Thanks for the comment. The footage I’ve seen from those Canon 5D mk II cameras has been really spiffy — there’s a neat music video with a making of that looks cool.

In regards to the more expensive Cine City equipment in general and the follow focus in specific, I haven’t had a chance to try any of it out yet. If I can find anyone in the area with pieces I can check out, I’ll definitely do a thorough review. Until then I have to say “who knows.” I have seen a couple of mentions of the follow focus on places like HV20.com, and I believe they were decent (for the price), but I haven’t been able to track any of the threads down. Do a search on the HV20 site or on a place like DVXUser and you may come up with some first hand reviews.

The problem I’ve run in to with the Cine City stuff is the lack of reviews online. Like I mentioned above, you see a lot of reviews and demos which are obviously put together by the guys in India, but nothing impartial at all. Hopefully someone will get some reviews up in the future.

Thanks again and take care!

- Mat Nastos, Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Thanks for the note (and I really enjoyed the Operation Repo the Movie trailer on your website). Anyone looking to email me can do so at: mnastos (at) niftycomics (dot) com.

Thanks!

-Mat Nastos, Film Sensei
http://www.filmsensei.com

lou pizarro

Heya, Jim. I’d say a big part of your problem is going from XLR straight to the mini jack 3.5mm cable. I haven’t had any issues like that with my SGM1x through the Beachtek.

-Mat Nastos, Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Thanks for the note. I haven’t been able to get ahold of the Flycam from Cinecity yet. Like a lot of people I’ve been unsure about sending a big chunk of money out for a piece of equipment I’ve seen no real, independent third-party reviews for. You see a lot of video on the units which were obviously done by CineCity or its resellers, but nothing impartial.

If you’ve planned your shots and done proper blocking (and have a skilled operator), the Steadicam should do everything you need done, even while running a 35mm adapter rig. It might be a bit easier to get some of the shots with a shoulder support, but you don’t really need both — aside from a shoulder mount being a bit easier to run for longer periods of time.

I hope that helps!

-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

Thanks for the note. I’ve heard some good things about the JAG35pro adapter online but I haven’t tried one myself. I’d love to get a chance to play with one and check it out.

Before you buy any 35mm adapter you need to ask yourself “why am I buying this?” The 35mm adapters are just one tool in the arsenal of a filmmaker and, as I’ve said a few times, if you aren’t shooting properly then 35mm adapter won’t help your stuff look any better. I like to use the old addage “crap in, crap out.”

A 35mm adapter is there to help you get a shallow depth of field and that is really all it does. It won’t improve your footage itself in any way, it won’t give you an incredibly beautiful looking picture you couldn’t already get, it won’t turn your HV30 footage into 35mm film footage. It’s not magical. The work is done by you — picking shots, your framing, your scene lighting and your post production clean-up work.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t be using a shallow depth of field in every shot you film. Even guys shooting with 35mm film cameras don’t do that. You use it for effect and to help control where an audience is looking in a frame. It’s a specific technique/tool to be used for specific reasons and not just kind of tossed on to your camera and left there.

Anyway, I’m done babbling. Whether a JAG35pro is worth the cost and learning curve is something only you can decide. The 35mm adapters are great tools but they do take a lot of effort to learn and get to work properly.

I hope that helped!

-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com

I haven’t looked for a video tutorial for the TWONEIL 35mm Adapter, but I’d be surprised if there wasn’t one out there on YouTube or Vimeo. Send a note to Twoneil himself and he might have an answer for you.

You do have to zoom your camera in pretty far to set your focus on the focusing screen in the adapter. Once that is done you shouldn’t be using the camera itself to zoom of focus — that would all be done with the 35mm lenses.

Something you need to remember is that the TWONEIL 35mm Adapter itself isn’t going to give you the fantastic footage you see in examples online. You need to make sure you’ve got good lighting and you’ll need to do some post work to adjust colors, etc. What you want to get out of the camera is very neutral looking footage that contains all of the color and detail information you’ll need to work with later to get the picture the way you want it.

Keep in mind that the awesome footage you’re seeing online isn’t coming right out of the camera and getting posted.

-Mat Nastos, the Film Sensei
http://www.FilmSensei.com