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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 :)

Arri Alexa & RPP

I'm not kidding. It is experience. You get to know your filmstock with testing. You get to know how it relates to your eye. You get to know how that relates to what you see through the optical viewfinder. I guess in time you could also get to know how to relate that to the limitations of an electronic display device. But you do get to know it.

Seriously, how else would you prelight a scene? People have been doing that for ages WITHOUT the camera present. My experience shooting tells me that If I line up a row of lights of X wattage at a distance of X feet from a window and punch them through a X size sheet of gridcloth, I will get X number of footcandles at X spot in the shot. If don't know, then how can I place the equipment order beforehand to know what gear we will need? How can I have a clue how long it will take to light the set?

This is not rocket science. This is craft and training. If you test a digital camera just as you test a film stock and you see the result of your testing, then you will learn how you like to light it. And then you will learn to see that without need to constantly check an electrical metering device to tell you what yu already know. Certainly it is good to refer to it every now and then to make sure you are still where you think you are, but I would never want to use it as a crutch that I needed at every moment.

I guess your mileage may vary, but I shot my last feature at T4 because that was the look I wanted and the fine tuning necessary to adjust my exposures to the limited range of the electronic sensor were minimal. After a bit of getting my mind wrapped around it I consistently lit by eye, and in final color correct I found my exposures to be pretty darn accurate. And I'm sure that there are guys far better at this than I.
 
OVF will be good for a lot of rentals for sure.

There's one discussion as to what will be "the future", which is kinda semi-interesting.
Then there's the reality of a lot of DPs. They want an OVF. They'll rent the cam with an OVF. Be it Alexa, D21 or Epic.

But wasn't this thread about the RPPs? on Alexa?
 
Mitch Gross said:
I'm not kidding. It is experience. You get to know your filmstock with testing. You get to know how it relates to your eye. You get to know how that relates to what you see through the optical viewfinder. I guess in time you could also get to know how to relate that to the limitations of an electronic display device. But you do get to know it.

Seriously, how else would you prelight a scene? People have been doing that for ages WITHOUT the camera present. My experience shooting tells me that If I line up a row of lights of X wattage at a distance of X feet from a window and punch them through a X size sheet of gridcloth, I will get X number of footcandles at X spot in the shot. If don't know, then how can I place the equipment order beforehand to know what gear we will need? How can I have a clue how long it will take to light the set?

This is not rocket science. This is craft and training. If you test a digital camera just as you test a film stock and you see the result of your testing, then you will learn how you like to light it. And then you will learn to see that without need to constantly check an electrical metering device to tell you what yu already know. Certainly it is good to refer to it every now and then to make sure you are still where you think you are, but I would never want to use it as a crutch that I needed at every moment.

I guess your mileage may vary, but I shot my last feature at T4 because that was the look I wanted and the fine tuning necessary to adjust my exposures to the limited range of the electronic sensor were minimal. After a bit of getting my mind wrapped around it I consistently lit by eye, and in final color correct I found my exposures to be pretty darn accurate. And I'm sure that there are guys far better at this than I.
Click to expand...

Mitch, so glad your around on this forum. Couldn't agree more. Anyone who has used the D21 will know how lovely it is to use an OVF with digital. We've been using EVF's for a long time now, they are not the enemy, it's just personal choice, i find them hard work on my eye's.

Film isn't fading ( i hear this mantra often, almost wishing it to die as if to prove a point, film is still the future, i want it to be around for a long time yet ) well not in the UK anyway, i'm still working on S16 jobs here, only last week in fact, two lovely little SR3's purring away, like music to my ears:hurray:. The Aaton Penelope's here seem to be constantly grafting, especially on 2 - perf jobs, now that is a camera in a league of it's own.

There has always been a strong video market, digibeta seems to be the format that is suffering more than any other, replaced with the RED and EX1/2/3. The projects i am using my RED on now that don't use film never would have been film anyway, budget is budget, so RED replaces the little sony/canon's i would be using or the digibeta. As an owner operator i offer up the tools i have.

Zakaree, lets just say i'm over 40..!!
 
you guys win..
im not arguing for one or the other..
OVF is nice..
EVF is nice..

ovf i easy on the eyes. you looking through the lens..
evf is looking at menus, histograms, seeing what the sensor sees..

anyways.. back to Alexa & RPP
 
As an union operator, I prefer optical because you can catch details that you often miss on EVF's such as light stands, extras looking into camera, etc. For exposure, though, I'm a big fan of EVF's. I was brought up on light meters and film, and I find EVF's instant feedback regarding exposure invaluable for digital acquisition. I say make an optical viewfinder with a waveform in the viewfinder that can be turned on and off. It's great to have the ability to look at windows and without a meter and just experience know whether you're clipping or not. Unfortunately, I'd say a good majority of cameraman without an EVF will make irreversible errors. Unlike film, RED's clipping range is a bit less forgiving and a good EVF will save your butt.

And Zack, I think the "old school" "new school" thoery is a dead end. Cameramen ultimately go with what works best. Countless directors and DP's well into their careers jumped on digital before it become the force it is now.
 
The 18mm will work on the Alexa. Just unscrew the black cover at the rear of the lens. Presto, it fits. All of the other RPPs work without modification.
 
18mm alexa

18mm alexa

Chris Bell said:
The 18mm will work on the Alexa. Just unscrew the black cover at the rear of the lens. Presto, it fits. All of the other RPPs work without modification.
Click to expand...

isn t there a danger to damage the lens if you unscrew the black cover at the end, and won t it change the back focus or makes the lens more fragile ????

because I own a red with RPP 18 till 300 and I own a alexa
so I don t want to damage either one of them

thanks
BC
 
The rear cone is designed to keep dust out of the lens. It won't damage the lens to remove... it's a good idea to replace it after use to keep the interior of the lens in good working order.
 
Does anyone know if the Red 17-50 fit's the Alexa?
 
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