5D Mark II and RED ONE comparison test

The thing we have to keep in perspective is that the 5DII was never intended to have video at all. It was designed as a straight-forward DSLR with live-view. The video was only added at the last minute after asking photojournalists what they wanted, hence the 30fps hold-over from the live-view refresh rate. The fact that the the video is as good as it is is shear luck.
Now Canon aren't fools, so I wonder what they're going to do next. This camera isn't really the first iteration of the vDSLR, more the zeroth iteration.
You talk about skew and slow read-refresh. Canon have their own sensor fabrication plant (The 5DII and the 1DsIII share resolutions, but NOT sensors), they can turn out iterations so fast it would make you head spin, so be sure they could and surly will turn out something much better for a hypothetical cam I call the 3Dv, filling the gap between 5 and 1 series cameras, and built for video.
These are interesting times (Hmm...the Chinese had something to say about THOSE!), we're not even at the Cambrian Explosion of convergence cams, more like the Ediacaran, the next few million years are going to be an exiting ride, hang on to your hats!
Dave
 
After a few days with the MKII I'm thinking Canon might be ahead of the pack for some time as long as they get the 24p implementation right. I think it will be while before panasonic comes out with anything like the sensors canon has. The sensitivity and resolution of this thing is amazing and the next generation is bound to make people think twice about sinking money into a red. I'm gonna start saving because I'm sure canon will make us pay for it.
 
IMHO the best thing Red has going for it is RAW & different mounts. There is something to be said about being able to use any kind of PL glass out there on the Red. When and if Canon can make a 24p RAW interchangeable mount system, Red will be fried. But I seriously DOUBT that Canon will do this anytime soon. Not saying it won't happen, just very leary that it will happen soon. Professionals want PL glass, they want RAW and they want 24p. I love both of these cameras.
 
Um...I don't think Canon will do interchangeable mounts, for obvious reasons, and will PL glass cover a 45mm image circle? I think the RPP 300 f/2.8 will, but that's based off a 35mm stills lens, not too sure about others where a 30-32mm circle is usual. Although Pro cine people may want PL glass, I'm not sure how many 'togs will, even if they did cover 35mm, cost and weight being something of a factor here.
As for a RAW file format, give 'm 6-9 months and you could well see a cam with twin Digic V chips saving at least a sRAW format, if not full res, and remember the 5DII is a native 5K chip.
In other words, Jim had better get his skates on if he does't want Canon to steal his thunder. And if any Red fan-boys think they cant...watch out!
Dave
 
daveswan said:
Um...I don't think Canon will do interchangeable mounts, for obvious reasons, and will PL glass cover a 45mm image circle? I think the RPP 300 f/2.8 will, but that's based off a 35mm stills lens, not too sure about others where a 30-32mm circle is usual. Although Pro cine people may want PL glass, I'm not sure how many 'togs will, even if they did cover 35mm, cost and weight being something of a factor here.
As for a RAW file format, give 'm 6-9 months and you could well see a cam with twin Digic V chips saving at least a sRAW format, if not full res, and remember the 5DII is a native 5K chip.
In other words, Jim had better get his skates on if he does't want Canon to steal his thunder. And if any Red fan-boys think they cant...watch out!
Dave
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I guess I am a bit biased. I own a set of Canon K-35 PL superspeed lenses. The lenses cover FF35 except for the 18mm. They are phenomenal and leaps and bounds ahead of any still lens I've used for motion picture work. I'd love to be able to use these lenses on a future Canon PL movie camera or else it will be the Epic FF35 upgrade for me. One thing Red has that Canon does not is slow mo capability. I can't wait to do 120 fps 6k FF on the new Reds.
 
I'm a fan of both the Red One and the 5D Mark II. On a small budget, I'd use the 5D and be very happy. Given a larger budget, I'd probably spring for the Red One.

daveswan said:
Jim [Jannard] had better get his skates on if he does't want Canon to steal his thunder. And if any Red fan-boys think they cant...watch out!
Dave
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:) Jim never took his skates off.

Here's the thing, we all know that Canon could whip Red's butt at any moment they decide to. But the cold truth is, historically, Canon, JVC, Panasonic and Sony don't care about kicking anyone's butts—especially eachothers'. All they seem to care about is making small, incremental and almost-significant upgrades to their wares. This keeps R & D costs to a minimum, while maximizing profits (i.e. you have to upgrade to the "coolest" version every 2 - 5 years). This seems to be the business model they all agreed to LONG ago.

In all of the years Canon could have been making 2/3" camcorders, they wouldn't do it. I understand they make more money selling their glass to Panasonic and Sony's broadcast market.

In all of the years Canon and Sony could have been doing true 24p, they seem to have relegated that function to Panasonic, while merely pacifying their own customers with 24f (speaking of HDV and not F900).

It is this apparent feature-withholding attitude among the big manufacturers that led Jim Jannard to form Red Digital Cinema in the first place.

So while Canon (or any other of the big boys) are capable of doing it better faster, cheaper. They have no track record of doing so.

I hope Canon proves me wrong.
 
Thanks for shooting and posting the videos. I'm quite impressed by the low light performance of the 5DM2. Much less grainy than R1. Although the sky looked splotchy. Was this in the original footage?

I actually like the look of the 5DM2 color, too (2nd video). I think raw footage usually looks washed out, so I would add contrast and saturation anyway. Just my taste.

Skew does look worse on the 5DM2, but most of the time nobody pans that fast. And when you do pan fast, it's only for a short time, and hopefully you're following something so that the audience won't notice the skew. I didn't really notice any aliasing, although I read some complaints.

Overall, I think the 5DM2 a great deal for the money. I think Red does feel threatened, if not by this camera, then by what they see coming down the line. I think that's one reason why they've clamped down on information releases. Interesting times...
 
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PappasArts said:
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hehe didn't you hear free speech went out with the patriot act. oh yeah nobody was allowed to mention it.
 
reem12 said:
All I can say is red 1 is in trouble. Canon has changed the game forever.
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In no way is the RED 1 in trouble.

The amount of stuff the R1 can do that the 5D cannot is staggering (and should be considering each market they are aimed at) If you are shooting a studio film/national commercial, the 5D doesn't provide much needed support in the form of Timecode, genlock, things of this nature. No ramping, audio (professional), fps over 30, use of cinema lenses, long form recording. I could go on and on.

It amazes me people think like this. Guys, the market RED supplies is vastly different from that of the 5D. Each has their place, and neither is going to "give the other trouble."
 
Surely it's only a matter of time before the japanese pro video divisions get their act together
 
reem12 said:
All I can say is red 1 is in trouble. Canon has changed the game forever.
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Actually........ Red changed the game forever!

They proved a startup company from scratch in just a few years could make up for development slag by the big boys, and beat them at their own game, with phenomenal performance at a ridiculously low price. As good as the 5D is, it's not a Red... What the 5D is; a camera that can trounced many cameras that come from the broadcast camera companies costing 10, 20, 30,000 and up in just pure image quality for the dollar.



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