Blogging With Video, Hoping to Go Viral. Really?

 
Ay ay ay! I might have more than a few issues with this New York Times article “Blogging With Video, Hoping to Go Viral.”

“You want to have a decent camera. A hand-held video camera is nice and offers more features and flexibility, but your smartphone is fine… The only additional equipment you might consider is a separate lavaliere or lapel microphone. And if there isn’t enough ambient light to illuminate your face, spring for a clamp lamp that you can find at most hardware stores… “

Here’s the complete article.

Is “good enough,” good enough? What’s your take?

Using an iPad as a Key Light.

 
Rodney Charters, Drew Gardner and Lan Bui playing with the new Canon EOS C300 camera. To test the camera’s 20,000 ISO capability, they shot a low-light scene using an iPad for the key light and an iPhone for the fill light. This is way too cool.

Test Technical Notes:
Camera: Canon C300
ISO: 20,000
Lens: Canon 100mm f/2.8 IS L lens
Aperture: f/2.8
Shutter: 1/25th (360 degree)
Canon Log Gamma

The Best Smartphone Apps for Cinematographers – Test 001.

 
We will be testing a number of filmmaking applications for smartphones (both for Android OS and iOS). Acacia, a free app for the Android platform is our first victim.

According to the developers this app “aims to be a Swiss army knife of tools for filmmakers, currently providing an interactive Depth of Field (DOF) calculator, equipment and media management, shot logging, and a virtual slate (or clapper).  The latest version added a rudimentary digital Director’s Viewfinder as an experimental feature, and that is what got my attention. Sometime I carry my camera, but I always have my phone with me. With Acacia’s Director’s Viewfinder I can now scout any location and determine which lenses do I need for a shoot. But, is it accurate? Watch the video to find out.

Since this is our very fist field test, we would love to hear your feedback and comments. What can we improve? What else would you like us to review?