Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

 

Canon 5D Mark II and Nikon D90: Accessorized for Video

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It was only a matter of time until some industrious company stepped in and filled this niche.  Redrock Micro “Redrock Micro designs and sells a line of high quality cinema accessories for independent filmmakers, film educators and students, and budget-conscious moviemakers” and has just upped the ante for the mainstay of DSLR accessory makers that have been resting on their fat laurels.

The above contraption is a video platform designed to the specs and functionalities of our two video-capable DSLRs, the Canon 5D Mark II and the Nikon D90.  So, what’s it do?

Redrock accessories for video DSLRs transform video DSLRs into production-ready cinema solutions by providing:

  • Rock-solid 15mm support system
  • Follow focus for accurate and repeatable focusing
  • Swing-away mattebox for light management and easy access to changing lenses
  • Shoulder mount and handgrips for steady handheld use
  • Support cage for enhanced stability and low angle shot

[via Redrock Micro]

SmugMug Adds Embedded Video

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A few months ago, SmugMug added video capabilities to its repertoire of sharing features.  SmugMug has now followed up with embedding capabilities for a variety of video sizes including HD.  Don MacAskill gives the rundown on the new H.264 embedded format here. 

I’m a big SmugMug advocate. I’ve been nothing but thrilled with their photo hosting and sharing services. You can read more of my thoughts on an earlier Photography Bay post – 7 Alternatives to Flickr.

While SmugMug “demands video to be awesome”, I ran into a little bit of a lag issue on my aging iMac G5.  I have to say though, that the video quality looks great for a flash-based video. How’s the above video working for you (for both streaming and quality)?

If you decide to give SmugMug a try, you can use this code ( 7jCtURK05RxCQ ) in the ‘Referred by’ field on the signup form to save $5 from whatever account you sign up for. (Disclosure: I get a credit as well.)

Flickr Adds Video

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Flickr has just stepped up the standards for online photo media sharing with the launch of video for its pro members (mind you that’s only $25 per year). While anyone can view or share via embedding (like the one to your left) videos, only pro members can upload them. My initial impression is that the quality of the player and the content looks great and works well. Video on Flickr will be available in eight languages including English, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and traditional Chinese. [Read more…]

Poll: DSLR Movie Mode

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This week’s poll relates to Photography Bay’s recent article covering the DSLR Movie Mode Patent Application.  If you’ve not read the interesting technological developments, you should check it out.

We’ve seen and heard several responses from around the web expressing both joy and disdain for such a feature.  Let’s see how those numbers shake out in the poll below.  If you’ve got any additional thoughts on why you do or don’t want a movie mode on DSLRs then sound off in the comments below.

DSLR “Movie Mode” Patent

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Mirror - SensorWith the pervasiveness of Live View modes from DSLR makers, it is only a matter of time before similar technology brings a “movie mode” to DSLRs.  While the ability to record video is a common feature among point & shoot cameras, technological challenges make the incorporation of a video recording more difficult in DSLRs.  A recently published patent application by inventor Hiroshi Terada may change all of this.  The patent addresses many of the technological hurdles that have prevented incorporation of a movie mode into DSLRs.

As we all know, DSLRs are designed for optimal performance in capturing still images – and DSLR manufacturers have truly raised the bar over the past couple of years.  Accordingly, DSLRs are specialist tools that have been optimized to have a very narrow focus tolerance and an ever-increasing auto-focus speed.  These features are not quite conducive to smooth video capture.  Additionally, the field-of-view changes, albeit slightly, during auto-focus operation.  Finally, fast and accurate hand-held auto-focus is dependent up accurate phase-difference AF evaluation, which requires a mirror to reflect the image to the AF sensor.

As you can see, getting live image to the image sensor and capturing smooth, in-focus video seems difficult to achieve without sacrificing some still image capture properties of DSLRs.  These obstacles, among others, are what Mr. Terada attempts to overcome in his patent application. [Read more…]