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150 Scranton Avenue
Lynbrook, NY 11563
1-877-98-ALART
150 Scranton Avenue
Lynbrook, NY 11563
1-877-98-ALART
Time marches on, and with it, so does technology. If we look back only a few years, and see where we WERE, it is all the more amazing where we ARE. Hi-Def video was only a dream less than 10 years ago and today, everyone and their uncle has an HD camera of some sort or another. Workflow aside, if you’re not on the HD bandwagon, you’re considered a Luddite (even if your clients NEVER EVER ask for HD). The whole concept of “future proofing” is a red herring in my opinion. I mean, really, what are the odds that a client is going to come to you a couple of years from now and ask you to re-do little Milton’s Bar Mitzvah in Hi-Def? How many of us have been approached by the Clarendon Sewer Service to re-master that PSA on septic tank maintenance so it will play in HD? So “Future Proofing” was a catchy term designed to get people to pony up for HD back in the day when everyone was saying “WHY DO I NEED IT?”
Well, we’re way past that point and now, not only is Little Milton’s Bar Mitzvah shot in HD, he has multi camera production, cranes, projection screens and live edits all at once. The Sewer Company had all their work trucks wrapped by the vinyl guy so that they will just jump out of the screen when shown on that 65” LCD. So we have to agree that HD is here to stay.
Now back once more to the origins, Long ago, I recall telling people that even a small point & shoot camera had more resolution than any HD camera available. Even now that still holds true for the most part. Once you get into the more professional DSLR offerings, then there is no comparison in terms of resolution. The DSLR beats anything that shoots video. So it’s only natural that they would begin to incorporate HD video into a Professional Body. Now I have to stop right here and explain that the HD available with a DSLR is either 1920 x 1080 30fps or 1280 x 720 24fps (the Nikon D90) so the idea that you can surpass the resolution of say and RED camera just isn’t going to fly. *Stills, however, will still be far higher in resolution, but that begs the question of how much resolution will you be able to display if you only have a 1080 or 720 monitor? So we’ll agree here to just say that HD with a DSLR is now attainable.
Personally, it’s not so much that a camera such as the Canon 5D can shoot Video, HD or otherwise, but that it shoots it with a razor thin depth of field that videographers have been searching for since the X2B. (If you remember that camera, you are officially old). The new “complaint mantra” is that Canon is only providing 30FPS. Some folks are never satisfied. After taking such drastic measures as to affix adapters to your video camera ala the Letus, Red Rock Micro, P+ S Teknik et. al., and then buying 35mm manual focus lenses to get the “film look” you now have a camera that has it all built in. Really folks, you can isolate your subject as never before. The color and clarity of the 5D is simply superb and the array of lenses to choose from eliminates any complaint of being “limited”. In short, a Perfect Camera right?
Well, I suppose if anyone is going to put the wet blanket on the party, it might as well be me. The 5d is AWESOME, but it’s flawed in some very significant ways. None of them are insurmountable, but you have to consider the 5D Mk II to be only a part of the whole equation. First off, the audio is a joke. Not even a good or funny joke, it’s simply HORRENDOUS. We will call this Problem Number 1. Every click, whirr, clack, scuff or turn of a focus ring will be picked up on the completely inadequate onboard mike. Here’s a question for CANON; If you have an onboard microphone, why can’t I use it to annotate my still photos? Ok, so we need to do one of two things. Either shoot with no audio (B roll or overdub footage) or shoot with an external mic and capture our audio off camera. The 5D has a provision for attaching a mike to the body via a 1/8” mini plug, but I would prefer to use an external deck such as the Edirol R-44 (or even the R-09) and synch up in post. Yes, you might need a second person to handle the audio (unless you have a specialized rig that incorporates external audio along with the camera), but the increase in latitude and quality is worth the extra effort. There are other solutions, including onboard Mic’ing with a Beachtek box or the aforementioned Edirol R-44 (my personal choice) and an on camera mic. Some solutions may work more efficiently than others depending on the type of shooting that you do. In any case, that brings us to Problem Number 2;
Figure1. Shooting Video requires the camera to be placed in LIVE VIEW. Eyepiece is disabled.
As a still camera, the 5D MK II feels perfect in your hands. The controls are situated just right for easy access to all the functions, and with a moderate telephoto or a good wide angle, you can shoot all day long with it. Put it in Video Mode and it becomes the most uncomfortable and annoying camera to work with that I’ve ever used. Well, that’s probably not really fair. I do recall using the Canon LX-100/200 which was oddly similar in configuration to a SLR camera of the day. However, it was a DEDICATED video camera and therefore focused, zoomed and shot with little drama. The microphone was reasonably isolated and while some of the longer lenses tested your stamina, it did provide a fairly easy handholding capability. The 5D just does not lend itself to handholding in the conventional sense. If you could look through the eyepiece viewfinder you might be able to adjust your grip to shoot as you did with the LX series, but you need to be in Live View to shoot Video. That’s fine for having a larger screen, but puts you in an impossible position in terms of holding the camera in any sort of efficient manner. For me to monitor my focus with Live View, I need to hold the camera halfway to arms length to see anything. Drugstore readers just don’t do a good enough job for my eyes.
It’s also not happy if you pan quickly or tilt up or down unless done very slowly. I get a significant shutter jump if I try to put the camera through various contortions. I think that is more a case of me learning how the camera likes to be handled and not something that is and actual “flaw”. Some might disagree.
I’m willing to give it some more time. This camera really needs a “rig” in order to extract the best performance
Focus is another issue that I’m finding to be a bit frustrating. With the camera in Live View (which you need to do in order to enter the Video Mode), the focus can be adjusted manually (the right way to do it) or via the AF-ON button which will make you very cranky. The reason being that by utilizing the AF-ON button (figure) the camera immediately refocuses and the shot goes blurry for a moment. Depending on the light (and this camera is AMAZING in low light) focus may hunt a bit. So Lesson 3 is: WE WANT TO USE MANUAL FOCUS WHEN SHOOTING VIDEO.
Figure 2. Zoom lenses will give you focal length flexibility but not zooming functionality.
If we take the focus issue as “Problem 3” then the Zoom issue is “Problem 4”. Zooming with this camera is an exercise in a useless waste of energy. The zoom lenses available are all designed for still cameras and as such, are not nearly as smooth as a dedicated video zoom lens. Unless you like jerky zooms, or have no regard for your viewers, Zooming is really out of the question. I have tried zooming with the 28-135 lens, the Tokina 12-24 lens (a lens designed for the APS-C crop sensor, therefore unusable without serious vignetting at focal lengths below about 18mm) and the SIGMA 70-300. None of them delivered anywhere near an acceptable zoom that you would want to be associated with, so at this point, plan your shots without the need for a zoom to be included. You can zoom and refocus while shooting, but you will certainly cut that section from your final project.
Figure 3. For shooting VIDEO turn OFF the Auto Focus and Image Stabilization if the lens is so equipped.
One of the great things about CANON Lenses are the IS Models. The Image Stabilized (IS) lens gives you at least 2 extra stops in terms of hand holding ability. This translates into being able to deliver razor sharp photos with slower than normal shutter speeds. However, it seems to be marginal at best when shooting video with the 5D. Turn off your IS lens function before you embark on shooting video. I did not find any significant stabilization with the IS turned on and it sucks up battery power. For my money, I would simply turn off the IS feature and make more calculated moves (read “Smoother”). No stabilized lens will compensate for quirky camera handling so just turn it off. This isn’t a problem, just a precaution that you need to take. Before you take MY word for it, experiment yourself and determine if you want to utilize the IS function of your lenses. Remember that the onboard mic will pick up every sound that the lens makes as well. I just operate as if Image Stabilized video is not available (and from what I have seen it’s really not anyway). Not a problem if you take care with your shots and have a stable platform to shoot from.
Figure 4 The 5D Mk II handles High ISO noise quite nicely. This ISO 6400 shot is perfectly usable in a wide range of situations.
Illumination is from a single 60 watt bulb and Television reflection.
I can’t say that we have an issue here at all. The 5D has a full frame sensor and the way it handles high ISO noise is nothing short of amazing. Literally, ISO 6400 is completely usable. I recall my Olympus E-1 which was a breakthrough still camera that struggled with noise at ISO 400 and by 800 was virtually unusable without serious Post Processing. Canon also has an expanded ISO range known as H1 and H2 which translates to ISO 12800 and ISO 25600 respectively. You wouldn’t want to shoot your clients video at these speeds unless your client was doing surveillance work. The 5D is a wonder in itself. This is or can be particularly important if you are using the camera in a dual role (and who wouldn’t?). Behind the scenes stills can be taken in extremely difficult conditions and usable shots can be had. An interesting side note here is that while using the camera in the Video Mode, if you depress the shutter, a still will be taken and Video will resume as soon as the shutter is released. The video will also contain a 1 second still so be aware of that if you choose to use this feature. This may have some use to you or not, but in any case, it’s available and you don’t have to change modes to access it. I say that’s a plus. The photo in Figure 4. above was shot with only the illumination from a single 60 watt bulb and the reflection of a television. While there is noise in the image, it is in no way distracting in terms of the context of the shot. If I were to convert the shot to B&W as shown below, it would use the noise to even better advantage.
Figure 5. Converted to B+W, High ISO Images take on a very film like quality.
Under more adequate lighting, the results that you can achieve can take your breath away. The Video Mode is interesting in that while the ISO is automatically set for ISO 100 but will adjust itself all the way up to ISO H2 if you have that implemented. This can be a real problem in some cases as the constant ISO speed changes can alter the look of your video detrimentally. You can lock the exposure with AE LOCK (Figure 6.) and there are some other work arounds that people have already developed for gaining more control over the video.
Figure 6. Exposure Lock Button prevents ISO Change while in Video Mode.
There is no doubt that DSLR HD Video is here to stay and will only mature and develop in the coming years. That we have such power in our hands for such a reasonable price is amazing in itself. There are going to be hundreds of very talented and clever people who will take this camera to levels that can only be imagined. As with any new technology, there will be some growing pains, and some trade-offs that will have to be made. Ultimately, things will sort themselves out, Companies like Canon will listen to feedback and make changes in future models. The end result will be more tools that will enable us to create better video and more interesting projects. I want to give this camera a full 5 cows, but the reality is that the 5D is ALMOST there, but not quite. There are so many Plusses to this camera that I could heartily recommend it to anyone thinking of taking the DSLR Plunge regardless of their desire to simply take incredible stills or to experiment with the HD Video Capabilities. No matter what your particular field, you will be extremely happy with this camera. It’s the small amount of negatives that I find that knock a half tick off and prevent a perfect score. But I’m confident that over time, all these issues will be addressed and we’ll see the next step in video evolution.
In my personal opinion, Canon has done a wonderful job with the new 5d MK II. There is room for improvement, but as it stands, this is one of the better games in town. You absolutely won’t be disappointed if you purchase this camera. The technology is ripe and Canon has taken the lead in my opinion in terms of DSLR Video. Storage and capacity is another issue that falls into the “why can’t the other guys do that? A 4GB Compact flash card will hold approximately 12 minutes of HD video. Similarly, a 16GB CF card will stash 45 minutes or so on the card. Yes, you need to use a good fast card, but the standard Ultra’s seem to work quite well with no lag. Compare the cost of a 16 GB CF card as opposed to the 16GB P2 Card for my HVX and you quickly see the savings that the DSLR affords. There is still a 4GB limit for a single clip (and I know of no one who thinks that’s an issue) and also a 29minute 59 second limit per clip as well. Again, who does a 30 minute take?
I can’t wait to see what others will be doing with this camera. Mark my words, this is a revolution brewing here.
Special Thanks to AL-ART VIDEO (www.alartvideo.com) for the 5D and associated peripherals.