Red Scarlet X #316 "Skully"

[Eric Pascarelli]

Alrighty. Back and on the war path.

Quick and Dirty Deep ND Filtration Test (Schneider Platinum 1.8 and Formatt HMND 1.8)
While running about and in between meetings I zipped over to Panavision for something else entirely. However, while I was there we did a very quick and dirty deep ND filtration test using the Schneider Platinum IRND 1.8, my Formatt HMND (Hot Mirror/ND) 1.8, and just the clean lens as a control. We jogged out into the parking lot and shot these all within a few seconds of each other. The results shocked me and I feel I may have to do more tests. Like a lot more tests. Let me show you the test image:

It's been my experience that Neutral Density filters definitely have density, but are almost never neutral. Many times this is visible to the eye but sometimes you have to look at the numbers in post. I've never encountered anything that can't be corrected, though. You might have an extreme case here.

 

[Justin Harrison]

Once again more amazing tips and help!

I'm also trying to figure out my main workstation build and storage/RAID setup for personal projects. Thanks again!

 

[Michael Millichamp]

Phil! When did you order your side handle!

Was it packaged with the Scarlet?

I got the notification for my Redmote, but side handle is still MIA.

Love the tests, please keep doing them!

 

[Trevor Meeks]

Phil, can you post a link to the Formatt HMND filters? I can't seem to find them on Filmtools. Very interesting findings... I ordered three Schneider Platinum IRNDs in .6, .9 and 1.2.... have you found the same "issues" with the lower filtration levels or only with the 1.8? They're backordered right now so I'm trying to figure out whether to go with something else or not.

Thanks man, very helpful posts as always

 

[SeanBrown]

Thanks so much for these. You rock.. Love to come down and shoot on Cook like a said a few months back

 

[Bill Sepaniak]

... can you post a link to the Formatt HMND filters? I can't seem to find them on Filmtools.

If you can't find them locally, you can always order direct from Formatt in the UK:

http://www.formatt.co.uk/hd-glass-filters/hot-mirror/hd-glass-filters.aspx

 

[Lee Gillenwater]

Phil,
Thanks so much for all of your post, I really enjoy reading them! These are a wealth of information!

 

[Peter.G]

Great post!

-P

 

[Phil Holland]

Just got back from a pretty cool evening at Red Studios Hollywood showcasing Underwold: Awakening in 3D with a little presentation and Q&A from Siggy Ferstl of Company 3. Siggy is a talented colorist and it was nice listening to him break down his process. They also screamed the newest sizzle reel in 4k and showed a few trailers of some upcoming features shot on Epic. Fun night and was finally able to meet a few people from RedUser.

Phil! When did you order your side handle!

November 3rd with the Scarlet X package. They are coming. If you ordered around then, I'd expect it pretty soon.

It's been my experience that Neutral Density filters definitely have density, but are almost never neutral. Many times this is visible to the eye but sometimes you have to look at the numbers in post. I've never encountered anything that can't be corrected, though. You might have an extreme case here.

Agreed and same experience here. The notable thing I'm focused on is "deep filtration", meaning past 0.9. At or below 0.9 ND there are many options that provide good results. However, once you get up to 1.2-2.4 and beyond things get hairy. If it gets too extreme you have to do some fairly wacky color work to get a solid black back in the shadow areas. I'm on the hunt as I have something that I want to shoot in broad daylight at f/1.4-f/2.8. Luckily I purchased two Formatt HMNDs and they have been performing well for me. I will likely be getting a complete set now.

Phil, can you post a link to the Formatt HMND filters? I can't seem to find them on Filmtools. Very interesting findings... I ordered three Schneider Platinum IRNDs in .6, .9 and 1.2.... have you found the same "issues" with the lower filtration levels or only with the 1.8? They're backordered right now so I'm trying to figure out whether to go with something else or not.

Thanks man, very helpful posts as always

Cheers Trevor. They can be found at B&H:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=formatt+hot+mirror+nd&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

Filmtools doesn't carry them for some reason. And on that note, I'll be at Filmtools tomorrow buying some stuff they do have! Can't imagine a world without those guys. I get a lot of my grip and lighting gear from them. Nice and friendly staff over there.

 

[Lliam Worthington]

Hey Phil, as ever, thanks for another terrific post.

You mentioned a little while back that you were intending testing the Tiffen IR ND's also. Is this something you will still be doing? Very interesting/surprising re the Schneiders. I'd been holding off on a purchase with the new Schneider 77mm's hopefully coming out soon. But now more to think upon. Look forward to your further tests Phil.

Best

Lliam

 

[Gary Paul Walker]

If you are on a real tight budget, check out Nikon AIS lenses. I have a few and love them. I have a 50mm f/1.4 from the 1960s that performs pretty damn well. Cost me $100 and $9 for a Nikon to Canon EF adapter. Can't beat that.

How are you finding the Nikon to Canon EF adapter? I was thinking about this myself - I dont have much glass for it but I can get quite a bit should I need it....

 

[Demetri Zuev]

Only real update to share, which is pretty important to me:

Scarlet X Date Received: December 22nd, 2011
Scarlet X payed for itself (plus current accessories): January 27th, 2012

36 days later, which is pretty incredibly to me.

Phil, if you don't mind me asking — how many paid rental days it took for the camera to reach that "paid for itself" state? I assume that your rental rates are somewhere in the neighborhood of $600—800 for a package, correct?

 

[Demetri Zuev]

How are you finding the Nikon to Canon EF adapter? I was thinking about this myself - I dont have much glass for it but I can get quite a bit should I need it....

Gary, the best "adapter" there is right now is Letax conversion. You literally change the mount on your lenses which eliminates any potential play problems completely.

 

[Phil Holland]

Hey Phil, as ever, thanks for another terrific post.

You mentioned a little while back that you were intending testing the Tiffen IR ND's also. Is this something you will still be doing? Very interesting/surprising re the Schneiders. I'd been holding off on a purchase with the new Schneider 77mm's hopefully coming out soon. But now more to think upon. Look forward to your further tests Phil.

Thanks Lliam. Tiffens land in the same battlefield/tech as the Platinum IRNDs, however, I've noticed a lot of variation in the green levels just looking at them over a light box a couple weeks ago. They are useful, especially for the price, and the color cast can be corrected out for sure. However, because Red cameras are so sensitive to infrared light I'm feeling more and more that Hot Mirror/ND combinations or single HMND filtration is the way to go.

I've been pretty content with the Formatt HMND filters that I have, I just thought there might be something better. I'm actually shooting something in harsh daylight this weekend, by far the biggest stress test for the HMND tech. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

How are you finding the Nikon to Canon EF adapter? I was thinking about this myself - I dont have much glass for it but I can get quite a bit should I need it....

I'm using the cheapo $6-9 adapters on ebay. They are fine for my purposes as all my Nikons are older glass. I was using them on Canon still cameras for a while. I may flesh out a set of Nikon glass though. They tend to be greener and bluer than Canon glass in my experience.

Phil, if you don't mind me asking — how many paid rental days it took for the camera to reach that "paid for itself" state? I assume that your rental rates are somewhere in the neighborhood of $600—800 for a package, correct?

You're in the ballpark for my kit fee. I don't rent my equipment. People hire me and my tools; so we're a bundle package and my dayrate gets added to that. Also the work I do isn't totally cut and dry as an operator/Digital Imaging Specialist/Director of Photography. Lot's of VFX testing and pushing. A few VFX elements here and there for features, a few tiny tests, and a very cool conceptual shoot for literally 3 shots. I'd say about 15 actual working days if you combine my "computer time" as well. So 3 working weeks. I'd also include about 7 days of just "whoring" and miscellaneous communication as well. But it was all Scarlet work and that's an awesome thing.


One more tech scout next week and shooting the spot on the 9th and 10th. I'm going to attempt to get clearance from the client to share stills from set. I just was awarded a short in the beginning of March. 3 day shoot at the moment. Real fun. VFX heavy too.

I picked up an OConner O-Box WM today. I'll be shooting with it this weekend on a personal project out in the desert and I'll certainly have a lot of thoughts after that. I'll say this much, I held 7 different matte boxes today and it was the one that came home with me. That's gotta count for something

 

[Matt Gottshalk]

Great choice.

The obox is sweet.

 

[Lliam Worthington]

Thanks Phil. Look forward to your post.

Best

Lliam

 

[Phil Holland]

Good morning!

East Jesus 2012 in 4k
This is a quicky and a bit of a personal project close to my heart. A dear friend of mine, Charles Russell, passed away last year. He created an art colony/project called East Jesus out in Slab City near the Salton Sea. Friends of Charles take care of the place now since his passing and continue to add to the desert art jungle out there. Lots of wonderous things out there in the middle of nowhere.

Some grabs from the short:

OConner O-Box WM Impressions
As I mentioned previously I picked up an OConner O-Box WM as I found myseld in dire need of protection from stray light rays contaminating my images.

I needed a matte box that could cover both still and cinema glass. I'll be purchasing a full set of 4x5.65" filters extremely soon. I also wanted something I could attach to LWS 15mm Rods. I saw other RedUsers pretty darn happy with the O-Box, but I did go out and try a bunch of different ones prior to coming to the conclusion that the O-Box was the one that would be in front of my lenses.

In terms of rod space, the LWS 15mm connection point is below the matte box. I have experienced in the past with swing away designs where the rod clamp sits a bit in front of the box taking up additional space that is unnecessary. When using a follow focus, some still lenses don't allow a lot of space when properly attaching the matte box. It's even a pretty tight fit for lenses like the 24mm f/1.4L with the O-Box in position. The point is though that the rod clamp isn't taking up additional space that would make that combo difficult to pull off.

On the wide side of things, I was concerned that the O-Box wouldn't cover certain lenses. My widest rectilinear lens is the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. I can confirm that the O-Box does not vignette at 4k 11mm. It does at 5k 11mm however, but it clears up by 12mm. It should be noted that the flags totally don't cover when seeing that wide field of view and you may want to attach some additional protection to the top flag especially when shooting that wide.

The O-Box is built to be abused and that reflects in some of the design decisions. The 15mm rod clamp is very sturdy. I should note that on 15mm rods there's really no good way of attaching a bottom flag when moving further up the rods as it would bump into them. Shorter rods are the only solution or using an additional french flag below the rails. Also, the side flags are one piece without an expansion adjustment, meaning they are always just one size. The trays are pretty standard plastic trays and feel good. I do like that I can lock a tray in there, that is a tiny thumb screw though. I'll have some additional thoughts on the Reduction Ring and Bellows Ring after I play with all of my lenses and fit them in there.

I do like the idea of having 1/4"-20 mounts on the top of the matte box, but I haven't found exactly what I'm going to put there. A monitor is the obvious choice, but I was thinking of adapting a hood orniment (kidding....?) I can see potential for an additional french flag on a flexible arm going on there pretty easily. Focus hook, disto, etc...

Overall, the O-Box is built like a tank and will live on my rig. The price to value ratio is extremely high compared to other high end matte boxes. It can be adapted to 19mm or even transform into a clamp on matte box. OConner really thought things through when it comes to usage. On 9 inch 15mm LWS rods I can easily be placed it in front of the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS and I can push it all the back for wider lenses. So yeah, this a positive review and I do recommend it.

Here's a shot of the O-Box in action sans bellows and reduction ring from the East Jesus shoot:

Some Random Bits:

- I tried out an OConner OFocus DM and liked it a bunch. I will need to get a new follow focus unit soon as well as a new fluid head/tripod combo. I'm beginning to think I might be an "OConner Guy", but I'll test other brands out to see what fits my needs. I have a little list of things I still need to acquire and those are both near the top.

- On the battery life front, I did test out powering the Red Scarlet X as well as my SmallHD DP-1 on a single Globalmediapro 160WH battery via D-Tap adapter. That combo gives you a little over 2 hours of running time. I did this test for an upcoming shoot where I'll need that ability.

- Shooting that 15 second spot on Thursday and Friday. Mostly prepped at this point. Green screen and also using fairly conservative lighting for the live action setups. Should have setup stills in a few weeks from the shoot once I get client approval (and if I have time to shoot them!).

- I am in talks to work on another commercial and I was told "we couldn't use Red because there's no playback". Took a trip down to the director's office and shot 15 seconds of "pens rolling on desk" and showed him that indeed Red currently has playback. It was an awkward funny moment, but he was pleased that I went to that length to show him. He must have missed the big news.

 

[Michael Millichamp]

Loving your set up Phil.

Keep it coming.

 

[Webster Miller]

Phil.

You gotta just love those "awkward funny moments".

 

[Anthony Vu]

HAHAHAHAHA. Great story.

- I am in talks to work on another commercial and I was told "we couldn't use Red because there's no playback". Took a trip down to the director's office and shot 15 seconds of "pens rolling on desk" and showed him that indeed Red currently has playback. It was an awkward funny moment, but he was pleased that I went to that length to show him. He must have missed the big news.

I don't think I can speak enough about the latitude of R3D. I was shooting with the talent and sun in front of me. To my eyes, I thought to myself,"I must be blowing out a ton of shit." But the histogram and false color told me otherwise. Sure enough, went back to the editing room and footage wasn't blown out at all sans the sun.