I recently had the chance to use the Freefly Ember S2.5K, and at $25,000, this is hands down the most expensive camera I’ve ever worked with. But, surprisingly, for what it can do, I actually think it’s a bargain.
ProGrade Digital makes a wide range of memory cards, targeting their products at the professional market. While their Iridium line of CFexpress Type A cards have already shown fantastic performance in my hands-on review, the combination of their blazing speed and larger capacities left them with a higher MSRP (although still at a good price per GB, to be clear). With the Gold line, ProGrade is bringing many of the desirable features to a lower pricepoint and capacity.
With all of our fussing over codecs and bitrates, and demanding 4K 120 fps at every latest camera release, it can be good practice to look back at where some of this technology started in order to get a bit of perspective. This beautifully edited video illustrates perfectly how the likes of Canon and Sony are most certainly standing on the shoulders of giants.
Modern digital cameras can shoot remarkably quickly, but as impressive as they are, they have less machinery to move around than film cameras. This fun video shows the incredible mechanics behind an old 16mm film camera at 1,000 fps, allowing you to see how it all came together to produce watchable footage.
Shooting 4K at 120 fps is kind of a niche feature and something many may not even think about, but having it available when you need it is pretty great. Now that 4K has become more standard in the DSLR and mirrorless market, we are starting to see more cameras capable of shooting 4K at 120fps.
Crazy high shutter speeds can lead to some pretty awesome photos as you capture things that simply happen too fast for our eyes and brains. This video brings some simple, easy, and fun shots your way using those super quick shutter speeds.
From contemporary to classic in one breath, in this installment of the A to Z of Photography I outline the current, and oh so trendy, hyper-lapse technique before showcasing the work of the classic, and brilliant, photography of Horst P. Horst, including his signature work the "Mainbocher Corset". Read on for more!
Not too long ago, shooting at a thousand frames per second meant a huge rig and a massive bill. Now you can buy a camera that shoots 1,057 fps at around 720p, going up to an insane 38,565 fps albeit at a resolution of 335 x 96. All of this now arrives in a package that costs a mere $3,500.
A freshly released video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is giving insight into how the organization photographs its respected crash tests, which it conducts on behalf of car insurance companies.
The use of long exposure photography is quite a popular technique for capturing various cityscapes, traffic motion, and other stylistic shots involving light in motion. This quick tutorial is a great video filled with quite a few tips for anyone looking to play with this type of photography.
If we could slow light down and see what it does in those trillionths of a second, we could answer more questions with regards to our existence itself. What exactly happens with photosynthesis and how do lasers go through glass? This video shows the answers.
If you thought you needed high-end gear to get those stunning, high-speed impact shots, you don't. In this video you'll learn how to take sharp, explosive action shots with just your smartphone.
For the past few years, I have been getting more and more into video work. When I first started, I had an idea of what frame rate was and I knew how to use it to get the looks I wanted but by no means was I doing anything correctly until probably late last year. In this video, Matt goes over frame rates and a few reasons why you should shoot in different ones.
We're all likely familiar with Phantom's line of ultra-high-speed cameras. These cameras have been used to film the most viral "bullet-time," slow-motion sequences you've seen everywhere online, but scientists also love them for their ability to reveal otherwise-hidden, split-second reactions. Phantom recently announced a new camera that can record 6,600 frames per second at a nearly square 2,048 x 1,952 resolution. Only need full HD? The new V2640 scream through at 11,750 frames per second at 1920 x 1080.
On the surface, this may seem crazy, performing a drop test on a glass ND filter, but, hear me out. I've been speaking with Breakthrough Photography about their filters and one of the things that came up was the fact that their filters are made of tempered glass. They seemed really confident about how strong their filters were so I, of course, wanted to know how strong. After a few initial, probing questions, I asked them if I could do a drop test on their filters to demonstrate their durability. To my surprise, they not only agreed but, they sent me an extra filter specifically for the test.
By now most of you have probably watched the Matrix movies and seen how the bullet time effects were created, and if not where have you been? In a nutshell, the effect was used in the films too slow down or freeze a moment while adding a rotation around the subject using multiple cameras to capture that moment. Why did I bring that up?
The iPhone 8 now shoots 1080p up to 240 fps which is genuinely an impressive feature. This is especially true when you consider the fact that currently there isn't a single DSLR on the market from Canon or Nikon that can shoot at those frame rates. The current highest is from the Canon 1DX II which can only shoot up to half the frame rate of the iPhone and at a cost of $5,999. In most cases, if you are planning on filming at 240 fps then you may need to look at some very high-end cameras with very high-end price tags. This is where the RED Epic W comes into play and Jonathan Morrison, a prominent YouTuber, decided to compare it to the new iPhone 8.
When shooting fast-paced action or a scene with tons of movements, it can be interesting to add more drama by using speed ramping. The technique consists in having a scene that’s played at different speeds depending on what’s happening. It may not make sense for now, but if you want to make your videos more attractive or just add a new tool to your belt, be sure to watch this tutorial.
Everybody's favorite rocket engineer and slow-motion video enthusiast, Destin Sandlin, is back with a pair of videos that you'll find interesting if you've ever noticed the effects of a rolling shutter while filming video. Like many of us, Sandlin noticed the weird effect that happens when trying to film engine propellers with his iPhone. He decided to use a high-speed camera and science to figure out exactly what was happening. Then for fun, he worked with a friend and figured out a way to use After Effects to create a simulation of the rolling shutter effect.
Living by the beach for the past five years or so, I have become more and more intrigued by the ocean and waves. I find myself by the beach a lot, either shooting or flying my drone and paying attention to waves. I'm always interested in bigger waves, cleaner waves, ones with some good color and all. A few months back, I stumbled upon the work of Ray Collins, and oceanscape photographer out in Australia. His photos are stunning and the waves he photographs look so wild compared to the waves out by me in New Jersey.
The internet is a vast and seemingly endless collection of information as we all know. If you need to learn something new, we can simply Google the question and with almost 100% certainty you will be able to find an accurate answer.
DSLR Guide, created by Simon Cade, is one of my go-to resources for all things film and cinema. With almost a half-million subscribers and over 21 million views, his channel is an awesome resource for anyone interested in becoming a film maker, particularly those who are DIY-savvy or on a budget.
Recently, I've gotten into surfing. I'm quite possibly the worst surfer in the world, but through surfing, I met some great, artistic friends. I acted as the DP on a super fun all-women's surf film this summer. I had no idea how to shoot surfers, so it was a huge learning experience. Now that I know a little bit more about it (and I stress the "little bit more"), I thought I would try and shoot a personal project just for fun to test out an artsy-fartsy idea.
Yesterday was a really muggy day here in New Jersey and my partner and I both had off. We came downstairs to the office and worked on a few things when I realized we should be going out in this crappy weather and making something of it. We thought of a few ideas together and one stuck with us over the others, that was to shoot a car video using our Sony a7s ii and DJI Ronin M.
For those of you familiar with the band OK Go, in addition to their catchy songs, they've also made a name for themselves with their intricately planned out and executed music videos. With their newest video "The One Moment," they sought to literally film the entire video in just one moment.
Trying to capture a rocket test using a high-speed camera requires some specialty equipment. Trying to capture that footage with enough dynamic range to see the detail in the plume and in the booster required NASA to develop a whole new camera. Watch this latest footage from a new camera NASA developed to capture a rocket test in slow motion and with high dynamic range.
Video Producer Chase Kubasiak shares how to achieve exciting and impactful video through the use of slow motion scenes. In this humorous B&H tutorial, Kubasiak highlights three key variables to consider when setting up your slow motion shots.
Ok, the last time I truly attempted skateboarding, I was 14 years old, and I dislocated my right shoulder (still have a beautiful, giant scar). Regardless of my lack of knowledge of the sport, or anyone's for that matter, I think we can all agree that this video of Skater Rodney Mullen shot by photographer extraordinaire Steven Sebring is just cool as hell.
Over the past few weeks I have been touting the Sony a6300's video performance. This past week I decided to take the camera to the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course to film a track day. Oddly I ended up not using the auto focus, as the fences were proving to be a challenge with adapted EF mount Sigma lenses. On native lenses like the 70-200mm f/4 or the 70-300 f/4-5.6, this likely wouldn't have been an issue. Aside from that, the camera continued to impress me and exceeded my expectations.
If you ask many filmmakers, or any video production companies, coming up with video ideas and concepts is not always the easiest thing to do. Especially when you're trying to make a series. However, through abstract story telling, Penzoil has successfully made a video series that so far, has kept viewers coming back for more with each iteration of the series. The first, a powerful trip through a city, the second a high speed trist around a race track before breaking back onto the streets, and with this last one, a high velocity excursion through the desert.
