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Do you know the accuracy of your PocketWizards or how much power you loose when you shoot at a high shutter speed compared to an old school pc sync cable? We tested each and compared them all.

The images above illustrate the power coming from a ProFoto flash head shot at the same power setting, but at different shutter speeds. Ideally we would like to see the same output throughout the test, but what we can conclude is that the shutter speed does influence our flash output. When looking at the images to the right, you’ll notice the decrease in brightness when working with the PocketWizards and even more so with the Elinchrom SkyPort.

Images above are exposed respectively @ 1/125 sec, 1/250 sec, 1/500 sec, 1/800 sec.

The Harman job might sound like a 70ties gangster movie about the perfect heist. It is not!  But, it started with a phone call from a client. The question was how to best approach the creative layout that the client had presented?

I met up with the photographer and we had a chance to look through the high-res CGI prints delivered from the ad agency. The idea was clean and simple; they wanted 25 razor-sharp images, all extreme close-ups of products that could be blown up to 6×20 feet and viewed from arms length. I’ve worked on other jobs with focus stacking and knew that focus stacking could solve the problem with very narrow depth of field. To make the perfect image, we needed a high resolving camera with which to shoot between 100-150 plates for each image. Each plate would later be rendered into one perfect, tack sharp image. Getting this close to an object, with the intention of blowing the image up to 6 x 20’ (feet) large prints for in-store use demands the most heightened attention to quality in every aspect. The sharpest lenses were called for, as well as a Phase One 80 Mpix digital back, perfect lightning, and a seamless team of professionals that know exactly what the client is asking for and how to deliver. Captureforce delivered the digital equipment while at the same time handling all the post-production including the retouching and focus stacking.The result is visible in the new Harman Kardon flagship store located on Madison Avenue at 54th Street.

 
 

Splendid photographs / Perfect technique.

 
 
 
 

Links to examples of retouching performed by Captureforce CFX.

CFX Beauty / Fashion,  PDF 11MB  [click here]

CFX Harman Kardon,  PDF 5MB  [click here]

CFX Harman Kardon,  PDF 3MB  [click here]

CFX Radeberger,  PDF 4MB  [click here]

 
 
 

Shooting raw video with cameras, such as the Red Epic or the Canon 5D mark III with the Magic Lantern firmware upgrade, or 4K with the Sony A7s II, offers some appealing advantages. For example you have the ability to color-grade the video footage the same way as when shooting raw with your still camera.
In addition to shooting your job in raw, you now have the ability to shoot in 4K or higher with new cameras such as the Sony A7s II. Capturing 4K is most likely not the resolution at which you’d like to deliver your next job, but it gives you the ability of texturing, shading, lighting, and stabilizing your footage, and it allows you to crop into the frame without losing visible resolution. When done editing, you can down-res your project to HD format, for final delivery. This workflow offers much better results. Cleaner look and a sharper image = professional product.
We have the equipment and the know-how required for your next job: cameras, lenses, new Mac Pro workstations, dailies, post color-grading for broadcast or web.

 Comparison between footage shot in Canon’s H.263 stock mode vs. Magic Lantern’s raw video mode: youTube
 Example of what the Canon 5D mark III is capable of with the ML firmware upgrade: Vimeo
 One more example of the Canon 5D mark III and Magic Lantern: Vimeo