Final Cut Pro X - overview & first impressions

My quick look at Final Cut Pro X.

In a nutshell -

Some useful features.

Cannot replace previous Final Cut yet due to 64bit re-write making all plugins for Final Cut Obsolete!

Cheap Battery Grip and e-bay Cokin P filter = meaty looking 550D!

Camera Roll-77, a photo by dale.campbell on Flickr.

iPhone 4 Tilt Shift Video app reviews

The two apps I am reviewing are

The realtime TiltShiftVideo - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/realtime-tiltshift-video/id425615921?mt=8

and the post processing TiltShift Video - http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tiltshift-video/id395953517?mt=8

Both apps allow you to easily manipulate the tilt-shift effect and offer a number of other options to enhance colours etc.

I definitely prefer the post processing TiltShift Video app, it allows so much more flexibility enabling you to capture video in another recorder app such as the standard camera or iTimeLapse etc.

And then it renders and exports at the maximum 720p resolution.

Some examples - Orestor f2.8 135mm

Orestor f2.8 135mm - Meyer Optik Gorlitz, a set on Flickr.

Here are some tests shots I made this afternoon.
The two shots of the bird feeder are interesting, one is wide open and has a very shallow depth of field. The other was stopped down and you can see more detail in the out of focus areas.
I also tried photographing my son, a fast moving target. Found that I had to stop down as it was very difficult to alter focus fast enough and keep him framed given the focal length this lens is giving me on the 550D.
But once I got used to it I managed to get some really nice shots that were plenty sharp and in focus where they needed to be.

Orestor f2.8 135mm - Meyer Optik Gorlitz

Orestor f2.8 135mm - Meyer Optik Gorlitz, a photo by dale.campbell on Flickr.

The M42 screw to Canon EF mount adaptor finally arrived!

Been testing it out and getting used to the 135mm focal range + the 1.6 crop the 550D is adding.
From what I have seen so far I think I am really going to enjoy this lens!
The focus ring does almost a complete turn to get to infinity, which given how shallow the Dof can be seems essential….
test shots and videos to follow soon

Meyer Optik Görlitz - Orestor 135mm f2.8

New old lens - the Bokeh Monster that is the Orestor 135mm!

I will be doing some reviews and info videos about this and other older lenses.
Just waiting for the M42 screw to Canon EOS adaptor....

Its in really good condition and wasn't too over priced, this lens has become very popular lately so the can go for a silly amount.

The 15 blade aperture is very smooth and has no hard stops, can't wait to test it!

Camera Roll-86, a photo by dale.campbell on Flickr.

Camera Roll-83, a photo by dale.campbell on Flickr.

App Review - Fire 2 Field Recorder

I use the FiRe field recorder application almost daily. So When I heard that they had a new improved version I had to check it out!

It will cost you to download the new version as it is not a free upgrade, this isn't a deal breaker for me but in general I know a lot of people get annoyed when app devs upgrade to a new version of the app that has to be payed for.

There are a few interface tweaks and in general everything is a little more polished. The app now has an effects section which will be handy for anyone needing to add some quick fine tuning to recordings.

They have also added 48KHz recording which is huge for anyone working with video as it means you can now use the iphone to capture audio and be able to sync it to the cameras audio.

You are also now able to upload to dropbox alongside soundcloud and ftp.

I use the soundcloud uploading a lot and probably won't use the dropbox feature but its nice to have.

All together a worthwhile upgrade and if you are new to the app I would go for this version, for the majority of casual users the updates in this version wouldn't really be worth the extra cost.