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This is a micro short I shot to test the new Canon 50mm f/1.8 on the 550d/T2i.

The 50mm produces some beautiful close-ups which I’m really happy with. I’m really a newcomer to HD-DSLR filmmaking and have taken away some valuable lessons from this shoot, primarily the need for an HDMI monitor to aid in setting focus accurately. (Some shots have the focus thrown more toward the background/foreground, not on the subject!)

Ignoring these flaws however, I feel the footage still stands up, particularly the 50mm close-ups with that gorgeous shallow DOF. Next time, perfection is the aim. 

Bought myself a Canon 50mm f1.8 today, A.K.A ‘The Nifty Fifty’.

What with the one night of snow London has had, naturally it took me hours to get anywhere, so my day of test shooting quickly became a night shoot… a very cold night shoot. I ended up spending a couple hours determined to get a reasonably sharp image, but it just wasn’t happening. Low light, shooting too wide, condensation, whatever, I eventually gave up and headed home. Another couple hour journey.

However I did stumble across one or two cool scenes on my way home (‘out in the sticks’ as it were), so here’s a couple to have a peek at!

Technicolor’s CineStyle profile Professional picture profile for Canon EOS DSLRs. Not much to say on this, other than download it and install it… now! For any DSLR filmmaker, this colour profile makes a world of difference to the creative possibilities of your images. The profile converts the image into a logarithmic colour-space which lowers contrast and widens the dynamic range of the image, bringing out more crucial detail in the shadows. You will get a desaturated, washed out looking image which may look unappealing at first, BUT it will allow far more flexibility when you come to grade, and there will be fewer blocky artefacts where dark areas are compressed into solid black. I can feel a long technical explanation coming on so I’ll end it here. To find out more, take a look at Technicolor’s website or search the interwebs for useful and interesting info! Download CineStyle for free at www.technicolor.com/cinestyle

Technicolor’s CineStyle profile

Professional picture profile for Canon EOS DSLRs.

Not much to say on this, other than download it and install it… now!

For any DSLR filmmaker, this colour profile makes a world of difference to the creative possibilities of your images. The profile converts the image into a logarithmic colour-space which lowers contrast and widens the dynamic range of the image, bringing out more crucial detail in the shadows. You will get a desaturated, washed out looking image which may look unappealing at first, BUT it will allow far more flexibility when you come to grade, and there will be fewer blocky artefacts where dark areas are compressed into solid black.

I can feel a long technical explanation coming on so I’ll end it here. To find out more, take a look at Technicolor’s website or search the interwebs for useful and interesting info!

Download CineStyle for free at www.technicolor.com/cinestyle

Another one for the shopping list. One of the inherent difficulties of shooting on DSLR is the lack of quality audio inputs, headphone monitoring, as well as the horrid AGC (Automatic Gain Control). On a dedicated video camera, these shortcomings would be unnacceptable, yet for DSLR shooters we are forced to work with them. Well not any more! The DS214 microphone preamp by JuicedLink is the answer to all of the above in a conveniently sized unit. It can take two audio feeds via a single 3.5mm stereo mini-jack (and a Y cable) and provides a stereo output to feed into the camera. I love this as I am looking to shoot music videos and being able to capture both a mic input and a line-in from a music player is great since you can record the actual music playback and a scratch/reference track for easy syncing in post. It also overrides the internal AGC, vastly improving the quality of captured audio. Another welcome feature is the onboard audio level meter and left/right channel volume controls for correctly adjusting your sound levels to avoid distortion. Last but not least, a headphone output (and volume control) is provided for realtime monitoring of your sound, a nice feature after going to all the trouble of making it sound great in the first place! Several other models are available with XLR inputs and 48v phantom power to further improve your audio quality. This model works well with mics designed with the DSLR in mind that use a 3.5mm jack, such as the Rode VideoMic Pro. Sold in the UK by Pinknoise Systems for £139 (inc. VAT, correct at time of publishing) http://www.pinknoise-systems.co.uk/juicedlink-ds214-adapter-p-665.html

Another one for the shopping list. One of the inherent difficulties of shooting on DSLR is the lack of quality audio inputs, headphone monitoring, as well as the horrid AGC (Automatic Gain Control). On a dedicated video camera, these shortcomings would be unnacceptable, yet for DSLR shooters we are forced to work with them. Well not any more!

The DS214 microphone preamp by JuicedLink is the answer to all of the above in a conveniently sized unit. It can take two audio feeds via a single 3.5mm stereo mini-jack (and a Y cable) and provides a stereo output to feed into the camera. I love this as I am looking to shoot music videos and being able to capture both a mic input and a line-in from a music player is great since you can record the actual music playback and a scratch/reference track for easy syncing in post. It also overrides the internal AGC, vastly improving the quality of captured audio. Another welcome feature is the onboard audio level meter and left/right channel volume controls for correctly adjusting your sound levels to avoid distortion. Last but not least, a headphone output (and volume control) is provided for realtime monitoring of your sound, a nice feature after going to all the trouble of making it sound great in the first place!

Several other models are available with XLR inputs and 48v phantom power to further improve your audio quality. This model works well with mics designed with the DSLR in mind that use a 3.5mm jack, such as the Rode VideoMic Pro.

Sold in the UK by Pinknoise Systems for £139 (inc. VAT, correct at time of publishing) http://www.pinknoise-systems.co.uk/juicedlink-ds214-adapter-p-665.html

Source pinknoise-systems.co.uk

Beautiful footage shot on the Canon 550d/T2i with a Canon 50mm f1.8 and a Tokina 12-24mm f4, no grading or any post-processing. Excellent low light capability, dynamic tones and nice and sharp. The 50 mil is on my shopping list!