Canon EOS 5D Mark II: 21MP and HD movies

[Simon Smith]

Pawel, I'd say she wanted to say..... pulling the focus automatically, then the manual mode.

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Pawel, I'd say she wanted to say..... pulling the focus automatically, then the manual mode.

Oh, I see. Thanks for the correction.

It still does not help getting focus at night when shooting stars with long exposure or waiting for the sun to rise. AF does not work in the dark.

 

[FMG battery]

what for would anyone need auto focus for the sky?.. for those guys there?

this is for tom..

 

[Daniel Browning]

Oh, I see. Thanks for the correction.

It still does not help getting focus at night when shooting stars with long exposure or waiting for the sun to rise. AF does not work in the dark.

Use live view 10X on a bright star.

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Use live view 10X on a bright star.

Does Canon allow for 10x magnification in live view?

 

[Daniel Browning]

Does Canon allow for 10x magnification in live view?

Yes. It could be much better (e.g. higher magnification, based on raw instead of processed, allow the display of individual R, G, B pixels in monchrome, peaking, etc.). But I think there are more important issues they should fix first, such as a RAW histogram and programmable ISO priority AE.

Another neat feature for astrophotography is that the most recent cameras (450D and 50D, but not 40D) also have electronic first curtain, so there is no shutter slap (nor, of course, mirror slap).

 

[Pawel Achtel]

Interesting. Thanks Daniel.

Does the electronic shutter work in multiple exposures with intervalometer? I think 40D had a mirror lock feature, but I could not get it working for multiple exposures.

It would be great if one could use electronic shutter on DSLRs. No more "used up" shutter mechanisms after a month of shooting time lapse. I suppose they must have this working in order to shoot video.

 

[Daniel Browning]

Does the electronic shutter work in multiple exposures with intervalometer?

Yes, it's automatic any time you use live view.

I think 40D had a mirror lock feature, but I could not get it working for multiple exposures.

The workaround I use on my 20D and 5D for exposures of 30 seconds or less is to set the camera on timer mode, for 2 seconds, and enable MLU. Use the intervalometer to trip the camera, which locks up the mirror and waits two seconds, then the real exposure begins.