Komodo Video shot on the 7D

Hey guys,

Here is a movie shot exclusively on the Canon 7D in komodo last month.

I know the narration is bad but i don't have time to redo it right now, and i figure i might as well get as much feedback as possible before i re-edit it!

Hope you can enjoy!

http://buxtonphotographic.com/blog/

Nice video. How's the autofocus underwater with the 7D? I notice you use light almost in all the shots, is it a personal preference or the white balance on the camera is a bit tricky?

The edit is good, I like video with narration and storytelling rather than just underwater footage. It's good to hear what you have to say about shooting with the 7D in comparison with the EX1, but I feel the story is a little bit all over the place. You're jumping between the diving attraction in Komodo, marine biology, and using the 7D. Maybe you can consider concentrating in one, or put them in segments? Just my 2 cents.

Would love to hear more thoughts on comparison of shooting on EX1 and the 7D. I'm thinking of either going for a 7D/Lumix GH1 or a CX550. I know I want to get it mainly for video, but also it will be nice if i get a DSLR with video so i can set it up for wide and video, and carry my D100 for macro. Tough choice!!

Thanks for sharing and looking forward to see more from you.

Seok

A job well done.

Really liked the lighting - what lights did you use ?

Here you are again Simon..

Yes its a pretty good example shot with the 7D alright.

Well done mate, one of the best ones I have seen so far.

Must look good at full res hey.

The narration sound level varied abit.

Beautiful work. Would love to see it in full HD. Also liked the lighting and interested to hear what lights you used. Agree about the difficulty with holding the housing steady. I've started experimenting with a shoulder brace for my Nauticam 7D setup.

Interesting that you choose to use the Tokina 10-17 with 1.5 TC. Is this primarily for balance reasons? Besides the Inon, any other lenses used on the close up macro stuff?

I actually like your voice (as I mentioned you just raced through it) ... I think you'd sound good on instructional DVD's

Dive safe

DeanB

Simon

What dome are you using on the housing? I've found big 8"+ glass domes help with front/aft stability, especially with negative housings. I usually try to stabilize with float arms to where the housing with be neutral and balanced on the X Z axis. A big dome also helps with vertical axis stability when panning as the drag creates a sort of stabilization.

Swimming does make it harder stabilize the housing on the Y axis. I also find that the shades on the dome create destabilizing wake when swimming when shooting slightly off the straight axis. Takes awhile to find the right balance for the housing and lens choice. It's workable though.

Your video shows the power of ViDSLR for macro and you did that very well with the Colemani and Zebrida.

The colors are a little oversaturated for my tastes, especially the reds.

Agree with Dean, you have a good voice for narration but you need to slow down and enunciate more. Imagine you're presenting to a bunch of foreign kids and you'll sound awesome.

Nice footage, especially the macro. On many shots the colours look a little too saturated and rather on the red side for my taste but I guess that's mainly a result of your shooting with lights as opposed to available light. Youtube's 360p downsample probably doesn't help the footage look good in that respect. Also the anemones etc look blown out, but again that may well be youtube's encode losing the detail rather than your footage.

Would love to see your re-cut in youtube at the full res if you have enough bandwidth to upload.

Great to see what the 7D is capable of in the right hands Simon. Thanks for sharing this. I watched it a few times, some with the sound off so I could focus on your composition and framing. I'm very impressed. What were you using for a tripod on the macro stuff?

Very nicely done sir!

Steve

Agree with Dean, you have a good voice for narration but you need to slow down and enunciate more. Imagine you're presenting to a bunch of foreign kids and you'll sound awesome.

Hey Mister Bule, berbicara pelan-pelan sikalan.

You have a nice voice!

I like the close-up of the zebra crab & the coleman shrimp - especially when its shell catches the light, shiny & smooth...

Thanks for the feedback guys, i was using Sunray 2000 lights.

The autofocus is painful but i use the Ex-1 on Manual focus so it wasnt a big step.

The big difference between the 2 setups for me was what i could do with the footage in post. I think if you want to shoot some video and chuck it online or on an ipad etc and let people have a look then the 7D is fantastic. The EX-1 needs more colour correction ( i have mine set to the bbc colour recommendations) but will probably give a better result after more tweaking.

I probably will not travel with the EX-1 other than for specific commissions anymore though, the 7D was great fun and easy to travel with. As Drew said you can play around with different domes and floats to correct for different lenses and balance issues.

For my angelic voice, i get quiet here in a few days so i might have time to redo it as people have suggested (or get the wife to do it).

For my angelic voice, i get quiet here in a few days so i might have time to redo it as people have suggested (or get the wife to do it).

As you know, bandwidth problems here....love to see you here if you're quiet. Come on over for a beer to two, would like to see the vid.. Kaj

Shame you can't upload in a higher res, maybe next time you pass through civilization you can upload a HD version?

Cheers, Simon

Shame you can't upload in a higher res, maybe next time you pass through civilization you can upload a HD version?

 

Cheers, Simon

Diplomatic critique there Mr Spear

Dive safe

DeanB

For my angelic voice, i get quiet here in a few days so i might have time to redo it as people have suggested (or get the wife to do it).

Get the wife to do it mate as I said the accent thing can really help with narration on foreign destinations (and if it's your home of course its more recognisable)...

I think with the new breed of smaller vid cams coming out (new panny being 1st gen) Vidslr's will be a loving memory for serious motion guys... Personally (and I know of many others) they just don't cut it... Well at the moment anyway, especially with the wobble issues ... Its like taking steps backwards not forwards.

Dive safe

DeanB

You're assuming because my wife is asian that she will sound asian?

I'll try to get her to sound more authentic, just for you.

You're assuming because my wife is asian that she will sound asian?

 

I'll try to get her to sound more authentic, just for you.

She doesn't ??? ... It will make the difference ... Well the Proclaimers enhanced their own Scots accents and they were global stars (although for just a week)

Dive safe

DeanB