DSLR filmmaking

[Cristian Carceller]

I have recently discovered dslr filmmaking and is wondering what its all about and is it good for shooting video. On the web it talks about having to download programs to upload your footage to your editing software(FCP). But it also says that this new style is alot easier to use. i love the look and size of it. I am thinking about buying the Rebel t2i for my first. So if you have got into DSLR filmmaking can you please respond and give me some tips

thanks

cristian

[raghavendra]

yah. its good..

but handling the camera is difficult...

[Adrian Sierkowski]

It's a little bit different than video inasmuch as you have much shallower DoF so pulling focus becomes a concern on shots with motion. Also as with most (if not all) Cmos sensors you need to be cognizant of the rolling shutter and it's artifacts. Also run times can sometimes become problemtic if you're used to being able to roll for 30 minutes for super-long shots (though that's hardly a concern).

For the editorial side, it's recommended to transcode the footage to ProResHQ for editing as opposed to working in the h.264 codec that the Canon's use. Aside from that, it's just like working with anything else, light, frame, focus, record ;). Rinse and repeat as needed.

[Hal Smith]

A good website to lurk is Shane Hurlbut's, he's on the cutting edge with respect to the Canon HDSLR's

 

http://hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/

 

Pay great heed to what he says when he talks about shooting with the Canon's as if you were shooting color reversal film. That's the "trick" to successfully using these cameras, with their heavy compression you don't get to "fix it in post", you've got to get it right to start with.

 

There is a movement among the high end professionals using the Canon DSLR's to get Canon to modify the cameras in some fashion so one could record RAW information ( in effect record direct information off the sensor). That would make a huge difference in what one could accomplish with a Canon but also mean having to use a lot larger recording media like direct to hard drive.

Edited June 14, 2010 by Hal Smith

[Cristian Carceller]

It's a little bit different than video inasmuch as you have much shallower DoF so pulling focus becomes a concern on shots with motion. Also as with most (if not all) Cmos sensors you need to be cognizant of the rolling shutter and it's artifacts. Also run times can sometimes become problemtic if you're used to being able to roll for 30 minutes for super-long shots (though that's hardly a concern).

For the editorial side, it's recommended to transcode the footage to ProResHQ for editing as opposed to working in the h.264 codec that the Canon's use. Aside from that, it's just like working with anything else, light, frame, focus, record ;). Rinse and repeat as needed.

You can only shoot for 12 minutess? correct? and does that mean you can only 12 have minutes on your card, or is it that you can only have it recording for twwelve minutes?

thanks alot

[Adrian Sierkowski]

Depends on the camera and it's 12 min per clip, not 12 min overall on the cards. It's different, if memory serves on the 5d/7d/T2i, but it's listed in their specs on bhphoto.com

[Hal Smith]

Depends on the camera and it's 12 min per clip, not 12 min overall on the cards. It's different, if memory serves on the 5d/7d/T2i, but it's listed in their specs on bhphoto.com

 

 

If one is using a large CF card on the 5D/7D or SD card on the T2i all you have to do is stop recording and then immediately start record again to go on to a new 12 minute segment. Those segments are the equivalent of 400' loads on a 35mm camera, that run length doesn't bother people used to 35mm work...but admittedly can drive people used to DV tape up the wall.

[george su]

Christian, I've been using the 7D alot lately, and I do enjoy shooting with it. I would recommend the 7D over the T2i.

[JD Hartman]

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but what of the monitoring and focusing issues of DLSR's in general. DP is shooting handheld: tiny on camera monitor only visible to him; off-camera monitor displays a lower res. image so it can't be used to verify focus; still camera lenses with a small mechanical focus range; using a follow focus adapter, begs for an AC to pull focus. If you're not shooting a music video, how do you record sound without a DAT? Seems like so many trade-offs.

[Hal Smith]

Don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but what of the monitoring and focusing issues of DLSR's in general. DP is shooting handheld: tiny on camera monitor only visible to him; off-camera monitor displays a lower res. image so it can't be used to verify focus; still camera lenses with a small mechanical focus range; using a follow focus adapter, begs for an AC to pull focus. If you're not shooting a music video, how do you record sound without a DAT? Seems like so many trade-offs.

 

1.

[Guest Roland Zagonyi]

You can only shoot for 12 minutess? correct? and does that mean you can only 12 have minutes on your card, or is it that you can only have it recording for twwelve minutes?

thanks alot

 

You can only have 12 minutes of continuous recording, but even then, you should keep in mind that the image will start to degrade as the camera overheats.

 

You'll get 3 minutes per GB on the 5d Mark II - so my 16 GB cards can record a total of 48 minutes each - transferring the data from the CF card to your computer doesn't take long.

 

-Roland Zágonyi

[Frank Glencairn]

It´s over.

 

http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/vdslr-r-i-p/

 

Frank

[Brian Drysdale]

I haven't read it, but people are giving positive reports:

 

http://nofilmschool.com/2010/09/ebook-of-the-dslr-cinematography-guide-free/

[Guest Roland Zagonyi]

It´s over.

 

http://frankglencairn.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/vdslr-r-i-p/

 

Frank

 

This camera looks interesting, but it's not in the same league as most vdslr's. It's half the price of the Red One, but still 10x the price of the 550d and 4x the price of the 5d Mark II.

 

If you had $10,000 to spend on this body, then a better option may still be to rent the Red One in Berlin --- where it's only 89 euro/day: [http://www.dv-kameraverleih.de/]? --- it's 650 euro/day here in Budapest.

 

It really would depend on the nature of the project, and whether or not you have a system that can handle editing the Red footage...but for somebody who's working with close to no budget, this camera does absolutely nothing.

Edited September 16, 2010 by Roland Zagonyi

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

... If you had $10,000 to spend on this body ...

 

If you're referring to the Panasonic AF100 series cam, Panasonic Europe has announced a list price of "... tentative RRP of 4,900 euro. Excl. VAT ...":

http://www.panasonic...e_objectID=4084

 

Jan Crittenden Livingston, Panasonic's Broadcast & TV Systems product manager says the list price for the "... [body only w/o lens] definitely under $6,000 in the US ..."

http://www.dvxuser.c...054#post2102054

 

List prices for each region/country are always affected by many factors, so a simple currency conversion is rarely useful.

 

I don't know where you got that "$10,000" price from, but it's not even close to the officially announced list price range for the AF100 body-only in the US.

[Guest Roland Zagonyi]

If you're referring to the Panasonic AF100 series cam, Panasonic Europe has announced a list price of "... tentative RRP of 4,900 euro. Excl. VAT ...":

http://www.panasonic...e_objectID=4084

 

Jan Crittenden Livingston, Panasonic's Broadcast & TV Systems product manager says the list price for the "... [body only w/o lens] definitely under $6,000 in the US ..."

http://www.dvxuser.c...054#post2102054

 

List prices for each region/country are always affected by many factors, so a simple currency conversion is rarely useful.

 

I don't know where you got that "$10,000" price from, but it's not even close to the officially announced list price range for the AF100 body-only in the US.

 

Hate to point it out, but if you read the links you sent over (and the original link that we're talking about now), you would know that I got it from the Japanese model:

"[Engadget says the AG-AF105 (I'm assuming that's the Japanese model number) is officially priced at ¥837,900 (about $9,960). Maybe that's where the "less than $10,000" figure came from. But will it really cost 40% less in the U.S.?"]"

 

I haven't purchased a camera in Japan, so I didn't know that the price difference would be that much (or if the Japanese version is somehow different), but either way, my point would have been the same, a $6,000 camera is still in a different league than the 550d. You can't tell me, at least not with a straight face, that somebody with a $1,000 550d is going to reconsider shooting his project because a nicer camera came out for 6x the price --- for that person, this camera doesn't change a thing.

 

In Hungary, VAT (or VAM here) is 25%, add conversion rate to that, and you have an $8,000 camera, not a $6,000 one.

[Peter J DeCrescenzo]

Hi Roland: I wasn't disagreeing with your comment about a no-budget producer being more likely to choose an inexpensive cam such as a T2i over a much more expensive cam such as the AF100.

 

I was just correcting the information you gave about the price range for the AF100 in the US.

 

According to Jan C.L., the AF100 series cam will be essentially identical in its various versions worldwide. The only differences will likely be on-screen menu language(s), warranties, and price. All versions of the AF100 series are expected to be capable of recording NTSC & PAL video.

 

Based on the AF100 cam's official announced <$6,000 US price range, rental day rates in the US initially will likely be approx. $300/day for the body-only. It's common in the US for new pro gear to rent for about 5% of list price at first. After a while, when a cam is more widely available, its rental day rates tend to trend down over time. In addition, rental rates vary quite a bit from city to city within the US.

 

Cheers.

[JD Hartman]

Just wrapped on a feature using multiple Cannon 7D's. Overheating of the camera(s) was a frequent occurrence, even on the days that were exclusively interiors. As Gaffer, it was frustrating not to be able to monitor all the cameras, especially when there was an issue like a lens flare. Hard to place or adjust a light, when you can't see what the DP is seeing. We had the recommended adapters and cables for monitoring two of the cameras as per HDSLR guru Hurlbut, but one setup broke on the first day of shooting. As best as I can recollect, one camera also had to be retired because part of the image sensor array went bad.

Edited September 21, 2010 by JD Hartman

[Marty Hamrick]

. Also as with most (if not all) Cmos sensors you need to be cognizant of the rolling shutter and it's artifacts.

Could you elaborate on this? Do you have any examples that you can post?