Canon 5d Mark II Video Settings

Hello all:

First off let me start off by saying that I am new to the video concept with DSLR's. I just got the 5d mark II and want to start shooting video underwater. The problem is that I don't see anywhere on the web that gives a whole lot of detail regarding this process and settings needed for underwater DSLR settings. I am headed to Anilao, Phillipines in 2 weeks for my first go at this, so any help will be much appreciated. I know this camera is very capable of producing amazing video as seen with Berkley White's video's and Fergus Kennedy's videos. And would be stoked to get video like that. So I am excited to start working with this.

The following gear is what I will have to work with. Canon 5d Mark II, 17-40mm, and 15mm fisheye. 8 Inch dome port, with an Ikelite housing. Blue Water Magic Filters.

I do not have a tripod or any lighting.

Here are my questions:

1. How often should I be changing my WB?

2. do I set anything to auto? Or should everything be manual?

3. If it is manual (which I expect it to be) What should my settings be set at? ISO, Shutter Speed, Aprature, etc....

4. In Anilao most of it is marco. So I am planning on using the 17-40mm.(my wife Tyra will be using the 100mm for her stills) Will this be difficult to capture small stuff with? I figured would be the best without a tri-pod. Thoughts?

5. How do I lock in focus? How close should I do this, when most will be macro stuff? So I need to lock focus again for more of a wide angle shot?

6. With visibility being limited to 20 to a max of 60 feet, shooting macro subject with a wide angle lens, and no lights or a tripod, Are my results going to be any good?

Any help you can provide me with would be greatly appreciated. Certainly, if you think I am missing anything feel free to tell me your thoughts.

Thanks.

Dustin

It's hard to imagine how you will get good results shooting macro subjects with a 17-40mm or 8mm fish-eye lens. Those aren't macro lenses, so why try to shoot macro with them? Square peg, round hole.

If you want to shoot macro, use the 100mm macro lens. If you want to shoot wide-angle and get the occasional fish portrait, use the 17-40mm. But either way, you'll need light. Buy a strobe, or better yet, buy two. If money is tight, remember that you can usually sell this stuff and get back a good chunk of your investment. You can also find used gear in places like Wetpixel.

It's hard to imagine how you will get good results shooting macro subjects with a 17-40mm or 8mm fish-eye lens. Those aren't macro lenses, so why try to shoot macro with them? Square peg, round hole.

 

If you want to shoot macro, use the 100mm macro lens. If you want to shoot wide-angle and get the occasional fish portrait, use the 17-40mm. But either way, you'll need light. Buy a strobe, or better yet, buy two. If money is tight, remember that you can usually sell this stuff and get back a good chunk of your investment. You can also find used gear in places like Wetpixel.

I am confused by your response. The 100mm is going to be used by my wife, who will be shooting stills. You don't need "strobes" for video. Light.....maybe....but strobes no. There is excellent underwater video with no Lights, alot of people use magic filters, which I have. With the 5d and the large sensor it has great ability with low light situations.

I realize that the 17-40mm is a wide angle. However, given my circumstance it is probably my best bet, as I don't have a better lens option, and even if I could use the 100mm, I don't have a tripod, which from my research seems like a must for a 100mm lens. Am I expecting to get the fantastic footage of a pygmy seahorse with a wide angle lens....of course not. But shrimps, eels, squid, clownfish, flambouyant cuttlefish, along with some wide angle (reef scenes, divers etc)......I expect I could get something decent. In fact, I would think the 17-40 would work rather well. I am asking for recommendations for settings from people that have experience with video on a Canon 5d mark II.

I am very familiar with the stills side of things, I just need help with the video.

Maybe you should start here and try Step 1.

Dustin,

Here are my baseline jump settings on my 7D as a complete rookie video shooter, (the 5D Mk II might be a little different as to cleanest ISO) - clear water, and tropical location with some sunshine overhead.

Manual mode

1920x1080 @ 30fps (for normal shots, 60fps if going to slow mo)

Shutter at 1/60^th (multiple of the frame rate)

Aperture – Primary exposure control (Jump setting f/11)

ISO at 160 or multiple - (I'd consider going to Auto ISO in the right situation. Like a coral tunnel with rapidly changing exposures for example)

Auto power off (off) If you use the custom user settings, C1 C2 C3, you can set up one for the video settings and then it's one click to setup the camera for video. (highly recommended) When you get to depth and then discover the exposure is f/8 you can roll it in and be fine. If the camera cycles to power off, then when you power back up, it will go to your jump settings, in this case f/11 and you'll forget and shoot 3 beautiful minutes of darkness. Just remember to turn the camera off when you get back on the boat.

AF set to rear button

AF Live View - Quick Mode (7D term)

WB- set for the shot and the depth with grey card especially if using Magic filters.

There is a discussion here you may find helpful here;

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...amp;hl=7D+video

The folks at Backscatter have a discussion on shooting the 5D video too;

http://www.backscatter.com/learn/article/article.php?ID=59

Good luck,

Steve

Dustin,

You're going to love the 5d mkII. It's great for video underwater!

Here are some answers to your questions based on my experience using the same camera underwater.

1. How often should I be changing my WB?

I white balance off of my fin if/when I change depth by more than 10 feet.

2. do I set anything to auto? Or should everything be manual?

Full Manual

3. If it is manual (which I expect it to be) What should my settings be set at? ISO, Shutter Speed, Aprature, etc....

Shutter speed 1/60th or 1/30 (if in low light with not too fast a motion)

ISO adjustable -200 up to 640 can still be acceptable

F8-F11 will help with the corner distortion and sharpness.

4. In Anilao most of it is marco. So I am planning on using the 17-40mm.(my wife Tyra will be using the 100mm for her stills) Will this be difficult to capture small stuff with? I figured would be the best without a tri-pod. Thoughts?

This lens will be difficult for shooting macro video. Honestly, macro video is best with on a full frame camera (like the 5dmkII) with a 100mm on a tripod.

Is it possible to capture some fish or a stationary subject getting in close? Maybe. Results will vary.

5. How do I lock in focus? How close should I do this, when most will be macro stuff? So I need to lock focus again for more of a wide angle shot?

Here's where it's tricky with the Canon DSLRs. Macro will be incredibly difficult to lock in focus without a tripod and a manual focus gear. That said, you might get lucky by doing the following:

Before you start recording video, zoom in 10x, try and get critical focus, and then make sure your F stop is high enough to allow for some forgiveness if you're floating in and out of the sweet spot of focus.

6. With visibility being limited to 20 to a max of 60 feet, shooting macro subject with a wide angle lens, and no lights or a tripod, Are my results going to be any good?

Hard to say.

What I would focus on is the following:

Don't worry about the magic filter for now. Remember the following and you'll get some pretty great video:

1) Expose 1-2 ticks under proper exposure (this will help the water to not wash out and be overexposed

2) Always, and I mean always make sure the sun is behind you, lighting over your shoulder towards your subject.

3) Don't shoot down through the water column. The white balance will be off

4) Don't forget to white balance every 10 feet or so.

5) Don't shoot up the water column (especially hard with the 15fisheye) with the fisheye, shoot slightly downward, maybe 50-60 degrees.

6) Don't forget to whitebalance again.

7) Try to think of your camera as an extension of your body and try and keep it as steady as possible.

8) Focus first, then record stationary clips. Stop recording, reset your position, and repeat.

Good luck and have a great trip and before you go, maybe try and practice in the pool. Getting to the video settings and getting comfortable ahead of time will help you out immensly when the "big shot opportunity" comes up, you'll be ready!

Cheers!

Joel Penner

Newmediasoup, LLC

Dustin,

Here are my baseline jump settings on my 7D as a complete rookie video shooter, (the 5D Mk II might be a little different as to cleanest ISO) - clear water, and tropical location with some sunshine overhead.

 

Manual mode

1920x1080 @ 30fps (for normal shots, 60fps if going to slow mo)

Shutter at 1/60^th (multiple of the frame rate)

Aperture – Primary exposure control (Jump setting f/11)

ISO at 160 or multiple - (I'd consider going to Auto ISO in the right situation. Like a coral tunnel with rapidly changing exposures for example)

 

Auto power off (off) If you use the custom user settings, C1 C2 C3, you can set up one for the video settings and then it's one click to setup the camera for video. (highly recommended) When you get to depth and then discover the exposure is f/8 you can roll it in and be fine. If the camera cycles to power off, then when you power back up, it will go to your jump settings, in this case f/11 and you'll forget and shoot 3 beautiful minutes of darkness. Just remember to turn the camera off when you get back on the boat.

 

AF set to rear button

AF Live View - Quick Mode (7D term)

WB- set for the shot and the depth with grey card especially if using Magic filters.

 

There is a discussion here you may find helpful here;

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...amp;hl=7D+video

 

The folks at Backscatter have a discussion on shooting the 5D video too;

http://www.backscatter.com/learn/article/article.php?ID=59

 

Good luck,

Steve

Steve,

Thanks for the information. I never really considered looking at 7d posts. I can't imagine it would be much different than the 5d. This really helps me out. I know you do quality work as I have read many of your past posts and also viewed your images. They are fantastic!

I will read thru that other wetpixel thread more in detail.

As far as backscatter review, I have read over that probably a dozen times....which only lead me to more questions, which you have kindly helped me out with. Thanks for your response.

Dustin,

 

You're going to love the 5d mkII. It's great for video underwater!

 

Here are some answers to your questions based on my experience using the same camera underwater.

 

1. How often should I be changing my WB?

I white balance off of my fin if/when I change depth by more than 10 feet.

 

2. do I set anything to auto? Or should everything be manual?

Full Manual

 

3. If it is manual (which I expect it to be) What should my settings be set at? ISO, Shutter Speed, Aprature, etc....

Shutter speed 1/60th or 1/30 (if in low light with not too fast a motion)

ISO adjustable -200 up to 640 can still be acceptable

F8-F11 will help with the corner distortion and sharpness.

 

4. In Anilao most of it is marco. So I am planning on using the 17-40mm.(my wife Tyra will be using the 100mm for her stills) Will this be difficult to capture small stuff with? I figured would be the best without a tri-pod. Thoughts?

This lens will be difficult for shooting macro video. Honestly, macro video is best with on a full frame camera (like the 5dmkII) with a 100mm on a tripod.

Is it possible to capture some fish or a stationary subject getting in close? Maybe. Results will vary.

 

5. How do I lock in focus? How close should I do this, when most will be macro stuff? So I need to lock focus again for more of a wide angle shot?

Here's where it's tricky with the Canon DSLRs. Macro will be incredibly difficult to lock in focus without a tripod and a manual focus gear. That said, you might get lucky by doing the following:

Before you start recording video, zoom in 10x, try and get critical focus, and then make sure your F stop is high enough to allow for some forgiveness if you're floating in and out of the sweet spot of focus.

 

6. With visibility being limited to 20 to a max of 60 feet, shooting macro subject with a wide angle lens, and no lights or a tripod, Are my results going to be any good?

Hard to say.

 

What I would focus on is the following:

Don't worry about the magic filter for now. Remember the following and you'll get some pretty great video:

1) Expose 1-2 ticks under proper exposure (this will help the water to not wash out and be overexposed

2) Always, and I mean always make sure the sun is behind you, lighting over your shoulder towards your subject.

3) Don't shoot down through the water column. The white balance will be off

4) Don't forget to white balance every 10 feet or so.

5) Don't shoot up the water column (especially hard with the 15fisheye) with the fisheye, shoot slightly downward, maybe 50-60 degrees.

6) Don't forget to whitebalance again.

7) Try to think of your camera as an extension of your body and try and keep it as steady as possible.

8) Focus first, then record stationary clips. Stop recording, reset your position, and repeat.

 

Good luck and have a great trip and before you go, maybe try and practice in the pool. Getting to the video settings and getting comfortable ahead of time will help you out immensly when the "big shot opportunity" comes up, you'll be ready!

 

Cheers!

Joel Penner

Newmediasoup, LLC

Joel,

That was awesome!! Thanks for your help. This all made good sense. Your settings and steve's settings pretty much lined up. So that makes me feel pretty confident.

One more question for you....Why do you recommend not using the magic filter?

One more question for you....Why do you recommend not using the magic filter?

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=39662

If you read past the first few comments above then it should give you some idea of what a HDSLR can do without filters. As the 7D was so great without filters I found that there were more drawbacks to using them than benefits. In theory it should be the same for the 5DmkII, but Magic Filters especially weight next to nothing so there's no harm in taking them along to experiment with. You can get all the advice you can on dry land, but the main part of shooting underwater is finding what works for you. Have fun!

Cheers, Simon

This is all great advice!

I'd also add that lights will help you out loads. I only shoot with a 15mm and can tell you that exposing can be a bit of an arse because so much of the frame is in sight, to get a decent exposure can be tough. Practice a lot on land.

You should be aiming to shoot short sharp shots, anything over 7-10 seconds long is too long and boring (unless it's something epic of course). So with this in mind aim at doing this five step process and then it becomes mechanical.

Given a proper white balance.

When you see your subject:

Live View On

Focus

Record

Stop

Live view off.

I shoot a lot at 2.8 because of where I am so I focus on something that will be the area I will move into where my subject is so I swim it into focus, then hold.

Live View off helps with heat and hot pixels and also saves the battery - I do two 40 min dives and I come out with 50% battery.

Movement works a lot with the 15mm, move around a coral head keeping it centre looks amazing as the background really sweeps past behind, same with divers, circle a diver keeping them in centre frame, looks awesome.

I've been shooting this rig every day since November, done about 100 dives or so and love it. You just need t grow into it and know it's limitations and benefits, the results look fantastic.

Good look!

PS... check out the My Films section on my sig, the UW ones were filmed using the 5d2 and 15mm.

Joel,

 

That was awesome!! Thanks for your help. This all made good sense. Your settings and steve's settings pretty much lined up. So that makes me feel pretty confident.

 

One more question for you....Why do you recommend not using the magic filter?

Dustin,

Sorry. I own and use my magic filters! I've found that the magic filters work well between 20-30 feet but beyond that or less than that, they can be have a mind of their own with getting a good qualiy white balance. Shots come out too orange or too green-blue. Because of this, I don't use them near as much. It can take a lot of work to fix this is post and can be very frustrating.

In a normal dive profile, they are challenging to get consistent results. Alex Mustard makes a good point about this in another thread, that on a wreck dive, you can really get amazing results but not on all dives. I agree with him. I think if you have a profile that's at the same depth in the 20-30 foot range, or are on a wreck where you could stay at the same level and work on a really good white balance initially, you can get good results. I have also found that without the sun, (or early morning dives) it's also very difficult with the Magic filter.

My take on this is to get the video skills down without introducing another layer of complexity that can and will mess with the footage, especially when you're first learning to shoot DSLR video.

Cheers!

Joel

Newmediasoup, LLC

Thanks everyone for helping me with this. I do have another question regarding focusing.

Do you guys do manual focus? I don't have the option for this with an ikelite housing.

Looking at the 3 options for AF on the 5d. There are two options that seem relevant. Quick Mode and Live Mode. After playing around with it. It seems that Live Mode is the way to go. Where you just hold the AF-ON button until it is focus with the Live View image on. What is everyone's opinions?

It seems that this is the way Captain Caveman does it, but I just want to make sure.

Dustin,

Here are my baseline jump settings on my 7D as a complete rookie video shooter, (the 5D Mk II might be a little different as to cleanest ISO) - clear water, and tropical location with some sunshine overhead.

 

Manual mode

1920x1080 @ 30fps (for normal shots, 60fps if going to slow mo)

Shutter at 1/60^th (multiple of the frame rate)

Aperture – Primary exposure control (Jump setting f/11)

ISO at 160 or multiple - (I'd consider going to Auto ISO in the right situation. Like a coral tunnel with rapidly changing exposures for example)

 

Auto power off (off) If you use the custom user settings, C1 C2 C3, you can set up one for the video settings and then it's one click to setup the camera for video. (highly recommended) When you get to depth and then discover the exposure is f/8 you can roll it in and be fine. If the camera cycles to power off, then when you power back up, it will go to your jump settings, in this case f/11 and you'll forget and shoot 3 beautiful minutes of darkness. Just remember to turn the camera off when you get back on the boat.

 

AF set to rear button

AF Live View - Quick Mode (7D term)

WB- set for the shot and the depth with grey card especially if using Magic filters.

 

There is a discussion here you may find helpful here;

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...amp;hl=7D+video

 

The folks at Backscatter have a discussion on shooting the 5D video too;

http://www.backscatter.com/learn/article/article.php?ID=59

 

Good luck,

Steve

Steve,

Playing around with these settings on my camera on land, I can't get the video to be bright enough. It is very dark. I am just shooting around my house. Will this be different underwater? Or do I have something wrong?. I have it at 1/60, 200 iso, and F11. No filter. Just curious if this would be typical shooting with these setting inside the house. I would think underwater would be considered "darker" than in the house. So I didn't expect it to be so dark.

thanks again

Dustin

Dustin,

Your mileage my vary. My baseline gets adjusted for the conditions. A more representative light might be outside in the shade. You're going to have to adjust for the light available once you're in the water. Once you get the ambient blues you like, you can load it in the C1 user setting and start there.

Good luck,

Steve

Dustin,

Your mileage my vary. My baseline gets adjusted for the conditions. A more representative light might be outside in the shade. You're going to have to adjust for the light available once you're in the water. Once you get the ambient blues you like, you can load it in the C1 user setting and start there.

 

Good luck,

Steve

I am going to the pool tomorrow. So I will try it out and see what happens. That will obviously be a better testing environment.