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31 Jan Studio B Rentals in 2012: New Gear Rundown 2011 (Part 2)

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Hello again, I’m back with part 2 of our new gear run down. We’ve got a lot on our plate over here, so I am going to get right to it.

But before we get back to the list, here is our first piece of new gear for 2012, drum roll please……

RED Epic Camera Package

This is the big one for 2012, we have finally received our RED Epic Camera Package here at Studio B. This camera is currently one of the hottest camera systems in Hollywood, having been used on the upcoming Spiderman film, Alien prequel and the long awaited prequels to the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit.

We have it outfitted with all kinds of fun toys to make the camera has easy to use and streamlined as possible. For more details of our package and the specs of the camera, click here.

Ok, now back to the 2011 list.

Sachtler Cine 30 Tripod System

The most heavy duty tripod in our collection, the Cine 30 head can handle payloads up to 77lbs, this is the tripod you need when you are really maxing out your camera rig or using a massive lens that really needs the support. It can also be a great answer for an average camera setup, offering super smooth camera moves for any shoot. Specs here.

Matte Boxes

Arri LMB5 Clip on 2 Stage 4×5.65 Matte Box

This is a really hot item that has been getting a ton of use since we got it in our hands. This simple but ultra effective matte box allows any 80mm, 95mm or 114mm lens handle a matte box without rods. If you are going handheld or if you are trying to keep your kit light, this is the perfect item to make that happen.

Chrozsiel Super Wide 2 Stage 4×5.65 Matte Box

A standard Mattebox, it will attach to 15mm rods at either narrow or studio spacing, it comes with step down rings to fit 114mm, 110mm, 95mm and 80mm lenses. It comes with a single eyebrow and 2 4×5.65 lens trays, which also fits 4×4 filters. It works great with any of our camera systems, as long as you are using a lenses that matches the above specifications. Click! for more info.

Keep your eyes peeled for more content on this blog in the next week or so.

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21 Jan Studio B Rentals in 2012: New Gear Rundown 2011 (Part 1)

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Hello camera junkies and non junkies!

First off, let me introduce myself, as I am new to this blog. I am Alrik Bursell, the Rentals and Equipment Manager here at Studio B Films.

Last year was a rush and a blast. We were slammed with so many different jobs, so many different shoots and so many different wonderful people coming in and out of the office all year round. We were also bestowed with a plethora of ‘fancy pants shining new gear’, that I am sure most people don’t even know that we have. Almost all of it is on our website (the rest will be shortly) but I am going to do a run down of all the shiny new toys we have in rentals that we acquired over the year. So, lets begin!

New Gear in 2011

Arri Alexa Digital Film Camera

Bam! Is this a big one or what? One of, (if not the number 1) top digital film camera working in the business today, and we got one here in our humble little office. We have used it to shoot a number of our latest videos and its always out of the office on rental. Please check our website for more info. But to summarize: Shoots to Apple Pro Res Files (in a variety of flavors), has 11 stops of dynamic range and it has one of the best sensors out there. But don’t trust me, the super awesome Roger Deakins who shot pretty much all of the Cohen Brothers Films, The Shawshank Redemption and countless other classic films says “[T]his camera has brought us to a point where digital is simply better”. And thats not just a fancy sound byte, he is currently shooting the latest Bond Movie Skyfall on the Alexa Studio Camera with Master Prime Lenses, using a Codex Deck to record in ARRIRAW, presumably at 4k, thank you very much IMDB.

Sony F3 Camera

The hot camera this time last year (and still hot in my opinion) the Sony F3 basically took the excellent pmw-EX1 chopped off the lens and threw on a pl-mount, at a very reasonable price tag. The dream camera for indie film makers and on a budget DP’s/Camera Ops, the F3 offers a great looking super 35mm sensor which captures very beautiful images with the ease of use of an EX1. Add the fact that you can send an HD-SDI signal out to a variety of digital recording decks, like the AJA KiPro or KiPro Mini to record directly to Apple Pro Res, then you have got your self quite a package. I am going to do a blog post about the F3 in the next week or so, so keep your eye open for that. For more details on the F3, guess what, click here!

Lenses

Arri/Zeiss Ultra Prime Lenses

Another major addition to our arsenal, we use these almost on a daily basis. We have a 6 lens set, which includes a 18mm, 24mm, 32mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm lens. You can find all the lens specs here. These are not quite at the level of the Master Primes, but from our tests, the quality jump versus the price jump from the Ultra Primes to the Master Primes, is not quite worth it, especially if your final video is not going to exceed a resolution of 1920×1080. These are the top lenses that we have to offer here at the Studio and they would be a perfect match for the F3, Red Epic, Arri Alexa or any PL Mount camera.

Zeiss ZF and ZE Cine Modded Prime Lenses

(Please note, the lenses in this pic are not cine modded!)

More lenses! We already had a handful of the Zeiss ZE Primes for our 5D’s and 7D but we decided to go ahead and flesh out the set to a full set of 6 lenses: 18mm, 21mm, 32mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm macro. We then had local DP Jason Joseffer take them into his lab and add custom delrine gears for our line up of follow focuses and we slapped step up/step down rings to make the front diameter of the lenses uniform at 80mm.

We also have a near identical set in the ZF .2 series from Zeiss, including: 18mm, 25mm, 32mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm macro. The main difference between these two sets is the aperture control. On the ZE series it is electronic and speaks directly to the camera, giving you your iris control through the camera display. The ZF series uses a manuel iris ring, which you control on the lens barrel and there is zero electronic communication with the camera. Jason also did the cine modding on this set, but in addition of adding the gears, he ‘de-clicked’ the manual iris ring, allowing for a smooth exposure adjustment, on the fly. For more info on these baby’s, check out the ZE Lenses here and the ZF lenses here.

Break!

Like I said, we had a really big year, and there was a lot more gear that we got our hands on which I still need to get to, but I want to get this out in the world so I’ll be back with part 2 next week.

Thanks for reading and keep your eyes on this blog, as I intend to bring a new post to you guys and gals on a more regular basis.

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19 Feb Oh 5D, why do I love you so?

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

Oh 5D, why do I love you so? You are not a video camera and you have terrible audio… But damn baby, your pictures look good.

Canon 5D Mark II

Canon 5D Mark II

This may be a little late in the game to be swooning over the Canon 5D Mark II; but after the hype, after the buzz, we here at Studio B, finally bought one of these things last fall. Now, after a few months of shooting both stills and video with it, we have a lot of love and praise and just a few small criticisms.

Just pulling this thing out of the box and playing with it, we immediately saw what great images it can create. We also realized at a fraction of the cost of other cameras, this camera produces similar picture quality. The images, even with a stock zoom lens, are sharp, crisp and have a beautiful depth of field. This is the strongest “case” for these cameras. The shallow focus and the resolution are striking. They give the 35mm adapters a run for their money. In it’s compact, lightweight shell, this camera, effectively produces the same images as an EX1 with a Letus adapter. Of course you are not getting the audio, the gamma options and the clean workflow, but as in every camera, despite it’s functionality, the important part is the image. It’s all about getting the best quality picture for the best value and that is what the Canon 5D offers. At the end of the day, the images are stunning.
There are some basic criticisms I have about these cameras. However, if your budget is small, but the quality needs to be high, these are reasonable issues to work around.
My main issue with the 5D is the audio set up; there is only a single mini input and the metering is always on auto. Indeed, you can plug in a mic or a mixer, but every adjustment your sound guy makes, is moot, as the camera will override it. This makes recording to a stand-alone unit almost a necessity. And with that, you get into sync issues and slating issues. However, you can nonetheless get decent sound or at least a scratch track onto your memory card, so all is not lost.

The other big issue for me is the interface of this camera. Since it is a still camera, it speaks to you in ‘still photography’ terms. It is this basic language and menu structure that I don’t like. If you are coming to this camera as a veteran of video, you will be confused about where and how to change things. Where as you normally pick up a new camera and know exactly how to operate it within a couple minutes of playing around, the 5D will have you scratching your head and reading the manual. The menus are basic and the physical button pushing is slightly annoying. Again, this is a small price to pay for such high quality images.

If you couple this camera with a small jib or some kind of shoulder rig, your production quality sky rockets. You can get such high quality dynamic shots from this camera on a Zacuto rig or a dolly move, always maintaining that much desired shallow focus.

We offer the Port-a-Jib traveler here at Studio B and I have seen clients come back with shots from the 5D on the jib that look like a million bucks. The compact size and light weight design of this camera can get you into corners and tight spots, or do narrow pushes and tracking shots that you otherwise wouldn’t be able to physically achieve. You cannot argue that the 5D gives you incredible range and versatility; the possibilities are endless.
If you haven’t gotten to play around with one of these 5D’s yet, you should come down to Studio B and check it out. We can talk all about it; the functions, the pitfalls, the bright side and the work flow. If you couple this camera with some of our other small budget choices, like the port a jib traveler you can raise your production value easily. Or throw this on a Zacuto hand held rig and get some rock solid hand held shots that will make people think you had a steady cam and double the money.
I still am a bit skeptical of HDSLR’s in general, as they are NOT video cameras, with all the ins and outs and buttons and menu options. But these things will change over time and our two worlds of video and photography will continue to merge their technology. And soon enough these cameras will be neck and neck with traditional video cameras much in the same way digital photography has all but phased out 35mm film. All I can say is, they have some perfect applications right now, and if they fix the interface and the audio, these things will be unstoppable.

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10 Aug High Noon for High Def

Uncategorized | Studio B Team

If you haven’t heard about this event, you should check out this video, and stayed tuned for the exciting results…

This event, the Camera Assessment Series, “the shoot out”, was a chance for the ASC and it’s members, and really all of us in the industry,  to put various, next generation HD cameras side by side, to see what all of these flavors of HD/4K have to offer.  This is the first, truly industry sponsored chance to see the advantages and disadvantages of these cameras and thier post production work flow.

We here at Studio B are anxiously awaiting the results of this test, as two cameras in our inventory were part of this test- The RED ONE and the new Panasonic VARICAM 3700.

I have a good feeling that the 3700 and the RED ONE, both, will stand up next to these other high end cameras.  I believe that these two cameras have something to offer our filmmaking community and industry, besides smaller budgets.  I think these cameras look great and are relatively easy to use, both in the field and in the edit room, especially in comparison to some of these other cameras.  The 3700 can shoot- stand alone- untethered from any external recording device and then the P2 workflow is slick these days.  The Red is very similar, perhaps a bit more difficult to navigate and manipulate, but also eleminates a lot of the combursome set ups of cameras, like the Viper or the D21.

At any rate, all of these cameras have their strong points and thier applications.  They all have the project that is right for them.

We, here at Studio B, are simply pleased to offer at least two of these HIGH END cameras when you shoot with us, or if you are needing that next level rental! Stay tuned for the results of this test and more comments as Studio B gets deeper into this realm of next gen’ HD…

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