Stopping Time with Canon 1D X

Tight budgets mean Matrix-style montages for public-broadcast documentaries are rarely done. But somehow the team at DokLab did it – and they tell CPN writer Mark Alexander how they used 50 EOS-1D X DSLRs to pull it off...

There is a childish glee that overtakes us all when we set eyes on a new piece of kit. As pristine packaging carelessly falls to the floor and a spotless lens or gleaming camera body emerges, our anticipation gives way to unreserved delight. It is a wonderfully gratifying – and unashamedly geeky – moment...

© Daniel Rihs/Pixsil

As with all big productions, preparation is the secret...

If unconditional joy is the consequence of opening one new box, imagine what Dodo Hunziker and Pierre Reischer went through as they unwrapped 50 EOS-1D X DSLRs and 50 EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM lenses ahead of what would turn out to be a momentous day’s filming.

“We approached Canon to see if 50 cameras and lenses were available to do this shoot,” explains cameraman Reischer, who didn’t specify which DSLR he required when he first enquired. It was lucky they made the request when they did, as usually Canon does not have this number of bodies and lenses available. But in this case, there were a few days of opportunity for the shoot, before Canon's preparations began for the World Athletics Championships in Moscow. “It was like ‘wow’. This is the top model. We were going to shoot with 50 of them - it was just crazy,” Reischer recalls. The enormity of the task, and the challenge of getting to know Canon's flagship DSLR intimately, was dawning... (Read More)