Paul Joy » Gear tests

Problems with the Canon EOS Movie Plugin-E1

Paul Joy — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:15:11 +0000

Here’s a down and dirty screen cast showing some problems I’ve been having using the Canon Movie Plugin E1 for Final Cut Pro. I’ve literally recorded this and uploaded it in the last 20 minutes so please forgive the quality, I’m right in the middle of an edit so didn’t have much time.

If you’ve also seen similar issues or don’t suffer from it then please leave a comment, it might help to nail down the cause of the problems.

UPDATE – 26/08/2010

Canon has just announced an update to the EOS E1 plugin which is due for release in September. According to Canon the update adds support for their new 60D body. Of much more interest to me though is the announcement that it will also provide support for multi-core processing. Just in time for my shiny new 12 core!

Lets hope they fix the above bugs too!

Canon EF 24-105mm F4 IS USM Lens for video

Paul Joy — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 10:05:40 +0000

I’ve just posted my thoughts on using the Canon EF 24-105mm F4 IS USM Lens for video.

Canon EF 24-105mm F4 IS USM Lens for video

Do I really need another lens?

Controlling a Canon DSLR using an iPhone

Paul Joy — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 22:45:42 +0000

I’ve been playing around with controlling a Canon DSLR from my iPhone today.

Click here to read the full story & comment.

Manfrotto 394 (RC4) Quick Release system review

Paul Joy — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:10:38 +0000

Video review of the Manfrotto 394 quick release plate system.

The Manfrotto 394 quick release plate system uses Low Profile 410PL plates which I’ve found to be more reliable and easier to use than the smaller 323/200PL RC2 system that comes as standard with smaller Manfrotto tripods and heads.

For use on my Glidetrack Shooter I modified the ball head seen in the video by removing a 323 plate that came fitted to it and attaching one of the 394 plates in it’s place.

The price for the 394 adapter and the 410 plate in the US is $46.95 at B&H. I was slightly out with the price in the video. Click here to buy them at B&H

In the UK you can buy them from Amazon.co.uk for around £35.

GoPro first test

Paul Joy — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 03:07:45 +0000

Something special happened today that I look forward to every year, it was the day when my bike came out to play for the first time after spending the winter in hibernation.

Apart from the usual pampering that the bike normally gets before it’s first outing of the year I also set up my new GoPro cameras for they’re first test run. One was mounted permanently on top of my helmet and the other was moved around the bike a bit to see how it coped with vibration and shock.

Both cameras were recording at 720/60p which although is not the best quality option does allow you to create nice slow-mo footage by confirming it to 25 fps in cinema tools.

The only problem I had with the cameras themselves were minor, firstly the lenses kept fogging up, I’m not sure if this was due to it being pretty cold but I had to keep stopping and opening the waterproof housings to let the lenses de-mist. I also didn’t have the angle of the helmet camera right, I’ll correct that next time!

Generally the biggest weakness is rolling shutter which results in a lot of wobble where there’s vibration. It’s not impossible though, I’d be happy using at lease some of the shots.

Below is a quick video showing a sample of the results, nothing has been colour corrected, it’s just straight out of the cameras and converted to ProRes so that I could edit it in final cut. Note the flying cat basket towards that tries to take me out towards the end! Don’t worry, I think it was empty!

The music is by one of my all time favourite bands ‘Killing Joke’ Click here to buy it on iTunes

NEXTO DI NVS2500 Video review

Paul Joy — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:30:12 +0000

So here it is, my first ever video review! I have to admit that I much prefer being behind the camera than in front of it, perhaps that’s the reason why I love being behind the lens so much, it gives me a good excuse not to be on the other side of it!

The NVS2500 is an amazing bit of kit, it fitted into my workflow easily and is now an essential part of it. I’ll also be writing a full review over the next few weeks so look out for that too.

Thanks loads to my lovely girlfriend Sylvi for manning the 5D and doing a pretty good job of directing me – that can’t have been easy! With temperatures below freezing we were both extremely cold and had to cope with constant interruptions from bird watchers, dog walkers and a very annoying tractor driver who seemed intent on making as much noise as possible for no apparent reason!

Due to the high winds we struggled to get good sound, and with not being able to monitor it I was flying blind so sorry for the muffled audio now and again. I’ll have to look into wind noise reduction options for my ECM-77′s.

I hope you find it useful.

Read my full review at http://www.pauljoy.com/gear/nexto-di-nvs2500/

To find out more about the NEXTO DI NVS2500 visit www.nextodi.co.uk

Zacuto Zip Gear Review

Paul Joy — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:53:12 +0000

I’ve recently received the hard stops for my Zacuto Zip Gears and posted a full review.

Click here to read the review and comment.

Glidetrack fun

Paul Joy — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:05:51 +0000

I’ve recently upgraded my Glidedtrack SD to the HD model and also got my hands on the new “Shooter”. I spent a bit of time playing with them today and wrote a quick review.

Read the full story or comment

BBC Voices – Ten Town Tour

Paul Joy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:21:26 +0000

I was really pleased to be invited by the BBC to produce a 3 minute video as part of their Ten Town Tour project. The video had to be filmed, edited, written and narrated by the film maker so it was quite a challenge for me as I’ve not written a script before, let alone recorded my own voiceover!

Click here to find out more

new video – “Small Things”

Paul Joy — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:36:23 +0000

I’ve been on the lookout for a macro lens for a while now and earlier this week I managed to pick up a Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2.8 from ebay for £48… bargain! Along with the lens I also purchased a Nikon PK-13 extension tube which is designed to be used with this lens and doubles the magnification.