Recording - ProRes vs CinemaDNG

After talking to a number of potential renters It has come to my attention that I probably don’t have enough memory cards for most people doing heavy production work. With only 30 min of memory card time I’m still about 1hr 30 min short of what most people feel comfortable with.

My intention has always been to use an external recorder such as the HyperDeck Shuttle when I needed more recording time. For me these situations would be controlled, like interviews, where having the extra weight and power requirements wouldn’t be a problem. Since Apple ProRes is far easier for me to edit with anyways I’d almost prefer to be shooting in that format all the time.

But What About RAW?

Of course one of the biggest things people like about this camera is that it shoots CinemaDNG RAW. The options that format brings for grading are great, and I’m no colorist, but to my mind, good exposures and Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) should be almost on par. To my mind the GAME CHANGING difference the camera brings is the CCD. With a global shutter and analog look, the camera’s CCD is really what you notice on the screen. And that doesn’t change with the recording format. Apple ProRes recorded off the 10-bit HDSDI will still look as filmic as the CinemaDNG files. And ultimately the workflow becomes easier since ProRes is so much more supported.

So, I guess this is my way of opening up the debate: what are the real advantages of a CinemaDNG workflow vs a ProRes (HQ) workflow? Do you think it makes a difference? Would you use the camera without CinemaDNG files?

Oh, and can we make cDNG catch on instead of having to type out CinemaDNG all the time?

Ikonoskop Notes

Update - After posting this Joachim Vansteelant sent me a message informing me the firmware update I’d been neglecting actually addresses most if not all of these “Current Issues”. The feature requests stay the same.

One of the things I really like about owning a dII is that the company is incredibly small. Thus, I feel I have a pretty direct line to the team there through Lukas Eisenhauer - one of two sales and support folks.

After testing the camera this weekend I’ve put together a little list of feature requests I’ve sent to Lukas as well as some issues I’ve found. Take a look and let me know what you think of these. And for those other owners, let me know what kind of feedback you’ve given to Ikonoskop so far.

Features I’d like to see:

• Menu output through SDI
• Menu output to DP screen
• Quick status screen option from selection dial. When pressed, this would show current FPS, shutter speed, Record setting (normal, interval or still), and other useful setting info at a glance
• Shot duration option instead of remaining time on card

Current Issues:

• Monitor output unstable/glitchy
• Menu selection resets to default option instead of current setting.
• DP monitor is very choppy
• Time remaining and current timecode are not updated in realtime so you have no idea who long your shot has run for.

A Weekend in Boston

The Setup

I spent the last weekend in Boston, MA, trying to test the dII with Mike Sutton and the rest of the gang over at Rule Boston Camera. Unfortunately events conspired that we weren’t able to get much testing done as a number of the folks Mike had hoped to introduce the camera and me to - and even Mike himself - had other engagements come up. In the end, though, the camera was the biggest problem of the weekend.

We started out in Rule’s offices. I’d picked up some new equipment to fill out my gear list - a new Genus matte box, a Redrock Micro Follow Focus | Blue and the 15mm rod adapter for my Really Right Stuff quick release clamp setup.

The Genus matte box is pretty straight forward. I got the lightweight 16:9 model with 2 4x4 (or 4x6) filter holders. Originally I’d intended to rail-mount it and had purchased the matching rail adapter. However I quickly found that the MRRS and RRS quick release don’t place the Ikonoskop at the correct height to sit in the center of the matte box. And since the adpater is non-adjustable this leaves me with a problem. 3 solutions are available for this problem:

1. Have a space plate made for the MRRS and RRS quick release to get the dII up to the right height.
2. Replace the Genus matte box and rail adapter with something adjustable like the Vocas.
3. Replace the rail adapter with a clamp-on adapter so the matte box is affixed to the lens instead of the rails.

For the purpose of shooting during the weekend I decided to go lens-mounted as that was a cheap rental for the adapter. However I quickly found this to be an incredibly time-consuming option when changing lenses. Out in the field you have to unscrew the clamp, set the matte box somewhere, remove the lens, replace the lens then replace the matte box. Since the whole idea of my personal rig is to be quick in changing lenses, mounting and unmounting the camera, and generally being easy to use and minimalist (like the camera itself) this isn’t going to work long term. So I’ll most likely be looking at a heigh-adjustable matte box like the Vocas.

The Redrock Micro Follow Focus | Blue is another item that will be returned. Immediately after pulling it out of the box I realized it was FAR to large to be a good companion to the Ikonoskop. So instead I purchased a Genus Superior Follow Focus from Rule. The Superior FF certainly is that in many ways to the Redrock Micro | Blue. It has reversible gearing, a better clamping and adjusting latch system and a much smaller footprint on the rig (and in the bag).

The Micro RRS 15mm rail adapter I’ll definitely be keeping. I like the speed of the quick release system and it feels very solid. It is also the only setup I’ve seen that allows you to hand-hold the whole setup even with rails, follow focus and matte box on. In fact, the Micro RRS and RRS clamp add some support to your palm when hand holding. I do, however, like the idea of a man-cam style setup once I get the remote trigger from Ikonoskop.

The Testing

First statement: all this testing was done on 1-version old firmware. I wasn’t able to update the firmware while I was at Rule like I’d hoped, so this information is presented with that disclaimer. The version info of the current firmware doesn’t indicate anything related to this testing was changed, but you never know.

This is the most disappointing part of the trip. I knew going in that there would be issues with the Ikonoskop, but I had no idea they’d be as bad as they were. Right out of the gate we tackled the issue of monitoring. In San Diego I’d tried in vane to get a hack-job SMB to BNC cable and an old Marshall monitor to work with the dII, but to no avail. The cable most likely wasn’t the issue - plenty of people have written about issues with the 1080p (instead of pSF) format and various devices - however it turned out to be the biggest problem for us as the hacked-together cable quickly crapped out. Fortunately Mike was able to scrounge up a better one from the rental department. After we got the cable issue straight we were able to get a picture - though glitchy - on a Panasonic monitor. Trying to get the same picture to record to an external monitor, however, didn’t happen. We tried a KiPro Mini, a NanoFlash and a CineDeck without any luck. To be fair Ikonoskop has already said the KiPro Mini wouldn’t work. We tried passing through the monitor to all of them. But again: no luck. We wanted to try a Sound Devices PIX240 but their only one was unfortunately out for rental.

That was pretty much the extent of the testing. This whole process took about 3 hours and the coolest part of that time was when guys (and gals) would come through the area we were testing in then stop and ask questions. A lot of people seemed interested, especially when they learned the camera shot RAW. Many mentioned the shape and ergonomics of it. Many smiled when they learned that Rule may soon be sub-renting mine. All in all it seemed that few people had heard of the camera, but most left intrigued. And I hope eager to use it.

The Shooting

The second part of the weekend (Saturday) I spent with one of Rule’s employees - Sam Smith - who showed me around Boston and helped me find something interesting to do some shooting with. To make a short story shorter we ended up at Frog Pond in Boston Commons. The “Pond” is a skate ring in the winter and there were plenty of folks out skating, including a group of Cos-Play folks. Very entertaining and fun to shoot to say the least.

I’d rented a few ND filters so I could get proper exposures (I’d found out in San Diego that T16 isn’t anywhere close to enough for a proper exposure in broad daylight with the dII). Everything was working great, though I clearly need some practice pulling focus, until I tried to do a timelapse of the zamboni cleaning up the ice during a break. I swapped lenses, went to record and suddenly the picture was totally messed up. I tried to restart, change the settings and everything else I could think of, but nothing worked. frustrated Sam and I packed it in.

When I got back to the hotel room to start dumping footage the camera had warmed up (I thought the problem may have been the very cold temperatures) but was still displaying the same odd picture. After dumping the card I formatted it and tried shooting with the screen still going weird to see what I’d get. Oddly enough the camera seemed to be stuck on interval mode as I’d record for 10-20 seconds but only get a few frames. All the images looked okay, so I can only conclude that the sensor itself is alright, but whatever is doing the processing is stuck somehow.

At this point I’ve contacted Lukas at Ikonoskop to see what he says. I’m fully expecting to have to send the unit in for repairs. Since the holidays are here and I need to send my lens kit in anyway I won’t be too put out. Hopefully they’ll update the firmware and do a calibration for me while its there.

The Summary

The trip wasn’t a total bust. I’m glad I got to see Mike in person and meet some of the folks at Rule.Even though the camera didn’t work with a lot of equipment and ended up totally breaking down I am happy that it happened during a test instead of a real live project. After reading about Phillip Bloom’s headaches with Red I’m glad I don’t have paying clients relying on the camera, and I won’t be renting it out until I’m confident in it’s stability. I’m sure once I get it back from Ikonoskop I’ll be running it through more tests with various gear…

I’ve already got an XLR - Lemo cable on the way so I can test out using the on-board audio. I’ve picked up a Lemo-5 to Lemo-5 cable to sync timecode with an external recorder. Now I just need to find someone with one who’ll do test sound work with me in SF. I’m also going to have a Powertap to Lemo-2 cable made so folks can use an Anton Bauer Gold plate to power the camera. I won’t be including that in the rental, but I feel I should have the cable in case folks want to rent that equipment too.

The most current equipment list at this point for me:

• A-Cam dII
• JSC Optar PL mount prime lens set (8, 9.5, 12, 16, 25 and 50mm)
• IMS C-mount adapter
• 2x 80GB Ikonoskop memory cards
• 4x NP-F770 batteries
• Dolgin Engineering 4x bay rapid charger
• Really Right Stuff camera plate, quick release and 15mm rod adapter
• 6.5” rod set
• 2” rod extenders
• Genus Superior Follow Focus
• Genus matt box (for now)

Getting Going

I’m taking some inspiration from Joachim Vansteelant, a fellow dII owner, and really giving this tumblr blog a shot. His tumbler is pretty good, with lots of interesting information on it. You should go check it out - http://a-camdii.tumblr.com/.

I’ve been up to a lot just in preparation for shooting with the camera. There’s so much more to working with this camera than the HDSLR’s and EX-1 I’m used to. Just owning one has been a lesson in inland marine insurance and custom Pelican Case foam inserts to protect the investment I’ve made; new codecs, new software, accessories and storage.

And since this isn’t a camera that most people can readily get their hands on to play with I’m going to try and document as much as I can through my learning process. I’ve already got a list of things to share. Some of this will be old hat to many seasoned filmmakers who are used to working with advanced codecs and gear. So for those who find my content repetitive I’d ask that you add your voice in the comments so we (or at least I) can learn from your great experience. For those who are interested in the camera and are, like me, moving up to it from more common equipment, I invite you to ask questions in the comments and I’ll do the best I can to answer them.

Here’s a brief list of the things I intend to cover in the next few posts:

• After Effects - FCP7 - After Effects roundtrip workflow
• Rail systems, follow focus and matte boxes
• My own education in coloring through TaoOfColor.com’s tutorials
• C-mount lens options

I’ll also be joining my friend, Mike Sutton, who’s a senior account manager over at Rule Boston Camera in a couple weeks to really put the A-Cam dII through its paces so they can decide if they want to rent it out to their clients. My hope is with their extensive rental house I’ll be able to test out a bunch of advance equipment with it to see what works and what doesn’t.

Here’s some of the things I’m hoping to test:

• Timecode sync’d audio with a Sound Devices 744T
• Recording proxies via the HD-SDI out
• Different rail, follow focus and matte box setups
• Real field time with the camera to have a short film to show at the end of it all

It’s a start. Let me know what else you think we should test and we’ll try and work it in. Cheers, Aaron.