Kata Bag and Tascam recorder combo

This is a combination of a sound recorder test Tascam DR-100 and a quick review of one of my new bags - the Kata Bug-205 PL camera bag.

I got the Tascam DR-100 recorder a little while ago but didn't get a chance to use it, also, to be honest, since I have zero experience doing anything sound relating (photographers rarely need to be concern with capturing sound...) I was a bit intimidated by the sophisticated pro look and feel of the unit.

But I took the good advice from Nike - Just do it! and decided to run a little test.

I shot footage of my new Kata bag using the Canon Vixia HFS11, but did not record sound (didn't speak), then in post, I watched the footage on my computer (using Premiere Pro 5.5) and recorded voice over into the Tascam using a Sony wireless lavalier mic plugged into one of the xlr inputs at the bottom of the unit.

Then, I imported the sound track into Premiere and duplicated it to have both right and left channels going.

To my surprise, it was pretty simple to figure out. The controls are very easy to locate/understand/adjust, the menu is uncomplicated and I was recording in no time :)


The result is before you:




I need to use the Tascam more to get to know it better (lots of features and options) but after the first try I am no longer scared of the sleek black box :)

As far as the bag, Kata makes exceptionally great photo and video bags. At first glance it seemed like another good quality photo bag but after I was able to fit EVERYTHING I would need to take with me on a photo-shoot (notice I didn't say everything I WANT to take on a photo shoot, that would involve several big bags and an assistant, lol!) I treat it as my go to (go with?) bag!
The accessory trolley makes for a perfect companion :)

Kata also makes a variety of accessories and carrying bags, check out this page to see how you can find the best match for you pick your bag

Beautiful, had to share :)

Here is a beautiful clip of Time Lapse by Daniel Lopez , notice how in many ways the clouds behave similerly to the way water does...

El Cielo de Canarias / Canary sky - Tenerife from Daniel López on Vimeo.

I love being inspired!

Photo Plus Expo - free pass!

You probably already know but just in case - Photo Plus Expo is coming up October 26-28 in NYC.
A great show loaded with new toys, insightful presentations and a fabulous opportunities to network!

To register for free (or sign up to workshops) use this link:free photo plus pass

Make sure to stop by the Canon booth and say hello :)

See you soon!

Time Lapse tip of the day

In the little time lapse test I did in the previous post, the images looked rather pleasing to the eye...good contrast and warm colors...that is not exactly what the original images looked like coming out of the camera.

Since I was testing the remote control, the subject matter was secondary in importance (for this specific shoot) so I had no color filters or other "props" to enhance the image in camera.

In this case, I didn't have to do any complicated color adjustments or video effects in the timeline using my editing software (Adobe Premiere Pro CS 5.5).
A time lapse video is technically a string of still images captured by your camera...so you can process them in Photoshop (or similar software of your choice) BEFORE dropping them into the timeline.

In the images below, I used Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 filters to subtly enhance the visuals - although Nik has a lot of very creative filters in the 3.0 suit version there are a few very useful tools to enhance an image while keeping it "real" looking (sometimes even save an image all together!).

In the NYC window shot, there was a "not so dreamy" haze in the air and the colors were a bit dull (changing the WB in camera would not help by much).
I created an action in PS that consisted of two great Nik filters - Tonal Contrast to enhance detail definition in a natural way and a Sunshine filter to give a warm, golden glow to the window frame and the overall image.
Before creating the action, I played with the filter settings to figure out how much of each I will dial in and only after I was happy with the result did I do the batch action.









The Grand Central Station images got similar treatment - I used the Pro Contrast and Tonal Contrast filters to bring out details and enhance the overall crispness of the image (since it was a longer exposure under incandescent lights, it was naturally warmer).

Click on the photos to see a larger view.
(click "back" to return to blog post)




If you don't use Nik already, download a free 15 day tria lof Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 to see how creative you can get :)




As usual, questions and comments are welcome!

Time Lapse first test!

Like I promised, here is a quick test of the new remote for Time-lapse.

It took a few minutes to figure out what each setting actually controls so after I got the basics down I configured the remote to trigger a shot every 10 seconds for as long as I wanted (meaning I did not set a time for it to stop, rather left it up to "user defined" (me) to click the Stop button).

First try was pointing the camera out a window on the 46th fl of a Manhattan building: (a photo every 10 sec)



Second try was in Grand Central Station: (a photo taken every 5 sec)




When planning a time lapse sequence you will need to do some simple math, I will use a one minute sequence as a frame of reference:

Let's say you want to have a finished timeline of 1 minute clip @ 24 frames per second (fs):

1 minute = 60 sec
60 sec x 24 fs = 1440 frames ( so you need to shoot 1440 images to end up with a 60 sec clip)

Now, multiply the number of frames (1440) by the interval value (how long apart will each frame be taken, i.e, every 10 sec):

1440 x 10 sec = 14400 - that is the number of total seconds required to capture the one min clip.

Lastly, divide that number by 60 seconds so you know how many minutes it will be -
144000 : 60 = 240 min (= 4 hours).

A one minute clip is pretty long but you can use this to configure parts of the minute or more then a minute using the same basic formula.

I only got a few seconds of footage from each test so the clips you saw are actually "doubled up" to give a bit more viewing time :)

Everything was edited using Adobe Premiere CS 5.5

Keep in mind that a 35mm frame is larger then full HD (1920x1080) so some cropping will occur when you drop it onto a timeline unless you re-size your frame to fit the height of the video time line and have pure black left to either side of your clip.
You can adjust to it when you shoot by framing what you want and then zooming out a bit to allow for future cropping.
The photo at the top of the page is the full frame originally taken, compare that with the video clip crop.

To capture the above clips I used a Canon 5D mark 2 with a 145mm f2.8 lens @

NYC
1/200 sec, f/8
Mode: Manual
Metering: Evaluative
ISO: 100

Grand Central
1/15 sec, f/2.8
Mode: Manual
Metering: Evaluative
ISO: 640

The remote is Seculine Twin1 ISR both Adorama and BH Photo carry it along with a few other varieties for about $50, they are camera specific so make sure you get the right one for your camera type.
You can find a bunch of remotes online as well, just verify they do what you want as far as settings go.

Now I showed you mine, let me see your :)

Happy shooting!

Wine & Dine...

Testing my gear and practicing my shooting skills, I teamed up with my friend Patrick who happens to be a film maker (it's good to know people ;)) and also volunteered another friend's cozy wine bar to do a little test shoot...you can see the rough cut here, I will re-edit this later and make a few more sequences using other footage we got.



I learned a lot about what works and what works less...I have the Canon 70-200 F4 lens, NO IS, normally I shoot in the studio so I never had the need for image stabilization and when buying it decided to save a few hundred $$$ and go without the IS. Worked fine until I started moving the camera zoomed all the way out (@200), oh boy, now I really understand camera shake...had to be super careful...thinking about getting the IS version...

Patrick had his 5" SmallHD monitor with him - monitor is a must have! (both SmallHD & Marshall Electronics make great monitors to go along with your DSLR or video camera, Sony has a nice 5", full featured monitor as well at a very competitive price).

The SmallHD, being a pro monitor had a lot of useful features like focus assist, false colors, etc and will cost accordingly.

Although Marshall also has high end monitors, I decided to get one of their 7" monitors I saw at NAB 2011, it has non of the pro features but gives a great image and helps determine focus and composition a 100 times better then looking at the screen on the back of the camera...(costs half of the SmallHD or other more "pro" monitors! but you do get half the features).
Another option is to use an Electronic View Finder like the Zacutto and similar brands (comes in handy when outside in bright light) but your face has to be glued to the camera, some people don't prefer that type of workflow...

Lighting - I brought 4 Dynalite heads with me and only used two of them, with the sensitivity of the 5D2/7D sensor, we only needed to compliment the available light, not to over power it so the 250w modeling light of the Dynalite worked great!

We had to work around an active bar/restaurant that in-spite of it being a Sunday (supposedly a slow night) was packed at one point!
(no customers were hurt in the making of this video ;))

All the footage was edited with Adobe Premiere pro CS 5.5 - an amazing new tool I just started to use and get familiar with - slowly becoming addicted...in a good way :)

Here are some behind the scenes footage so you can get a better feel for what was going on :)

Patrick working the camera:



Me "doing" the food - btw, we got to eat everything :)



Special thanks to Mike & Mike (owner and chef respectively) for being super hospitable, accommodating & just cool in general!

If you like a wild wine and beer selection and prefer freshly cooked, delicious food, check out Vino 313 in Manhattan (corner of 31st street and 3rd Ave), let the mikes know we are friends ;) Vino313