Nikon D90 or Canon 50D MK II – Twitterstream
ConstantChange
To @5tu and @EugeniaLoli – friend got hands on Nikon D90 – prefer or not over Canon 50D Mk II?
Stu Maschwitz
5tu @ConstantChange Not.
from Tweetie in reply to ConstantChange
ConstantChange
@5tu I guessed so. The footage I’m seeing from the D90 really looks nice though. http://ri.ms/rfv4 (D90 Grammy spot shot by friend)
from web in reply to 5tu
EugeniaLoli
@ConstantChange That’s because the scenes are so short that you don’t get to see all the disadvantages of the D90. Choose 5D.
from web in reply to ConstantChange
ConstantChange
@EugeniaLoli Cheers, as I told Stu Maschwitz – that was what I suspected, wanted to confirm it remained true after firmware updates etc ty!
from web in reply to EugeniaLoli
~~~
ConstantChange
The film we are shooting in Hawai’i right now is using a RED camera
~~~
EugeniaLoli
Ordered the Rode Stereo VideoMic, a dead kitten for it, and a 2.5 m boom pole too. Should be fun.
ConstantChange
@EugeniaLoli – I love the rode mic for my HV20. Have the boom pole too but the attachment screw for it is not well designed.
~~~
(Meanwhile back on Stu’s Twittertstream:)
Stu Maschwitz
@debonbon Actually (Nikon D90′s) 720p is a wonderful resolution if everything else is done well. What Nikon needs is manual control.
Tyler Ginter
@5tu If rolling shutter is the same on the D300s as the D90 and D5000 then Nikon is just showing how little pride they take in video… IMO
Stu Maschwitz
@tylerginter Agreed. The 5D2′s rolling shutter is nasty but workable. The D90′s is a dealbreaker.
5 minutes ago from Tweetie in reply to tylerginter
—–
Eugenia Loli is a videographer, tech journalist, developer who writes an excellent blog about video, post-production and color correction at http://eugenia.gnomefiles.org/
Stu Maschwitz is a founder of The Orphanage and author of the DV Rebel’s Toolkit. he runs http://prolost.com/ an astounding resource on everything from After Effects and color timing to the very latest in HD cameras and shooting techniques.
Constant Change is the author of this blog.
**Full disclosure – although Stu and Eugenia are both critical and discerning and do not work for either of the companies being discussed, I did first come across each of them through their enthusiasm for, and my interest in, the Canon HV20 camera.
LitePanels Micro Is A Perfect Fit For Your Canon’s Hotshoe
Although the light on my Canon HV20 is quite powerful and actually quite gentle on my batteries the biggest design problem I have encountered is that putting Canon’s own wide-angle lens on the camera obstructs more than half the light and makes them impossible to use together effectively.
A company based out of Van Nuys called LitePanels has come to the rescue. I was able to stop by their booth at the NAB show this year and check out their latest offering – a perfect little dream of a unit called the Micro – that, like the Rode VideoMic feels like it was made especially for us.
Created in response to the overwhelming popularity of the MiniPlus the Micro harnesses the company’s ultra-efficient LED technology in a lightweight package. Ideal for any camcorder with a standard size hotshoe camcorder (like any of the Canon Vixia cameras or HD video DSLRs like the Rebel or 5D MK II) it mounts unobtrusively on top of the camera to provide soft, directional lighting.
Weighing less than 4 oz. (.11kg) and measuring 3.3″x 3.3″ x 1.5″ (83.8mm x 83.8mm x 38.1mm), Litepanels Micro produces 1.5 hours of continuous output from four on-board AA batteries (either standard or rechargeable). Or power can be supplied through a convenient 5-14V input jack located on the back of the unit.
In addition to the fact it has a standard hotshoe mount, the unique design of the mount features an adjustable tilt mechanism to allow for multiple mounting configurations. Additionally, an integrated on/off/dimmer dial conveniently facilitates smooth and instant 100%-0 dimming. Awesome!
The unit also features a flip-down filter holder for use with the system’s color/diffusion gel filters. Three filters are included: soft diffusion, 3200º tungsten conversion, and 1/4 warming (CTO) which means you can match daylight or indoor tungsten lighting with this little beauty.
For more information, contact your favorite dealer or Litepanels, Inc. at their excellent, informative website: www.litepanels.com
Top Cinematographer, Indie Guru Praise and Critique Canon’s HD Video DSLR
I was fortunate enough to attend the second year of a panel at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention in Las Vegas this week where Director of Photography Rodney Charters (24, Dollhouse) and Stu Maschwitz (co-founder of The Orphanage, blogs at ProLost.com) spoke about shooting a million dollar feature on a thousand dollar budget. The panel was moderated by Brian Valente, partner of Redrock Microsystems, LLC who specialize in anachromatic lens adapters for camcorders like the Canon HV20 and HV30.
Both panelists lauded the new HD Video /DSLR camera – the Canon 5D MK II for its “why didn’t they think of that before” adoption of HD video capabilities in a unit that inherently features a larger optics chip and shallow depth of field – in addition to the ability to use Canon or (with the right adapter) Nikon optics via pro lenses – something only possible before with lens adapters that run over a grand in themselves (from such companies as Redrock Micro).
The only gripe? The camera, in its present incarnation does not support 24p – shooting instead at 30P. Also, they 
both begged for more manual control – as of now, one has to do a “Nikon Lens Trick” in the vein of the olde Cell Phone Trick for the HV20 - the Nikon trick involves using a Nikon adapter half-screwed on to pull off some important manual adjustments.
I will be stopping by the Canon pavilion here at NAB 2009 to ask about any developments in the direction of a 5D MK IIa or MK III…
If you have any questions you would like me to ask, shout at me in reply to this post or on Twitter @ConstantChange
