4K FUTURE

Plenty of shooters use still cameras to capture motion. But what about the opposite? It turns out that sometimes, high-res 4K video cameras are just the thing for photography. Meet some pros who get great shots via video. By Matthew Ismael Ruiz
Flex4K. Then theres photographer John Huba, who is testing the limits of Canons EOS-1D C, a DSLR that shoots 4K at 24 fps. But why shoot with a video camera when still cameras with relatively fast burst rates can capture more resolution more cheaply? Perhaps because a client like surfwear clothing line Hurley, for which Kueny was shooting, wants to use stills from its video to make 4x6-foot posters for the videos premiere. Or maybe the client wants to get both video and still out of a single crew and shoot. To me, the point of having video and stills on one set is to tell a client: Youre going to get a unified image, Huba says. Youll have a single brand from this shoot, not two separate looks.

MOUNt
The modular Red system allows mounts to be interchangeable, letting photographers use lenses from both still and cinema cameras.

LeNses
Williams prefers the interchangability of Canon L primes like the 85mm f/1.2L; Kueny recently fell in love with the PL-mount Arri Ultra Primes.

OPTIoNS
The much-delayed Blackmagic Production Camera 4K ($3,995) will record 4K video (3840x2160 pixels) from its 21.12x11.88mm sensor directly to a built-in SSD recorder.

I/O ModUle
This unit has two XLR inputs (one output) for external audio sources, connects the Brain to multiple displays, and syncs multi-source audio and video.

Low End

IN 2007, Greg Williams, a British filmmaker and photographer, was working on an editorial for Italian Vogue and experimenting with the Red Onea digital video camera he had seen Peter Jackson use for his short film Crossing the Line. When he submitted the images, he slipped in a still he shot with the One. I didnt tell anyone, I just sent it, he says. They ran it, and it looked fabulous. Back then, Williams proved that you could make images sharp enough to print in a magazine. Now, seven years after the Red Ones debut, more photographers than ever are using 4K cameras like it to shoot video for pulling print-worthy stills. Among them are videographer Blake Kueny, who shot the cover of the February 2013 issue of TransWorld SURF on a Red Scarlet, and Chase Jarvis, who shoots both action and commercial work with cameras like the Red Epic and the 1000-frames-per-second Phantom

BAtterIes
This dual-battery module powers the Brain and lets you hotswap batteries while shooting for extending run times when shooting in the field.

Mid-Market

The full-frame, $11,995 Canon EOS-1D Ca beefed-up 1D X shoots in 4K (4096x2160) at 24 fps directly to dual-CF cards. Huba says you can use shutter speeds up to 1/160 sec to help freeze the action. Starting at just under $100,000, the Phantom Flex4K makes more sense to rent than buy. But it offers unparalleled highspeed shooting, capturing 4K (4096x2160) video on its 27.7x15.5mm sensor at up to 1000 fps.

High End

BrAIN
Every Red rig is built around the Brain, which houses the cameras processor and sensor. Reds latest, the 6K Dragon, retails at $50,000.

FREEZE FRAME John Huba pulled this still from a short film he made called DeNova. Shot on the Canon EOS-1D C at 24 fps, his exposure was 1/160 sec at f/5.6, ISO 1600.

ReDmote
This accessory lets you start and stop recording and navigate the systems menus wirelessly. If connected to the Brain, it can also charge itself.

Plus, when it comes to action sports, even fast motor drives can miss the shot. Frame rates of 96 fps and up can freeze action in a single frame, and allow for slow-motion playback, too. The advantage is being able to pick the moment that you want, Jarvis says. The disadvantage is the amount of overspray. Because 4K cameras can record upwards of 3- to 5GB of data per recorded minute, photographers need large


cards and external recorders. When shooting at slower rates like 24 or 50 fps, Huba has his models slow their movements in short stretches to get crisper stills, Jarvis coaches athletes on what to do during peak action, the second or two from which hes planning to pull a still. The results are stretching the kinds of images photographers can make. When Williams shot Megan Fox for Esquire in 2009, he made a short movie, multiple spreads, and even moving covers or motos,

JOHN HUBA

THE RED SYSTEM Reds modular camera systems are some of the most popular for shooting video from which stills can be pulled. This rig is built around an Epic S35 Brain with a 27.7x14.6mm, 14MP Mysterium-X sensor, which can shoot RAW video at up to 5K (5120x2700) resolution.

GIF-like cinemagraphs straight out of Harry Potter. Recently, he made motos for the James Bond film Skyfallmovie posters that live and breathe on a digital screen. Still cameras arent going away, but neither are these dual tools, or the photographers who wield them. And as more people consume media digitally, the demand for multimedia is sure to increase. Everything is going screenbased, Williams says. Theres no longer any excuse for pictures to be still.
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