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21. Canon EOS5DmkII, One night in Beijing.
11 months ago
Video filmed by Guardian photographer Dan Chung entirely on a production Canon EOS5DmkII and adapted Nikon and Zeiss lenses using manual focus. The camera was purchased to use solely as a video camera with existing Nikon kit.
The film was shot an edited in about twelve hours directly after picking the camera up from a Beijing camera store and charging the battery.
Lenses used are:
Nikon 17-35 f2.8
Nikon 80-200 f.8
Nikon 85mm f2.8 shift lens
Nikon 16mm f2.8 fisheye
Zeiss/Contax 85mm f1.4
The camera was set to neutral picture style, sharpness all the way down and contrast at -2. Saturation was left alone.
Edited in Final Cut Pro, the footage was all converted to Apple Prores 422 using MPEG Streamclip because there were problems using the native H.264 Mpeg files. It was exported as a QT at 720p. There was no grading, exposure or colour correction on this footage.
For a comparison you can see a Nikon D90 low light test video here vimeo.com/1728575
See guardian.co.uk/profile/danchung for more of Dan Chung's work.
And see guardian.co.uk/world/china for more coverage of China from the Guardian.
The film was shot an edited in about twelve hours directly after picking the camera up from a Beijing camera store and charging the battery.
Lenses used are:
Nikon 17-35 f2.8
Nikon 80-200 f.8
Nikon 85mm f2.8 shift lens
Nikon 16mm f2.8 fisheye
Zeiss/Contax 85mm f1.4
The camera was set to neutral picture style, sharpness all the way down and contrast at -2. Saturation was left alone.
Edited in Final Cut Pro, the footage was all converted to Apple Prores 422 using MPEG Streamclip because there were problems using the native H.264 Mpeg files. It was exported as a QT at 720p. There was no grading, exposure or colour correction on this footage.
For a comparison you can see a Nikon D90 low light test video here vimeo.com/1728575
See guardian.co.uk/profile/danchung for more of Dan Chung's work.
And see guardian.co.uk/world/china for more coverage of China from the Guardian.
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Is it true that the camera does not offer ISO or iris control while shooting video?
Beautiful street scenes--I really enjoyed it!
What kind of tripod did you use? I would worry that the use of a tripod would make the people you are filming uncomfortable, but none of your subjects seemed to mind. Do you have a trick for keeping yourself unobtrusive?
The Guardian is an excellent newspaper. I read it every day on the web. Having you on their staff is further proof of the Guardian's commitment to quality.
more and more people is focusing this camera.
thanks!
Can you change Aperture or shutter settings while shooting video? or before?
It might be my imagination, but there seemed to be a tiny bit of loss in image quality with the Nikon adaptation, rather than using Canon glass exclusively. What do you think?
And like most people say Can't wait to get mine ;)
______
Pasquale Spagnuolo
flickr.com/photos/alberello/
The video stutters on my DSL connection, but does a bit better on my faster T1 connection at work.
Probably just a Vimeo thing.
Thanks for posting this, Dan.
It helps those of us on the 5DII waiting list pass the time until the FEDEX truck arrives.
As well, keepvid.com will allow you to scrape off a 720p flash version of the vid.
mule
your good...
BTW, what music did you use for the score? It's perfect.
One more thing, Dan .... can you give us your comments about the Redrock Micro setup you were using?
Sorry I haven't had time to answer all questions personally. However there is an ongoing discussion I started here which has most of the video related answers. dvinfo.net/conf/photo-hd-video-d-slr-others/138306-5dmkii-quick-review.html
On a few of specific points raised
1. I have a beachtek and a Sound Devices MixPre mixer which I am testing, results later.
2. Yes its a Redrock rig with some bits bolted on.
3. Yes I think the video looks good large, certainly on my 46 inch full hd monitor.
4. Music is royalty free, sadly I forgot where I bought it.
5. Yes adapted lenses give you control of aperture and exposure after an AE lock.
I'm looking forward to seeing all your results too when you get into DSLR video.
Dan
canon would make you an Ambassador..
but your using the wrong type of lens..
maybe you could get money from canon,nikon and contax..
such a great film in super fast time...
Thank you dan for the beautiful composition and framing of these shots as well as the editing. You could have made a simple tech demo shooting some traffic lights and jam tins, but you went the extra mile.
Cheers.
But thank you most of all for the use of a tripod! i'm a little over the shaky "hand held" thing.
One quick question. On top of giving you back aperture control, did you find the use of older manual lenses gave the focusing a more solid feel? i find that when i manually focus on a light modern lens, they don't tend to stay where i left them as i move around.
looking forward to any future work you produce on this camera.
here's my email address henryjfans@yahoo.com
And WOW, as a Canon user I'm very impressed with the new 5D Mark II. I'm getting rid of my 40D very soon.
We want to see some more, Dan :-p
Great video!
we featured your video as "Video Of The Week" on our website!
this is the link
livincool.com
With the moving image you really need a story of some kind, otherwise it's just a random slideshow and once a few more of these moving photograph films are posted people will hopefully get bored of them and start to produce some works with more substance. Obviously this was shot quickly, just after getting camera and looks great, but a story shot with a cheap camcorder will be more engaging. This shows off the camera's ability nicely, but once the novelty has worn off....
I'm curious to see some shots in daylight with contrasty scenes to see how good the dynamic range is and how it copes with skintones in bright sunshine.
he did an excellent job..
i think stanley kubrick used to spend 2 to 5 years in pre production on his movies..a cheap camcorder would not be more engaging as it would look flat and dark..
this cameras low light capture is impressive.
if only nikon would get serious with hd that would be exciting..
It would be far better to spend some time on a script, something most photographers have no concept of, before shooting a video which simply consists of a bunch of stills with no narrative.
And yes a cheap camcorder could be far more engaging, but only if it was used to film a half decent script. Good story content always trumps technical quality. Always. Plus low quality footage is sometimes deliberately used to help tell the story better. 'Open Water' for example or 'Blair Witch Project'
Filmmaking is a completely different discipline from stills photography and few will be able to transition easily.
come on hollywood does not even make um.
this guy is a jobbing jorno looking to make a name for him self..nothing wrong with that..
camcorder design and technology implimentation has been stagnant for years..good or bad red and canon stills division,can only help make the pro and semi pro areas improve...as a moving picture film guy..16mm and 35mm.i am excited by this camera flaws and all.
With all due respect Alan, film as a movement has it's roots deeply embedded in experimentation, and shooting test footage with a new tool is second nature to a filmmaker. Please see the following Dogme 95 films for reference and seriously engaging story telling, shot with handycams: The Celebration and The King is Alive. For more compelling lo-fi goodness, see films from the mumblecore movement.
The rampant evolution of technology is irrelevant; the human condition and how it reacts to film is. This narcissistic pontification about the limitations of a camera only serves to prove just how banal the minds of some people are, which renders said garbled talk...moot.
vimeo.com/1025907
vimeo.com/973337
vimeo.com/812596
vimeo.com/775431
vimeo.com/775442
dogma seems to have died out a little me thinks.
i used to make films at the london filmakers coop in the 1980s..so i am not a complete troll. i have also worked with people like derek jarman.
i do not believe mr bloom is using 20 year old kit..
and i am sure great artists think it is tacky to talk about technology..but mr bloom seems almost to encourage people to buy new kit.especially sony.
and letus products.
a cameras's a camera.good in the hands of a talent bad in the hands many. but my point was simple the 5d will beat any camcorder pro or amateur in low light..
you were talking about art i was talking about painting and decorating stuff.
Sorry, but that is still not relevant to my post you were replying to, as I was commenting on story telling/making an interesting video, not showing how good the Canon is in low light. Which anyone who has seen Reverie or the video above is already well aware of. The camera being able to make a better image does not improve the script or lack of thereof.
And if you are going to bring up Jarman, the dynamic range in Blue was somewhat limited and the image would certainly would be described as flat. ;-)
i found using the canon similar to using the nizo super 8. lot's of workarounds..
check out my non film..sorry about the lack of a script.
i was always better at pressing a camera button than.
than having an original idea.
alandoyle.smugmug.com/gallery/6748001_z7NEP#430995733_MUcTA-A-LB
A very good example of how to use camera.
Plus the tree branch and flower at end of sequence, felt a little out of place as the film was a lovely evocation of an iconic place and these shots seemed like suddenly we are in a different place.
Not sure if the fact I was there recently and no branches or any foliage, if present registered affects my judgement.
A shot in same location in Oct with my pocket camera.
farm4.static.flickr.com/3190/3043622081_f170d6f889.jpg
They're both CMOS.
Nice images.
I'm wondering why you would use a Redrock on this camera. Isn't this design supposed to eliminate all of those rigs?
RedRock lso make a 35mm lens convertor for DV cameras which you may be confusing with the rails, focus aids, matte box etc that is now being sold for 35mm DSLR cameras that also shoot video.
The RedRock kit seen recently is designed to make the 5DII/D90..etc more usuable as a video camera, as good ergonomics for stills are not so good for video.
Greetings from Germany
Tommy / tommy.de
This film is essentially still shots but filmed, so do you feel frustrated at 'missing' a great photo while filming? Or should photographers put on a different 'head' while filming and go for the moving picture, forgetting the still image possibilities?
Maybe a symptom of the single chip's way of separating the colors?
I hope the Nikon D90 will improve to help the sheering-problem on the image... then everybody will be able to film in HD with every lens they want etc.
Keep the fantastic videos coming Dan... Beautifully captured stuff.
Sorry if i'm going off topic and using your video for some technical help! Great video by the way.
EOS Utility keeps crashing half way through transferring video files. They are about 11 minutes in length at 1920x1080. I've had no problem transferring a whole cards worth of shorter 1 minute clips.
I'm on OSX 10.5.6., using EOS Utility 2.5.1. I'm using an 8GB SanDisk Extreme IV card. I'm on a 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB Ram Macbook Pro.
Has anybody else had this problem, or suggest what the issue may be? Is there a maximum file size limit? The manual doesn't mention this. I'd guess an 11 minute clip is about 3.5 GB. I've even tried reinstalling the EOS software and formatting the memory card with no luck.
Any help would be great, i'm pulling my hair out!
Jim
I wouldn't use EOS utility for transfers, why don't you just drag and drop in the file browser?
Dan
不多说废话，5D2你用的满意么，我一直在用Z1C和LETUS35的组合，手上EF和AIS的镜头群不少，打算最近入5D2，最近比较关心ROLLINGSHUTTER和宽容度的问题，能给点意见么？因为就我来看，很多影像的反差太大了，后期的空间小了很多，这会是问题么？
Kaushik