Life's a Bokeh

Creating a Mask in Adobe Photoshop CS4

Probably not what you're expecting. Below is an amazing video of how a mask was created out of Adobe Photoshop CS4 boxes. Watch the whole video to see the stunning final mask result.

Mavericks Surf Contest - Video from Spectator Boat

Brief video taken with my Canon 7D on a spectator boat as we traveled out to the break at the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest.  Unfortunately I had to put the camera down prematurely as I needed both hands to brace myself.

Our captain Dennis from the New Captain Pete had to time the swells to get us there safely.  The video does not do justice to the size of the swells that day.  While we were unscathed, my stomach was not, despite motion sickness pills.  Neither were spectators down at the beach when a exceptionally large wave broke through the seawall and injured several people.

Mavericks Surf Contest 2010 Spectator Boat from Rick Bucich on Vimeo.

I had intended to do video throughout the competition as well but ended up only doing stills, apparently being seasick quelled my ambition.  I'll be better prepared next year.

Here I have some of my Mavericks Surf Contest photos up and will be adding more shortly.

Amazing Mavericks Surf Video - Live From Surfboard

I had to share this amazing surf video taken at Mavericks live from camera mounted on a surfboard. Even if you don't surf it's incredible to watch.

Surf video c/o www.maverickssurf.com

Squishing a baby bumble bee

My son picked up this rather morbid song somewhere but it was fun hearing him sing it.  I think he might have misunderstood the lyrics...or maybe it was us. 

Nice video comparison between the Canon 1D MKIV, 5D MKII and 7D

See the comparison video between the Canon 5D mark II, 7D & 1D mark IV at bottom

via stillmotionblog.com (thought worth sharing)

ever since the MKII revolution within our industry, we have been patiently awaiting what canon would follow up with. all of our traditional 3ccd video cameras were replaced with these DSLRs and a pile of lenses. not only did our imagery improve tenfold as we transitioned over, but our understanding and appreciation of optics did as well.

when the 7d was launched, with it’s improved auto focus, aps-c sized sensor, and 24P/60P options (all in a sub $2000 price point) we brought in six of those and they became our workhorse. some felt the crop was a drawback – we loved the opportunity to get in tighter with less light loss (as compared to a longer lens on the MKII). the aesthetic of 24P was certainly not easy for us to give up, and that alone was enough reason for us to bring in the 7d.

now it’s time for the 1d MKIV to launch and our first question, of course, was how will it stack up against the others?

mark was kind enough to put in some extra hours around our rather grueling holiday schedule and put together this comparison of the three different cameras. we looked at high iso performance, the crop factor, and rolling shutter.

practically speaking, the rolling shutter felt significantly reduced on the MKIV. if you pair that with the increased weight and the different form factor that the integrated battery grip provides, it almost feels like you could shoot handheld. it has never been our style to shoot completely hand held (we often use a monopod or shoulder rig) but for those who do shoot that way, it feels much more natural with this camera. being a pro series camera, it certainly has a super solid feel to it. as we all gave it a test, the consensus seemed to be that the form factor of the MKIV was very conducive to video.

being a pro series body means you also get features like super fast auto focus, many more AF points (45 points), and it can shoot up to 10 photos per second in burst mode. while that may not interest those out there who are looking mainly to this camera for video, it certainly piqued my interest as a way of incorporating a time lapse of stills with other video segments.

the camera is is also ‘weather resistant’ so you can get away with much more in tough outdoor conditions. with our shooting style, that certainly means a lot.

the MKIV certainly triumphed in low light, and it is crazy what these cameras are able to do, but in comparison to the others it wasn’t as striking of a difference as i was expecting from reading vincent laforet’s blog. at higher iso settings the MKIV certainly looks cleaner, but the MKII and 7d both perform so well that it is tough to be significantly better than that.

as for the crop factor, the 1.3 factor of the MKIV is right in between that of the MKII (full frame, 1.0) and the 7d (1.6). while it doesn’t sound like much, when you see them side by side you realize just how much of a difference that actually translates into. i am of the mind that a crop factor always has it ups and downs. as good as it is to get wider when you have a full frame sensor, getting in tighter is also great in many situations. as you get longer lenses, they are generally slower and heavier as well, so keeping small fast primes that get in super tight is quite the tool to have. the 1.3 crop factor of the MKIV feels like a great balance between the MKII and the 7d. i think many who weren’t happy with the 1.6 of the 7d will feel much more comfortable with the MKIV.

so what camera would we choose? depending on what country your in, the prices will vary, but here we are looking at about $2500 for the MKII, $1600 for the 7d, and $4900 for the MKIV.

is the MKIV twice as good as the MKII? currently, with no 24P on the MKII my answer would be absolutely yes. if and when the 24P firmware update happens, we would need to see if the rolling shutter was corrected (or potentially even worsened with a slower frame rate).

is the MKIV over three times as good as a 7d? for me, the answer would again be yes, but for many it may not be so straightforward. the form factor, the crop factor, as well as the weather resistance would all lead this to be my main camera (not to mention all of the awesome photo features). if i were a smaller studio starting out, i would probably look to the 7d first, as that camera offers an unbelievable value. a perfrect combination for many will likely be a MKIV as the workhorse with the MKII or the 7d rounding out the team as B,C, and D cameras.

we should, of course, never lose sight of the fact that this is just gear after all and being such, should always come secondary to our vision and approach. i hope we demonstrated with our JC + Esther film that it doesn’t have to take a ton of gear, cameras, or lenses – but simply the right gear, with the right understanding and vision.

thanks again to mark for putting this together. we have something else shot with the MKIV that we are hoping to debut in the coming weeks. amina and justin are also planning a follow up with some images to give you their take on the MKIV which, from what i here, will quickly become our main photo camera. any questions about the MKIV, please feel free to comment and we will do our best to keep up.

P.

via stillmotionblog.com

I'm new to video and own the Canon 7D and before this the 1D MKIII so I found this review and video incredibly interesting.

Posted via web from Rick Bucich's Posterous

My blog: www.rickbu

New Eye-Fi Pro X2 video from @eyeficard

via youtube.com

Here I go again, talking up my favorite tech gadget - the Eye-Fi wireless memory card. I'm crushed I can't use it in my Canon 7D (CF only). Looks like I'm going to have to find myself a new SD compatible camera that takes video now that I have a Mifi card.

Posted via web from Rick Bucich's Posterous

My blog: www.rickbu

Canon 7D with LCDVF Loupe Eyepiece

Updated 3/5/2010 - The LCDVF comes with two metal mounts with adhesive back that attach directly to the camera. The loupe them attaches to them magnetically I'm finding that the second mount will likely come in handy since the adhesive is starting to get weak on the first one. If you leave the loupe attached for an extended period of time, gravity seems to take its toll and eventually pull the mount away from the camera. The good news...you know it will come off if you care to do so. I'll probably be more diligent about cleaning my LCD screen ahead of time when I apply the next mount.

Updated 2/18/2010 - I had a chance to really push the LCDVF over this past weekend while aboard a spectator boat at the Mavericks Surf Competition.  I found that it was indispensable for stability, especially on such an unstable platform.  Despite this, it still requires two hands and I had to stop shooting when the boat hit very big swells so I could hold on.  Also, initially I did not use the included tether which was a mistake as the loupe got knocked off the camera at one point as you can see in this video of the boat ride out to the Mavericks break. I was able to retrieve it quickly but could have fallen overboard. The one thing I find myself missing is a protective case.  The LCDVF doesn't fit into any of my camera bags very well without they eye-piece getting smashed.

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The LCDVF - best accessory purchased for my Canon 7D

One of the most difficult skills to master when it comes to shooting video on a DSLR is how to stabilize the camera when hand-held because the LCD screen must be used rather than the viewfinder so it must be held away from your body which is awkward.  When I acquired the Canon 7D, I explored several options that emerged for adding a LCD loupe to the camera so it could be used as an eye piece. By bringing the camera up against the face, it acts to stabilize the image and eliminate glare in the LCD.

There are several viable options on the market including the Hoodman HoodLoupe 3.0, Zacuto Z-Finder and a new entry from Estonia called the LCDVF.  I opted for the latter because it was easily removable and relatively affordable.  It attaches by way of magnets which seems unlikely but works well.  A rectangular metal strip with an adhesive backing is attached to the outer edge of the camera LCD and the loupe is easily mounted by merely aligning it with the screen (see below). 

Canon 7D and LCDVF detached - (see black metal strip around LCD)

Canon 7D and LCDVF loupe side view

Canon 7D and LCDVF loupe rear view

If you have one of the new DSLRs with video capability and plan on hand holding the camera, I highly recommend the LCDVF.  The primary negative point with puts it at a disadvantage with regard to the Zacuto product is its lack of diopter adjustment so if you wear glasses it may not work well for you. 

Let me know what questions you may have and I'll do my best to answer them.

Christmas Caroling Execs at Tiny Prints

There was some lighthearted Christmas caroling in the Tiny Prints HQ today, a bit of a stress reliever during our busiest time of the year. 

Video taken with Canon 7D at 60 fps, Canon 70-200 2.8 IS. I should have used a shorter focal length but thought the IS would be handy.  First time I've used my new LCDVF and I think it may be the best purchase yet for the camera, I love it!

Scobleizer Visits TinyPrints - Video Taken with Canon 5D II

Our friend Robert Scoble AKA Scobleizer does a tour of my employer Tiny Prints at our headquarters in Mountain View, CA.  He interviews our founders, hears about our products, philosophy and what makes us different. He has written a terrific blog post about Tiny Prints on the Scobleizer blog

Video taken with the Canon 5D II and 24mm 2.8 lens.

P.S. Disclosure - Robert was uncompensated.

What Fluid Head for my Canon 7D with HD Video?

Now that I own a Canon 7D with HD video capability, I find myself obsessing over how I can actually take decent videos with it.  Stability is they key and it has become immediately apparent that my current carbon fiber tripod and Kirk ball head are completely inadequate for video so I put them up for sale on Craigslist and found an immediate buyer. Now I'm in search for a compromise solution for both stills & video.

There's no shortage of fluid heads available but they are by nature designed to only hold a camera in the horizontal position so stills in portrait orientation aren't possible.  I'm a big fan of Arca style lens and body plates so I've been looking for a hybrid solution for stills and video.  From cruising numerous forums on the matter, I'm not alone. 

The most reasonable answer I've found is the use a Kirk or RRS (Really Right Stuff) L plate on the camera to switch the orientation and then use an Arca clamp adapter on the head of choice. Head to head, the RRS L plate seems to have an advantage because the dovetail work by sliding fore/aft or side to side. Still unsure whether I will get the Canon WFT-E5a wifi grip or not, it is pretty expensive with a $699 MSRP.  OK, so this part of the equation is partially solved, next step what video head to buy?  I think I might have found a possible solution with the new Feisol VH-40 video head which has an integrated Arca clamp.

On paper the Feisol head looks like a nice solution but there are a couple catches...

1. The Arca clamp is front to back oriented so the plate on my camera would be aligned incorrectly necessitating another adapter of some sort for shooting stills.  It would work just fine with the RRS L Plate and lens plate on my Canon 70-200 2.8 however.  Vertical stills are more of a challenge.
2. It is so new there are now reviews available and it comes from a family of products not known for making video heads. Is it fluid dampened?  Friction or spring tensioned?

The alternate popular choices right now appears to be the Bogen 701 HDV (pictured) and the Gitzo G2180, they of course will require adapters as well.

There does not appear to be a clear consensus from users as to the best tripod/video head combination for DSLRs shooting both video and stills. I really wish Kirk or RRS would come out with an integrated solution with their existing clamp system, their quality is top notch and I'd likely but their offering immediately. Unfortunately neither appears to be embracing video which is clearly going to be integrated into most or all upcoming DSLR cameras moving forward.

If you have an ideas on the matter, I would love to hear from you.

Birthday Bicycle Video with Canon 7D

This is a continuation of my earlier Canon 7D video post.

Trying my hand with video on the Canon 7D. We had just given my son a new bicycle for his birthday and he was eager to try it out. Video shot hand-held with Canon 28-70 2.8 L, built-in mic and manual focus. Video was edited slightly in iMovie.

Since I am a real novice both shooting and editing video, this should be an example of of something anyone could do straight out-of-the-box.

Son's Birthday Party Pinata Video with Canon 7D

This is my first real effort using the HD video capabilities of my new Canon 7D. I'm a complete novice using video and even less so with a DSLR but given that my son is now three, it's time to learn.

The following video was shot at his 3rd birthday party using the old 28-70 2.8 L, manual focus and built in microphone, editing was done with Apple iMovie. Would have been even easier if I had discovered the "Quick mode" auto focus to get started.  I'm not qualified to give a critique but found shooting video easier than I expected and pretty straight forward due to the dedicated video controls. 

You'll notice that the pesky pinata was a bit difficult for the kids to break open so an adult had to step in (and immediately broke my son's toy golf club).  We had to add some strategic cuts to the pinata with a knife to get it started.

Next post is my son riding his new bicycle, same arrangement but this time I was out on the street using the Canon 7D and had less to stabilize the camera with.

Funny Video of My Son Rockin' Out

My 3 year old son and I hung out this morning at a local cafe and he was really diggin' the music and dancing in his seat so I took out my phone and captured a few funny clips of him enjoying himself, this is a compilation of the videos.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, he was entertaining everyone in the place.

Here is the best of the shorter video clips if you get impatient.