Messages

16

EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: my new hero3 black, why is it better then my 7D?

« on: December 27, 2012, 08:46:03 AM »

Different beasts. The 7D is three years old now, in modern tech terms that's ancient. When the 7D came out, 120fps was not even on anybodies radar as a digital shooting format - except with the Red One, which would've set you back quite a bit more than a 7D.

There's all sorts or things that effect what a camera is or is not capable of, including heat dissipation, sensor read-out speed & refresh rate, sampling method, processing power, buffer size, etc, etc. My guess is that the (relatively) ancient 7D is lacking a lot of what is required to shoot proper 720p at 120fps.

The Hero 3, on the other hand, is brand spanking new and has been developed as a special-purpose tool. Action sports is it's primary market and the guys at GoPro have worked hard to deliver a product that meets the needs of the target market. Of course it comes without all the bells and whistles that even an ancient 7D has, like a large sensor, interchangeable lenses, 18mp RAW stills at 8fps, manual everything, etc, etc.

I can only dream, though, that the next generation DSLR's do have 720p at 120fps. Panasonic have introduced it on several of their cameras, and I'm considering buying a FZ200 for that feature alone. If a Canon 70D or 7DmkII shot nice, clean 720p at 120fps, it would definitely make my RED Scarlet dream redundant, at least until clients starts asking me to shoot 4K.

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: New to video...advice needed

« on: December 23, 2012, 08:36:56 PM »

One of the most important things is camera stabilisation.

A good, fluid head tripod is a necessity for any form of semi-serious video. For less 'locked down' requirements there are a range of solutions from monopods (my favorite for weddings) to shoulder mounts & steadycam rigs. All have their good and bad points so if you can borrow any of this gear from someone else to try out it might really help you figure out your shooting style and gear preferences.

Once you have figured out how to keep the camera stable, you can then start to think more about utilising motion effectively - not just superficially. Things like motivated pans (eg panning along a landscape in the direction traffic is flowing) & reveals (panning/moving the camera to reveal more information in a shot, such as another person or object) go a long way towards making the content more engaging, rather than just waving the camera round at anything that moves.

Also try to think about sequencing - eg starting with a wide shot, to show location, then a mid shot to shot the character, then CU to show what they are doing/feeling etc. You'll also need reaction shots (if you're shooting a footaball game and somebody gets a touchdown, show us the crowds reaction) B-roll (overlay which shows vision of what someone is talking about) and cut-aways (shots of detail in a scene can be useful to reveal more info and to cover awkward edits later on - for example if you accidentally "crossed the line" while shooting. The important thing to remember with sequencing is that you don't have to shoot it in order - but think about it the whole time and keep a mental not of what you do and don't have.

18

EOS Bodies / Re: EOS 60D Stock Levels Getting Low?

« on: December 23, 2012, 08:00:34 PM »

According to what I have been told by the local camera store, the 60D was a high volume camera right up until the T4i came out, at which point sales dropped, but it still sold well. That, and the 7D prove that there is an APS-C market above the rebels.

Interesting what they said about the t4i. I would've suspected the opposite - with the T4i release price being fairly close to the lowered 60D price, I would've thought most people would've gone for the 60D.

It would be great to finally see an updated APS-C sensor. No added pixels, just a total refresh so we're not using 4-year old designs when there's been so much improvement in sensitivity, read out speed, DR, etc.

19

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon Cannot Keep Screwing It's Customers Over

« on: December 21, 2012, 10:05:17 AM »

It's common knowledge that the initial release price is always higher than the eventual market price. It's the price you pay for being an early adopter.

What confuses me is the way people always find something to complain about. 3 months ago everybody was saying "This is ridiculous, please lower the price," now fast forward a few weeks and people are complaining that Canon did exactly what everyone asked - lowered the price!

Products generally drop their price over time. Yes, most cameras will be considerably cheaper a few months after they are released. If you can't wait that long, then it obviously means you are a busy working professional, and the camera will pay for itself in a few weeks anyway, so the extra money is no bid deal.

And you think the Canon depreciation in bad? I know somebody who bought a RED Epic earlier this year, before they dropped the price by nearly $20,000. Is he pissed? No, because he got to use the camera for several months, and the income he has made with the camera in that time makes up for the higher price.

You can't hold others responsible for the purchases you make. If you like the product and are willing to pay a certain price, then that is your decision and yours alone. Nobody is forcing you to buy anything.

20

EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: Help me find video accessory !.

« on: December 16, 2012, 12:56:03 AM »

Check out the Steadicam Merlin and the Glidecam 2000. Both are a nice size match for a DSLR.

21

EOS Bodies - For Stills / Re: What's the advantage of shooting with dslr equipment?

« on: December 13, 2012, 11:51:52 PM »

Speed, speed, speed. Focusing, fps (though mirrorless are surpassing DSLR's here, putting aside focus tracking) write speed (due to CF cards over SDHC), shutter lag (and no EVF lag like on mirrorless); just faster everything meaning you have a higher chance of getting the shot.

IQ wise, the bigger individual pixels equate to better images all-round - better dynamic range, colour accuracy, low light, etc. It's not just about megapixels when it comes to the bigger sensor in a DSLR.

RAW Files - yes, some upper range p & s cameras shoot RAW, but there's more to the puzzle than just that - DSLR's are designed to handle all that data even in burst mode, with faster write speeds and deeper buffers. Most p & s cameras with RAW capability mean you compromise on speed, which is critical in many situations.

Ergonomics - intuitive button layout that lets you operate the camera without a magnifying glass and tweezers. The extra size and weight can also help in stabilizing photos. 

More control - yes, some p & s cameras and most mirrorless give you full manual control, but this goes hand in hand with ergonomics. DSLR's let you make changes instantly and blindly with ease, rather than digging through a maze of menus or trying to hit a tiny little button without also mashing every other button.

Lens choice - You say that this is a moot point because of mirrorless, but that's not entirely true. AF performance can suffer, sharpness can drop (due to pixel density & the crop factor which essentially magnifies any lens flaws), FOV changes and balance can be effected (which effects the ergonomics) when using DSLR lenses on a mirrorless camera.

Connectivity - need to operate the camera remotely through a PC? Or need multiple external flashguns? or you want to synchronize multiple cameras? DSLR's are your friend when it comes to these complex applications and workflows.

Additionally there are all the other little things that make the cameras "more professional" - dual card slots for redundancy, durability, battery life, custom filenames, copyright info in the exif data, etc etc. Of course any of these things can be built into just about any camera - but not without compromising the things that make those cameras attractive in the first place such as compactness and price.

22

Lenses / Re: APS-C lens mm are correct

« on: December 07, 2012, 01:19:28 AM »

But an ef 35mm lens projects the  same image behind it regardless of the sensor behind it.  If I take a head shot with an ef 35mm lens, then change to a 200mm lens, back up to the same framing, they are different images.  The 35mm lens' subject will have a bigger nose.  So, an ef 50mm on a crop is different than an ef 80mm on FF.  Maybe something was lost in the ether, but 50mm is not 80mm.

That is because you changed the distance to subject in your example. If you stand in the same spot and take a photo of the same subject, the perspective will be identical with any lens, save for any distortion introduced by the lens (ie field curvature in a fisheye lens). Of course the framing will be very different, though cropping to the same framing will overcome this (though will not result in the best picture quality).

Apply this to a 50mm and 85mm lens, taking a portrait, and you get a perfect example of why we use equivalent FOV's. Put the 85mm lens on the FF camera, and take a photo. Now put your 50mm lens on that same camera and take another photo. The perspective will be exactly the same, but the framing is different - you have a whole bunch of extra area around the edges of the image. But, if you crop that 2nd photo to the same framing, it will have the exact same perspective as the first photo. Now, pair your 50mm lens with a APS-C camera. It will give the same photo (in terms of perspective and framing) as in photo 2, although it is already cropped straight out of the camera. The FOV will be the same (give or take a few mm), and the perspective will be the same, as the photo taken with the 85mm on the FF camera.

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Video & Movie / Re: Webisodes for short film

« on: November 26, 2012, 06:41:14 AM »

Thanks,
I edit with Premiere CS6 and the titles are done in Photoshop then animated in After Effects.

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Video & Movie / Re: Webisodes for short film

« on: November 26, 2012, 03:05:09 AM »

Not sure why the video's are not embedding...

Everything was shot on my 5dmkII and 60D except for the GoPro shots in the water.
Sound was recorded separately for the IV's using a Zoom H4n.

Lenses used were Canon 85mm 1.8 (for the IV) and the Sigma 150-500mm. I had a whole lot more lenses on location with me but used these two for about 99.8% of the footage I shot.

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Video & Movie / Webisodes for short film

« on: November 26, 2012, 02:59:12 AM »

I've been working on a short documentary and a lot of the leftover footage is being put into a series of webisodes - check them out and let me know what you think so far:

https://vimeo.com/54263832


https://vimeo.com/53762688

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EOS Bodies - For Video / Re: Is 5D3 video not 'true' 24fps? FCPX shows it as 23.95....??

« on: October 15, 2012, 03:17:48 AM »

Pretty much all 24p from video cameras is 23.976 fps - and the same goes for HD broadcasts & Blurays. The Problem with the mkII before the firmware update was actually the opposite - it only shot exactly 30p, rather than the correct rate of 29.97 fps & 23.976 fps.

The only time you would ever want exactly perfect 24p is when you are exporting to 24p, but even then it is a simple case of conforming the footage.

The reason you don't hear more people complaining about this 'problem' is that it isn't actually a problem. It is normal, though easily fixed if it does not fit your workflow.

27

Lenses / Re: Minimum Aperture

« on: October 02, 2012, 01:19:47 PM »

For an iris opening of a certain constant size, the f-stop will be lower for a lens with a longer focal length. This is because f-stop is the ratio of iris size to focal length. Practically, this means that most telephoto lenses will have a smaller minimum f-stop than most wide angle lenses.

28

Lenses / Re: Why would you get this lens?

« on: September 25, 2012, 07:28:47 PM »

70-200L IS II.

I can use extenders to go longer if needed.

29

Lenses / Re: What 3 lenses do you dream of and long to own?

« on: September 25, 2012, 09:56:19 AM »

400mm f/2.8L IS II
70-200mm f/2.8L IS II (Currently have the non-IS version)
Canon 24-70 f/2.8L II

30

EOS Bodies / Re: Canon EOS 6D Official Specs

« on: September 16, 2012, 09:47:25 PM »

I'd also like to know if it has a headphone jack and on-screen audio meters. If it does, I'll probably get one. If not, I don't see any reason for me not to keep using my 5dmkII.