T2i Recommended settings? (T2i noob)

Randall_Oelerich

Randall_Oelerich

Veteran
Just got my T2i, would appreciate recommendations for general shooting of video for drama short films. Manual or auto exposure, auto exposure lock usage, should I override ISO and shutter speed manually or go with auto exposure? AWB (auto white balance)? Should I use the Picture settings and if so which work best? My Jag35 focus puller will be arriving in a few days so I plan on using that when possible, both otherwise should I avoid autofocus and stick with manual focus? How does autofocus perhform when shooting actors-- does it blur focus in and out all over the map or does autofocus do a pretty good job while filming video? Any other general settings tips to do or not do?
Greatly appreciated,
Randall
 
Welcome to the T2i world! Really, it's an amazing camera.

Always shoot with manual settings. Auto just causes problems. As for everything else, look around the forum. There are several recent threads regarding picture styles. Tons of good info there.
 
C2V said:
Welcome to the T2i world! Really, it's an amazing camera. Always shoot with manual settings. Auto just causes problems. As for everything else, look around the forum. There are several recent threads regarding picture styles. Tons of good info there.
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Thank you C2V! :dankk2: I know when I had an XHA1 manual was best. I also bought and read the Magic Lantern guide to the T2i, plan to take it out and do some test shooting/footage in the next few days. Been charging up a pile of batteries, just got memory cards in the mail. I now have I think 8 batteries and 6 16GB class 6 cards, should be enough for a day of shooting. Also picked up a DSLR cage and shoulder rig here. Focus puller from Jag35 should arrive in a few days. Putting together actors and props for three new short films (drama, romcom, and faery tale horror) to shoot before the snow falls come Nov.
~Randall
borealpictures.com
 
Nice! I only have 2 batteries, but that's plenty for what I do.

Manual is, as a general rule, the way to go with most any camera. And forget auto focus on the T2i. It makes way too much noise and takes too long to find the focal point. Since you're getting a follow focus, you're already set for manual focus.

Audio is also going to be a major challenge. Plan on second-system when and if you can. Since the T2i still has non-defeatable AGC, recording audio to camera is all but worthless.
 
C2V said:
...Audio is also going to be a major challenge. Plan on second-system when and if you can. Since the T2i still has non-defeatable AGC, recording audio to camera is all but worthless.
Click to expand...

Yes, I record audio off camera with a RODE NTG-2 shotgun coupled to a ZOOM H4 audio recorder. XLR. I have a cheap shotgun on the T2i purely for matching up waveforms with the higher quality off camera audio.
 
Randall_Oelerich said:
Just got my T2i, would appreciate recommendations for general shooting of video for drama short films. Manual or auto exposure, auto exposure lock usage, should I override ISO and shutter speed manually or go with auto exposure? AWB (auto white balance)? Should I use the Picture settings and if so which work best? My Jag35 focus puller will be arriving in a few days so I plan on using that when possible, both otherwise should I avoid autofocus and stick with manual focus? How does autofocus perhform when shooting actors-- does it blur focus in and out all over the map or does autofocus do a pretty good job while filming video? Any other general settings tips to do or not do?
Greatly appreciated,
Randall
Click to expand...

First: Manual EVERYTHING!

Second: The brighter it is, the smaller you should make the aperture, or use an ND filter.

Third: The larger the aperture (smaller f number), the shallower the focus. Extreme example: if you were shooting a portrait of a person with an 85mm 1.4 lens set at 1.4, the nose will be in focus and the ears will be out of focus.

Fourth: I cannot stress this enough, but familiarize yourself with photography/traditional cinematography. you mentioned that you had a video camera before, but i think that you should read up on old-school filming considerations, as these dslr's kinda work the same way in terms of exposure, controls, and even the time limit.

also, i think you'll quickly come to realize why prime lenses are great.

good luck to you, and enjoy your new camera!
 
As a heads-up, I noticed that my T2i tended to meter a little hot out-of-the-box. What the camera says is spot-on exposure, knock back just a little and you'll be okay.
 
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Thank you Fahad. The XHA1 had built in dial up ND filters, T2i nada, so I bought a set of screw on ND filters for the T2i, might come in handy. I have many years of experience with SLRs so hopefully that will carry through somewhat on the T2i, but the options and capabilities of these DSLRs is mind boggling, and so many menu options.

Just ordered a prime yesterday, Canon 50mm f/1.8, hope to have fun with that. Also just ordered the Zoom H4n digital recorder-- I have the H4 but like the more intuitive buttons on the H4n and will keep my H4 as backup. Have a little Canon VIXIA HF100 camcorder as backup video recording. I figure on set when filming you gotta have a backup for video and audio in case of equipment failure otherwise everybody goes home for the day, or two days.


Fahad said:
First: Manual EVERYTHING!

Second: The brighter it is, the smaller you should make the aperture, or use an ND filter.

Third: The larger the aperture (smaller f number), the shallower the focus. Extreme example: if you were shooting a portrait of a person with an 85mm 1.4 lens set at 1.4, the nose will be in focus and the ears will be out of focus.

Fourth: I cannot stress this enough, but familiarize yourself with photography/traditional cinematography. you mentioned that you had a video camera before, but i think that you should read up on old-school filming considerations, as these dslr's kinda work the same way in terms of exposure, controls, and even the time limit.

also, i think you'll quickly come to realize why prime lenses are great.

good luck to you, and enjoy your new camera!
Click to expand...
 
well since you're familiar with SLRs you'll find DSLRs a breeze to learn. yes, there are many menu options, but not any more than a modern cell phone.

the 50mm 1.8 is a very nice lens, and fun to play with. though, you'll quickly find that it's too long for most indoor 'casual' shooting. but a good lens none the less.

what's the difference between the zoom h4n and h4 (as far as price and performance)?
 
I definitely want a wider lens, but they get so damn expensive (yeah yeah i know, i just spend money on the H4n). After I do a couple of more shorts I will get one though. All three of my shorts I have planned for Sept/Oct are outdoors, woods and beach.

I ordered this H4n package today, looks like a good deal-- comes with 16GB class 6 card, nice hard protective travel case. $319 free shipping. Not much price difference from H4. I thought of dumping my H4 on ebay but decided to keep it as a backup digital field recorder.

51ULaDaaCVL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


Fahad said:
well since you're familiar with SLRs you'll find DSLRs a breeze to learn. yes, there are many menu options, but not any more than a modern cell phone.

the 50mm 1.8 is a very nice lens, and fun to play with. though, you'll quickly find that it's too long for most indoor 'casual' shooting. but a good lens none the less.

what's the difference between the zoom h4n and h4 (as far as price and performance)?
Click to expand...
 
I've heard that, another filmmaker friend (7D) said the same, underexpose a stop with DSLR. Good tip.

C2V said:
As a heads-up, I noticed that my T2i tended to meter a little hot out-of-the-box. What the camera says is spot-on exposure, knock back just a little and you'll be okay.
Click to expand...
 
Hi Randall glad u joined the DSLR revolution.
With the t2i I have found the best and fasted way to judge exposure is to shoot a still and check the histograms
(kholi showed me this trick when the 7d first arrived).
You can do this in while in movie mode, its dead easy.

I've also got my LCD brightness dialled down two notches so it is one notch above lowest
seems to be more accurate when shooting vid
 
Fahad said:
what's the difference between the zoom h4n and h4 (as far as price and performance)?
Click to expand...

The H4n replaced the H4. With the H4n, internal pre-amps were improved (pre-amps in the original H4 were terribly noisy), and the on-board stereo mics have an adjustable width of image. The chassis was redesigned to be more ergonomic and to transmit less handling noise. It also has the added feature of being able to record both external mics via the XLR ins and the built-in mics simultaneously in 4-track mode.

The one thing they ruined in the upgrade is that the H4n does not have the ability to take line-level inputs like the H4 did. So between the two, the H4 dominates as a line-level recorder with an external mixer on the front end, and the H4n dominates as a portable recorder with external mics.
 
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