Chinese New Year fireworks in Beijing last night 5DmkII and EX-1 at DVinfo.net

Dan Chung · January 26th, 2009, 10:43 AM

I've just posted another short I did last night in a few hours at the Chinese new year celebrations in Beiijing. It's the world's biggest unorganised fireworks display! It was a rush job in conditions well below freezing so apologies if some of the camera work is a little rough.

YouTube - Beijing fireworks mark Chinese new year to watch in HD.

It's the first time I've cut Sony EX-1 and Eos5DmkII footage together in the same piece. I'd be interested if anyone can tell which is which in 720p web format.

Dan

Jon Fairhurst · January 26th, 2009, 11:43 AM

If I had to guess... The giant bell was the EX1, as were the distant fireworks shots. (BTW, the blacks seemed to be lifted on the distant shots.) The scenes among the people were the 5D MkII, as were the final out-of-focus shots.

How'd I do?

Elizabeth Lowrey · January 26th, 2009, 12:16 PM

Youtube is so crappy, it's almost impossible to distinguish good source footage from less good.

I've seen your vimeo pieces shot with the 5D, and they look great. If you could repost this there, I might have a good shot at telling the sources apart.

Yang Wen · January 26th, 2009, 12:19 PM

Hmm I'm pretty sure the stationary shots showing the fireworks and the skyline were all EX1.. as well some shots before that were we can see the roofs of the old styled buildings. Those shots just looked crisper and more "HD" to me.. The 5D2 clips on the other hand looked muddier by comparison. In fact, I'm willing to say that all shots where the sparks were rendered more crisp were from the EX1.. Why is that?

Jon Fairhurst · January 26th, 2009, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elizabeth Lowrey

Youtube is so crappy, it's almost impossible to distinguish good source footage from less good.

Click on the "Watch in HD" link at the bottom right of the video. (If you haven't already.)

Elizabeth Lowrey · January 26th, 2009, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Fairhurst

Click on the "Watch in HD" link at the bottom right of the video. (If you haven't already.)

Well, that certainly helped, LOL. Didn't even see that until you pointed it out.

Still doesn't look nearly as good as most stuff I see posted on vimeo. The compression artifacts are much more noticeable to me on Youtube.

Elizabeth Lowrey · January 26th, 2009, 02:13 PM

A couple of specific shots I'm willing to go out on a limb for:

@ 1:53 - The young girl twirling the tubular firework that gives off a trail of sparks looks to be Canon. The depth of field seems very shallow, and the bokeh looks very high quality.

@ 1:57 and 2:02 - Guy setting a bundle of fireworks down and walking away. Definitely looks like 5D because of the "jelly" effect in the motion.

I also notice that a lot of shots have milkier blacks with more noise (e.g., 0:35) and some have cleaner blacks (e.g., 2:13). I'm guessing the former are EX-1 and the latter are 5D.

Dan Chung · January 28th, 2009, 10:08 PM

As also posted over on the EX forum, the entire opening up to the bell is shot on the 5dmkII , the fireworks after that are on the EX-1 apart from one shot at 00.48 which is 5dmkII. The people on the street are all 5dmkII and the defocussed fireworks at the end are a combination of EX-1 and 5dmkII shots.

Elizabeth, Ive put a 720p version on Vimeo here http://vimeo.com/2982037 if anyone wants to download or compare quality.

Dan

Dan Chung · January 28th, 2009, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elizabeth Lowrey

A couple of specific shots I'm willing to go out on a limb for:

@ 1:53 - The young girl twirling the tubular firework that gives off a trail of sparks looks to be Canon. The depth of field seems very shallow, and the bokeh looks very high quality.

@ 1:57 and 2:02 - Guy setting a bundle of fireworks down and walking away. Definitely looks like 5D because of the "jelly" effect in the motion.

I also notice that a lot of shots have milkier blacks with more noise (e.g., 0:35) and some have cleaner blacks (e.g., 2:13). I'm guessing the former are EX-1 and the latter are 5D.

Elizabeth, you were right in all counts! top marks

Daniel Ridicki · January 29th, 2009, 01:46 AM

... can you tell which software you edited this piece on? Thanks.

Dan Chung · January 29th, 2009, 01:51 AM

Final Cut Pro

Dan

Elizabeth Lowrey · January 29th, 2009, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Chung

Elizabeth, Ive put a 720p version on Vimeo here Chinese new year fireworks in Beijing - 5DmkII on Vimeo if anyone wants to download or compare quality.

Dan

Thanks, Dan. Watched it again and thought it looked better than on Youtube HD, even though it was smaller. Great piece, as usual.

January 26th, 2009, 11:43 AM	#2
Jon Fairhurst Inner Circle Join Date: May 2006 Location: Camas, WA, USA Posts: 5,513	If I had to guess... The giant bell was the EX1, as were the distant fireworks shots. (BTW, the blacks seemed to be lifted on the distant shots.) The scenes among the people were the 5D MkII, as were the final out-of-focus shots. How'd I do? __________________ Jon Fairhurst

January 29th, 2009, 01:46 AM	#10
Daniel Ridicki Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Posts: 124	Dan... ... can you tell which software you edited this piece on? Thanks.

January 26th, 2009, 12:16 PM	#3
Elizabeth Lowrey Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Milton, FL Posts: 27	Youtube is so crappy, it's almost impossible to distinguish good source footage from less good. I've seen your vimeo pieces shot with the 5D, and they look great. If you could repost this there, I might have a good shot at telling the sources apart.

January 26th, 2009, 12:19 PM	#4
Yang Wen Major Player Join Date: May 2003 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 991	Hmm I'm pretty sure the stationary shots showing the fireworks and the skyline were all EX1.. as well some shots before that were we can see the roofs of the old styled buildings. Those shots just looked crisper and more "HD" to me.. The 5D2 clips on the other hand looked muddier by comparison. In fact, I'm willing to say that all shots where the sparks were rendered more crisp were from the EX1.. Why is that?

January 26th, 2009, 02:13 PM	#7
Elizabeth Lowrey Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Milton, FL Posts: 27	A couple of specific shots I'm willing to go out on a limb for: @ 1:53 - The young girl twirling the tubular firework that gives off a trail of sparks looks to be Canon. The depth of field seems very shallow, and the bokeh looks very high quality. @ 1:57 and 2:02 - Guy setting a bundle of fireworks down and walking away. Definitely looks like 5D because of the "jelly" effect in the motion. I also notice that a lot of shots have milkier blacks with more noise (e.g., 0:35) and some have cleaner blacks (e.g., 2:13). I'm guessing the former are EX-1 and the latter are 5D.

January 28th, 2009, 10:08 PM	#8
Dan Chung Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Beijing Posts: 665	As also posted over on the EX forum, the entire opening up to the bell is shot on the 5dmkII , the fireworks after that are on the EX-1 apart from one shot at 00.48 which is 5dmkII. The people on the street are all 5dmkII and the defocussed fireworks at the end are a combination of EX-1 and 5dmkII shots. Elizabeth, Ive put a 720p version on Vimeo here http://vimeo.com/2982037 if anyone wants to download or compare quality. Dan

January 29th, 2009, 01:51 AM	#11
Dan Chung Major Player Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Beijing Posts: 665	Final Cut Pro Dan