On the cutting edge, digital still cameras for film. Part 3

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Nelson de Witt

Photo by v8media
In part 2 I talked about some of the advantages to using digital still camera for film. In this post I’ll be talking about the disadvantage to using this kind of camera. 

Drawbacks

Since this technology is so new there are going to be a lot of challenges. Most of the challenges that come from using a digital still camera involve its very sensitive focus.

Focus

Most of the cameras we are looking at do not have an autofocus that is usable for filming. A still camera’s autofocus is very different from a camcorders auto focus. A still camera is made to focus on a specific point while a camcorder  is made to focus on a specific subject. 

Digital still cameras also have a very short focal length. This is the distance from lens in which the subject is in focus. If a person is in focus two feet away from the camera and they move a foot in either direction they will be blurry. A camera operator must be very good at adjusting the focus as the subject moves around.

Moving subjects

We have also heard that these camera have a hard time dealing with a lot of movement. Part of the problem is the focus issue I just mentioned. The other problem is image stabilization. Holding a camera steady is very hard. Many camcorders have software that makes this easier. Most digital still cameras do not.

Extra Equipment

Due to the problems mentioned here it is nearly impossible to create high quality video without extra equipment. This equipment is attached to the camera like the image above. It helps the operator maintain focus, improve audio and reduce movement. There is also a need to have a different lens. Main drawback here is that the extra equipment adds more to the price tag. 

More to come

I just want to point out that these issues are based on research and not hand on experience. We do not know how big these problems will be for our project. When we get more time with the cameras we will have a better idea.
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On the cutting edge, digital still cameras for film. Part 2

Posted on July 1, 2010 by Nelson de Witt

In part 1 I talked about why we are looking at using digital still camera for this documentary. In this post I’ll be talking about the advantages of using these camera.

In order to make a proper assessment of this equipment we researched what the capabilities of these cameras were and why someone would want to use them.

Image Sensor

One of the big advantages of still camera is the image sensors. They are designed to mimic film and the imagery they produce is exceptional. They work very well in daylight and low light. There are some limitation in low lighting. If you need to film in very low light then you may loose some image quality. However for our project which consist of a lot of well lit interviews we felt this was not a problem.

Its a lot easier to show you what these cameras can do. Here are a couple of short videos that really highlight image quality of these digital still cameras.

This first video is from CrunchGear’s review of the T2i.

Canon T2i demo reel from CrunchGear on Vimeo.

The second video is by Philip Bloom who is a director of Photography and knows how to make these camera shine. Shot with a Canon 7D and Canon 5D.

Skywalker Ranch from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Price

Another big advantage to is there priced. For example, a Canon T2i is about $900. On the higher end, a Canon 5D is about $2,500. These prices are for the camera body and a basic lens. In order to film this project we will need to buy lenses and rigging that will help get the best shot. The extras will bring the cost of equipment up but these cameras are still a lot less expensive than high definition camcorders that can be as much as $30,000.

One of the goals of this project is to produce something that could be shown on TV. Part of the challenge of this goal making something of this quality is that it can coast hundreds of thousands of dollars. This can include equipment as well as salaries. So using this camera to do most of the filming in one strategy we are using to keep costs down.

Do they stack up?

It’s great that digital still camera have high quality sensors and are reasonably priced but how do they stack up against real film cameras? Well we are no experts in this field but we found some people who are.

If you are interested in a very geeky breakdown of how digital still camera stack up to film cameras I highly recommend Zacuto’s Great camera Showdown of 2010. It’s about an hour and half long and they put these cameras through a number of very scientific tests. Then they get feedback from various professional film makers. It’s interesting to see what these camera’s can do and the promise they hold.

Stay tuned for part 3 where I’ll talk about the disadvantages we found to using digital still cameras in a film.

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A conversation about race and adoption with Kevin Hofmann

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Nelson de Witt

Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin Hofmann about his experiences growing up in a multicultural household. We talked about race, identity, and cultural expectations. It was a great discussion and we really hope you enjoy it as well.

Don’t see the video?

I’m working hard to makes great interviews with interesting people invvolved with our story. Please let me know what you thought of the interview in the comments or by email dewittn@anasmiracle.com.

By the way this our 100th post! I don’t know how significant that is, if at all, but either way its a milestone. :)

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