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Video: The Last Ride - a passion for steam [merged]


david perry

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Thanks to La Vida Leica! who has put up a link to this video on Vimeo which was shot with the M240

De Laatste Rit - een passie voor stoom on Vimeo

Lovely story about a 90 year old's passion for an industrial steam locomotive (the voiceover is in Dutch). An impressive piece of work all round.

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Wow! Such a great little documentary. And I'm impressed this is possible with the M240.

 

Did you make this yourself, or were you involved in the production?

One of the challenges in using the M240 for video for me has been the shaky video. Did you find this to be a challenge in this production and how did you deal with it? Tripods, monopod or just a steady hand? Or perhaps software stabilization?

 

Thanks for the video.

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I wonder if the photographer had pre-measured all his distances and then had a focus puller working alongside him. The film remains in excellent focus pretty much throughout. I suspect some of the outside scenes taken on a nice sunny day, were taken at quite small apertures on a fairly wide lens from looking at the DOF/EFOV. My efforts to take video with the M240 have been rather less successful, although on a sunny day with the 28mm Summicron, it is not too difficult. Trying to use a zoom without someone else to do your focus pulling is very difficult. I may well contact him to ask if he is prepared to pass on some of his methodology with the M240 and if he allows I will post the reply here.

 

Wilson

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All of the b-roll looks to have been shot with a small aperture. Thus, it would be quite easy to pull your own focus while shooting.

 

I wonder if the photographer had pre-measured all his distances and then had a focus puller working alongside him. The film remains in excellent focus pretty much throughout. I suspect some of the outside scenes taken on a nice sunny day, were taken at quite small apertures on a fairly wide lens from looking at the DOF/EFOV. My efforts to take video with the M240 have been rather less successful, although on a sunny day with the 28mm Summicron, it is not too difficult. Trying to use a zoom without someone else to do your focus pulling is very difficult. I may well contact him to ask if he is prepared to pass on some of his methodology with the M240 and if he allows I will post the reply here.

 

Wilson

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All of the b-roll looks to have been shot with a small aperture. Thus, it would be quite easy to pull your own focus while shooting.

 

The shot that impressed me was the one near the beginning, where the engine pulls from the distance into what might be the close focus limit of the lens. In that the light when it is very close cannot have been that good, I don’t think it could have been shot at say f11. I have tried to do something similar with a car coming right up to me and with manual focus, it is far from easy and currently beyond my limited video skills working single handed. I have to admit, I gave up with the M240 and switched to my Olympus EP-5 with an autofocus lens.

 

Wilson

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One thought re focus pulling while shooting video. If your camera is in the right position (sometimes bending to get to the right angle can be a problem) it's often MUCH easier to pull focus using the rangefinder than Live View. Just a thought.

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One thought re focus pulling while shooting video. If your camera is in the right position (sometimes bending to get to the right angle can be a problem) it's often MUCH easier to pull focus using the rangefinder than Live View. Just a thought.

 

Interesting point. Thanks!

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One thought re focus pulling while shooting video. If your camera is in the right position (sometimes bending to get to the right angle can be a problem) it's often MUCH easier to pull focus using the rangefinder than Live View. Just a thought.

 

Chris,

 

I was trying with a non-RF zoom lens, so had pre-marked the focus points with different coloured china graph pencils on the lens barrel. I did this after reading up how to do it and remembering from watching a number of period dramas being filmed outside my office in Spitalfields. Correct in theory but very difficult to get it right in practice. A long focus lever like proper movie lenses have, would have helped a lot.

 

Wilson

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In terms of steam trains, if anyone should find themselves on Germany's Baltic coast, I recommend a ride on the train from Kuhlungsborn to Bad Doberan. Coffee drinkers on Bad Doberan's 'Haupt Str' have to keep their elbows in!

 

(Excuse the burnt-out highlights - was extreme sun/shadow & Canon equip...) :cool:

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Do you mean like this, Wilson?

 

Pete.

 

Pete,

 

In theory, that is exactly what I meant. However, what I really needed was the man in the grey T shirt below :)

 

Wilson

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In terms of steam trains, if anyone should find themselves on Germany's Baltic coast, I recommend a ride on the train from Kuhlungsborn to Bad Doberan. Coffee drinkers on Bad Doberan's 'Haupt Str' have to keep their elbows in!

 

(Excuse the burnt-out highlights - was extreme sun/shadow & Canon equip...) :cool:

 

Keith,

 

My wife and I took the night train from Hanoi to Hue in Vietnam. There are only two trains a day down the line from the centre of Hanoi and people have built their houses right up to the loading gauge of the train, with open backs to their houses. If we had had a long ladle, we could have helped ourselves to some pho as we trundled past, watching everyone having their dinner.

 

Wilson

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Pete,

 

In theory, that is exactly what I meant. However, what I really needed was the man in the grey T shirt below :)

 

Wilson

Wilson,

 

Unfortunately it looks like he's not included in the lot and would need to be purchased separately.:p

 

Pete.

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  • 3 weeks later...

There are some questions above about the techniques used to make this film.

 

There are answers in an article that Mr. Xanthopoulos wrote for the Leica distributor in the Netherlands, which appears to have been involved in the production.

 

The article, and some interesting photographs of the gear used, is at Filmen op de Leica M | Leica in Nederland

 

It is in Dutch, but Google Translate does a pretty good job.

 

Cheers

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  • 2 weeks later...

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