10Mar Quick look at my EOS-M film kit
Here’s a quick look at the basic kit I’ve been using with the Canon EOS-M body. This bag has been lent out on 5 different shoots so far and everyone that’s used it seems to be pretty happy with the results. This is just a quick overview, I should have a deeper look at the EOS-M kit coming up towards the middle of the week.
Here’s the list of everything currently in the EOS-M kit.
- Canon EOS-M body
- Canon STM 22mm f2 lens
- Canon STM 18-55mm f3.5-5.6
- Fotodiox EOS-M to EF adapter
- Sigma 30mm f1.4
- Canon 85mm f1.8
- Canon FD 55mm f1.2
- Canon FD 35-105mm f3.5
- RODE Videomic Pro
- Wasabi LP-E12 battery set
The 30mm f1.4 and 85mm f1.8 aren’t must haves for the kit, but I like to have a mix of primes and zooms in a kit to cover various requirements. It might be worth it to trade one or both of them out for a wider angle of view lens like the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8. It just depends on whether you find wide angle or shallow depth of field more import for your work.
10Mar Panasonic GH4k $1699 pricing and Pre-orders
Pre-order’s are now available on B&H for the Panasonic GH4k. It looks like Panasonic has surprised everyone with a lower than estimated price of $1699. That puts the Panasonic GH4k within arms reach of Canon 6d pricing and well below the Canon 5d mark III.
If the GH4k lives up to even half the hype surrounding its announcement, Canon will have some pretty heavy competition. I’ve looked at the GH3 and GH2 in the past and all though many people loved those cameras, I didn’t find either one to be very compelling. On the other hand the GH4k seems to be a completely different story. This is the first camera I’ve seen in the last four years that has a list of specs that checked off just about everything on my list of wants.
The pricing on the interface unit is pretty much what everyone was expecting, $1999 for the unit itself, or $3299 as a combo deal with the Panasonic GH4k. While the interface unit looks pretty tempting, I don’t think I’ll be picking one up on pre-order. SDI and XLR interfaces are nice to have, but it isn’t something I really see myself needing right now. I already have a handful of XLR camera adapters and I don’t see myself using the 4k SDI output anytime in the near future. If that changes I can always pick one up down the road. I’m guessing the GH4K will sell out fast, but the interface unit will stay in stock.
If you want to get your hands on a Panasonic GH4k before the end of 2014, I would suggest you pre order as soon as possible. This is going to be a very popular camera and it’ll likely be sold out before it’s even released in april. I put my pre-order in at midnight last night on B&H when pre-orders first became available. Hopefully I’ll have the GH4k in hand sometime after NAB.
09Mar Samsung 840 EVO RAPID mode problem solved.
I picked up the Samsung 840 EVO a few weeks back and mentioned I was having trouble getting RAPID mode to work correctly on my desktop. After a few emails back and forth with Samsung I was finally able to get the problem sorted out. Turns out the latest version of Samsung Magician 4.3 has some strange issues with some Intel SATA controllers. The solution is to uninstall 4.3 and install Samsung Magician 4.2.1. I had to spend the time waiting and e-mailing Samsung to get a copy of this older version of the software. To save you the time, I’ve made it available here.
When you install the older version, the program will ask you if you would like to update to 4.3, simply select no in order to continue using 4.2.1. While 4.2.1 solved my problem it might not fix yours so test it out and make sure it works for your setup. I was unable to get any info from Samsung about an update to Magician. I’ll keep an eye on their download page and let you know when an update is posted.
As you can see, with RAPID mode working on the 1TB 840 EVO this drive is pretty impressive. Samsung’s RAPID mode technology seems to make a very noticeable difference in performance. With these levels and speeds I wouldn’t be surprised if other manufacturers start to incorporate something similar. The Samsung 840 EVO drives are currently my number one pick for a new SSD. I’m glad to see some innovation in an otherwise cut and dry marketplace.
07Mar Behind the scenes in the DSLR FILM NOOB studio
A few of you were asking about the DSLR FILM NOOB studio, so I thought I’d give you a quick walk through. The studio is currently a disaster area right now. I’ve been in and out on a number of jobs and instead of putting things away I’ve been leaving stuff on the floor and other random places. Not exactly the best organizational strategy. Tomorrow might end up being a cleaning day.
As you probably know I often shoot on the 5d mark III or Canon c100, but those cameras are often buried in a camera bag and packed for travel. For that reason I keep a Canon t2i with a Canon 17-35mm f2.8 lens
around the studio for quick bits of filming for youtube. Underneath of that is a Beachtek DXA-SLR audio adapter with a XLR splitter attached. Audio comes from either a boom mic mounted under the camera or a wireless pack.
For my own reference and framing I have a Smallhd DP4 attached. Magic Lantern provides the audio level meters and a simple Canon RC-1 is used to start/stop recording and focus the shot. This setup does a great job and it’s a reasonably affordable solution for a lot of film making applications. Here’s the price breakdown:
- Canon t2i
– $300
- Canon 17-35mm f2.8 lens
- Beachtek DXA-SLR – $269
- Canon RC-1
- XLR splitter – $9
The whole thing, minus a boom mic and monitor will set you back just under $1000. While that is still a decent chunk of change, it’s about the same price or a little under something like the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera which doesn’t come with anything but a camera body and a battery. While the t2i and BMPCC have a lot of differences, the t2i still stacks up pretty well in the price to value category.
There are many arguments about how much resolution the t2i actually provides, I would say the t2i is a good base line. If the image you get from a camera looks as good or better than a t2i, you’re working in a good spot. People get pretty excited about resolution, for me the first time I shot with a Canon t2i or a 5d mark II, I was impressed. Even though image quality in newer cameras has gotten better, it hasn’t changed my opinion about the Canon t2i. It’s still a great camera for the price.
If you guys like this kind of content, let me know and i’ll start putting out a few more behind the scenes bits like this on the second youtube channel.
07Mar PNY 128GB USB 3.0 thumb drive quick review
I was looking for a fast USB 3.0 thumb drive with a lot of storage space for travel. Having a high capacity thumbdrive can be pretty handy when you are collaborating on projects and you never know when you’re going to need to share or grab media files.
After doing some research I settled on the PNY 128 USB 3.0 thumb drive. At a price of $45, the PNY seemed like a pretty decent value for a 128GB thumb drive, but I wasn’t sure if it would be fast enough for simple editing applications. After all “10x faster” isn’t actually a speed rating.
After running a few tests on crystal benchmark, I was pretty impressed with the results. The PNY 128 USB 3.0 thumb drive was delivering at or above 193MB/s sequential reads and 78MB/s sequential writes on every test. That’s pretty impressive for a sub $50 thumb drive.
I ran the test 4 times and these are the lowest results out of the bunch. While these aren’t SSD drive speeds, they’re still faster than most USB powered spinning drives. The PNY 128 USB 3.0 thumb drive is well worth considering if you are in the market for a small large capacity storage solution.
06Mar Samsung 840 EVO 750GB SSD $359
The Samsung 840 EVO 750GB SSD just showed up on ebay for $359 with 99 cent shipping. Sold by Newegg, the 750GB SSD clocks in at just under 48 cents a GB. It’s nice to see that the Samsung 840 evo is still maintaining its price to value lead. I think Samsung has a clear winner with the 840 evo. It’s still my number 1 SSD pick on the market.
05Mar Aputure VS-3 V-Screen Field monitor review
I’ve been testing and using the Aputure VS-3 Field monitor for a few months now and it’s been a reasonably positive experience. The VS-3 sits in a sweet spot between higher end monitors and the sub $200 offerings. Features are pretty good for the price and it’s one of the few monitors that offers up audio level meters in its price range.
As mentioned in the video review I only really have two complaints. First, a monitor this size is a little on the large side for field work and second, the monitor never completely powers down when a battery is installed. If you leave a battery installed, it’ll drain down over night and you’ll need to recharge. Neither one of these are deal breakers, but they are items to keep in mind when hunting for a new field monitor.
The only other monitor that competes with the Aputure VS-3 in this price range is the Lilliput 663 field monitor. It has a slightly higher resolution at 1280×800 and offers up a few more battery options. The trade off is that the the 663 is around 2.4 pounds without a battery installed while the VS-3 is 0.8 pounds, the VS-3 has built in audio level meters (which is a big plus for BMPCC users) while the 663 does not, and from what i’ve seen the image quality is better out of the box on the VS-3 when compared to the Lilliput 663. Still if you need the extra bit of resolution the Lilliput 663 field monitor should probably be on your list of monitors to consider.
I’ve been writing about the VS-3 off and on for the last few months as I’ve been using it. You can check out these links for more images, firmware updates, and first impressions. Over all I think the price to value option the VS-3 offers is what makes it an attractive option as a field monitor.
04Mar Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 VC Lens $868
The Tamron 20-70mm f2.8 is still one of my favorite lenses and right now you can pick up the Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 VC lens in a Canon mount for just $868 with free shipping on ebay. That’s about $300 less the the retail price and a pretty darn good value for a great lens. As with all of these ebay sales, this is a limited time price, so if you want one you might want to move fast
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03Mar Gopro Hero 3+ $349
The Gopro Hero 3+ black edition is on sale right now on ebay for Just $349 with free shipping. If you never made the jump from an older Gopro Hero to the 3, this might be a good time to upgrade. As with most of these ebay sales, this is only on sale for a few days and there are limited quantities so if you want one, you might want to move fast
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02Mar Neewer DC-50 Field monitor, rebranded Viltrox DC-50?
The Neewer DC-50 field monitor (above) looks very similar to the Viltrox DC-50, the only major difference appears to the price. The Viltrox hovers around $200, while the Neewer DC-50 is closer to $120. Are they the same monitor?
The packaging for the Viltrox DC-50 looks identical to the Neewer DC-50 and if you look close on the Amazon product photos you can actually see the Viltrox logo on the packaging. I’m not sure if the Neewer models are B stock or just a rebranded Viltrox. Any body given the Neewer DC-50 a try?
