A group of big name Hollywood directors has nudged studio executives into talks with Kodak, negotiating a deal that would keep the company’s movie film in production. With support from the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, and J.J. Abrams, the deal would see studios commit to buying a certain amount of film from Kodak for the next few years. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
I’d forgotten all about my childhood dreams of achieving world domination using my very own robot army until I switched on the TB3 from eMotimo. As soon as I synched up the wireless remote and started panning and tilting this robotic tripod head, I was transformed into a grinning 8 year old boy who believed he could do anything.
I expect that the eMotimo exhibit at trade shows is usually ringed by a troupe of grinning time-lapse photography nerds like myself, who just realized they stumbled upon a truly legendary tool for photographic creativity.
The short time-lapse movie above was made entirely using the TB3 with my Sony A7R Camera mounted on the Rhino Slider Pro 4ft. What started out as a couple of quick test shots turned into a fully fledged trailer when I realized what I could achieve with the TB3. Once I stuck it on a slider, things got awesome real quick.
Pictured on the left with a Canon DSLR
For those of you who have no idea what’s so great about a device like this, let me throw the term ‘Motion Control’ at you. If you want to shoot videos or time-lapse movies that offer the viewer a more captivating perspective than just a plain old dolly/slider shot, you’ll be wanting one of these TB3′s.
The TB3 from eMotimo allows you to add high production values to your footage by moving your camera along two axes while shooting. It can pan AND tilt all at the same time. Combine this device with a slider and you’ve got yourself a powerful three axis rig for making fascinating cinematography and time-lapse photography. Your footage will appear to have been shot with a camera that magically floats through the air.
The TB3 shown here with a Canon DSLR and a Rhino Slider Pro 4FT.
It’s not just about time-lapse and video. The TB3 also allows you to take multi-gigapixel images such as panoramas. For landscape shooters who want wall-filling image resolution, this feature is a major bonus. When you add in the awesome time-lapse and video shooting capabilities, you’re getting a lot of functionality for just under a $ 1000 USD.
Programming the movement of the TB3 requires a small learning curve. The interface is a very basic LCD screen with abbreviated titles and you navigate through this by using the included remote control joystick. It takes a while to get used to but if you’ve ever used a video game joystick you’re already half way there.
You can decide how many points of location your film sequence will have. If you want a simple A to B movement you select a two-point move. You tell the TB3 where you’d like to start and where you’d like to end, and the TB3 fills in the blanks.
With a three-point move you can get more creative by adding a less obvious direction to your movement. You could even program the TB3 to go into reverse after you’ve reached point two, or point the camera in the opposite direction, whatever you like. This is great for taking your audience on an unpredictable ride through your scene.
‘Reverse’ moves come in really useful when you’re using a slider and need to save valuable battery life by cutting out the ‘return to start’ move that the TB3 has to do once you’ve programmed in your move. You basically work backwards and tell the TB3 to start shooting from your last position. This is essential when doing vertical ‘jib’ shots on a slider which sucks a LOT of battery power.
At the beach shooting a Timelapse sunset with the TB3 from eMotimo on a Rhino Slider.
When I first saw the word ‘Ramp’ in the interface I thought it referred to Bulb ramping or ‘Bramping’ for time-lapse, but it actually refers to the degree of acceleration used when the TB3 moves to its start and end points. This is a really cool feature as it gives your camera motion a very smooth, but dynamic movement, as the TB3 gradually speeds up and then slows down to its end point. Most of the scenes in my video feature a ramp setting of 70.
Another great feature of the TB3 is that you can specify a static ‘no movement’ period to either end of your shooting sequence. This is great if your sequence ends and you then fade up some titles in your video but want to keep the movie playing in the background.
Smartphone shot. The TB3 almost going for a swim while shooting a time-lapse at Jack Point, Nanaimo (Canada).
This is a sturdy unit. It kind of looks like something you’d expect to find under the skin of a young Arnold Schwarzzeneger during his debut as the world’s favourite cybernetic assassin. It’s built for functionality, not looks, and I expect it will appeal to the gadget geek in all of us due to its no nonsense appearance.
As well built as the TB3 is, I wouldn’t want to drop it. There are lots of exposed moving parts so it’s best to handle it with the care and attention it deserves. Encasing it in rubber would perhaps give it more protection but would add more weight. The interface cable that connects the moving parts to the brain of the unit could be more rugged as it’s already started to fray after light use.
Smartphone shot. Semi-vertical jib style shots like this require more battery power so the TB3′s reverse 2-point move helped save me a little battery life.
Lets face it, if you’re doing serious time-lapse movies or cinematography, you long ago accepted that you’d be lugging heavy gear around. The TB3 isn’t that heavy in itself but it’s yet another bag to carry along with your camera bag, tripod(s) and slider. For what this gadget does, I think they’ve packed a lot of tech into a relatively small device but I can’t wait to see a ‘Sonyfied’ future version that won’t add to my chiropractor bills. Till then, just deal with it.
Yet another essential accessory for the time-lapse and video shooters – the external battery pack. eMotimo were kind enough to lend me the ‘Anker Astro Pro’ battery pack which powers the TB3 and many other devices such as your phone and camera. Although this adds yet more weight to carry, it’s great to know that when my Sony A7R battery inevitably lets me down (which it does daily), the battery pack will allow me to recharge in the field.
Smartphone shot. You can see I’ve written down all my interval settings for the 7 second sequences featured in my film.
The TB3 is compatible with most major camera systems but as you’d expect, the best compatibility is reserved for the two major giants Canon and Nikon. I’m a Sony shooter so this posed somewhat of a problem for my plans to shoot the time-lapse movie shown above. eMotimo managed to get around this problem by providing a simple IR (infrared) transmitter cable that I taped to the IR receiver port on my Sony A7R. Not as slick as the Canon/Nikon cabled version but it did the job. I’d like to see a wired solution from eMotimo pretty soon though as it looks like Sony is starting to gain traction with their new range of cameras.
For time-lapse shooters that use advanced bulb ramping devices like the ‘Promote Control’, you’ll be glad to know that this can be integrated with the TB3. eMotimo also provides motor accessories for various popular sliders so you have some different options for the 3-axis motion control shown in my example video.
Smartphone shot. My favourite angry tree stump gets the time-lapse treatment with the TB3 carefully balanced on the stump.
Smartphone shot. I found that hanging the battery pack off the slider caddy gave the best results.
Absolutely. The TB3 has enjoyed something of a cult following among the rockstar time-lapse and DLSR video shooters. It’s not just because eMotimo were there during the early years of the time lapse video phenomenon, it’s because they make a very versatile and rock solid product. When you factor in the sub $ 1,000 price point and the awesome tech support, I really don’t see any other contenders.
Our rating system doesn’t allow for a 4.9 so I’m forced to give the TB3 5 stars. I could have given it 4.5 stars but that just wouldn’t be enough. If eMotimo can fix my two main gripes of having a better carry case and some form of improvement on the Fotomate mounting plate, the TB3 would be perfect and fully deserving of 5 glorious shining gold stars.
Want some time-lapse tips? Try these:
The post eMotimo TB3 Review – Robotic Tripod Head and Time-lapse Movie by Gavin Hardcastle appeared first on Digital Photography School.
The Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III may have photographers drooling over its fast lens and pop-up electronic viewfinder, but it gains some serious video-related updates too. It now features full sensor readout for higher image quality (as previously seen on the RX10), and also supports the XAVC S codec which allows higher bit-rates. In the latest update to our First Impressions Review, we take a detailed look at its movie mode. Click through to read all about it.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
SLR Magic has created the Anamorphot 1,33x – 50, an accessory lens for film makers that compresses the image horizontally by a factor of 1.33x. This allows footage to be shot for 2.35:1 widescreen projection using the standard 16:9 aspect ratio that most cameras record, without having to crop vertically and lose resolution. The lens will be available by March 2014 and cost $ 899.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Nikon has announced an LED movie light for its Coolpix and 1 System cameras. We could swear the LD-1000 was already available, but maybe that’s because we’ve been seeing mockups of it attached to 1 System cameras at tradeshows for a couple of years. The lamp is fairly compact and uses LEDs behind a diffusion panel for soft, even light. Although it comes with a bracket to mount it onto compatible cameras, the LD-1000 can be hand-held for more control. It will be available next month at an MSRP of $ 99.95.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Back in April we posted about the GSS C520 – a five-axis gyro stabilized 4K cinema system being used by Teton Gravity Research to shoot a feature film about skiing. If the preview footage is any indication, it’ll be pretty intense, putting the 4K rig to work in some impressive locations. The trailer is available online now – click through to see the preview footage in all its high-definition glory.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
Drive-in movie theaters stand for the great American auto-centric suburban dream, though as time goes by fewer and fewer of the outdoor screens remain standing.
(image via: WebUrbanist)
On June 6th, 1933, as many as 400 New Jersey motorists looking to escape the harsh realities of the Great Depression for a while enjoyed Wives Beware, starring Adolphe Menjou, from the comfort of their automobiles. Though the 40 by 50 ft screen at Park-In Theaters in Camden is long gone (it operated for only three years), other relics of the Drive-In Theater Age still stand, if just barely.
(images via: Gadling and Ego-TV)
According to travel photographer Craig Deman, “approximately 90 percent of drive-ins are closed from their peak in the late 1950s.” Deman is somewhat of an expert on the topic, having authored the hauntingly illustrated The Drive-In Project which documents the current state of abandoned drive-in movie theaters from coast to coast.
(images via: Debra Jane Seltzer, robert e weston jr and Paul A. Valentine)
They say “Life Is Sweet In Texas” but since the Midway Drive-In Theatre in Sweetwater, Texas closed things just haven’t been the same. The 230-car capacity drive-in was opened in the 1950s and like many drive-ins of the era, provided a large playground for kids and an outdoor seating area for families in front of the screen.
(image via: Nicholas Henderson)
The jagged faux mountain range painted in bold Indian red & forest green on the back of the Midway Drive-In Theatre‘s screen make it an easily identified landmark, even from far across the windswept plains of north-central Texas. Flickr user Nicholas Henderson captured the screen-back backdrop’s eerie essence above, looking little the worse for wear, on a bright summer’s day in 2011.
(images via: Darren Snow and Lowand77)
There’s not much left of Mt. Orab, Ohio’s Lake Drive-In besides its inimitable Fabulous Fifties main sign and the moldering wooden ticket shack. Indeed, the theater’s Happy Days indeed have long since faded though Richie, Potsie, Ralph and the Fonz still likely have fond memories of many a moonlit night… hey Arthur, don’t you think it’s about time you let those guys out of the trunk?
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Fujifilm has posted firmware version 3.01 for the X-Pro1, which resolves a bug in the recently-released v3.00 that caused movies to be recorded incorrectly under some circumstances. It’s otherwise the same, meaning that it promises faster AF speed, and adds a ‘peaking’ display mode to aid manual focus, compared to prevous versions. Click through for the download link.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By Steph in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]
Sometimes, the setting of a film is almost more important than the plot itself, and that’s particularly true with abandoned places. Crumbling ruins of hospitals, prisons, houses, schools and other facilities seem to host echoes of past residents and events, often radiating a sense of trauma and loss. Of course, the catch – at least, in fiction and fantasy – is that these places aren’t really abandoned after all. Here are 10 (more!) abandonments, real and invented, that feature prominently in scary movies and television shows.
Death Tunnel may not be the greatest horror film ever made, but it’s the setting that’s the real star of the show. This 2005 movie about five college women locked into a Kentucky hospital where 63,000 people died from a disease known as the ‘white plague’ was filmed at the real life Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Louisville. And that part about thousands of people dying there? It’s actually true. Treated with little more than fresh air and sunlight in an era before antibiotics, the tuberculosis patients admitted to the hospital invariably ended up in the 500-foot tunnel located beneath the hospital, called a ‘body chute.’ The dead were secretly lowered into the tunnel and loaded on a train so that the remaining patients wouldn’t give up hope that they’d get out alive.
Built in 1910, Waverly Hills closed in 1961 after the advent of advanced medical care drastically reduced the number of patients coming in. Plans are underway to turn it into a hotel that will play up its ‘haunted’ history.
‘Silent Hill’ is based on a real place. This seemingly fictional setting of a series of video games and a movie is based on Centralia, a borough of Pennsylvania that has been abandoned as a result of a mine fire that has burned underground since 1962. Prior to the 1980s, it had about 1,000 residents; there are just a handful left today despite the town being condemned. The blaze beneath Centralia has opened steam pits, sink holes and carbon monoxide vents. The fictional Silent Hill is located in West Virginia, and the reasons for its abandonment are far more frightening.
In the 2006 film The Abandoned, an adopted American film producer returns to her hometown in Russia after receiving a phone call from a notary public that she had inherited her family’s abandoned farm. When Marie arrives at the house to learn more about the family she never knew, a man tells her he received the same phone call, and that they’re twins. But once inside, the pair find that the dead residents of the house don’t really want them to leave.
Released overseas as ‘Death Line’, Raw Meat is a 1973 movie set in an abandoned subway tunnel under London. Inspired by the many real-life abandoned tube stations of the area, Raw Meat envisions these creepy, darkened subterranean settings filled with a family of cannibals descended from Victorian railway workers.
The idea of a once-bustling metropolis utterly abandoned (by humans, anyway) serves as fodder for all sorts of fiction, from books to films. The 2008 adaptation of ‘I Am Legend’ starring Will Smith is just one of many giving us a glimpse of what New York City might look like if it were allowed to fall into ruin, taken back over by the forces of nature. Smith stars as a lone survivor of an epidemic that has turned most of the population into bloodthirsty mutants.
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Canon has created a ‘Video Camera X-series look’ Picture Style for its EOS cameras, specifically designed for movie work. As its name suggests, it’s designed to match the colour look of the company’s X-series professional camcorders. It produces low contrast, low saturation footage that’s better suited to post-production grading processes than the cameras’ existing options. It’s downloadable now from Canon’s website and can be installed on almost any Canon EOS model, from the movie-optimized EOS-1D C to the mirrorless EOS M.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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