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 Canon5D MarkII
Hottest
body in town?
By Robert Render Harrison
Digital still cameras have been
shooting short bursts of low-res video for several years now. Staring
at my Canon 20D a few years back, I mused, “wouldn’t it
be nice if you could maintain a sustained 24 frames a second.”
Shooting fast enough, a digital still camera would morph into a video
camera, right? And now they do.
Leading the field, is the 22.1
Megapixel, full-frame (24x36mm) sensor Canon 5D MarkII, which shoots
1080/30p — a still camera scarcely larger than Canon’s
prosumer 30D/40D/50D digital SLRs. Eagerly adopted by indie wannabes
as well as seasoned movie industry shooters, people are blown away by
the imagery.
And if you shoot it right, the
potential is awesome.
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Keep the camera very
steady, or move it smoothly in one direction. Better yet, use a
tripod or Steadicam. Forget ‘shaky cam’ - you’ll
beat the refresh rate of the rolling shutter, and get the wobblies,
aka the ‘jello’ effect.
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Clips last up to 29 minutes
50 seconds max; you need a 16GB card. Two such clips on 32GB card.
Four-gigabyte cards shoot 7-12 minutes, depending on the amount of
movement being compressed (as in more is less).
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Use ND filters and low ISO
to keep apertures fairly wide.
I asked a video cameraman, “does
this sound like filmmaking to you?” “No!” he said.
I asked a film shooter the same question. “Sounds a lot like
shooting film to me!” he said.
All things considered, I don’t
recommend a digital SLR for a long form, run-and-gun documentary. But
if you desire the ‘film look’ of narrow depth of field
(actually, even less depth of field, since the sensor is twice as big
as a 35mm frame), great resolution and color, and you love being a
pioneer in a new world (like our contributor Jim Livesey) be prepared
to shoot in your bare feet, because the image quality will knock your
socks off!
The 5D MarkII is opening a new
door for indies. This camera costs $2,700; add mattebox and follow
focus, and a few good primes — maybe $10,000 and you’re
set. (As with all new technology, you’ll want to check
constantly for the latest ‘fixes’ and new accessories).
Choose Zeiss or Nikon manual lenses, or Canon ‘L’ series.
In major cities, you can likely rent Canon or Nikon lenses for about
$15-20 a day, and a 5D MarkII for $175.
Links to more stunning footage captured with the 5D Mark II:
Aboard a great Australian adventure cruise boat
vimeo.com/4685373
Gorgeous time-lapse sequence
vimeo.com/3101098
Straight out of the 5D
vimeo.com/4038064
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