Master Cinema Series Lunch Party Wrap Up

The digital revolution is just now starting to come into its' own. If you don't know what I'm talking about, then you must have been living under a rock somewhere. Welcome back to civilization! This is the next erra of filmmaking - one which is being shaped by digital cinematography. Like it or not, digital capture devices are changing the way stories are told, and even shaping what stories can be told.

Epic + HMI (Mag Ballast)

[HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING IN FULL SCREEN]

Just because it works in theory doesn't mean it will work in practice. And just because it works in one application, that doesn't mean it will work in another application - which is why testing durring preproduction is SO important and should NEVER go over looked. I recently spent a day camera testing in preparation for a short film I was shooting for Director Shawn Nelson and it was during one of the camera tests that we stumbled upon some interesting results when shooting with the Epic and HMI's that use a magnetic ballast. What I had thought would be safe speeds on the camera turned out to not be safe at all ...

Zeiss ZF.2 Lens Test Chart

[HIGHLY RECOMMEND WATCHING IN FULL SCREEN]

Charts are not very sexy I know - but they are very useful. I completed this test to evaluate where these lenses perform the best so that I can get the most out of them. When wide open, the chromatic aberration, and the slight softness that the lenses produce means that for my tastes, I'll be using them stopped down at least one stop. Once they are stopped down by one stop, everything looks sharp, and the chromatic aberration goes away. The 85mm seems to be the worst offender, as the image is not clear until around T4 / T5.6. And both the 28mm and 35mm seem to hold up better then the 50mm or the 85mm. Overall, I'm happy with the results as they bear out what I have experienced first hand when using these lenses in a production environment. I'll be using these lenses in the T2.8 - T8 range going forward. Download the stills after the jump.