Supermoon on A55
One-minute sequence of the Moon and clouds at its closest point and largest size, shot using the A55 with 500mm Minolta AF reflex lens and 2X Teleplus converter.
Tag: video
Sony 5″ video monitor for DSLRs
For some time, I have been using a 7″ Lilliput external monitor for my Alpha and other HDMI output cameras. This is fairly bulky, with its external battery pack, and is mounted on a flash bracket holding it to the side of the camera. The main use of the monitor is for interview-style filming with it facing the subject (self filming) but it also has uses making location shooting simpler. Such monitors are usually mounted within video rigs, off camera, often at waist or chest level even when the camera is held above and forward of them.
The cost of the Lilliput is around £150-£200 depending on supplier and battery/mains power choices. Similar monitors from Marshall and other makers typically cost two to three times this, because they are sold for the photo market – the Lilliput is sold to the in-car entertainment sector, and therefore is not marked up by 300% to allow for the deep pockets of camera owners relative to car owners.
Sony’s new 5″ monitor is much lighter, and comes with mounts for hot shoe and Alpha shoe, and a neat lightweight HDMI-miniHDMI cable (oddly enough, that’s about the hardest thing to find – a short, skinny cable). It costs $395, but for that you do get a folding hood which is neat. They have many photos of it and not one shows it facing forwards, but the use is mentioned in the publicity.
It does not draw power from the HDMI, but requires either a mains adaptor or a battery pack, which is not shown in any of the photos. Sony have done the same as LED-video-light makers – provided a bay for fitting the regular Alpha camera battery as a power source. The press release implies that the battery pack is a separate item (‘optional’) instead of making the point that you use any large Alpha battery (including old ones left over from the A100). I find it very convenient that my video light accepts the same batteries as my camera system, and not very convenient to have a bulky rechargeable pack for my 7″ monitor. (NB: all that white space is part of Sony’s image we have linked to – nothing like wasting a bit of bandwidth by not cropping pix, is there?).
Here’s the press release:
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A new clip-on LCD monitor from Sony gives DSLR camera owners a bigger, better view of their footage while shooting HD video.
The CLM-V55 is a portable video monitor featuring a high-resolution WVGA (800 x 480) (5”) LCD panel. Attaching easily to most Interchangeable Lens Digital cameras and compatible HD camcorders via the supplied adaptor, it displays video footage during shooting/playback with excellent clarity and a wide viewing angle.
The clip-on screen tilts and swivels to any angle for comfortable framing in any position – even self-shooting when you’re in the picture.
The CLM-V55 is loaded with pro-style features to help photo enthusiasts and videographers shoot high-quality HD video footage with their Interchangeable Lens Digital camera.
Pixel magnification mode assists with accurate focus confirmation, giving an enlarged pixel-perfect view of a selected portion of the Full HD image. It’s complemented by a colour peaking function that highlights the edges of accurately-focused areas of the video image.
An intuitive control wheel allows quick, positive adjustment of a wide range of monitor settings without interrupting shooting. Adjustable parameters include aspect ratio (16:9/4:3), volume, brightness, contrast, colour tone (phase), colour temp and auto dimmer. On-screen markers aid precise framing by giving precise indication of a TV’s 16:9 or 4:3 actual display area. The LCD monitor’s on-board mono speaker is complemented by a headphone jack for accurate audio monitoring during shooting.
The CLM-V55 attaches easily to a wide range of Interchangeable Lens Digital cameras from Sony and other manufacturers that support HD video shooting. The supplied adaptor simplifies mounting on any camera or HD camcorder that features an auto-lock accessory shoe or ISO shoe. Signal connection from camera to monitor is via the supplied HDMI cable, while power can be supplied using a battery pack or AC adaptor (both optional). The CLM-V55 comes with a detachable LCD hood for more comfortable viewing when shooting outdoors in bright sunlight.
The CLM-V55 LCD video monitor by Sony is available from March 2011.
Alpha 55 1080p HD video – snow in Scotland
This video was made on December 23rd using the Alpha 55 (AVCHD recording) hand held, with SS enabled, and the Carl Zeiss 16-80mm zoom. This video has been uploaded in full 1080p HD and can be viewed at high resolution if you have a fast enough connection. The soundtrack is a classical guitar piece I wrote ten years ago, on the last day of the year 2000, when snow was falling by moonlight which I guess the music represents a bit better than mid-day.
Some camera-mic sound has been left in place for two of the takes, and the shot of the stone wall uses active phase detection AF during video. This was not possible for most takes, as the snowflakes falling made the focus constantly change as they passed the focus zones!
Hope you enjoy it! The camera got very wet with snow – you can see where flakes landed on the lens filter – and ended up being wiped down many times. Eventually, after going into a shop for a few minutes, everything steamed up. But it seems fine after letting it dry out and warm up. It was not very cold, around 1°C for snow to be falling like this.
– David
Sony to develop Super-35mm pro camcorder
Sony Corporation announced today that it is developing a new type of E-mount interchangeable lens camcorder for professional use that is equipped with a Super-35mm equivalent large format CMOS sensor. This new addition to Sony’s professional “NXCAM” line will be available in the middle of 2011.
Editor’s Note: Super-35mm is not full frame 35mm. The 35mm movie format is what we call half-frame in still photography, or a little over 18 x 24mm – a size very close to the nominal 16 x 24mm of the DT/DX format used by Sony for APS-C sensors. Sony may decide to use a normal APS-C sensor for this, or to use a true 16:9 ratio for HD Video. However, Super-35mm normally means a squarer image format. No doubt internet forums will be full of folk claiming that Sony has gone full frame frame on the E-mount just like they said, etc etc – well, that is not the case. Super-35mm does not mean full frame (technically, double frame 35mm).
But this sensor may be significantly larger than existing APS-C, at a possible 25 x 18.5mm rather than 23.5 x 15.5mm or thereabouts (please note that one APS-C sensor is already quoted as being 16 x 24mm). Alpha A-mount lenses will of course cover this easily; E-mount NEX lenses may have been designed to do so from the start, though it may be pushing it to expect corner quality unless OS is disabled. By definition, all OS-type lenses must have a larger circle of coverage than the format they are designed for – often considerably larger. Turning off OS would enable any properly designed OS lens to cover a bigger sensor without any corner vignetting or loss of sharpness.
Remember where you read this first – 17.30hrs on November 17th! – DK
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HD videocast – NEX adaptors and odd lenses
I’ve finally got round to trying a ‘proper’ videocast – perhaps the first of regular short demonstrations – with the Alpha 55 offering me HD filming while demonstrating the NEX-5. And I can use the NEX-5 to film stuff about the Alpha 55. A Canon 60D helped, though its inability to refocus during filming (which the NEX-5 and Alpha 55 can do) proved a small problem. The sound from the Canon was used, mainly because it had been set with a manual level, while the Sony was using an external condensor mic that pickup up some serious interference from the lights.
The lighting is nothing more than one 30W daylight colour energy saver and one 20W – using an angle desk lamp from IKEA and a spare table lamp. The background is a Calumet (Lastolite in disguise) canvas. To do the filming, I ran a 7 inch Lilliput monitor from the HDMI output of the Alpha 55, and mounted it facing me on a bar right next to the camera. The Canon was set up as a second camera and left running from that position. Editing, including cutting and pasting the soundtrack and parts of the Canon video, was in iMovie 11.
This is a full 1080p HD YouTube film – if you can view it (bandwidth is an issue) try the higher resolutions. The Alpha 55 consistently overheated at around 7 minutes, showing me a temperature warning then shutting off. The room was not warm and the camera screen was both not active, and moved away from the camera back. My first attempt at this film was spoiled by the overheating issue, perhaps because SSS was left on in error. However, on a tripod SSS is not active to any extent when shooting video (it does not have the same problems of creating blur, which happen with still images due to the way mirror or shutter vibration are reflected by the tripod). Previous time limited movies I’ve made have been hand held and of course SSS is both used and expected to be very active.
– David Kilpatrick
Sony Photokina Press conference video – in full
We filmed the entire Sony press conference at photokina. It is split into three sections about 7 minutes each. During filming using the NEX-5, the camera at one point started to show an overheat warning. At this point I should have moved the articulated screen away from the camera body, but did not want to interrupt a very important moment – the announcement of the A7xx. And that’s when it cut out, taking maybe 10-15 seconds for me to move the rear screen, wait a moment, and restart.
Here are the videos. They are all at 720p quality and uses the internal mic, not the add-on mic, as I was ‘travelling light’ for this conference.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Sony affirms NEX future – and SLT path for Alpha
Sony today announced upgrades and a road map which will keep NEX E-system adopters more than happy – especially those who have added NEX to their Alpha outfit. Diehard Alpha purists will be less delighted.
At the photokina press conference, a two-year rollout of additional NEX lenses was announced including a fast Carl Zeiss wide-angle, a premium quality G-series standard zoom, a macro lens, a portrait lens, a wide-angle zoom, and a prime telephoto.
Firmware upgrades for NEX-3 and NEX-5 to enable Aperture presetting for video, and AF operation of SAM and SSM Alpha mount lenses with the Sony adaptor, were promised for October with a similar upgrade for the NEX VG-10 in November. The NEX 3 and 5 upgrades will allow assignable functions for the buttons, including direct access to ISO setting or HDR (amongst other choices).
Sony went out of their way – as on their stand – to highlight the explosion of 3rd party adaptors making almost every lens in existence usable with the NEX body’s 18mm register. They announced they were already working with partners to enable production of NEX adaptors and even NEX compatible lenses, but could not reveal anything yet. The opening up of the system to 3rd party makers would, said Toru Katsumoto, help revive photography itself.
With NEX now accounting for half of all mirrorless/compact interchangeable lens sector sales, they were confident of its future.
The bad news, for many, will be that the Alpha 700 replacement – optimistically shown with a vertical grip, 500mm f/4 G SSM lens and a new flash – will have a fixed Translucent mirror just like the A33 and A55. Paul Genge of Sony UK confirmed to us after the presentation that it will not have a flip-up mode to allow shooting without this extra sheet of glass in place.
As tests of the A33 and A55 have shown clearly, the Translucent mirror creates visible bright-edge ghosting or secondary imaging in the vertical direction. For many users, this will be a no-go option; they will look at the Pentax K-5 and the Nikon D7000 and see a ‘pure’ optical path from lens to sensor (although we all know the cover glass assembly of the sensor removes this possibility).
Perhaps the real A700 of tomorrow will be the Sigma SD-1 – the 1.5X factor, beautifully designed, 15 megapixel (true!) Foveon machine claimed as ever to match a much larger real pixel count – 48 megapixels. Well, Sigma need not make such claims. 15 megapixels is enough. It was enough with Bayer pixels. 15 real Foven RGB coincident location pixels will be one amazing camera.
Today was a wonderful day. Summer temperatures. Everyone was sitting round outside in the open spaces at photokina and it was like a big barbecue party with all the wurst-stalls grilling away. The sunniest photokina we’ve ever been to. And there is an amazing level of optimism here about trade and the market. We had a recession – unless someone screws it up, we are in for a boom again. There is so much fantastic stuff coming and China is both the market and the innovator in so many ways.
– D&SK, reporting from outside the Restauration K A Pütz Brauhaus, with 2nd small Kölsch
Additional notes: I filmed the entire conference on my NEX-5, which overheated losing 1 minute midway (pull out the LCD assembly and have the screen away from the body – this stops it overheating so fast, my mistake). But I need my big iMac and fast broadband to edit this and put up several YouTube sections, I can not do so from photokina pressroom or hotel wifi. It will be posted next week.
The image shown of the A7XX (the ‘Advanced Alpha’) is the same mag-alloy body (strap lugs give this away) ‘750’ that was seen at PMA, it’s actually like a slightly rounded Pentax K-5 in size and heft from the description and screen views. Because it will use Translucent mirror technology, you must not assume outright that this means no optical finder. It may use the semi-silvered mirror at 45 degrees, and have a new AF method, quite unlike the A33/A55 – and it could have a really good glass prism finder. But the mirror, like the old Canon Pellix and RT models, would be fixed. We simply do not know but the shape and size indicates it’s not necessarily an SLT in the A33/55 mould. I could devise an AF detector capable of reading from a focus screen (just as the human eye does). Anyone with basic optronics/optics knowledge can see that there are many potential ways to achieve AF, and they do not preclude fitting an optical focusing screen. There are also ways of achieving superior on-sensor contrast detection AF. – DK
NEX-5 with ECM-SST1 mic
Some parts of this were very close to large PA system speakers; others were close to dangerous loud instruments of war, notable Border fiddle and Scottish bagpipes from the Coldstream town pipe band (not the same as the Guards, this is the locals not their namesakes!).
Hand-held, mic set to 90 degree coverage not 120 degree. The NEX-5 only offers auto gain, not manual control of sound of any kind. 18-55mm OSS lens, stabilised but not always in stable hands. Widely varying distances from sound source to mic.
Hopefully a fair view of what the NEX-5 does in this kind of situation; and a view of why, despite the awful weather, I really don’t want to retire to somewhere warm and lose this place!
– David
NEX camcorder launched
Sony, which has a UK event taking place on Thursday July 15th showcasing new products for the Christmas market, has surprised us by launching its NEX mount HD camcorder with 14.2 megapixel CMOS sensor and 18-200mm OSS interchangeable lens much sooner than anyone expected.
Nikon D3S video: dark, rain and wind 400mm f/2.8
As part of my tests of the Nikon D3S (British Journal, report in December, with additional material by Richard Kilpatrick who is shooting with Nikon on November 25th at a press event) I dragged the £6,000 400mm f/2.8 AF-S IF ED G supertele into the rain as darkness gradually forced the ISO up from a mere 10,000 to the maximum 102,400. The object was make a short video showing rising floodwaters, no threat in our town but still dramatic to watch.
Here’s how it came back from the hour in the rain, a quick wipe down with an oily rag and it was all as good as new. Actually, it needed a thorough drying with the towel then a clean up with a lint free microfibre cloth to remove dust and towelly stuff. The very deep lens shade kept the exposed front element totally dry despite the wind and rain; I just made sure it was never aiming into the wind.
During the shoot, wind noise was a major problem. I locked the microphone to level 2 manual gain, not automatic which would have been a disaster. Many clips had to be shortened, some discarded due to violent wind noise I could not mask. The sheer weight of this combo made lugging it with a decent Slik tripod (pan and tilt head for video) difficult; I drove to the evening location with the rig laid flat on the back seat of the car, but still had to walk several hundred yards for some shots. I wore a Tog24 parka and found that by pulling the fur-lined hood over the camera body I could cut out nearly all the wind noise. I must have looked like a view camera operator with a dark cloth, or something out of Monty Python with my jacket pulled up and the hood over the Nikon!
But, this seemed such a good solution to the wind noise I would consider unzipping the hood from the parka and using it as a baffle in finer weather.
My favourite part of the video is the one with the worst noise, where I was not able to keep the wind away from the direction of shooting – the sequence of the road (flooded by the morning) with headlights, tail lights and cars in rain. This consists of three takes blended with long crossfades. During each take, the manual focus of the 400mm used at near wide open f/3.2 aperture was pulled to bring the moving traffic in and out of focus, and create huge bokeh circles from the lights. This would be impossible with a camcorder and not all that easy with a conventional high-end video kit. The combination of full frame 35mm format and the fast 400mm has enabled a highly effective cinematic technique to succeed on the first time of trying. With some markers on the focus ring, some practice and many more takes the result could have been refined further.
But I was getting very wet and so was the camera!
The first part of the video is all on the 400mm with tripod, with High ISO video enabled. The ‘next morning’ stuff is on the 24-70mm, hand held, locked down to ISO 200 at f/8.
I’m not sure when our final review of the camera will appear in the British Journal, it should be early December.
The video is encoded to best quality 720p from iMovie09, and can be best be downloaded and viewed without any YouTube jerkiness at full res if your connection is not good.
– David Kilpatrick