Vincent Laforet sits down with Hot Rod Cameras top man Illya Friedman. They discuss the difference between PL mount and Canon mount lenses. Illya also makes a good case for using PL mount lenses for professional reasons. The true distance marks on the lenses and lens choice makes a huge difference with cinema style lenses. If you are thinking of converting your camera this may help you decide.

Illya Friedman lent me the Hot Rod Cameras Converted PL Mount 5D Mark II. Here is some of the footage from the shoot. We only had one lens to use with the PL Mount camera. A 50mm Zeiss T1.5 PL Mount  Compact Prime.  They one of the few types of lenses that will work with the full frame sensor. The first test I shot actually made it in the spot. We shot that in Standard Mode but found the Razor Sharp Zeiss CP Lenses needed to be toned down to the Nuetral Picture Style. We did not do any color grading on this, it would have helped tremendously.We used a C-Stand arm and Red Rock Micro Rods and Baseplate to mount the camera for the over head shot of Natalia. We also used the arm for the Balcony shot.(See Photos) I only use one 1×1 Litepanel Bi-Color Light for the overhead and Balcony Shot. Billy Jayne Directed and starred in this spot for Moe’s Southwest Grill. This is some of the first footage ever released using a Canon 5D PL Mount camera. We also shot some Documentary style footage that will be out soon. C-Stand 5D PL Mount Rig Arm Over Balcony Mirror Viewfinder Natalia Checking out the Shot Shot this in Standard then Went To Neutral To Soften Skin Tones. One-Light Show. Litepanels 1x1 Bi-Color

Illya Friedman from Hot Rod Cameras hooked me up with a prototype Canon 5D Mark II PL Mount and a Zeiss 50mm T1.5 Compact Prime lens for a shoot with Misa Garcia of JAG35 fame. Misa and I have been working on a Documentary about the vintage rock scene here in Los Angeles. He is one of the promoters of “The Whistle Bait”, a showcase of this vintage style. There are bands, burlesque dancers and badass rides. He put together this little behind the scenes video of our shoot. The location was not ideal to match our previous shoot. I ended up having to shoot the PL 5D super dark to hide the location. The camera worked flawlessly and can’t wait to slap more Zeiss CP glass on it. We are shooting again next week and will get the footage from the Hot Rod Cameras PL Mount 5D Mark II up soon.

Neil Smith at Hdi RAW Works has been one of the leaders of the HDSLR Revolution from the very start. Hdi RAW works will be hosting an open house with Rodney Charters, ASC and Bob Primes, ASC, both demonstrating camera and lighting techniques. Shane Hurlbut, ASC will be screening his short,“The Last 3 Minutes”. Representitives from Canon USA, Zeiss, Red Rock Micro, Litepanels, Hot Rod Cameras and Birns and Sawyer will all be there with new gear to play with. This is a great opportunity to meet some of the top people working with HDSLR’ds today and learn a thing or two from the masters. There is a $10 fee to cover parking and refreshments. Click Here For More Info.

Philip Bloom is in Los Angeles for a Master Class with Hdi RAW Works, March 6th, 2010. I was lucky enough to be invited to help test out the new Hot Rod Cameras PL Mount 7D. We met at Hollywood Park at 4:30am to catch the horses at the stables and on the track. Philip Bloom, Illya Friedman from Hot Rod Cameras, Neil Smith, Jeremy Ian Thomas , his sidekick “Bobby” all from Hdi RAW Works, Chuck Linkes from Litepanels and myself were all there at the crack of dawn. Everyone was Super Cool.  The Cooke S4 Lenses and Canon Rebel T2i were supplied from Birns and Sawyer, Hollywood. I came up with the crazy idea of strapping a Canon Rebel T2i to the Jockey and let him go around the track at full gallup. Jose the jockey agreed to operate the camera. Philip supplied the Sigma Fisheye Lens, Chuck Linkes did the camera rigging. Jeremy Ian Thomas hooked up the color. This little Rebel T2i is one badass camera.  It actually worked. It was shot with a Canon Rebel T2i, a Sigma Fisheye Lens, 100 ISO T5.6 at 24fps. Click Here For Philip Bloom’s Blog.      Click Here For Hdi RAW Works Site..      Click Here For Hot Rod Cameras.

Hot Rod Cameras sent their PL mount Canon 7D up to Skywalker Ranch for Mr. Bloom. He has a lot of great photos of the prototype PL mount 7D on his Blog. Philip, there is a little pin to key the lens into the PL mount. That should help the next time you put the port cap back on. Click here To Check It Out.

Hot Rod Cameras President Illya Friedman debutes his new PL mount Canon 7D. Hot Rod Cameras will convert your 7D for just over three grand. You can get a brand spanking new Hot Rod Cameras PL Mount 7D for around 5K. Illya has removed the mirror and replaced it with a sensor gate for protection. The prototype I checked out at Createsphere 2010 looked rock solid to me. This modification should work with other Canon EOS cameras as well. Click Here For Hot Rod Cameras

Hot Rod Camera's 7D PL Mount Adapter Hot Rod Cameras has pushed their scheduled release date for a PL mount adapter for the Canon 7D to February 18th, 2010. According to Ilya Friedman’s post from February 14th, 2010, they had a “small computer delay” and are set to announce at this years Createasphere event in Los Angeles, CA. There is no mention if this PL mount will work across all Canon EOS cameras yet. Click Here To Read The Post.