Professional video maker with canon Eos 500D and Canon EOS 5D Mark ll
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Commercial photographer Vincent Laforet just moved to L.A. to embark on a new career as a director of photography on movies.
But he won't be using a video camera for his efforts. Instead, he plans on shooting everything on a digital SLR (single-lens reflex) camera — the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, which takes both stills and video.
Working with one of the new hybrid stills-plus-video cameras — two were just released — "is one of the most dramatic things to happen in the history of video," says Laforet, a former Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times staff photographer. "Now, for a small investment, you can shoot videos that look as good as (shooting) film with motion-picture equipment that sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars."
But to get there, you must be willing to put in considerably more effort than you would with a standard video camera, add several expensive tools to your bag and learn how to shoot video in an entirely new way.
For the consumer or pro looking for a good general-purpose digital SLR that takes great photos — and high-definition video — Canon and Nikon are happy to fit the need.
The Japanese camera giants started the hybrid SLR movement last year with the $999 Nikon D90 and $2,799 Canon 5D Mark II. They recently brought prices down to consumer levels with the debuts of the $749 Nikon D5000 and $799 Canon EOS Rebel T1i.
The Rebel shoots high-definition video at 720p resolution, 30 frames per second, compared with higher-resolution 1080p/30 frames per second video on the pricier 5D. Nikon's video on both models is the same: 720p video at 24 frames per second.
SLR has an advantage
Consumers have been able to shoot video on their point-and-shoot cameras for years, and many offer decent quality. The advantage of an SLR is that the imaging chip is much larger, producing dramatically sharper video. Additionally, instead of the cheap lenses offered on point-and-shoots, with an SLR you can choose among many high-quality, interchangeable lenses.
Switch to a wide angle, for instance, to bring in a more cinematic big view — or a telephoto for an ultra close-up.
To shoot video on the SLRs, you'll access the "live view" function, which locks up the camera mirror and lets you compose directly on the LCD — as you do with point-and-shoot cameras.
But trying to focus via the LCD is tougher to do accurately than with a point-and-shoot and, in bright sunlight, a real challenge.
A tip: The 5D and T1 have 10x magnifying features on the back of the camera to check the focus for better accuracy.
Other tools you'll need:
•Tripod. If you want your video to look professional, you'll need a tool no pro would be without: a tripod. Camera shake is much more noticeable on still cameras than video cameras, which have built-in vibration-reduction systems. Additionally, the controls for shooting video on the still cameras are on the back, and you'll be reaching for them while shooting, which produces even more shake.
•Video monitor. Here's how to get around the bright light on the LCD situation and the tough focus, says Laforet: Pick up a small video monitor. Most people won't do it — they start at around $1,000 — but the option is out there, if you want it.
•Microphone. Internal microphones are generally quite poor. If you want decent sound, you'll need to spring for a mike. Unfortunately, only the 5D has a slot for an external mike. The T1, D90 and D5000 have tiny, tinny internal mikes.
What else you need to know:
•Storage. You shoot video directly onto memory cards; the cameras have different limits for times. You can shoot clips of up to 12 minutes on the 5D, 18 minutes on the T1 and five minutes for the Nikon D90 and D5000. Invest in a high-performance 8-gigabyte card ($30 to $50), and you can shoot up to 24 minutes of video on one card for the 5D or 36 minutes on the T1. If you're looking to use one of these models for a wedding or school play, it's probably not the best choice, unless you're willing to live with small gaps, because the clips will time out and you'll have to start recording again.
Recently, Canon upgraded its firmware for the 5D to answer a request from many photographers: You can now set the exposure on your videos manually. Before, it was automatic. For the T1 and the Nikon cameras, the exposure settings are still automatic.
Yes, shooting on video this way presents a challenge, but "These are not passive cameras," says Laforet. "If you're going on vacation and want average video, bring along a video camera. But if you're a photographer who wants to bring an artistic flair to your videos, this is a worthwhile investment. You can get stuff that looks like what you see on TV."
Laforet got into making videos when he picked up the new 5D Mark II last fall. He shot a two-minute video, Reverie, to see what the camera could do.
He shot it in the middle of the night with extremely low light. That would be hard to pick up with a video camera, but because the sensor chips in the 5D are so much larger, it produced filmlike images that wowed folks.
His film became an Internet sensation, attracting 3 million views to his SmugMug site in the first week alone, and he got so much acclaim for it, he decided to move to the West Coast for a new career.
"What happened was just amazing," he says. "And all from word of mouth."
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