T2i help please

[WMPGHOUL]

Hey everyone,
been out of the film loop for a long time! i been doing alot of mask conversions and paint ups for the last few years and i am getting the itch to shoot again.

i am new to the DSLR shooting but , I have made indie films since 99 and shot mainly on camcorders, 16mm and 35mm film cameras, and prosumer HD video HVX200, HPX170, HMC150 all by panasonic.

I sold my camcorder HVX and bought a T2i last yr due to taking loads of pictures for customer masks. I got this camera because i saw alot of potential if if i ever wanted to get into shooting narratives again, and now that i do, one thing I cannot figure out is how to shoot moving video on the thing. I can focus on dialogue scenes, but a fight scene or moving the camera or subject is impossible. here is a link to a video I did showing off the masks I make....as you will see the screen goes blurry several times. can you help me with these problems? also, is there things to download for the camera?



Chris

video 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJHOF3g3Aso

video 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWgzzbEM6hw&feature=relmfu

 

[syberfilm]

When you hand hold with any dslr without a wide anlge lens you are going to get the shaky look. You can get a fig rig type device for around $50 US and that will help alot.

You may look into magic lantern to help with the video side of things. But you do not really need that until you better understand the capabilities of the camera.

You should lock focus and f stops before you start shooting. Do not leave any auto functions on. Make suer everything is st to manual

Treat it like a 16mm or 35mm move camera.

If you rely on auto features you will never get anything usable out of the camera. I hope that helps..

 

[Michael Carter]

Once you start white balancing properly and shooting & focusing manually, you'll find it's a very capable camera. For certain shots it's my "only" camera, really capable of beautiful images. But from the videos you posted, seems like half the battle for you is "thinking like a film maker". Don't just point a camera at something and call it a "promo"... light it, romance it, mystify it, reveal it. Use some lights, camera angles, etc.

 

[Gary Huff]

I think the problem with the "blurriness" stems from your prior experience with the HVX, which has a much deeper depth of field than the T2i will. This means that approaching or backing away from your subject will cause the subject to go out of focus much sooner. You just need to keep practicing until you gain a sense of how to properly turn in the focus ring as you move around.

As far as handholding, unless you develop the skill to hold the camera, I'd stick it on a tripod and leave it at that for your first few shoots. It's entirely possible to shoot handheld and make it look steady, but as syberfilm pointed out, you need to be at a wide angle to keep it from going too shaky (I would say 35mm is the maximum for good steady work if you're not very experienced). A camera strap can also help immensely if you shoot with the strap pulled taunt against your body. That's what I did for this video that I shot with the 60D: