5D mkII for video?

i have been shooting stills for years and have been considering getting into video. the new 5d mk II has me thinking that i can do both. here are some questions i have

1. can my strobes for still photos be used for video?

2. is the quality totally worthless at depth?

3. can video on the 5d be white balanced underwater at depth?

4. i usually take a 17-40mm lens with a dome port on the housing. i assume this would be ok for video... or would it?

Hi Matt,

1. Probably not. Depends on how bright the focus lights are. There is a thread on this topic already in this section. If you have plenty of ambient light, just a magic filter is good. If not, you probably need some good bright video lights.

2. Depends on your lighting, but the low-light capabilities of the Mark II are generally accepted to be superior to any camcorders in the price-range.

3. Yes. You need to shoot a still of a suitably neutral subject or wb card, then use that still to WB the video.

4. Should work fine. Remember that you can't AF whilst filming. You need to prefocus before the shot (although if you shut down the aperture a bit you should get a resonably deep depth of field)

Hope this helps. There's quite a bit more detailed discussion on the topic elsewhere in this section of the forum.

I've finally got a Canon 5D2 and some lenses, including the 17-40mm. My old Subal F4 housing is currently being converted for the Canon...but in the meantime I'm testing it out topside. Amazing camera...amazing video quality. Even the 30p conformed to 24p or 25p gives a lovely, gentle over-cranked effect which should be great for most UW sequences.

1. I've decided on shooting video and stills with two HID 50 lights. If necessary a compact Inon 240 can be attached to each HID, only one cable the other on slave.

2. The Canon's low light performance is outstanding...a couple of reviews compare it favourably to RED...better than EX1/3.

3. WB will work. I usually pre-set WB for Daylight and use powerful HIDs when necessary.

4. The 17-40mm is an excellent lens (sharper than the 16-35mm). Use the "AF On" to pre focus each sequence...the DOF at 17mm will help. Don't forget to use the correct Diopter for a given dome port.

The 5DMkII sounds like a gem but I ma not sold on its as a video camera. Don't get me wrong, it could deliver great video. BUT the amount of video on a dive required by a normal hobbyist diver? Repetitive dives over a prolonged period? This is not a dedicated video camera. It was designed as a DSLR with a video capability. To that end I think people will be sorely disappointed with the potentially short life, given the investment, should they decide to use it as a video camera.

Cheers,

Mark.

Agreed... I actually saw an interview with the product manager for the 5D mk2 and it was interesting to hear that they never thought that the video capability of this camera would be such a huge hit. As Mark says it was designed as a stills camera with the ability to shoot video. I also heard that due to this success Canon are working on a video camera with the same technology but designed to be ergonomically like a video camera and with access to all the essential manual features.

Now that will be interesting and it will be interesting to see what price point it will come in at. Canon at present does not have a competitor to the EX1 / EX3 market at the moment and they are classically a couple of years behind.

Yeah, will all the hype it's been getting about the video performance, you have to wonder what could Canon do focused on a dedicated video camcorder with similar technology. It's nice to see them thinking outside of the box.

I've been using the 5D2 for video a lot - with the 15 fisheye it produces excellent material in less than perfect conditions. I'm running a couple of Kowalski mini xenons which make it a little heavy and I would not use these for stills (which IMHO still require a strobe or strobes). If I wanted to use it for both stills and video I would need both forms of illumination which would make it very cumbersome. In all honestly I'd suggest that unless you have specific reasons for needing to shoot both on a dive then I'd stick to either stills or video per dive. Lastly, IMHO the screen is the most pressing problem - viewing it is not always all that easy.

From your experience what is it like for critical focusing?

I haven't had chance to try it with subject matter which requires very critical focus. I've been thinking about this though and can't see it being viable unless the housing is used with some form of support. I intend to try it out soon but have been too busy using it with the fisheye - I've only used it once to even shoot stills so far. Perhaps I will get the chance in a few days time, if so I'll comment as soon as I've done so.

I haven't had chance to try it with subject matter which requires very critical focus. I've been thinking about this though and can't see it being viable unless the housing is used with some form of support. I intend to try it out soon but have been too busy using it with the fisheye - I've only used it once to even shoot stills so far. Perhaps I will get the chance in a few days time, if so I'll comment as soon as I've done so.

Sounds good, looking forward to your report.

Cheers

Jon

Focussing can be helped in two ways:

1) Use an external monitor...no different to a normal video system.

2) Pre-focus each scene using the "AF On" button at the back of the camera...no need for mechanical focus gearing. This is actually a better way to shoot video UW ...AF in my Sony HDV was always "hunting" in open water scenes, so I eventually used manual focus more often.

Housing design will be crucial in terms of ergonomic access to video controls...so far most housings (except the Aquatica) will require custom mods to make them useable for serious UW video. Also, I agree...unless necessary, stick to either video or stills per dive.

The more I use the 5D2 the more impressed I am with how it lends itself for the way I need to shoot video...in a more controlled and disciplined way. And the resultant HD video quality is far better than anything less than a RED...IMHO. With a good (cheap) Follow Focus rig and a viewing system (a la Red Rock, or clone) , the 5D2 is a lovely video camera to work with on land...even hand held.

By the way, yes Canon are working on a "Real" video camera...smaller cmos chip size, will probably take EF lenses, but will have dedicated lenses with special AF motors for video work. ETA...2010 or 2011. Might even be 4k capable...estimated cost around US$10k...so, yes it will be a very different animal aimed, no doubt, at the RED/Scarlet crowd.

OK. I tried the 5D2 using a 35mm f/2 Canon lens (not macro but for semi-wides behind a small dome). I used a spike fitted to a strobe arm section under the housing as I was diving on mixed ground with a soft base, for stability and was diving in a slight current. The system works fine. Using the detailed view section in live view and pre-focus I could check the sharpness fine and could shoot good material in a fixed position and even reasonable material when following or panning a subject - this will take some practice though. I still need to try it for macro but my immediate impression is that it WILL need some type of support - my spike was great but only because it was acceptable to use it on the substrate being dived on (sadly part of the area had been trashed my scallop dredging).

I came across this video on vimeo shot with the 5D Mark II and was blown away.

http://www.vimeo.com/5315673

phenomenal.

Have a look at some of the other 5D2 videos by Aussie Mike Fletcher on vimeo...outstanding!

Seeing them convinced me more than anything else to go for the 5D2.

Last week I shot 40GB of video files underwater with the MkII. I am increasingly impressed with its abilities, ease of use in its relatively small housing and the images created with the 15mm fisheye. Unfortunately I can't post as I'm working for a production company but I can say that for low vis shooting this set up is proving to be extremely versatile and effective

Last week I shot 40GB of video files underwater with the MkII. I am increasingly impressed with its abilities, ease of use in its relatively small housing and the images created with the 15mm fisheye. Unfortunately I can't post as I'm working for a production company but I can say that for low vis shooting this set up is proving to be extremely versatile and effective

paul,

how much can you shoot per dive before you need to change media?? coming from tape i wonder how much video i could get per dive before i'd need to surface.

-al marvelli

I picked up my 5d2 camera today and a 17-40 lens...taking it to Holbox, Mexico on Sunday to shoot Whale Sharks for a week. Ill have video and stills to show when I get back, as well as a report on the Sea & Sea 5d2 housing. What a small housing and amazing design!!!

So I am extremely excited. I was told Id have to download the firmware upgrade (1.1.0) and install it to my new 5d2...and after I downloaded it to my comp, I went through the set up process (before uploading to the camera) and saw I already had it...Tested the functionality, and perfect!!

The big question now is how long can this (me) 11 year Nikon user stay hooked on Canon DSLRs for?? Oh Nikon why are you lagging??

paul,

 

how much can you shoot per dive before you need to change media?? coming from tape i wonder how much video i could get per dive before i'd need to surface.

 

-al marvelli

I'm running a 32GB card and dives are running at up to an hour - no problem.

Here is a first underwater video shot with a 5D MK II