New Canon slr to shoot 1080p @30fps

[aedipuss]

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/09/canon-5d-mkii-h.html

[SCDVD]

I didn't see anything about it in the release but I wonder if this one has the 5 minute shooting limitation like the Nikon D-90.

EDIT: I take that back. This what the press release says.

The EOS 5D Mark II will record video up to 4GB per clip or a maximum continuous movie capture time of 29 minutes and 59 seconds, whichever comes first. Depending on the level of detail in the scene, a 4GB memory card can record approximately 12 minutes of video at full HD resolution or approximately 24 minutes in standard definition.

It looks like the shooting time ls limited only by the available memory.

It shoots HD at 1920 by 1080 but for some reason it shoots SD at 640 X 480 instead of 720 X 480 - - - Dumb!

The price is crazy. It's $3,500 with a lens. But hopefully competitive forces between the camera manufacturers will drive prices to under $1,000 for a camera with similar features within the next year.

[edDV]

Leo Laporte has been going on about this cam for weeks. Claim to fame is it can use high quality Canon EF lenses. When shot film style, it has high control over depth of field and other lens effects at a small fraction cost of Cinema Video HD cams and lenses. It needs a heavy tripod, has no motorized zoom. Most settings are manual. This isn't a family camcorder.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=17662

[aedipuss]

Leo Laporte has been going on about this cam for weeks. Claim to fame is it can use high quality Canon EF lenses. When shot film style, it has high control over depth of field and other lens effects at a small fraction cost of Cinema Video HD cams and lenses. It needs a heavy tripod, has no motorized zoom. Most settings are manual. This isn't a family camcorder.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&fcategoryid=139&modelid=17662

it may not be a consumer cam, but just think of the possibilities of shooting segments of 1080p with very short depth of field through good glass. sounds like an indies dream cam.

[jagabo]

It looks like the shooting time ls limited only by the available memory.

More likely the 4GB file size limitation of FAT32.

[edDV]

This demo "Reverie" by Vincent Laforêt shows the lens effects this camera can use. It's similar to using a 35mm with back focus. This would be good for shooting commercials.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6usft_canon-eos-5d-mark-ii-reverie-par-vi_creation
http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/

[aedipuss]

This demo "Reverie" by Vincent Laforêt shows the lens effects this camera can use. It's similar to using a 35mm with back focus. This would be good for shooting commercials.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6usft_canon-eos-5d-mark-ii-reverie-par-vi_creation
http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/

nice. considering the streaming video sample is only 337kps 320x180 flv, it looks like a winner. at least for people who already have canon glass. not me unfortunately, i had to go with olympus.....

[SCDVD]

It looks like the shooting time ls limited only by the available memory.

More likely the 4GB file size limitation of FAT32.

I believe you are right but assuming that's the case, one can just plug in a new memory module and keep shooting without the cool down the Nikon D-90 apparently requires. The 5 minute shooting restriction on the D-90 makes it useless for a number of applications. One thing that is appealing about this class of camera is that it can be a good second camera for event shooting. It's depth of field capability can allow for some very creative B-roll footage for example where high flexibility with depth of field can be very useful. A camcorder with this depth of field capability would be VERY expensive.

I wonder how it will perform in low light. If it's really good, it can be very useful for shooting a poorly lit reception for example.

I wonder why SD is limited to 640 X 480 instead of 720 X 480. They certainly aren't limited by pixels on the sensor. They got it right with 1920 X 1080 on HD so why did they blow it on SD? Maybe the camera engineers at Canon need to spend a little time with the camcorder engineers to learn a little more about "video land."

[edDV]

I wonder why SD is limited to 640 X 480 instead of 720 X 480. They certainly aren't limited by pixels on the sensor. They got it right with 1920 X 1080 on HD so why did they blow it on SD? Maybe the camera engineers at Canon need to spend a little time with the camcorder engineers to learn a little more about "video land."

Maybe the chipset is limited to square pixels?

More likely, they are going for a few more seconds to the flash card.

[edDV]

Some full size 1920x1080 frames from “Reverie” are posted at the Canon site.
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2128

Not bad!

[jagabo]

I wonder how it will perform in low light.

As well as the lens you put on it.

[aedipuss]

canon makes some remarkable glass. the 85mm f1.2 and 300mm f2.8 shoot almost in the dark.

[Soopafresh]

The price is crazy. It's $3,500 with a lens. But hopefully competitive forces between the camera manufacturers will drive prices to under $1,000 for a camera with similar features within the next year.

That would be very cool. It'll probably take more than a year to drive the prices way down. There's also the Red Scarlet, which has been delayed due to redesign and is at least a year or more out. Check out the smooth slow motion capabilities of Red.

http://vimeo.com/1340684

[jagabo]

It looks like the shooting time ls limited only by the available memory.

More likely the 4GB file size limitation of FAT32.

I believe you are right but assuming that's the case, one can just plug in a new memory module and keep shooting

Well, it might be a case of it only having 4GB of memory because the most they can put in one file is 4GB.

[yoda313]

It looks like the shooting time ls limited only by the available memory.

More likely the 4GB file size limitation of FAT32.

I believe you are right but assuming that's the case, one can just plug in a new memory module and keep shooting

Well, it might be a case of it only having 4GB of memory because the most they can put in one file is 4GB.

Why would there be a fat32 limit in this day and age????

Is that a limit of memory cards? Aren't there any flash cards that can be formatted with NTFS???

[jagabo]

Why would there be a fat32 limit in this day and age????

Is that a limit of memory cards? Aren't there any flash cards that can be formatted with NTFS???

NTFS requires a licen$e from Microsoft. Every device that uses flash uses FAT32. You can format NTFS but most devices won't read it.

[yoda313]

NTFS requires a licen$e from Microsoft. Every device that uses flash uses FAT32. You can format NTFS but most devices won't read it.
------------------------------------

Thanks for the info....

any open source version of ntfs?

[edDV]

Some open source Linux can read NTFS but not save.

[lordsmurf]

If you want a video camera, buy a video camera.

[edDV]

It would be more impressive it it did 1080p 59.94 fps instead of 29.97. As is it needs a tripod.

I was under the impression it was shooting MJPEG frames but this spec sheet says it is actually

"Recording format: MOV
Video: H.264 [MPEG-4 AVC]
Sound: Linear PCM"
http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=2066&productID=249...icleTypeID=125

Now we need to see how it handles motion and here we go with the AVC editing issues again.

[DarrellS]

If you want a video camera, buy a video camera.

I agree.

This is an awesome digital SLR though. Wish I could afford one.

[jagabo]

Fifty years from now people will look back and think it weird that there once were separate devices for capturing still vs. moving images.

[yoda313]

Fifty years from now people will look back and think it weird that there once were separate devices for capturing still vs. moving images.

I'm amazed we're that close right now Jagabo. Not quite but certainly for the "youtube" geneartion these point-and-clicks with video are "good enough" for that.

Obviously not anywhere near decent quality that we'd want to preserve for important stuff but the combined video/pics cameras available now are good enough for pick up shoots for spontaneous stuff....

[lordsmurf]

If you want a video camera, buy a video camera.

I agree.
This is an awesome digital SLR though. Wish I could afford one.

It's nice, but hardly awesome. Want awesome? Try the Nikon D3.
Open to other brands? Try a Leica MF-DSLR.

[SCDVD]

The still/video combo camera is a category of camera that is interesting to a lot of people. Red is introducing one later in 2009 http://gizmodo.com/5048028/red-confirms-dslr-says-its-bigger-revolution-than-red-one I suspect that over the next year, we will see a number of product introductions from the camera manufacturers.

Personally, this type of camera is interesting as a second camera. I prefer a camcorder as my primary video camera but a video capable DSLR is a flexible choice that extends shooting possibilities.

[edDV]

The still/video combo camera is a category of camera that is interesting to a lot of people. Red is introducing one later in 2009 http://gizmodo.com/5048028/red-confirms-dslr-says-its-bigger-revolution-than-red-one I suspect that over the next year, we will see a number of product introductions from the camera manufacturers.

Personally, this type of camera is interesting as a second camera. I prefer a camcorder as my primary video camera but a video capable DSLR is a flexible choice that extends shooting possibilities.

Just remember these have no motorized zoom, no anti-shake, short record times, difficult AVC editing and need a laptop to dump the flash cards. These cameras are only practical when used with a tripod.

[SCDVD]

Just remember these have no motorized zoom, no anti-shake, short record times, difficult AVC editing and need a laptop to dump the flash cards. These cameras are only practical when used with a tripod.

When I shoot weddings for example, I generally use three cameras. All three are usually on tripods. In most cases even when I need to move, I move the camera while it is still on the tripod. During the ceremony, having two other cameras on tripod running makes it easy to move because you aren't confined by the need to have every minute of footage on any given camera usable.

Even though a video recording DSLR could be one of the cameras running on a tripod during the ceremony, that isn't what interests me about ways that a video DSLR can be used. They don't offer anything uniquely useful for this application. The two things that appeal to me are the potential uses for creative B-roll footage and very low light receptions. In particular, the control over depth of field is much greater with a DSLR than on a camcorder except very high-end (expensive) ones. This allows more latitude for B-roll shoots that take advantage of this. The other is low light applications such as the reception. Most of the time I have my camera on a tripod during the reception. If it is dimly lit, THE most important factor is low light performance, not what shape the camera is on the tripod. I will look at the reviews on these camera as they appear to see how well they perform in actual low light situations. I'm not ready to buy one yet but I am going to keep a close eye on them to evaluate if I can use one in my "toolbox."

[edDV]

I've shot a few weddings and use a similar tripod mounted B-Roll cam for wide cover shots. I also use the continuous run B-cam to record house audio and the wireless "Preacher" Mic. The immediate issue I see is the short record times for these flash media cams. 20 min just won't do it while you are down on the floor getting the hand held shots. You need to let this thing run at least an hour. Also it lacks any pro audio features so like with a Bolex 35mm, you need separate audio and a way to audio sync.

So forget 2nd cam duty. It may work for beauty shots but not as a workhorse.

[SCDVD]

It may work for beauty shots but not as a workhorse.

That says it pretty well. When I say B-roll footage, I'm referring to venue shots that range from shots with doorways, flowers, bushes or whatever as framing elements. Depth of field control can be useful with these types of shots. Most of these shots are done before the wedding or in the in-between times. "Beauty Shots" is a good description of these. But those damn low light receptions - If a DSLR can "see better", that can be very useful.

[CogoSWSDS]

FWIW, the Pentax K-x looks like a good DSLR for those on a budget capable of shooting high-def video - 1280x720 (okay so it's not quite full-res but it is a valid HD resolution) in 24p. It uses MJPEG compression on the video and gets you anywhere from 11 to 23 minutes in 4GB (no AVC issues, and no difficult to work with MOV files as it uses AVI!). I still have some Pentax glass from back in the film days and this camera is capable of using it. You can use every Pentax lens ever made going back to 1975 (some features don't work on older lenses, obviously) and with an adapter every Pentax lens ever made going back to 1952. Nikon and possibly Leica are the only camera manufacturers other than Pentax that didn't abandon their old Manual Focus lens mounts.

DPReview has a favorable review of this camera at http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/pentaxkx/ (video section starts on page 20) and I've also seen several other favorable reviews of it on the net too. The review at DPReview also has short video clips in the original MJPEG format, and to me they look amazing. Probably not so good for shooting concerts or events where you need every single second of video you can get, but it looks like it will meet my needs. Now just have to come up with the $$$.

CogoSWSDS