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FX1 and the Film Look

hotwire132002

hotwire132002

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 24, 2004
1,209
1
Cadillac, MI
I figured this would be of interest to some of the other filmmakers here...

I just picked up a Redrock Micro M2 35mm Lens Adapter, and I must say I've been absolutely thrilled with it! The adapter lets me use my 35mm SLR lenses with my video camera, allowing for a very shallow depth of field (since I'm using 35mm lenses, I actually get the same DoF that I would get if I was shooting on 35mm film.)

I went out yesterday and shot a bunch of test footage, and cut together a quick demo reel this morning.

This is all shot with my FX1 and Nikon lenses (I have a 28mm f/2.8, 50mm f/1.8, 85mm f/1.8, and a 135mm f/2..

Standard Def (7.8MB):
http://www.freelancerproductions.com/media/CinematicReelLow.mov

720p HD (89.1MB):
http://www.freelancerproductions.com/media/CinematicReelHigh.mov

I'd love to hear any feedback =)
 
That looks really nice. I really love how shallow you can get the depth of the field. You could do some cool rack focuses really easy with that.

I'm curious to see what the camera looks like with the lens and adapter on it. Can you take a pic?
 
zioxide said:
That looks really nice. I really love how shallow you can get the depth of the field. You could do some cool rack focuses really easy with that.

I'm curious to see what the camera looks like with the lens and adapter on it. Can you take a pic?
Click to expand...

Sure... I'll take a pic as soon as I get back to the office.
 
It looks good, but are you able to get any kind of deeper focus out of it, or is it always that shallow? There also seem to be some aberrations in places. I'd need to see more tests, though it certainly looks like it'd be very good to have for scenes that demanded shallow DoF. How does it compare with footage obtained without it? As in, could you cut together footage shot with the adapter (for shallow DoF) and without it (for deeper focus) and not have the viewer going "WOAH, HOLD ON NOW?" :D
 
For zioxide, a photo of the rig while using an 85mm lens is attached.

killmoms said:
It looks good, but are you able to get any kind of deeper focus out of it, or is it always that shallow? There also seem to be some aberrations in places. I'd need to see more tests, though it certainly looks like it'd be very good to have for scenes that demanded shallow DoF. How does it compare with footage obtained without it? As in, could you cut together footage shot with the adapter (for shallow DoF) and without it (for deeper focus) and not have the viewer going "WOAH, HOLD ON NOW?" :D
Click to expand...

You can definately get a deeper focus out of it; the trick is using a smaller aperture. Everything in the video I attached was shot with the 35mm lens' aperture wide open (f/1.8 or f/2.8). (I used the camera's iris control to manage exposure while maintaining a shallow DoF.) I've shot a few clips with a narrower aperture, which will quickly allow for a deeper DoF.

I think you could intercut between footage shot with the adapter and footage shot without it without seeing a distracting difference... though I haven't done any such intercutting just yet.
 

Attachments

  • rig.jpg
    rig.jpg
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I definitely like the lens. I think it can add a lot of dramatic mood when used in the right scene.

One question: Are the colors of the FX-1 always so under-saturated looking? They didn't have the vibrance I would expect normally.
 
killr_b said:
I definitely like the lens. I think it can add a lot of dramatic mood when used in the right scene.

One question: Are the colors of the FX-1 always so under-saturated looking? They didn't have the vibrance I would expect normally.
Click to expand...

I actually found that the FX1's color seems more vibrant when using the 35mm lenses -- the footage coming from the camera does tend to seem undersaturated. I often bump up the saturation a notch while editing, which helps a lot. Needless to say, I didn't do that this time around.
 
Looks good.I love the dollies and time lapse stuff especially. Obviously some of the shots weren't zoomed in enough on the GG - this happened my first time shooting with an adapter since LCD screens typically overscan the image a little bit.

You also have to be very careful when using your wide angle to avoid vignetting. I find myself having to zoom in a bit more to get past the dark edges.

Keep us posted on your projects!
 
trudd said:
Looks good.I love the dollies and time lapse stuff especially. Obviously some of the shots weren't zoomed in enough on the GG - this happened my first time shooting with an adapter since LCD screens typically overscan the image a little bit.

You also have to be very careful when using your wide angle to avoid vignetting. I find myself having to zoom in a bit more to get past the dark edges.

Keep us posted on your projects!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliments --

Regarding the vignetting and zoom issues, this was all shot a day or two after getting the Redrock adapter. I was certainly still getting the hang of it. All in all, a nice system when you've got some time to spare for a great picture -- even if there are a few quirks to using it.

And regarding other projects I've cut down on the filmmaking and corporate/industrial stuff a bit lately, as Charter Communications (the cable company in our area) contracted me to produce a local newscast for them -- you can check it out at local-edition.com (shameless plug ;-) ). While it may not feature the same creative aspects as filmmaking, it's nice to be paid to go out and cover community festivals and such ;-).

That said -- I keep meaning to put together some more short films one of these days -- I think the last one I did was The Shoe Tree, which was actually put together a few days after this reel, back in May '07. I guess I've been a bit too busy lately! :eek:
 
Nice footage/ camerawork. Do you ever shoot in the fake 24p (esque) mode on the FX1? The college's video lab I work at has had trouble getting a good capture of footage shot in that cinematic mode. I looked all over the web and had trouble coming up with a solid FCP workflow for footage shot in that mode. Please let me know how you handle footage shot in that mode.

Thanks,

- Cory
 
corywoolf said:
Nice footage/ camerawork. Do you ever shoot in the fake 24p (esque) mode on the FX1? The college's video lab I work at has had trouble getting a good capture of footage shot in that cinematic mode. I looked all over the web and had trouble coming up with a solid FCP workflow for footage shot in that mode. Please let me know how you handle footage shot in that mode.

Thanks,

- Cory
Click to expand...

I've actually never used the FX1's fake 24p mode -- I always shoot 60i. So, unfortunately I don't think I can be much help there....
 
hotwire132002 said:
I've actually never used the FX1's fake 24p mode -- I always shoot 60i. So, unfortunately I don't think I can be much help there....
Click to expand...
That's probably a good idea to just stay away from the fake 24p mode. I just wish the students would stop shooting in it.

- Cory
 
corywoolf said:
That's probably a good idea to just stay away from the fake 24p mode. I just wish the students would stop shooting in it.

- Cory
Click to expand...

Sony's "24p" sucked until the V1U. The EX-1 trumps them all, though.

*drools at overcranking*
 
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