We have been happy RED users since 2007 and it is our camera of choice for many things, especially interviews. In fact, we have gotten so spoiled by the 4K image that we seldom change framing during the shoot – instead relying on re-framing in post. Even when we are finishing in 1080P we have can go from cowboy (waist to top of head) to a medium close-up with no (ZERO) image loss. It is super cool.
Now enters the DLSR and AF100 and other large sensor cameras. Sure you can get great depth of field, but so far everything in this arena brings compromise. In the case of the DSLR’s you have moire, poor audio recording and zero audio monitoring, and inferior h264 codec. The AF100 fares better on the audio front – working like a conventional video camera but still lacking on the recording format with AVCHD compression. NOTE: We are expecting our Atomos Ninja recorders in a few days so we will see how that enhances the recording capability.
Here is a frame grab from a recent interview we did for a corporate client. I lit it using a Litepanel 1×1 flood as a key, a Litepanel 1×1 spot as a hair/edge light, a window (cloudy day) as a fill, and a dedo projector for the background pattern. The shoot was for a one-time use as a meeting and no potential for repurposing into future programs and the result met our needs.
Was this a corporate video? What was the final deliverable format?
PJ Jackson
Yes. it was a corporate project. A short message by a company president sharing some remarks for a meeting that he couldn’t attend. Video was delivered in HD H264 1080, but I believe showed it in standard definition to a live audience. The video itself turned out great, but it was hard to find a great still that communicated his delivery. Do you like the look?
I never heard of this
Where is the post about the Ninja recording via HDMI output? Very much looking forwarding to reading about this in practice… Thanks, T
The Ninja has not really met our expectations. There are too many hiccups with their implementation, especially with the AF100. They promised a control cable to work with the AF100 but never delivered nor advised on a source so you cannot sync up the camera trigger with the Ninja which is a drag (The KIPro and SoundDevices do allow this so kudos to AJA). The other problem, and perhaps a bigger one, is the way the Ninja parses files. Due to the 4GB file limit record times that run over, size wise, are split into segments and they just so up as separate files – not overall alias to manage the workflow unlike the R3D or other file formats. So when we need external record we record to PMW-EX30 (we have 2) or the KIPro.