Month: June 2010

Quick video tip – Fast tilt

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Everyone who shoots with DSLRs for video knows the problems with high speed panning, the dreaded “jello vision” or rolling-shutter effect. This is caused by the way the camera’s sensor records the information, top to bottom. As you pan, the image that the sensor starts to record at the top, is shifted slightly to one side by the time the sensor has finished recording the data at the bottom so the subjects appear to bend to one side. But this does not really effect your video if you want to perform a tilt at high speed because relative to the

Sequences re-visited from SBC Skier magazine

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Apologies for the lack of updates in the last couple of week, it’s been busy times here in Whistler.  Today I’d like to post some sequences that were shot last year for SBC Skier magazine here in Canada.  The first four were to be used for “Trick Tips” , where a pro skier describes how someone would go about performing that trick.  The fifth sequence was not shot for that purpose, but it was run as a double page spread so I thought I’d throw it in the mix too.  For anyone wanting to know how to create a sequence

ThinkTank Hydrophobia 70-200 Flash rain cover review

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NOTE: The reviewed version of the Hydrophobia 70-200 has now been replaced by an updated, improved version. Details of the new version can be found here. Many things have changed, and the prices have been reduced, so this review is no longer relevant. Torrential rain or prolonged periods of snow do not generally go hand in hand with photography and camera equipment. Sometimes it has to be avoided to prevent damage to equipment, but sometimes it cannot be avoided while on assignment to cover a particular event. If you find yourself in that situation you might want to think about

Ski photo slideshow for 2010 Olympics in Whistler

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Before the 2010 Olympics kicked off in my home town of Whistler, BC, I was commissioned by the local arts council to produce a slideshow of some of my skiing images. The slideshow was played on TVs and giant screens around the Olympics during the breaks between events. Check it out below and click through to Vimeo if you want to watch it in HD. Whistler Core Shots Olympic slideshow from Dan Carr on Vimeo.

Adobe finally releases Lightroom 3.0

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The day has finally come , and now the clock is ticking for those of us who are running the beta version of lightroom 3. The beta will expire on June 30th and after that point you will have to purchase a copy of Adobes flagship image organizer to continue to use it. Like a lot of people out there I have been testing LR3 for some time and it is a vast improvement over LR2. Earlier in the winter I tried out Aperture 3 as well, but for me Lightroom’s file organization was much better. I don’t profess to

Z-Finder Jr Review and comparison to Z-Finder Pro

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100601_1908_dancarrIf you have taken more than a passing interest into the video capabilities of your DSLR camera then you will probably have thought about getting some sort of viewfinder for the LCD screen. With the DSLR cameras lacking the ergonomics of traditional video camera design, such viewfinders are probably the most useful accessory to aid video shooting. Not only do they permit easier manual focusing with a clear view of the screen, but they also add stability to hand held shooting with an extra point of contact to your body.

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Separate audio syncing just got easier with new DualEyes

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If you shoot video with a Canon DSLR you already know the audio sucks. Or even if you don’t, maybe you have read my guide to audio and microphones for these cameras ! Recording your audio separately is without a doubt the way to get the highest quality audio track but it adds a couple of daunting extra steps to your production. Firstly the simple process of making sure you record the audio and not just the video while you are shooting, 2 record buttons to press! And secondly syncing that audio to your video track in post-production. I guess

New Zoom H1 audio recorder. Multimedia journalists dream ?

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Samson Tech stumbled onto something great with the ubiquitous Zoom H4N audio recorder. When the DSLR video craze kicked off, people quickly realized that whilst the video was stunning to look at, the on-board audio sucked. All professional films use separate audio recorders though, and the HDSLR crowd quickly fell in love with the full featured Zoom H4N. Built in stereo mics and 2 XLR inputs meant 4 track recording was possible in a device that was only $300. Samson was in the right place at the right time with the right price, the H4N was and still is everywhere.