Four Must Have Accessories (Camera Lesson 14)

Summary: Ryan covers the four camera accessories you simply must have, what they’re used for, tips on using them, and recommendations on which brands to buy.

Length: 9:14 minutes


!! Want to see the whole video? Become a member !!

  • If you are already a member, you can log in below.

Depth of Field, Part 1: How Aperture and ISO Affect Focus
Your Guide To High Speed, Part 6: Five Tips For A Successful Shoot
Your Guide To High Speed, Part 5: Lighting Six High Speed Sets
Your Guide To High Speed, Part 4: Common Lighting Problems
Your Guide To High Speed, Part 3: Camera Operation & Workflow
Your Guide To High Speed, Part 2: Frame Rate
Your Guide To High Speed, Part 1: Introduction
12 Crucial Questions Before Lighting Your Set (Cinematic Lighting Lesson 15)
Negative Fill: The Best Kept Secret (Cinematic Lighting Lesson 08)
8 replies
  1. Ballinger2000
    Ballinger2000 says:

    I’m just getting started. now. I need suggestion for monitors that provides 1 to 1 mode for critical focus. I’ve never heard this term, 1 to 1 mode. I currently own low end Marshalls (V-LCD70MD 7″). Can you please check my model to see if it has a 1 to 1 mode? Under a $800 each. I have them mounted on C100 Mark II’s. At the time of purchase I thought the Marshall’s were on the pro side. I’m attempting to build a three camera one man interviewing setup. Realizing all this is very ambitious I decided to replicate everything. Same cameras, tripod and heads and same monitors. My third camera sits on a frankinstien 8′ motorized slider that includes a Dana Dolly and a Kessler motor and controller. Thank you in advance for any and all your help.

    • Tim
      Tim says:

      The term 1-to-1 mode or pixel-to-pixel (often written 1:1) means that one pixel from the camera sensor is shown as one pixel on the monitor. It means that the image has not been scaled, so it helps you with critical focus since it acts like you’ve “zoomed in.” I’m pretty sure the Marshall monitor you mentioned has pixel-to-pixel mode.

      Another option is getting a external recorder/monitor like what Atomos offers. (We use the Atomos Shogun, and love it!). These let you record your footage using better codecs than in the camera, and double as a very good monitor. The downside is that the SSD recording media is spendy. Your Marshall monitors are fine, perfect for building up a new camera set-up. And replicating everything simplifies things a lot. The C100 Mark II camera is great for this kind of work.

    • Ryan E. Walters
      Ryan E. Walters says:

      Tim covered it really well. The only thing I can add is that the C100 has a 1:1 mode in it- I forget what it is called on that camera, it might be zoom, or Pixel to Pixel, or 100% view, or something like that… Anyway, you can even program that option to be one of the programable buttons on the C100. (That is what I did when I had that camera.)

      To help even more, I set the C100 to turn the monitor black and white when I did the 1:1 view which makes it easier to see if something is in focus or not. The only down side is that this view is not sent out to an external monitor. You have to use the C100 monitors.

      Anyway, check out the manual for the C100 and for the Marshal monitor. They do a great job at showing you the specifics of what buttons to press and how to use those specific features. 🙂

  2. Rich49er
    Rich49er says:

    I am a bit confused about the Matte box. The box fits to rods if the box is too heavy for the lens. I saw the rods on the tangerine web site but it was not clear how the rods fit to the tripod. Would I need an adaptor or plate of some description to fit the rods?

    • Tim
      Tim says:

      You would mount a baseplate to the tripod and then the camera to the top of the baseplate. The baseplate would have slots for rods. Here is an example of a baseplate: camera baseplate. There are many types and sizes, with some that are very basic, some with a quick release, and still others that help you balance your camera by letting you slide the quick release forward and aft.

    • Tim
      Tim says:

      Blue only mode is for calibrating your monitor so that the color and tint are correct. When in this mode, SMPTE color bars appear either blue or black. By adjusting color, contrast, and brightness, the blue bars should all look even, aiding in the calibration process.

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.