7D Wreck Video

Hi,

For anyone interested I've just posted my first video efforts shooting with the 7D. The video is a short snippet from a dive on the SS Birchgrove Park, which is in about 50m off northern Sydney.

I was shooting with a Tokina 10-17mm, Fisheye HDGX20 Fix light, ISO800 at f/4.5. Shutter at 1/30th, 24fps.

http://damiensiviero.com/Video.aspx

Wow Damien that looks good. That light does a lot more than I would have expected. Did you manually set the focus ahead of the dive or lock the AF or ???

Thanks!

Steve

Hey, there is no video on that page when I go there?

What format did you load it up as?

No video on that page (at home and work) for me either .

Edit: Problem sorted, I see it when using Explorer but not Firefox.

Yes it looks like that player you are using might need an update or something.

Same when building a website, have to test on different browsers to make sure.

Watched it now...... Great job and thanks for sharing.

Yep the camera sure does put out some great quality but will be hard to use just for video.

However it will allow one to get really cool hi quality shots that's for sure.

Lets see now...

1 Need a video light with a very wide footprint if using wide lenses with lights.

2 Have to get very close to stuff with a wide angle on else everything looks far and small.

3 Most shots are going to be wide.

4 Pretty hard to pull zoom in and zoom outs on subjects on the fly.

5 Cannot have it on auto focus to let it lock onto to moving subject.

6 Due to the design of DSLR housings it will be hard to keep steady.

7 Probably needs a external monitor on top which would help in keeping the shots framed and steady.

8 Might be hard to get tight steady shots on subjects.

Anymore?

Steve,

Sorry for the slow reply I lost this thread some how. Regarding my focus technique, well I just had the lens in AF focused on somethign 2m away and left it there for the entire sequence except the cuttlefish when I went in closer. Effectively I just left it at infinity focus the whole dive.

Wagsy,

You raise valid points. Having used the DSLR to shoot video on 8 dives now (mostly wrecks) I can say it's definately not a camcorder. For WA shooting with a monster DOF you bypass the focus issues though, making is a very viable solution. Anything else though and you're in the pain zone. Macro definately needs a tripod.

I'm not sure about the concerns about holding the rig steady though. With practice I'm sure one could get it down pat, though I say this with very little videography experience. Again wide shooting is easy, so I'll hope to shoot some caves in the next few months which will be a good test.

I think the width of the video light concern is definately true (as evdient in my video), though this is more a product of the lens you mount to the camera than the DSLR video capabilities itself.

It'll be interesting to see what others produce moving forward though. To me it's still a case of stills first, with video being a pleasant option on the side.

"4 Pretty hard to pull zoom in and zoom outs on subjects on the fly.

5 Cannot have it on auto focus to let it lock onto to moving subject.

6 Due to the design of DSLR housings it will be hard to keep steady.

7 Probably needs a external monitor on top which would help in keeping the shots framed and steady."

I enjoyed the video...one more wreck I need to check out when I next visit Sydney!

I also am slowly learning how best to use the Canon 5D2/7D underwater...but here are my impressions so far, with regard to the quoted points.

After several years and hundreds of dives using Sony HDVs in Amphibico and Gates housings, using the Canon DSLRs (in a Subal Procase conversion) has required a different, and more disciplined approach.

The first thing to go was auto focus. It was always a bit doggy with the HDV camcorders...especially in open water (eg White sharks from a cage) or in poor light (eg inside a wreck). The Canon 5D2/7D has a great feature where pressing a button quickly acquires correct focus...and shows confirmation. Using this before every scene is great.

Zooming (on camera, or with camera towards the subject) can be done, but again one needs to be more disciplined about it. Pre-focussing is essential...as well as care in moving towards the subect so as not to lose focus. A good external monitor is vital for this (and not just for composing the scene as in the case of mini chip camcorders). I find it better to replace "zooms" with several separate scenes (each pre-focused...it only takes a second with the AF button) moving in towards a subject.

Unlike continuous AF, the Image Stabilization on the lenses that have it (eg 24mm-105mm Canon) actually works very well...be it underwater or on land.

Two powerful lights on ULC type arms solves a couple of issues: 1) illuminating the full wide angle scene (14mm Canon lens) and 2) actually helps with DSLR housing stability, when the lights are positioned about level with the housing.

Using powerful lights also allows taking stills and video with the same light source (I don't carry extra strobes anymore unless its a dedicated stills only dive).

Overall, I'm VERY happy with using the Canons underwater. Even after editing and color grading the resultant image quality (Blu-ray on a 52 inch Bravia) is superb.

One thing I've noticed after the Canon 5D2 firmware upgrade. 30p is noticeably better (ie smoother) for pans...even moderately slow ones...than is 25p.