Why Does Blue Hurt So Much?

I never thought I’d worry about when to use an 80A filter. Designed to allow daylight film use under tungsten light, it eats up an incredible amount of light. Why would I ever do such a thing?

I wouldn’t… in film. Digital, however… if you shoot with a RED under tungsten light, the 80-series is a filter family you need to know intimately.

Tiffen tests new no-ND IR filter for EX1/EX3/F35

The broadband dyes used in the Sony F35, EX1 and EX3 sensors work wonderfully well in most regards. They allow us to capture subtle hues of color that electronic cameras have not been able to capture in the past. Unfortunately this comes at a price: the red dye passes a little too much light at the edge of the visible spectrum, so the cameras see red in some places where our eyes don’t.

Optically White Balance the RED with Schneider CTB Filters

The RED can capture some pretty amazing images in 5600k daylight, but it stumbles a bit when shooting in 3200k tungsten light. The Schneider CTB’s help it get back on its feet.

Tiffen DFX 2 Digital Filters

Tweaking footage for your reel is a huge advantage. Here’s how to take your footage to the next level without taking on a second full-time job as a colorist.

Rosco Shows New IR Filter (and other goodies) at NAB

Not too long ago, after writing a series of articles on HD cameras and IR contamination, I published my first IR Filter Cheat Sheet for those who wanted to skip the technical details for a short description of what IR filter to use when. Shortly thereafter Rosco contacted me and said they’d like me to test their IR filter, the Rosco Tru-Color IR. Being the curious sort, I readily agreed to take a look. I’ll be testing it tomorrow at Videofax in San Francisco.

Gear Head for the RED

Last spring, while shooting a piece for solar energy company SunPower on the RED, our jib operator asked me to keep a secret. “How interested would you be in a low cost gear head for the RED? I think I’m going to build one.”

IR Filter Cheat Sheet

Here it is. Below the table you’ll find a link to download a printable PDF. To the best of my knowledge this information is correct, but be sure to read the notes regarding Hot Mirror filters: they can cause color vignetting on wider lenses, some require that a certain side face out, and they can be highly reflective. This table should be very helpful, but just to cover myself:

USE AT YOUR OWN RISK, and WHEN IN DOUBT, TEST.

Updates will occur as new things are learned. Enjoy!

Mysteries of Color and Light

Between January 2007 and April 2008 I consulted for Element Labs on the development of the Kelvin Tile. During that time I learned a lot about color and spectrum. Someone on the Cinematography Mailing List’s CML-Basics list asked a question about color rendition and broken spectrum lighting, which got me going on a riff that I will post here, with some embellishment.

Page 9 of 10 pages « First  <  7 8 9 10 >