5D/7D comparison

H

hammondcheezefilms

Active member
What is the audio recording like on the 5D compared to the 7D?

I just picked up a 7D and I'm thinking of jumping ship to the 5D but just looking at the differences between the 5D/7D.
 
Audio is exactly the same.

IMO, the $1000 price difference between the 5D and 7D is only worthwhile if you must have full frame and maybe one stop better noise performance.
 
Yeah, I personally would rather that my 35mm lenses remain their standard cinema focal lengths. So that may influence the decision based on whether the buyer's primary use is for stills or for filming.
 
The magic lantern hack on the MKII gives you full control of the audio. It's under development for the 7D
 
if all my lenses are canon fd's, will it be better to go 5d since I'll need to use an adapter with slight magnification? and from all acounts need to stop down to f/2.8 to get better image quality?
 
For what it's worth. Through shooting a feature on both cameras, I will say the following.

1. 5d produces a sharper image
2. 5d does better with underexposed information.
3. If your image is exposed properly both have almost identical low light capabilities. If you're key is exposed properly, both can create nearly noise free visuals at ISO 1250.
4. If your image is exposed properly both create nearly the same image besides a slight difference in sharpness which can easily be handled with a custom picture style.
 
hammondcheezefilms said:
What is the audio recording like on the 5D compared to the 7D?

I just picked up a 7D and I'm thinking of jumping ship to the 5D but just looking at the differences between the 5D/7D.
Click to expand...

If it's in your budget just forget about the audio in the cameras.
Instead record with a separate external device and sync later with pluraleyes.
Works like a charm and sounds much better.
 
doondoon said:
If it's in your budget just forget about the audio in the cameras.
Instead record with a separate external device and sync later with pluraleyes.
Works like a charm and sounds much better.
Click to expand...

Actually, don't "forget" about anything. I just shot a week's worth of run-and-gun shooting, and relied heavily on the 7D's on-board audio capabilities. I used a Sennheiser MKE400 jacked right into the 7D, and everything sounds more than adequate.

I wouldn't (and didn't) lean on the 7D for mission-critical interviews and wild sound, but in the right circumstances, the 7D is more than up to the task.

If you're shooting a 30-second commercial and aren't shooting a lot of footage, a Zoom (or other separate sound recorder) is handy. If you're shooting tens (or hundreds) of hours of footage, I think the 7D audio is perfectly fine.
 
It just gives me the willies to plug the output of my wireless mic into the 7D input and trust that it "automatically" sets a good level. It's even harder for me to check a playback with the little playback speaker on the 7D. I don't know how you guys do it with any confidence at all.
 
mhood said:
It just gives me the willies to plug the output of my wireless mic into the 7D input and trust that it "automatically" sets a good level. It's even harder for me to check a playback with the little playback speaker on the 7D. I don't know how you guys do it with any confidence at all.
Click to expand...

So the 7D audio is all auto control into the camea? Does it have an output for headphones to monitor or check playback? What will the Magic Lantern hack do it it is installed?

I agree that recording externally is better but shooting a lot of footage with an external recorder will cost big time in post. What about a day of run and gun interviews in the streets. You may be spending more time syncing it together then shooting it. Also remember that you have to have to slate every time you start your camera and recorder not to mention keeping track of it all day.

What if there is a speed error and things start to drift apart. Even only one frame off in dialogue is off. The 5D shoots at 30fps, the 7D shoots at a variety of different rates. What does the external recorder shoot at, and which speed timeline do you drop them in to put all the pieces together? You need confidence there as well. You have to know what you're doing out there with your gear, but shi* happens and things do go wrong. Just like I can't believe this forum won't let me write the word shi*. This is the most classic example of "**** happens I ever heard of.

Even if there is a good program for syncing the audio , it's still another task that has to be done over and over. Isn't there a good way to route the audio on to the cameras card through a mixer, and record on a second recorder at the same time to have the best of both worlds and zero disasters? 7D or 5D
 
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ROCKMORE said:
So the 7D audio is all auto control into the camea? Does it have an output for headphones to monitor or check playback? What will the Magic Lantern hack do it it is installed?

I agree that recording externally is better but shooting a lot of footage with an external recorder will cost big time in post. What about a day of run and gun interviews in the streets. You may be spending more time syncing it together then shooting it. Also remember that you have to have to slate every time you start your camera and recorder not to mention keeping track of it all day.

What if there is a speed error and things start to drift apart. Even only one frame off in dialogue is off. The 5D shoots at 30fps, the 7D shoots at a variety of different rates. What does the external recorder shoot at, and which speed timeline do you drop them in to put all the pieces together? You need confidence there as well. You have to know what you're doing out there with your gear, but shi* happens and things do go wrong. Just like I can't believe this forum won't let me write the word shi*. This is the most classic example of "shi* happens I ever heard of.

Even if there is a good program for syncing the audio , it's still another task that has to be done over and over. Isn't there a good way to route the audio on to the cameras card through a mixer, and record on a second recorder at the same time to have the best of both worlds and zero disasters? 7D or 5D
Click to expand...

Syncing in post has been done since motion pictures have had sound.

It is neither hard, nor expensive to do.

if you don't want to do it by hand, then buy PluralEyes.

Otherwise do it by eye/ear. You'll get better the more you do like with everything else with editing.

Recording dual system sound will give you the best quality with DSLRs.

If you are just recording wild sound and being a one man band like Stephen, then I'm sure his method would work for you too.
 
ROCKMORE said:
So the 7D audio is all auto control into the camea? Does it have an output for headphones to monitor or check playback?
Click to expand...
Audio is the same as on the 5D. So all AGC, no headphone jack.

What will the Magic Lantern hack do it it is installed?
Click to expand...
Maybe.

You may be spending more time syncing it together then shooting it.
Click to expand...
Nope. Use PluralEyes or manually match the waveforms by eye. It should take a fraction of the actual shooting time.

The 5D shoots at 30fps, the 7D shoots at a variety of different rates. What does the external recorder shoot at, and which speed timeline do you drop them in to put all the pieces together?
Click to expand...
Sound doesn't have a frame rate. It doesn't matter. What matters is time. As long as the duration of the sound and video clips match, there should be no problem.

You need confidence there as well. You have to know what you're doing out there with your gear, but shi* happens and things do go wrong.
Click to expand...
There will always be that chance no matter what you use.

Even if there is a good program for syncing the audio , it's still another task that has to be done over and over.
Click to expand...
Video has really spoiled people, compared to film.

Isn't there a good way to route the audio on to the cameras card through a mixer
Click to expand...
Take a look at the Beachtek DXA-5D.

and record on a second recorder at the same time to have the best of both worlds and zero disasters?
Click to expand...
Nobody said anything about disabling the sound on the camera. When you shoot double-system with a DSLR, you use both the on-board microphone as well as an external sound recorder. You use the on-board sound as a scratch track and sync guide. It should be common sense.
 
mcgeedigital said:
Syncing in post has been done since motion pictures have had sound.

It is neither hard, nor expensive to do.

if you don't want to do it by hand, then buy PluralEyes.

Otherwise do it by eye/ear. You'll get better the more you do like with everything else with editing.

Recording dual system sound will give you the best quality with DSLRs.

If you are just recording wild sound and being a one man band like Stephen, then I'm sure his method would work for you too.
Click to expand...

I've been doing this a long time and I agree with all your points, but even a simple audio match up times say, "2,927" individual clips for example, is tedious work. We are trying to streamline our work flow. It's the same as the old saying "We can fix it in post" In this case it would be far better to get the correct, mixed, balanced audio on the camera memory card along with your picture, so when you download your file, you can simply say, "done"
 
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ROCKMORE said:
It's the same as the old saying "We can fix it in post"
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It's not the same because there's nothing to fix. "Fix it in post" means that you didn't do something right during production, and you pray that you can hide it through some tricks, not that there's simply extra work to do be done later. Is capturing from a DV tape the same as fixing in post because it's more tedious and slower than downloading from tapeless media?
 
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