in reply to Giles:

Yes I used ML as well. Mainly for the clean audio. I had to get rid of all the onscreen helpers as they were lagging quite badly.
It's a great tool - and looks to be getting better all the time.

I made sure, once I'd set all my prefs and saved the confg, that I copied the magic.cfg file to ALL SD cards.

Used 7D & 5Dmkii Awesome cameras - Amazing images when shot with good lenses.
Have to have monitor when shooting at f1.2 :) used 9" SmallHD and audio through Zoom-H4N. Transferred to ProRes to edit in Final Cut Pro. Never have any issues with "jellocam" and I shoot with them all the time. (if you do there are filters to fix it that work well)

in reply to EdAish:

What filters?

I will hunt out the names of them - Never used them but read about some recently for Final Cut Pro that reviewed well. The only time I have noticed it is when trying to make it happen (whip panning back and forward like an idot) or filming a train passing from around 2 meters away.

Core Melt Lock & Load X is what I have heard good things about if you are really having issues with rolling shutter.

shot a couple of time lapse sequences (1sec per frame) on a Nikon D700 and the editor dropped onto the time line in Premiere. Looks really nice.

I use a Canon 7D with a 5.6" Small HD monitor and a DT454 Juiced Link pre-amp with AGC disabler.
I was using a Zoom H4, but the extra time matching in post was doing my head in.
I'm using old school Nikon lenses.

Plural eyes plug in for fcp synced all my audio in about 30 seconds it is amazing and completely removes the hassle of recording audio on my h4n. Highly recommend it. It just uses cam audio as a ref and 99% of the time achieves perfect sync.

FYI: DSLR eye piece on trademe (not my auction)
I have a Zacuto and find it fantastic for getting focus etc when outside in bright conditions. Also works well when using my hand-held rig.

Carry Speed LCD View Finder (LVF-43)

Note: I can't vouch for this specific item (my Zacuto cost $400)

in reply to mikedensem:

Hah. Just realised I didn't even bother using my view finder, didn't miss it either.

in reply to mikedensem:

Attachment: Screen shot 2011-03-02 at 6.36.37 PM.png

Hi Mike,

we also shot on the 550D. We had a homemade rig that i'd made form wood and a camera clip from trademe and a box of old stills film lenses i've been buying off trademe for the last year.

If you turn the contrast all the way down and record audio separately and use a clapper board, its a fantastic set up.

We had no 'jello cam' and the lack of contrast, although great in capturing info in the highlights and shadows needs a good eye on the grade to make it sing.

in reply to rollowenlock:

Nice.
We ran out of time to grade. Shame really as it is so nice to play with the 550's footage in Color.
On the whole I found the experience to be really enjoyable, even with a few work-arounds.

in reply to Searlo:

You can get a decent quality Canon 50mm lens @ 1.8f

I ended up buying a Canon 50mm prime @ 1.8f - great lens for really short dof and in low light , BUT on my 550D it turns into a 80mm which isn't quite wide enough (although tiny dof).
I notice that ungraded it creates a very sharp and slightly blue look with quite characteristic COC. I spotted this raw look in some other 48 films (in the screening room) - looks like a very stylized lens.

Shane Hurlbut said recently that Canon are the only cameras to give a true cinematic look. The others (incl. Panasonic AF100, Sony F3) are just a video camera with a large sensor.

in reply to mikedensem:

I think Shane must have a contract with Canon.

There is a show in the edit suite next door to me right now editing with footage shot on both Canon 5D and the Panasonic AF100, all going for quite a cinematic look.

They have different looks, certainly, but I wouldn't say one is vastly more cinematic than the other - If you are pixel peeping there are issues with the Canon Footage you don't get in the AF100 footage, and vice versa.

Certainly, the Canon by default does look less video like, but that's far more to do with color profiles, and maybe in fact how low resolution the image actually resolves, compared to the HD cameras.

A sharper image, on a smaller screen, will probably feel less cinematic to most people because people are used to seeing movies off prints that while large in the visual field, actually resolve a pretty poor measurable resolution when you are in the cinema (distribution prints often are attributed as resolving around 720p for audience members.)

in reply to mikedensem:

Shane Hurlbut said recently that Canon are the only cameras to give a true cinematic look

Exactly why is it that we want a true cinematic look.... to me it's like trying to get your HD LED tv to play in 320x240 for that true pal retro look.

The only real advantage I've seen is the filmic dynamic range which is where the full frame sensors come into play to a degree (oh please can I have a red :) )

But what I really came in here to say - who noticed the films shot at 30fps that were not very nicely converted to 25fps. you can spot that drop frame jump every second.....

Anyone used the Sony NEX-FS100?
I always felt the DSLRs were a transition technology - and now there are a few dedicated systems it may be quicker than expected.

Fs100 Review-ish

Oh, and the Great Camera Shootout 2011 is up.

There we a few F3 films in Auckland this year, saw a few in the heats. Also quite a few Panasonic 102 films up here too.

Whats the news on the DSLR front? Anyone got any videos they would like to share or anything else? Been a bit quiet around here!