T2i Grainy 550D Video

J

jonnie

New member
Hello everyone!

I recently bought a Canon 550D and I've been getting some great photographs with it, but I'd also like to make videos with it - this is causing me some problems.

I've taken some short video clips just to play about with the camera but they're proving to be horrifically grainy. I've done a fair amount of Googling and it seems a lot of people have experienced similar problems but nobody's solutions have worked for me.

I found this thread:

http://www.hv20.com/showthread.php?35290-re-video-settings-for-550D-T2i

And this discussion:

http://vimeo.com/11748567

They suggest a number of different options that you can play with to try and reduce grain, but I've been unsuccessful with all of them. I've tried with the MarvelsCine picture style and even restoring the camera's factory settings but neither seem to be much better.

I've been trying with both auto and manual exposure to no avail.

The only thing that I can really think is causing me these problems is my light source. I've been shooting my test videos around the house under the light of your standard household bulb - am I just going to have to cope with this grain in low(ish) light situations?

I hope someone on here can help me out as it's really starting to frustrate me!

Thanks :happy:
 
Instead of posting other peoples videos, you need to post your own. After you do that then you need to tell us your exact camera settings while recording. What lens was used? What kind of lighting if any did you have.


Then finally you need to tell us how you imported it into your system and converted the file to properly judge the footage, also make sure to list your computer steps and proper work flow.


* You have A LOT of work to do in order to be helped.......
 
Okay - I'll get some more footage tonight and I'll post it up.

I always import the videos using ImageCapture for Mac. I'll try and host the .MOVs somewhere so they can be downloaded exactly as I'm seeing them on my camera and computer.

Cheers!
 
what ISO are you shooting at? ANY camera will look grainy without enough light. Also post up your video profile specs (camera settings, NR, ALO, etc) and post a clip. I never shoot beyond ISO 400, maybe 800 for stills. Neatvideo however does a stellar job of killing noise. In fact, a video shot at ISO 800 looks more like it was shot at ISO 400 after a proper Neatvideo pass to my eyes.
 
Okay I've posted a few files online.

The first video is on the Standard (sharpness 3, contrast 0, saturation 0, colour tone 0) picture style with Automatic Exposure (aperture 3.5, shutter speed 30 (1/30th?) and ISO 1600-3200). Grain on PC monitor, chair, under desk, CRT television and side of wardrobe/under shelves.

The second video is on MarvelsCine picture style (sharpness 3, contrast -2, saturation -1 and colour tone +1) with Automatic Exposure (same as above). This is the best of the three videos, with the least grain - can still be seen under the desk, side of the wardrobe and CRT and DVD player.

The third video is on MarvelsCine picture style (sharpness 3, contrast -2, saturation -1 and colour tone +1) with Manual Exposure (aperture 3.5, shutter speed 30 and ISO 400). Grain under bottom shelf is the most obvious but this video is far too dark with the ISO set this low.

Forgive me if I shouldn't be expecting more than the quality of the second video with this camera - I'm new to DSLRs and I've still got a lot of learning to do!

Here are the files:

Video two

Video two

Video three

Thanks in advance :happy:
 
see if you have automatic lighting optimization turned on, and turn it off. see if you have left the camera on automatic video mode, and turn it to manual. 1/30 is WAY to slow of a shutter speed to shoot anything clear; go with 1/60. turn off auto ISO.

ISO 1600-3200 is GOING to be grainy; i would not shoot above ISO 400 or 800 MAX. the high ISO's are your problem. you need more light or a faster lens. at f1.8 you could shoot 1/60 at ISO 800 and be MUCH MUCH cleaner, with sharper images too.
 
Thanks for the quick and helpful replies :)

I've changed all the settings like you said and took another clip - it's very dark though. I take it with the kit lens I just shouldn't be shooting in this level of crappy lighting?

Sorry about the messy room by the way - I have **** lying all over the place!
 
Have you ever in your life used a video camera before? Imagine shooting in these conditions with any other camera....... It's like people see these amazing vimeo clips and think they can just buy a camera, press record and Amazing footage just appears..... Truth is you have a long way to go and you need to start understanding the basics aka "lighting"

Good luck
 
I don't think I can just buy a camera and conjure an amazing video out of my arse, I just thought that the lighting in my room was adequate enough to accommodate a reasonable-looking video.

Obviously I was wrong, and I've learnt. There's no need to talk to me like I'm an idiot.

Thanks for your help, but you don't need to be so high and mighty.
 
Last edited:
First off, welcome jonnie. Everyone starts somewhere, though apparently some people are forgetting that. I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned a ton shooting with the t2i since April (we're working on a feature using it, so I've gotten a lot of time to use it). Here's some tips I've learned:

1.) Put everything on manual. Auto will mess you up (needs to be changed in the menus ... auto by default)
2.) Don't exceed 800 ISO on the T2i. It's going to be grainy on 1600. 800 is pushing it, honestly. I love staying on the 200 threshold, but I also understand that doesn't always work out in your environment.
3.) Never go below 60 on your shutter. And if you're shooting in 60fps (720), you really need to be at 120+.
4.) You need a "faster" lens. People will knock the kit lens around probably partially because it IS a kit lens. It's actually a pretty decent lens ... when you're shooting outside. Indoors, if you don't have lighting (300w and up), you need a different lens. I would suggest picking up the Canon 50mm 1.8 for now (it's like $100). BUT be sure to keep that lens on a stabilizer (tripod, cage, whatever) as it has no built-in stabilizer. You can get to 1.8 on that thing, and it lets in a ton more light.
5.) Turn your sharpness down. Seriously. You're going to start having a lot more trouble with aliasing and moire (there's a great article by Barry Green I'll try to link to) if you don't. Unfortunately, it'll be to little too late to realize you've shot "pulsating walls" and colors that disappear.
 
Hawk Teflon said:
First off, welcome jonnie. Everyone starts somewhere, though apparently some people are forgetting that. I'm by no means an expert, but I've learned a ton shooting with the t2i since April (we're working on a feature using it, so I've gotten a lot of time to use it). Here's some tips I've learned:

1.) Put everything on manual. Auto will mess you up (needs to be changed in the menus ... auto by default)
2.) Don't exceed 800 ISO on the T2i. It's going to be grainy on 1600. 800 is pushing it, honestly. I love staying on the 200 threshold, but I also understand that doesn't always work out in your environment.
3.) Never go below 60 on your shutter. And if you're shooting in 60fps (720), you really need to be at 120+.
4.) You need a "faster" lens. People will knock the kit lens around probably partially because it IS a kit lens. It's actually a pretty decent lens ... when you're shooting outside. Indoors, if you don't have lighting (300w and up), you need a different lens. I would suggest picking up the Canon 50mm 1.8 for now (it's like $100). BUT be sure to keep that lens on a stabilizer (tripod, cage, whatever) as it has no built-in stabilizer. You can get to 1.8 on that thing, and it lets in a ton more light.
5.) Turn your sharpness down. Seriously. You're going to start having a lot more trouble with aliasing and moire (there's a great article by Barry Green I'll try to link to) if you don't. Unfortunately, it'll be to little too late to realize you've shot "pulsating walls" and colors that disappear.
Click to expand...

Come 'on I'm a beginner myself. If the op would have stated in his original post that he is a new comer and never shot video and his having problems with his footage, blah blah blah then we would have understood.
Instead he makes a thread like "Hey what's wrong with this camera and all of this grain".


If you can't see what happened here then there's no point of me speaking anymore
 
Hawk Teflon,

Thanks for the useful info! I just read this thread after getting my T2i and experiencing similar problems.

I've shot video before, but never with a DSLR set-up -- always on an HVX or something thereabouts. Thanks again for the useful information!
 
I've come to accept a simple, inescapable fact. Novices in video have very little understanding of photography, and even less understanding of what kind of base light levels are required to get clean video. So much so, that an entire cottage industry has sprung up to clean up noisy video from poor lighting. I'd wager that less than 1% of shooters who've been at this less than a year, own a light meter.

My very first question when people tell me they have noisy video is "What were your light levels?" I don't care if you have the kit lens and are on a fairly high ISO. If your lighting levels are solid, you're going to have reasonable footage. Go outside on a sunny day, put the camera on 1600 ISO, adjust your shutter speed to get proper exposure, and see how your footage looks back in your NLE. Now go back indoors, put your ISO on 200, and expose 2 stops under, and see if that's better or worse than what you shot outside in terms of noise.

I have YET to see a modern (post 2005) camera that couldn't deliver stunningly clean video in 100FC of light or more. Light your films, people...
 
Hawk Teflon - thanks for the welcome and the tips. I'll be sure to keep them in mind :)

I haven't had much of a chance to get some proper footage with the camera - I've mostly been taking photographs and just decided to take a few clips of video to have a look at it. Obviously I'd underestimated how much light you actually need when making videos.

Naveenmedia, I'm glad my thread helped you out too - like I say, I'd done a bit of Googling before posting and found a lot of talk of grain with the T2i but I was still struggling with understanding what I was doing wrong.

PerroneFord, you've hit the nail on the head. I had no idea what levels of light I would need to obtain clean video. I've always thought that I'm good at creating nice compositions but I've never owned an SLR before and could do with starting with the very basics. Thanks for your advice - I'll be sure to try out what you've mentioned when an opportunity arises.

life4eva, my original post was hardly along the lines of "Hey what's wrong with this camera and all of this grain". I simply posted for some advice on settings etc. after reading of other peoples' similar problems. You may also notice that my initial post does actually mention my light source and how I was skeptical of how adequate it was. I'm sure I don't have to wave my arms about and shout and scream about being a beginner for you to be able to pick up on that.

Thanks everyone for your input :) Evidently I'm going to have to do a bit more research into the fundamentals of film and photography rather than just which settings do what! Cheers!
 
life4eva said:
Have you ever in your life used a video camera before? Imagine shooting in these conditions with any other camera....... It's like people see these amazing vimeo clips and think they can just buy a camera, press record and Amazing footage just appears..... Truth is you have a long way to go and you need to start understanding the basics aka "lighting"

Good luck
Click to expand...

true, but you dont need to be harsh; we all have to learn at some point! This site is about helping; everyone on here has asked a question or two; you and i included.

jonnie, yes the kit lens you are using is going to be dark; its a slow lens. I would suggest buying bumming or renting some lights and shooting at lower ISO's. If you use fluorescents, you will NEED to shoot at 1/60 shutter speed in the USA or 1/50 in PAL countries otherwise you will encounter banding etc.

If you have any questions feel free to PM me; i use 3 T2i's as 'B' cams and im pretty familiar with them, but life4eva is correct, you do need to realize lighting is important for more than just composition. I never shoot over ISO 400. I'd rather bring more lights in.
 
Thing is, the kit lens with the camera is truly not a low light lens, 3.5 or higher is not enough for natural indoor shots or night shots really - with an aperture like that, the camera is forced to go to high ISO's like 800 or higher just get the right exposure, which is too much. Now, getting the right exposure is the most important thing, you'll notice in the first file how everywhere but the blacks doesn't look that bad. But blacks are where the noise really shows up regardless, which is why the ISO probably shouldn't ever go above 400; 200 if you can help it. All those beautiful videos on youtube; most likely 1.8 lenses, 200 ISO's, ect ect. Also, there's just something about home lighting that is very weak, go to a supermarket or whatnot and you'll probably be very surprised at how much light you'll get!
 
Jonnie,

After hearing all the hype concerning HDSLRs and low-light, first experience with a kit lens can be underwhelming. Truth is, APS-C and DX sensors (7D, T2i, 60D, DX Nikons) with most kit lenses cannot even come close to many consumer and prosumer camcorders in low-light. The good news is, there are a host of faster lenses that will help, but you'll want at least an f2.8 or preferably an f1.8 to equal the better consumer camcorders (for comparison the Panasonic TM700 uses an f1.5 at wide lens, and HMC40 f2.0). Don't be afraid to purchase a less expensive Tamron or Sigma lens.

After selecting a faster lens, these items will also help:

A drawback to faster lenes is that at f2.8 or f1.8 you will often experience too little DOF.

Do not use 720/60P. With the Canons this mode stinks even in the best light. Stick with any 1080p mode.

It is fine to shoot low-light scenes at 1/30 second shutter, but not with much action or fast pans.

Initially, do not adjust Picture Style to "0 Sharpness" and "0 Saturation". At these settings, you may not like the flat look of your video. If you decide to experiement with extensive color correcting, use a flat style then.

Practice manual white balance. This will improve video under unusual lighting conditions, as well as, low-light.

Good HDSLR video can be frustrating, but with time and experience, very enjoyable.

Good luck
 
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