Night time shoot - T2i with Magic Lantern or 7D with two DIGIV IV for best results?

Q

Qrone

New member
I'm compairing these two cameras in a picture quality only perspective.

We're shooting a short film that plays out 80% during night time. Therefore I will be dealing with low light. Because of that I will have to use a higher ISO and that will leave me with more noise in the image, which I want to avoid as much as I can. I want to get as good result as possible of this and I'm choosing between using these cameras:

  • T2i with Magic Lantern. Using Magic Lantern will give me the option to change the qscale and record with a higher bit rate. The higher bit rate, the more information the image will contain and I would probably end up with a "cleaner" image. Using qscale -12 will have me end up with around ~59 Mbps avg VBR (according to this) instead of the original ~38 Mbps avg that the 7D will produce. Looking at this test at this test at vimeo shows the problems with banding you'll get in low light that I hope to lower using Magic Lantern. You can really tell the better results in this test.
  • 7D have two DIGIC IV image processors instead of T2i's one DIGIC IV. This is said increase the performance in low light since it has more power to process the image. Since Magic Lantern doesn't work on the 7D I'll record in the original ~38 Mpbs avg bitrate.

Which of the two cameras would you use and what's your thoughts on the topic?
 
7d and t2i are the same, the video quality is the same. The two processors are for the stills side and really have nothing to do with video outside of being able to output and hdmi signal. Second just because you shoot at night does not mean you can't use light and fast lenses. Personally I would not shoot about 1250 iso and lower than that if possible.
 
life4eva said:
7d and t2i are the same, the video quality is the same. The two processors are for the stills side and really have nothing to do with video outside of being able to output and hdmi signal
Click to expand...
Why is there then that all the tests and comparisons (for video) I've seen out there says that 7D have superior low light performance over the T2i when it comes to sensitivity, color and noise? Read this advanced test for example.

I'm not completely sure that it's the two DIGIC IV processors that does the this improvement. I know I've read it somewhere. Also it feels like that would be a logical reason since they have the same sensors.


Can't find any other place to quote it from right know then from the vimeo forum:

"I have a 7D and my brother just got a 550D/T2i. Regarding the photo features, the 7D just blows the 550D/T2i out of the water. The video features are very similar, however the 7D has dual Digic 4 processors which greatly reduces noise when shooting high ISO. The 550D/T2i only has one processor, so video noise in low light is a much bigger issue. Also, the ISO range on the 7D is much better than on the 550D/T2i."


life4eva said:
Second just because you shoot at night does not mean you can't use light and fast lenses. Personally I would not shoot about 1250 iso and lower than that if possible.
Click to expand...

As far as light goes we're using two gelled and diffused 2K's to simulate moon light. That should give us a reasonable amount of light, right? Even though we're using fast lenses I'm not planning to shoot wide open all the time. That's why I care that much of the camera's low light performance.

Do you know what Magic Lantern is? I'm leaning towards going for that option right now. What do you guys think?
 
It's been tested dozens of times, anf the two cams are moreless identical, the t2i at times seems a hair more crisp. But as far as shooting at night goes, you will have to light it regardless of what you use unless your just run-n- gun. I would use a fast lens, light the scene, try to keep your iso around 800 if possible lower. But that will depend on what lens you use, and how it's lit. If I were you I would look at the t3i, and it's crop feature, which is really nice. Some people said it wouldn't be very good, but it turned out to be amazingly clean. Plus the kit comes with a new 18-55 is=X2.
 
Qrone said:
Why is there then that all the tests and comparisons (for video) I've seen out there says that 7D have superior low light performance over the T2i when it comes to sensitivity, color and noise? Read this advanced test for example.

I'm not completely sure that it's the two DIGIC IV processors that does the this improvement. I know I've read it somewhere. Also it feels like that would be a logical reason since they have the same sensors.


Can't find any other place to quote it from right know then from the vimeo forum:

"I have a 7D and my brother just got a 550D/T2i. Regarding the photo features, the 7D just blows the 550D/T2i out of the water. The video features are very similar, however the 7D has dual Digic 4 processors which greatly reduces noise when shooting high ISO. The 550D/T2i only has one processor, so video noise in low light is a much bigger issue. Also, the ISO range on the 7D is much better than on the 550D/T2i."




As far as light goes we're using two gelled and diffused 2K's to simulate moon light. That should give us a reasonable amount of light, right? Even though we're using fast lenses I'm not planning to shoot wide open all the time. That's why I care that much of the camera's low light performance.

Do you know what Magic Lantern is? I'm leaning towards going for that option right now. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

lol, you're thinking way to deep here. I have used both cameras, heck I've used them all, trust me when I tell you they are the same video wise, now the 5d that's a different story. Just light your scenes and you will be fine.
 
If both of the cameras produce the same image (visible to the human eye), then the T2i with Magic Lantern would be the better choice since I can record in a higher bit rate.
 
Qrone said:
If both of the cameras produce the same image (visible to the human eye), then the T2i with Magic Lantern would be the better choice since I can record in a higher bit rate.
Click to expand...
Yes, T2i, with ML would be better. As far as recording with higher bitrate, ie Q Scale, there is not much evidence of any improvement in picture quality when using higher bitrate. I tested extensively myself, and could not see any difference whatsoever when recording at a higher Q Scale value. It is very handy to use a lower bitrate, enabling longer individual clips. Test for yourself, try not to take to much notice of the figures, look at the images
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top