7/27/2019 4K photography feature, Popular Photography, Feb '13
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JOHNH
UBA
Plus, when it comes
to action sports, evenfast motor drives can
miss the shot. Frame
rates of 96 fps and up
can freeze action in asingle frame, and allow
for slow-motion playback, too.
The advantage is being able topick the moment that you want,
Jarvis says. The disadvantage is
the amount of overspray. Because
4K cameras can record upwardsof 3- to 5GB of data per recorded
minute, photographers need large
cards and external recorders.
When shooting at slower rateslike 24 or 50 fps, Huba has his
models slow their movements in
short stretches to get crisper stills,
Jarvis coaches athletes on what todo during peak action, the second
or two from which hes planning to
pull a still.The results are stretching the
kinds of images photographers can
make. When Williams shot MeganFox for Esquirein 2009, he made a
short movie, multiple spreads, and
even moving covers or motos,
4KFUTUREOPTIONS
66 POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHYFEBRUARY 2014 POPPHOTO.COM POPULAR PHOTOGR
IN 2007,Greg Williams, a Britishfilmmaker and photographer, was
working on an editorial for Italian
Vogueand experimenting with theRed Onea digital video camera
he had seen Peter Jackson use for
his short film Crossing the Line.
When he submitted the images,he slipped in a still he shotwiththe One. I didnt tell anyone, I
just sent it, he says. They ran it,
and it looked fabulous.
Back then, Williams proved that
you could make images sharpenough to print in a magazine.Now, seven years after the Red
Ones debut, more photographers
than ever are using 4K cameras
like it to shoot video for pull-ing print-worthy stills. Among
them are videographer Blake
Kueny, who shot the cover of the
February 2013 issue of TransWorldSURF on a Red Scarlet, and Chase
Jarvis, who shoots both action
and commercial work withcameras like the Red Epic and the
1000-frames-per-second Phantom
Flex4K. Then theres photographerJohn Huba, who is testing the lim-
its of Canons EOS-1D C, a DSLR
that shoots 4K at 24 fps.But why shoot with a video
camera when still cameras with
relatively fast burst rates can
capture more resolution morecheaply? Perhaps because a client
like surfwear clothing line Hurley,
for which Kueny was shooting,wants to use stills from its video
to make 4x6-foot posters
for the videos pre-miere. Or maybethe client wants to
get both video and
still out of a single
crew and shoot.To me, the point
of having video and
stills on one set is totell a client: Youre
going to get a uni-
fied image, Huba
says. Youll have asingle brand from this shoot,
not two separate looks.
FREEZE FRAMEJohn Huba pulled
this still from a
short film he made
calledDeNova.
Shot on the CanonEOS-1D C at 24
fps, his exposure
was 1/160 sec at
f/5.6, ISO 1600.
THE RED SYSTEM
Reds modular
camera systems
are some of the
most popular forshooting video
from which stills
can be pulled.This rig is built
around an EpicS35 Brain with
a 27.7x14.6mm,
14MP Mysterium-X
sensor, which
can shoot RAWvideo at up to
5K (5120x2700)
resolution.
Plenty of shooters use still cameras to capturemotion. But what about the opposite? It turns outthat sometimes, high-res 4K video cameras are just
the thing for photography. Meet some pros who getgreat shots via video. By Matthew Ismael Ruiz
Low End The muchBlackmagic Production C4K ($3,995) will record 4
video (3840x2160 pixelsits 21.12x11.88mm sendirectly to abuilt-in SSDrecorder.
Mid-Market The full-frame, $11,995 EOS-1D Ca beefed-up 1shoots in 4K (4096x21624 fps directly to dual-Ccards. Huba says
you can use shut-ter speeds up to1/160 sec to helpfreeze the action.
High EndStartingat just under $100,000, tPhantom Flex4K makessense to rent than buy. Bit offers unparalleled hispeed shooting, capturi4K (4096x2160) video o27.7x15.5mmsensor at up
to 1000 fps.
I/O MODULEThis unit has two XLR inputs
(one output) for external audio
sources, connects the Brain to
multiple displays, and syncsmulti-source audio and video.
MOUNTThe modular Red system
allows mounts to be inter-
changeable, letting photogra-
phers use lenses from both
still and cinema cameras.
LENSESWilliams prefers the inter-
changability of Canon L primes
like the 85mm f/1.2L; Kueny
recently fell in love with the
PL-mount Arri Ultra Primes.
REDMOTEThis accessory lets you startand stop recording and
navigate the systems menus
wirelessly. If connected to the
Brain, it can also charge itself.
BATTERIESThis dual-battery module pow-
ers the Brain and lets you hot-swap batteries while shooting
for extending run times when
shooting in the field.
GIF-like cinemagraphs strai
of Harry Potter. Recently, he mmotos for the James Bond fi
Skyfallmovie posters that
and breathe on a digital scre
Still cameras arent going but neither are these dual t
or the photographers who w
them. And as more people c
sume media digitally, the defor multimedia is sure to inc
Everything is going scree
based, Williams says. Therlonger any excuse for pictur
be still.
BRAINEvery Red rig is built around
the Brain, which houses the
cameras processor and
sensor. Reds latest, the 6KDragon, retails at $50,000.
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