Here's a clip I edited together quickly after spending an hour with my EX1 and a tripod in the centre of Stockholm just before dusk. It was overcast, with a little sprinkle and fairly dark. It is filmed at 1080P 25 f/sek. I started out with the shutter at 180 and turned shutter off when it started to get real dark. No gain was used. Edited and color graded a bit in Avid MC and then put a blurred vinjetting on in AE.
I wanted to try out the shot transistion feature, low light capabilities and DOF. What amazed me most was that when coming back and looking at the pictures on a large monitor not a single one was off focus or had wrong exposure. All of this I credit the LCD-viewfinder and the histogram!
Also - this was the shoot when I desided to never ever turn on Focus assist again. I had it on but found that focus was drifting off after I had set it. Especially on the first shot with the tree in the foreground.
Hope this can be useful in some way.

Download the clip in WMV here:

http://www.kamrat.tv/video/Slussen1080p.wmv

/ola

Some lovely shots in there Ola, I especially like the wide shot of the fish stall with the camera low down and the one of the wall with three windows.

Did you use a picture profile for these or shoot default curves etc?

regards

Paul.

Thanks Paul!
Shooting is not my best disciplin, I am more of an editor/producer, so these little practise shoots are very important to me. My goal is to start shooting much more now that I have this little gem of a camera in my possesion. :-)
I did not use any PP. I have been putting off getting into those menues. There is just to much tweeking to be done...
What I did was lower the setup to get the blacks blacker. I find that looking on a wave form monitor there is almost never any information in the lowest part of the graph so I lower it so that the black information begins at the very floor (16). This way I get blacker blacks without loosing detail. I also did some gamma tweaking on some shots, and warmed the image up a bit.

/ola

Nice footage Ola! Hey did you do the soft unsharp edges that are in some footage in post? Or how was that achieved? Was the music Antony?

I agree about the LCD and histogram as well! And especially Peaking function is amazing as I use the Letus35 Extreme. Its easy to focus to the GG when its dark and you wouldnt othervise see so well.

Sami

Agreed - I used peaking as well. It's great!
The blur and darkened edges I did in After Effects. Just an experiment. And, yes - the music is Anthony and the Johnsons. He´s the best!

You have a good eye for composition Ola. I like the way you set a shot up and only pull focus or leave frame once the narrative allows you to. These are really great pictures you've produced which only confirms my wish to change my DSR450 in the next few weeks for this new camera.
Cheers - Gwynne

Beautiful work, fun to see other parts of the world!

Mike

loved it. The composition is very sophisticated and the black detail is extremly clean. Just a side note, your 'Kamrat' logo animation is excellent.

Nice to see photo from these parts of the world... :-)

Incredible low light performance from this little gem. Was on a roadshow demo yesterday with similar light and its just incredible. I guess it comes of the cost of having some rolling shutter effect when pushing it to the limits for what would be considered normal panning. I must say that when panning quickly i could hardly (could it be just mentally) see this effect even when consentrating specifically to determine the visual impact to the human eye.

I had the chance of taking a closer look at the cine settings that actually enables a wider 'dark to bright' spectrum simulating film to some extent. I wonder if anyone had the chance to play with those in real life scenarios?

Taking into account how subtle the noise appear after gaining up a little it seem very clear that the CMOS EX1 competes with its bigger and much higher priced XDCAM CCD chip brothers.

This clip was actually the drop that convinced me. We will start collecting EX1 right away...problem is, we need at least 4 of them for multicam LIVE productions...

(guess I have to call our bank representative on monday...and determine on a final solution to archive photage)

Thanks everybody for your kind words! As somewhat of a beginner shooting myself I appriciate the encouragement a lot.


I had the chance of taking a closer look at the cine settings that actually enables a wider 'dark to bright' spectrum simulating film to some extent. I wonder if anyone had the chance to play with those in real life scenarios?


Hm...this is something I am hoping to start to play with soon.

Like I wrote above, on the waveform monitor in Avid, I cannot see any information in the lower end of the luminance scale. Now - I am not a video technician so I might have gotten it all wrong here but I would like to find a PP-setting that would fill that dark part of the image with information. As it is now I just lower the setup in editing to make the blacks really black. Having the camera do this would be better as long as I don't loose any information in the blacks. Does anyone have a good setting that does this. More black without crushing? Do you understand what I am getting at? Sorry if I am incoherent. English is not my native tounge.

Hi

Nice to se some video from another swede on this forum! I have a question about wmv coding. What settings did you use? All my files are getting MUCH larger when I convert them to wmv format. As an example, HDV 1920x1080 converted to WMV 640x480 gives me a file size of about 250MB for 8 minutes. Your video, 1920x1080 3 minutes is about 75MB. What am I doing wrong?


Kind regards,

/Bo

Hej Bosse!

As a matter of fact I used After Effects to do the encoding since I had finished the edit in AE to put a vinjetting effect on it. I let AE render straight out to WMV-format. I was amazed myself at the quality and filesize.

I think the settings were the following (went back and had a look in AE).

Codec video: Windows media 9 advanced profile, Compressed, VBR,1 Pass, VBR Quality: 80,69. Keyframe interval 5 seconds.

Audio: VBR Quality 10, 48 kHz, 2 channel 24 bit VBR.

I hope this helps.

Lycka till!

/ola

Hi

Thanks for the info. I'll try this the next time.


Hälsningar,

/Bosse

Hi Ola, nice footage. I watched it very closely as I intend to buy the EX1 soon. I reliased half way through the footage at about 2 mins 28 secs when the lady came out from the bus, she was walking very fast and somehow her face got distorted. Is this something to do with CMOS rolling shutter effect?

John, It looks like the codec is failing with movement. This is not the EX1 codec, but the low data rate wmv file (2.47mbps) 1920x1080.
IMO, that's a very low data rate for 1920x1080.

John, It looks like the codec is failing with movement. This is not the EX1 codec, but the low data rate wmv file (2.47mbps) 1920x1080.
IMO, that's a very low data rate for 1920x1080.

OK guys - just to make you happy I have rendered a much larger file. This one is 270 MB instead of 70 MB.

You can download it here: http://kamrat.tv/video/Slussen1080pHQ.wmv

I think the distorsion of the womans face can be due to the slow shutter of 1/25. Ordinary motion blur.

Thanks Ola. It looks great !

I love your work - you have great eye for framing and composition. Thanks!

This is one of my favourite videos i have watched,as it realy capatured the athmosphere of this town Slussen.I even went & Googled it.
The Shot from ground level looking at Coffie Shop 7 also the flower stalls is great & so pin sharp that when you pause the frame it's like looking at a photograph (if you know what i mean)the details you can pick up.

The only Problem i have watching such high def.is the MOTION FLICKER when cameras pans at any sort of speed.I know this seems to be inherent with these high res.images but it was so much easier & nicer on the eyes(mine anyway) when you watch ordinary DV as it's a much smoother flow of the image, if not sharp
i guess its a tradeoff,
Thanks for posting

Thanks Mike! Glad you like it.
Slussen is actually the part of Stockholm (capitol of Sweden) where the baltic sea meets the big Lake Mälaren.
Anyway - the "flicker" or strobe effect you can see, especially during pans and tilts is not due to resolution but frame rate. I shot this piece in progressive mode capturing 25 frames per second. You can also shoot in HD using 50 interlaced frames per second (1080i) or 50 progressive frames per second (720P). That will give you the smooth look you are after.

/ola

I don't have the pmw-ex1,but i do have a sony hdr-hc3 which captures 1440x1080i @ 25f & i still see this strobing effect.I have also looked at downloaded footage in 720 & 1080 interlaced & progressive from EX1 sample clips & see it. Maby it's my monitor's refrech rate or something else ? (dell 2407WFP 1920X1200 FLAT PANEL).I also have the sony VPL-VW50 HD Projector & see it (with some slight reduction)
i'm not knocking EX1,far from it but to me a big factor in WATCHING footage is a smooth flowing picture to the eye ,not a staccato,jereky chopy image when you pan.
This is only my personnal opinion & as i say i'm only a weekend video/hobby
type
Cheers,Ola
Mike

Mike - your guess is correct. What you are experiencing is, like I tried to explain in my previous post, the result of different refresh rates on the recorded material and on you monitor.

I'll try to elaborate if I may...

To simplify I'll leave out the problems deinterlacing may cause. Let's assume that deinterlacing of interlaced clips works like it should.
Now let's also assume that there are only four refresh rates on the camera (leaving out interlaced modes and 24 fps): You can record either 25 fps, 30 fps, 50 fps or 60 fps.

25 and 30 fps will always give you a strobing film like effect due to the low number of images recorded per second. However it should not be jerky, the motion should be even but strobed. If it is jerky and irregular this is not due to the camera but to the fact that your monitor is not set upp to play back at the same or double frequency. Almost all LCD computer monitors can only show 60 Hz. This means that for all of us in europe it is not possible to get even, smooth motion on video recorded at 25 or 50 fps. 30 and 60 fps should play fine though.

To get the very smoothest motion you need to record more fps, that is 50 or 60 fps. This gives you perfectly smooth playback without any jerkyness IF you use a 60 Hz monitor for 60 fps material and a 50 Hz monitor for 50 fps material.

Incidently, I almost have the same monitors as you do. I have the Dell 2405 LCD (one generation older than yours) and the Sony VW60 (one generation newer than yours!!). The Dell can only show 60 Hz but the projector can show 50 and 60 Hz both on the HDMI and the VGA inputs. I would suspect the VW50 does the same. However you have to (!) set up the right image frequency using you graphic card application or other software otherwise it will be choppy.

So - to summarize. This is not about opinions. If you watch the material on the right monitor it is perfectly smooth. And nothing of this has anything to do with the HD-format. It is the same for SD-material. I only wished I lived in a country where the LCD monitors are using the same refresh rate as the television standard. You americans are lucky in that way.

Hope this was of any help. It is the longest thing I have ever written on this forum.

yea Ola,
I understand the points you are making.On the refresh issue,that means everybody in euroland is stuck with this problem,shurly the lcd makers would see this large gap in the market & move in.Mabie it's not a big deal to most people.On tha point about Chopy/jerky footage(wrong choice of words) I had that problem with my old pc but when i upgraded the problem was resolved. i was thinging Ola did you try changing the region to NTSC (60i)on your EX1 then playing back on your 60i monitor,Can this be done & if so what results?
Also is there much of a difference watching 50i meterial on a 50Hz monitor
compared to watching 50i on a 60Hz monitor
Thanks for all your help,you guys realy help on these matters & i solute your intestinal fortitude.....!
Mike

Mike - I left out the interlaced bit because it adds another dimention of problems with deinterlacing for a progressive screen. However the jerkyness would be the same. The key is to watch 25 or 50 fps on a 50 Hz monitor and 30 or 60 fps on a 60 Hz monitor.
I have not tried recording with my camera at 60i but I am confident that it would look good on my Dell monitor. However - it would not be of much use to me since I live in PAL land and produce for broadcast.

What I did was lower the setup to get the blacks blacker. I find that looking on a wave form monitor there is almost never any information in the lowest part of the graph so I lower it so that the black information begins at the very floor (16). This way I get blacker blacks without loosing detail. I also did some gamma tweaking on some shots, and warmed the image up a bit.

/ola

Great work, Ola! Just a question: I get it that - by lowering the setup - you mean the dialing the PP Black parameter down, right? I'm asking because there is also the Setup parameter in the menu (not in PP), which differentiates the NTSC and PAL models but as far as I understand it, only adds 7.5% to the composite output signal.

Great work, Ola! Just a question: I get it that - by lowering the setup - you mean the dialing the PP Black parameter down, right? I'm asking because there is also the Setup parameter in the menu (not in PP), which differentiates the NTSC and PAL models but as far as I understand it, only adds 7.5% to the composite output signal.

Sorry, I was unclear... This was shot without a PP. What I meant was that I lowered "setup" in post (as it says in the Avid CC and on VTR:s). I guess you could call it black levels or black gamma as well...

Hi Ola,
Just wanted to let you know that I saw your video a little over a year ago and it was what prompted me to buy an EX1!
Sony should be sending you royalites for your great looking video that promotes their camera.
A year of ownership with the EX1 and I'm looking at your video again and still very impressed with your aesthetic sense.
Thanks!

I've never seen this video (thanks Juan for bringing it back to the top!).

This type of video is inspiring to me. Very nice work. (a lot like what Philip Bloom has done)

I have a new EX3 and Letus Ultimate. We've had a lot of gloomy weather around here with no green trees or flowers. I've been holding off trying to shoot any "artistic" shots until Spring, but after watching this video I feel foolish.

I do live in a smaller community without all the color and people. But it's inspired me to go out and start shooting regardless of the weather.

I've been shooting retail television commercials for 20 years, so I don't have much experience with the artistic look, but I want to learn and expand my abilities.

Ola, what do you look for when framing a shot? (just curious)

Juan, Mitchel - I just noticed that you have brought my old post to the top. Thank you for your kind words! This is actually one of the very first things I shot with my camera and it was not really intended to be particularly artistic (he says humbly).

Mitchel - I'm glad if I inspired you to get out filming the gloom. Your question about framing is a good one. But I find it really hard to put words on how I do my framing. But I'll try...

I think, apart from finding an interesting subject, there are three steps in framing well.

First I try make sure that what I want in the frame actually is in the frame. That usually means moving around a lot. Foregrounds are nice. Diagonals and lines crossing/meeting is nice. It's also refreshingly nice to shoot things straight on without diagonals in the composition. This is of course a matter of taste.

Secondly I make sure that what I DON'T want in the frame is not there. This is where I see most people make mistakes. Make sure that the edges of the frame don't cut people or things in half (unless intentional). That gives a so much cleaner shot.

And thirdly - this is the hard part - you have too balance the elements of the image into a compelling composition. There are no rules to this. Well - I guess you could use "the golden section" as a rule but you really have to "feel" what you like. The most interesting compositions may be when the shot is slightly "out of balance" with lots of air or clean space on one side but still not tipping over.

I don't know if this makes sence at all but in short - look at the image in the viewfinder and try to look at it as if you look at a painting or a photograph. Look at the lines and shapes and how they balance each other. Do not look through the lense at the objects you are filming. Be aware of the edges of the frame. Get what I mean?

Thank you Ola. Great advice! I've shown your video to a number of my peers in our local area. Maybe this weekend (if I can make the time) I'll go out and try and take some shots with your video and technique as an inspiration.

Just for your information.... I've been shooting video for 20 years now, but the majority of it for commercial use. Panning the inside of a store, showing shots of their inventory, exciting stuff like that! hehehe. But recently, with the purchase of our new camera and 35mm adapter (shallow DOF) I've gotten more of our clients interested in more artistic looking commercials. This has started to push me out of my comfort zone (always a good thing!) thus why I'm asking for advice. It was much appreciated. Thank you for taking the time. :)