Messages

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EOS Bodies / Re: Canon 6D or 5D MKII - Which is Better for Video?

« on: April 15, 2013, 08:54:23 AM »

I have both in my bag, and the 6D is the one I pull out more often for video. Generally they're very similar aesthetically until you need higher ISO levels, at which point the 6D is far and away the better camera. 6D also can auto-split files up to 30min of recording, while the 5D stops at the 4GB mark (around 12 minutes). The only consideration for getting the 5DMkII over the 6D (for video) would be if you need Magic Lantern functionality, which is available on the MkII but not on the 6D (yet).

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Landscape / Re: How Would You Edit This Landscape Photo?

« on: March 07, 2013, 08:58:04 PM »

Here's mine, just done in Adobe Camera Raw. Anybody wants the xmp sidecar file just let me know. Not even remotely realistic, but DAT COLOR SATURATION. AWW YISSSS.

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Third Party Manufacturers / Re: Which external mic for Canon DSLR?

« on: February 20, 2013, 07:09:13 AM »

The RODE does a pretty good job in my experience.  If you want super clean audio, you will need an off camera source.  Take a look at my video equipment page and let me know if you have questions.  The Zoom h1n's are really good for off camera audio.

http://www.brovadoweddings.com/blog/equipment/

Do you use the Rode into one of those external recorders? Because I'm not being picky about the sound quality, my experience with 6 different cameras and 3 mics is that the internal mic gives a better result for speach, MUCH better.

How diffcult is it and in what software do you sync the sound when using an external recorder like that h4n?

No, the RODE always goes into camera. We always have at LEAST 2 sources of audio. Sometimes 3. Use Plural eyes for Syncing Audio. Putting the RODE on a h4n would probably reduce audio quality.

http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/04/nab-2012-singular-software-pluraleyes/

Any microphone plugged into the DSLR instead of an external recorder will degrade sound quality significantly. Sometimes it's more useful in a workflow to have a shotgun mic going into the DSLR directly (at the expense of quality), but plugging into an external recorder will improve audio quality, not reduce it.

(edit) Depending on what type of sound you need, directional vs a stereo spread, the video mic may not sound as good for your purpose as the external recorder's mics. Any mic will sound better in an external recorder and worse in the DSLR, but if you need a stereo spread a videomic won't be as good of a choice as the built in mics on the recorder.

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EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 6D Anti-Aliasing Filter

« on: February 08, 2013, 09:01:42 PM »

The 5D3 is, when cropped from 3:2 to 16:9, is essentially a QFHD sensor -- exactly 4 times the size of standard 1080p HD. The reason it looks good in 1080p mode is because the camera only has to combine 4 pixels into a single pixel (pixel binning). This is the exact same thing the C300 does to look so good. The 1DX has a smaller sensor that isn't a simple multiple, but it has very powerful processors to downsample in a high quality way. The 6D has a smaller sensor but doesn't have the processing power to downsample correctly (presumably) so Canon just throws out various lines to create the smaller image. It's less processor intensive but results in interference patterns. That's why the 5D3 looks great with moire, the 1DX looks almost as good, and the 6D still has the same problems that the 5D2 had.

If it turns out that the processor is strong enough to downsample properly, it could possibly be adjusted in a firmware update that rewrites the downsampling algorithm. Is it likely that Canon will do that? I'm not counting on it.

Spot on, except the 22mp 5D3 has 3 times the horizontal resolution and 3 times the vertical resolution of 1080p, so it combines 9 sensor pixels to make every one video pixel.

Yes! How embarrassing! I've been saying it's 2x2 binning (like the C300 does) instead of 3x3 binning in a few posts. Thanks for the correction! But if anybody's wondering, the logic still stands. Evenly combining those 9 pixels instead of skipping various lines is a much better way to downsample, and leads to much less moire.

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Reviews / Re: Why I Chose a Canon EOS 6D over a 5D MKIII

« on: February 08, 2013, 03:25:27 PM »

I have a 6D and a 5D2 in my kit right now as well. The photo quality on the 6D constantly astounds me, especially the noise performance like you mentioned on your site. It's also worth mentioning that the 6D has a much softer shutter sound than the 5D series. For a lot of people, the reduced shutter sound is very beneficial when shooting in quieter situations where you don't want to be a distraction.

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EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 6D Anti-Aliasing Filter

« on: February 08, 2013, 12:55:35 PM »

The 5D3 is, when cropped from 3:2 to 16:9, is essentially a QFHD sensor -- exactly 4 times the size of standard 1080p HD. The reason it looks good in 1080p mode is because the camera only has to combine 4 pixels into a single pixel (pixel binning). This is the exact same thing the C300 does to look so good. The 1DX has a smaller sensor that isn't a simple multiple, but it has very powerful processors to downsample in a high quality way. The 6D has a smaller sensor but doesn't have the processing power to downsample correctly (presumably) so Canon just throws out various lines to create the smaller image. It's less processor intensive but results in interference patterns. That's why the 5D3 looks great with moire, the 1DX looks almost as good, and the 6D still has the same problems that the 5D2 had.

If it turns out that the processor is strong enough to downsample properly, it could possibly be adjusted in a firmware update that rewrites the downsampling algorithm. Is it likely that Canon will do that? I'm not counting on it.

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 6D not usable for shooting video?

« on: February 04, 2013, 02:25:40 PM »

A 5dm3 wont suddenly make you a far better cinematographer than you were before (or if you have a 6d), but you sure won't have the same kind of moire issues you do with any other Canon DSLR (except a 1DX).

The 5D3 has a sensor purpose-built to downscale. It has a horizontal resolution of 3840, which is exactly twice the size of 1080p HD. Once the sensor is cropped for video it's essentially a QFHD sensor being downscaled to 1080p -- no problem.

The 1DX seems to downscale with its beefy processors, which could be why the video seems to look a little sharper but also has faint moire.

The 6D (and all the other Canon DSLRs right now) have neither the right sensor resolution nor a strong enough processor (apparently) to downscale well, so they just take the easy way out and line-skip, causing interference patterns. I would love for Canon (or ML) to do some firmware magic to make it downscale better, but I wouldn't count on it.

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 6D not usable for shooting video?

« on: February 04, 2013, 01:02:42 PM »

Hey, everybody! Time to make fun of me!

Just had to trash my first shot for moire from the 6D. I know, I know, I just got done ranting about how I'd never had to trash a shot for moire, but here I am. Had a medium shot during a controlled shoot where a polo shirt started acting funny and somehow I didn't notice during production. Luckily, I had filmed coverage from a few more angles, so I was able to use those shots in the edit. Remember, always shoot more than you think you need

I always get on my guys about not paying enough attention to focus, but if I had missed focus by just a little the moire wouldn't have shown up. Hilarious.

So I still think the 6D is a great camera, and no more prone to moire than the 5D2, but just wanted to point out that if you get on the internet and get on a high horse about your lack of moire issues you will suddenly start having moire issues.

Yep. Karma.

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Lenses / Re: Advice...lens for my new Canon 6D

« on: January 31, 2013, 04:25:24 PM »

I agree with most of the things the above posters have said. The 24-105 is great in many situations and very sharp, but lacks the subject isolation you might want for getting creative with a portrait. The 85 1.8 is my favorite lens for this, and is the lens on my 6D most of the time I'm doing portrait-type work. It's not razor sharp at 1.8, but at 2.8 you've got good sharpness and a narrow DOF.

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 6D not usable for shooting video?

« on: January 26, 2013, 01:24:48 PM »

Interesting that nobody else has sharpness 0 magically curing all moire.

Never said it 'magically cures all moire,' but I'm pretty sure you know that. There are very specific circumstances that will cause the 6D to show moire, and it's most pronounced (like in the above clip) when sharpness is turned up. It's much lower (though still present) when the camera isn't doing broad-stroke sharpening to the image. Moire is an issue when you film things that will obviously produce moire, so small framing and focus adjustments can normally make the problem less serious than filming rows of parallel lines, which the majority of videographers don't do. These small, often on-the-fly adjustments are what professionals do every time they put a camera in their hand.

I don't whip-pan a DSLR because the sensor doesn't scan globally. I don't film completely overexposed content because I can't recover the highlights. I don't shoot on class 2 memory cards because they're not fast enough. And I don't crank the in-camera sharpening up, shoot tons of fine pattern detail that a line-skipping sensor can't properly resolve, and then get angry at the camera when it doesn't look right.

There's a tool for every situation. The 6D is great for plenty of them. Certainly more than enough for it to be "usable shooting video."

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 6D not usable for shooting video?

« on: January 25, 2013, 08:14:48 PM »

It depends upon what you shoot. If you shoot natural world stuff or outdoors and don't want to have to pick and chose the few things you can shoot the 6D will no way cut it. If all you do it planned studio shoots or planned scenes where you can pick your outdoor background maybe you can get away with it, but that is an entirely different sort of shooting, not everyone does only that sort of shooting.

I shoot documentary type work with it -- run and gun from indoor to outdoor, brick walls, wood grain, circus nets, buffets, beaches, forests, network racks, stone temples, seminars, everything near far and in between. That's why I love this camera -- it's great in any sort of lighting situation, which is something I often can't control (or am not allowed to control). I have the sharpening set to 0 (important) and get it back in post. I take a brief moment to set exposure, framing, focus, and then I'm off. I've literally never had to discard a shot from the 6D because of moire issues.

The 6D cuts it. This is from experience using it with it set up properly, which most people complaining about it don't have.

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: 6D not usable for shooting video?

« on: January 25, 2013, 11:15:01 AM »

If you have the $1000 more to spend the 5D3 is great, but if not the 6D is a great alternative. We've been filming around moire issues for years with the 5D2 so saying the 6D isn't usable for shooting video is like saying a new Camry isn't drivable because it only goes just as fast as a Camry from a few years ago and not as fast as a new Lexus.

I've been using the 6D for video since it came out. My clients are happy with the results. Other shooters are constantly blown away by the low-light capabilities. If you absolutely have to shoot moire-inducing patterns regularly, and can't get around it by turning the in-camera sharpening off, tweaking focus, or pointing the camera somewhere else, you obviously know which camera to buy. Otherwise, if you can't figure out how to shoot a good video on the 6D spending the extra grand isn't going to help.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 6D flash sync problem? not reporting flash to body?

« on: January 20, 2013, 09:50:18 AM »

@ScottyP Can you show me in the manual where you're talking about? I see a reference to something like that when using Av mode (manual page 173, "Flash Synchronization Speed in Av Mode"), but nothing where the user is manually setting the shutter, like in Tv mode. Generally I think it would drive me nuts if the camera was automatically overriding my manual settings. If the user is in Aperture Priority mode, the camera can make all the decisions about shutter it wants, especially limiting it to the sync speed. In Shutter Priority, the user should be making all shutter decisions, for better or for worse, no matter what the camera thinks is correct.

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: 6D flash sync problem? not reporting flash to body?

« on: January 19, 2013, 11:28:13 PM »

I don't think the camera is supposed to do this. Any time I'm using a flash I change things myself to fall under the limit, because if I manually set the shutter speed higher I know it's going to cause that issue. In manual mode or shutter-priority (TV), which are both modes where the user specifies the shutter speed, shouldn't the camera assume that because you're manually setting it at 1/400 that you're doing it on purpose?

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EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: Review - EOS 6D By Gizmodo

« on: January 03, 2013, 09:29:07 AM »

The video quality on the 6D is essentially the same that we've been used to and creating workflows around for the past few years. Yes, the sensor makes for some moire if you are shooting that type of patterned subject, and yes Canon really should have fixed that by now, but to say that if you'll be shooting video you need a Mark III is a little ridiculous.

This single failure ruins the 6D as a viable alternative to the 5D3 for professional video.

Seriously? I just shot for a week in Mexico with the 6D and the video turned out great. There was even a shooter with the Mark III who was blown away by the quality of the 6D's video in low light.
We get it, the 5D Mark III shoots great video, but saying that the 6D can't be used professionally because it has the same issues that other professional cameras have had for years is a bit off, in my opinion.