Okay, time for an entry where I talk about technology.
We have been shooting with the Sony PMW-EX1. It’s a fantastic camera. It shoots beautiful video in full 1920×1080 24p with a 1/2″ sensor (the Panasonic HVX200 only has a 1/3″ sensor). It shoots onto flash memory, is really easy to work with, I pretty much love everything about it.
So why do I want to shoot Rory’s First Kiss on a D-SLR that costs less than half of what we paid for our EX1? One of the biggest reasons is sensor size.
This isn’t 100% accurate (and it’s totally not to scale), but it gives you a good impression (I was actually generous on the EX1 sensor size). The 5D has a full-frame sensor, 21.1 megapixels, the equivalent of 35mm film. The video only records in 1920×1080 (like our EX1), but it’s squeezing even more information into that same resolution. This means better sensitivity in low light conditions. This means a sharper image.
The second reason I want a 5D is because it gives us the ability to change lenses. I could care less about shallow DOF, what I want is wide angle.
Now there are plenty of drawbacks. You have to be behind the camera to see the LCD (unless we invest in a portable HDMI monitor), and you have to zoom and focus manually. Come to think of it, we do all that manually anyway with our EX1.
I think I’ll sell my 40D and Vespa.
Still haven’t heard from Lucy, btw.
Related posts:
Sun Jae
Go for it.
strangefamilia
Hey sean, i have a friend who just got one, and it s really not easy to use as an handheld camera. I mean, first the form factor ! then the shallow DOF give you some thing so narrow that it s pretty hard to get the focus right if you re moving or if you re subject is moving a lot. I know lenses are great deal, but you should look to the new 300 of panasonic. I like it very much. I have a 200 and upgrading soon. Let me know what you think !
we ve not talk since a while. here is some stuff i do know, all done with hvx 200. There is some decent wilde angle adaptator for those. Not as good as a lense , but still. http://www.vimeo.com/4279999
http://www.vimeo.com/4593328
Sean
Hey man! Has been a long time.
I’m still sort of debating on what I want to use. But if I buy a Mark II (which I want for still photography anyway), I definitely plan on buying a glidecam to go with it.
People are doing some neat things with them: http://vimeo.com/4044623
I want one because it’s so small. I’ll be able to fit it in a corner of a bedroom, behind a computer monitor on a desk. Something I wouldn’t be able to do with our EX1.
I’m still keeping my options open, though. I want to focus on getting the script out first :)