Using Vintage Lenses on Canon HDSLRs

Did you know that by using a cheap adapter available from eBay, you could be using vintage lenses on your modern DSLR?

The adapters allows you to use vintage lenses such as 'Chinon' and 'Ensinor' lenses on your Canon DSLR. The adapter simply turns the vintage mount, for example M42 or T-Mount, into the mount needed to attach to your camera. 

One of the vintage lenses that I am using is the Chinon 200mm f/3.5. The videos below shows some shots that I captured using this lens, along with the M42 to EOS adapter on my Canon EOS 600D DSLR.

Another test is using the Ensinor 500mm f/8 Multi Coated mirror lens with my Canon 600D. The colours came out very flat, but with basic colour correction I managed to bring the colours back out.

The M42 to EOS adapters can be found on eBay from £1.85.

To find out more about vintage lenses and their capabilities, visit VintageLensesForVideo.com.
Also please visit my facebook page and like to keep updated regularly with my filming and photography.

Filming Services - Music Gigs

I have done quite a lot of filming for a local radio station this lately, and it mainly includes filming their live music gigs for their YouTube channel. You can view all of the videos that I filmed in the playlists above, I will be adding more playlists to this blog post in the future.

Photography & Cinematography Services in Cambridgeshire

I have decided to start an official facebook page for the photography and cinematography that I do as a hobby. I am hoping this will make me look slightly more professional, and will help me gain some more work on top of what I currently do. At the moment I work with a local band, and do all of their gig photography officially, I also do a lot of filming for a local radio station. I will be sharing everything that I am doing on my new facebook page. It will be a good place to share everything that I do, and will keep everything central.

If you are from the Cambridgeshire area, and are interested in having a beginner photographer/ cinematographer college student do some cheap work, please get in touch with me through the facebook page, or leave a comment on this post.

Click here to like my brand new facebook page.

Epic Slow Motion Video - Sony FS700 - Neumann Films

Neumann Films latest project is a slow motion video shot on a rented camera, the Sony FS700. They had the camera for four days, and they definitely made the most of it. The 240fps (frames per second) mode was used for the most of this video, and this allowed the video to be slowed down in post production, without the addition of motion blur. The video looks like a high budget blockbuster film, and when you hear the budget you will be blown away. I think the camera rental cost around $500, and the budget for the rest was something around $300. Within this budget they even managed to get hold of a helicopter for some aerial cinematography, which isn't actually shown in this video; I am assuming an aerial cinematography video will be released on Neumann Films soon. The lenses used include Nikkor Ai-s 20mm f2.8 and 50mm f1.2, along with the Canon 100-400mm with 2X Extender. From what I have read, because this camera is more like a camcorder, is cannot achieve the depth of field that DSLRs get, so that is why they used the longer lenses for the shallow depth of field within this video.

London 2012 Olympics - St. Ives Torch Relay

I put together a very bad video from some footage that I captured of the Olympic torch going through St Ives. It was raining and I had been up since 6am, so I was tired. I didn't want to get my cameras wet, and all of the GoPro footage that I got was really shaky, so I didn't really have much to put together.

Cambridge Guided Busway Cycling Time lapse

A quick cycling time lapse video shot on my GoPro camera cycling down the guided busway in Cambridgeshire. This is from St Ives to Swavesey. I used the P1 photo mode on the gopro, which means a photo which taken every single second.

GoPro HD Hero Cycling Time lapse

The second time lapse video for my YouTube channel which has been shot with the GoPro HD Hero camera. I used the special time lapse mode, with the P2 setting which meant a photo was taken every 2 seconds. I used the GoPro handlebar and seat post mount to attach the camera to my bikes handlebars. Click here for more GoPro videos.

GoPro HD Hero Photo Time Lapse Mode

I had a go at using the built in photo time lapse mode in the GoPro HD Hero camera. I set the camera to mode P5 which meant a picture was taken every 5 seconds. Someone suggested using mode P2 for doing clouds, as it makes them even smoother. I will definitely try a time lapse with P2 mode in the future. I left the camera running for just under one hour, and managed to get around 700 photos. I used Microsoft Picture Manager to crop all of the photos in batch from 4:3 to 16:9, doing this I lost parts of the image, however I don't think it was too much of a problem. Click here for more of my GoPro videos.

GoPro HD Hero Underwater Video Footage

I got my new GoPro HD Hero camera the other day, and I have to say I am really impressed with it. My first test video is an underwater cinematography test of me swimming. I recorded the video in the R3 (Resolution 3) mode which is 720p with 60fps, and I slowed the footage down by 50% to get a slight slow motion feel; I think the slow motion came out looking quite smooth. I wasn't too sure if I was going to keep this video public on my YouTube channel, but out of nowhere the official GoPro YouTube channel 'GoProCamera' commented on the video saying they liked it. This generated a lot of viewers and I gained a new audience for my videos. For the first time out of all of my videos, this got over 1000 views in under two days. I plan to film so much more with this camera, including videos with cycling, motorcycling, sky diving and running videos, click here to view my GoPro video playlist on my YouTube channel.

Jacob Sutton's L.E.D. Surfer - Red Epic Snowboarding Short Film

A short film that I viewed when it was released back in February, I came across it again today on YouTube and thought I should share it. The short film stars snowboarder 'William Hughes' as he lights up the 'snow-covered French hills' in his L.E.D. suit. The video has some exquisite cinematography shot fully on the Red Epic  camera by filmmaker 'Jacob Sutton'. The soundtrack is really soothing to listen to and goes really well with the visuals. Click here to read more about this video on 'Nowness'.

YouTube are accepting my monetisation requests again?

I have had monetisation on my YouTube videos for around one year now, and I used to have no problem getting adverts next to my videos, mainly due to the fact that I own the rights to everything that I upload to my channel (with a few exceptions with soundtracks I use). For around half a year now, YouTube have not been accepting any of my monetisation requests on my videos, and the ones that weren't getting declined just sat there saying 'under review', until I cancelled monetisation on that video. It was getting very frustrating, and I was losing all of the motivation that I had gained to uploading my original content and cinematography videos onto my media channel 'RedSpectrumPictures'.

Well good news! I was randomly trying to monetise a video today that I have had uploaded for a few weeks, and I checked my 'Video Manager' and amazingly YouTube had accepted the request straight away, and it had adverts next to that video. I then decided to request monetisation on all of my videos that had been declined or under review in the past, and again YouTube accepted them for monetisation. I really don't understand what went wrong, I have looked on forums and on Google and have found others had this problem. I just thought I would share my story, so others can also see they are not alone with this. I had a feeling this may have had something to do with YouTube allowing monetisation on any account?

Just as an example, I have embedded one of the videos that they accepted earlier today. It is also a video I haven't shared on my blog before, it is a rack focus test on the Canon 50mm F/1.8 II prime lens.

Titanic ITV1 Television Series - Wilhelm Scream?

Yesterday I watched the last episode in the four part Titanic series which was produced for the 100 year anniversary for the sinking of the real ship. The television series follows characters in every class, steerage, second, first class and even the workers on board the ship. Each episode the story back tracks to the grand voyage of the ship, and we see different characters points of views. Two of my favourite characters in this series are the 'Sandrini' brothers, two Italians who are staying in steerage. One of the brothers works in the heart of the ship in the boiler room, and the other works as a first class waiter in one of the ships restaurants. There is plenty of romance on different levels and some parts with slight humour to them. I watched the newly released Titanic 3D a week back, and a lot of the happenings in this series are very similar to what happens in the film, which I found quite odd as what the characters actually did were fictionally produced for the film.

The animations weren't very good, however I wasn't expecting too much for an ITV television series. The ice berg looked very unrealistic, and was way out of proportion to the ship and the distance away from the ship. When the lookout says 'ice burg ahead', the tiny animated burg looks about 10 metres away. The wonderful exterior establishing shots of the ship within the film aren't as good in the series, the ship it self looks animated, unlike in the film.

One of the things which did make me laugh, was in the very last episode when you get to see the ship sink (sorry for the spoiler, but what did you expect?). The sound effect which is known as the 'Wilhelm Scream' was added as a character is shown falling from the top of the sinking ship. I did some research and found out that the scream was used in the original film when Jack and Rose run into the boiler room when they are being chased.

Graffitiger - Short Film - Graffiti Animations - Libor Pixa

I've been meaning to share this short film for a while now, it was another film that I viewed at the 'Clermont Ferrand Short Film Festival' in France a few months ago. This short film is called 'Graffitiger', graffiti and tiger put together. The title pretty much gives the protagonist of the short away, as the film follows a tiger that has been painted as graffiti on the streets of Czechoslovakia, as he tries and find a companion in life. We see the tiger struggle as humans do their every day jobs which get in his way of his journey. Animation is something I am not that into, as I always like to enjoy physical cinematography, however the actual locations used have been physically shot, so the tiger has been animated onto video. There are even comic moments which will actually make you 'laugh out loud'. I recommend watching this short film, it has a lovely soundtrack which helps emphasize the mute tigers thoughts and feelings throughout.

'A Silhouette Story' - Short Film - Best Direction Award

Whenever I see a short film that inspires me in filmmaking, I like to share it on this blog. Here is my latest short film finding, 'A Silhouette Story', a Norwegian short film directed and edited by popular YouTuber 'Andyax'. The films protagonist is a lonely girl who meets a mystical creature in the woods, the creature helps her in life and shows the importance of being 'open minded'. The whole film shows the characters in silhouette form, with hand painted pictures in the background which make the characters stand out nicely. The film was awarded 'Best Direction Award' at 'The Gathering 2012' festival by 'The Karate Kid' director 'Harald Zward'. I think this film definitely deserved to win the reward, and I cannot wait to see more films from this director in the future. There is also a link at the end of this video which takes you to a behind the scenes/ making of video which shows how they achieved the silhouette shots.

Location Scouting for a 'Shane Meadows' inspired short film

We went out today to do a little bit of location scouting for our up and coming 'Shane Meadows' inspired short film. I have watched films such as 'This is England', 'Somers Town', and 'Dead Man's Shoes' all directed by 'Meadows' and the style of the cinematography is something I got a lot of inspiration from for our own short film. The song I used in this video is by 'Gavin Clark and Ted Barnes' and is used in the opening of 'Somers Town' which has similar shots used in my location scouting video shown below. Static wide shots of someone walking is used quite often in 'Meadows' films and this is something I want to incorporate into the short film. So far I have no real idea of the narrative for the short film, all I know is that I want it to be really simple, with minimal acting and dialogue and cinematography. I have people who are willing to help out and act for the film, who can also provide all of their own costumes and props; which are going to be 'skinhead and mod' style clothing such as Doc Marten shoes and Harrington jackets. There is even going to be a 'Vespa' scooter involved and I really want to do a cinematic tracking shot from the back of a car as the scooter goes down the road shown in the image for the first shot in the short film. I will be posting with updates whenever there is anything interesting enough to write about throughout the whole production process of the short film.

Movie Location Scouting - Does it need more credit?

As an independent filmmaker I do all of my own location scouting, I believe I am quite good at finding locations with an aesthetically pleasing look to them, and this is the case for my up and coming short film. I just watched a CBS News video on the internet and it looks deeper into the job role of location scouting, and has made me think about it more. As stated in the video, location scouters hardly get the credit they deserve for what they do for a film and I highly believe that they should get more attention from the press and media. Shown in the video are locations from films such as 'The Godfather' with the 'Corleone' families house which was before filming an average house. I definitely recommend checking the news segment on Location Scouting, within the video they interview location scouter Nick Carr and he gives an insight into his everyday job. From watching this video I have now considered wanting to work as a location scouter to begin with, and then hopefully work my way up to become a cinematographer. I will do some new posts soon sharing my location finds for my newest short film.

Paddy Considine & Shane Meadows - Short Films

Shane Meadows award winning director of 'This is England' and 'Dead Man's Shoes' and British actor Paddy Considine have worked together quite a lot, and years ago produced a series of zero budget short films for the fun of it. I think they are a fine example of independent short films and the fact that they were directed and acted by well known people is even better. The films are all really simple, with no real narrative which is why I really enjoyed them. They have all inspired me to make some really simple short films, and to stop procrastinating about making films. They all show off Paddy Considines great acting and the variety of characters that he can pull off well.

My favourite film in the series is the sixth short film 'Three Tears for Jimmy Prophet' which is a mockumentary style short which follows Jimmy's story about a fight he had in the boxing ring. We hear his regrets for what happened all those years ago. It's a very comic short film, with some simple yet effective cinematography. Another thing I liked about it was the soundtrack, I am not too sure but it sounds like 'Gavin Clarke' who produced the soundtrack for 'Shane Meadows' film 'Somers Town'. You can view 'Jimmy Prophet' below or click here for the full list of shorts.



Currently 'Meadows' is one of my biggest inspirations for filmmaking, his films have been some of my favourite British releases and I really like the style that his films have. I am currently planning a short film which has been inspired by 'This is England', with the 'Skinhead / Mod' style, and it would be great for 'Meadows' to see it when it is done.

Titanic in 3D - $18 million - Was it really worth it?

I watched the visually improved Titanic in 3D last night, I have lost count of how many times I've seen the film, but every time I expect something different to happen to the characters. I'm writing this post because I don't really think it was worth making it 3D, firstly it was a film which wasn't filmed for 3D. My main reason for not caring much for the 3D was that there was nothing worth seeing in 3D in the film, I could barely notice I was watching 3D most of the time. Also there were some shots which just irritated me because the focal points had become out of focus. For example the crane in shot of the two lookouts in the tower was really out of focus, I assumed the 3D effects added triggered this. As the film doesn't really have much that looks good in 3D, only the exterior establishing shots which pan around the ship to show different times of the day looked okay, there were some extra things added in. In the scene where Jack and Rose swim down the flooded corridor, computer generated water had been animated to add to the 3D effect, but I really don't think it was worth paying £11.50 to see this film in 3D; most likely so they could make their $18million back from converting it to 3D.

Now don't get me wrong, I really like this film, my opinion is that it is one of the best films ever made and is why I have seen it a number of times in my lifetime. There are still scenes which I find emotional to watch, such as the scene which was called 'the band that played on' which shows the musicians playing their instruments with the visuals of the captain waiting for the boat to sink and the ships designer drowning his sorrows with alcohol. I think it's a very powerful scene, and definitely one I think makes the film what it is.

For Sale: Lensse MidX Camera Stabiliser - £39.99

I am trying to save up some extra money to purchase a half decent microphone for my DSLR, so I have decided I am going to be selling off some of my unused camera gear. I was going to put things on eBay, but I wasn't too happy with the charges for putting the items up. The first item I have for sale is the 'Lensse MidX Camera Stabiliser'. I got this item around a year ago, and haven't found a use for it, so I decided I would rather have the money from selling it than having it sit around doing nothing. The stabiliser will take most consumer camcorders and smaller DSLRs like the 550D or 600D, however to be on the safe side it will take cameras with the weight of 0.25-0.9kg (0.55-2 lbs). The balance weights which are on the bottom of the stabiliser are included, you get 6 bigger weights and 3 small weights to help balance the stabiliser with different cameras. If anyone wants to purchase this, please say in the comments below, and we can figure something out through PayPal. I am asking for £39.99 with £3.99 postage, this is still £30 cheaper than the ones being sold on eBay. The item is practically brand new, I think I tried using it once when I got the item. It never came with any packaging, so I will be posting it in a jiffy bag or similar packaging. You could find more information about this stabiliser on the Lensse website. Please comment if you have any questions, I will be very happy to answer any the best I can. Also please note I will be sending this item anywhere in England for £3.99, other postage charges can be applied if anyone from Europe want to purchase. The camcorder shown in the image was for demonstration purposes only, it is not included within the price.

Below is a official Lensse video from Vimeo which shows the stabiliser being set up, and then being used.

For Sale: Audio Technica ATR6250 Stereo Condenser Microphone - £19.99

The third item that I have for sale is the Audio Technica ATR6250 stereo condenser microphone which can plug into your camera or computer for audio recording. Included with the sale is the microphone, original battery and 2 spare batteries which I will add in, foam wind reduction filter, short cable (3.5mm stereo  to 3.5mm stereo) for use with your camera or computer and a longer cable (3.5mm stereo to two 3.5mm mono plugs) for use with a boom pole (not included), a mount which allows you to place the microphone to a standard tripod or to add a handheld grip and two 3.5mm (1/8") to 6.3mm (1/4") mono adapters. I am asking for a price of £19.99 with £3.99 postage within the UK for this item. If you check on eBay, this microphone is £44 at the cheapest. However I do not have the original packaging for this microphone or manual. The actual microphone is in great condition though. If you are interested in purchasing this microphone from me, please leave a comment below and we can sort something out through PayPal. This microphone has been produced to a high quality, and feels just like a more expensive microphone. Please note how everything in the image is what you will get, there will be no packaging and no instruction manual, however the manual can be found on-line.

Below is a test on YouTube which shows the audio quality of this microphone compared to a built in camera microphone, as you can hear this microphone reduces a lot of background noise.