This post was updated on Feb 18 and on Feb 20 after Zeiss announced that Compact Primes will be available in EOS mount.

There have been a couple of posts this morning about rumors about a new Canon HDLSR that someone may or may not have seen in Europe [here on Planet5D and here on Canon Rumors.] The buzz about the buzz about the rumor about the camera that may or may not exist is that it will shoot VIDEO RAW (my term). I’m no expert, of course. Here are my thoughts and hopes anyway.

1. VIDEO RAW won’t fit on a CF Card. The 5DM2 in H.264 cranks out 350mb a minute. I’m happy to shoot 5DM2 video on 8gb and 16gb CF cards. Uncompressed, 10-bit 1080P at 30 FPS [VIDEO RAW] would be over 13gb a minute!*  At 23.98 FPS it would be 10gb.* (You can do your own calculations here on the Video Footage Calculator on Digital Rebellion.) So, I’m thinking that VIDEO RAW and a CF-based capture system are not a good fit. (*Click here for more insights on VIDEO RAW data rates and the viability of CF in the comments.)

2. VIDEO RAW is already a standard workflow for some. The reason to shoot VIDEO RAW is the same as shooting PHOTO RAW — you want to maximize your options in post. The RED platform has been embraced by TV, Hollywood and commercials for this reason. ARRI, another industry-standard, also produces the equivalent of 35mm digital cameras with their own version of RAW for moviemaking. VIDEO RAW won’t be for everyone. If fact, it won’t be for many. But for those who need/want this level of control in post, the Canon platform will likely be more affordable than the Red, Arri and other solutions currently on the market.

Feb 18 update: Thanks to my bud Zeke Kamm at NicePhotoMag.com, I just learned that Zeiss will intro their Compact Primes with EOS mounts in April. Read about it on PhotoCineNews and AbleCine. That’s a Zeiss Compact Prime in the intro photo above. Lucky guess on my part! To borrow a phrase from Shane Hurlbut, these lenses will be a “game changer” for the utility of the HDSLR as a high-grade commercial platform.

Feb 20 update: Vincent Laforet has posted a detailed article on the new Zeiss lenses here. Consider it a must read.

3. VIDEO RAW does not make sense might fit on an HDLSR platform. Written prior to the Zeiss announcement> Beyond the issues of data capture, VIDEO RAW does not make sense on an HDLSR because of the mirror. Producers and directors who want the benefits of VIDEO RAW will likely want the benefits of shooting true cine lenses. They need the precision of a T-stop over an F-stop. They will want the ability to pull focus with exact precision. Canon L-glass is great for stills, but considered beginner’s glass for big ticket movies and commercials. (Read Shane Hurlbut’s great article on cine lenses here.) Now, the challenge with mounting an industry-standard PL-mount cine lens onto an HDSLR is that the rear objective is in the swing path of the mirror. There is literally no place for a flapping mirror behind a pro-grade cine lens.

My hopes about a new Canon digital cine platform

1. A modular box to which I can bolt the accessories I need for a particular shoot: data recorder, sound gear, external monitors, electronic viewfinder, etc.
2. A field-changeable lens mount so that I can use either EOS or PL lenses. I want the option to have a direct lens attachment for either mount – without having to buy two cameras or use an adapter (like this one). I want to be able to change it in the field with a hex-wrench. Good news: the new Zeiss compact primes will do this. Details by Laforet here.
3. Time code, zebra and all the other video standard-issue features.
4. A price-point that I can afford.

If you’re wondering if what I really want is for Canon to beat Red’s Scarlet to market, the answer is absolutely YES.

A Panavision Primo bolted onto a Canon 5DM2. From: Shane Hurlbut's blog. Click the photo to read his post.

Many pro shooters still struggle to accept that the world is changing around us. My friend, Drew Gardner, who shoots commercially in London, is not one to wait for the obvious. Last August, Drew and I rendezvoused in Los Angeles at the Collision Conference. Over lunch, he swore a handful of colleagues to secrecy and then showed us the rough cut of a Suzuki commercial that he had just shot on the Canon 5D Mark II. Recently the cone of silence was lifted and Drew posted three videos on YouTube.

You can read the details here on Drew’s blog about how he used Canon’s HDSLR technology to produce the Suzuki ‘Resplect’ commercial on a micro-budget.

Time for a Swift Exit? The Suzuki ‘Resplect’ Commercial

‘Resplect’ on the Liverpool Media Wall—one of the biggest electronic billboards in Europe

Behind the scenes on the making of Sukuzi ‘Resplect’

A bit more on Drew…

If you are not familiar with Drew’s photography, click here to check out his images. Bet you’ll say “Oh… he’s that guy!”.

Location Lighting with Drew Gardner is an insightful DVD that follows Drew on two iconic shoots. You can order it from Midwest Photo Exchange in the US and from The Flash Centre in the UK.

The recent launch of Photocine News serves as another reminder that the world of digital photography continues to evolve as the line between stills and motion gets thinner and thinner.

Since PCN’s launch in early November, the site has published several articles a week that point to the people and projects on the forefront of digital cinematography.

Photocine is the brainchild of Michael Britt and Tom Stratton (the pair who bravely organized the Collision Conference in August) and Lou Lesko, the energetic founder of Blinkbid. Ellen Carl has stepped in as managing editor. You can get all the details about the PhotoCine team here.

Perhaps the best news to come out of the launch of PhotoCine News is that the Collision Conference will go forward as the PhotoCine Conference and Film Festival. The inaugural Collision Conference was a two-day event at the LA Film School that included many luminary presentations, such as those by mega-project directors of photography Shane Hurlbut (DP for Terminator Salvation) and Rodney Charters (DP for the TV series 24). I’m very glad to know that the re-branded event will be held again. Look for an announcement of the new conference in early 2010.

So welcome to the blogosphere PhotoCine News. I’ve no doubt that PCN will live up to its slogan as being “the definitive destination for filmmaking photographers”.

Bogen Imaging has kindly given me the opportunity to do a daily presentation in their booth at the Photoshop World Expo next week. Hot on the heels of my ‘Digital Photographers, Welcome Back To 1999‘ article, I will be talking about Taking The First Steps With HDSLR Cinematography.

Over the past three months, I’ve spent a significant amount of time in front of or behind a Canon 5D Mark II in HD video mode. While I do not consider myself to be an expert digital cinematographer (yet), I have loads of observations and anecdotes to share.

These are a few of the topics that I expect to ramble through:

• what the new generation of “hybrid cameras’ can and can’t do
• ten things every still photographer should know about getting started with motion
• how I see HDSLR cinematography as being different from traditional videography
• what gear you’ll want to have on hand beyond an HDSLR
• how to capture audio on- and off-camera
• what you’ll likely need to edit your project – both as an amateur and as a pro.

Bogen Imaging distributes a ton of gear that is great for HDLSR cinematography. Manfrotto and Gitzo make a wide range of tripods and heads (I’ll share my favorite combos). LitePanels makes a great range of  LED panels that are great fill light when parked atop your camera. Lastolight Skylights are invaluable for cutting down excessive amounts of sunlight. Kindly, the Bogen guys have agreed to haul in many of my favorites for a bit of show-and-tell.

I will have a couple of Canon 5DM2s rigged for video that you’ll be able to play with. (No promises about having a 7D on hand… but I’m working on it!) We’ll also look at some clips from a few of my new projects (and we’ll laugh at some of my bonehead mistakes).

Thanks to my friends at Peachpit, I will also have a copy of ‘Video Made On A Mac‘ to give away at each presentation.

So, if you’ll be in Vegas next week, you can catch me in the Bogen booth:

• Thursday, October 1, 2:15-3:00p
• Friday, October 2, 4:15–5:00p
• Saturday, October 3, 11:15a–1200p

Pictured above: my friend Zeke Kamm, editor of Nice Photo Mag and creator of the Strobist Trade Secret cards, testing out a new Redrock Micro rig for the Canon 5DM2.

Although I’m not a wedding shooter by trade, I am a firm believer in cross-pollinating with other types of photographers. Next month I’ll be heading to San Francisco to hang out with some of the best wedding photographers and videographers on the planet at Re:Frame San Francisco.

While my main interest is in pushing my skills forward as an HDSLR cinematographer, Re:Frame also goes deep into the areas of business management, branding / marketing, creative storytelling techniques and social media. Remember, if you’re looking to make a career in photography, knowing how to drive a camera is just a part of what you need to know. So, I’m sure that Re:Frame will fill my head with new ideas in these equally important areas.

There’s a great list of  speakers – including Philip Bloom and Dennis Lennie (the guys behind the recently-launched F-Stop Academy). Another attraction to Re:Frame is that it’s a relatively small group and everyone stays at the same hotel. So the chances of coming away with a group of new colleagues from across the country is huge.

You still have time to register. Check out the Re:Frame promo below. And, if you’ll be there, come up and introduce yourself. I’m the guy with the crazy, red hair.

Re:Frame San Francisco is HERE!! Sign up today! from Re:Frame Collective on Vimeo.

I’m convinced that 2009 is to digital stills photography what 1999 was to film photography. Call me Chicken Little. But I say that there’s another cataclysm heading our way. Although we can’t see the storm right now, in a handful of years, another wave of clouds will roll across the horizon. Careers for many will end – just like they did for film shooters who would not jump across the chasm into a digital world. Hint: you will know that the new storm is upon you when your client says “sure you’re a talented stills photographer, but who wants pictures that don’t move anymore?”

Darwin was right. The world won’t wait for you to figure out that the environment has already changed. A decade ago, film was king and digital cameras were expensive and buggy. The workflow to manage digital photos was equally expensive and filled with pitfalls. The naysayers happily pointed to the efficiency of their film cameras as they scoffed at digital’s early adopters. Today “photoshop” is a verb, Kodachrome is dead, and for much less than a typical mortgage payment you can buy all the digital camera gear needed to shoot a cover for Time magazine.

History will repeat itself. It’s been less than a year since the introduction of Canon’s 5D Mark II as first HDSLR with commercial potential. It’s only been a couple of months since the 5DM2 firmware was upgraded to allow the cinematographer to set the ISO, shutter speed and aperture. So, yes this technology is in its infancy. Learning to manage the output from a camera that spits out 300+ mb per minute in a quirky codec is tough. Want to capture pro-quality audio and sync it? Want to edit everything into a meaningful sequence? Want to transcode it for YouTube, the iPhone or Blue Ray? All are possible – if you’re willing to invest the time to learn and the money to get the gear. I guarantee you that the difficulty and expense will be much less in five years. But why wait? The early adopters are once again getting the head start on the industry.

Why the value of still images is collapsing

It’s that old supply-and-demand thing. The supply of digital images is way, way up. At the same time, advertising in magazines and newspapers is sinking.

If you want to continue earning a living at something you already do, it’s helpful if your trade is difficult to do and expensive to get started. Photography during the film-era was this way. Every time I pushed the shutter-button a couple of bucks flew out the window. Now the cost of getting into the pro photography game is virtually nothing (aside from the cost of the camera, the computer, the software, the training… still a relatively low investment for what you’re able to accomplish). I’m grateful that HDSLR cinematography is expensive and problematic right now.

The Trib Is Dead. Long Live The Trib. For several generations, ads in magazines and newspapers were the leading consumer of commercial stills. Sorry Charlie, those days are gone. Today advertisers are increasingly moving their efforts over to web-based campaigns. It’s not personal. It’s demographics. OK. So that means that it is personal. The web, with it’s ability to provide instantaneous feedback to advertisers enables those spending the ad bucks to target their message exactly where it needs to be within minutes. For an ad placed in the wrong magazine, the response time is measured in weeks or months. Print advertising is plummeting (stats here). It’s not the economy, stupid. It’s the medium. Check out MagazineDeathPool if you’re not already a regular reader. Now is not be the time to launch a career as a magazine shooter.

The Internet is not going away. Just the opposite is true. One need look no farther than the iPhone phenomenon to understand that the web is creeping into all corners of our lives. As bandwidth gets cheaper and more widespread, who is going to want to watch a static image when the entire world streams past? It’s not lost on me that the newest parents of today were raised during the early years of MTV. Imagine what the flow of images will be like when their kids come of age.

Watch out! The future is coming!

The world of Minority Report’s talking billboards is not far away.

Harry Potter’s moving newspapers are being invented.

Flexible, ultra-thin color screens are not far behind.

Oh wait? Did I make those last points with statements that were in motion?

A final thought – the silver screen is shrinking

I’ve often imagined that there was one curious brontosaurus millions of years ago who wondered why that one twinkle in the night sky grew larger each night. I imagine him standing out there year after year watching it grow from a speck to a noticeable glow to a fiery torment. Good news (for me) is that I’ve experienced the world change around me once before… I’m not waiting around this time. I’m doing all I can to morph commercially into a digital cinematographer – with the full expectation that my “silver screen” will be exactly the size of the latest iPhone.

A bit of the mystery about the future of photography will be peeled away this weekend in Los Angeles. If you are even mildly interested in learning about the merger of still and motion photography, then make last-minute plans to head to the Collision Conference.

Long-time PixSylarians know that I’m a huge fan of Michael Britt and his posse at Image Mechanics. As I’ve freely admitted, much of my digital workflow is based upon techniques that I’ve learned at IM workshops. As digital capture specialists, IM often manages more images in a week than most photographers will shoot in a lifetime. So, when I learned that Michael was organizing the Collision Conference, I put it on my calendar as a must-attend.

The two-day Collision Conference will look at the ideas and gear that are blurring the boundary between still and motion photography. Saturday August 29 will focus on Video Capture for Stills (VCS). Think of this as the ability to deliver stills and video from one capture device. Sunday August 30 will focus on digital filmmaking with hybrid cameras like the RED One and the Canon 5D Mark II. Check out the conference agenda and the list of speakers – which includes Vincent Lafloret and Shane Hurlbut ASC as keynote presenters.

Why I’m Attending The Collision Conference

There’s no doubt in my mind that the economic viability of earning a living as a still-only photographer is eroding quickly. Photogs who don’t start evolving will be caught in a lethal cross-fire that will outlast their careers.

Newspapers and magazines (once the largest consumer of still photos) are headed to the graveyard because the Internet continues to grow a viable source of news and entertainment. Read Magazine Death Pool, if you don’t believe me. Or look around at the number of people staring at their iPhones the next time you’re waiting in any type of line. Print media is dying because advertisers get more bang for their buck on the Internet.

The supply of still images continues to skyrocket. For a thousand bucks you can buy a DSLR that has more resolution and features than the high-end cameras targeted at pro shooters just five years ago. Flickr and the micro-stock agencies are becoming a viable source for photo editors. It’s a sad day for all photographers when a guy is happy to get less than $30 for the use of his photo on the cover of Time.

Interestingly, the digital revolution is bringing the economic viability of motion to my doorstep. It’s one thing to be at the doorstep. It’s entirely another to step over it. I’m doing everything I can to evolve with my industry. Digital motion is in its infancy. I know that I and the others on this journey have a long way to go. It’s like being in the late-90s and taking the first toddler steps with digital stills. Moving into motion is expensive and hard.

As I experienced recently, anyone who thinks that he can point a 5DM2 and start making well-crafted video with the push of a button will learn quickly that having a camera body is only a first, small step. If still photography is two-dimensional, then motion is poly-dimensional. Beyond the frame, there’s the sound. Beyond the sound, there’s the flow of time. Having the gear, workflow and insights to put it all together is just the beginning. Having a network of colleagues, well that’s why I’ll be attending the Collision Conference.

Save $50 On Your Two-Day Registration

There’s still time to register. There’s still time to get a cheap flight into LAX or Burbank/ Bob Hope. There’s still time to get a room at funky motel or a swanky hotel in Hollywood near the conference site (LA Film School, 6363 Sunset Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028).

Use Promo Code impromo_twoday50 and you’ll save $50 on the two-day registration. If you need more incentive, check out the long list of door prizes on the registration page.

PS – if you see a guy with crazy, red hair and a confused look – come up and introduce yourself.

Michael Britt and a bit of VCS gear.