Nice Lady ProductionsAn electronic viewfinder is a crucial piece of kit–especially if your camera doesn’t have one built-in–as it provides professional features making it easier to focus, judge exposure and frame your shot.
In the third and final episode of a Zacuto EVF vs SmallHD DP4 EVF comparison series, we look at some of the intricacies of these units as well as what sets them apart. I’d love to hear about your own experiences using an EVF.
Video Colour Correction in Adobe Lightroom 4 Beta
Julieanne Kost walks us through the video capabilities of the latest release
I’ve been a Lightroom user since its first beta, and there have been many times in the years since when I thought: I wish I could use Lightroom to colour correct my video footage. Well, it turns out the crew at Adobe Labs was thinking the same thing because they’ve introduced the ability to view, add metadata, do simple edits and even colour correct video footage in Lightroom 4 beta.
Yes, you can do all these things already in other video editing programs, but the point here is that you can log all your clips, do colour correction and output them: QUICKLY, all while doing the same with your photos.
Now you can sort through your photos and scrub through you video clips all in the same software. Lightroom 4 allows you to set simple in and out points for your clips, colour correct or grade an entire batch of shots using the same settings (by editing a single video frame), and output your clips for editing in another program or email your footage directly from within Lightroom.
I’ve always been a BIG fan of Adobe Lightroom because it’s intuitive, powerful and dead simple compared to Photoshop–which is still one of the main tools I use. Now that Lightroom handles video, it really matches the workflow of a DSLR shooter who shoots both video and photos. This is just the beginning but I think we can all imagine where things are headed.
Get it, try it for FREE and tell me what you think:
http://labs.adobe.com/technologies/lightroom4/
Nikon D4 Announcement
Nikon has just announced the D4, their top of the line replacement camera for the D3S. Yes, this is a photography camera, I know! There are plenty people covering the photo capabilities, I want to go over the video specs since this is BIG news for video shooters.
A quote from Nikon’s site regarding the video image: “Thanks to Nikon’s latest image-processing algorithms, the D4’s video ensures a smooth look with fewer “jaggies” and less moiré while maintaining sharp edges, even in dark conditions, by using noise-reduction technology designed specifically for video.”
Here are the biggies that set this camera apart from any other Nikon or DSLR on the market as far as video capabilities go. Will I be trying this camera as soon as I can get my hands on one? YES!
D4 Video Specs
- 16.2 effective megapixels 36.0 x 23.9 mm CMOS full-frame sensor
- ISO 100 to 12 800 or ISO 200 to Hi 4
- 8 bit 4:2:2 UNCOMPRESSED full 1080p @ 24 or 30fps (confirmed by Nikon Canada) resolution output via HDMI. The recording time is said to only be restricted by the size of your external hard drive
- Clean HDMI signal out
- 1,920 x 1,080; 30p (progressive), 25p, 24p
- 1,920 x 1,080 crop; 30p, 25p, 24p (2.7x crop of the picture angle)
- 1,280 x 720; 60p, 50p, 30p, 25p
- H.264/MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding
- 29 minutes 59 seconds max video recording per clip (compressed in camera)
- B-Frame data compression method means less rolling shutter
- “View simultaneous Live View output on external monitors and record uncompressed video via HDMI terminal.” (Nikon.ca) –Fantastic!
- 2 Live View shooting modes: one for photography, one for movies. “Exposure, white balance, monitor hue, histogram, focus mode, AF area mode and focusing accuracy are easily confirmed.” (Nikon.ca)
- “A time-lapse photography feature, with which the camera automatically takes photos at selected intervals to record a time-lapse movie, which can be played back at 24–36,000x normal playback speed” (Nikon.com)
- 2MP stills simultaneously while filming
- Stereo mini-pin jack in (for a stereo mic)
- Stereo mini-pin jack out (for headphones: a first on a DSLR)
- 20 steps of audio level control to fine tune the audio being recorded
- 30 steps of audio level control for fine tuning the audio monitoring levels
- Full manual video control (aperture, ISO, shutter speed)
- 3.2” LCD with iluminated back control buttons
- Control shooting capabilities via ethernet or wireless devices:
“use the web browser on your iPhone® and/or iPad®** to operate camera controls or begin Live View shooting, including starting and stopping HD video and more.” (Nikon.ca) - Dual card slot: CF card and XQD memory cards
- Shipping February 16 2012 for $5999.95 USD or $6,299.95 CDN (new 85mm f/1.8 lens, shipping at same time for $499.95 USD).
Link to the official Nikon D4 Brochure:
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d4/pdf/d4_12p.pdf
Official Site:
http://imaging.nikon.com/lineup/dslr/d4/index.htm
NEW AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G:
http://www.nikon.com/news/2012/0106_af-s_nikkor_85mm_f18g_01.htm
Musings on Sony Vegas Pro 11
2011 has been an interesting year for editors as Final Cut Pro received an iMovie-style facelift, Adobe Premiere picked up steam with a 1/2 price offer for people switching from Final Cut. Avid threw its hat in the ring with a software overhaul and a more ‘affordable’ price tag for Media Composer 6, and to little fanfare, Sony released an update to its own editing suite with Sony Vegas Pro 11.
I really wanted to write something about Sony Vegas Pro because I don’t hear a lot about it, yet I think it’s both feature rich and easy to use. Vegas immediately appeals to the broadcast community, event videographers, audio focused editors–since enhanced audio editing tools are built right into the software–and of course people who own Sony camera gear. The main thing holding Sony back I think is that the software is built for a PC and unfortunately its latest release is buggy.
Vegas Pro features 2k, 4k and 3D editing, offers broad format support for XDCAM, NXCAM, AVCHD, and RED without transcoding (yes support for RED ONE and EPIC, just pull the files onto the time line and edit), as well as multicamera editing from up to 32 video sources, 5.1 surround sound editing, closed-captioning and offers 64-bit software capabilities.
Cool features that stick out for me are one-click Blu-ray authoring right from the editing time line, the wicked white balance tool, the ability to read layered Photoshop files and in version 11, RAW camera files. The Vegas Pro suite includes a super intuitive Blu-ray and DVD authoring tool called DVD Architect which makes using Adobe Encore in comparison feel like you’re writing the Sunday edition of the New York Times crossword puzzle.
Part of the ability for Sony to offer all these features and keep up with technology changes is due to their rapid software releases. I find myself upgrading on an annual basis and it doesn’t cost much (less than $200). The software itself is only $600.
Sony Vegas Pro 11 - New Features
Vegas Pro 11 adds to this long list of features with new GPU-acceleration that works with both AMD and NVIDIA graphics card. I ran a render test to see the difference and I can tell you that the same clip rendered in Sony Vegas Pro 10, rendered in 1/2 the time in Sony Vegas Pro 11: now that’s impressive! The image stabilizer tool (similar to the After Effects Warp Stabilizer tool) has been significantly improved in version 11 and new 3D titling capabilities are also pretty cool.
Sony Vegas Pro 11 - Major Complaints
The recent release of Sony Vegas Pro 11 has not arrived without issues. To be honest, Vegas has always been a bit unreliable as far as bugs go. Having your software crash in the middle of editing (for no apparent reason) is never fun. Sony has already released a firmware upgrade to address some of the bugs, but the issues I’ve had have yet to be addressed. This has caused me to ask for a refund, which I received from Sony without any acknowledgment from them as to the outstanding issues.
One of the bugs is the inability to render .mp4 video files from the time line without being presented with an error. Since .mp4 files are what I use most for web video content, not having the ability to render them is a huge FAIL. I also realized that Sony corrupts audio files that are played back from a 3TB hard drive. Since I recently upgraded my external hard drive to a 3TB USB 3.0 drive, the inability to properly play audio files from it is maddening.
The bug problems and consequent fixes added in the latest firmware release aren’t just a Sony phenomenon. More and more I’m finding manufactures releasing products that are in the beta stages of development. The recent issues I’ve had with Sony Vegas Pro 11 have been off-putting to say the least and their inability to acknowledge the problems hasn’t helped (bad customer service goes a long way, if you know what I mean). I now find myself looking back to Adobe and forward to Avid to fill the void, which is honestly too bad because otherwise, Sony Vegas Pro is a great piece of software.
![The Quest for the Perfect Editing Suite: A Look Back
When I was first starting out, everyone told me if I wanted to make a feature length film one day, I’d have to learn to cut on Avid. Why did that say this? Before Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro hit the scene, Avid was–and in some realms, still is–the benchmark for non-linear editing. It was the mainstay for production companies, particularly in broadcasting and film studios, and it was what the kids in Canadian films schools in the 1990s learned on. But I never did learn Avid (nor have I released any feature films to date), but I did learn to edit.
What I realized soon on was that it was less important to learn a specific editing software suite and more important to learn how to edit. Learning the core principles of editing and being able to jump between editing suites has kept me continuing to do what I love.
The first video I shot and edited was in 1993. We kicked it old school back then–shooting on the modern video format–and editing on a tape to tape editing station. That’s right, the edits I made were linear (including the titling and credits), so if I wanted to change the sequence after the fact, I had to rewind the tape and do it all over again.
When I set my hands on a non-linear editing station it was a Mac, with the first version of Final Cut Pro installed. Man did that version suck! Non-linear editing brought lots of added features but the manual for the software was like 400 pages long (not kidding) and it took forever to view my edits, because I had to wait while the computer prerendered each transition.
Everything was clunky and complicated with Final Cut Pro, but I stuck with it because Avid was out of my league, aka: I wasn’t rich. Final Cut Pro was the [sort of] answer wannabe filmmakers were looking for, and Apple delivered for many releases thereafter.
I was hungry to put what I knew into practice and make a buck doing it, so I started shooting and cutting videos for small businesses, corporations and government institutions–in the hopes of generating cash to fund my own creative projects. This led me to switching to PCs because my clients were using PCs, and with the PC came the editing suite–the choice: Premiere Pro or Sony Vegas Pro. I used both (and have since), but in my heart and mind Sony won hands-down. It was and still is the most intuitive, feature rich and painless editing suite I’ve used.
You may find yourself learning a piece of software either because your colleagues brand it the “it” thing, or the company you are cutting for prefers it. Some of you may even choose your software based on the price tag or computer you use. What I can say from experience is that it’s been crucial for me to be able to adapt to whatever tools are put in front of me. I can say without a doubt, I’ve gotten further in my career and in my own business by keeping an open mind, than I would have, had I stuck to one camera or one software solution. Think about it.
As for learning Avid? I plan to do that next. Ya never know when I’ll need it.](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lufp7zHNfJ1qbj5gwo1_r1_500.jpg)
The Quest for the Perfect Editing Suite: A Look Back
When I was first starting out, everyone told me if I wanted to make a feature length film one day, I’d have to learn to cut on Avid. Why did that say this? Before Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro hit the scene, Avid was–and in some realms, still is–the benchmark for non-linear editing. It was the mainstay for production companies, particularly in broadcasting and film studios, and it was what the kids in Canadian films schools in the 1990s learned on. But I never did learn Avid (nor have I released any feature films to date), but I did learn to edit.
What I realized soon on was that it was less important to learn a specific editing software suite and more important to learn how to edit. Learning the core principles of editing and being able to jump between editing suites has kept me continuing to do what I love.
The first video I shot and edited was in 1993. We kicked it old school back then–shooting on the modern video format–and editing on a tape to tape editing station. That’s right, the edits I made were linear (including the titling and credits), so if I wanted to change the sequence after the fact, I had to rewind the tape and do it all over again.
When I set my hands on a non-linear editing station it was a Mac, with the first version of Final Cut Pro installed. Man did that version suck! Non-linear editing brought lots of added features but the manual for the software was like 400 pages long (not kidding) and it took forever to view my edits, because I had to wait while the computer prerendered each transition.
Everything was clunky and complicated with Final Cut Pro, but I stuck with it because Avid was out of my league, aka: I wasn’t rich. Final Cut Pro was the [sort of] answer wannabe filmmakers were looking for, and Apple delivered for many releases thereafter.
I was hungry to put what I knew into practice and make a buck doing it, so I started shooting and cutting videos for small businesses, corporations and government institutions–in the hopes of generating cash to fund my own creative projects. This led me to switching to PCs because my clients were using PCs, and with the PC came the editing suite–the choice: Premiere Pro or Sony Vegas Pro. I used both (and have since), but in my heart and mind Sony won hands-down. It was and still is the most intuitive, feature rich and painless editing suite I’ve used.
You may find yourself learning a piece of software either because your colleagues brand it the “it” thing, or the company you are cutting for prefers it. Some of you may even choose your software based on the price tag or computer you use. What I can say from experience is that it’s been crucial for me to be able to adapt to whatever tools are put in front of me. I can say without a doubt, I’ve gotten further in my career and in my own business by keeping an open mind, than I would have, had I stuck to one camera or one software solution. Think about it.
As for learning Avid? I plan to do that next. Ya never know when I’ll need it.
After weeks of testing each of these electronic viewfinder units out in the field and at home with the Chihuahuas we have lots to talk about in Part 2, including the debut of a brand new EVF feature that I think is BRILLIANT!
Zacuto EVF Owners: the latest firmware update that includes Frame Store from Zacuto can be downloaded here: http://www.zacuto.com/zfinderevf/evf-support
Electronic viewfinder units are incredibly important for videographers and most important for DSLR shooters because they give the HDSLR shooter the opportunity to have the tools often only found in professional video gear. This is Part 1 of a two-part series I’m developing that showcases two of the EVFs on the market: the Zacuto EVF and the SmallHD DP4-EVF. I would love to hear your comments.
Shane Hurlbut, ASC (@hurlbutvisuals) is the dude. Not only is he super talented, but he takes a plain language approach to teaching filmmaking, and I respect that. Shane did a great little series with BH Photo about shooting with DSLR cameras and I thought this was a perfect little video for talking about workflow. I hope you find it useful on your next production.
Check out his work on his website: http://www.shanehurlbut.com/
Manfrotto has dropped a very cool little gizmo called the DADO Kit. This little orb and extender rod kit offers the ability to connect light stands, Manfrotto clamps, lights, mics and whatever else you can think of–all to one little dude. I would love to see how people will put the DADO kit to use. Considering the rods screw into the center orb, the design looks pretty solid.
DADO Kit at BH Photo
3 rod kit: $56.50
6 rod kit: $76.95
Doing some “unscientific” hands-on tests of the SmallHD DP4 (left) and the Zacuto EVF (right) monitors in preparation for my video review. Here the monitors show-off their false colour capabilities for assisting with setting proper camera exposure. …stay tuned.
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