Month: November 2008

Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 1 – Microphones

Video accessories for the Canon 5D Mark II: Part 1 – Microphones

Posted by | Nov 30, 2008 | ,

When Canon launched the 5dMKII in late 2008 , the quality and look of the video it produced was lost on nobody. It changed everything, Fast forward now to 2010 and I am updating my original posting on microphones for the 5dmkII because it’s popularity has gone from strength to strength. The final episode of the worlds most watched TV show(in 2010), House, was just shot entirely using the Canon 5dMKII. And what is even crazier about the whole story, is that Canon had seemingly no idea of the potential of this camera when they released it. They never...

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Opening day at Whistler Blackcomb

Posted by | Nov 27, 2008 |

The day that this town has been waiting for finally arrived. I’m going to keep this post short, it speaks for itself. Were the conditions great up there? No , far from it. Was it great to be back on skis? Ohhhhh yes. Judging by the height of the snow pack , we are still a couple or three weeks from being ready to get go filming and shooting round here but it’s on its way. The new Peak to Peak gondola system is an incredible feat of engineering and I will be attending the official opening on December 12th. The new gondola station for it on Whistler is almost as large as the restaurant...

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A new lens for my kit, Canon 300mm f4L IS

Posted by | Nov 24, 2008 | ,

Last winter as my shooting evolved to encompass a lot more backcountry shooting, I increasingly found myself shooting at long end of my 70-200mm F2.8 L IS.  Half way through the season i purchased a Canon 1.4x Teleconverter  to use with it , creating a 280mm F4.  Usable in terms of image quality but not great, I was left a little disappointed unless the lens was stopped down to f8 and that’s a pretty tall order when you are shooting action requiring at least 1/1000 shutter speed. This summer then i decided to pick up something that was naively a little longer.  What are the options out there? I limited myself to looking at the canon L lenses.  As i’ve said before on here, i dont think its worth taking shortcuts when buying lenses.  If you take care of them they will last you 10 years and the quality of the canon L Telephoto lenses is considerably higher than equivalent 3rd party lenses such as Sigma.  I wanted the ability to get to around 400mm so i would either need to get a 300mm and use my 1.4x converter, or buy a 400mm.  The choice then comes down to the 300m F4L, 300mm F2.8L , 400mm F5.6L, 100-400mm F4-5.6L or the 400mm F4 DO.  The 400mm F2.8 was not a consideration due to its size and weight. I crossed...

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Hoodman Hoodloupe 3.0 – A useful piece if kit!

Posted by | Nov 22, 2008 | ,

Anyone that has ever used a DSLR outside in bright sunshine knows that it can sometimes be tough to see the LCD on the back of the camera. Yes you can get a rough idea whats going on but when you are trying to check critical focusing or exposure with the histogram it can be tricky and I normally resort to unzipping my jacket and trying to view it inside, or removing my jacket and throwing it over my head if its a bright day. When you have miles of snow surrounding you on all sides, each flake seemingly reflecting the sunshine directly at your LCD it can prove very annoying! But not any more…… I recently picked up a newly updated version of the Hoodloupe Professional from the US company Hoodman who specialise in screen shades for a variety of photographic and video applications. The new version fits up to a 3″ screen and provides the perfect solution to my problem.The Hoodloupe can be worn around the neck, and when it is time to review your shot simply place it over the screen and look through the adjustable eyepiece. The optics are crystal clear and really allows you to check your framing and exposure as if you were in a darkened room. Its is coated in a layer of grippy rubber and feels solidly made but also very...

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