tear in your film.
Mims
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William:
I too have just started to post here. It is a great site and there are a lot of guys that really know their stuff. I’m an old film guy that went video after years of splicing film on a Movieola. (You are probably too young to know what that is) So all of this video-computer jargon is mostly Greek to me. My Sony SxS cards won’t tranfer to my Vegas program. My MxR Expresscard adapters with 16gb Class6 Transcend cards will and I cut a nice church promo with the Transcend card. Vegas is a sweet and awesome platform compared to a decade ago when I sold my edit bay in L.A. in ’97 and got out of the business for awhile. Now back in the game, the Sony Vegas has replaced my sound board, Grass Valley graphics, linear edit computer and primitive FX equipment, not to mention my Waveform and Vector scopes, monitors and an unbelievable number of cables that went everywhere. The graphics (I guess they call them ‘titles’ these days) are really quite amazing and simple.
Anyway welcome aboard for my two cents (as I feel like a guest with all these experts) and I will be waiting for an answer to your post which is the same question I have.Mims
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Thanks Michael for the heads up on the nano flash. Sounds like it is a good investment for shooting a feature with EX3s. Have noticed that as I get back up to speed with Ex3 to Vegas vs. a Sony/Grass Valley edit bay (’97) that my Transcend cards in MxR expresscards transfer to the tower but my Sony SxS cards will not via Clip browser…Haven’t figured that one out yet. Sony needs to do some serious price slashing on their cards.
Mims