Hi all,
My first ever post on a forum!
I am making a documentary in Africa with the Canon C300 as my primary camera. A lot of the imagery is being shot at sunrise/sunset. I'm concerned about sensor burn out, as this is obviously a potential problem shooting the sun (even at magic hour). So wanted to get any input from anyone who has more experience than I do.
2 things:
1) Sunset material with a subject in the foreground, shot at 800mm (Canon 100-400mm L with 2 x extender). I want the sun in the shot as big as possible creating a direct silhouette of the subject. I know the rough rule of thumb is don't get your camera to shoot stuff you're not comfortable looking at with your eye. But how far and for how long can you push it slightly beyond this?
There are 6 stops of ND filter built into the camera and then I have a filter for a further 8 stops, plus you lose stops from the extender. This should be more than enough right?
2) Timelapses are a key feature of the film and I'm using a DSLR (550D) to shoot them with. I imagine that with my ND8 filter / stop loss from the extender, I won't need to crank the shutter speed too high to get a correctly exposed image. But what do I need to watch out for to avoid sensor damage? Should I ramp the shutter speed as high as possible? Ordinarily for timelapses I use long exposures to prevent white flashes and make the images blend more smoothly.
Should I preview the image using Live View or the viewfinder? I've read conflicting reports elsewhere....
Thanks in advance for your help. To be honest, if I melt the 550D I won't be too sad, but if my beloved C300 gets toasted then I'll feel like an idiot.
All best,
S
My first ever post on a forum!
I am making a documentary in Africa with the Canon C300 as my primary camera. A lot of the imagery is being shot at sunrise/sunset. I'm concerned about sensor burn out, as this is obviously a potential problem shooting the sun (even at magic hour). So wanted to get any input from anyone who has more experience than I do.
2 things:
1) Sunset material with a subject in the foreground, shot at 800mm (Canon 100-400mm L with 2 x extender). I want the sun in the shot as big as possible creating a direct silhouette of the subject. I know the rough rule of thumb is don't get your camera to shoot stuff you're not comfortable looking at with your eye. But how far and for how long can you push it slightly beyond this?
There are 6 stops of ND filter built into the camera and then I have a filter for a further 8 stops, plus you lose stops from the extender. This should be more than enough right?
2) Timelapses are a key feature of the film and I'm using a DSLR (550D) to shoot them with. I imagine that with my ND8 filter / stop loss from the extender, I won't need to crank the shutter speed too high to get a correctly exposed image. But what do I need to watch out for to avoid sensor damage? Should I ramp the shutter speed as high as possible? Ordinarily for timelapses I use long exposures to prevent white flashes and make the images blend more smoothly.
Should I preview the image using Live View or the viewfinder? I've read conflicting reports elsewhere....
Thanks in advance for your help. To be honest, if I melt the 550D I won't be too sad, but if my beloved C300 gets toasted then I'll feel like an idiot.
All best,
S