Main limitations of 5dII as video cam

I don't think this was mentioned, but I think a big limitation in addition to all that was mentioned is the form factor.

My personal favorite form factor for video cams is the Canon XL series. I mean hand held sucks in general, but hand held all day with a dslr is nonsense. Ive done it before, but a support system is a must.
 
The XL series is front heavy. I own an XL2 and while it's light in weight relative to to other shoulder mount cameras, it can get tiring since a lot of the weight it not put on your shoulder but rather held by your hand. The dual battery pack system or a firestore put on the rear of the camera helps counterbalance it. I believe this is what Canon factored in when they were developing it.
 
The biggest problem with the 5D and 7D is the aliasing and moire, which comes up particularly in wide shots and varies in severity depending on your set of lenses. To minimise these artifacts its essential to turn down in- camera sharpening and contrast. The rest, including the resolution, is not much of a problem and the camera can produce absolutely stunning imagery, on par with cameras costing 30x more.
 
I have been trying to build my DSLR to have functionality of a vid cam

-checkable focus - solution smallHD
-zoom lens - solution tokina 16-50
-long power life - solution Vlock batts and breakout box
-monitorable sound - solution sound devices 702

This rig is both way more costly than an EX1 and far heavier

Both the images and the sound capabilities are far more cinematic and the batt life longer than my EX1 but the convenience and cost factors are poor in comparison

It has been no 'budget' project

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SMM
 
morgan_moore said:
Both the images and the sound capabilities are far more cinematic and the batt life longer than my EX1 but the convenience and cost factors are poor in comparison
SMM
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not to mention, your gonna get less chicks with that contraption then the EX1:laugh:
 
I am cleaning it up - the tubes are overlength as I work out what goes where for best balance

Ive had eyes from from Art Dir as my muscles bulge trying to handhold a stable shot while the DIR makes up his mind about some pointless element of a shot that wont make the cut

S
 
After using DSLR for video I realize that it's best to keep it as simple as possible. In almost any situation you get exactly the same image quality regardless of how complex the rig is.

If you want it steady, use a pod of some sort or put it on a Merlin and try out IS lenses.
 
editman said:
After using DSLR for video I realize that it's best to keep it as simple as possible. In almost any situation you get exactly the same image quality regardless of how complex the rig is.

If you want it steady, use a pod of some sort or put it on a Merlin and try out IS lenses.
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Ya still don't understand why people try and go for the biggest and baddest rigs, honestly i think its a waste of money, at least for me since I do narrative productions and for the most part i have camera positioned steady, with a sound mixer, boom op, and external moniter on a table or somthing and only sometimes use a glidecam. But even so if your doing a lot of gorilla shooting it must get to complicated using a huge rig with 50 bizzillion attachments on it while you are walking around recording. I would rather spend my money on some nice lenses.
 
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The reason rigs become more complex depend on what you are trying to do

And that is often driven by budget - cutting the costly people

If you dont have a sound man you need to mount your sound onboard - I really dont like doing that but on occassion have to

If you want to have a reasonable idea of composition especially from high low you probably need a monitor, especailly if you are pulling your own focus

So unless you have a puller (another costly person) you proibably need a monitor

And if you are operating for a whole day (which is what my clients expect me to do) then you are going to need some proper power to run the rig

So you need a battery

My perfect rig would have the camera and a pair of handles like hurlburt uses, maybe a small rear mass, a ($5k) remote FF with $10k cine horns to judge distance

Trouble is my clients cant afford the AC to pull focus or the sound man and I cant afford the costly focus aids

Its all about budget not stupidity or desire to have a 'cool' looking rig

My rig doesnt look cool but is certainly does the job - reliably and all day long

Of course one can make beautiful images with a T2i and 50 1.8 on a $100 pair of sticks too

S
 
first off how would you be focus pulling and holding your rig at the same time while looking at a monitor and still being aware of where you are walking..not to mention monitoring your sound with a pair of head phones i assume..seems like you must be very very good at multi tasking indeed...I guess thats not how I like to work but then again they are made for different kind of people, for gorilla shooting, documentary work you will certainly need that but even so it seems very odd to have a complex rig without at the very least someone to help.
 
for me here is what kills it...

SD output during recording (for output to monitor)
CMOS sensor (jello/skew as i shoot a lot of action and motorsports as well as weddings/events where flashes are present)
codec/bitrate not really worth the investment in body/glass comparatively
replacement due out pretty soon
aliasing
lack of adjustable framerates

for anything else i love using them. weve done a few music videos and i always love watching them absolutely KILL the footage from our HVX's or HX A1's. they just need to mature into a 5DMkIII properly and ill gladly switch.
 
tackleqb said:
first off how would you be focus pulling and holding your rig at the same time while looking at a monitor and still being aware of where you are walking..not to mention monitoring your sound with a pair of head phones i assume..seems like you must be very very good at multi tasking indeed...I guess thats not how I like to work but then again they are made for different kind of people, for gorilla shooting, documentary work you will certainly need that but even so it seems very odd to have a complex rig without at the very least someone to help.
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Well users of video cameras mainly operate focus (use af) and sound and compose and dont fall over

The oddness of not having someone to help is simple - does your client want to pay for that body

Really im not up for abusing students etc on paid jobs - the clients pays for a second body or doesnt get one

I encourage them to pay, the client, and absolutely dont like doing sound myself

And yes operating the full rig makes my head hurt - but I enjoy a mental challenge and to be able to pocket the full fee :)

Also my FF is placed by my left thumb

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Remember this thread is about the limitations of using the 5 as a video cam - my rig IMO demos those limitations !

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The other poster mention the SD input to video of the 5d - I cant agree more I hate focussing the 5d live - I use 7d and my 5 is fast being saved for lock offs and those tight angles etc where the cam is not on a rig

S
 
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