By Pierre Deschamps

Testing the new Canon C300

I am a director, shooter and editor who started working with the Canon 5D mkII in December 2008. I made my first short documentary called “Man of the Soil” in February 2009; it was accepted in more than 20 international film selections. It won an award for Best Short at the IFFF 2011 International Forest Film Festival, Best Editing at the SilaFest International Film Festival and a special motion for Best Cinematography at the Barbados Bridgetown International Film Festival.

Man of the soil – Best short film award IFFF 2011 from Deschamps Pictures Ltd on Vimeo.

I have been always interested in framing – doing still photography from a young age and then doing 8mm filming. It is what I see on my display or viewfinder that moves me even if it isn’t technically perfect – as long as the emotion is there. I am an intuitive shooter who reacts with feelings. Story content combined with quality footage works for me.

When the rumours of the 5D mkII came out I knew it that it was a device for me. I didn’t care about the limitations of the camera compared to professional video cameras. I was pleased with it – it had the Wow effect. Together with the wide range of Canon EF lenses it was a blessing.

My latest work with the 5D mkII is a 52 minute documentary about New Zealand rugby called “Rugby: the Lifeblood of New Zealand”.

It was entirely shot with the 5D mkII combined with lenses from 15mm fisheye to 600mm super tele. I gathered 2.9 TB of footage before it was converted to Apple Prores 422 HQ. Canon Europe was one of the main contributors to this film, together with Zacuto and Kessler Crane.

So far the film has been be broadcasted worldwide on Canal Plus, Discovery Channel, ESPN Classic, TV Globo.

My new Documentary’s trailer by Canal + from Deschamps Pictures Ltd on Vimeo.

Recently I collaborated with Canon Europe at the Visa pour l’Image photo festival in France. When Canon ask me if I wanted to test and create content with the new EOS C300 I was thrilled. It was going to be launched in Hollywood and I was eager to see what it was about. I arranged to shoot with the camera in the seaside town of Brighton.

My test with the new Canon EOS C300 test from Deschamps Pictures Ltd on Vimeo.

On the bumper cars

The C300 with Zacuto rig in action

Coming from using HDSLR I hoped that it would overcome some of the 5D mkII’s shortcomings. In general it does just that. We came up with idea to do a shoot that was basic plug and play. Trying to take the camera straight out of the box, put a battery in, a lens on and rock. I shot it all just over a day due to weather conditions.

Of course this shoot was nothing in comparison to all the big high end Hollywood set-ups films that were shown at the launch on November 3rd, nor the smaller 15 man team of Sébastien Devaud, who also did a great work for the European launch film.

I didn’t have the same goal. My interest was in getting specific answers as a documentary shooter. I was on my own for a day. I wanted to see how this camera would react on a shoot. Would it fit my one-man configuration in my future projects. Would I be able to work with this camera and combine it with a lightweight rig and would all the technical stuff work flawlessly?

The simple answer was yes. To find the built-in ND filters was a joy. The dual XLR audio connections was a relief after using DSLR. The peaking and zebra functions were a real comfort and the magnification button was great.

Using the top mounted display

The bolt-on display is very good and efficient and the built-in viewfinder being in a central position was easy to use. I tested the camera with the top handle as well and found it practical for some shooting situations. The handgrip turned out to be very useful and I made many handheld shots with the EF 70-200mm f2.8L. This combination gave me great pleasure and great stability. Adding in a modified Crossfire rig from Zacuto made it even easier.

The camera responded very well to both highlights and lowlights, from the early morning sun to night-time shots mixing a dark sky and the lights of the Brighton Pier attractions. Pans, wide shots and close-ups all looked fine.

I was very pleased with the picture quality even if it took me some time to get used to it instead of my regular 5D mkII.

Setting up the C300 ready for use

In documentary it is almost impossible to prepare each shot as you would do in fiction – you have to go with the flow and capture the situation as it unfolds. This is exactly what I did on that shoot that day. I had to forget the settings and leave it to the camera at some points just to get the shots.

The Post-production was also a plus for me coming from the 5D mkII. I simply popped the CF card into a card reader on my iMac. The native 50Mbps MPEG-2 MXF recording (4:2:2) footage is rapidly ingested onto Final Cut Pro 7 using log and transfer. Editing was native and the output either native or in Apple ProRes 422 HQ.

I am very pleased so far and look forward to running further tests with this camera. For me it is pleasing to be able to forget about some of the technicalities and focus on creativity instead. Quite a change from DSLR shooting.

I am personally looking forward to working with the PL mount version together with the PL lenses. In future I will also try using the Canon Log and benefit from the dynamic range associated with it, offering greater possibilities in post-production.

In short, the C300 reached my expectations.

You can see more of Pierre’s work on his website.

By Dan Chung

Someone had to do it sooner or later. Glidetrack have launched a compact slider aimed at users of Iphones, smartphones, GoPros and other smaller digital cameras. The unit is competitively priced at £99 (inc VAT) for the standard version. There is an optional user changeable longer rail which at 660mm can add an extra 300mm of travel.

Mobislyder from Glidetrack on Vimeo.

The Mobislyder with extension rail fitted

I can imagine this being a rather fun toy to play with combined with a camera like the Panasonic GH2, Sony HX9v or indeed the IPhone 4S.

The Mobislyder comes with 5 different mounts so there are numerous ways to attach it to your device. It is due to ship on December the 12th, just in time for Christmas. More details at www.mobislyder.com.

Below are some example videos, I have to say that they do appear perhaps a little too jerky for my tastes (Edit – please see Alastair’s comments below):

Mobislyder – Panasonic GH2 from Glidetrack on Vimeo.

Mobislyder Example Shots from Glidetrack on Vimeo.

Mobislyder Example Shots II from Glidetrack on Vimeo.

Edit – The Mobislyder website now has a range of future accessories on show which include accessories to add wheels to the slider and also turn it into a mini dolly. Check them out here.

Future Mobislyder accessory options

By Dan Chung

Top shooter Andy Jackson checks out the C300 in Berlin

Two days ago I attended the European launch of the Canon C300 cameras in Berlin. It was aimed very much at the business end of our industry event with major TV broadcasters, dealers, rental houses and some key DOPs in attendance.

Canon chose the event to emphasize their commitment to being a part of the film and TV industry. Ryoichi Bamba, President and CEO of Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa was very keen to make it clear that they are listening to what people are saying and that the C300 is just the start of what he hoped to be a long relationship. To make this point Bamba quoted from Al Jolson in the Jazz Singer – the first ever Hollywood talkie – saying “You ain’t heard nothin’ yet”. Canon are clearly in it for the long haul.

Ryoichi Bamba, President and CEO of Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa

Let me say from the start of this blog post that from now onwards I am talking about this camera in terms of it’s suitability for current affairs, factual and documentary work. I am not going to attempt to compare it to the Red Scarlet, Epic or Arri Alexa as a Hollywood or indie movie camera. That is for others better qualified than me to discuss elsewhere.

The camera price has still not been officially announced but prices in the region of 12,000 to 13,000 Euro are being talked of by dealers. This is lower than the $20K price mentioned at the US launch, although if true sales taxes will probably mean $20K may still be the price you pay in Europe. Canon would not give an official price at the event and I really hope that the street price is much lower.

Old and New: The 5D mkII and C300 side by side

Spiritually the C300 is an EOS, you only have to look at next to the 5DmkII to see that it shares the same basic design but in a bigger shell. It looks and feels like a old medium format SLR camera. I personally love the design and the camera was very comfortable to hold in my hands. I was pleasantly surprised to get pretty good handheld shots with just the C300 and image stabilised lens but no support rig. That said I’d like to see a future version with shoulder mounted shooting more in mind (much in the same way that Sony offer similar specified cameras in slightly different configs) – rigs are great but a camera that works on the shoulder straight off is better.

Handheld shooting is a definite possibility

Canon have kept the body weight down and it’s not much heavier than a pro DSLR body like the EOS-1D X. For me this is critically important – it means I can use the camera in the way I did the 5D mkII before it – as part of my one man band backpack shoot kit. Pretty much all my support and stabilization gear was bought to work with DSLR and Sony EX1 cameras. With the C300 I would be fine using my existing tripod, Pocketdolly, Steadicam, Jib arm, car suction mounts, Shoulder rig etc… (assuming I use stills lenses not the heavier Cine ones). The cost of replacing gear to handle a heavier camera like the Scarlet or Sony F3/external recorder is substantial.

The EOS and PL mount parts of the Canon C300

The camera comes in two versions – PL and EOS mount. I could live with just EOS mount lenses but would much rather it had been an interchangeable EOS/PL mount so you could use a wider range on lenses on the same body. Canon engineers said their needed to be two version to guarantee structural strength with heavy lenses.

The Electronic viewfinder (EVF) in the camera body is great – no real need for an external third party EVF in many cases. It was very easy to see and I felt judging focus was easier on this than competing cameras (I never use the one on the Sony F3). The only thing that I missed was the 10x magnify function of DSLRs when checking precise focus. The C300’s EVF only seems to show actual pixels magnification as I suppose the sensor is not capable of creating the 10x view. The good news is that this magnification can be done when shooting, unlike DSLRs which can only do this before you roll.

Battery life is great, a single BP955 battery is perfect for shooting long stretches. Much better than a DSLR. The custom keys are also great and allow rapid access to many of the camera’s functions with a single button press.

You can still use a minijack mic straight into the camera

Audio is handled by the bolt on XLR/LCD screen module that comes with the camera – personally I’d rather have had all the XLR connections in the body itself. The response Canon gave me was that cinema shooters had said they preferred a smaller body to XLR in camera. There is however a minijack on the C300 which can have audio controlled pretty much the same way as the 5DmkII but with heaphone monitoring. Using some of the lessons learned using minijack gear with DSLR I think I’d be more comfortable running around with a simple top mic or radio mic in many situations simply to avoid having the bulk of the Monitor/audio pack on top of the camera.

Canon have designed the sensor from scratch and it’s not a modified stills sensor. By doing that they were able to optimize it fully for video at every stage. It is a 8.3 megapixel sensor but instead of recording 5K it records 1080P by using the pixels in groups of four (2 green, 1 blue, 1 red) to better achieve better colour sampling like a RGB sensor in a 3 CCD camcorder. This sensor delivers a claimed 1000+ TV lines of resolution with absolutely no trace of moire and little rolling shutter. It has a base sensitivity of ISO 850.

One disappointment for me was to see 50P and 60P frames only supported at 720P and not the full 1080P resolution. For slow motion work this may be a deal breaker for some.

Being Super35 not ‘full frame’ like the 5D mkII or 1D X does mean that it trades a bit of that shallow depth of field magic for the more conventional cinema look. It’s roughly the same size sensor as the 7D or 600D/T3i cameras.

The sensor clearly has excellent dynamic range and Canon claims 12 stops of latitude. That said the competing Sony F3 claims similar if not better range (13.5 stops with S-log upgrade) and Sony FS100 is not far behind. Figures are not everything and what matters is what this looks like in the final image. It will be interesting to see what the images look like when compared.

Peter Yabsley from Canon Europe explains the dynamic range of the C300

What is nice is that the Canon Log gamma is included with the camera (not extra like Sony) although for a lot of my fast turnaround work I would rather use a regular gamma as there is little time to grade. For that their are also 2 non-log Cine gammas which match those on the XF105 and XF305 camcorders and I assume that these will cut together well. There is also an EOS standard gamma like that of the 5D mkII.

The C300‘s aperture control with EOS lenses is on the left side of the camera and not on a rear control dial like the 5D mkII. At first I found this a little confusing and I’d have preferred the option to adjust aperture one handed like Canon DSLRs. Talking of aperture control the camera can control EF lenses in 1/3 stops increments as with the 5D mkII (EDIT – Canon sources have corrected me saying on the C300 there is also a ‘fine’ aperture step, something like 7,8 or 9 increments between f-stops). It is sadly not stepless and this seems to be a limitation of the lenses.

Johnnie Behiri plays with an old ISCO anamorphic on the C300

I tested a couple of old manual lenses – an adapted Leica R lens and a ISCO anamorphic with Nikon mount adapted. Both worked just fine and I don’t see a problem using older third party lenses with this camera.

In terms of image quality we were allowed to see the image from the camera on large monitors but not record anything ourselves. What I saw seemed to verify Canon’s claims of near 1000 TV lines of resolution. They also had a low light area where we could see for ourselves the low noise and excellent colour saturation in a very dark scene.

Sebastien Devaud talks about his C300 short film

Canon showed a couple of the films from the Hollywood launch as well as an impressive short film commissioned from French filmmaker Sebastien Devaud. I was really impressed with the projected image quality on the big screen, especially of Vincent Laforet’s Mobius. It looked incredibly film like and I would be very happy if my footage resembled that technical quality – Vincent tell’s me he and his DP Polly Morgan used Canon Log gamma and good exposure to achieve this. Other footage shown at the event did look more video like to me and I would really like to test the camera myself in different lighting conditions to see what’s possible.

Mobius – 1080p HQ from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

The internal recording is 8 Bit 4:2:2 MPEG-2 Long GOP at a max bitrate of 50Mbps. None of the other cameras in it’s class can do this internally and it’s better than Sony’s F3 or FS100. Importantly this camera it likely to meet BBC HD approval standards with ease – Alan Roberts who writes their reports was at the event and should be evaluating it soon. To get this same bitrate with the Sony F3 or FS100 you need dangling cables and an external recorder like the Nanoflash or KiPro Mini.

Better still the C300 records to regular fast Compact Flash (CF) cards and can record to 2 simultaneously for backup. The choice of CF cards makes shooting for extended periods without a laptop or power a possibility. Should I ever have to cover something as terrible as the Iraq war again I would certainly benefit from using lots of CF cards instead of having to dump footage all the time.

Images are recorded using the MXF file format which is perfect for docu, news and other rapid turnaround TV productions – many shooters wanted to see the C300 have RAW files like the Reds and in some fields I think that is a legitimate request. But for fast turnaround or shoots where there are hours of material MXF MPEG-2 format is perfect. It can drop straight into most editing software timelines with no transcode at all. It’s also used by Canon’s XF305 and 105 camcorders and editing these alongside a C300 should be a breeze.

Bryn Balcombe checks out a C300 Cine rig

One thing that many pros have cited as being a negative is that the C300 only captures 8 bit images. Also the C300 is 8 bit all the way through from the sensor so don’t look for a 10 bit firmware fix anytime. That said the sensor combined with 8 bits seems very capable. Canon sources have argued that you are better off with a more perfect original image recorded in 8 bit, than one from a lesser sensor at 10 bit. What I can say is that the images Canon were showing are plenty good enough for any of my current clients and any news, docu or current affairs program I can think of.

Would I have preferred to have the option to record RAW or 10bit to an external recorder? most certainly and I think Canon missed a trick here. Given their ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet’ statement I’m sure that means these things are coming down the line. This is a double edged sword – it reassures us that Canon is serious about creating better cameras, but if I were to buy the C300 I would prefer not be jealously eyeing up a better sister camera in 12 months time. I remember all too well my pain at seeing the Sony EX3 with it’s interchangeable lens come along shortly after I had got an EX1.

Lens choices are plenty - but still an issue

For now I think lenses are the most serious issue Canon has to address for documentary, news and run and gun shooting with this camera. There is no ‘proper’ run and gun lens to match this camera and it’s sensor. The closest Canon gets is the 17-55 f2.8 EF-S lens and that has a pretty bad manual focus ring – certainly not befitting of a camera like the C300. The better built L zoom lenses like the 16-35mm f2.8L and 24-105mm f4L are just too short range or not wide enough for a one lens solution on the Super35mm sensor size. The Cine lenses launched with the camera are wonderful but high priced and their 300 odd degrees of rotation pretty much rule them out for handheld run and gun work.

Sony has the 18-252mm servo zoom lens for it’s F3 so that’s an advantage over Canon (at a price). Like many others my ideal lens would be an f2.8 of f3.5 version of the existing Canon 15-85mm EF-S lens but with better construction and proper manual focus and image stabilizing – lets hope it comes in time.

The C300 price also effects lens choice in another way. To prevent having to change lenses and lose shots I currently to use two 5D mkII bodies at the same time with different lenses on each when shooting – just as I did as a stills shooter. That way I don’t have to swap lenses in dusty conditions and miss fewer shots swapping between wide and long lenses. Now you could of course do this with two C300 cameras but the cost would be way to high for me and most others. You could use a 1D X or a camcorder like the XF305 as a second ‘long lens’ camera instead but it would still add a lot to the cost and by the time you add that to your bag then it’s going to be pretty heavy.

On paper the C300 is the closest thing to being my perfect daily use, shallow depth of field video camera thus far announced – even if it was designed for Hollywood not documentary. It checks more of the boxes on my list than any other camera – although there is always room for improvement.

In reality I will need to test it in the field against it’s closest competitor the Sony PMW-F3, the Sony FS-100, the 1D X and the 5D mkII (or it’s replacement) to see which combo will find a regular place in my kit bag. Specs are fine but it’s handling and image quality that really count. What I can tell you now that it’s size and weight will weigh heavily in the C300’s favour when I come to deciding this.

All through the event I couldn’t help thinking that this camera is far less about Hollywood than it is about daily drama and factual TV production. I’m not sure how many will DOPs will choose the C300 over an Alexa, F65 or an Epic for high end motion picture work, but I can see it fitting right into the much bigger market for indie movies and TV series.

The price point means for many news and docu shooters it will remain a purely aspirational camera, or one that you might rent from time to time for specific assignments. But if your pockets (or that of your bosses) are deep enough then I recommend you take a close look at the C300 when it comes out in January.

British band Scala finishing the night for Canon at the C300 launch

By Matt Allard

I was pretty much sold on the Sony F3 before it had even been launched at NAB.  After seeing a film called “Compulsion” by Jason Wingrove on Vimeo it was a done deal in my mind to go and purchase.  Jason had shot this piece down at one of Sydney’s sea pools at North Narrabeen, a spot I know very well. So when I was recently back in Sydney, Australia on holidays I decided to make a short film thanks to Jason’s inspiration. My parents live up on the Northern beaches and every morning they go swimming in these sea pools which are basically outdoor swimming pools built into the natural surroundings. The pools are very unique to Sydney and are not found anywhere else in Australia.  They were originally built in the 1930′s because of the fear of shark attacks.

Saltwater from Matthew Allard on Vimeo.

The people who go down and swim every morning usually go regardless of the weather.  I was originally just going to shoot pictures but decided instead to make it more documentary style.  I didn’t have any proper microphones with me so I improvised and just set the camera up very close to the people I interviewed and used the camera’s top mic. This worked out fine as I didn’t intend on using anything other than the audio from the interview clips over overlay over my images.

It’s easy to just go and shoot some pretty pictures and put them to music, but I wanted to give the piece some soul.  And so I gathered voices from real people, doing real things.  I interviewed about six people and only recorded their voice as I felt they were a lot more comfortable chatting to me knowing they weren’t being filmed.   Their answers were from the heart; raw and honest.  By making interviews more like a conversation you tend to get better answers.

Australia’s eastern coastline also provides some amazing sunrises.  I got up over several days at 5am to go shoot the sea pools and surfers.  Sunrises where you are trying to not only show the sun, but also the surroundings, test the highest limits of a camera’s dynamic range.  I wasn’t using an external recorder so I didn’t want to record Sony’s straight S-log tone curve to the SxS memory cards.  This tone curve is designed to give the maximum possible latitude in an image when post processed but requires some effort. What I did after doing a bit of experimenting was to record in the S-log mode but with a REC709 (800%) LUT applied.  I found this gave me most of the benefits of S-log but still made the image easily gradable in post.  The key when using S-log is to protect your highlights. If you do it’s amazing how much detail you can recover.  If you blow your highlights out you can never get them back.

Getting up early is worth it for anything you are shooting. There is something so special about that time just before sunrise and just after. The first morning I got up it was very cloudy and overcast and I was worried I wasn’t going to get a sunrise. When I arrived at the beach I was pleasantly surprised. Dark clouds, big surf and just enough of a gap on the horizon to see the sun come up.  The F3′s ability (especially using S-log) to handle super high ‘contrasty’ scenes still amazes me.  The camera could hold in the highlights of a strong rising sun while still showing the subtlety in the clouds and the detail in the shadows of the rock pools.  I primarily used the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 and a Zeiss 21mm f2.8 lenses for this shoot.  There was some footage shot at 720/50p in camera to achieve the slow motion shots.  I didn’t want it all to be slow motion as it was important for me to showcase how the water and light moved in real-time. It was also important to have a lot of natural sound and not to just put it to music.

All the locations presented me with different lighting conditions; from stormy clouds to harsh morning sun, every spot presented a unique challenge.  Knowing how your camera works and what it can and cannot do are key.  If you use your camera’s strengths and hide its weaknesses, it is easier to achieve good results.

I used surfing footage shot in a GoPro action cam by a good friend of mine, Steve Clements. He used to be a professional surfer and now his son Koby is also joining him down in the water.  The GoPro vision was shot at 60p and then converted in Cinema tools to 25p.

Hopefully this piece showcases the natural beauty of Sydney’s northern beaches, as well as give you an insight into how the surroundings make the people who live there feel.  The key to any film you shoot is if people watch it and feel something from it.  Good characters make a story or a film.  Without them it lacks a soul. Being a good story teller is sometimes letting other people tell the story for you.

I shot all this footage at Avalon, Collaroy, North Narrabeen and Long Reef beaches in Sydney.  This wasn’t a paid assignment – it was just me and my camera, going out and doing what I love.

About Matthew Allard, Aljazeera Senior Field Cameraman, Kuala Lumpur:
Matt has been a Camera/Editor in TV news for more 20 years, previously working for both Channel 9 and Channel 10 in Australia. Twice Network Ten Australia’s cameraman of the year as well as being a Walkley Finalist for outstanding camerawork in 2006 (for coverage of the Cronulla Race Riots) and a Logie Finalist for outstanding news coverage 2006 (Bali 9). He is a multiple ACS (Australian Cinematographers Society) award winner. His Sword Maker story that was shot on a 7D won the prestigious Neil Davis International News Golden Tripod at the 2011 ACS Awards. He has covered news events in more than 35 countries, from major sporting events to terrorist bombings. Based out of the Kuala Lumpur broadcast centre in Malaysia he is an avid user and follower of new technology, shooting stories on HD broadcast cameras, the Sony F3 as well as new Canon DSLRs.

By Dan Chung

Prototype Canon Wide Cine zoom

I’ve just spend a fascinating two days at Canon’s European launch of the C300 cameras in Berlin. Whilst the camera was the star of the show Canon also took the opportunity to unveil four new prototype Cine lenses currently under development.

They would not give exact specifications and the prototypes were kept safely behind glass.

The most interesting lenses were a new wide zoom and tele zoom. These are much smaller than the already announced 14.5-60mm and 30-300mm lenses and I’m told they should be cheaper too. They only showed the lenses in an EOS mount, it’s unclear if PL mount versions will be offered.

Prototype Telephoto Cine zoom

There were also two new EOS Cine primes to add to the three launched with the camera. Focal lengths were not specified but one looks to be a ultrawide, perhaps a 14mm or 18mm.

Prototype CIne primes

Also in the cabinet was the prototype Canon 4K Cinema DSLR. Nothing new was said about the camera and Canon would not commit to any possible launch date.

Prototype 4K Cine DSLR under glass

I’ll be giving my considered thoughts on the C300 in a later post so stay tuned.

By Dan Chung

CNN have been in touch to say that their latest show ‘The Next List’ with Dr. Sanjay Gupta launches today. It’s all about innovation and fittingly it’s all been shot on Canon DSLRs. Running at 2:00-2:30pm ET each Sunday, the programme will profile exceptional individuals. The first is cyber-illusionist Marco Tempest. Check out the trailer by clicking on the image below.

By Danfung Dennis

My technology startup Condition ONE evolved from the inability to convey the reality of what I was seeing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even though my images and documentary film were published and distributed widely, they were still a passive window into this world, constrained by the frame. I wanted to bring people closer, to actually let them witness these stories first hand.

Technology is allowing us to merge the once separate media of photojournalism, filmmaking and virtual reality to create powerful immersive experiences.  Condition ONE has developed a camera system (I can’t yet reveal the camera or number of cameras) that captures the equivalent of the human eye.  We have also developed the software that transcodes and stitches these images.  By attaching the images to the gyroscope and accelerometer in the iPad2, we have created a highly interactive window into a video.  The slightest movement of the device changes the corresponding image, which creates an emotional connection to the story in an entirely new way. The hope is to shake viewers out of their numbness to traditional media and give a visceral and immersive experience.

The challenge of the next generation photojournalist and filmmaker will be developing the syntax and grammar to tell an effective story in this new medium.  The traditional rules of cinematography and editing no longer exist.  There is no frame. Creating an effective narrative and still maintaining immersion will be the next frontier.  This is just the beginning.

* Condition ONE, an immersive video application for iPads, launched through the iTunes App Store this week. It gives users the ability to look in any direction while viewing footage. Pivoting and tilting the iPad literally manipulates the corresponding field of view. The highly sensitive motion controls produce the illusion of looking through a window into another reality, giving a visceral sense of ‘being there’. Condition ONE will offer highly engaging storytelling with a focus on visual content conducive to being experienced firsthand. You can get it on the Apple App Store here.

Danfung Dennis has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2006. His images have been published in Newsweek, Time and The New York Times. His footage in PBS Frontline Obama’s War was nominated for a 2010 Emmy Award. His documentary, Hell and Back Again, won the World Cinema Jury and Cinematography Awards at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. He is the founder and CEO of tech/media startup Condition ONE. His background is in Applied Economics and Business Management, consulting small and medium sized enterprises in emerging markets.

You can find out more about Condition ONE here.

By Brandon Litman of One Day on Earth

The idea that people from every country in the world can come together to film on the same day and become a media-creating community is extraordinary.

When One Day on Earth launched, it was through direct outreach to filmmakers to help create a global artistic creation.  Since then, though, the project has grown to be so much.  With the support of organizations like the United Nations and Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, we have realized the power and reach that community based media can have.

On 10/10/10, our community came together and shared over 3,000 hours of video footage.  And we are doing it again today (or tomorrow, depending on where you are), on 11/11/11.

Linking the media-creating community and NGOs for a single day on a global scale results in unmatchable perspective. I have to remind myself every time I watch the trailer below that this was all shot on the same day by volunteers who only wanted to share their perspectives with each other. We can promise to deliver something completely new to audiences with the feature film, which will be screened in every country in the world on the same day in February. See: Global Screening

And this is just the beginning. We see people from around the world joining in the collaboration everyday.  We have been continuously surprised with how powerful these stories are individually, not to mention the expansive and overwhelming feeling of humanity you get when you see them all as a whole.

This is the power of filmmaking–thank you, DSLRnewshooter community, for being a part of it.  I hope you consider sharing a short video with us, and the world, on 11/11/11.

Join here: www.onedayonearth.org

By Dan Chung

Jag35.com have launched a new, as yet unnamed, compact rig for the run and gun DSLR video shooter. It looks to be an interesting option for budget-minded news and documentary shooters looking for a lightweight solution.

According to Jag35’s Misa Garcia “It’s a very simple, compact and lightweight design which will allow you to mount your DSLR along with other accessories.  It’ll feature two 6″ bottom rods below your camera’s body so that you can mount a Follow Focus and Mattebox if you want.  It includes a Shoulder Pad that can be used to support the rig with your chest, giving you another pressure point for added support, and helping you with stabilization. The rig also includes a comfortable cushioned handgrip.”

The new rig will be available starting at $199 (parts with a value of $249.99) within the next couple of weeks through the Jag35.com website. 

Additionally, Jag35 will be running a contest where anyone can submit their ideas for naming this new rig.  If Jag picks your suggestion then you will win a rig for free.  You can find more info on this page.

By Dan Chung

Sam Morgan Moore of Half Inch Rails has been busy again. It seems like not a week goes by without him launching a new widget; this time it’s the descriptively named Bumper – a simple end stop for any camera rig using regular spaced set of 15mm rods. I must confess this is not something I ever imagined that I needed for my rig, but if you think the risk of impaling someone on yours is too great then this is for you.

15mm Bumper from HalfInchRails from Sam Morgan Moore on Vimeo.

You can find out more about the Bumper here.