If you have ever wondered why cine lenses are so expensive, well, then this post won’t answer that question (more complex configuration, better built, etc.). This post is actually to show how easy it is to convert a manual vintage lens for cine use by adding cinegears and de-clicking the aperture. These vintage lenses can be had from Pentax or any other manufacturer, and the process of de-clicking is similar on all of them. What makes this a great value proposition is that these lenses often offer great image quality, but can be had for around $100 (some are more, some are less). Is this ideal? No, cine lenses are much better to work with, especially if you have the budget to own or rent them, but if you don’t, converting older manual lenses for cine use is the next best thing, and it is very affordable.
It probably hasn’t escaped your attention, but a few days ago a new “gadget” called tetherboost was introduced. The claims are that this device will provide power to your connected camera when tethering, thus reducing the power requirements for your computer and your camera. The result should be longer battery life when tethered, and a more stable and presumably faster connection. So what is this thing then?
Well, it is nothing more than a powered usb 3.0 hub with a power bank attached to it (or AC if you work in a studio). Instead of paying well over $100 for an entire thetherbooster set, you can make your own. I have been using a similar setup for years now, and if anything, it reduces the power requirements on both the laptop and the camera. You are therefore not eating through batteries as quickly, especially when you are shooting on location. My setup has a few advantages:
it is more affordable than the tetherbooster
it adds a flashlight, so makes it more versatile on location
items are readily available on amazon, so if you break them, you can easily replace them
the battery pack has higher power outputs, thus allowing you to tether longer, as well as charge your phone or other devices via a secondary high power (2.1A) usb port.
The battery pack also has twice the rated capacity of the other solution
Let’s Make Our TetherBooster
You can substitute with whatever else you feel is working for you, however, the items I list below are those that work for me with both usb 3.0 and usb 2.0 tethered connections:
USB 3.0 portable powered hub (includes AC adapter) on AMAZON
USB POWER BANK with LED and 2 outputs (10000 mAh) on AMAZON
USB to DC cable (connects the hub to the power bank) on AMAZON
As of this writing, you will spend less than $40 on all of these. All you really have to do is to connect the USB hub to your computer (with the cable that comes with the hub), connect your camera via USB to the hub, and make sure that you either power the hub with the AC adapter, or your power bank. Use the 1A connector on the power bank and leave the 2.1A output for your tablet or other devices (in case you need a charge on location). That’s it. You just made yourself a tether booster for less than half the cost of the other solution, while also getting a better power bank (with built-in flashlight and 10,000 mAh rated capacity).
If you haven’t tried CaptureFix yet to get your Pentax 645Z images imported into Capture One, you will find out once you do, that PhaseOne not only deliberately blocked 645Z images from importing, but they also no longer assign an ICC color profile that allows you to get a true representation of the colors when you took that image. As I am always using a color calibration target in my workflow, I have gotten used to the quirky way of managing color in C1, but others probably never saw the need for it. I received many requests from CaptureFix users as to how they can adjust the color, or if I could provide my ICC profiles to them. Although I have a base profile, I usually shoot a target and make adjustments where necessary. As this is really no rocket science I felt the need to make a quick video showing how you can easily make those adjustments yourself going forward. I will also include my basic color profile and settings in this post, free for you to download and use. Keep in mind that these are “close enough” starting points. They are not meant to be perfect, but they will get you close to where you probably would want to start or be at with your adjustments. The below video was made using C1 8.1.1 and files modified with CaptureFix.
645Z CaptureFix for Capture one (8.1.1) and ICC/Color calibration
As you probably noticed, there are several ways to apply the color correction you made. You can apply it as a default ICC profile for the 645Z (in the ICC tab) once saved as an ICC profile, or you can simply apply it upon import to each file as a user color preset. I think the ICC approach may be easier, if you want to use your (or my) profile as a base from where you will make additional adjustments as needed. On OSX make sure to put the ICC profile into ~/Library/colorsync/profiles/ so that C1 is able to find it. As always, this is provided free and as is. Make sure to reach out and let me know if you have other issues or found the perfect ICC you would like to share with me. Enjoy!
CaptureFix C1 645Z ICC/Color Profile
This package includes both the color profile, as well as the ICC profile for using 645z images in Capture One
