Why all the whining!? Another camera, more choice and more features, sounds great to me. If you’re use to shooting on a HDV camera, say the Sony Z5, the new ergonomic features will be well received. If you don’t have or ever intend to use an external monitor then the Vari-Angle screen will be a real bonus. Perhaps the only down side is the plastic body (Polycarbonate resin with glass fiber to be exact). The 7D has a Magnesium alloy body and will endure more knocks and heavy handed Dp’s then the 60D. Solution. Buy a good case, Peli (hard case) or Lowepro (soft case) are my favorite, and look after it. At around £150-£200 less then the 7D the money saved can go towards a lens, a much more important purchase.
Let us not forget who this camera is aimed at. It is not a pro-line camera and its not trying to be. That’s what the 7D and 5D Mark II are for. It’s simply capped the consumer market. For little over a grand you can have, if all the other Canon lines are to go by, an amazing camera. If you’re a student then save up and purchase the 60D. Then save up some more and buy some good quality primes, the fastest you can afford. I love and hope to never part with my 50mm 1.2L but the 1.4 is also a beautiful lens and at a grand cheaper it is a sound purchase.
“Monsieur Canon you are spoiling us”. When I was a student I could only have dreamt of actually being able to own a camera that could produce such stunning images. Breathtaking images from camera under a £1000! Some of my first work was shot on Super-VHS cameras! That’s right actual VHS tapes in the camera! And I was thrilled when I got my hands on a DV camera! We couldn’t believe how small the tapes were! My point – Stop moaning and simply love the fact that we have options. If you don’t like the 60D then don’t buy it, just don’t knock it.
JVC S-VHS Camera
For an in-depth review of the Canon 60D have a wonder over to DPreview.
Sharing, passing on, breaking through the fourth wall. These must be some of the greatest things the internet has provided for us image makers. The magic of the movies, the cinematic look that only hollywood cinematographers know how to get. The impression that only the elite can produce stunning footage and photographs. Well if the internet has taught us anything then its that you and I can also achieve a higher standard of work without having to go to film or photography school or having daddy get you a gig because he owns his own production company. Chase Jarvis, Philip Bloom and the Strobist website are just a few names who make life a lot easier for us photo/videographers by opening the doors and letting us into their world. I have watched countless behind the scenes videos which, if only in a small way, have helped me through some jobs. Even if its just watching how they act around clients and interact with subjects they assure you that you’re doing it the right way.
Now I may not be in the same league as the names mentioned above, however, as I have taken so much from other peoples videos I feel its only fair to give back. During a recent music video shoot we passed around a Canon 5D MarkII to capture and hopefully give an insight into how we made the video.
A few weeks back the studio saw its first music video. It was also the first time in 3 years since I had collaborated with fellow DOP Edmund Curtis, see our last short film “Osgood’s” . Shot entirely on a Canon 5D Mark II using both a 50mm 1.2L and 100mm 2.8 lens. Our brief was to highlight the very talented skills of make-up artist Nisha Grace Smith through a cover of Billie Holiday’s song “Strange Fruit”, covered by the up and coming singer Emma Michelle.
Here is the Final Edit. A Making of video will follow shortly… please comment and pass around.
The photography studio saw its first music video last Friday and I learnt that it is possible to decorate the walls with wallpaper using only camera tape! It was also the first time in 3 years since I had collaborated with fellow DOP Edmund Curtis, see our last short film “Osgood’s” . Shot entirely on a Canon 5D Mark II using both a 50mm 1.2L and 100mm 2.8 lens. Our brief was to highlight the very talented skills of make-up artist Nisha Grace Smith through a cover of Billie Holiday’s song “Strange Fruit”, covered by the up and coming singer Emma Michelle.
The final film and behind the scenes video will be up in the next few weeks, so for now please enjoy these screen grabs. For more screen grabs please visit my Flickr page.
Perhaps not, but you never know! With a 5D Mark2 in the bag I had no excuse to not have a go at making an ad for the Doritos King of Ads competition.
I headed to the supermarket and filled the trolly with packets of Doritos, dips and a case of beer to entice my friends into coming round and helping me make the ad. We all met up at 2pm on a Sunday but didn’t start filming till around 9pm. It turns out that coming up with an idea is a lot harder then we thought! Plus, after a few beers our focus seemed to drift off every now and then. However, we got it done all filmed and edited and here is the end result.
Many thanks to my friends, sister and girlfriend who stuck it out on that long Sunday evening…
Moments before Earth Hour began the whole of Piccadilly Circus could be heard counting down the final seconds before the famous lights were turned off. Having only been off 4 times since World War II audiences waited anxiously with camera in hand to get a glimpse of this rare moment. Trafalger Square, The Houses of Parliament and the Gherkin were other London monuments that turned their lights off. Who knows whether this event will really effect those in power to drastically change our approach on Climate Change. Every little helps right?
As we approach Earth Hour (only 9 days away) thoughts come to mind of an eerie ‘Sweeny Tod’ like London lit only by candle light. Whilst trying to recreate the light levels by switching off London’s lights may be far fetched, some of our cities monuments will be turning off (or at least dimming) theirs. The London Eye and Houses of Parliament have already signed up. So has the Coke Cola ad at Piccadilly Circus which we know is a brightly lit ad as it was one that we used to light our “Staring Man” ad for the ICA which won the M&C Saatchi 24 hour ad award 09. Actor James Sobol Kelly stood with the Piccadilly Circus lights to his left hand side and the only other lights used were that of the cars passing by. While large lights may make our city look as beautiful as she does, Earth Hour will be a good chance to make our Politicians aware of our want for Climate change.
On Monday 15th March the Shortwave Cinema in London hosted the cast and crew screening of the new online drama “Casino 52″ sponsored by Ideas Tap as part of the National Youth Theatre. We filmed “Casino 52″ in 10 very hectic, and may I add COLD days. As Director of Photography I worked closely with Director Martin Stirling and Producer Louis Figgis along with a team of amazingly hard working cast and crew. Turning a once Magistrates Court House in to a casino was no easy task, but one which we managed to pull off. As Tom Reilly puts it ”if it’s not in the shot, it doesn’t matter”.
The release date has yet to be confirmed. So in the meantime take a sneaky peek at a few of the film stills that I managed to capture while on set…enjoy…
Today Saturday 13th March 2010 at 12.30pm numerous locations around the UK came to a sudden stand still…well for 5 minutes at least. Organised by the people at www.ukbigfreeze.co.uk this is what Leicester Square, London looked like for those few moments.
Apologies in advance for the shaky hand help camera work. Running around trying to capture as many peoples poses as possible didn’t help
Well done guys and girls you all did a brilliant job!!!
Looking back at these photos makes me think (and wish) I was working on a commission for NASA rather than a cosmetics company. As the powder was thrown around by the falling make-up brush the colours remind me of photos of distant nebulas in the universe. The gold base that the brushes are falling on looks like the surface of the moon. Well either that or I’ve been watching to much Star Trek.
The brushes were entirely backlight with two monoblocs and shot on a Canon 5D mrkii.
Also shot on the Mrkii is the Behind the Scenes video below… Enjoy…
Shoots both stills and video. James graduated from the Uni of Westminster, London specialising in Cinematography. Recent Awards include the “24 hour M&C Saatchi Advertising Award” for the “Staring Man” Ad
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My point – Stop moaning and simply love the fact that we have options. If you don’t like the 60D then don’t buy it, just don’t knock it. 
