F3 and Glidecam in Yosemite

[Nick Harris]

The story behind this shoot is in the vimeo info, hope you guys enjoy! (gotta watch it on the vimeo page to see in HD)

Sony F3 Test: Glidecam in Yosemite on Vimeo

-Nick Harris

[Michael Power]

Well, you impressed me and I'm referring to both the camera and the location. I've been to Yosemite a couple of times and it's unquestionably one of the greatest places on earth.

Back to camera: I've just received my F3 this week and I'm setting it up so any kind words of advice are welcome. What lenses are you working with? I've bought the adaptimex to put my Nikon still lenses on and will eventually think about the Sony F3 lens when it comes out if it's not too expensive.

With the camera's sensitivity I love the idea of being able to control the DOF and my Nikons are mostly 2.8 but my 80-200 zoom is F4. Do you find it hard to get a really shallow depth of field if that's what desired?

What about picture profiles? Are you pre-made ones eg from Abel Cine, or have you made your own?

Thanks for posting clip.

Michael

[Michael Power]

Now have just read the Vimeo description but some of my questions remain. Were the lenses all Sony primes?

I'll check the Abel Cine profiles.

Michael

[Nick Harris]

Thank you Michael, and I definitely agree about Yosemite. This was actually my very first time going there and needless to say I was breathless and giddy at the same time... it's hard not to find a good shot :)

All the lenses were Sony primes. Actually much of this video was shot using the 35mm prime.

About your zoom lens, i think a T4 is more than enough DOF and if it's not enough for you take a step back and zoom that puppy in! You are definitely right, the extreme sensitivity of the F3's chip is really useful if you find yourself in-between ND filters, and not wanting to stop down (or open up). There were several times where I found my exposure by setting the iris and then auditioning a mix of internal ND and gain. Probably not what you'd want to do on narrative but the option is there, and for run and gun it's nice to have.

Personally I'm a bit tired of the obsession with having the tiniest sliver of shallow focus that you see all over the place these days. A lot of (if not, most) theatrical feature films are shot at a 4-5 split and look perfectly shallow. Enough to keep the subjects in focus and the rest living in bokeh.

If you watch the video again there's actually quite a bit of DEEP focus, surprising for a test video utilizing a camera where people would want to see how shallow this thing can get. But that's been done before and since I was on a steadicam and couldn't rack or follow my focus, I was often stopped down to T8 to keep things sharp while I ran around.

I would definitely use Abel's scene files as a starting point, but mess around, shoot your tests and find what you like. I was changing settings left and right to see what worked and what didn't, although I was in the middle of the woods and didn't write any of it down, haha, so I'm still finding what I like myself.

Happy shooting!