Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage at DVinfo.net

Scott Nocella · July 31st, 2014, 12:06 AM

Slightly graded and compressed to a MP4 for upload to Vimeo. Would have shot in 60p but spec for job was 30p.

Used manual focus-peaking is essential for tracking subject. Had rain gear on standby for the day, as race was delayed on account of rain so it was slightly muddy for the hike in.

Enjoy, probably going to need to go back and get some ski-ing footage when snow arrives.

Lee Berger · July 31st, 2014, 05:01 PM

Nice work, especially using the stock lens.

Chris Harding · July 31st, 2014, 06:19 PM

Vey cool and I'm quite amazed that there is little or no blur at 30P ..in PAL land here we have 25P and I think at 25P those bikes would have blurred a bit.

Lee? Scott says he shot that on manual I think using focus peaking so I'm not sure if that was the stock lens or not? I only keep one stock lens for both cameras simply because the AF is really useful for sport shoots ...otherwise all my other lenses are manual Nikon mounts

Chris

Scott Nocella · July 31st, 2014, 08:34 PM

Thank you for the positive response. This forum is extremely inspiring to me in terms of what I've learned about the camera and how members are supportive and share in their experiences. That being said, I enjoy contributing towards what helps us be better at what we do.

I shot like I've always shot completely manual focus. My background in an electronic focus ring is grounded in the use of the canon xl-1 which was a great camera and everything the EA-50 was for it's time in the SD world. That was extremely difficult to shoot with compared to the 50. Shooting with peaking wasn't an option with that camera, at least one I didn't explore at the time.

Below is footage I shot of eagles in Alaska in 03 with the Xl-1, all shot with the stock lens that came with it, some of that footage was sold to the NWF for use in their promo at the time:

Shooting with peaking is like having a coach to help when things get out of hand, I keep my peaking in the color red set at the middle level so as not to dominate my viewfinder with a total red tone. I just can't trust an auto function as I like to challenge myself on composition...and it can be quite a challenge on a fast moving subject. What doesn't kill you makes you better! A lot of the footage was shot hand held as well with steady shot activated in the active setting which is comforting as it's crazy without it for sports shooting.

I love this camera as in 20 years it's been the best and most reliable camera I've had in terms of price point, size, comfort, and wide range of applications it can shoot.

The stock lens is one solid hunk of glass that has served me well. I used the 16mm sony wide lens with the digital zoom on the wide angle shots and it works flawlessly....no ND either in the blazing sun at 200 iso in the blazing sun....that surprised me as that was the 1st time and shot at 1/60th of a second...same as I did with the stock lens....looks good.

The next experiment is shoot fast sports action with a higher shutter speed at 60p and see what happens. I have some things in mind and will share the results when I post some more work.

It's great to see people post their work here, I would welcome working with other EA-50 shooters in the NY metro area....Please drop me a line as I would enjoy networking and meeting some new faces that share in the EA-50 experience.

Best,

Scott

Chris Harding · July 31st, 2014, 10:41 PM

Glad you like the camera! I have two and love them to bits! I use the stock lens for action stuff (and even use AF too on it) but mostly my goto lenses are a Tamron 10-24 for wide shots ...Tamron 17-50 F2.8 for general stuff and a Tamron 24-70 F2.8 for weddings. At low light receptions I have a Sigma 18-35 F1.8

Yeah, focus peaking makes manual focus a breeze expect I prefer the yellow peaking! Each to their own?

Just for interest what Picture Profile did you use on the bikes??

Chris

Scott Nocella · July 31st, 2014, 11:16 PM

PP3 . I'm addicted to this profile. I pretty much need to experiment with other profiles. Would love to get additional e-mount sony glass and share it with a sony point and shoot A3000.

Going to start with an A3000 for 24p and 60i as a second cam to get the hang of things as it's just a crazy value on amazon....and it has a bulb function. I posted some time ago I would pick one up, it's getting to be that time. Would like to get 18 to 105mm and share it between the two. I know it's been favorably reviewed here.

Chris Harding · August 1st, 2014, 12:16 AM

Hi Scott

I have tried them all and always go back to PP3!! However I have lifted the colour level up two points so for indoor footage it's just about perfect but outdoor needs a little saturation lifting. Shadow detail is amazing in PP3

Just be careful at 60P with PP3 ..in bright sun a few people have had the highlights blow out and pixelate and also very bright colours sometimes posterize for some reason ... I usually play safe and shoot in 50i and drop onto a 25P timeline so I never had the issue at all.

The EA-50 is pure magic with a simple dumb adapter and Nikon mount lenses as long as you don't mind manual focus. You can actually use the camera in "full auto" with a manual lens too!! You lose the touch focus facility but it will expose perfectly just using shutter and gain ...I do a lot of Real Estate shoots and inside properties the AF just doesn't work with white ceilings and white walls so I shoot at 10mm and preset the lens to 3' and it's in focus from 2' to infinity and you can use it as a point and shoot camera ..just record and film .. works like a dream!! Tamron lenses on the EA-50 are way sharper than the stock lens and cheap as chips too!! Plus I can still use them on my Nikon bodies.

Chris

Steven Digges · August 2nd, 2014, 02:28 PM

Hey Scott,

I am another EA50 user that went through the whole Canon XL series first. What great cameras they were in their day. However AF or even MF was not one of there strengths. When I got the EA50 I was glad to see the stock lens is greatly improved over the XL lenses. I run the EA50 kit lens much the same way I ran XL lenses. I keep it in manual and use the AF button to pull focus for a starting point. I will give the Sony lens credit for finding and staying focused too. It is a little slow to find it sometimes but when it does it knows it. The dreaded AF searching in and out thing is not there on the Sony. For a kit lens I like it.

However I run Canon "L" series glass on it most of the time. Another big reason I chose the EA50. All of that expensive glass I already owned is being put to good use. And with medium yellow (like Chris) peaking they are super easy to focus. Especially when I run a 7 inch Marshall LCD on top of it.

Steve

July 31st, 2014, 12:06 AM	#1
Scott Nocella Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Long Island, USA Posts: 46	Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage Slightly graded and compressed to a MP4 for upload to Vimeo. Would have shot in 60p but spec for job was 30p. Windham NY Moutain biking amateur competition on Vimeo Used manual focus-peaking is essential for tracking subject. Had rain gear on standby for the day, as race was delayed on account of rain so it was slightly muddy for the hike in. Enjoy, probably going to need to go back and get some ski-ing footage when snow arrives.

July 31st, 2014, 05:01 PM	#2
Lee Berger Major Player Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 326	Re: Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage Nice work, especially using the stock lens. __________________ www.leebergermedia.com

July 31st, 2014, 06:19 PM	#3
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage Vey cool and I'm quite amazed that there is little or no blur at 30P ..in PAL land here we have 25P and I think at 25P those bikes would have blurred a bit. Lee? Scott says he shot that on manual I think using focus peaking so I'm not sure if that was the stock lens or not? I only keep one stock lens for both cameras simply because the AF is really useful for sport shoots ...otherwise all my other lenses are manual Nikon mounts Chris

July 31st, 2014, 08:34 PM	#4
Scott Nocella Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Long Island, USA Posts: 46	Re: Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage Thank you for the positive response. This forum is extremely inspiring to me in terms of what I've learned about the camera and how members are supportive and share in their experiences. That being said, I enjoy contributing towards what helps us be better at what we do. I shot like I've always shot completely manual focus. My background in an electronic focus ring is grounded in the use of the canon xl-1 which was a great camera and everything the EA-50 was for it's time in the SD world. That was extremely difficult to shoot with compared to the 50. Shooting with peaking wasn't an option with that camera, at least one I didn't explore at the time. Below is footage I shot of eagles in Alaska in 03 with the Xl-1, all shot with the stock lens that came with it, some of that footage was sold to the NWF for use in their promo at the time: The Eagles of Homer-A Story inspired by Jean Keene- - YouTube Shooting with peaking is like having a coach to help when things get out of hand, I keep my peaking in the color red set at the middle level so as not to dominate my viewfinder with a total red tone. I just can't trust an auto function as I like to challenge myself on composition...and it can be quite a challenge on a fast moving subject. What doesn't kill you makes you better! A lot of the footage was shot hand held as well with steady shot activated in the active setting which is comforting as it's crazy without it for sports shooting. I love this camera as in 20 years it's been the best and most reliable camera I've had in terms of price point, size, comfort, and wide range of applications it can shoot. The stock lens is one solid hunk of glass that has served me well. I used the 16mm sony wide lens with the digital zoom on the wide angle shots and it works flawlessly....no ND either in the blazing sun at 200 iso in the blazing sun....that surprised me as that was the 1st time and shot at 1/60th of a second...same as I did with the stock lens....looks good. The next experiment is shoot fast sports action with a higher shutter speed at 60p and see what happens. I have some things in mind and will share the results when I post some more work. It's great to see people post their work here, I would welcome working with other EA-50 shooters in the NY metro area....Please drop me a line as I would enjoy networking and meeting some new faces that share in the EA-50 experience. Best, Scott

July 31st, 2014, 10:41 PM	#5
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage Glad you like the camera! I have two and love them to bits! I use the stock lens for action stuff (and even use AF too on it) but mostly my goto lenses are a Tamron 10-24 for wide shots ...Tamron 17-50 F2.8 for general stuff and a Tamron 24-70 F2.8 for weddings. At low light receptions I have a Sigma 18-35 F1.8 Yeah, focus peaking makes manual focus a breeze expect I prefer the yellow peaking! Each to their own? Just for interest what Picture Profile did you use on the bikes?? Chris

July 31st, 2014, 11:16 PM	#6
Scott Nocella Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Long Island, USA Posts: 46	Re: Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage PP3 . I'm addicted to this profile. I pretty much need to experiment with other profiles. Would love to get additional e-mount sony glass and share it with a sony point and shoot A3000. Going to start with an A3000 for 24p and 60i as a second cam to get the hang of things as it's just a crazy value on amazon....and it has a bulb function. I posted some time ago I would pick one up, it's getting to be that time. Would like to get 18 to 105mm and share it between the two. I know it's been favorably reviewed here.

August 1st, 2014, 12:16 AM	#7
Chris Harding Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Perth, Western Australia Posts: 8,441	Re: Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage Hi Scott I have tried them all and always go back to PP3!! However I have lifted the colour level up two points so for indoor footage it's just about perfect but outdoor needs a little saturation lifting. Shadow detail is amazing in PP3 Just be careful at 60P with PP3 ..in bright sun a few people have had the highlights blow out and pixelate and also very bright colours sometimes posterize for some reason ... I usually play safe and shoot in 50i and drop onto a 25P timeline so I never had the issue at all. The EA-50 is pure magic with a simple dumb adapter and Nikon mount lenses as long as you don't mind manual focus. You can actually use the camera in "full auto" with a manual lens too!! You lose the touch focus facility but it will expose perfectly just using shutter and gain ...I do a lot of Real Estate shoots and inside properties the AF just doesn't work with white ceilings and white walls so I shoot at 10mm and preset the lens to 3' and it's in focus from 2' to infinity and you can use it as a point and shoot camera ..just record and film .. works like a dream!! Tamron lenses on the EA-50 are way sharper than the stock lens and cheap as chips too!! Plus I can still use them on my Nikon bodies. Chris

August 2nd, 2014, 02:28 PM	#8
Steven Digges Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,828	Re: Mountain Bike Downhill Windham NY/Competition Footage Hey Scott, I am another EA50 user that went through the whole Canon XL series first. What great cameras they were in their day. However AF or even MF was not one of there strengths. When I got the EA50 I was glad to see the stock lens is greatly improved over the XL lenses. I run the EA50 kit lens much the same way I ran XL lenses. I keep it in manual and use the AF button to pull focus for a starting point. I will give the Sony lens credit for finding and staying focused too. It is a little slow to find it sometimes but when it does it knows it. The dreaded AF searching in and out thing is not there on the Sony. For a kit lens I like it. However I run Canon "L" series glass on it most of the time. Another big reason I chose the EA50. All of that expensive glass I already owned is being put to good use. And with medium yellow (like Chris) peaking they are super easy to focus. Especially when I run a 7 inch Marshall LCD on top of it. Steve __________________ www.CorporateShow.com Been at this so long I'm rounding my years of experience down...not up!