Feature film shot with 7d?

S

shadowknight123

Active member
Hey folks im shooting a feature film this summer and im at a dead end on my decision of going with a 7d or 35 mm adapter for my HMC150.


Now if i went with the 7d what would i need to purchase that would be under 3kto get audio capablities, a good lens or two, storage.

I cant decide between the two because IMO the 7d could be a hassle on set expecially if it fills up quickly. We would need to be dumping footage off regularly. Were the HMC can hold 60 min full 1080 on the sdhc cards which i own 8 of so we are always good for a day shoot.

I just cant decide 35MM adapter, or making a rig up for the 7d... How well do halo rings even work? Because we will also have a Dolly, Tripod ect on set and i hear for the 7d i would need a Halo.


*so confusedled* :violin:

Justin
 
Tell me, why would you move to the 7D? If you're comfortable with the HMC150 and have everything you need for it then why dump it right now?
 
Which 35mm adapter do you have?

I would say, almost unquestionably, that you'd be better off with the HMC-150 and the adapter.
 
Yup, read to fast and totally missed the question. I don't know man, I find the 7D a lot easier to use than my adapter but then again I went cheap. Don't do that, get a Letus Extreme or Brevis. Make sure you have a lot of good lights if you use an adapter.

For audio, the Zoom H4N is great for the 7D.
 
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If you do go for the D7, as I am about to as well, here is what you could do for audio.

The Zoom H4n Mobile Audio Recorder. It has built in x/y stereo microphones with selectable recording patterns, as well as two XLR inputs. It can record all the mics at once (4-track recording) which is really nice. It records to SDHC cards which you already have lots of, so there's a plus too. Runs off two AA batteries and in stamina mode - can record for 11 hours. Can also be plugged into an outlet. Also supplies phantom power to mics!$300

Audio-Technica AT8035 - Line/Gradient Shotgun Condenser Microphone. Perfect for film/video production applications in my opinion. To some it's a bit long, but i prefer that. Audio Technica has shorter ones at about the same price if that's your style. Can hold it's own battery for power to save battery in your Zoom H4n. $233.99

If you want a Lav mic for more interview type stuff, Shure makes a real nice one for only $100 bucks. Shure SM11-CN.

Boom pole, cheapest I could find, which I'm sure works fine, Gitzo GB320. It's one of the only things I've gone 'off brand' on so far. $99.95

Audio-Technica AT8415 Shock Mount - Very handy. Not a bad price, good brand, universal.

Might want to get a slate board too and be sure to slate your takes audio and visually since you'll have separate audio. Long shoots can get confusing in post. A friend of mine changes SD cards in the H4n when he change CF cards in the 7D

If you get just the Shotgun mic and not the Lav, total is about $700. Not bad at all. Plus you can use the audio recorder other places too, say if you want to do a quick simple narration. I find inside the car makes a semi-decent iso-booth for those emergency situations! I've even hung a blanket over the inside front of the windshield.
 
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Personally I've used both rigs and I can tell you the 7D is waaaay simpler to deal with than a 35mm adapter. They are difficult to set up and cumbersome. And frankly the image you get is nice and all but the 7D's is better and more readily customizable with more affordable lenses. As for it filling up too quickly- um I don't see how that would be the case. CF Cards are reasonably inexpensive- I don't see how you could shoot more than say 10 in a day.

Noah
 
What does CF stand for, if i went with the top dog card how much recording time do i get in HD 24p? Is that the top of the line recording card for the 7d atm?

Now for the Zoom H4n Mobile Audio Recorder that was mentioned above. Whats the learning curve on this?

The director is thinking if this is possible, have the HMC150 be attached to a boom, and the 7D have a shotgun attached, we use of course the 7d for our main image, and the hmc150 would be mainly our audio file. We have a slate so we would have that all organized ect.

We definitely want to use the HMC150 camera angles, but obviously the "quality" is way different... Has anyone ever used both shots? I mean this is going straight to DVD, but even if it was streamed full HD how noticeable would it be offset?




Lastly i keep hearing about a "cool down" or over heating? Does this thing really have to cool off.. Because this shoot is go go go, hardly any downtime.
(just trying to get all my concerns out, im really leaning towards the 7d now though =) )


Oh whats with the T2i compared to th 7d?
 
Cf is compact flash.

Get transcend 32gb udma 133x cards.

Get a minimum of 4.

I doubt you'll fill more than 2 a day. They hold ~90min of footage each.

Use the hmc150 zoomed all the way in for closeups and audio. No DOF adapter.

Figure out a good hmc150 preset. Figure out a good 7d preset based on neutral.



shadowknight123 said:
What does CF stand for, if i went with the top dog card how much recording time do i get in HD 24p? Is that the top of the line recording card for the 7d atm?

Now for the Zoom H4n Mobile Audio Recorder that was mentioned above. Whats the learning curve on this?

The director is thinking if this is possible, have the HMC150 be attached to a boom, and the 7D have a shotgun attached, we use of course the 7d for our main image, and the hmc150 would be mainly our audio file. We have a slate so we would have that all organized ect.

We definitely want to use the HMC150 camera angles, but obviously the "quality" is way different... Has anyone ever used both shots? I mean this is going straight to DVD, but even if it was streamed full HD how noticeable would it be offset?




Lastly i keep hearing about a "cool down" or over heating? Does this thing really have to cool off.. Because this shoot is go go go, hardly any downtime.
(just trying to get all my concerns out, im really leaning towards the 7d now though =) )


Oh whats with the T2i compared to th 7d?
Click to expand...
 
Dan_Kanes said:
Cf is compact flash.

Get transcend 32gb udma 133x cards.

Get a minimum of 4.

I doubt you'll fill more than 2 a day. They hold ~90min of footage each.

Use the hmc150 zoomed all the way in for closeups and audio. No DOF adapter.

Figure out a good hmc150 preset. Figure out a good 7d preset based on neutral.
Click to expand...
Great thanks for the info dan! Glad the hmc150 audio thing will work. I mean im not opposed to the audip adapter thing its just me wondering how hard would it be to Sync it up to camera A and camera B ect.. or does it just come down to organization. Yea great to that it would take sd cards.
 
So what i need now then and i continue searching google with little luck.. just alot of old posts ect.

1. I'm wanting to add to my Canon 7d list (or T2i after i learn more..) Im wanting to get a shoulder mount that the canon can attach to easy, but also if possible have the shoulder mount be able to quickly mount onto a Tripod with a quick release. So there is little to no down time.

2. Whats a good but cost efficent external viewing monitor to attach to the 7d? This could attach ontop of the 7d, or attach to the shoulder rig (which would be best for me if its possible)

3. Possible a Matte box (not to expensive though...) To protect from the lens flares, and probably put a UV/polar filter in.


Last i keep seeing some of these 7d's with some wireless transmitter. What is that?
 
shadowknight123 said:
Hey folks im shooting a feature film this summer and im at a dead end on my decision of going with a 7d or 35 mm adapter for my HMC150.


Now if i went with the 7d what would i need to purchase that would be under 3kto get audio capablities, a good lens or two, storage.

I cant decide between the two because IMO the 7d could be a hassle on set expecially if it fills up quickly. We would need to be dumping footage off regularly. Were the HMC can hold 60 min full 1080 on the sdhc cards which i own 8 of so we are always good for a day shoot.

I just cant decide 35MM adapter, or making a rig up for the 7d... How well do halo rings even work? Because we will also have a Dolly, Tripod ect on set and i hear for the 7d i would need a Halo.


*so confusedled* :violin:

Justin
Click to expand...

I'd add a 550D to the package and start shooting your feature with that and the HMC-150 side by side.
May sound crazy, but it's a cheap addition compared to the massive investment you are making to write, produce and post a feature. The audio can all be handled with a HMC-150 and you have the SDHC cards the match both systems. I shoot with an EX3 as well as the Canon and we have to download cards regularly all day. Not a big deal to just have a laptop standing by.
I don't know how long you plan to be shooting your film, but having 2 cameras on set as apposed to one should save you a percentage of shoot time. If you can shorten you production schedule by a day or two it may cover the investment. You will probably know after the first screening of footage what is the best camera for the project.
The 550D shoots great 5K plus raw productions still a as well which will be useful in promoting your film once in the can. If you still want a 7D it will be easy to pick one up used by then for a good price.
One important question, do you already have the 35mm lens adapter for the HMC-150?
 
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im not opposed to the 550d either. So the 550d uses SDHC cards as well!? Thats awesome if so. The ones i have are 16 GB SDHC #6.

Can adobe CS3 handle the 550D format or 7D? I live in southern california and i went on canon us website and i didnt see a 550D. Is this european only? I did see the T2i however. But I'm not opposed to the 550D at all.


Is this a legit site?
http://www.digitalrev.com/en/canon-eos-550d-rebel-t2i-body-7820.html
I would buy the camera body only and lens sepperate. Any lenses you guys may recomend? My uncle is recomending me to buy FD lenses with the converter. Since they are all manual and have a larger throw over the EOS. Can i make it without buying a follow focus also?
 
ok one guy mentioned to purchase

Transcend 400x CompactFlash 32GB Memory Card

and another guy said to purchase

Kingston Elite Pro 32 GB 133x CompactFlash Memory Card CF/32GB-S2


Whats the big difference here? I see the 133x and the 400x but what does this stand for.
 
7D VS Rebel:
Go 7D for the following reasons:
better monitoring: t2i goes wonky when recording if using an HD monitor
better iso increments
better batteries
more 'pro' build quality
you can sell it after using it and it will hold more value.

Your other choice as of today is a 5d2 - better audio recording onboard now, now does 24p, and a higher MTF (it would appear) to hold more detail when looking very close. This is coming from a 7D Lover.

Re: shoulder rigs:

google gini rig. Or gini.1980 on eBay.

Lenses: get used manual focus nikkors or contax zeiss.

If you are REALLY SERIOUS about this movie Then email me directly about using a HotRod Cameras PL 7D and rent Cooke S4s, zeiss primes or red pro primes. I've got everything for a feature (mattebox,filters,rig) because I've done 3 on canon dslrs so far.

Real pro lenses make the biggest difference in handling.

Re: cards - doesn't matter between the 133x and 400x for these cameras. The 400x might download to your computer faster.
 
Awesome Dan! Thanks for clearing that CF info up for me. (trying to get all our equipment ordered tomorrow.)

The director is weighing more in on the glidecam HD4000 with the x-10 setup. Rather then a shoulder mount atm.

Btu im not sure if that could hold our matte box then? I just dont know what setup i need so i can keep the canon 7d all in form (matte box, lense, viewfinder, all attached with a quick release so i can pop this baby onto a tripod or back onto our glidecam quickly!)

I i go with a nikkors or zeiss dont i need some converter ring? Where would i even find those..
 
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