Canon 1dx Mark II - Philippines

Hello all,

I was fortunate to get my hands on a 1dx mark II a few weeks ago, along with an underwater housing for it. Did a last minute trip to the Philippines to test this out.

It is a short video, and I did a mix of macro and wide angle. I used the 100mm F2.8L and some shots with a +10 diopter on it. For Wide angle I used the 16-35mm F4L. Make sure to choose 4k on the playback options.

Or Vimeo

That's a lot of data. What format are you shooting?

You've got a couple of very nice smooth zooms in there. Didn't see the 2160p option at first so I assumed you'd done them by cropping to HD in post. Maybe I should try it. Haven't done a zoom during a shot in at least 10 years

That's a lot of data. What format are you shooting?

 

You've got a couple of very nice smooth zooms in there. Didn't see the 2160p option at first so I assumed you'd done them by cropping to HD in post. Maybe I should try it. Haven't done a zoom during a shot in at least 10 years

Nick,

I was shooting 4K at 60p. The camera does a motionjpeg for the codec, which is awful. It is 5.6 gb per minute. Of course you can go down in frame rate, or shoot HD....but that wasn't why I bought the camera. Lol.

I didn't zoom on any shots. It was done in post. With stationary subjects, it brings a little movement. No more than like 8-9%. It can certainly be over done. I tried to keep them at a minimum.

No long-GOP option such as H.264 for 4k 60p on that camera?

Ah I see, so you had to upscale a little to bring the zoomed parts up to 4k again.

No long-GOP option such as H.264 for 4k 60p on that camera?Ah I see, so you had to upscale a little to bring the zoomed parts up to 4k again.

Not for 4K. I have attached the screen shot of the options available.

I just use the key frames on the scale of the image. Keep the export at 4K.

Dustin,

First of all, great work indeed. Well done.

For the macro shots, were these at night, or just selective lighting during the day? If so, what where you using for lighting? And for stabilization?

Also, perhaps I'm misremembering, but did you not use to shoot a Canon 1DC before? If so, do you have any thoughts about the differences/similarities between shooting with the two different cameras? Especially when it comes to 4k quality, white balancing, etc.

Andrei

Great macro work as always. You got this stuff on your first outing with a new camera and housing? Amazing.

Although I really wish you had reached out for an assistant! I would have driven down to carry your gear, just to watch and learn. How about next time?

Great work, I always love Canon color underwater.

Dustin, did you experience any problem with MWB in shallow water, say 5 to 15 metres? I am using a 1DC underwater and it MWB very good at 20-30 metres, but it failed to WB at shallower water. I am using my hand as reference for MWB, thanks.

Great work, as always. Wonderful color rendition, and the super-macro shots were very impressive. Thanks.

Great work Dustin. This shows off both your skills and the capabilities of the camera. I am also impressed with Canon's color rendition, and it looks like the dynamic range is quite good. I saw no blown highlights. I am also impressed with the lack of color banding in the blues where the shots included a view toward the surface, and this is somewhat surprising given the 8 bit codec. Thanks for sharing this.

Pat

Dustin,

 

First of all, great work indeed. Well done.

 

For the macro shots, were these at night, or just selective lighting during the day? If so, what where you using for lighting? And for stabilization?

 

Also, perhaps I'm misremembering, but did you not use to shoot a Canon 1DC before? If so, do you have any thoughts about the differences/similarities between shooting with the two different cameras? Especially when it comes to 4k quality, white balancing, etc.

 

Andrei

Thanks Andrei for watching it.

You have it mistaken on the camera. I have always used the 5d. The 1dc was always something I wanted but the price was so out of reach, I was never able to do it. There are good thing and bad things comparing the cameras. Shooting at 60p requires a lot more light than I thought it would. So I ended up shooting much higher ISO than I did on the 5d. Also the crop factor with 4K. I was unable to get the larger critter in with the 100mm. Where shooting with a full sensor 5d I was able to do it. Of course this helped me get the smaller critters better. So it was a trade off. Wb process is easier with the 1dxII, however, actually getting a good wb might be harder. I only did 2 dives with it, and the sites were nots great with poor viz. I should beget a better feel when I go to the Solomon's in July. The dual pixel autofocus of the new camera, is mixed. It helped with some shots, but most of the time the focus hunting would ruin a shot. It's not totally worthless, you just have to get the right situation. Of course I may need to learn how to use it better too.

As for the shooting, yes it is selective lighting, and the ambient light needs to be low. The cuttlefish was in the late afternoon, and deeper. the red fish was at night. I use the solas, 2100 and 8000's to light up a scene if needed. I also tried out the inon lf800n. That has 5 degree beam. As for stability. I use a tripod. Xit404.

Hope that helps.

Dustin

Great macro work as always. You got this stuff on your first outing with a new camera and housing? Amazing.

 

Although I really wish you had reached out for an assistant! I would have driven down to carry your gear, just to watch and learn. How about next time?

 

Thanks for the compliments. Going from an ikelite to a nauticam was certainly a change. And using a monitor was a change as well. Good and bad. The bigger the rig, the more it moves when you hit record, and with current. There was certainly some adjustment made. I wish I was able to get some more shots....this wasn't all the shots...I am just saving them for some more videos. But still, wish I would have gotten more keepers. But I'm sure I will always say that. Lol

It's too bad we couldn't meet up. I could have used someone carrying all my crap...;-). You might regret saying that when you realize how heavy my stuff is. Just my grip on my hand was worn out after a few days on the trip. It's heavy underwater so even there it's no picnic. Next time!

Dustin

Great work, I always love Canon color underwater.

Dustin, did you experience any problem with MWB in shallow water, say 5 to 15 metres? I am using a 1DC underwater and it MWB very good at 20-30 metres, but it failed to WB at shallower water. I am using my hand as reference for MWB, thanks.

It was okay at shallow depth. I have always been a fan of the sand myself. Never tried my hand. I tried my white slate, but that didn't work as well as my 5d...

Great work, as always. Wonderful color rendition, and the super-macro shots were very impressive. Thanks.

Thanks you! Glad you liked it.

Great work Dustin. This shows off both your skills and the capabilities of the camera. I am also impressed with Canon's color rendition, and it looks like the dynamic range is quite good. I saw no blown highlights. I am also impressed with the lack of color banding in the blues where the shots included a view toward the surface, and this is somewhat surprising given the 8 bit codec. Thanks for sharing this.

 

Pat

Thanks Pat. I struggled with banding with my 5d but only when I had lots of blue water with nothing to break it up. I didn't really get too much opportunity on this trip, only did 2 dives with Wide Angle. But I did shoot some blue water, not in this video, and I didn't notice any. Of course I didn't do anything to the footage in post either.