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WANTED: Framing Tool

Will Keir

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Another step in the journey...

I'm looking to find a tool with the option of setting any focal length and frame size to help me in my selection of lenses without actually putting each lens on the camera or an eye piece.

Some sort of framing tool, there must be something like this out. What a time saver! I'd love a range from 14mm-600mm. Just a quick glance to dial in my options, choose the right lenses for my composition. I'm very excited to find this item. Even better, the same tool but with light metering built in... Am I dreaming now?

Thanks in advance.
 
PCam and MatchLens are both pretty good:
4-DoF-4.6.png
screen480x480.jpeg



http://www.davideubank.com/Good_Focus/pCAM_Film+Digital_Calculator.html

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/matchlens/id315223799?mt=8


The Toland Digital Assistant is useful as well:

screen480x480.jpeg


https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/toland-asc-digital-assistant/id377419210?mt=8
 
A real director viewfinder is a nice tool to quickly find lens and camera position.

The cheaper digital alternative is called artemis (app on iPhone at least but should exists on android too I think).

Neither will give you super wide ou super long lens equivalent but they still are useful for scouting and next shot prepping...
 
Yep. Another +1 for Artemis. I know a fair amount of DPs and Directors out here in LA that use it. Also, a DSLR is a powerful tool for location scouts.
 
I took at look of what's out there. Without hands on or good videos I'm not impressed. Was thinking about getting the PL converter for my NEXII (A6000). Pretty cool little camera for judging DoF. You set the aperture where you want it and adjust the light coming in through the shutter, but you gotta have the lenses on hand. For scouting and framing, I'd like to leave those boxes behind. That's kinda the point. Something with a 14mm-600mm range.

What focal lengths does Artemis allow?
I'm surprised I haven't found a directors viewfinder with a light meter.

Phil. Using the NEX, how would I get custom frame sizes?

Yep. Another +1 for Artemis. I know a fair amount of DPs and Directors out here in LA that use it. Also, a DSLR is a powerful tool for location scouts.
 
Artemis was previously limited on the wides by the iPhone max field of view (at around 22mm equivalent)... but now I see they released some artemis pro accessories with a 2 lenses adapter kit that let you simulate field of view from 12 mm to 400 mm (super 35 equivalent) which is pretty nice :

http://www.chemicalwedding.tv/artemis.php

It won't simulate DoF or hint about exposure but as a quick lens finder it works very well.
 
Thanks Mikael, 12mm to 400mm, that's pretty good range.

Artemis was previously limited on the wides by the iPhone max field of view (at around 22mm equivalent)... but now I see they released some artemis pro accessories with a 2 lenses adapter kit that let you simulate field of view from 12 mm to 400 mm (super 35 equivalent) which is pretty nice :

http://www.chemicalwedding.tv/artemis.php

It won't simulate DoF or hint about exposure but as a quick lens finder it works very well.
 
Am I asking for too much in a viewfinder? 14mm-600mm range?
 
Eric,

On the Alan Gordon Viewfinder, are you using the:

35mm: 18-200mm for Epic/Dragon footage?

I've always just used a director's viewfinder which works perfect in my world.
There's plenty of models to choose from. Here's the two I have:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...nciwdbq_l5hdsn2OdxIPD_BwE&Q=&is=REG&A=details

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...x_large_rotating_viewfinder.html/prm/alsVwDtl

The 11x on the Cavision looks good but they don't show the focal range on the spec sheet. I'd be shooting Dragon 6k or 6k WS.
 
I love my Alan Gordon MkV viewfinder but it's a tad outdated.

I pretty much use Artemis for everything now. I can take reference shots during a scout and then organize them for the rest of the crew to see. For the Dragon you'll want to set up a custom camera, and you can plug in any lens sets you want from there. Nice and easy. Pretty much a no brainer for me.
 
Can you pull up 300mm, 500mm lenses too?

What about the Red Pro Prime 300mm with a 2x doubler, possible with Artemis?

I love my Alan Gordon MkV viewfinder but it's a tad outdated.

I pretty much use Artemis for everything now. I can take reference shots during a scout and then organize them for the rest of the crew to see. For the Dragon you'll want to set up a custom camera, and you can plug in any lens sets you want from there. Nice and easy. Pretty much a no brainer for me.
 
I tried the Artemis on ipad but I dont think the wide angle works and since it crops out different mm on ipads crappy camera I cant se my self using it. Perhaps it works better on a ipone.
 
Would like to continue this dialogue...
 
On scouts, I use Artemis or a Canon 7D or 5D, depending on the job and where I think the focal length range will be. On shoot days I use a Kish Optics finder with whatever primes I have in the package unless I'm in a hurry and then I use Artemis.
 
Yes, long lenses are supported on Artemis and yes, the 24mm at 5k 2:1 is the widest you can go with the iPhone lens limit. You can go wider but the 24mm image is shrunk down to show the relative sizing - which is better than nothing. Easy to imagine for most work.

If you need higher res images use a 5 or 7d for that. I

f I need it precise staging design, I map the location in SketchUp and use their advance camera tools to plan scenes in their entirety. Using Shot Designer helps as well to create shot lists and communicate setups to the crew and department heads.
 
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