Making Video look like Film

[aclockworkjj]

Isn't the general rule that you need to go about 10mm longer when using digital as opposed to film? When using 35mm lenses on the XL-1, wouldn't you have to use a 50 instead of a 40 and so on? Digital has a greater depth of field.

I know with anything digital there is a leap up in focal length.... same principles apply for video too....But for instance, a digital SLR still camera, is 1.5x (roughly depending on the body) greater in distance....meaning, if you want to shoot with a 17mm wide angle lens, it's really closer to a 24mm lens....so shooting stuff wide tends to be a problem....

Now with something like an XL-1....I personally think the zoom is already pretty decent....so the only place I could see using a ...say Canon EOS lens... is for extremely wide shots or macro shots....The Arri adapters, well, I have never used, but crap, looks sweet....

There's a nice little chart on Canon's website that will explain it better...
http://www.canondv.com/xl1s/a_lenses.html

[kotte]

With a XL-1 you shoot 4:3.

If you want it 16:9, do you squeeze it in post or do you shoot with it in mind instead? Shoot with head space and then just crop it? Perhaps even put tape on the LCD display?

I haven't really shot on DV before so I'm learning...

[metroshane]

IMHO, unless your are really looking for that one special look, it doesn't really matter what you shoot on.  Have a good story and you can make a flipbook out of post-it notes.  Of course, that's over simplifying, but  you get the idea.  The most important thing is to just get it shot.

[kotte]

IMHO, unless your are really looking for that one special look, it doesn't really matter what you shoot on.  Have a good story and you can make a flipbook out of post-it notes.  Of course, that's over simplifying, but  you get the idea.  The most important thing is to just get it shot.

I know, thank you. I don't want it to look like film, I just want it closer to 16:9.

[metroshane]

That's important to me to.  In fact, when I take still photos, I often crop to 16:9 for personal astethic reasons.

The JVC HD cam shoots in native 16:9.  But with the xl-1, you get to keep a little more resolution if you squeeze rather than crop.  But IMHO, resolution is overrated anyway.