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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

photography dead? A little writeup on frame grabbing and a few samples

Whenever I read these articles I'm shocked not to hear screaming about Red's 10-second start-up time. For event and sports shooting, it might as well be an hour.

Or about the Epic-ly [pun-intended] un-ergonomic side grip. For event and sports shooting, it might as well have sharpened spikes on it.

Both issues are solvable, as hopefully is the woefully battery life, but for now this just isn't a stills camera. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 
true, I didn't think about the startup time. I've never really shot sporting events so it's kinda out of my league, but did you read the article? I thought I was clear about the issues of fast action frame grabbing.

Lee Saxon said:
Whenever I read these articles I'm shocked not to hear screaming about Red's 10-second start-up time. For event and sports shooting, it might as well be an hour.

Or about the Epic-ly [pun-intended] un-ergonomic side grip. For event and sports shooting, it might as well have sharpened spikes on it.

Both issues are solvable, as hopefully is the woefully battery life, but for now this just isn't a stills camera. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Click to expand...
 
Lee Saxon said:
Whenever I read these articles I'm shocked not to hear screaming about Red's 10-second start-up time. For event and sports shooting, it might as well be an hour.

Or about the Epic-ly [pun-intended] un-ergonomic side grip. For event and sports shooting, it might as well have sharpened spikes on it.

Both issues are solvable, as hopefully is the woefully battery life, but for now this just isn't a stills camera. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Click to expand...

Whenever I read such comments, I am shocked about how you define a professional (actually, I'm not; shocked that is: it's more of a slight eye-brow rise with a hint of eye-roll).

A professional at a sporting event should know more than 10 seconds in advance when something interesting will be happening. (Imagine; when you only could shoot 36 frames, it would take at least 10 seconds to swap roles; yet pros still managed to make magnificent photographs that captured the essence of the moment.)

With a V-lock brick you'll have the camera running for hours. Pack a couple of those in your bag, and you're good for the duration of the event.

It's all about being prepared and anticipating things; it takes an open mind and experience.

I like the side grip, if you don't, there are other options for handles. What you seem to be calling a weakness, I perceive as a strength.

And a couple of very high end stills photographers seem to disagree about your notion that Epic isn't also a stills camera.
 
Lee Saxon said:
Whenever I read these articles I'm shocked not to hear screaming about Red's 10-second start-up time. For event and sports shooting, it might as well be an hour.

Or about the Epic-ly [pun-intended] un-ergonomic side grip. For event and sports shooting, it might as well have sharpened spikes on it.

Both issues are solvable, as hopefully is the woefully battery life, but for now this just isn't a stills camera. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Click to expand...


I just shot for 3 days at the Kentucky Derby for NBC. Some handheld some with a 600mm canon, Never had a problem with start up time or batteries. Often surrounded by packs of people. NBC loved the footage and I walked away with a ton of stills. Oh and I was the only non still camera to shoot from under the rail at the horses feet as they run by...Thanks REDMote as you can't stand there during the race. Oh and the still guys were very interested in the fact that I was shooting 96 frames a second at 5K for the whole race....not so much on their cameras. Maybe 3 or 4 seconds of 12 frames a second bursts... I don't post much but I really did have to correct you on this one. The sports /event shoot is very much an Epic shoot. Happy shooting!
 
Wow I'm totally with you on that Martin. I remember back in the days of shooting
film I would change out a 2/3shot roll of film early knowing I was going to need more than the remaining frames left to capture an upcoming moment in sports. A pro won't miss the shot and blame it on his kit. A pro will have the experience to work within its parameters.
 
Here is a frame grab off a prores timeline only. This is from a transcode I made for the Network and I thought you might enjoy it. To see this move at 96 fps is pretty awesome but as NBC Sports owns it I can not show it at this point. The REDMote really did perform flawlessly for me here as I had to remote trigger the camera from about 20 feet away.



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49919416/vlcsnap-2012-05-07-10h48m43s231.png
 
awesome shot mate, what's your shutter secret? still 180 degrees on 96fps? or you running higher?
thanks
t
 
Lee Saxon said:
Or about the Epic-ly [pun-intended] un-ergonomic side grip. For event and sports shooting, it might as well have sharpened spikes on it.
Click to expand...

I definitely find myself accidentally hitting some of the buttons on the side handle, but I won't go as far to consider it "spikes." And the battery life in the side handle isn't great, but that's been discussed to death by now.


Taylor Morrison said:
Here is a frame grab off a prores timeline only. This is from a transcode I made for the Network and I thought you might enjoy it. To see this move at 96 fps is pretty awesome but as NBC Sports owns it I can not show it at this point. The REDMote really did perform flawlessly for me here as I had to remote trigger the camera from about 20 feet away.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49919416/vlcsnap-2012-05-07-10h48m43s231.png
Click to expand...

That is a BEAUTIFUL shot Taylor. I can't imagine what this looks like in slow motion.
 
Trey,

Generally as high as the light will allow on shutter...400 to 800th of a second. Shooting slow-motion allows much higher shutter speeds without any of the problems you find at sync speeds. Also shooting Epic at an event like this is neither fast or easy (maybe I made it sound so earlier) Being prepared and knowing pretty much want you want in advance is key I find. Sport as in real-estate is all about Location Location Location... ha ha
 
In short, the ease of shooting, the outstanding picture, and the advantages over the DSLR’s make this camera a perfect choice for someone looking to up their production quality. So until the Alexa cuts 70% of it’s price tag, I’ll stick with the RED Scarlet-X.
Just my 2 cents,


Trey,

? Would you shoot stills with the Alexa?

Pat
 
The Alexa is so damn cumbersome that I'd think that would be a tough one, especially if you're moving quick. Also, unless they've done something drastically different, the frame size would be much smaller than that of Scarlet or Epic. Keep in mind, even though I love the frame grabs and I do sell them back to clients, I don't take stills for a living, it's just a hobby and a bit of a bonus on top what I offer. Usually if I'm shooting only stills I'm just playing around with my mkIII.
cool,
trey

Patrick Tresch said:
In short, the ease of shooting, the outstanding picture, and the advantages over the DSLR’s make this camera a perfect choice for someone looking to up their production quality. So until the Alexa cuts 70% of it’s price tag, I’ll stick with the RED Scarlet-X.
Just my 2 cents,


Trey,

? Would you shoot stills with the Alexa?

Pat
Click to expand...
 
Taylor Morrison said:
Here is a frame grab off a prores timeline only. This is from a transcode I made for the Network and I thought you might enjoy it. To see this move at 96 fps is pretty awesome but as NBC Sports owns it I can not show it at this point. The REDMote really did perform flawlessly for me here as I had to remote trigger the camera from about 20 feet away.



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49919416/vlcsnap-2012-05-07-10h48m43s231.png
Click to expand...

OMG. That's beautiful. Exactly what you want in a still/motion shot.
 
Trey Chace said:
I thought I was clear about the issues of fast action frame grabbing.
Click to expand...

Absolutely, and I agreed with everything you did mention, I just wanted to add a few more things :)

Martin Weiss said:
A professional at a sporting event should know more than 10 seconds in advance when something interesting will be happening.
Click to expand...

Well sure. The problem at the moment is that if you turn the Red on a second before you have to your battery is dead before the second quarter.

Martin Weiss said:
With a V-lock brick you'll have the camera running for hours. Pack a couple of those in your bag, and you're good for the duration of the event.
Click to expand...

How often have you run up and down the sidelines of a football field for four hours at a time? Maybe you're in much better shape than me but I can barely do it with a DSLR. With a 357 pound brick battery, not a chance.

Martin Weiss said:
And a couple of very high end stills photographers seem to disagree about your notion that Epic isn't also a stills camera.
Click to expand...

I guess I should've said that for the moment it's largely a studio-only stills camera; a replacement for Hasselblads and Phase Ones, but not yet flexible enough to be a DSLR replacement.

Obviously that's just my opinion and my shooting style, Taylor obviously got some great results.
 
Lee Saxon said:
How often have you run up and down the sidelines of a football field for four hours at a time? Maybe you're in much better shape than me but I can barely do it with a DSLR. With a 357 pound brick battery, not a chance.
Click to expand...
Part of the job is being fit enough to do it. Running four hours with a DSLR sounds like a holiday, try run and gunning eight or 12 hour events handheld (or worse, with a tripod if you have to move it with you) with a 20-30 pound rig without an assistant.
 
Taylor Morrison said:
Here is a frame grab off a prores timeline only. This is from a transcode I made for the Network and I thought you might enjoy it. To see this move at 96 fps is pretty awesome but as NBC Sports owns it I can not show it at this point. The REDMote really did perform flawlessly for me here as I had to remote trigger the camera from about 20 feet away.



http://dl.dropbox.com/u/49919416/vlcsnap-2012-05-07-10h48m43s231.png
Click to expand...
That's an awesome image, thanks for sharing!
 
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