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RED GIANT
Creative Tools
For Visual Effects
Making Art
Out Of KAOS
Legendary Photographer
Albert Watson
On His Techniques,
His Career And
His Inspiring New Book
MIRRORLESS
VS. DSLR
Is The Battle
Finally Over?
PERFECT
YOUR LIGHTING
Must-Know Techniques
For Available Light & Flash
STREET SHOOTING
How To See
Without Being Seen FEBRUARY 2018
Exceptional Images
Deserve an Exceptional Presentation
Images by: Max Seigal, Matt Hoffman, Hanson Fong, Teresa Lee, Doug Gordon, Annie K. Rowland
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Contents
Portfolios
22 ALBERT WATSON
Pulling beauty out of KAOS
By Mark Edward Harris >> Photography By Albert Watson
Equipment
16 MIRRORLESS VS. DSLR
As mirrorless and DSLR systems become more
powerful, a confrontation between them is brewing
Text & Photography By David Schloss
36 HANDS-ON REVIEW:
SONY FE 24-105MM F4 G OSS
A versatile zoom lens that’s surprisingly capable
Text & Photography By David Schloss
Albert Watson
38 HANDS-ON REVIEW:
SIGMA 135MM F1.8 DG HSM ART
A superstar portrait lens at a
reasonable price
Text & Photography By David Schloss Editor’s Note
Technological convergence is here
40 HANDS-ON REVIEW: to stay.
TAMRON SP 24-70MM F/2.8 Di VC USD G2 There isn’t a day that goes by that I
Fast, sharp and affordable, this lens don’t get a press release that talks about
delivers a knockout punch the convergence of still imaging and
By David Schloss >> Photography By Oliver Güth video. From cameras to lenses, apps to
YouTube, the imaging market is abuzz
with the rush to release products that
improve the workflow of those working
in photography and videography. For the
photographer who’s open to new oppor-
tunities and willing to learn new skills,
it’s a tremendous time. A photographer
who can shoot images for an Instagram
EXECUTIVE
SUSAN FITZGERALD
Departments Chief Operating Officer
ROBIN MORSE
2 EDITOR’S NOTE 8 NEW PRODUCTS 72 LOOKING FORWARD SVP, Sales & Marketing
JASON POMERANTZ
VP, Strategy
HDVideoPro.com
64 SOFTWARE: RED GIANT UNIVERSE 2.2
To showcase the new features of the GPU-
accelerated plugin series for editors and motion
graphics artists, Red Giant creates the short
film Hewlogram
By Dan Brockett
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Red Giant Universe
2.2 features quite
a diverse and robust
toolset that can be
OPERATIONS
COURTNEY WHITAKER
VP, Business Operations
NORA FREW
Senior Circulation Associate
KATHLEEN SULLIVAN
Operations Coordinator
KATHERINE WALSH
Human Resources Generalist
used for simple, JESSICA KROGMAN
Supervisor, Client Services
68 AUDIO ASSIST: LECTROSONICS PORTABLE mundane tasks, all
DIGITAL RECORDER (PDR) DARREN CORMIER, TOU ZONG HER,
With an intuitive and well-crafted design, the
the way to creating ANDREA PALLI
Client Services
recorder offers a high level of sound quality with sophisticated motion
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graphics.” Accounting Director
By Dan Brockett
TINA MCDERMOTT
64 Accounts Payable Associate
WAYNE TUGGLE
Accounts Receivable Associate
AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT
HEIDI STRONG
VP, Audience Development
REBECCA ARTZ
Digital Product Manager
MICHAEL MA
65 Technical Product Manager
MIKE DECKER
Senior Digital Designer
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THE NEXT CHAPTER
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NewProducts New Tools Of The Trade
Hasselblad XCD 135mm And XCD 80mm announcements: The XCD 21mm lens will feature an ƒ/4 aperture, the XCD 35-
Hasselblad has announced the addition of the XCD 135mm and XCD 80mm 75mm zoom will feature an ƒ/3.5-4.5 aperture range, and the XCD 65mm lens,
lenses for the mirrorless medium-format X1D-50c, growing the camera an ƒ/2.8 aperture, while the previously announced XCD 22mm lens has been
system’s lens lineup to nine optics in 2018. With its release, the XCD 80mm will updated to a 21mm focal length. Specifications, pricing and availability are to
become the highest-aperture lens the company has ever introduced, to date, be announced, though the XCD 135mm is scheduled for delivery in the first half
while the XCD 135mm ƒ/2.8 comes with a 1.7x teleconverter that turns the lens of 2018, and the XCD 80mm, in the second half of 2018.
into a 230mm ƒ/4.8 focal-length optic. Hasselblad also made a few additional Website: hasselblad.com
>> For the latest product news and in-depth coverage of new announcements,
visit digitalphotopro.com/newswire
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14 | Digital Photo Pro digitalphotopro.com
Equipment Mirrorless Vs. DSLR
In the annals of photography, it’s likely that eliminated some shortcoming of the The Nikon D850 is the fastest high-res
2017 will be recognized as the year in technology, moving mirrorless cameras DSLR on the market, and can be used for
which the dominance in the digital ever closer to feature parity with the best high-speed sports as easily as for portraits.
photography camera market shifted DSLR cameras on the market. Mir-
from DSLR to mirrorless designs. rorless cameras now surpass DSLRs in and power because they’re aimed at the
That’s not to say that 2017 marks the every meaningful area of operation. lower end of the market.”
demise of the DSLR, but instead In a 2015 survey of the state of cam- It’s two years later, and now it’s time
the first year in which it’s no longer eras for this magazine called “The for them to panic.
possible to point to a number of key DSLR Is Still King,” I opined, “for the
SLR strengths—most notably, speed DSLR manufacturers, there isn’t yet a How Did We Get Here?
and accuracy—and say that only reason to panic...,” because a camera In 2009, Olympus really kicked off the
DSLRs can offer the highest level of like the then-new Sony a7R II “falls mirrorless “revolution” with the PEN
performance in these areas. short of pro-level DSLRs (and some E-P1. I put revolution in quotation
It has taken a long time to get to this advanced enthusiast models) in some marks because, at the time, no one
point, one in which mirrorless cameras key ways, and most of the rest of the really knew they needed or wanted to
can outpace their DSLR counterparts. field of mirrorless cameras lags behind have a revolution in camera design. The
Each generation of mirrorless camera that system in terms of performance E-P1 was charming—it looked like an
Going Farther,
Getting Lighter
When you make your living
shooting sports and travel
assignments, you need a camera
that’s light, fast, accurate and
Paul Morrison
creates the high-quality images
your clients demand
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, Olympus M.ZUIKO Digital ED 12-40mm F/2.8 PRO, 40mm, 1/100 sec., ƒ/2.8, ISO 400
For sports and travel photographer Paul no matter which lens Morrison chooses, and autofocus—at the camera’s full resolution.
Morrison, the ability to capture stunning when he shoots with image-stabilized Olympus With focus locked, the camera can capture an
images with the smallest camera system M.ZUIKO 12-100mm F4.0 IS PRO and 300mm astonishing 60 fps.
possible is a big advantage. “For sports F4.0 IS PRO lenses, the stabilization in the Another aspect of the Olympus OM-D system
and for travel,” he says of the Olympus body and lenses work together to provide up to that has impressed Morrison is its “excellent
OM-D system, “the size and weight are very 6.5 stops of compensation. optical quality in a smaller size.” The M.ZUIKO
appealing.” And, just as importantly, “I found For his professional ski photography, PRO line includes nine lenses plus a 1.4x
right away that the images were just as Morrison had previously relied on a heavier, teleconverter that, with the system’s Micro
good—maybe even better—than competitive larger DSLR, primarily for its speed and Four Thirds sensor, provides 35mm-equivalent
systems. I can print up to 30x40 inches with autofocus performance. With the new OM-D focal-length options from an ultra-wide 14mm
excellent results. E-M1 Mark II’s Dual F.A.S.T. (Frequency to 840mm super-telephoto (with teleconverter),
“Olympus has been particularly progressive Acceleration Sensor Technology) AF system, and everything in between. Noting it’s an ideal
with its technology,” Morrison observes. In now he has options that surpass DSLR choice for sports and travel photography,
addition to the reduced size and weight of systems. The camera’s AF system features Morrison has shot extensively with the M.ZUIKO
OM-D system cameras and lenses, he points 121 cross-type AF points, providing on-chip ED 12-40mm F2.8 PRO, which gives him the
to features like Olympus’ in-body 5-Axis phase-detection AF in addition to contrast- equivalent of a 24-80mm in his old DSLR
Image Stabilization, which compensates for detection AF. This, together with the camera’s system, but at less than half the weight of a
all types of camera motion to provide up to advanced silent electronic shutter, enables the typical DSLR lens of that range.
5.5 stops of correction. Because this system OM-D E-M1 Mark II to capture up to 18 RAW For Morrison, a camera system that’s
is built into the camera, it’s always available, frames per second—with continuous tracking considerably lighter and easier to carry without
compromising performance and image quality
is the Olympus advantage.
O ver the past four and a half decades, New York-based Scotland native
Albert Watson has created close to 100 Vogue covers, dozens of commercials
and music videos, and advertising campaigns for companies including
Prada, Revlon and Chanel. At the same time, he has pursued personal projects from
Las Vegas to Cairo. Among Watson’s long list of accolades is the Order of the British
Empire, awarded to him in 2015 by Queen Elizabeth II for his lifetime contribution to
the art of photography. Watson is also a photographer’s photographer, a visual superhero
who can cross photographic genres in a single bound. His latest book, KAOS (Taschen),
doesn’t shy away from being genre-neutral. Celebrity portraits mingle with breathtaking
landscapes, sensual nudes, fashion images and still-lifes. The common threads are strong
design elements meticulously crafted with a singular vision.
DPP: Why the title KAOS for your new book? One of the impressive things about any trouble when you go home and put
Albert Watson: The first book I did was Cyclops and now KAOS is how you juxta- on the television, and it’s the six o’clock
Cyclops. I’ve always liked these Greek pose dramatically different images, yet news and you hit the remote and it’s
words, and I try to squeeze them in the layouts make complete sense out of John Wayne in an old movie, then you
whenever I can. Being blind in one eye, the potential for chaos caused by mixing click it again and it’s a baseball game?
Cyclops fitted me perfectly. Also, you so many photographic genres. People don’t have trouble with that any-
have one lens, and you don’t use two The publishers of Cyclops were very more.” They said, “But people have to
eyes to look through a viewfinder. As concerned that people would not under- find out who you are,” and I responded,
for KAOS, many years ago there was a stand a book that had an image from “But that’s who I am.” I’m in the Cairo
creative director who said, “I love your Louisiana State Penitentiary, then a few Museum basically photographing gloves,
work; it’s so chaotic.” He meant it as a pages later Jack Nicholson sitting in socks and other Tutankhamun artifacts,
compliment. That stuck in my mind. the snow, then a nude of Kate Moss in then I’m flying to Paris for a French Vogue
Marrakesh, then Tutankhamun’s glove. cover plus couture pictures. That’s what
At the time, I argued, “Nowadays I am and what I do.” People did have a
Ziyi Zhang, Los Angeles, 2005 people will understand it. Do you have hard time in the beginning, because they
With the Sony a7R III, the promise of a mirrorless camera that outperforms
DSLRs in every key area has arrived Text & Photography by David Schloss
By the time the original full-frame Sony a7 professionals and their need for high- The Sony a7R III operates as fast as top-end
arrived in 2013, the mirrorless revolution resolution images with good dynamic pro DSLRs of just a few years ago.
was well underway, and mirrorless range and ISO sensitivity were being
cameras were already starting to really actively targeted in the design of mir- great shot, there was at least one out-
show the potential of the technology. rorless cameras. of-focus shot.
While mirrorless cameras were rapidly As nice as the a7 was, it was very The arrival of the Sony a7R and the
improving, they weren’t used by a large limited, performance-wise. I remem- Sony a7S split the product line into a
number of pros because the systems fell ber testing the camera and being both trio of cameras, with the main model a
short in comparison to DSLRs in some delighted and frustrated by it. Images general-purpose camera, a mix of reso-
key areas. (See “Mirrorless Vs. DSLR” looked superb, but the AF system was lution, speed and sensitivity. Sony also
in this issue for more on the evolution prone to jumping off the subject, and produced an “R” model, with a high-
of mirrorless cameras.) the lack of a practical focus selection resolution sensor, while the “S” model
The Sony a7 was the first body to tool made it difficult to focus on sub- served the customers looking for higher
put a full-frame sensor into a small jects. I have a lot of great shots of my sensitivity and video.
mirrorless frame, an engineering young son from those days, made pos- With the Sony a9, it looked like the
feat that was key in the evolution of sible by having a lightweight camera company would break from this tradi-
the category because it showed that to always have on hand. But for every tion (see our full review of the Sony a9
Video Workflow
The Sony a7R III doesn’t just offer
improved still shooting but has
ratcheted up the video capabilities,
as well. This is great news, as the
Testing the Sony a7R III from a hot-air balloon over Sedona, Arizona. Sony a9 backed away from Sony’s
model of putting best-in-class video
camera now uses the same Z-class stick makes focusing much, much into its bodies in favor of better still
battery of the Sony a9, with hundreds easier than on the a7 series. There’s performance. The Sony a7R III can
of additional shots per battery more also a USB-C connector (in addition shoot full-sensor-width 4K video
than the (oft-maligned) a7 battery. to MicroUSB), which improves con- without any pixel binning (as could
The camera now has dual SD slots, nectivity with computers like the Mac- other Sony cameras) and now can
one for UHS-I and one for the faster Book Pro, and images can be trans- capture in Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG)
UHS-II. ferred to an FTP server via a WiFi for HDR video, created in-camera,
The improved Quad-VGA OLED add-on. (The built-in WiFi can be used and it can capture footage in S-Log3.
LCD screen (the same as the a9 uses) to transfer images to a mobile device or HLG files are stored in BT.2020, and
now can be used for touch focus, and desktop using Play Memories.) it’s possible to use S-Log2 to maintain
the aforementioned focus selector joy- These physical changes might seem consistent workflow with older devices.
A Powerful Package
The Sony a7R III, like the recently
introduced Nikon D850, represents a
watershed moment in camera design, one
in which it’s possible to have both high-
resolution image capture and high-speed
performance. Previously, photographers
needed to pick high resolution or high
speed, but no more. With frame rates in
the double digits, the a7R III can keep
up with all but the most demanding
sports shooting. Shooting compressed
RAW, the camera can capture 87 shots
before the buffer fills, 28 shots using
uncompressed RAW. (The dynamic
range drops from 15 to 12 stops when
shooting compressed RAW, so leave that
set to uncompressed, unless you’ve got a
need for the biggest possible buffer.) Pixel-shift gives the a7R III the ability to capture images with
For most photographers, the a7R III unprecedented color accuracy and resolution.
will be a better choice than the a9. The
Sony a9 certainly has speed on its side, them both into one camera. one of those cameras, mostly. With years
but most people don’t need a 20 fps cam- There’s a phenomenon that happens of Sony cameras as a guide, I’m now
era. For them, the Sony a7R III is poten- when reviewing products, which is that as comfortable with Sony as I am with
tially the better deal. only the downsides stick out. An un- Nikon and Canon, so shooting just hap-
I’ve shot with the Sony a7R III for memorable shoot is one in which the pens. I know how I like the camera set
hundreds of hours, and it’s barely missed gear performed as expected. There are up, I know how I like to customize the
a beat. I liked the images from the a7R few cameras that pass what I call the “I interface, and once I do, the camera is as
II, and I liked the focus speed and user didn’t really notice it” test, where the gear trustworthy as any other pro system.
experience elements (most notably, the becomes transparent and the images That means that I’m no longer bang-
joystick) of the a9. The a7R III combines take the foreground. The Sony a7R III is ing up against the barrier of a quickly
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Equipment Hands-On Review:
Sony FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS
Most professional photographers steer away lenses tend to underperform at just work that didn’t need the extra 35mm
from zoom lenses with focal lengths about every focal length. These super- of reach provided by the 105mm, but
that extend across several more than zooms are often designed to be budget- the 24-105mm F4 G OSS is a great
two focal-length ranges, due to friendly options for the enthusiast. At choice, especially when shooting sub-
concerns over image quality. You’ll see the most, you’ll see pro photographers jects that don’t need the extra stop of
pros using zooms that are ultra-wide- turning to these lenses if they’re travel- light gathering provided by the ƒ/2.8
angle on one end and wide-angle on ing with some sort of constraint on the setting on the 24-70mm lens.
the other (something like a 14-24mm), gear they can bring to a shoot. Built-in optical stabilization in the
wide-angle to standard (24-70mm), That makes the Sony FE 24-105mm 24-105mm makes it particularly suited
telephoto to super-telephoto (100- F4 G OSS one of those nice gems of a for shots from (or of) moving subjects,
400mm) and so on, but a lens that lens, a zoom with a range of composi- like my test shots in a helicopter with
goes from wide-angle to telephoto is tion options that doesn’t underperform the doors off and in a hot-air balloon
less common. at any range and that can be used in during our test of the Sony a7R III
Because it’s difficult to maintain a variety of shooting situations. Sony’s in Sedona, Arizona. In fact, I shot
excellent optical quality across such G Master 24-70mm would be a better nearly exclusively with the 24-105mm
a wide range of focal lengths, these choice for demanding photographic F4 G OSS during the trip and came
PPA.com/SellMore
Equipment Hands-On Review:
Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art
My introduction to “real” photo manage- to a 1 TB RAID. I remember RAW and just now iOS supports RAW, and
ment happened when I outgrew editing, too, and my workflow back ever-more-powerful tablets can work
iPhoto and installed Aperture. I then changed to getting the shot, the with the file sizes. Depending on the
learned quickly enough how powerful moment, and then finalizing it in post, shoot, some of my photos never touch a
managing photos was, from staying eventually creating my own visual hard drive or desktop.
organized to changing dates to adding style and a Pacific Northwest take on When Apple killed Aperture, pho-
GPS coordinates. Back then, I used it bicycle photography. tographers didn’t have much choice
to create web albums and even made Much has changed since my initial but to switch to Lightroom, and now
a slideshow movie. If I forgot to set up forays into professional photography, with Adobe changing the Lightroom
the camera’s date, I’d later marvel at mostly related to cloud services, much ecosystem—changing the desktop ver-
how well Aperture handled the change more bandwidth and the surge in sion’s name to “Classic” while remov-
on gigs of photos. I was amazed at how mobile devices. It wasn’t that long ago ing the non-subscription version and
it would efficiently move a library from when a mobile workflow was a new creating a new cloud-based Lightroom
one drive to another when I upgraded thing. I wrote about mobility back then, CC—many photographers are once
All In One
Phase One Capture One Pro 11. Capture
One Pro is the leading contender to
Lightroom, and an all-around fantastic
photo management and editing tool.
The program is infinitely customizable,
providing a suite of professional-level Alien Skin Exposure X3
distinction because it gives you a software bundles, the company on details, but early teaser videos
choice of editing them where they are shipped Luminar 2018 in November showed a drag-and-drop interface,
or creating a Cataloged Folder with and teased a future organizational illustration tools and a real-media-
sidecar files for nondestructive edits module, which will give it much of simulating painting toolset complete
and metadata. ON1 is also investing the organizational power of tools like with brushes and realistic media.
much time in its community and Lightroom and Alien Skin Exposure Whereas Pixelmator has allowed
promotes its growing ecosystem X3. The company recently changed people to ditch Photoshop, Pixelmator
as a major benefit compared to a names to Skylum from Macphun, and Pro looks like it’s aiming to make
corporation like Adobe. What ON1 fans of its bundles will feel right at people ditch the whole Creative Cloud
does best is engage its users and launch home working in the app and toggling suite of design tools.
fast. What I didn’t like is the modal into others. Price: Not set at press time
interface that requires you to switch Where I found Exposure X3’s inter-
between browsing for files and editing. face to be very complex, Luminar’s lay- Anthropics Technology PortraitPro And
Price: $99, with a $129 Pro bundle out is simple, yet customizable. Built-in LandscapePro. For the photographer
RAW processing means that photog- looking to perform simple, yet
DxO Photo Lab. Best known for its camera raphers can get the best possible results powerful adjustments to either
ratings, DXO also offers Photo Lab, an from their images, even adding effects portraits or landscapes, the stand-
app that utilizes U Point Technology, like sun rays and a matte filter (for a alone PortraitPro and LandscapePro
which includes Control Points for tools “vintage” look), while the LUT (Look excel at quickly enhancing images.
like filters dragged over an area. It’s Up Table) Mapping features allow Portrait photographers can fix skin
a neat way to edit versus painting a photographers to apply film styles and texture and tone, and even add
mask. Photo Lab also leverages DxO’s effects. In addition to upcoming file virtual makeup to a subject, while
camera lab for automatic corrections management, the program will be add- LandscapePro allows for one-touch
to help improve lighting, remove haze ing Adobe plugin support. replacement of skies, creation of
and reduce noise. DxO is best for Price: $69 reflections in water and more.
photographers into the science and The user interface walks you through
technology of pixels. Pixelmator Pro. Not available at press the points needed to improve a photo
Price: $99 for the Essential Edition and time, the folks behind the affordable, with intelligent, adaptive guidance and
$149 for the Elite Edition yet powerful Pixelmator have a super-easy interface. In a few minutes,
reimagined their editing workflow I was trimming up my body and con-
Photo Editors and simplified editing tools with trolling the lighting in a photo of a har-
Skylum (formerly Macphun) Luminar 2018. machine learning for the upcoming bor I took recently.
With millions of installs for its Pixelmator Pro. The company is short Price: $59.95 each
Photo Managers when mounted and automatically including the days spent setting up the
CameraBits Photo Mechanic. It’s like ingests it and then uses its AI to cloud services.
the developers of Photo Mechanic organize images, all for about $10 a
grabbed the file-managing aspects month. Google Photos works pretty Switch It Off?
of Aperture and turned them into much like your phone does, cataloging We don’t think the changes to Adobe
a stand-alone app. Sure, it’s more your photos into buckets. Lightroom are enough to justify a
complicated than that, but if you’re The more software-savvy photogra- switch. Lightroom Classic still exists,
after a program for ingesting mass pher with time to set up a system should and works as well today as it worked
quantities of photos and then quickly consider Synology’s NAS (network- yesterday. Lightroom CC will bring
rating and organizing them, Photo attached storage) tools, like the DS916+ a host of new features as it evolves for
Mechanic does that well. It doesn’t model. A NAS allows any user on a net- tomorrow’s workflows. I don’t believe
offer an editor, figuring that your work to save and share files, and it has in switching wholesale because of a
final post-culling is to open them in a suite of tools, including “hot folders” change to a program, but I do think
Lightroom. Photographers, frustrated that will sync from an app or a desk- you should know what tools are avail-
with Lightroom’s sluggish import and top. The Synology hardware/software able. Many people don’t know how
that darn modal windowing, find this package is about running your own many photo-editing tools are on the
to be a good alternative, although it’s cloud that replicates pretty much every- market, and photographers should use
an older solution. The company that thing Google, Amazon, Microsoft or what they come to prefer. Whatever
makes it, Camera Bits, started in 1996. Apple do, and, in this instance, Adobe, you use, it’s a really great time to take
Price: $150 too. There’s no free lunch in comput- photographs knowing there are appli-
ing, so what you save in monthly fees cations that will suit your style and
Build Your Own Cloud you’ll pay in maintaining your own col- needs. Reflecting on Adobe’s changes
If you don’t want to sign onto Adobe’s lection of drives. to Lightroom, though, it’s probably
cloud service, building your own cloud Price: A Synology DS916+ NAS costs time to think about your next camera
is certainly an option. Google Photos $599 for the bay and another $130 per and to understand that changes in tech-
will recognize a camera or an SD card 4 TB drive. That’s $1,199 total, not nology don’t wait for anyone. DPP
I’ve long held the idea that one of the most very particular goal in mind regarding Of all the neighborhoods in New York City,
important skills a photographer can photography. I was so in tune with this Chinatown is one of my favorites. It’s so rich
gain is learning how to approach a goal that it influenced everything, all in culture while also offering a lot of visual
shoot based on intent. In other words, the way down to which camera and diversity for photographers. This is doubly
true once the sun goes down and the lights
before heading out to a shoot, do you lenses I would take and which camera
flicker on.
ever ask yourself, “What do I want to bag I would pack them in. Everything I
get out of this outing?” And the answer took was based on the intent of further approach it pretty simply: If the place
very well may be, “I really don’t know, improving my street photography. Even I’m going to is new to me, I’ll be more
but I’m open to finding out!” or it can more to the point was that I intended likely to keep an open mind in terms
be something more acute and specific. on practicing street photography…in of the type of gear that I bring and the
The latter was the case when I asked Chinatown…at dusk. sort of photography that I’ll practice. For
myself this question before flying out to Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not say- example, when I traveled to Iceland for
New York City in late October. While ing that every shoot you go on should the first time several years ago, I wasn’t
my primary reason for returning to have the same laser-like focus on intent. exactly sure what my intent was aside
my home city was to attend the 2017 Not every outing needs that, but it’s from the photographer’s universal pur-
PDN PhotoPlus Expo, I also had a important to tease out the difference. I pose of documenting whatever was in
Stylization Themes
This entire time, we’ve discussed the
importance and benefits of intent-
based photography. First, there was the
specific challenge issued based on the
intent of photographing Chinatown
at dusk. Then there was the gear
selection made to facilitate the intent.
Finally, there was the consistency in
the way the photos were composed.
But it doesn’t stop there. Once I got
home and had a chance to import and
review the collection of photos I took, I
began experimenting with a stylization
process that would tie the photos
together. Ultimately, I want someone
to look at the group of photos from
this shoot and instantly identify the
cohesive elements in the composition
and the stylization. If there’s one thing
that I’d love to see photographers
take away from this article, it’s to the shadows. However, I also infused board, and all I had to do was choose
spend as much time developing a gray in the shadows by adjusting the which blended in best for each photo.
consistent stylization theme as on the black point of the curve. This results Now, when I look at the collection of
compositions themselves. in a quite familiar vintage look that’s photos from this particular dusk shoot
The first step was to see whether popular on social media these days. in Chinatown, I’ll see the benefits of
I could identify any common attri- With the overall tone adjustments intent-based photography and why
butes between my final selection of locked in, it was time to dial in col- it’s so important to challenge yourself
photos. For the most part, the tone ors. I’m a huge fan of split-toning and in the way you compose and stylize
in each photo was similar, and that cross-processing, so it’s no surprise that your images. DPP
led me to experiment with adjusting I turned to those stylization techniques.
the tone curve. Before even thinking The key was to identify a set of hues for Brian Matiash is a photographer, author
about color, I made tone my primary the highlights and shadows that were and educator, and an ambassador for a
objective. I ended up settling on apply- applicable to all the photos while also number of companies including Sony
ing what’s commonly referred to as being visually appealing. I ended up and Zeiss. You can find more of his
an “S curve,” which adds contrast by settling on three different color com- work at matiash.com and on Instagram
boosting the highlights and enriching binations that worked well across the @brianmatiash.
Noël Coward’s lyrics, only “Mad dogs and Shooting in open shade, especially for I did environmental portraits and reportage
Englishmen go out in the midday environmental and “eyes are the window shots using open shade for part of my photo
sun,” can be expanded to include to the soul”-type portraits, is an effective essay on the tequila-making process at the
Hacienda del Patrón in the Jalisco highlands
photographers on location who want technique that can be utilized just out of
of Mexico.
to increase their working time beyond reach of the glaring midday sun.
the classic early-morning and late- Before we go further, it’s important
afternoon hours without having to resort to understand the distinction between cast days when the sky became a huge
to artificial lights. The golden hours open shade and ambient light. Ambient softbox, allowing him to stroll the streets
typically have been the postcard times of light is the existing light at a location. It and shoot in any direction at anytime
the day for photography—the soft light could be from the sun, a light bulb or a of day. The successful results of his solo
and warm colors and the way shadows myriad of other types of light. The only camera-in-hand excursions in Paris and
fall are particularly pleasing to the eye. light source for open shade is the sun. around the globe in book form fill a small
But that doesn’t mean the camera has to In an interview with Marc Riboud, he library. On commercial productions,
be put away for the intervening hours. told me how he took advantage of over- open shade can be created with large
In this day and age of going ultra-light- available light is better. I’ll admit, when A Nikon SB-5000 Speedlight and orange gel
weight, photographers discriminately I first started out, I left my speedlight were used to simulate sunlight on the model’s
minimize their photo kits to the bare behind on most trips. But now I never back and shoulders. Nikon D850, AF-S NIKKOR
leave home without it. Why? 85mm ƒ/1.8G, 1/3200 sec., ƒ/1.8, ISO 31
essentials. After all, who doesn’t like
carrying less weight? From the road- Simply put, adding flash can dramati-
weary assignment photographer cally improve your images. It doesn’t learning curve of flash mechanics is fast;
lugging a dozen cases of lighting gear matter if you photograph landscapes, today’s speedlights can produce excellent
through an airport to the fast-moving travel or portraits, flash can transform results in TTL mode; all you need to
journalist logging 150,000 miles a year, a mediocre image into a stunning pho- do is turn it on. With LED continuous
less weight is good. The real question tograph. Using a simple speedlight lights, what you see is what you get; it
becomes what should you leave behind. or hybrid LED/flash system like the can’t get any easier. The real craft of flash
For many photographers the first Rotolight NEO 2 gives you another tool use is adjusting the quality and angle of
piece of equipment to get axed is their to bring your creative vision to life. I can light, and recognizing scenes where flash
flash. The landscape photographer may already hear the diehards claiming flash will solve a problem or produce a creative
never bring a flash, and the travel pho- looks artificial, and portraits look like a effect. Below are five reasons to bring a
tographer may only use their flash a few deer in the headlights. flash on your next photography trip. You
times. Bleached-white headshots leave But what’s important is how you use might add a half-pound to your load, but
the portrait photographer thinking flash and when you use your flash. The you open up endless creative possibilities.
Add Color
I just returned from teaching a
workshop at Old Car City in Georgia.
This location is incredible. Over
4,500 vintage cars are spread out
over 34 acres of forest. In addition to
the sheer number of cars, many are
vintage classics that might have a tree
growing right through the hood or
vines draped across steering wheel.
Many photographers visit this area
to photograph the classic cars. We
shot many of the popular cars, but
we wanted to do something different.
To accomplish that task, we used
speedlights with colored gels.
Many companies make colored gels
Emphasize The Subject Two of these principles are impor- for speedlights. I like the Rogue gel sets.
Have you ever noticed how your eye tant in relation to using flash: creating They come in a variety of colors and are
wanders through a photograph? bright areas and adding contrast. I often precut to fit over the flash using a simple
Whether you know it or not, most think of my speedlight as a spotlight. If rubber band. Choosing a color is the fun
viewers follow these principles. First, something is important in my image, part. For the old cars, our group liked
your eye goes to in-focus subjects I’ll consider adding flash and making it using warm orange-colored gels to light
before blurry ones. Next, you look at brighter. By adding a “spotlight” in the interiors. Exteriors often looked good
bright areas in the image before dark image, I direct the viewer to my subject with purple highlights. For some cars
ones. Strong contrast attracts our eye and the important part of the shot, not we followed complementary color pat-
before low contrast, and high color the distracting background. To accom- terns. If the old truck was green, we
saturation will get our attention before plish this, I may use a snoot to add light used red on our flash to create a comple-
low color saturation. in a small scene. If I want to highlight mentary color pattern.
While many software companies release demo concept comedy, is that Red Giant’s new that I didn’t have any ideas at the time
footage of what their new products are Universe 2.2 plug-ins and transitions and had never directed, and I didn’t
capable of, few have done so at the level were liberally used throughout the film want to just do something for the sake
of Red Giant Films with the recent to create interesting, retro-styled looks. of making something. I wanted to make
release of an ambitious sci-fi comedy I asked Aharon Rabinowitz, execu- something good that we would both
short film called Hewlogram, which tive producer for Red Giant Films, enjoy doing together. We actually spent
can be viewed here: youtube.com/ how the idea to create the film devel- about five months just communicating
watch?v=KbK3CFkcBr4. The 5:22- oped. “It all happened because David as friends before the idea surfaced—
long film follows the antics of a Hewlett, who has been in some of my probably because that’s when I got com-
modern-day animator who accidentally favorite sci-fi films and TV shows, like fortable enough with Hewlett to expose
generates a holographic, crime-fighting Stargate: Atlantis, Dark Matter and Rise my true level of geekiness.”
superhero. The character, played by of the Planet of the Apes, reached out to As you watch the film, and as you can
Stargate: Atlantis alumnus David Red Giant. It turns out he’s a big fan tell by the title, holograms play an inte-
Hewlett, is generated by a “freak of our films and loves visual effects. gral part in the story. Rabinowitz con-
accident, involving highly unlikely, one- He’s watched a ton of our tutorials and fesses, “Ever since I was 3 years old, I have
of-a-kind circumstances.” What makes thought it would be fun to work on been fascinated with holograms. That’s
the film interesting, besides the high- something with us. The challenge was when I first saw Princess Leia, reaching
64 | HDVideoPro.com
out to Obi-Wan Kenobi for help. But in als and light on story. The film is very A low-tech greenscreen allowed Red Giant
1983, my fascination turned to obsession entertaining to watch, and you forget, Universe 2.2 to create high-tech effects.
when Chuck Wagner became the first at times, that it was mainly conceived
living hologram in the visually stunning to market Red Giant’s products. By the ect. Whether it’s because it reminds
but short-lived TV show Automan. That time you’ve finished watching the film, folks what it was like staying up on a
show sealed the deal. I’ve spent years you begin to wonder about how some of Saturday night to watch ridiculous sci-fi
learning about and hyper-focused on the effects were created. TV shows as a kid, or because they iden-
holograms. How obsessed am I? Enough When asked about the reaction to tify with my character as an artist strug-
that I co-created Red Giant Holomatrix, Hewlogram so far, Rabinowitz replies, gling to do good work with a tough cli-
which has become the definitive indus- “As I’ve been working on it, I’ve shown ent, or because they just like the visuals,
try tool for creating Star Wars-like holo- it to many people across the film/VFX I’m thrilled at how much great feedback
grams and the like. I think that people industry (and beyond) for feedback, and I’ve gotten.”
like the way it looks, but they can also the reaction has been amazing. In fact, Some of that praise included prime
feel how much love went into making it seems to resonate with people far bet- real estate on the Syfy Wire home page,
that tool what it is. So when Hewlett ter than I could ever have imagined or and The Nerdist’s Chris Hardwick call-
asked me again about working on a hoped for at the beginning of the proj- ing Hewlogram “Pitch Perfect ’80s.”
short together, I naturally turned to my
obsession and cranked out a ridiculous
script about a holographic TV superhero
from the 1980s appearing in the current
day and sent it off. He loved it, and then
I suddenly had to make a film, which I
had never done before. I mean, yeah, as
a writer/producer, sure, but it’s not the
same thing as actually having a film and
carrying a vision from start to end.”
It’s rare that a piece of market-
ing takes on a life of its own, but
Hewlogram answers one of my own com-
plaints about most marketing and demo
reels. They’re usually heavy on visu-
January/February 2018 | 65
Rabinowitz explains some of the Rabinowitz how they were created. The effects team used Red Giant Universe to
design impetus for the effects, noting, “As the centerpiece for the film,” he easily create a CG-heavy shoot.
“While almost every one of these tools says, “this effect needed to look like it
was created because, internally, we at came out of the ’80s, but they were using this kind of effect with analog tools,
Red Giant wanted these cool things for completely different tools back then, and and then I composited that on top of
ourselves, it turns out that the demand it’s hard to re-create those analog effects Hewlett with a screen-blending mode.
for them is far higher than you’d prob- with digital tools. But, thankfully, ILM Then I applied Red Giant Universe’s
ably imagine. Red Giant Universe is veteran and Red Giant Creative Direc- Holomatrix for the holographic look—
our fastest-growing product from both tor Stu Maschwitz did some ’80s spe- such as the scan lines and flickering dis-
the software side and the customer side. cial effects research, and then he sent tortions—and, to top it off, I added the
More and more people are using it every me a video of a hologram boot that felt most ’80s blue glow ever.”
day, and we add new stuff far more fre- ’80s legit, and once I saw it, I knew we Rabinowitz enlisted a team of collabo-
quently than any product. And while we could apply the same principles he used rators to help him realize his vision. As a
can’t see what people are making with to a bodysuit and make this work. We first-time director, he felt it important to
the tools (unless they share it with us), our bought a pair of Chroma Blue Bodysuits stick with what he knew he was capable
metrics let us know what tools are being from chromakeysuit.com and, after some of doing on his own, but assembling the
used the most—which is important camera tests, our costume and props right team to help him realize his vision
because it tells us what tools people want designer, Jason Parish, slavishly painted was crucial to the project’s success.
more of. By far, the Universe Stylization black lines on the suits for the final look. “People always talk about wanting to
tools like VHS, Holomatrix, Glitch and The compositing and visual effects were try something beyond their skillset to
Retrograde are the most popular ones we done in Adobe After Effects. grow,” he says. “For a VFX artist, trying
have. Transitions are also really popular, “For the Hologram suit, I keyed out new things is critical to become better.
which is why, for Universe 2.2, we’ve cre- the blue with Primatte Keyer and used However, in this case, I felt that being
ated a ton of new transitions based on the footage as an Alpha Inverted Matte a first-time director was so far outside
our stylization tools, like VHS transition to reveal a layer of Trapcode Particular of my comfort zone that, from a VFX
or Retrograde Transition.” Particles from Stu’s example. I created standpoint, I would be foolish not to stick
The one stand-out effect from some off-centered white mattes so it to what I believed I could already do on
Hewlogram, for me, is the body suit looked like the effect didn’t line up per- my own (with the exception of a few
effect reminiscent of Tron. I asked fectly, as it might happen when doing areas, where I knew I could get help).
66 | HDVideoPro.com
The demo reel for Red Giant Universe 2.2, Hewlogram was created
’80s-style, with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
two of the most fun shots in the film.” When asked if he has greater direc-
As a longtime user of Red Giant’s torial ambitions with the success of the
Magic Bullet Looks Suite, I was inter- Hewlogram, Rabinowitz replies, “It’s
ested to see what Red Giant’s transition funny; I would not have said I wanted
and effects suite looked like. I down- to be a director. I certainly have wanted
loaded Red Giant Universe 2.2 and took to try my hand at directing, but wasn’t
a couple of hours to explore it. Universe convinced I could do a good job. I am
features quite a diverse and robust tool- very confident as a VFX artist and good
set that can be used for simple, mundane at problem solving in that venue. But
tasks, such as animating logos or correct- problem solving in VFX is very differ-
ing fisheye distortion with GoPro foot- ent than problem solving on set—which
age, all the way to creating sophisticated is much more in the moment. I didn’t
motion graphics like heads-up displays know if I could do that well. It’s what
and a degraded ’80s TV look. The effects I was most worried about. But when a
are intuitive and relatively easy to use. guy like David Hewlett enthusiastically
The suite currently features 76 tools invites you to work with him, it throws
and is designed to run on most host edit- every bad excuse to not do it to the wind.
ing applications on the market, includ- I warned him ahead I would probably
ing Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro suck at it, but he kept encouraging me
CC, FCP X, Apple Motion, AVID throughout the process. He has been a
Media Composer, MAGIX Vegas, great friend and mentor. Having a good
DaVinci Resolve and HitFilm Pro. As team makes all the difference. Every
Don’t get me wrong; while I was pretty you go through the application, effects single person I worked with on this proj-
sure I could pull off all of this, I had like VHS, Retrograde Carousel, Glitch ect was professional and super-positive. I
never done a bunch of it. It was all theo- and Holomatrix II allow you to distort really felt that they all had my back and
retical, and there were a few times my and stylize your footage, while Motion believed in me. I’ve enjoyed working on
plans didn’t work out as expected. But I Graphic elements can be generated, like Hewlogram more than any project I’ve
also prepared and tested a lot before we HUD components, Line, Knoll Light ever worked on. As a writer/director, you
shot, and that made all the difference. By Factory EZ and Fractal Background. collaborate with creative people at every
the time we actually filmed, I had spent The suite also features numerous styl- level of production, and I would abso-
a month doing test runs on anything ized transitions, like Exposure Blur and lutely love to repeat the experience.”
that I thought would be problematic. It Glitch Transitions, which can give your Red Giant Universe 2.2 is available
saved me a ton of trouble later in post. footage a highly stylized and/or retro for download at redgiant.com/universe/
And my producer, Ian Voglesong, and feel, and which were perfect for linking pricing for $99 per year or for $20
cinematographer, Alex Corn, were both the scenes in Hewlogram. per month. HDVP
super-helpful in this process.
“Any shot where it was not practical to
light the suit evenly was a lot of tedious “An Affordable Quality Lighting Solution”
hard work, because keying alone was
not going to work. In those cases, Ryan
Welborn rotoscoped the blue suit parts,
and then I did the same holographic
AC or Battery Powered
VFX treatment I talked about earlier.
Built-in DMX
Also, the two 3D shots in the film—
Light-weight Construction
the space ship shooting at us and the
exploding Killbot—were a bit outside
my skillset. Thankfully, Daniel Hashi- 100W LED Fresnel 50W LED Panel
moto from Action Movie Kid and Brian Daylite Variable Color
Behm from Rooster Teeth were very
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willing to help me out, and those are ®
January/February 2018 | 67
Audio Assist:
Lectrosonics Portable Digital Recorder (PDR)
With an intuitive and well-crafted design,
the recorder offers a high level of sound quality
with time-code recording at a nice price By Dan Brockett
There are new realities to face when it have introduced products that fulfill
comes to utilizing wireless microphone this role—the Tascam DR-10L
systems for video and sound comes to mind, as I own one—the
professionals today. In the U.S., the PDR recorder can travel with your
Federal Communication Commission subject and capture professional-
has been engaged in an ongoing mission quality audio, synchronized with
to auction off most or eventually the timecode. This feature automatically
entire wireless UHF spectrum to the relegates the PDR to a different class
highest bidder. Unfortunately, for us, of performance from the Tascam, as it with Lectrosonics professional wireless
the UHF spectrum is where almost should. Keep in mind, the Tascam sells microphone transmitters with servo
all professional wireless microphone for under $200 while the Lectrosonics bias-type inputs.
systems operate. In 2008, the FCC sells for around $750. The Tascam is
auctioned off the 700 MHz spectrum all plastic, while the PDR is machined The Lowdown
to HD broadcasters. In 2017, the 600 from aluminum. The Tascam operates Setup and adjustment are made
MHz spectrum was auctioned off to with its own real-time counter while through a simple and intuitive interface
mobile data services. Audio companies the PDR can be jam-synced with any via the keypad and LCD. The PDR
like Sennheiser, Audio-Technica and professional timecode source via its runs for over six hours on a single
Lectrosonics don’t have the financial Lemo connector. The two products are lithium AAA battery. I decided to
resources to become players in intended to operate in a similar fashion, put the PDR through its paces on
bidding for spectrum against global but that’s where the similarities end. two different video shoots. We didn’t
conglomerates like T-Mobile, Verizon have a sound mixer on the crew for
and AT&T, so it seems likely that in the Enter The PDR any of the shoots, and even though
longer term this wholesale pillaging of Its diminutive size and rounded corners we were utilizing wired and wireless
the available wireless UHF spectrum make the PDR unobtrusive and easy to microphones for all three shoots, I
by the FCC will continue unabated. place in wardrobe and garments, and wanted to compare and contrast the
easy to conceal when used as a “plant” sound that the PDR was recording and
New Solutions microphone to capture environmental compare it to the camera sound. The
What’s a sound mixer or video producer or location sound. The PDR records in first shoot utilized a RED WEAPON
to do for solutions to record wireless 24-bit, 48 kHz digital onto a microSD 6K cinema camera, and the second
audio if the UHF wireless spectrum card (HC type) in the industry- utilized a Canon EOS C200 Digital
continues to be sold off? There have standard .wav (Broadcast Wave File) Cinema Camera. Fortunately, I own a
been some wireless microphone format. The PDR can be jammed to Tram TR-50B lavalier microphone that
systems hitting the market over the external time code, and a headphone I had wired for Lectrosonics wireless
past few years that operate in the 2.4 output jack allows for monitoring the transmitters. I plugged in the Tram to
GHz WiFi spectrum (RØDE Video signal input or listening to previously the PDR, and it worked perfectly.
Wireless System) and in the 1.9 GHz recorded files. The PDR’s input
spectrum (Sennheiser AVx systems), connector is an industry-standard In The Field
but some users have had mixed results TA5M jack that accepts any mic or line For the first project, utilizing the
with either system. For situations where level signal, and provides bias voltage RED WEAPON, we were shooting
wireless microphone systems just aren’t to power a wide variety of electret interviews and B-roll at an open house
practical or feasible, Lectrosonics has lavalier microphones. The input for a radio station. If you’ve shot using
introduced the PDR (Portable Digital connection and wiring is compatible a RED camera, you’ll know that while
Recorder). While other manufacturers with microphones pre-wired for use RED has improved its overall audio
68 | HDVideoPro.com
Why settle for photo only?
Over the last decade, mirrorless hybrid photography has evolved from a
niche, video-focused subset into the new standard for professional still
photographers and videographers alike. With incredible detail retention,
true-to-life color, dual image stabilization, advanced auto focus and built
in WiFi, compact, lightweight LUMIX cameras and lenses offer the best
of modern imaging technology along with the unlimited possibilities of
4K video frame capture and editing.
Photo Credit: Ben Grunow | DC-GH5 with Leica DG Vario Elmarit 8-18mm Lens
1/400 sec, F/5.6, ISO 100, Focal Length 12mm (24mm, 35mm camera equivalent) #wherelumixgoes
quality over the first generation of RED this shoot, we used the Canon EOS technically you could hook it up to a
cameras, audio, as a whole, isn’t a prime C200 camera and ran a Tram TR-50B wireless system to monitor what the
consideration for most RED users, simply hardwired into the C200, in addition unit is recording, but to do so would
because usually they’re shooting with a to running the Tram TR-50B into the kind of defeat the whole concept of
professional sound mixer to an outboard PDR and double-miking the talent. the product being small, lightweight
recorder. In comparing the sound With this shoot, reviewing the audio in and simple, not to mention adding a
recorded with the Lectrosonics PDR the edit bay, utilizing Genelec 1030A wireless transmitter would be more
with the RED WEAPON’s sound, we monitors, the Lectrosonics sounded expensive. The PDR works beautifully,
could clearly hear that the sound quality slightly better than the C200’s but but the bug in the ointment is that for
of the PDR audio was superior, with not by as large of a margin as it was many users, not being able to monitor
more dynamic range, a better signal-to-
noise ratio and much less hiss when the
signal was highly amplified. Not a huge
surprise there—Lectrosonics has yet to Its diminutive size and rounded corners make the PDR unobtrusive and
make a poor-sounding audio product in easy to place in wardrobe and garments, and easy to conceal when used
my 20-plus years of experience using its
products. The specs for the PDR bear as a “plant” microphone to capture environmental or location sound.
this out, with a 105 dB(A) signal-to-
noise (in HD mono mode), with <0.035
percent distortion. for the RED WEAPON footage. The the sound it’s recording relegates it
For the second shoot utilizing the sound from the PDR was still more to backup for a wireless microphone
PDR, we shot interviews on a beach open and transparent and less gritty system or for low-risk, low-stakes
at sunset, very close to the water, with than the C200 audio, but there wasn’t shoots where a re-shoot to fix bad
lots of ambient sound challenges. For a huge difference. audio wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Operationally, the Lectrosonics PDR The PDR is a beautifully crafted,
is pretty straightforward and simple intuitive, simple and great-sounding
to use. The soft-touch buttons on the recorder, and I would expect nothing
unit respond only to deliberate press- less from Lectrosonics. Whether or
ing, which is a good thing, as you don’t not your usage of it is the right solu-
want the PDR pressing up against your tion for your situation depends on the
talent or wardrobe and shutting off or circumstances you’re shooting under.
stopping the recording. The PDR comes Many people feel that for crucial
with and requires a Class 10 microSD shoots where you only get one chance
card. The 16 GB SanDisk unit provided to record a subject, not being able to
with the PDR worked fine with no monitor is too big of a risk to take. But,
errors, glitches or issues. for some uses, a small recorder can be
very handy. Most of the Lectrosonics
Recorder Versus Wireless wireless microphone systems retail
This is the part of the review where for about $3,500 and up, so being able
we discuss the inherent limitations to to obtain this level of sound quality,
devices like the PDR. It’s a stand-alone with operational simplicity, timecode
recorder, and because of that, you can’t recording and that great-sounding
wirelessly monitor the audio the unit Lectrosonics mic pre-amp at this price
is recording. This means that clothes is nothing short of amazing. HDVP
rubbing on the microphone, ambient
noise issues, cable noise or level Writer, producer and cinematographer
adjustments, if needed, are not possible Dan Brockett’s two decades of work in
to hear as your talent does their thing. documentary film and behind the scenes
It means that, at the end of a scene, for television and feature films have
you have to plug in headphones and informed his writing about production
carefully listen to the entire take to technology for HDVideoPro Magazine,
make sure the audio is usable. Since Digital Photo Pro Magazine and
the PDR has a headphone output jack, KenStone.net. Visit danbrockett.com.
70 | HDVideoPro.com
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he true magic of photography even more true to life than a color photo Heel, Budget Suites, Las Vegas, 2000
has always been best embodied would. I think this is similar to the
with black-and-white photog- “uncanny valley” effect in computer ren- tograph can’t come close to reproducing.
raphy. Already an abstraction, photog- derings of a face—the more a computer- In our next issue, we’ll dive into the
raphy takes a three-dimensional space generated model looks like a real person, masters of black-and-white photogra-
and reduces it to a two-dimensional one, the more the human mind rejects it. phy, the techniques needed to create suc-
altering and simultaneously improving That’s why characters in video games cessful and stunning images, and ways
the actual world through the process. can look both realistic and hollow at the to take your own artistic explorations
Monochrome photography takes this same time. Remove some of that reality, into a realm of creativity, unleashing the
another step, reducing even further the and our mind fills in the blanks. magic of this ethereal artistic form. DPP
connection between the subject and the I think that by removing colors our
resulting artwork, and at the same time, mind fills in the vibrance and brightness You can follow David Schloss on
the removal of colors can make images of the world in a way that a color pho- Twitter and Instagram @davidjschloss
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