I tested the DSLR Canon 5DmkII!
- Thread starter jacotte
- Start date
Mike Harvey
Veteran
That's actually pretty slick, and probably a lot cheaper than shutting a street down or green screening.
Robert Ruffo
Well-known member
Sorry my mistake! But still, it's not like we ever see full-screen 5D shots when watching 24.
Barry_Green
Moderator
That is true, they don't use the 5D for full-screen. They use it for stuff like background plates, and also for the security-camera video that shows up on a computer monitor, stuff like that.
Dennis Wood
DVXuser Sponsor
You know, a year ago I figured we'd be selling zero 35mm adapters right about now. We're still sending out quite a few, although many folks have moved to HDSLR workflows. The fact that we're still sending out new MP.2 adapters tells me that many professional shooters are choosing to stay with conventional HD video cams. It's interested to hear folks speak of adapter footage as more organic in this thread as this is my observation too. I suspect the few microns of diffuser surface is creating an effect similar to what film emulsion would provide on its substrate.
Pretty much every one of our pro shooters (Ray Roman, Casey Warren, Bill Frakes, Stillmotion, Joe Simon) do 100% of their paid work on HDSLRS. You'll find Stillmotion footage all over the NFL network, as well as on their website. 100% of it is from 7D, 5D, or 1D. If you were watching the Superbowl, you may have spotted Patrick (Stillmotion) there with a pile of our gear all over the field, stands, roof structure etc. I'm not aware of any of these folks delivering HD in formats other than the web.
We also recently became aware of a shooter loosing a large paid commercial contract due to issues with HDSLR footage. My take on all of this is that well done adapter footage (like Kevin Shahinian's SNO) will rarely cause any issues like this from clients, but it's more work, with more limitations to get the images you want. Appropriately, Kevin Shahinian just dropped this trailer from his latest piece, done 100% with HDSLR rigs:
Yesterday I did some tests with a small unmanned helicopter using the owner's cam, a 3CMOS small HD camera. Jello everywhere...and CCD cams are rapidly disappearing.
The lesson of all of this perhaps is that every person/workflow/production has a set of needs, requirements and limitations which will dictate the camera platform. Every single time the magic bullet is hyped, we find out that yes there's a bullet, but it's not magic. I suspect Scarlett will be no different.
Cheers,
Dennis.
Pretty much every one of our pro shooters (Ray Roman, Casey Warren, Bill Frakes, Stillmotion, Joe Simon) do 100% of their paid work on HDSLRS. You'll find Stillmotion footage all over the NFL network, as well as on their website. 100% of it is from 7D, 5D, or 1D. If you were watching the Superbowl, you may have spotted Patrick (Stillmotion) there with a pile of our gear all over the field, stands, roof structure etc. I'm not aware of any of these folks delivering HD in formats other than the web.
We also recently became aware of a shooter loosing a large paid commercial contract due to issues with HDSLR footage. My take on all of this is that well done adapter footage (like Kevin Shahinian's SNO) will rarely cause any issues like this from clients, but it's more work, with more limitations to get the images you want. Appropriately, Kevin Shahinian just dropped this trailer from his latest piece, done 100% with HDSLR rigs:
Yesterday I did some tests with a small unmanned helicopter using the owner's cam, a 3CMOS small HD camera. Jello everywhere...and CCD cams are rapidly disappearing.
The lesson of all of this perhaps is that every person/workflow/production has a set of needs, requirements and limitations which will dictate the camera platform. Every single time the magic bullet is hyped, we find out that yes there's a bullet, but it's not magic. I suspect Scarlett will be no different.
Cheers,
Dennis.
Barry_Green
Moderator
Fantastic post.
NextWaveG
Well-known member
Every camera is a tool. If you can only afford one tool, than pick the one that is best for what you do. If you're building a deck, you could use a skill saw or a table saw to cut the wood. But if you need to be super mobile, a table saw might not be an option.
I've used big DOF adapter rigs and was frustrated with setup times and size and weight problems. I now shoot most of my stuff on the 5D MkII and have had plenty of satisfied customers. However, everyone's needs are different.
My personal goal is to make enough money that I can buy more than one tool. I wouldn't mind having a 5D, EX1, Scarlet, and a few other cameras laying around to be used for the right shoot. Until then, the 5D is the most appropriate tool for what I do.
I've used big DOF adapter rigs and was frustrated with setup times and size and weight problems. I now shoot most of my stuff on the 5D MkII and have had plenty of satisfied customers. However, everyone's needs are different.
My personal goal is to make enough money that I can buy more than one tool. I wouldn't mind having a 5D, EX1, Scarlet, and a few other cameras laying around to be used for the right shoot. Until then, the 5D is the most appropriate tool for what I do.
Robert Ruffo
Well-known member
You know, a year ago I figured we'd be selling zero 35mm adapters right about now. We're still sending out quite a few, although many folks have moved to HDSLR workflows. The fact that we're still sending out new MP.2 adapters tells me that many professional shooters are choosing to stay with conventional HD video cams. It's interested to hear folks speak of adapter footage as more organic in this thread as this is my observation too. I suspect the few microns of diffuser surface is creating an effect similar to what film emulsion would provide on its substrate.
Pretty much every one of our pro shooters (Ray Roman, Casey Warren, Bill Frakes, Stillmotion, Joe Simon) do 100% of their paid work on HDSLRS. You'll find Stillmotion footage all over the NFL network, as well as on their website. 100% of it is from 7D, 5D, or 1D. If you were watching the Superbowl, you may have spotted Patrick (Stillmotion) there with a pile of our gear all over the field, stands, roof structure etc. I'm not aware of any of these folks delivering HD in formats other than the web.
We also recently became aware of a shooter loosing a large paid commercial contract due to issues with HDSLR footage. My take on all of this is that well done adapter footage (like Kevin Shahinian's SNO) will rarely cause any issues like this from clients, but it's more work, with more limitations to get the images you want. Appropriately, Kevin Shahinian just dropped this trailer from his latest piece, done 100% with HDSLR rigs:
Yesterday I did some tests with a small unmanned helicopter using the owner's cam, a 3CMOS small HD camera. Jello everywhere...and CCD cams are rapidly disappearing.
The lesson of all of this perhaps is that every person/workflow/production has a set of needs, requirements and limitations which will dictate the camera platform. Every single time the magic bullet is hyped, we find out that yes there's a bullet, but it's not magic. I suspect Scarlett will be no different.
Cheers,
Dennis.
Awesome post Dennis. The key here is that if your medium is the web, or SD DVD, you can get away with a DSLR (unless you are unlucky at key moments with moire) but Discovery, the BBC and other networks do not accept HDSLR footage for good reason - not because they are snobs or protecting anyone, but because it does not look sharp enough (it's not really 1080p) and it does not compress well for broadcast (uses too much bandwidth due to aliasing issues present at all times which cause contrary motion of pixels).
Stillmotion is a great team, with lots of talent, but wedding videos no matter how impressive are not broadcast in HD.
For braodacst applications, a 35mm adapter or a Red are your only safe choices for shallow DOF.
Adam J McKay
Veteran
I was recently on Hunter Richards site and rediscovered this little gem of a video.
http://vimeo.com/1461330
Shot with the DVX and an SGPRO Rev 3. There is something special about SGpro footage that I can't seem to get over. I have shot with D90 and more recently the 7D and T2i and I keep finding time and time again that the footage is missing something for me. While I prefer the look of the Nikon footage, Nikon has some serious limitations. The 7D and T2i are great...however the footage still doesn't like quite like I would like it to. I have realized that it's not the shallow depth of field that I love about the SG, its the organic looking diffusion you get from using it. Even deep focus shoots look better, IMO, shot with an adapter. So for purely aesthetic reasons, I would have to say that adapters still have my vote. It's just hard to compete with something that cost as much 5 times less than the most basic Adapter+camera rig.
http://vimeo.com/1461330
Shot with the DVX and an SGPRO Rev 3. There is something special about SGpro footage that I can't seem to get over. I have shot with D90 and more recently the 7D and T2i and I keep finding time and time again that the footage is missing something for me. While I prefer the look of the Nikon footage, Nikon has some serious limitations. The 7D and T2i are great...however the footage still doesn't like quite like I would like it to. I have realized that it's not the shallow depth of field that I love about the SG, its the organic looking diffusion you get from using it. Even deep focus shoots look better, IMO, shot with an adapter. So for purely aesthetic reasons, I would have to say that adapters still have my vote. It's just hard to compete with something that cost as much 5 times less than the most basic Adapter+camera rig.