The loss of the 3x magnification on the t4i- do you guys miss it???

J

jrod81

Veteran
I sold my T2i yesterday and had full plans to go buy the t4i... then just happen to stumble upon a blog discussing that the t4i does not maintain the 3x-10x magnification in video mode when you hit the record button. That has me stumped on if I want it afterall. The main reason I wanted the T4i was to video my kid around the house so I was originally drawn to that autofocus in video mode (which I'm hearing is not that great either but will probably work fine for home video use)...
So I guess, should the autofocus weigh out the loss of 3x magnify in video???
Do you guys that have or have had both miss the magnify???
 
I have a T3i and a T4i, but use the T3i way more because of the 3x zoom. Autofocus on the T4i is not quite usable in normal situations other than maybe do a quick autofocus, lock the focus and start rolling. Here's an article I wrote about the usefulness of the T3i crop mode: http://www.cineblah.com/post/142/why-the-3x-crop-mode-on-the-canon-600d-is-invaluable

Another great advantage of the T3i is that Magic Lantern currently runs on it, so you have audio-meters, focus peaking, etc. which make it much more useful as a video camera.

The only real advantage of the T4i is that it has full HD HDMI out during recording, so that's great for working with extenal monitors like the SmallHD or Zacuto.

Good luck with your decision!
 
The 3x zoom function was the feature that got me into dslr's in the first place. The T3i 3x zoom and the GH2 Extended Tele Crop from panasonic were transformational tools when it comes to long range wildlife video. The idea that Canon left it out of the new model is unfortunate. I'm still holding onto a tiny hope that they can bring it back with one of the next models they release (70D or 7DII).

If not, I'll be jumping ship at some point to a GH3 which seems to have significantly improved stills capability and quite spectacular video by any standard. I just like the "look" canon dslr's produce. They have a backlit highlight roll off that is quite appealing. The same can not be said for the GH2 in particular. Even a GoPro Hero3 does a better job with highlight roll off than a GH2. I haven't seen enough of the GH3 in this respect to know how much it has imporoved.

One huge improvement of the T4i over the T3i is the auto focus in stills mode. The T3i is horrible and I just use Magic Lantern focus peaking and manual focus as it's faster and more accurate than the auto focus, especially in low light :)

Cheers,
Pete
 
does the magnification also work in still mode??? or is it only in video mode?
just wondering if my 17-50 Tamron would become even more telephoto in still mode as we are headed to Disney in a few weeks
 
Totally agree! I really cant understand what they were thinking in Canon...!???
I use 90% my 600D and 10% my 60D only because of that feature...Im not saying that I use it all the time, but its so good to have it when you need it! And you know...even just a shot can make the difference!
Lately Im thinking to buy a FF body (dont know which one yet) so I ll give one of my crops...not hard for me to decide...600D is staying with me...!
dslrfilmmaker...nice article, your macro video is very good!
Here is video I shot about a year ago when I was testing the crop mode:
https://vimeo.com/30844897
 
one other question that my wife needs to know... our t2i constantly displayed a "busy" message when shooting. sometimes it seemed it was a low light issue and other times just seemed to be if we were trying to take pics too fast... i have done some research and am sick of people blaming a card... I have a 32gb class 10 card and i just don't see that could be the problem... plus our t2i didn't do it at the first of its life.
soooo... does the t3i or t4i have this issue? any thoughts on what causes this issue???
 
jrod81,
The crop mode does not work in still mode, only video...
About the busy message on your t2i...sorry but I ll also blame the card...but Im not saying its faulty, maybe its the way you use it...
If for example you re constantly deleting files its a good reason to get the message...
Do a low level format (back up your files first) and check if it is doing it again...
 
okay, so you're thinking a "format" of the card should fix the busy? we have a 32gb card and my wife is constantly pulling pics off the card to put on facebook but they always stay on the card itself... but if you think that activity is causing the busy signal then I will by all means offload and format... i guess my question is "is there any reason to have a 32gb card if i need to be formatting that often." we wanted to have the 32gb card so that essentially it could hold about 6 months worth of pics...
its a Transcend 32gb class 10... is that an okay card or should I move to another brand to fix the issue?
and seriously... thanks so much for the reply!!!!!!!
 
I have the exact same type of cards and they re just fine...
As for capacity...yea you can say for pictures 32gb is overkill, but for video its perfect if you shoot long projects and you dont want to worry...
Im glad (if) I helped:thumbsup:
 
thanks for the help... i'll toss the 32gb off to the side for video projects and get her an 8 or 16GB...
so just to clarify... are you thinking a format with help do the trick? if so, how often do you recommend doing this to keep the "busy" signal away!!!???
we don't delete the images so i'm still not sure that is the problem but we do drag them off the card (well they actually never leave the card, but we drag a picture from the card to desktop) quite often... would that be doing it?
 
thanks for the help... i'll toss the 32gb off to the side for video projects and get her an 8 or 16GB...
so just to clarify... are you thinking a format with help do the trick? if so, how often do you recommend doing this to keep the "busy" signal away!!!???
we don't delete the images so i'm still not sure that is the problem but we do drag them off the card (well they actually never leave the card, but we drag a picture from the card to desktop) quite often... would that be doing it?
 
Well, formatting the card is the easiest and hopefully the right step to help solving the problem. Of course it might be something else, but in every troubleshooting we start from the easy...right?
I personally format my cards almost every week, but I shoot 99% video so even if I didnt want to format them, I d have to because they re full after every job...
I d recommend formatting your cards before they reach their half capacity and do a low level format once in a while...
 
thanks again... does "low level" still remove all the pics or is that what a low level means in that it does not remove everything???
 
jrod81 said:
thanks again... does "low level" still remove all the pics or is that what a low level means in that it does not remove everything???
Click to expand...
Low level format is even ''deeper'' than the normal format! So when you do it be SURE to back up of your files first!
Its very possible to restore files after normal format but it is impossible after a low level format...!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top