Micro Blog: 17th June 2010 (DSLR Video)
Having owned the 5D Mark II for more than a year and have shot quite a bit of video with it, I thought it would be a good time for me to sit down and reflect on how much the technology has been embraced in just 18 months since the 5D Mark II was introduced.
The first thing people get really hung up about is the 1080p FULL HD they are getting. Yes, I do not doubt that there is better resolution but to be honest, I would say a large chunk of my audience will not be able to tell the difference of 1080p to 720p. BBC's Planet Earth was shot on 720p (with a mixture of film) and no one has ever complained about it. I am not one to get caught up with numbers, if the final product looks good, I am a happy shooter.
Monitoring is one issue that has been dealt with the huge range of HDMI monitors. My HD-SDI monitor has to go through the HDMI-HDSDI converter box and fortunately, it works with the smaller camera batteries. Splitting the signal is a bit tricky with HDMI monitors as you will require a powered HDMI splitter. Anything that requires the wall's power supply limits mobility and is a reason why I got the HDSDI monitors.
That said, using a monitor on a 5D is not really essential for focusing. The downsized image through the HDMI output does not help things at all and to be 101% honest, the reason why I got the unit was to avoid having directors stand an inch away from me while staring at the LCD. The LCD loupes such as the Zacuto Z-finder and LCDVF do really help though. I use the Zacuto while handholding and I am more than stable with it. The LCDVF is optically at the very least the equal to the Zacuto. The only letdown is the low quality mounting frame that has dropped a couple of times while using it. It could be the heat generated from the camera or the high-humidity levels that I am shooting in. Either way, it is not good news for a superb product.
Audio is one issue that has been gone over a million times and dual system is the way to go if audio is important. On my side, since I do a whole lot of shooting on my own, I have used the 5D's built-in mic for almost all the shoots including the Fujian video. When the ambience level is low, the sound recorded through the mic is actually pretty usable. Add to the firmware update that disables AGC, one really has a camera that records OK audio for ambient sounds. A sound guy did ask why I was not using the Rode or Sennheiser mics. 2 reasons, portability and size of kit. If my sound was that important, I will have a dedicated sound guy coming in. If it was for a travel shoot, I may use the H4N but no external mics for now as they are way too bulky.There are also times when I just need to stick a hotshoe flash and with a mic occupying that space, I will not be able to do that with much dexterity. The Rode mic make the whole unit much much larger in size and travelling solo in countries with a boosted piece of kit is not something I really like to do. In fact, I remove lens hoods if I do not need them. It really makes the lenses look much smaller especially with the long telephotos.
One major issue I have with manufacturers like Redrock, Zacuto and Cinevate (and many others) is they should understand that many of us are actually photographers as well and as photographers who take our equipment seriously too. Thus to come out with their own proprietary mounting plates for their systems is ignoring the simple fact that we adore the Arca-Swiss system of mounting our lenses and cameras. Almost every professional I have met who knows his stuff has taken to the Arca-Swiss system. Manufacturers like Reallyrightstuff, Kirk, Markins and Wimberley have come out with superb and durable stuff for eons. It would be at the end of the day, a perfect marriage if these manufacturers could come together and say, let's use the Arca-swiss system to avoid the hassle of changing plates when the shooter needs to go from ballhead (photography) to gunstock (video) mode.
That is reallyall the problems I have faced till date. Rolling shutter will always be an issue but with any camera system, as long as we work within its limitations, the end product will not be a letdown for both you and your client.
The photos on the left are all shot using the video mode of the Canon DSLRs. It's really a mixture from the 1D Mark 4, 5D Mark 2 and the 7D. To view the film, please head to Courses de Chevaux. Deciding on which camera to get out was not that difficult a task. If the light levels were low and I needed slow motion, the 1D Mark 4 was the choice. If lighting was not an issue and I wanted as shallow a dof as possible, the 5D Mark 2 was used. If the light was good and slow motion was required then the 7D will be the one. In all, I would say the 1D Mark 4 and 5D Mark 2 were used for most part of the film. The 7D was not that excellent in lowlight (as compared to the other 2 cameras) but it still trounces the broadcast cameras by a margin.
Next up will be another timelapse project but way more difficult but will definitely be a refreshing one for both my audiences and myself.