Giovanni Ribisi talks with, and about, RED movie cameras.
I'm a big fan of Ribisi as a actor, and it's cool to hear that he's getting into the other side of the camera too.
The upcoming RED sensor will have a 15-stop native dynamic range. That's awesome, it will cover virtually contrast situation one comes across normally.
They are filming in 4K or bigger, meaning 4000 pixel horizontally. And you can pull any of the frames and get a high quality still image from it, that's pretty amazing. Apparently some photographers are now working with that, just blazing away at 30 or 50 frames per second, and choosing their shots later.
Saturday, September 08, 2012
Friday, September 07, 2012
Not a lens
This is not a pipe.*
Nor a lens.
(I have two Canon lenses of which I have duplicates which are actually drinking mugs. Totally hil, well sorta. :-)
*
Nor a lens.
(I have two Canon lenses of which I have duplicates which are actually drinking mugs. Totally hil, well sorta. :-)
*
Thursday, September 06, 2012
@thexavius: Portrait of an Instagram Artist
Totally hil.
"... now it has a filter on it, it's not so stupid."
"... now it has a filter on it, it's not so stupid."
Fujifilm’s New X-E1 Is A Smaller X-Pro1
Fujifilm’s New X-E1 Is A Smaller X-Pro1, article.
Update: better article here.
And much cheaper too. Both things welcome, because the X-Pro1 is pretty big and not exactly cheap!
And this new camera has the same image quality as the X-Pro1, which has gotten top-top marks everywhere, it's said to be in league with the Leica M9 (which of course is way, way more expensive yet).
I really don't know if I'd have use for this one, but it's cool because it's solid proof that mirrorless cameras have grown up for real, they are no longer just for weekend hobbyists.
The X-E1 will surely lose a biggish portion of the high-end market though, those who seriously love an optical viewfinder and Leica. This no longer looks or feels like a classic rangefinder camera.
Update: better article here.
And much cheaper too. Both things welcome, because the X-Pro1 is pretty big and not exactly cheap!
And this new camera has the same image quality as the X-Pro1, which has gotten top-top marks everywhere, it's said to be in league with the Leica M9 (which of course is way, way more expensive yet).
The X-E1 will surely lose a biggish portion of the high-end market though, those who seriously love an optical viewfinder and Leica. This no longer looks or feels like a classic rangefinder camera.
Light Of Day - 1987 Michael J Fox - Joan Jett (updated)
I tried to find this film which I watched back in the day. It's not even out on DVD, I find that pretty amazing. Even if perhaps it was not the next Footloose, it still had rock, Joan Jett, and Mike Fox, so you'd think it would be worth it to dump it on DVD.
Joan was only about 18 at the time. [Oops, 28/29, sorry.] I think she looked/looks better later. Probably a matter of learning to tweak your looks right and projecting It. (Well, who looked good in the eighties anyway?)
Update:
Bert told me:
Apparently because W-B won't release the rights to one (!!) song in a key scene (a slow dance, if that rings a bell for you).
Dang, that's stupid.
I'm reminded: I have WKRP Cincenatti on DVD. To release it, they had to replace a big number of the songs they played, otherwise it'd have cost a fortune to release it.
It's a strange thing that it is so incredibly expensive to buy most music for a movie. Sure, it's a major use, but at the same time, it can be very valuable PR. Many songs have had major revivals because they were used in a popular movie.
Joan was only about 18 at the time. [Oops, 28/29, sorry.] I think she looked/looks better later. Probably a matter of learning to tweak your looks right and projecting It. (Well, who looked good in the eighties anyway?)
Update:
Bert told me:
Apparently because W-B won't release the rights to one (!!) song in a key scene (a slow dance, if that rings a bell for you).
Dang, that's stupid.
I'm reminded: I have WKRP Cincenatti on DVD. To release it, they had to replace a big number of the songs they played, otherwise it'd have cost a fortune to release it.
It's a strange thing that it is so incredibly expensive to buy most music for a movie. Sure, it's a major use, but at the same time, it can be very valuable PR. Many songs have had major revivals because they were used in a popular movie.
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Sigma DP2 Merril
It seems the Sigma DP2 Merril may have the record for pure image quality in a compact camera. It is apparently pretty much in a class of itself.
That is amazing. But another thing which amazes me is that after three generations of the Sigma DP series cameras, even the newest ones still carry over the original faults: not very good in high-ISO, and they are slow and uncertain in operation. I wonder why Sigma still stumbles here, when Panasonic and Olympus has squashed these problems with vigor in the last couple of years. Perhaps it's a question of research budget.
A couple of other weaknesses is more a question of choice: Sigma DP1 Merril and DP2 Merril don't have stabilization, surely a must-feature today. And they don't have a zoom lens. Admittedly a prime lens solves many problems of bulk and such. But I found out when I used the Fujifilm X100, despite its ideal lens of 35mm-e (faster too, 2.0), I was much less inspired when working with just one focal length. Two prime lenses or two cameras might help the situation. But even so, one of them should be a short tele.
... Anyway, when the X100's little brother X10 arrived, with an excellent and fast zoom, I loved it much more. So much more flexible. The X100 in contrast was more of a "trophy wife", simply because one knew it was outstanding quality and it is just so beautiful, and looks so much like a classic rangefinder camera! (Love has strange ways.)
It's funny, a photographer friend talked about buying it from me, and I said "which one do you mean, the X10 or the X100?" He said: "Er..... I don't know. The one that looks like a real camera." Heh. One X100 coming up.
That is amazing. But another thing which amazes me is that after three generations of the Sigma DP series cameras, even the newest ones still carry over the original faults: not very good in high-ISO, and they are slow and uncertain in operation. I wonder why Sigma still stumbles here, when Panasonic and Olympus has squashed these problems with vigor in the last couple of years. Perhaps it's a question of research budget.
A couple of other weaknesses is more a question of choice: Sigma DP1 Merril and DP2 Merril don't have stabilization, surely a must-feature today. And they don't have a zoom lens. Admittedly a prime lens solves many problems of bulk and such. But I found out when I used the Fujifilm X100, despite its ideal lens of 35mm-e (faster too, 2.0), I was much less inspired when working with just one focal length. Two prime lenses or two cameras might help the situation. But even so, one of them should be a short tele.
... Anyway, when the X100's little brother X10 arrived, with an excellent and fast zoom, I loved it much more. So much more flexible. The X100 in contrast was more of a "trophy wife", simply because one knew it was outstanding quality and it is just so beautiful, and looks so much like a classic rangefinder camera! (Love has strange ways.)
It's funny, a photographer friend talked about buying it from me, and I said "which one do you mean, the X10 or the X100?" He said: "Er..... I don't know. The one that looks like a real camera." Heh. One X100 coming up.
Monday, September 03, 2012
Reviews of feinschmecker cameras
Sarcastic reviews of very expensive cameras (those that cost the same as a good car).
I used the money from my daughters college funds to pay for this item and I must say that it came in the greatest quality box I have ever seen. You can use this box as a hat, glove, or even just a place for your cat to sleep. The camera is also decent I can take pictures of my box and I can see every detail when I look at the images. I own a horse.
I used the money from my daughters college funds to pay for this item and I must say that it came in the greatest quality box I have ever seen. You can use this box as a hat, glove, or even just a place for your cat to sleep. The camera is also decent I can take pictures of my box and I can see every detail when I look at the images. I own a horse.
Future flat lenses?
[Thanks to Tommy]
Future lenses may be just one ultra-flat and thin sheet, and may be free of the usual aberration which make glass lenses so complex to make.
(I'm not holding my breath though. Usually such optimistic Brave New World Of Coming Technology dreams are remarkably absent in the future they were supposed to arrive in.)
V-Luxe Junior
A cinema stand... for an iPhone! I love it. I'd like to set it on my table in a lunch restaurant.
This was made for showing Laurence of Arabia or The Tenth Commandment.
... This of course comes after the orginal V-luxe for iPad, which I almost bought.
(It is not clear if it's for sale at the moment. Last I talked to the maker, Paula, she said she was overly busy. (I wanted her to make an iPad stand for me.))
This was made for showing Laurence of Arabia or The Tenth Commandment.
... This of course comes after the orginal V-luxe for iPad, which I almost bought.
(It is not clear if it's for sale at the moment. Last I talked to the maker, Paula, she said she was overly busy. (I wanted her to make an iPad stand for me.))
Sunday, September 02, 2012
Note on inflation
Inflation is taxation without legislation.
~Milton Friedman
I guess that most people think of inflation as just a fact of life that you have to live with, like the weather. Inevitable. And not caused by anybody or preventable by anybody.
