I was having a browse round my local Calumet Pro Photographic store yesterday and noticed a neat DSLR camera mic the audio-technica PRO 24-CM. I have a policy that if I report on HD-DSLRs then I must own one to make sure I am giving you my own angle and not hear say from other blogs.

The first thing that strikes you is the need to switch on the mic now that is not a problem in itself but when I tested it I forgot to switch it on ! Opps but just think about the consequences of that most basic of mistakes, filming a wedding let’s say…as long as you have sound from another source like a Tascam DR-100 all is not lost as you can slip edit the sound into sync.

You have no indication that you are recording sound nor do you have a headphone socket…so you can start to see why using such cameras at a very important event like a wedding is fraught with dangers. The AT mic is better than no mic and is better than the Canon’s built in mic but remember it does not improve your sound.

phyllis + adam // same day edit from stillmotion on Vimeo.

My main problem using a DSLR at a wedding is the photographers reaction when you produce a camera almost identical in spec to his then trying to explain it’s for filming !

I spent over 15 years filming top end wedding videos for clients and finally pulled out five years ago but the biggest bugbear at any wedding was the photographer. During my last 3 years filming weddings I would take a digital photograph of the happy couple and ask the photographers permission or if I knew he was a pain in the ass I would wait for him to leave then get my picture. The picture was used for the DVD cover shot.

Convincing the photographer is just one of many problems you will face using an HD DSLR…

Filming time is limited to 4GB (Canon 5D2) then the camera will stop filming automatically, remember you can film 4 x 4 chunks of 4GB on a 16Gig CF card but what are you going to miss when the camera stops 4 times. This is far from satisfactory in my books can you imaging loosing part of the vows !

Sound is a nightmare we have a camera that produces crap sound so bad that you are forced to use an external device such as a Tascam DR-100 now that is fraught with danger. You have many things to do at a wedding and remembering to switch on the sound unit just before the bride comes down the isle is playing with fire. The battery may run out, you may forget to put it into REC mode then you have a major problem because you wont be able to rely on the camera sound !

Extra time is something you don’t want in an editing situation, weddings take long enough to edit, the best part of two days the last thing you need is adding to this and I can assure you by the time you have finished editing a wedding with your HD DSLR you could add an extra half day converting 30p to 25p and as a colleague of mine found out recently MPEG Streamclip a program used by many Canon users does not transfer frame for frame leaving you with horrendous sync problems leaving you with Compressor which as you know takes an age to render lots of clips.

Weddings are a one off where you get one chance to get it right so don’t burden yourself further with technology that is in my opinion is not fit for purpose… and is nothing short of a phase, I hate to say it but when Japan wakes up to the film look we will get a proper film look camcorder and this nonsense of using a DSLR will be at an end. RED are producing such a camcorder called Scarlet but at about £8K plus may be out with most of your budgets.

I have seen far too many badly produced wedding videos in my time to set loose a further band of cowboys who think the Canon 5D2 is perfect for filming weddings.

On a more positive spin I came across a wedding edit by “stillmotion” in the USA using one Canon 5D2, two Canon 7Ds and is quite remarkable, steadycam, tracking shots you name it…have a look.

The Film Look…

We seem to be stuck between the devil and the deep blue sea…the one major advantage SLR photography has always had is the shallow depth of field (SDoF), this has been cleverly adapted by camera makers like Canon, Nikon and Panasonic with the ability to now film HD footage with certain SLRs.

The other option for the film look (SDoF) is to insert a film adapter like the Letus adapter between your camera lens and attach a 35mm prime lens on the front, now as you can see from the example above the major advantage with the digital SLR is it’s size. (Canon 5D Mk11 is not to scale)

When you use a 35mm adapter on your video camera it has limitations with apertures and  shutter speeds because of the ground glass used in the process, there are no such limitations with digital HD SLRs with apertures.

So where are we today with the budget film look…Philip Bloom a pioneer of this look seems to favour the digital SLR over the EX-3/letus combination, this in my opinion may be down to it’s size and weight, Philip like myself and 98% of cameramen suffer sore backs and anything that makes our backs easier after a days shoot is more than welcome. The main drawbacks and in my opinion MAJOR drawbacks with these digital HD film look cameras are as follows…

MAJOR DRAWBACKS WITH HD DSLRs…

1. As yet there is no ability to adjust the sound on any of the HD SLRs which is poor.

2. No sound metering on the LCD

3. One 3.5 jack input for sound (No XLRs)

4. No headphone jack for monitoring sound.

Sound in all these cameras is a poor second best and is a major setback to taking these cameras seriously (Most people use external sound units like the Tascam DR-100)

5. Canon have just brought out a second HD camera in the form of the 7D with no swivel viewfinder ! (Panasonics GH1 has a swivel LCD)

A Swivel viewfinder is a must for filming.

6. No live LCD/HDMI output. (This feature would allow you to at least monitor your HD footage externally)

7. Limitations on filming times on HD 12 minutes at a time.

8. Ergonomics are all wrong for filming.

9. H.264 needs to be converted before you can edit the footage.

As you can see with 9 major drawbacks there is an opening for a company to bring out a film look camera that meets all 9 specifications mentioned above. The ergonomics to me are all wrong these are firstly and foremost photographic cameras with the ability to capture HD footage as an afterthought.

Let’s be honest we are biding our time till one of the giants like Sony or Canon (Pro-Video) waken up to the film look, it will only take one camera with the specs of the EX-3, large sensor and the ability to take 35mm prime lenses (SDoF)…My bet is on Canon Pro-Video, 16 months since the H1s means something is on the cards.

If the number one giant in this field RED could produce such a camera at the £4-5K price range then we could all switch over and let video be a thing of the past.

Update…Thanks to Deke Kincaid for pointing out that Live HDMI does indeed work what I meant was live HDMI/LCD at the same time. Deke also mentions Magic Lantern a group of indi film makers who have reverse engineered the Canon 5D Mk11 firmware to open up some new features see them here…

http://magiclantern.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Lantern_Firmware_Wiki

Photographs courtesy of  ZACUTO.com

For all your video production needs in Scotland, get in touch with Small Video Company Ltd

Trailblazing Philip Bloom has just introduced a new training DVD for filming techniques using the Canon 5D Mk11, when Phil gets back from the states I hope to interview him about using the Canon 5D and also review his new training DVD.

QUOTE : “You probably have the same frustrations as Philip felt when he first began using the camera.  However after immersing himself in it for 5 months he has figured out all the tricks, and cheats to make filming easy. Now he’s made them all available to you in this intensive training DVD he’s gone through the pain so you don’t have to waste time making the same mistakes he has. Absolutely everything you need to know in 24 ultra specific chapters.  No ‘long drawn out 3hr presentation’ Just the important stuff, the aspects that will get you out shooting video like a pro in less than 2  hours.”

NOTE : Not to sure why the price is in dollars but the DVD is available for a limited time period for $120 then goes up to $175.

DVD Contents

• Chapter 1 – The Evolution of the Canon 5D MK II
• Chapter 2 – Philip Bloom’s 5D MK II History
• Chapter 3 – Shooting with the 5D MKII
• Chapter 4 – What Kit do you Need
• Chapter 5 – Setting up the camera to shoot video
• Chapter 6 – Setting your ISO
• Chapter 7 – Getting the best in camera picture style
• Chapter 8 – Getting the correct exposure

• Chapter 9 – Lenses
• Chapter 10 – Lens Discipline
• Chapter 11 – Using a macro extension tube
• Chapter 12 – The matte box
• Chapter 13 – Follow Focus
• Chapter 14 – Using a video monitor
• Chapter 15 – Mono pod & Viewfinder
• Chapter 16 – Variable ND filters

• Chapter 17 – The IS lens
• Chapter 18 – Shooting Handheld
• Chapter 19 – Avoiding the “Jello” effect
• Chapter 20 – Shutter Speed
• Chapter 21 – Depth of field using the fader/vari ND
• Chapter 22 – Shutter speed in artificial light
• Chapter 23 – Sound
• Chapter 24 – Best way to learn? Go out and shoot.

http://www.learntocreatethefilmlook.com/learn-canon-5dmkii-cinematograph/

Thanks to Canon’s web site we now have a name and the person to address for our new Canon film like camera the 35f. Video in both the 5D Mk11 and 7D is an afterthought and that comes from a professional video and photographer of well over 25 years experience. Mr Owen tells us that Canon spoke to hundreds of photographers but he does omit to tell us wether they were professional or amateur and there is no mention of videographers !

OK Canon… I have designed the 35f film like CF camera, this camera no longer takes pictures and is dedicated to filming in 1920-1080 50i – 1920-1080 25p (or variable from 15-30p) and 720 50p, has 2 mini XLR inputs and adjustable sound controls, need I say more…

GO MAKE ONE !

The last camcorder to come from the Canon Professional stable was the Canon XL-H1s during April 2008…16 months ago…what are Canon playing at there is a need to fill a very large hole in the film like stable and your counterparts in the 35mm stills department have unearthed this hole with the introduction of the Canon 5D Mk11 and more recently the Canon 7D.

Are Canon VideoPro influenced by their stills department…I hope not. HDV is a dying format and a very poor one technically so Canon Professional must have an SDHC or a CF camcorder soon. The market is screaming out for a true video version of the 5D Mk11.

A camcorder that will take all your EF series lenses allowing shallow depth of field (SDoF)…Solid State (SDHC or CF)…2-4 tracks of audio with XLRs…Radical chip sensor not unlike the 21mp sensor found in the 5D Mk11 for that film look (SDoF) and good low light capabilities…A Hi Rez colour viewfinder as seen on the Sony EX-3… Proper shoulder mount would be an advantage as shoulder mounting camcorders are few and far between… Decent tripod mount.

I have made a similar plea a few months back hoping Canon would get the message.