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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Canon 5d Mark II users: lock down those primes... playa

Yea, there's an IS switch on the lens itself. Also note that when you press the live view button, you're activating the shutter and therefore activating the lens's IS.
 
Just curious because I haven't tested yet but does the 70-200 L IS on the 5D2 automatically try to maintain focus at whichever focus square selected all the way through the full zoom range when in video record mode? Between the IS and auto focus while zooming and panning that would be a huge advantage over the R1 (or anything else when DOF factored in) in many field shooting situations.

Please advise,

-shooter
 
Tom said:
Are you sure IS will even work in video mode, playa?
Click to expand...

Yes, IS "always on" in video mode, unless you flip the IS switch on the lens itself. There are some issues, however: some lenses, when panning/tilting, will "jump" (or "judder"), rather than make smooth moves. Jumping is acceptable for stills, of course, as the most important thing is to get to the shot and make it stable, but in video it is distracting.

It may help to enable "mode 2" IS if the lens has it, which tells the lens to stabilize in one axis only (i.e. panning or tilting).

Of course, if the shot doesn't contain panning or tilting, it's fine.

Also, since Canon disabled manual control, it's impossible to have IS and aperture control at the same time.
 
Tom said:
Red One shooting 4K destroys the image quality of the 5D2. The only advantage of 5D2 might be low light, which it does well.
Click to expand...

& Size & weight wich creates new ways of shooting pictures with very small depth of field.

Another camera with other pros and cons...

Patrick
 
shooter said:
Just curious because I haven't tested yet but does the 70-200 L IS on the 5D2 automatically try to maintain focus at whichever focus square selected all the way through the full zoom range when in video record mode? Between the IS and auto focus while zooming and panning that would be a huge advantage over the R1 (or anything else when DOF factored in) in many field shooting situations.

Please advise,

-shooter
Click to expand...

you can turn auto focus on or off in the video mode settings. I recommend off because the auto focus in live view is a joke.

As for the "judder" that daniel spoke of... it makes since but I didn't see it in my testing. I can totally see the IS juddering though if I were to do a crazy tilt or pan.
 
shooter said:
does the 70-200 L IS on the 5D2 automatically try to maintain focus at whichever focus square selected all the way through the full zoom range when in video record mode?
Click to expand...

"English! Do you speak it!?"

It sounds like you're trying to ask two questions: is the lens parfocal, and, if not, does the 5D2 automatically compensate for it's lack of parfocality. The answer to the first is: it depends (on unit-to-unit manufacturing variance). The second is: no.

If you were actually trying to ask something about autofocus, let me say:

  • The autofocus is dumber than snot.
  • It must be activated manually before and/or during the shot.
  • It goes through the entire focus range every time.
  • It is slower than molasses.

In other words, autofocus is completely useless.

Of course, useless features are par for the course when it comes to the 5D2: it only reads one out of three lines on the sensor and everything goes downhill from there.
 
My concern is shooting on a tripod with a 300mm+ lens. If there is any wind at all, I'm getting very shaky footage. I was wondering if IS would help with that. Obviously for static shots it might, but for pans and moves, like following birds through the sky, it sounds like there might be issues with IS. Maybe I should rent a nice, long EF lens with IS and try it.
 
JN,

When you say auto-focus in live view mode is a joke, were you on a tripod with a USM designated lens? That would make a big difference.

I've been researching further and it looks like the lens I need for architectural interiors and landscapes in the new 14mm 2.8L II USM. $2,000 but 19 5-star reviews on B&H.

-shooter
 
yea, auto-focus is unusable when you're recording. Everything goes out of focus, then the lens starts to focus on the subject. You're going to get some sweet shots with that 14mm, but without IS I can't recommend any shooting that's not locked down.

I like Daniel's enthusiasm. :)
 
I wonder if the firmware update will address the line skipping, or if there are simply hardware limitations that would prevent improvement in that respect.
 
I thought I would post a few 5D M2 tricks we have learned.

The main one is related to being able to lock down an f/stop. We have been using older style nikon lenses that have the f/stop ring, using a nikon to canon ring adapter ($25), and then pulling the ball bearing out of the f/stop ring - which allows smooth f/stop ramping.

Editing: I have been converting all my 5D footage to Apple ProRes, (this may all ready be in this thread, I didn't read all the post) FCP has trouble with the H.264 codex and editing ProRes files are a dream compared to 5D H.264 files.

For fast batch converting of files. I'm using MPEG Streamclip (free app) because it has a batch feature and it converts a 5D file to ProRess faster than Compressor will.

For follow focus - we have been using this rig from Zacuto, it rocks and you can purchase it so that it will work with a RED system also.
http://www.zacutoimages.com/p408746338/h33464a9c#h33464a9c

Here is a link to a project that I worked on right when this camera came out, before we had learned all this stuff, but it still cool for a $2700 camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZa2oc1pFn8

cheers
::Chris
 
Tom said:
I wonder if the firmware update will address the line skipping, or if there are simply hardware limitations that would prevent improvement in that respect.
Click to expand...

Hardware limitations are certainly the reason.

Reading the whole sensor is very difficult, but if Canon were to ever get over that mountain, they'll be faced by an even more challenging problem: how to process all that data real-time.

You would think it'd be easy to use binning/resampling to throw away resolution and go from 21 MP to 2 MP. But the Genesis and F35 prove that it takes a lot of power; more than is contained in the 5D2.

Canon doesn't have the option of adding extra hardware. One additional tiny circuit in the camera is fine... two is starting to push it. But several pounds of powerful hardware is out of the question.

I hope Canon is going to leave the kiddie pool at some point and swim in the deep end with the likes of RED.
 
so it's settled daniel browning doesn't like the 5D Mark II and thanks Chris for the MPEG Streamclip tip, I'll give it a try.
 
Tom said:
For wide angle, the Canon EF 16-35 L is a good lens
Click to expand...

Yes, it's an excellent lens. I'd suggest the MKII version of the lens though. There were several improvements in the MKII.

For my DSLR work I have two of the original Canon 5D bodies. I use the 16-35 f2.8 L MKII regularly on them with excellent results. I also use the 70-200 f2.8L IS regularly on the 5D, again with excellent results.
 
Chris Rupert said:
I thought I would post a few 5D M2 tricks we have learned.

The main one is related to being able to lock down an f/stop. We have been using older style nikon lenses that have the f/stop ring, using a nikon to canon ring adapter ($25), and then pulling the ball bearing out of the f/stop ring - which allows smooth f/stop ramping.

Editing: I have been converting all my 5D footage to Apple ProRes, (this may all ready be in this thread, I didn't read all the post) FCP has trouble with the H.264 codex and editing ProRes files are a dream compared to 5D H.264 files.

For fast batch converting of files. I'm using MPEG Streamclip (free app) because it has a batch feature and it converts a 5D file to ProRess faster than Compressor will.

For follow focus - we have been using this rig from Zacuto, it rocks and you can purchase it so that it will work with a RED system also.
http://www.zacutoimages.com/p408746338/h33464a9c#h33464a9c

Here is a link to a project that I worked on right when this camera came out, before we had learned all this stuff, but it still cool for a $2700 camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZa2oc1pFn8

cheers
::Chris
Click to expand...

Chris, how do you guys feel about the 1080p results from the 5D2? Are you seeing any moiré pattern artifacts? Do you think the footage holds up at 1080p?
 
kidrobot said:
Finding subjects to shoot at a 121 degree diagonal angle is another matter.
Click to expand...

I'll regularly use a super wide angle lens for a variety of subjects. Here are a few of those subjects which I regularly use super-wide angle rectilinear (and sometimes fisheyes) lenses to shoot on RED One and my DSLR systems:

Architecture, inside small spaces, underwater subjects, action sports (splash zone water housing shots of surfing, kiteboarding, sailboarding, and Jetski), half pipe snowboarding and skateboarding, mountain biking, and many more sports, certain panoramic scenic and travel shots where I want foreground out to infinity within DOF, certain nature shots, and the list goes on and on and on.

For real mobile shooting of the above subjects on RED One, I now use the Tokina 11-16 f2.8, with the Underdahl Nikon mount - with excellent results. The Canon 10-22 is also a good wide zoom on RED One - Peter already mentioned that - BTW, he bought his 10-22 from me. Both the Tokina 11-16 and Canon 10-22 are for APS-C sized sensors, thus usable on R1, but not on a 5D.

Bottom line: for many subjects I shoot with RED One and my DSLRs, the wider the diagonal angle, the better!
 
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