Canon 5D Mark II viewfinder goes black ??

George D. said:
It is now down to the Sony PMW 350K, the Sony EX3, or the Canon 5D Mark II.
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Depending on your time frame, look at the XF series from Canon, 4:2:2 color space, 50mb/s. Really impressive. I also second the idea of a 7D, you do get around 800 lines of resolution out while recording so you can use a marshal system like the 70XP. That monitor has awesome features like false colors for exposure, peeking for focus, tints, and a bunch of stuff, definitely something a film guy might be used to. There are a lot of things that will make you forget (to an extent) that you're shooting on a DSLR like the monitor, adding a follow focus and shoulder support rig. Thats how I shoot my 7D stuff, I pretend its the new Alexa when i close my eyes.

WARNING: do not close eyes when filming.

Welcome to the forums:)
 
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To someone coming from celluloid cinematography, where mirrored shutters spin, the answer to the viewfinder question might not be so readily apparent.

I always try to keep in mind that the highly qualified and credited people who regularly frequent this forum often do so without announcing their credentials as they conduct their research or look for (what should be) friendly advice.
 
Erik Olson said:
To someone coming from celluloid cinematography, where mirrored shutters spin, the answer to the viewfinder question might not be so readily apparent.

I always try to keep in mind that the highly qualified and credited people who regularly frequent this forum often do so without announcing their credentials as they conduct their research or look for (what should be) friendly advice.
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How true, how true.

How does ANYONE know that I may just be the one hiring them for my next job?

People should keep THAT in mind when tending to be snide or sarcastic.

Or, better yet, just be nice 'cause it's the right thing to do.

Remember; we all live on the same planet.
 
Erik Olson said:
My rule is that I always treat the PA like she could be my next producer.
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Boy, are you right on that account. No kidding.

I saw a lowly model maker become the director of the biggest money maker of all time. His name, of course, is James Cameron.

How's THAT for an example.

"THINK" before you act, people.
 
George, if you want a VF that doesn't go black during recording but want a "hybrid" camera, look at the Panasonic GH1. It's a great little camera. There are downsides, as with any camera, including the fact that there is NO output for an external monitor when recording. But the VF on the GH1 is very good. Always a tradeoff.

The 7D, as mentioned, is another good option. It apparently has a higher rez HDMI output for monitoring. All that being said, I saw a rough cut today of a friend's commercial shot on a 5D, and it looked pretty amazing.
 
Ron Rodenmeyer said:
George, if you want a VF that doesn't go black during recording but want a "hybrid" camera, look at the Panasonic GH1. It's a great little camera. There are downsides, as with any camera, including the fact that there is NO output for an external monitor when recording. But the VF on the GH1 is very good. Always a tradeoff.

The 7D, as mentioned, is another good option. It apparently has a higher rez HDMI output for monitoring. All that being said, I saw a rough cut today of a friend's commercial shot on a 5D, and it looked pretty amazing.
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Thanks, but the viewfinder is the least of it. The most important thing for me is the most outstanding end result, and I think the Canon 5D Mark II will give me that "for now".
 
George D. said:
How does ANYONE know that I may just be the one hiring them for my next job?

People should keep THAT in mind when tending to be snide or sarcastic.
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Not only that, but people should keep in mind that DVXUser has had ENOUGH of the snide. It's not welcome here.

Or, better yet, just be nice 'cause it's the right thing to do.
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Indeed. And I am pleased to say that of the threads I've been reading in the past few days, things certainly do seem to be getting much better. Thanks to all the members of the community who are trying to make this a better/friendlier place!
 
George D. said:
Thanks, but the viewfinder is the least of it. The most important thing for me is the most outstanding end result, and I think the Canon 5D Mark II will give me that "for now".
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FYI i have both and was initially very dissapointed with the 7,

I then learned it had a narrow sweetspot, needing a wider stop but too wide and your lens may be soft

pretty soon at smaller stops diffraction kicks in

if you can keep in this sweet spot - 2.8 - 4 -which generally requires a farily fine lens - and avoid too higher ISO

then IMO the files are fairly equal

the beauty of the 5 is you can sling any old glass even 3.5 or 4 on and get a great result

of course the 5 can provide the 1.2 FF look, but that is often not practical - focus issues - or desired for aesthetic reasons

S
 
morgan_moore said:
FYI i have both and was initially very dissapointed with the 7,

I then learned it had a narrow sweetspot, needing a wider stop but too wide and your lens may be soft

pretty soon at smaller stops diffraction kicks in

if you can keep in this sweet spot - 2.8 - 4 -which generally requires a farily fine lens - and avoid too higher ISO

then IMO the files are fairly equal

the beauty of the 5 is you can sling any old glass even 3.5 or 4 on and get a great result

of course the 5 can provide the 1.2 FF look, but that is often not practical - focus issues - or desired for aesthetic reasons

S
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Because of the parameters of what we shoot, we do a lot of it in the f16 to f32 range.
 
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