I am stretching the definition of "pocket" a bit with this video since it was shot with my 550d. However, the camera is still relatively small and portable. Also, if I have my 550d with me I won't be carrying my Mino or make the choice to film with the iPhone. Pocket Cam is more about capturing the unique scenes as they happen and not the size of the camera.
I haven't bought a video camera in a very long time. The main reason for this is that I believe that every camera on the market is either too expensive or has too many drawbacks. However, two weeks ago I bought a Canon 550d which is the first camera that meets my price-perfomance requirements. I was close to buying a Canon 7D a few months ago but decided not to. The camera's shortcomings (line-skipping sensor, h.264 codec) didn't justify the price to me. Shortly after I decided not to get the 7D, Canon announced the 550d (known as the Rebel T2i in the US) which made me incredibly glad I didn't make that purchase. The video functionality on the 550d is virtually identical to that of the 7D. The only notable differences are the lack of 1/3rd stop ISO settings, white balance fine-tuning in Kelvin, and HD external video output while recoding. The other differences between the cameras are purely build quality and photo shooting speed -- neither which I care about too much. The other big difference: the 550d costs half as much as the 7D.
I haven't had the chance to use the camera on any legitimate projects yet, however I have made some very unscientific tests:
The main purpose of these tests was to investigate overall image quality and to see how the camera looked with varying depth of field. The lighting is clearly not constant at all (I had no real cinema lights handy in my apartment at 1am), but Spock's face should be consistently exposed throughout. All of the tests were shot using a Canon 50mm f1.8, some of the other random footage was shot using a Manual Nikon 24mm f2 or the Canon 17-55 f2.8 IS. I recorded at 1080p 25.
I think the camera performs quite well. The noise (even at ISO 1600). though noticeable, isn't really distracting. One problem I noticed and was expecting is in the last test clip where I rack focus. There is some shimmery aliasing on the card in the background. This must be an artifact of the line-skipping sensor.
Ad Hoc is a duo from Winterthur comprised of Andre Hochuli (Guitar, Vocals) and Linda Suter (Violin, Vocals). On Tuesday February 23 they performed the song Futile Crush which has become the third in the Niederdorf Music Video series I am creating for Cafe Henrici. The location was on Spiegelgasse right up the alley from the famous Cabaret Voltaire.
Jane Lui is a musician and good friend of mine. We met many years ago in the San Diego cafe music scene. Back in 2007 we happend to be in London at the same time. Unfortunately our schedules only intersected for two hours. What would be a better use of those two hours other than making a music video? Nothing.
Lia Sells Fish is the stage name of singer/songwriter Christine Hasler. She played a show at Cafe Henrici on February 2 with her guitarist Steve Schnider. Before the show, we found a nice secluded spot in the Niederdorf and filmed the video above. The song is called Eve.
Amir-John Haddad is a world famous flamenco guitar player who recently played a Moods here in Zürich. I met him through a mutual friend and filmed that show. On his way back to Madrid from Germany he stopped again in Zürich and played an impromptu show at Cafe Henrici which I filmed as well. Here is one piece from that show:
On Tuesday, January 12 Cafe Henrici hosted the 2nd Tuesday Night Throwdown -- also know as TNT. TNT is a cappuccino art competition where the barista's only tool is a pitcher of milk. All of the designs are made solely while pouring the milk. It's cool stuff. Here is a video I made for them:
Cafe Henrici is the best cafe in Zürich -- no contest. Karla and I discovered it several months ago and I have been hooked ever since. Not only is their coffee delicious and amazing, but the people who run it are super nice as well as passionate about coffee. They have recently began live music sessions in the evenings and when Will Sartain came to play on Dec 12, we made this video.
I recently downloaded the the Hipstamatic app for iPhone and I like it so much I have decided to make a new feature here on the automatic filmmaker: Modern Retro.
Modern Retro will feature photos taken using Hipstamatic and will normally be posted while I'm on the go.
A few words about the Hisptamatic. What makes this app interesting is that it simulate the workflow of a film camera. You have to choose how your image will look before you take the picture by choosing a "lens", "film" and "flash"(all simulations of the real thing). After you take the picture you must wait for the app to "develop" and "print". Which forces you to slow down between shots. I really like the idea of an app that puts the thought back in to individual pictures.
An interesting thing to note here is how much of an Apple junkie I am. This was filmed with an iPhone 3GS, in an Apple Store and edited on an iMac with Final Cut Pro. I swear, Apple really owes me some sponsorship money...
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