I need Canon 5D advice

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WhereDreamsAreBorn

Carbonite Member
Hi i'm a first time user of this forum and i need some advice from people with experience of the canon 5D.

So I'm a young filmmaker, who's spent 5 years at film school, working on a million projects of other peoples, and non of my own. And messed around too long, so now i've decided to buy my some serious equipment and start making projects hapen for myself.

So i guess now that HD camera equipment has dropped to affrodable levels for the people like me i have decided to invest in one, that will cover multiple projects, like short films, feature length films, music videos and commercials. And i think???? the canon 5D is the best one to cover all these types of projects. I love film, but lets face it, HD digital is now here to stay and i can't afford film equipment.

So i was thinking the Canon 5D. Now could someone maybe recommend so lenses to me. I was thinking i should have a nice variation of prime lenses, maybe 4 or 5. I was thinking of buying a glidecam as well, to effectively allow me to have moving shots (much easier than buying a track and dolly and carrying that around with me). I know a glidecam isn't easy to use, but i have no option except to teach myself.

Also a tripod as well for my stationary and panning shots. Is a fluid head best for a tripod?

Also i have a worry about the 12 minute recording time. Do this mean whenever i film i will need my laptop with me to download the footage immediately. Do you guys use more than one card when shooting or carry a laptop or what?

How long do the batteries last? Do you tend to carry a cuople with you, or more?

Also what is this whole 24p/25p issue? I don't fully understand it. Will it be fixable whatever the problem is?

Also how does the 5D compare to the new 550D, or is there a btter alternative to a 5D? I thought about the RED scarlet camera, but i think it would be too much for me, especailly compared to the price of the 5D.

Anyone know how much all this might cost me?
 
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Many say that the 7D is better suited control wise etc.... and of course it has all the frame rates and 60 fps in 720p. Its also a good bit cheaper, but really depends on your needs. The 5D does get you full frame sensor, and has get some arguable more amazing footage in certain scenarios, but honestly they are really almost interchangable in many instances.

If you can post a budget i can go through and list a few good things. Cause really thats what it all depends on.

If the sky is the limit, then you can get some pretty baller stuff, but if not, you have to mix and match and make compromises.

My current setup is

Canon 7D (1400 used on CL with the 50 1.8 and 16gb card)
50mm 1.8
tamron 17-50mm 2.8
cheapo tripod (about to buy a video one with fluid head, but again im likely not going to spend much over $100 here cause budget is small)
glide cam 1000 pro (got this for $100 on ebay)
You will need something for sound, i use an H4n


Now if you have the means, a lot of people also like to add the tokina 11-16mm 2.8

There are some pretty good fast wide primes, but they are NOT cheap. One thats supposed to be really awesome is the nikon 24mm 1.4 but its like over $2,000

I would say 2 16gb cards is a good setup, i have one now but im going to get a second.

I had a pretty nice nikon D90 setup with 2 primes and a zoom, but i recently sold it all (and made $300 w00t) to switch camps, cause really you cant argue with the 7D and 5D footage.

check out this article about phillip bloom going to skywalker ranch to shoot and screen some 5DMKII and 7D footage for George Lucas himself. I mean good enough for George? Good enough for me.

If you can get the same type of setup that Bloom has, youll be ballin for sure.

http://philipbloom.co.uk/2009/12/12...er-ranch-red-tails-star-wars-and-canon-dslrs/
 
Hey thanks for the great response so far. Well i can't give an exact figure, but I was maybe thinking of spending somewhere between £2000 to £4000 (british pounds).

Obviously the less i have to spend the better. And this is only possible as i will be loaning the money.
 
5D Mark II is a digital 35mm dream-come-true camera. Sharper and wider format than the upcoming 550D, a good B option though.

Cheap OEM batteries are OK (search on ebay); 2 (yes, 2x 16GB cards) are more than enough (no need of carrying a laptop with me at all); lenses: 24-105mm f4; 16-35mm f2.8; 50mm f1.4 70-200mm f2.8 (new model) would be my best choices.

Former filmschool graduate student (1997-2001 and 2002/2003) here too,
E. :-)
 
Hey
I'm actually in a similar position. I just graduated from college too, and I purchased to 5d ii to start doing my own projects.

Lenses I have now...(I been shooting with Canon dslrs for a while so I have acquired them over the years)
Canon 50mm 1.4 - $350
Canon 24mm TS-E - $750
Sigma 15mm - $320
Sigma 24-70mm 2.8 - $350 (broken, focus problems)
Canon 70-200mm f4 - $575

I bought all my lenses used from craigslist or ebay. I would highly suggest buying a second battery. From my experience it last maybe 1.5 hour to 2 hours (shooting an event non stop). I just bought a second one. I also suggest buying the official canon battery vs a "china" battery. I bought a couple of those oem batteries, and mine blew a fuse or something the first time I tried to charge it.

Good luck
 
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