Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In Workshops

Another 2-day Bavaria Film Studios HDSLR workshop!

This is a last minute posting, because the workshop will take place this weekend 14th and 15th July 2012 at the Bavaria Filmstudios in Munich. You can book your slot directly on their website (costs 330,- € for 2 days!). This is my 2nd workshop for the Bavaria Film Studios, the first one was an huge success! Workshop content: Basic Camera settings (shutter speed, picture profiles, white balance…) Pros and cons of DSLR cameras with video function and how to deal with their downsides Professional sound recording for DSLRs Gear Hands-on, which accessories are important (you will be able to try equipment on location) Introduction to large chip camcorders (AF101, F3 …) Interview techniques Basic lighting on set Shooting techniques (camera movements, framing, shot size, crossing the line…) Practice Part post production workflow (mainly Final Cut Pro, Basic Color Grading) Important: The workshops will be held in German. Booking and more information! 

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In Workshops

Free HDSLR workshops at Nikon Solutions

Sorry for being so silent the last few months. My schedule is absolutely full with projects. Follow me on Twitter and Facebook for daily updates. I just came back from the US and had a wonderful time with my friends Philip Bloom and Nino Leitner at our Masterclass in Las Vegas. Very stressful though, had no time to rest after hard working days at NAB. After two days at my office I will speak at the Nikon Solutions in Essen, Germany on Friday and Saturday (27th April – 28th April). It will be a free (!) HDSLR workshop, which will cover the basics shooting video with DSLRs. Nikon expects 10,000 visitors, so hurry up and sign up on their website. It costs you nothing! You can sign up until 12.00pm, after that you have to pay € 25,00 for your ticket. You can also join me at the Vitec and ARRI booth after my workshops, if you have any questions. Dates: 27th April – 28th April Timetable: Two workshops – 10.30am and 2.30pm Location: Messe Essen Price: € 0,00 until 26th April – 12.00pm – Sign up here

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Canon announces EOS-1D C and C500 4K Cinema Cameras

Canon has announced two new cinema cameras. There were lots of rumors the last couple of days and nearly everything was correct. The EOS-1D C is a cinema camera in a DSLR body and costs $15,000. Very expensive. Don’t know who will buy this camera, but perhaps I’m not the target audience. The 1D C is a 4K camera with a pixel size of 4096×2160 and records 8-bit 4:2:2 video to a CF card. Features Canon EOS-1D C 18.1 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor 8-bit 4:2:2 Motion JPEG 4K 24p to 60p at Full HD video mode crop APS-H, Full Frame, Super 35 Real time audio monitoring available within 2012 price tag $15,000 The Canon EOS-1D C doesn’t have built in ND filters, XLR audio, zebra or peaking etc. There is also a problem for PAL shooters like me. 4K seems to be only possible at 24p. That’s odd!! It also has no SDI out, but you can have a clean HDMI signal with uncompressed 1080p 4:2:2. UPDATE: Canon press rep said, menus showed 24p because camera was set in NTSC mode. Seems to be the camera can shoot 25p at 4K. Good news! UPDATE 2: Ok, still not confirmed….

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Sony NEX-FS700 slow motion camera announced!

This NAB gonna be huge! Sony just announced the Sony NEX-FS700, the big brother of the Sony FS100! The camera looks a bit like the Sony FS100, but it has some improvements, as integrated ND filters and a SDI output! The camera will cost below $10,000 and there will be a 4K upgrade in the future! The most amazing thing of this camera is the slow motion capability! It can shoot up to 240fps for 8 seconds in Full HD, 120fps for 16 seconds in 1080p and up to 1480fps 9 seconds in 1080i. That’s unbelievable!!! I will update this blog later on, I’m just hosting a workshop these minutes, but this news is too important!! 😉 Here are some photos and the press release: SONY EXPANDS NXCAM LINE WITH NEW FULL-HD SUPER SLOW MOTION CAMCORDER NEX-FS700U Delivers High Quality, Flexible and Creative Shooting Options for Workflows of Today . . . and Tomorrow PARK RIDGE, N.J., April 2, 2012 — Sony is pushing the creative boundaries once more with the new NEX-FS700U Full-HD Super Slow Motion camcorder, the latest in Sony’s line of NXCAM interchangeable E-mount camcorders. The new Super 35mm model is designed for high-speed shooting, capable of…

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

The next generation: Canon 5D Mark III announced

The 2nd March was the day everybody was looking forward to. Canon unveiled the 5D Mark III! Is there a big wow effect? Specs wise there are some features which are great, like a headphone jack and the faster image processor, which means we don’t have line skipping and minimised image issues. The camera records still compressed and uses the H264 codec, though there are some improvements too. You can choose between inter-frame or intra-frame codecs, which means every frame is a keyframe -> better quality. I wish this camera could shoot 1080p up to 60 frames per second, but it can’t!! Only 720p with up to 60 frames per seconds, but this is also a good news, because the 5D Mark II doesn’t have this feature! Audio leveling during recording is possible now, thanks god it has a headphone jack. Good news for bigger productions with more than one camera on set, now we have the possibility to use SMPTE timecode! And no more 12 minute clip, it’s possible to record clips up to 29 minutes and 59 seconds. Great for interviews! Canon also improved the light sensitivity (two more stops of latitude), which is absolutely superb (but I…

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In Workshops

2-day Bavaria Film Studios HDSLR workshop

This is a last minute posting, because the workshop will take place this weekend 4th and 5th February 2012 at the Bavaria Filmstudios in Munich. You can book your slot directly on their website (costs 330,- € for 2 days!). There are only 3 slots available. Workshop content: Basic Camera settings (shutter speed, picture profiles, white balance…) Pros and cons of DSLR cameras with video function and how to deal with their downsides Professional sound recording for DSLRs Gear Hands-on, which accessories are important (you will be able to try equipment on location) Introduction to large chip camcorders (AF101, F3 …) Interview techniques Basic lighting on set Shooting techniques (camera movements, framing, shot size, crossing the line…) Practice Part post production workflow (mainly Final Cut Pro, Basic Color Grading) Important: The workshops will be held in German. Booking and more information!  Bavaria Filmstudios – New York set

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

MTF EOS Sony F3, FS100, AF101 electronic aperture adapter!

Great news!! First of all, a happy new year to you! The year has started and today Mike Tappa from MTF announced, that the first batch of their EOS electronic aperture adapter for Sony F3, FS100 (E-Mount, it also works for the Sony NEX5n…), AF101 (M43 Mount, works also for GH2) is shipping the first and second week this January. I’ve been waiting months for this adapter and tested it at IBC in Amsterdam last year. Thanks to Dan Chang, who interviewed Mike! This is absolutely necessary for owners of Canon glass, who are using any of these cameras. As you know I own a complete ZEISS ZF.2 set, but also a few great Canon lenses, which I can use with these adapter on my Sony F3. ZEISS prime lenses are simply perfect and I love the built and image quality, but you have to be fast and flexible shooting a documentary. PL-Mount zooms are quite expensive. I own a Tokina 11-16 mm 2.8 and a Canon 24-70 mm 2.8, but it wasn’t possible using these lenses properly on the Sony F3, FS100 or AF101. Of course there are a few adapters available, but these adapters don’t have an electronic…

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In Tutorials

Canon C300 C-Log and Sony F3 S-Log comparison

I’ve just got the Canon C300 for one week and I want to share my thoughts with you. Lots of people asked me if I can do a comparison between Canon C300 C-Log Picture Profile and Sony F3 S-Log. First of all, the Canon C300 is an impressive camera, I really like the form factor. My first thoughts: Wow! Feels like a DSLR, small, compact, you can still use all your gear you’ve bought for your DSLR. That’s cool. There is a cool frame grab for you, which shows you the difference between S-Log and C-Log. I’ve uploaded a Tiff-Version (I recommend downloading this one, because it has no compression) and a JPEG-Version. Would love hearing your thoughts on my blog, Twitter and Facebook! I used my KiPro Mini for uncompressed external recording. The Sony F3 was set to 0db, ProRes HQ 10-bit, 5600K, S-Log, the C300 0db, ProRes HQ 8-bit, 5600K, C-Log. I mounted Zeiss glass on both cameras. On the C300 the Zeiss ZF.2 85mm 1.4, on the F3 the Zeiss CP.1 85mm 1.5. Both lenses have the same optics!! There is a difference between Sony F3 S-Log and Canon C300 C-Log. S-Log has much more picture information…

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Canon is developing a new 4K 35mm Movie DSLR!

During the Canon Hollywood Event lots of people have seen a new DSLR next to the new Canon C300 Camcorder! It has a C-Logo on the right side, which stands for Cinema. The camera is still in development, but they released a press release. There is no info about pricing or release date. Very exciting news. Seems to be the same sensor which is used in the new Canon EOS C300 camcorder! Here is the press release: Coming Attractions: New Canon Digital SLR Camera Under Development HOLLYWOOD, California, November 3, 2011/TOKYO, November 4, 2011 – Canon Inc. today announced that the company is developing a new-concept EOS-series digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera. Incorporating an enhanced version of the video-capture capability offered in the current EOS-series lineup, the new camera will be ideally suited for cinematographic and other digital high-resolution production applications. The model will be equipped with a 35 mm full-frame CMOS sensor and, enabling the recording of 4K video* (at a frame rate of 24P, with Motion-JPEG compression), will make possible the type of exceptional image quality and sublime imaging expression to be expected from the next generation of “EOS Movies.” The announcement coincides with the launch of the…

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Sebastian Wiegärtner, BVK
In News

Canon C300 S35 EOS Cinema camcorder announced!

Canon announced their first S35 EOS Cinema camcorder Canon C300! The keynote is still running, but I will update this blog in the following hours. Some specs: Single 8.3 megapixel 2160×3840 Super-35 CMOS sensor (4K resolution) with Digic DV III processor Canon XF codec (50Mbps 4:2:2 1080p30 MPEG2 MXF) records to two Compact Flash card slots Canon Log gamma, SDI, compact body, Custom Presets and menus similar to Canon XF series Exposure and focus control are completely manual — there is no AE or AF on either camera Sold as a system, incl. LCD monitor / XLR audio unit, side grip, top handle, batt. & charger 10 bit 4:2:2 external, only single link HD-SDI no 4:4:4 10 bit (only single link HD-SDI) 4:2:2 8bit 50mb/s MXF wrapped Mpeg 2 to CF internal 24P, 25P, 30P, 1080p 60P at 720 2 CF card slots 4″ LCD monitor XLR outputs on the handle HDMI & HD/SDI out SD card for stills Time Code with Genlock Availability: Jan. 2012; Price: appx. $16,000 USD update: $20,000 (for C300) The camera has a 4K sensor, but which is limited to 1080p! That’s a bit odd! Also it’s only possible to shoot slow motion at 720p…

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