[5Dmk2] Equipment purchase priority

F

Fellipe

Active member
Hello there.
First time here. sorry if this is at the wrong forum.

I'm a (wedding) photographer and I've been always passionate about cinematography. Had the 5d mk2 for more than a year but never give the video mode a chance.
Until I was called by a couple to produce a video of their photo session (the day before the shooting). I told them I would do that for free since I thought it would be a great excuse to shoot with my dslr for the first time.
So I just packed everything and arrived at the location. Fast forward today (the shot was 1 week ago) I figured out some really basic mistakes I've made, like getting the shutter speed as high as I needed for correct exposure and so on.

The result can be viewed here:
I'd l-o-v-e to hear a few feedbacks :)

I know there are a few continuity errors, but I didn't write anything. Just got there and the ideas started to flow in my head.


After seeing the result, I think it "clicked" on my mind. I want to be a cinema photographer. (Unless you guys tell me the opposite lol)

I own a pretty decent set of lens (from L zooms to great primes, like the 50 1.4 and the 85 1.8) so I think in this department I'm already set up. Already got a good manfrotto video monopod and a sturdy tripod and a manfroto fluid head.

My first "cinematography" acquisition was the LCDFV, and the next purchase will be a Rode videomic and a variable ND from lightcraft.

My real intentions are to get into narrative filmaking but I'll begin to produce a few documentaries as I see this kind of work more reachable. In the mean time I'll read a lot of cinematography books to learn the craft.

Any point I'm missing?

Thanks a lot!
 
Well Im no expert but I can point you in the direction I have been pointed to many times on this great forum.

The videomic pro is a great mic for natural sound and for moments when you want small size and weight (which I adore)
But then if you want to do any filming with structured dialogue you're gonna need somethign more robust that will need to be separate from the camera in some situations.
One unfortunate downside to recording audio in-camera on a dslr is you cannot monitor it.
Imagine shooting videos/photos without being able to see what is being recorded.
A separate audio recorder with headphone monitoring like the Zoom H4n, Tascam DR100 and Marantz PMD661 and an xlr shotgun mic would be a good start or an xlr adapter like a juicedlink DT454 or Sound Devices Mix-Pre D
Do you think you will shoot in windy environments?
If so you're gonna need a furry windjammer of some sort, preferably a blimp but then that can get expensive quickly.
Audio can easily become as expensive or even more expensive than the video side.
Just as how you are a deadicated photographer with specialized equipment there are also deadicated location sound recordists who earn their keep with great audio (and have the gear to show for it).
You have a good start though and I give you a solid thumbs up in regards to becoming a cinematographer.

As for the ND filters, many have recommended the higher-end fader NDs such as the Singh-Ray or even better the Heliopan.
The Lightcraft is well priced but many notice a softening with lenses above 50mm along with a distinct colour cast.
If you dont mind screwing on and off filters then Tiffen Water White ND filters are also great as they have no colour cast or sharpness problems that the fader nds have.

If you plan to do handheld work then a good shoulder rig is advised and there are as many versions/types as there are weeks in the year.
Some are held in higher esteem though, Redrock Micro, Zacuto and Cinevate are among the better, higher priced options.
For a bit lower you have companies like CPM Filmtools and Jag35 who offer cheaper and more economical products.
With the 5D especially you will have to work on getting accurate focus (as there is no autofocus)
so a good follow focus is many times necessary when doing run n gun stuff.

Hope this info helps and good luck.
 
Last edited:
frames are blending in the video. you using prem. CS4 or Vegas? be sure to turn that off

may also be an idea to try technicolor cinestyle, as you can see their super-clean whites clipping & the contrasty background almost being underexposed. This however requires a certain level of interest and knowledge about color correction, especially since you want to be able to bring back skintones. At least, stick to Neutral picture style & bring down contrast.
 
Boncrek said:
Well Im no expert but I can point you in the direction I have been pointed to many times on this great forum.

The videomic pro is a great mic for natural sound and for moments when you want small size and weight (which I adore)
But then if you want to do any filming with structured dialogue you're gonna need somethign more robust that will need to be separate from the camera in some situations.
One unfortunate downside to recording audio in-camera on a dslr is you cannot monitor it.
Imagine shooting videos/photos without being able to see what is being recorded.
A separate audio recorder with headphone monitoring like the Zoom H4n, Tascam DR100 and Marantz PMD661 and an xlr shotgun mic would be a good start or an xlr adapter like a juicedlink DT454 or Sound Devices Mix-Pre D
Do you think you will shoot in windy environments?
If so you're gonna need a furry windjammer of some sort, preferably a blimp but then that can get expensive quickly.
Audio can easily become as expensive or even more expensive than the video side.
Just as how you are a deadicated photographer with specialized equipment there are also deadicated location sound recordists who earn their keep with great audio (and have the gear to show for it).
You have a good start though and I give you a solid thumbs up in regards to becoming a cinematographer.

As for the ND filters, many have recommended the higher-end fader NDs such as the Singh-Ray or even better the Heliopan.
The Lightcraft is well priced but many notice a softening with lenses above 50mm along with a distinct colour cast.
If you dont mind screwing on and off filters then Tiffen Water White ND filters are also great as they have no colour cast or sharpness problems that the fader nds have.

If you plan to do handheld work then a good shoulder rig is advised and there are as many versions/types as there are weeks in the year.
Some are held in higher esteem though, Redrock Micro, Zacuto and Cinevate are among the better, higher priced options.
For a bit lower you have companies like CPM Filmtools and Jag35 who offer cheaper and more economical products.
With the 5D especially you will have to work on getting accurate focus (as there is no autofocus)
so a good follow focus is many times necessary when doing run n gun stuff.

Hope this info helps and good luck.
Click to expand...

Wow. That was really helpful. I'm already looking for better ND options since IQ is a serious thing.
Thanks for the audio recommendations. As I said I think I'll be well served (for a while) with the rode videomic, but I'll sure put a external recorder on top of my purchase list.

and also thanks for all the links you provided. :)


Martin Oller said:
frames are blending in the video. you using prem. CS4 or Vegas? be sure to turn that off

may also be an idea to try technicolor cinestyle, as you can see their super-clean whites clipping & the contrasty background almost being underexposed. This however requires a certain level of interest and knowledge about color correction, especially since you want to be able to bring back skintones. At least, stick to Neutral picture style & bring down contrast.
Click to expand...

Yes! That was one of my mistakes.. Since I always photograph in RAW I forgot about setting a neutral picture style.
Martin, sorry for my newbie question, but what do you mean by "frames are blending"? I edited at sony vegas, how do I turn that off?

Thanks for your time!
 
properties -> Disable Resample

...i think, not 100% sure. The camera already delivers progressive frames, so you don't want the editing software to fiddle around with it trying to make it look "smoother" (by blending them).
 
Felipe, just as important as disabling the frame blending is knowing why your frames are blending in the first place.

There are 2 main situations where frame blending will be introduced (if not turned off). Either (a) the media frame rate does not match the timeline frame rate, or (b) you have adjusted the playback rate (fast/slow motion).

In both cases, if you turn off frame blending it is going to use some other method of fitting the frames into the timeline such as dropping or duplicating frames. This can be just as problematic as blended frames as it gives your videos a tendancy to skip and jerk. Sometimes you need to go looking for other solutions. For examlpe, keeping your speed changes to multiples/factors of your frame rate will ensure even playback speeds - for example, limiting all slow-motion to 50% playback speed (on a 24p timeline this equals 12fps - a factor of 24) will mean every frame is repeated twice so even though it might not be smooth it will still be consistant. If you find a clip that does not match your timeline settings (eg a 24p clip on a 30p timeline) sometimes the best solution is to conform it to the timeline frame rate - this will result in a speed change, but because the clip plays smoothly it may be far less noticable than blended or duplicated frames.

So, rather than just turning frame blending off and never knowing what is happening with your footage, it is sometimes better to dig a little deeper to find the underlying cause.
 
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