Learning to See

Here Comes the Twister

Jon Roemer — Wed, 16 May 2012 19:31:32 +0000

Sophie Clarke, CBS' Survivor South Pacific winner (Fall, 2011.) Coney Island, NY, March, 2012.

A photo, a portrait, can sometimes be a puzzle. Asked to do a feature on Sophie Clarke, last fall’s Survivor South Pacific winner, it was up to me to find a concept. How do you meld Survivor, reference the South Pacific where it took place, and pay homage to her new home town, New York City?

Why in Coney Island, of course… where the beach, palm trees, a reference to a crazy storm/wild ride, and New York City can all be wrapped up in one.

The whirlwind of Survivor behind her, Sophie now tackles medical school in New York City.

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Sola ENGs on Set

Jon Roemer — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:31:36 +0000

Last Friday was my first opportunity to use the Litepanels’ Sola ENGs on set. They worked well and definitely far better than relying on my Omni Lights + CTB filters for backdrop lights.

Two Litepanels Sola Engs as backdrop lights. Three 1x1s for key, fill and a bit of back/hair light. 7' foot backdrop (for scale.)

The light from the Sola ENGs is easy to control. The two were set to flood and full power, their barn doors used to further control the light.

This setup gave me f/8 on the backdrop at ISO 2500 (camera set to 24p, 1/50 shutter.) Not so high that noise would be an issue and exactly where I wanted to be for the camera – my goal was f/5.6 for the subject. This allows the background to come out white.

I lit the key and fill accordingly to give me f/5.6 with the fill one stop under from the key. None of the 1x1s needed to be at full power. The key was a 1×1 spot + Chimera at 3/4 power. The fill was a 1×1 flood + Litepanels 3/4 Diffusion Filter at ~3/4 power and the backlight was a 1×1 spot at ~1/4 power.

Considering that we had six interviews to do over six+ hours it was nice not having the Omni setup pumping out heat the entire time.

Sola ENG + Manfrotto metal Swivel Umbrella Adapter.

I mentioned in my prior post that the Litepanels supplied stand adapter for the Sola ENG is a bit rube goldberg – it needs to be mated to a ball head. So, it has too many points of contact and in quick testing one is always coming loose. I used one Manfrotto metal Swivel Umbrella Adapter for each Sola ENG instead.

All in all – very good and it adds two lights of consistent color temp to my kit at a much lower price point than even one Litepanel 1×1. My biggest concern with the Sola ENGs remains their build quality, specifically the plastic foot which houses the 1/4-20 metal screw mount.

Sola ENG

Jon Roemer — Tue, 01 May 2012 16:58:57 +0000

I’m running some quick tests today on Litepanels Sola ENG lights to see if I can use them to replace my sixteen year old Lowel Omni lights. I have used two of the Omnis on video projects with CTB filters to convert them to daylight when I have needed something beyond my three Litepanel 1x1s. In particular, I have used the Omni+CTB to light white backdrops while the subjects are lit with the 1x1s but as you’ll see below that setup is a bit of a kludge. It works but the quality of the light from the Omni + CTB combo is limited.

The Sola ENGs now come in a kit which includes barn doors, a few filters, a ball head, a light stand mount, an AC adapter, a DC adapter via a D-Tap connection and a carrying case. *They have a $100 rebate through July 15th which brings the price per light below $500.

The test is to look at amount of light, beam spread and evenness of the light. All lights are just over 3′ from the wall, ISO 160, 1/50 sec. The photos are via an iPhone so disregard the color and the fringing seen. They are not there in real life.

L to R: Omni set to Flood + CTB = f/5.6; Omni set to flood = f/9, LP 1x1 Flood @ full power = f/5. Click to enlarge.

L to R: Sola ENG set to flood = f/4; set to mid-point = f/4.5; set to spot = f/6.3. Click to enlarge.

Color temperature readings:

~5600 Litepanel 1×1 Flood
~5600 Litepanel Sola ENG Flood setting
~5600 Litepanel Sola ENG Spot setting
4360 Lowel Omni Light + CTB filter

As you can see the Omni + CTB setup is a bit messy. The usable area is limited and there is bleeding of tungsten light around the edge which always needs to be blocked off.

In moving from two Omnis + CTBs I am taking a small hit in light output but it’s not as much as it appears. The Sola ENG at its mid-point setting pretty well approximates the area of the Omnis, so it’s f/5.6 vs. f/4.5. Two-thirds of a stop – though the Sola ENGs are on the cusp of f/5 so it is very close.

Some notes: The Sola ENG does have a fan, its noise is very low. It does not appear that it will be issue, especially since I am not looking to use these on camera or near a mic. I have had one of the Sola ENGs on at full power for over an hour and have not heard any cycling of the fan or other issues.

I have not tried Litepanels’ ball head, it plus their stand adapter need to be coupled together and that is a bit too rube goldberg. The Sola ENG does have a 1/4-20 screw mount in the bottom so you can connect it to just about anything (e.g. metal swivel adapter or Israeli arm.)

The casing and the fresnel lens of the Sola ENG are plastic. The two rings which control brightness (plus on/off) and beam spread have a sizeable rubber covering. My biggest concern is the plastic and the 1/4-20 mounting point. It is a metal thread embedded in a plastic foot.

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*It should be noted that an Arri 650 Watt Plus Tungsten Fresnel is less at $389. It’s a world apart in build quality (metal housing, glass fresnel) but also in size, weight and handling. 7.2 lbs and ~800 cu. in. for the Arri vs. 10 oz. and ~80 cu. in. for the Sola ENG. Added heat on set, a bigger power draw and cool time are needed for the Arri. Add a lamp, barn doors, scrims, and filters to the cost of the Arri.

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Update 5/9/12 - Sola ENGs on Set.

Stars and Stripes

Jon Roemer — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 20:57:22 +0000

Simuel Brown, NJ Shares grantee, photographed in Newark, NJ. February, 2012.

Cover photo for the 2011 NJ Shares Annual Report (published April, 2012.) Additional work for previous NJ Shares Annual Reports can be found in the people galleries on my web site; here, here, here, and here.

For the curious, the portrait was shot in the hallway seen here: Hall Monitor.

Level Up

Jon Roemer — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 04:25:26 +0000

Sorry for the over abundance of equipment posts, it’s been super busy and the work cannot be shown yet. That said, this is one more – think of it as note taking. When new cameras come in it’s always a bit of a dance as you get to know them and they you.

Today it was off to New York City for the second leg of a video project. I opted to shoot with both of my 5D Mark III’s, one locked off for a stationary shot and left running while I moved about to get some handheld b-roll with the second body. Here’s one look, taking advantage of the built-in level of the 5D Mark III.

Canon 5D Mark III, video setup, using the camera's built-in level via a monitor.

The camera is just over seven feet in the air. Impossible to see the level on the fluid head. No problem, just activate the camera’s built-in level and feed it to the monitor.

Another perk I liked, the lock control on the primary dial on the back of the camera. I engaged it to lock down my shutter speed while filming (1/50 sec.) but it still functioned normally for other settings if I needed to dive down into a menu. Nicely implemented.

Final observation of the night, it still surprises me how thoroughly people do not realize that you are filming when using a DSLR. Even with a small shotgun mic mounted on top and a z-finder on the screen.

Shine a Light

Jon Roemer — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:27:23 +0000

In the past week it has come out that there is an issue with LCD on the 5D Mark III. At first it seemed like the cause was the Internet feeding frenzy moving on from obsessing over whether the 5D Mark III’s movie mode is sharp enough to a new touchstone but Canon has acknowledged the issue.

Canon 5D Mark III, ISO 25600, Av mode, f/1.2 @ 1/6", LCD backlight off.

Canon 5D Mark III, ISO 25600, Av mode, f/1.2 @ 1/10", LCD backlight on (exp. change due to backlight.)

Described as a light leak, it’s important to note what the issue is and what it is not. It is not a light leak which affects image capture or video footage. It will not fog either. It is a light leak caused by the backlight of the top LCD screen, which under extremely dark situations can affect the camera’s meter reading. But only if that LCD backlight is on. What’s that mean in day to day use? Honestly, not much.

It has to be very dark and, again, you have to have illuminated the LCD. Additionally, the LCD light stays on for only ~five seconds. Assuming you illuminated the LCD for a reason, to check a setting, then the window of time where this might affect a picture is only a couple of seconds. And you can always turn the light off. That’s not to pooh pooh the issue, Canon needs to fix it, but the odds of running into it while shooting are very slim.

I tested one of my 5D Mark IIIs with the focus set to manual, camera in Av mode, and with the *viewfinder cap on. Here’s what I found:

5DM3 at ISO 25,600
f/1.2 @ 1/8 sec., turning on the LCD backlight changes the exposure to 1/10 or 1/13 (it bounces a bit between them.)
f/1.2 @ 1/30 sec., turning on the LCD backlight has no effect on the exposure.

5DM3 at ISO 6,400
f/1.2 @ 1/5 sec., turning on the LCD backlight changes the exposure to 1/6.
f/1.2 @ 1/15 sec., turning on the LCD backlight has no effect on the exposure.

ISO 3,200 is similar to above, exposure has to be at f/1.2 and longer than 1/10 sec. for the LCD backlight to affect the exposure reading.

As you go down in ISO the tipping point where the LCD backlight affects the exposure reading becomes longer in terms of exposure. e.g. ISO 160, f/1.2 @ 2.5″ -> backlight has no affect on exposure, ISO 160, f/1.2 @ 4″ -> backlight changes the exposure to 3.2″.

Manual metering mode is also affected in terms of the camera indicating correct exposure, e.g. if it was correct at ISO 6,400, f/1.2 & 1/5 then turning on the LCD will change the reading to 1/3 stop overexposed (e.g. the same difference as Av mode dropping the exposure from 1/5 to 1/6 sec.)

You probably get the idea – this needs to be corrected but it is highly unlikely that it will be problem.

One site, Petapixel, is also reporting that a strong external light on the top LCD will affect the meter. They are running a video which they say shows that shading the top LCD from the sun will change the exposure. I tried that but saw no change in the meter reading. I also tried shining a bright light (iPhone camera light) within 1/4″ of the top LCD but it had no effect.

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*The viewfinder cap needs to be on because light entering the viewfinder can affect exposure.

5D Mark III + Aperture Highlight Issue

Jon Roemer — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 02:47:11 +0000

Right on the heels of the Apple Digital Camera Raw update I processed an assignment shot on Thursday morning with the 5D Mark III in Aperture.

If anything the files look wonderful and feel very film-like.

Accountants let off steam in the height of tax season. Processed in Aperture, ISO 100 images. Somerset, NJ, April 5, 2012. Click to enlarge.

All good, that is until I looked back at the assignments I had processed in ACR (while waiting for Aperture to update Digital Camera Raw.) These are higher ISO images and at the extremes of recovering highlights. What you can see though is that Aperture is having an issue where DPP and ACR are not.

ISO 12,800. Each image clicked balanced off of the collar on the right. Mix of fluorescent, tungsten, and tinted lighting. Click to enlarge.

More subtle but here’s a similar issue:

ISO 4000. Look to highlight on back of neck and to left of subject's eye. Click to enlarge.

Once more but with brighter highlights:

ISO 3200. DPP - click to enlarge.

ACR - click to enlarge.

Aperture - click to enlarge.

Hard to know what the cause is here. Could be a camera setting that Aperture does not like or could be a problem with the Apple Raw Compatibility Update. I’ll dig a bit further – maybe it’s a noise reduction or lens correction setting in the 5D MarkIII or limited to high ISO images? In the meantime, I have sent the samples to a contact at Apple.

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Update – 04/09/12: I tried turning off the rest of the in-camera image settings (e.g. High ISO Speed NR, Lens Aberration Correction) just to make sure that they had no affect on how the image is processed. They do not.

I also ran one more test on a different 5D Mark III body and the results were consistent with the images above. The more saturated colors clip in Aperture.

Screen saver color test. Click to enlarge.

No expects the three raw convertors to match, they shouldn’t. Each program has its own color engine and for the photographer this is an advantage. You can look at raw convertors like film stocks. But the goal should be a smooth transition between colors and clipping or sharp edges between colors should not be present in the image if they are not in real life.

I took a quick glance through my 1Ds Mark III and my 1D Mark IV raw files last night just on the chance that I missed similar issues with those files. I did not – there are differences between the three programs but nothing as great as what is seen in the images above.

Apple, Aperture and DPP

Jon Roemer — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:13:47 +0000

Apple DCRC v3.12 adds Canon 5D Mark III support.

For those on the wait, Apple just issued Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 3.12 adding support for the Canon 5D Mark III. You can now process 5D Mark III files in Aperture (and iPhoto for that matter.) The update is available through Software Update in the System Preferences.

I had a shoot this morning and since the update above was not out yet I tethered via Canon’s DPP. Interesting to note that the newest version of DPP & EOS Utility brings along one more small software block, CameraWindow. From what I can tell CameraWindow operates in the background but it adds more flexibility to the DPP/EOS Utility tethering combo. In the past, changing a memory card or loosing the USB cable connection would mean restarting EOS Utility from scratch to get tethering going again. That no longer is the case. Now, EOS Utility opens automatically once the cable is connected and the camera turned on. Changing a memory card will turn off EOS Utility but it reopens on its own when the camera’s memory card door is closed.

Some further testing will be needed to see if this interferes with tethering via Aperture.

On a side note, there seems to be a bug in DPP when showing 5D Mark III raw files. They appear softer than they should. Canon has promised an update to correct this later this month.

Old Times, New Spring

Jon Roemer — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 14:58:40 +0000

38 stories above Times Square, in the Conde Nast building for a video project. Setting up in a very small room but one with a great view.

Old NY Times building, NY, NY. March 28, 2012.

From the hood, all the blossoms timed this year for the arrival of spring.

Princeton, NJ, March 22, 2012.

Did You Get the Purse? You Got to Get the Purse. Get the Purse.

Jon Roemer — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 04:35:31 +0000

I got my start shooting events in New York City in the late 80′s. Since then I have reduced the event coverage gigs to less than a handful per year, preferring to concentrate on the work you see on my web site.

Monday night though was Fordham’s Founder’s Dinner, an event I have covered since it began eleven years ago. It was also a good chance to push the envelope a bit more with the 5D Mark III. ISO 12,800… why not? Two other photographers at the event were pounding away with their flashes. I usually try to get something different, which in the past meant working with my 70-200 at ISO 3200 and 1/15 sec or with my 50 f/1.2. On Monday night I could work with the 70-200 f/2.8, the 24-105 f/4, and the 16-35 f/2.8 and have room to breath because the 5D Mark III’s high ISO capabilities.

Canon 5D Mark III, ISO 12,800, 24-105 f/4L, 24mm,f/4 @ 1/15. New York, NY, March 26, 2012. Click to enlarge.

How good is the 5D Mark III at high ISO? Here’s a 100% detail from above.

100%, Processed in ACR.

And for comparison, a similar detail from the Canon 1Ds Mark III, shot in 2008. 70-200mm f/2.8 IS lens, ISO 3200, f/2.8 @ 1/25.

100% Detail, processed in Aperture. 2008.

They are not a 100% match, one was processed in ACR, the other in Aperture. ACR has a bit more noise reduction built in. But you get the idea, they are very close and you are easily getting two more stops of usable ISO from the 5D Mark III.

One more example, similar to the first photo above but shot at ISO 12,800 and then pushed 1.1 stops in ACR.

Canon 5D Mark III, ISO 12,800, +1.1 Stops in ACR, 24-105 f/4L, 80mm, f/4 @ 1/40. Click to enlarge.

That’s simply amazing, to shoot at ISO 12,800 and then to have the latitude to push the file one more stop without the noise getting out of control.

The 5D Mark III can shoot at ISO 25,600 but I have yet to venture above 12,800. It can also reach ISO 51,200 and 102,400 when in extended range mode, H1 & H2. I suspect that 25,600 may be usable for a still photo but the speeds above that, not so much.