You should be able to set the project's pixel dimensions in your editor's settings, I certainly can with Vegas, so that it renders how you want it to (it's not a separate Vimeo setting). Though I have to say, that I prefer a black letterbox as it adds to the visual contrast.

Thnx for the info Greg :)

Cropping your video and using/tagging the 'Do not letterbox' option will let you get any output ratio you like. At least that's how Sony Vegas works...

Thank you Viking. I work with Adobe Premiere/AE but I think there must be a similar option.
I'll have to check this out. :)

Some day on the feature, Greg. Thanks for the comments. I'm going to be writing and shooting a short narrative film soon.

Thanks Fred, what do you mean "hair shot"?

Wow, that's weird, I posted a reply to this and then it was gone.

I was saying that there is no real "lighting" in this piece aside from mostly available light. I used a reflector in some of the shots but I just didn't have the time or resources to really pay attention to lighting.

One of these fine days I'll do a test with proper lighting

I tried it and I wasn't able to make it any darker...in fact it lightened it a bit more! I need to drop the black level. Sorenson has the ability to darken the picture a little but it does something really funky to the blacks so I don't use it anymore.

Thank you Daniel, I always appreciate your considered responses.

Used the LCD all the way although I wouldn't recommend it for critical shooting. I had to use the focus assist to check focusing. It's amazing, even with a shallow depth of field, how your judgment can be wrong until you see the bigger image.

Hey brother, where have you been?

I am a new XH A1 & Letus owner here aswell and from what I can tell, there is no option in the menu to disable the focus ring, I may be mistaken though. For the meanwhile I simply tape the focus ring with some electrical tape which keeps it from getting turned.

Thanks for the input! That should help. What do you usually set the focus to? 8.3/infinity/etc

Doh!

next video hehe :) I have your demo reel you did in mp4 and if i worked in a tv store i know it would sell a shitload of tv's :)

Thanks for the high endorsement, I appreciate it, really. My hope is that my work inspires others, not the opposite.

The preset I developed and now use exclusively is called Panalook2...here are the parameters:

Gamma: Cine2
Color Matrix: Cine2
Color Gain: -4
CPH: 0
Knee: Low
Black: Stretch
Master Ped: -7
Setup Level: -1
HDF: Mid
DHV: 0
Sharpness: -2
NR1: Off
NR2: Off
Coring: 0
RGN: 8
GGN: 11
BGN: 12
RGM: 0
RBM: 0
GRM: 0
GBM: 0
BRM: 0
BGM: 0

I push the saturation in post by about 20% and also crush the blacks using a levels adjustment. After getting a good flat white balance, I then go to the color curves and reduce a little of the blue to warm the overall tone of the scenes up a little. That's my basic process.

Thanks you Steve!

Yes, I use -3db unless the light is not adequate, then I go to 0

Wayne, soundtrack is from Batman Begins. The second question is pretty big and beyond the scope of this response. In a few weeks I will be writing a detailed review of the Ultimate. There will be a link available from my Web site so keep an eye there. The answer is that the Ultimate is in a different league than anything else out there...it's just a wonderful piece of technology. Thanks for the comments.

I'll be shooting a short narrative in the coming months using this setup. No offense taken. The stuff you see here is what I'm passionate about and what I can practically shoot right now. There will be plenty of other users soon posting different stuff using the Ultimate.

Also, I'll have a music video coming out in the next few weeks that I shot with an HVX200 and Extreme combo for artist Vienna Teng. I will post once the editing process is finished...director is editing, not me

Thank you Ana...I will continue to shoot until I am not able anymore...which I hope will be a good number of years from now :)

Your responses are entertaining :) I mean that as a compliment.

Being a good cinematographer is not enough these days. There is a lot of hustling involved in making steady money and I tried it and it was too much, too stressful. I have a family to support so I can't take too much risk at this point.

I have actually worked on a lot of projects that I haven't posted because I don't have permission.

I recently shot a documentary for the Seattle International Film Festival which was shown on the big screen...that was a thrill and the Canon XHA1 held up very well. I've also done some corporate stuff.

What I post here is usually my own indulgence.

Why so blue?

I'm actually quite close because all of these animals are in my backyard and are very used to us being around. The longest lens I have is 200mm which I used for the ducklings and the geese.

Very nice! I must admit that I have a lot to learn yet about using adapters and prime lenses. I still don't even have an HD camera! I'm just getting into video (hired by a college to do promo videos) and have absolutely no video or photography background. Just a strong multimedia background and a penchant for learning.

I wish I understood the tech side of the art. Got anything to recommend to me? Just so you know how little I know--when you said 200mm, that meant absolutely nothing to me. :-)

I should have either an XH-A1 or an HVX200A in the next week or so. Probably going to be the XH for budget reasons.

I'll have to strongly disagree with you about the bokeh.

Yes, I'm well acquainted with the variety of bokeh out there. There is a distinct difference between the Ultimate and the Extreme.

Anyway, it is all subjective...I like it.

Thanks, I appreciate the comments. Keep at it...it will come with experience and an unwaning willingness to learn.

Yes, I have a variety of Nikon manual lenses.

The ones I used in this piece are listed at the top of the page.

thanks.

did you find it hard to rack focus, or follow moving subjects. do you think you could use this system for event photography, like weddings, etc??

You need a good LCD or external monitor to do critical focusing. I find that I hit the mark about 90% or the time just using the camera's LCD but for critical projects like a wedding...I'd be more comfortable with an external monitor but that makes your rig almost impossible to move around unless you've got a stabilizing system or some kind of body support. The short answer is that, yes, I would do it without an external monitor, but I have been using adapters for a couple of years so experience is key.

one last question. i promise.

did you buy the support rods, case, etc. or did you just get the ultimate itself? i'm just wondering if your camera holds the weight without the support rods. i'm thinking of using it with the HVX 200A which is similar to your canon XH A1.

thanks again. the info is very useful.

thanks again. now please shoot a drama, you seem to have a talent for cinematography.

Shooting two dramatic shorts in the next couple of months.

awesome.

i noticed your film is on the letus website. they're going to sell a lot of ultimates because of you. i hope you're being compensated. your daughter is going to sell these things like hot cakes! they should at least give her some scholarship money or something.

No, it is flipped right way up.

it just seems too good to be true! i still want to know if you could use hasselblad lenses (i found a website that sells hasselblad to PL mount converters). anyone tried this yet? the camera shop down the street from me has a few 50mm nikons for sale under $100 (f1.8, f2). would those be good to start out with? the focus barrels are just so much smaller that the film lenses i'm used to lke zeiss or cookes on film cameras.

Thank you, I very much appreciate your words.