Something Very Interesting is coming…both to this blog and to our industry
COPYRIGHT LAFORET VISUALS INC. DO NOT COPY *(See Note at the end of this article)
I had it in my hands for less than 72 hours before I had to send it back – but the time I did have with a prototype of the Canon EOS 5D MKII will possibly change the path of my career as well as the photography industry to some degree.
(The video that will be released very shortly (to be notified when it does go live – go ahead and subscribe to this blog via RSS or e-mail…) I’ll announce it here soon – the main hold up is the large file size of the video – and finding a host for it… if only 100 people hit the video – we’ll hit 9 Gigabytes of streamed video… and that’s with the video that is downsized to 960 x 540 (which is 1/4 of 1080p!) in the Apple H.264 format from the full resolution 1080p RAW footage… the RAW footage that comes out of this camera is STUNNING – so much so that the entire video was cut with the RAW footage – untouched… in any way – no color, noise or exposure adjustment whatsoever… the images you are seeing on this blog – are frame grabs off of the video – those frame grabs were downsized from 1920 pixels wide to 700 pixels wide to fit the page width of this blog – and absolutely NOTHING was done to them either in Aperture/Photoshop or any other software. Also – the image above was shot with a 45mm tilt-shift lens)
Here is the story behind the short video that I produced with what I believe to be a “game changer”of a camera for the following reasons:
1. The 5D MKII camera produces the best stills in low light that I’ve ever seen – what you can see with you eye in the worst light (such as sodium-vapor street lights at 3 a.m. in Brooklyn) – this camera can capture it with ease.
2. It produces the best video in low light that I’ve ever seen – at 1080p. A top commercial film editor who who regularly edits RED camera footage – and has seen the raw footage from the 5D MKII – says the 5D MKII is “far superior to the RED camera” in terms of low light performance…
3. You can use your prime and zoom lenses from your Canon still cameras with it – and shoot wide open… so you can shoot films with fisheye lenses, 50mm 1.2 as well as the 200mm f2 or 400mm 2.8 that you may already own…
4. This camera is so easy to use – that you can work incredibly quickly, mostly handheld – without a huge production – and using natural light – ergo you don’t need a huge budget and tons of preparation anymore… forget the lighting trucks and generators that take up entire city blocks…
5. This camera will sell for approx. $2,700 – and perform better than many $100K plus video cameras out there…
6. Photojournalists in particular – will be able to take full advantage of this camera’s strengths – because they are used to walking into any room, and finding the best natural “available light” in the room – or knowing how to add a single light source to make it pop… they are used to working quickly and with small or no budgets… which is something this camera is begging you to do…
It has the potential to change our industry.
COPYRIGHT LAFORET VISUALS INC. DO NOT COPY. *(See Note at the end of this article)
Here’s a little more of the back story behind this video:
You should know that there was ZERO pre-planning with this project – and that it was done entirely independently from Canon.
While I had anticipated a replacement to the Canon EOS 5D – I had not heard any solid information from anyone. I went to Canon last Friday for lunch with Canon’s David Sparer – it had been more than 6 months since my last visit to the HQ (I am a Canon Explorer of Light – one of the photographers that works with them on making better cameras etc …)
Talk about good timing.
As I walked into the office – I caught a glimpse of a certain type of “box” – one that can only mean one thing… a prototype camera was in the midst…
People were also looking at me in an odd way, slowing their motions.
You see, as I was walking in, they were literally about to unpack the first few prototypes to land in the U.S. – for the very first time.
Someone quickly showed me aside into a cubicle where a blank NDA – a “Non-Disclosure Agreement” – was awaiting my signature… i.e. whatever I was about to see – was secret. After signing I was told:
“These are the prototypes of the Canon 5D MKII” they are the first to land in the U.S. – it can shoot high-definition 1080p video – at 30 fps, and it shoots 21 Megapixel still images. We haven’t had a chance to play with them yet.”
Wow.
We quickly started to work with one of the cameras – to see what the video format was in… at that point – no one even knew what exact video format the camera would produce (things change during the production of a camera…) It produces Apple’s Quicktime .mov files btw – simply copy them off of your CF Cards – double click on them – and they open up in the Quicktime player w/o a single hiccup at 1080p… Drop them into Final cut pro and start your edit… no rendering is necessary. Oh – and realize that it took us less than 20 minutes to copy over more than 12 hours of footage off of the CF cards…
I was amazed at the video quality. I knew right away that this camera would be a success – and that this was something big – I felt that this was something that had the potential to change this industry.
I then found out that these cameras were about to be shipped to a select group of photographers – and that they could not use the in public until the camera was announced… so these cameras would stay dormant for five more days…
“Can I try one out?” I asked.
“No. Sorry.”
Then came lunch. And I made my pitch to David: Allow me to borrow just one of these cameras over the weekend – and I’ll ship it off on Monday to the “chosen” photographer it was destined to go to. They weren’t going to be allowed to take them out into public prior to the big announcement anyway…
COPYRIGHT LAFORET VISUALS INC. DO NOT COPY.*(See Note at the end of this article)
He was interested with the idea – but he was experiencing more doubt than interest – as getting this little “project” off the ground would mean getting through a LOT of RED TAPE within a very short period…
As we returned to the Canon offices – my heart was beating fast – my mind was racing. If I do get this camera I asked myself, what on earth will I be able to shoot with it?
A few nerve-wrecking minutes later – I had my answer:
“You can borrow it for the weekend. You can then produce a video and stills completely independently from Canon U.S.A. If you produce anything interesting we just might be interested in using some of the footage on our website – we’ll talk about that then if that happens. We have no budget to offer you – so you are doing this completely independently from Canon. Deal?”
DEAL.
The problem was: I had no idea what to shoot. The weather forecast for the weekend was poor. It was Friday afternoon and I had a job that night – as well as on the Wednesday of the following week – and I had to get the camera shipped out on Monday…
Not to mention: I have never shot a film before – of any kind – in my life. (Other than 2 videos that I have cut of my son in the past 4 years of his life…)
My mind was racing, I was sweating and my heart was pounding. I was like a kid in a candy store unable to make up his mind on what treat to choose…
In the end – this video was shot with less than 12 hours of pre-production – from the time I got the camera to the time we shouted “Action.”
The budget I set for myself was around $5,000 total – which included $2,000 for a one hour helicopter flight over the city. The short film was shot over two nights – from 5 p.m. to 4 a.m. – with two models, three assistants, a co-director, one editor, and one makeup artist. Both video and still imagery. Along with behind the scenes footage.
Oh – and did I mention we only had ONE battery? (We had to plan on constantly re-charging that one battery throughout the shoot…)
It was shot with 100% still photography equipment (lenses, grip/mounts, and a single Profoto 7b battery strobe pack (the strobe wasn’t used – just the modeling light))- with the exception of an expensive video tripod and head, and an LED light…
If you can’t see how this can all be done in such a short period of time, with zero pre-production, not a single filming or location permit, and on such a small budget – you are missing one of the main reasons this camera is a “Game Changer.”
This camera is the ultimate “equalizer” – you no longer need half-million dollar’s worth of high definition video cameras and lenses delivered by a truck with its own driver to shoot a high definition film in low light – you just need a $2,700 camera and a few lenses – and talented and dedicated friends that you can call on last minute at the drop of a hat.
Everyone has been waiting for the video camera that can also take stills… here’s a still camera that can shoot stunning video.
This is a leap of change that is sped up – it’s happening overnight.
The video or “short film” or whatever you want to call it – will be up as soon as humanly possible (in this case it’s technologically actually – not humanly.) More details to come…. we’re also putting the finishing touches on a behind the scenes video that shows just exactly how this was done…
These are EXCITING TIMES!
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[...] Digital photography by Vincent Laforet [...]
Not to beat a dead horse or anything, but who called this out?
Years ago.
Interesting how yesterday’s heresy often becomes tomorrow’s truth..
interesting how that works.
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marc Reply:
January 23rd, 2009 at 6:24 am
@Patrick Yen,
Was it called or not ???
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Who called it out years ago? I know that Coppola predicated something like this happening years down the line in the 70′s…
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This is great, can’t wait to see the vid. I have been reading the info on the 5DMKII and was debating on if it would be a needed investment over the original, but after this it seems like a no-brainer.
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The fatal flaw of the D90 video mode is that it has rolling shutter lag, which makes the scene look like it was made of jelly when you pan the camera. Did Canon address this shortcoming?
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The panning looks great – no problems. Didn’t notice any problems at all in the footage…
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Julie Flavin Reply:
January 4th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
@Vincent Laforet, you are the bomb! I live in Oregon and just had massive flooding and destruction at our house. Can I come to NY and carry your camera equipment to help you????????
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Thanks for the article!
How did you find the shutter lag and focusing? Is it as sluggish as the original 5D?
Hopefully they’ll come up with something full frame between $2700 and the $7800 1DS.
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I didn’t notice any shutter lag – but truth be told – I had such little time with the camera that when I was shooting any still pictures – it was in the middle of my shooting a video clip – I wanted to show that both could be done w / the same lens, lighting and position etc. And the “lag” never came into play… The camera does momentarily pause of course when you take a picture – but it takes right back up after the picture taking is done and keeps rolling…
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Specifically, a more recent example from early January 2006:
Gonzo Photojournalism Manifesto v0.89..
“III) Approach
A) We believe in producing shortform documentary style videos for internet and mobile distribution
that combine the use of video, stills, and audio interview
instead of the traditonal approach of using written word and stills in print journalism.”
“V) Equipment of the Future: Today
D) Small, less-intrusive cameras that can do it all are the future of journalism”
As for the specific prediction of DSLR HD video cameras,
I used to talk about that years ago, all the time in class at WKU
when I was still working on my New Media Photojournalism degree.
I’m sure others predicted it,
but I was adamant about it being the future. Nobody would listen to me.
Of course, that’s back when people were still married to print.
Here we are now. Hindsight being 20/20.
Yesterday’s heresy is tomorrow’s truth.
Other people can vouch for this.
Though, my predictions and philosophies are nothing compared to Tesla.
Tesla called out the internet over a hundred years ago.
On another note, my evangelical advocacy for multimedia
appears to be further legitimized by current market forces:
The Supply and Demand of Text vs. Multimedia Content
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Teaser shots look absolutely fantastic. Q: What were your impressions of high-ISO stills compared to previous 5D / other cameras? Some people have talked about default noise reduction ‘smearing’ some of the details. Hope you share your lighting information and tips once you post the video!! The lighting looks phenomenal!
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Mhhhh… maybe I should not discard this camera right away after all. Can’t wait to see the movie !
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Just upload the damn clip to vimeo.com and let them eat the bandwith!
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I would love to see your settings! Just gotta know what the ISO is.
THanks
-T
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[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThis camera is the ultimate “equalizer” – you no longer need half-million dollar high definition video cameras and lenses delivered by a truck with its own driver to shoot a high definition film in low light – you just need a $2700 … [...]
Jean – I shot one still with a 400mm 2.8 of a silhouette of a woman…. a beautiful woman – a model – and you could literally count the hairs on her face in a full head profile… at 3200 ASA -with close to ZERO noise… this camera is STUNNING – I’m not throwing around expletives needlessly here…
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All stills were shot between 1600 ASA and 3200 ASA… you are not seeing stills here… you’re seeing frame grabs off of video…
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The thing that bumms me out is the exact same thing that you are loving about this…. VIDEO
Don’t get me wrong, i’ve seen the videos and I am amazed. but VIDEO?
The pitch I hear is that all of the PJ’s were asking for video. BUt I do not know one PJ that relies on the 5d. I do know several that own 5d’s but none that use it as a primary.
IMO the core market has been the Wedding and small shop portrait shooters. The think that i have heard time and time and time again from those people (my colleagues) is. Fix the af ( i get 7:10 images out of focus at 1.2-2.2) give us a little more fps, better high iso (thank you canon)
But at the end of the day it seems like Canon missed the mark. Not with the video they added, but the features that video cannibalized that actual core shooters of this cam are desperately wanting
I am hoping to be proved wrong as i have preordered 2 already
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Here is the finished manifesto, by the way..
Can You Argue With A Question?
circa Christmas 2006.
The unfinished manifesto prior to that, but after the GonzoPJ manifesto, can be read here..
Global Journalism Manifesto (Beta)
circa October 2006..
“visual communication is the most universally and globally accessible form of communication
compositions which can be
seen
heard
felt
and interacted with
can be more powerful and intimate than compositions
which can only be seen or read
strong visual communication skills are the foundation for
effective and stimulating multimedia storytelling”
The finished manifesto, Can You Argue With A Question, is politically neutral.
Because questions are politically neutral, as compared to statements.
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This sounds and looks incredible, I can’t wait to see what you guys produced…
Incredible that you put this all together so fast and with only 1 battery!
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can you change shutter speed while shooting video? did you have full manual control while shooting video? I cant find that information anywhere
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Very cool. Thank you so much for sharing. Now just tell Canon to make sure off center AF works good and I am all set!
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Eric Cotter – you will not be disappointed… I can tell you that w/o any reservation… if you shoot sports or high action stuff where you need bigger buffers and more fps. then you’ll be eagerly waiting a 1D series camera – but not too eagerly… and it’s only a time before a “big brother” of this camera comes out – they obviously won’t allow their flagship 1D market to disappear… when will that be? I’ve gotten ZERO indication… but I can tell you that I won’t wait for that camera to come out… I’ve already pre-ordered not one, not two but FOUR of these cameras.
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icha Reply:
October 16th, 2008 at 7:33 am
Owh.. i thought 5D MK II is already allround camera remembering the high buck we spent to get the camera.
I didnt know for just get the sports or high action stuff we need to look for another higher models..
Is there any camera that we can get anything with about $2,600, including fast action shots, more focus points ?
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I like how your definition of “small budget” includes a $2000 helicopter ride
Looking forward to the video!
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Sarin – I believe the Shutter speed can be set to either 1/60th or 1/125th…. and I’m unclear as to whether or not you can lock the exposure down in manual… I didn’t think you could – but have since heard that you can by pressing the asterisk down on the back of the camera… I set that to my AF button as I always do – so I may have missed it… once the video starts to roll – you can change the exposure w the back control dial mid way. Exposure wasn’t a problem for 95% of my shots (in fact this camera is the best “point and shoot” camera I’ve ever used… just click and go… don’t worry about the technical “irritations” I’m not sure what they did at Canon to make it so…) – out of all of the shots in the final video – only two showed signs of needing to lock down the exposure due to change in light (and we’re talking of severe changes mind you such as full night to high-beam headlights…) – mind you… these prototypes don’t come with a manual… no documentation at all in fact…
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Alex – compared to a motion picture or even a 30 second commercial video shoot … $5K is peanuts… or peanut shells to be more accurate…
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I can not believe you shot this with no light! Incredible!
That’s something i’m really waiting for!
Post this video Vincent! I can’t wait to see it!
Thanks a lot and keep writing!
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Alexandre – I did shoot it w/ one light source – 1 Pro 7B pack (a still camera battery pack strobe – w no strobe being used – just the “modeling” light) with either a beauty dish or head w/ reflector – or 1 LED light source for the helo and car scenes… I did mention that in the post… those lights were powered all the way down to not exceed the ambient light though (the idea was not to “flood” the natural light out as we’re so used to doing… instead it was to add a little touch of more carefully angled light… to the existing ambient light) – so we’re talking really LOW LIGHT – such a sodium-vapor lights in Brooklyn – you just normally CAN’T SHOOT in that light period… mostly because of the horrible color cast.. this camera did.
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[...] Re: Canon 5D MKII vs 1Ds MKIII Glowing report here for 5D MKII. Will wait to see quality of video & for Mark to eat his hat Vincent Laforet’s Blog [...]
I’m surprised there are so many negative comments about the video aspect of ‘the II.’ If you don’t need it or want it, ignore it, just like the Print button.
What you’re left with is this:
1DsMkIII image quality. But, better. And, better at high ISOs.
Imagine that. When i had a 5D, i was a bit envious of the 1DsIII’s file size. You now have that in a compact body. For $2700.
The 5D was a great camera. Still is. The AF isn’t 1D or D3 quality. It never was. Somehow, it didn’t seem to matter when it was THE hot camera. Somehow, even before there ever was autofocus, photographers shot horseracing, formula 1 races, football, what have you. Now, all of a sudden, we whine about Canon not producing a camera that allows idiots and newbies to accomplish the same things that it used to require skill to do.
Any AF is a bonus. If you need to shoot sports for a living, you don’t need 21MP, and you have a choice of another Canon camera.
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what about sound? was recorded on the spot with camera or done in post production?
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Vince,
“Big brother” hmmm is that 1D Mark IV ?.
TIA,
John
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way to go vincent!!!
eagerly waiting for your video!!!
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Thanks for the info and now sleepless nights
.
I second the put it up on Vimeo.com comment. It’s like a HD version of youtube. It’s totally free and can handle the bandwidth. You can even choose to let people download the uncompressed file if you like and that comes off of their bandwidth.
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John – I have not idea what it will be called or when it will be released… remember: I did not know about the 5D MKII until 8 days ago… so when I hear about the big brother… you will too… maybe 8 days later though
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Iso – there is a headphone in Jack… the sound from the camera is ok – but you’ll have to use an external mic for any good audio or lav… anyone who shoots video will confirm that I’m sure…
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Zeke – we’re looking into all of our options – including vimeo… here’s the issue – given that 1,200 have visited this blog since this post was made live less than an hour ago… that means that 106 GB of data would have been shared from a server were it the video… I think it’s safe to assume that at least 12,000 will see this video – heck perhaps even 120,000 people… that number would mean that (someone would have to pay for) 10.56 TERABYTES of info to go streaming out into the ether… so I know about Vimeo and many others – and NON will support that flow…So this is not some nifty way of “watering” your mouths… it’s a serious technical issue we have to figure out… we don’t want the video link to go dead within the first hours of it going live…
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vincent, why dont you ask canon to host the video???
like you said in the post, they were eager to take the material you come up with right!!!
The wait is stretching me thin….
Looking at the screen grabs from the video, the camera’s technology and your artistry… Man i gotta see the video!!!!
Thanks for your time and effort in doing this!!!
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yes, i was refering to mic jack, what else, hehe.
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What about distributing the video trough a free BitTorrent solution like Vuze?
http://www.vuze.com/
http://faq.vuze.com/
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As a staffer for a daily newspaper that requires I shoot video for nearly every assignment, in addition to stills… this is one of the most encouraging things I’ve read. I will definitely be buying one.
Also, Vincent, do you see video production becoming something you do on a regular basis when on assignment?
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Rajkumar… I have asked Canon to host the video.. and they are looking into it…. making a multi-national company turn on a dime is not easy… so patience is key… I’d love nothing more than to share it… we’re working on it full steam …
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adrian mctiernan Reply:
December 4th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THE MOVIE – but don’t want to spend hours downloading the thing.
We have recordable DVD’s, so why not put the film on a DVD, and just send them out by post – at a reasonable price, of course – I would buy one, just to see what all the comments are about. I asked Hasselblad for some pix, and they sent me a CD with shots on it – unfortunately, it was someone in the office who took the shots, and most dull weather pix too. Again, I asked Peartree to send me some from the new 60 megapixel back, and they promised, but nothing after 2 weeks or so. Please, can you put the film on a DVD and post me one?
If you can, I will send the money and my address – hope to hear soon, looks stunning – just what I want.
Regards
Adrian McTiernan
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Max – I don’t plan on shooting a single assignment solely with stills ever again… shooting video with is camera over the weekend ranks up there as one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my career… I can’t wait to get my hands on this camera again…
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vincent, thanks again.
its just that your blog post is much more effective than the canons moon teaser campaign.
yes. patience is the key… i agree..
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Also Max – the quality of this video is so high – that I see you pulling stills from it – and not needing to shoot still unless there are special circumstances ( i.e. you need to run the image vertically on a cover… or you need to stop fast action such as sports) That is unless you can set this camera to faster than 1/125th of a second in terms of video shutter speed… heck you may be able to… I just don’t know… and we shot only at night so I didn’t test it out for that… remember: they didn’t give me a manual (at Canon) and hadn’t had a chance to play with it themselves prior to letting me leave the building with it…
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[...] Vincent Laforet has a very, very interesting post up about the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. It features the first shots from the camera, and while they are stunning in their own right (Vincent shoots some of the best photos on the planet, so no surprise there), the most amazing thing is that they’re shot while in video mode. That’s right. They’re straight from the RAW .mov file that the camera produces when recording 1080p video. Simply astounding. I’m getting one. Hands down. [...]
Hey Vincent,
Great job. Looks like you (and Canon) have caused quite a stir. Can’t wait to see the video!
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Sounds like bittorrent would be suitable?
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Jonny – thought about that too. But this is video from a prototype camera… and no company in the world would allow people to download a file to their hard drives and analyze data from a prototype camera… and given that this prototype’s footage is flawless… I’m kinda scared to see what the final production model can do! That’s the other issue…
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Really jaw dropping that these images where OUT OF THE VIDEO!!!!!!! Just incredible!
“Any AF is a bonus. If you need to shoot sports for a living, you don’t need 21MP, and you have a choice of another Canon camera.”
I second that!
Thanks Vincent
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I have very good experience with MiniNova and their content distribution system for large files. We published 2 GB worth of Nikon D90 test clips on MiniNova. As an official torrent from The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Absolutely no problems.
Please let me know if you want some help distributing the clip. If you don’t like MiniNova I can also help you put it on Amazon S3 using BitTorrent. That helped our company distributing 120 000 files of 700 MB each. Terrabytes of data and a total bill of a couple of hundred dollars…
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OK. Just read your last comment. Seems like you’re not allowed to put it on BitTorrent. Because you don’t want people to download it…
Ok. How about Vimeo.com, they provide HD quality browser based Flash video.
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eirikso…. please check back in the comments section… all conventional venues of distribution has been explored and assessed as unusable because of size/traffic/prototype status of the video…
Vincent, can you tell us waht format the final video is in???
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eirkso – I’m not the one that doesn’t want it to be downloaded… Canon Japan is… I don’t think there’s anything to worry about… given how amazing the quality of the video is that comes straight out of the camera – I frankly can’t understand it – but I have to respect it. They respected me enough to lend me the camera… so I need to do it the right way… so that I get a chance of ever doing it again… make sense?
Whatever I do – I need to get it cleared by Canon… theses posts help put the pressure on them – and to let them know there is a real appetite to get this video out there… so pls keep visiting – send links to friends – AND POST COMMENTS… I can forward it to them… I am not running any ads on this blog – so it’s not like I ‘m asking you to do this to drive up income…;) We need to put the pressure on!!!! Once I find a good solution – they still need to give me final clearance…
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This is sounding very interesting, I have to say I really didn’t want to start with the whole video thing at weddings, but perhaps this is going to be the way forward mixing the stills and video together.
Did you try handholding the camera for video, Im interested if it can still produce the goods then or if its going to be tripod mounted, also what is the focusing like for tracking movement in video mode.
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Vincent,
Thanks for the great article!
Could you control the ISO and Aperture for the video? Also, how is the contrast based AF for video? Is it usable or too slow?
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I am truly impressed! Can’t wait to see the video footage. The stills look fantastic! Thanks for a great blog btw!
http://terjeaalrust.blogspot.com/
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Second the question about the tripod. Also how quickly can you change from video to stills and back again?
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From your perspective, this camera seems like something that I am really really looking forward to upgrading to. Is there anything you wished they had in it or did better?
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[...] agree with Vincent Laforet. This camera is a game changer: 1. The 5D MKII camera produces the best stills in low light that [...]
Vincent, I noticed your comment:
“The camera does momentarily pause of course when you take a picture – but it takes right back up after the picture taking is done and keeps rolling…”
Are you talking msec here or what time frame?
CANON! WE NEED TO SEE THIS CLIP NOW! Please.
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Andy – I handheld the camera for 90% of my shots… so you’ll be fine.
Stephen – you can control the Aperture – my understanding is the ISO changes to compensate for light – but I’m not going to make too many such comments until I read a manual!!! The AF based AF is slower than normal AF of course…it works well in normal to low light – and didn’t have time to test it in low light (didn’t even know there were different “modes” to try it with) – but given that I was shooting almost everything at f2 or f2.8 – I used the 10X liveview to do the focusing on every shot… the results were darn good…
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Ted – honestly no… I think we’ll want to be able to zoom w/ our lenses the same way we do w/ video at some point…i.e.. w/ a back button with W/T on it… that way you have the chance to do it manually or automatically…
Thomas – I’d say under a second – you can notice the break in the video of course… but given the quality of a 1920 X 1080 video clip… you really have to ask yourself… why would anyone want to shoot a still in the midst of a video shot (unless you ‘re in the examples I gave above..) or shooting a sporting event where you needed to shoot action.
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Hey Vincent,
Question — based on your experience so far, do you think this camera’s build quality and performance could stand up to daily newspaper work? The regular 5D exhibited a slightly sluggish feel — has the Mark II eliminated that problem? It seems this camera could be a great given the extensive cost cutting in the newsrooms, especially for new staff camera gear.
Thanks again,
Erik Lunsford
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Erik- put it to you this way: I think this camera will be back-ordered for more than one year. And I’m not exaggerating that – you can call me on that assumption one year from now and see if I was off… unless Nikon has something up it’s sleeve… I think every single newspaper photographer will want one of these… and many photographers from other photography markets as well… even video people and film makers… definitely indy film makers and documentary film makers – nothing comes close to this camera in terms of shooting in low light (that I’ve seen or heard of) – and nothing comes close in terms of price…
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What about handheld ? Also a lot of the concerns about the camera are the focusing and shutter lag, I see you use a 1ds, how did you find the 5dll compared to the 1ds.
Cheers Andy
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Did you shoot with an IS lens? If so, did the IS kick-in and stay on while the video was running?
Thanks!
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So the new 5D Mark II has a mic jack but you can’t adjust the audio level, so I read. I think the first firmware update needs to be allow manual control for sound recording.
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Andy – did not compare the two… no time… was a mad dash of a weekend…
Stephen – did not play w/ IS either… wish I had though of that…smart… I got a gyro instead- but I would have needed that for the helo at night anyway… IS doesn’t work in a helo…
Larry – you’re right… all of your comments will be read by Canon…people at Canon are already reading this blog apparently…they are listening!
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I completely understand that it’s not you that are stopping the distribution. I’ve also tested the camera and was clearly told that we could not publish any videos or images. It’s a pity, because this is stunning stuff. Even for a pre-production model.
Later, we managed to get hold of a clip and took the liberty of publishing some details about it here:
http://nrkbeta.no/video-test-clips-from-canon-5d-mark-ii-gets-analyzed/
Personally I can’t possibly understand why Canon don’t want the publicity they’ll get if they let you publish the video. Come on guys! Let him publish. Let him add a big warning sign saying that this is a pre-production model. And then show the world that you’ll change the industry with this baby.
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[...] Vincent Laforet’s Blog I just peed my pants. (tags: canon) [...]
@Stephen
I have been told by a Canon representative that the IS kicks in while in video recording mode.
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Awesome, thanks Vincent. We have Canon XH-A1 kits for all of our photographers (at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). I hope this new camera finds its way into our kits. Hopefully merging the video and stills into one tool will help increase our multimedia options while decreasing production time for both the print and web editions. I’m excited, that’s for sure.
Erik
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Simply amazing. I can not help but think we have Nikon to thank for making Canon push the envelope so soon.
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vincent i cant wait to see the video
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Thanks Vincent. I think the option of using the still during video recording is appreciated by many (even though the video stills are stunning!).
It will be very nice to also get more comments on the AF performance. We have seen ‘thousands’ of comments on forums around the world about people having doubts on this. Do you have any comments on this, baring in mind the very short time you had the camera?
Vincent:
“I think this camera will be back-ordered for more than one year.”
I really hope not!!
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Hi , I’m very impressed with the stills
could you explain why the first shot has some foreground and some background in focus? its like there are 2 focal planes. Is this an effect of a TS lens?
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Sorry. I just saw your comments on AF from 5:25pm
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Vincent wrote: “no company in the world would allow people to download a file to their hard drives and analyze data from a prototype camera”
What about downsampling the video and then using BitTorrents to distribute it? C’mon, Canon! Why do you hold back all the goodies from us?
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Looks nice.
One thing that I do not understand about this 5D Mark II is that there is no flip-out display.
I can think of many different shooting situations while in video mode where a flip-out display would be great… if not mandatory…
And there should be a few in stills mode to..
Any chance to attach some custom flippable display to the hotshoe and connect it to the HDMI output, without emptying the battery to fast?
If you know about such external goodies please post it here.
And if you know someone in Canon devteam then give them a hint about the flipout display…
Look forward to see your footage
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For pics of the camera and more info on the spec, take a look at http://mikefoxphotojournalist.blogspot.com/2008/09/canon-eos-5d-mkii-finally.html
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Vincent,
Thanks for the feedback you are giving everybody, as you can tell people are really hungry for any info we can get on this new bad boy.
Are you saying as an example, that it would be possible to use the video mode during wedding coverage(ie, the service)and be able to pull quality stills fom it, negating the need to take still shots, if so this indeed could really be something.
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Hi Vincent, love to see such spectacular video quality from the stills!, y cant wait to see the final video. For what i’ve saw on other sites you could be used iso 6400 and not even noticed too much noise…i think this camera it’ll be on my “what to buy” in the near future.
…mmm, so Canon is reading this blog??…cough, cough…Mr Canon can you send me a camera??, i promise to take care of it and take only good pictures and lovely videos
.
Thanks Vincent!
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[...] new 5D can record HD video in 1080p and you can connect an external microphone. The photographer Vincent Laforet have been one of the early testers, and on his blog you find some truly impressive stills from the [...]
Erik- the funny things is – we borrowed the Canon XH-A1 to do the behind the scenes footage – and we decided not to correct it for the behind the scenes video…because it clearly shows how big of a jump (leap) this camera is technologically…while the video quality is similar in daylight (5D MKII is better…) the night time footage is night and day… frankly – and I may get heat from Canon for saying this the Canon XH-A1 looks like unusable garbage… an that’s because we were shooting in light that was as low as 1/8th of a second at f2 set to 1600 ASA for a film camera… the video from the XH-A1 looks like it was shot w/ my Canon G9…
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Daniel – I heard from an outside source that Canon has been working on this much longer than the D3 /D300 was out… so while we always have Nikon to thank for pushing the envelope – this has been in the works for quite awhile…
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If Vincent Laforet, a man with a lot of connections, can not easily get video from the new 5D online to share with people, what chance does the average consumer have?
Canon would be real smart to set up a youtube/flickr type site for 5D MarkII users to upload video to….
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Vince,
Can you comment on the AF performance when taking still pictures ?. Fast response ? How about the outer focus points ?. Sluggish ?
TIA,
John
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Johnny-
I used every lens I own…. including the T/S naturally! that was a 45mm TS shot – you have to see it in video…
Andy – You could pull still and use those… but what I would do is to pick and chose which sequences you shoot in video and w/ stills…. you could definitely pick a frame grab and print is as an 4×6 w/o any noticeable loss… and run it up to 1200 pixels wide or so on a website – and not be able to tell it wasn’t shot with a still camera… yes there is still room for still photographers!!! But I think that still photographers will now offer both services – and be realistically able to produce it – and one deadline… we shot the video in two days… logged it in a few hours… and did a final edit in 4 hours… the 3 minute AppleTV res file took 35 minutes to export in Final Cut Studio’s compressor (there was no rendering involved…) Actually rendering the credits took longer than exporting the video through compressor…
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John – the AF worked great – unless you do “scientific tests” like Rob Galbraith – you can’t give a fair answer on that… I certainly did not see any issues… I’m not going to rest my reputation on that however – as I honestly did not spend my time testing it – I spend my time on the video in what was a whirlwind two days… What I can say is that at no time did I notice any AF problems during the 72 hours of use… and in very very low light…
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Johnny – a multimedia producer I showed this to had a smart comment about shooting stills and video… he said: shoot the video – and when you see the still – shoot it… you can always cut the video to another video clip (i.e. non-linear edit) or to the still itself… as long as you have audio recording independently – on a lav or external mic for example… I thought this was very very smart of him… turns out he’s in town for the Emmy awards…. no coincidence there…
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Vince,
Thanks again!.
John
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Anyone have a screening room available in NY? With an HD projector? Kidding…kind of… e-mail me privately at blog (at) vincentlaforet.com
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This sounds amazing. I can’t wait to hear/see more. Thanks so much for testing and blogging about this.
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Hi Vincent, thanks so much for your hard work. Mind telling us where you were able to pre-order the cameras? I have been looking…
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Hi Vincent,
First of all, thanks for sharing!
I’ve got a question tho. Can you still look through the viewfinder or do you have to look at the LCD?
Might be a dumb question but what the hell
Jeroen
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Also, you mentioned that your friend stated that the 5D2 looks better in low light than the Red does. What about about in bright conditions?
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[...] York based commercial and editorial photographer, was given a prototype to use for 72 hours. His report and the stills he has been able to show are nothing short of amazing. The video is forthcoming, but [...]
[...] ojal
[...] LaForet wrote up a very indepth and interesting article on the new 5D Mark II (prototype) that he was able to use for the weekend. The images from the prototype 5D Mark II look stunning! I [...]
Does the camera use full frame and downsample the pixels to 1080p, or is the video a stright crop of the middle of the frame? Imagine if you combine the two together you get 2.9x digital zoom (controllable from the back of the camera) without any interpolation. It would be also dead easy to implement additional image stabilisation by detecting movements and cropping in real time to stabilise the scene. Amazing! BTW, any Canon DSLR with Live View is capable of capturing video, they just need a firmware upgrade (from Canon or 3rd party). For example, see this http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/40D for Canon 40D.
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Bit Torrent is the way to go with this one.
Make two files in the torrent.
1. RAW
and
2. Down Rez
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Here is a link to Canon Global and some sample video from the new Canon 5D. http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/eos5dm2/02.html#01
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Thanks for the article
great read
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Wow Vincent, I am always amazed at reading your posts.
I would like to see that video soon.
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Hi Vincent,
the video mode sounds really exciting!
I’m sure it will be a lifesaver for many PJ’s and open a new world for others.
About Canon giving you hassles about not wanting any actual original file clips out there…. doesn’t Canon Japan know that at least one division already relased a few themselves (before pulling them down) and that 1920x1080x30p unaltered clips are out and about? In fact, I even have a couple sitting on my HD right now! So I’m not sure what the big secret is?
On a side note, I do wish they had gone with a new shutter/mirror and bumped up AF a bit after 3 years. I think many would’ve gladly paid a bit more to get something at least a bit more solid for sports/action (5fps, improved AI servo even if not with a full-blown 1D AF system (although the old 1dmkii system would’ve been fine
), at least 40D-like mirror blackout). All the Canon 3D/Nikon D700 clamor (and there is some) would’ve entirely ended with just a tad more done to the body IMO and they might’ve been backordered for two years instead of one hah.
Anyway, the sensor sounds great and the video as well. Hopefully, you will find a way to get the clips up soon.
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Vincent,
The extracts from the video on your blog – “the stills” – are simply amazing. They have an incredible photographic power to them and the light is amazing. To believe that you accomplished this on such a low budget with just a photographic camera is stunning. Wow. I just can’t wait to see the video footage!
Blaise
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Ron – find a good camera store you deal with – they’re all taking pre-orders…
Jereon – yes the mirror is up… but I can see a future model using a semi transparent mirror (such as the 1 Vs film body) – that body only lost 2/3 of a stop
Goran – the camera uses the 21MP full frame chip – and downsamples it on the fly to 1080p – that contributes to the STUNNING quality… everyone knows that an 8X10 chrome scanned – looks better than a 4 megapixel camera – even if they both run at 300 pixels wide…
Estebe: read the previous comments as to why bit torrent won’t work in this case…
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Merci Blaise – hopefully the video won’t disappoint – v
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looking at the stills once more, it looks like you did a fantastic job, really amazing work! Can’t wait to see it. Also, the dramtic low-lighting and low DOF are like nothing I’ve ever seen from consumer video before.
Let’s hope the 5DMkII arrives unexpectedly early at the shops (before the leaves turn colors, we can only hope).
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[...] ultimas que has puesto las sigo viendo un poco blandas. Vincent Laforet’s Blog Otra review. Segun he leido un poco por alto esta muy impresionado con la calidad a grandes ISOs [...]
Assuming the mic input has auto gain enabled, then if there was no gain control, perhaps there could be a way to just turn off the auto gain and have it static at one low setting. Then an external mixer could be used for manual gain adjustment.
If the video resolution is down sampled to a 2 meg file, with a firmware change /higher setting could one get 4 meg per frame video (higher resolution) with a lower downsampling percentage? So maybe the record time would be shorter. Obviously the sd setting is already there. Sounds to me like Red.com should be worried. Export higher res video to an external hard drive or cf card raid array. 8, 16, 20 meg per frame video?
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Vincent, I emailed you as well – we’ll host your Video in all it’s High Def glory
Please holler to me, check your blog@ email for my #. – Andy, SmugMug 
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Larry – the only thing that would make me doubt it could record higher res video (4 MP) is the buffer etc… otherwise I’m sure they would have done it… RED should be worried in some ways – definitely in low light – but they still make higher resolution cameras with the bells and whistles that motion picture people require… this won’t hurt them too much in that market… it will however hurt them in other ways… I don’t like to think of these things as “hurting” other people – it forces them to innovate more quickly – and the last people it hurts are “US.” Because we get products – and the competition never hurts forcing all manufacturers to lower their prices… and that sure doesn’t hurt the pocket book now does it?
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I’m going to e-mail Andy at SmugMug and then go to sleep – haven’t had much of that lately… I have to photograph the final game at Yankee stadium tomorrow – will check the messages before I’m off to the game – and will answer all of the questions that I can… so keep them coming… we’ve had 5,025 visitors in 6 hours on a Saturday – WITH NO VIDEO!!! (I’m writing this for the benefit of Canon… hint hint..) Goodnight and sweet dreams
This camera allows you to dream BIG… my marketing sentence for it would be “If you can see – we can capture it in 1080p.” Referring to the low light performance – that’s sure what I experience shooting this.
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1. GET ONE OF THESE!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/450170-REG/Rode_STEREO_VIDEO_MIC_Stereo_VideoMic_Camera.html
and a Lithium 9v battery or two, with charger
( http://www.thomas-distributing.com/ , much cheaper than B&H for those )
2. as far as predictive genius, Marshal (ll?) McLuhan predicted in the early ’50s, that people would be staying at home & teleworking, through their TVs.
Of course, the integrated circuit was being invented right about then, so he wouldn’t have known about computers or intertubes, but wow.
You’re right, though.
The only annoying limit?
fixed bit-rate, 12-min clips.
In Audio, they fixed the filesize problem, with BWF, ( Broadcast Wave Format ) which simply continues the wav-file in a new file, indexed to the previous wave file.
Video could have been done that way, too, but no, they’d rather not allow?
Maybe next time, or maybe Nikon will do that, instead, or Panasonic, or Sony…
( PS Please get the BWF-style solution idea to Canon, would you? — they’ll probably patent it, but so long as they implement it, it’s OK )
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Awesome write-up.
I vote for having SmugMug host the video. Their native format is the same as Apple and the 5D use. They have unlimited bandwidth and use Akamai to serve it up, same as Apple uses. Akamai is not only fast worldwide, but to them this isn’t even a blip. Apple.com uses them to host HD Batman trailers.
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Chris – gotcha.
One more thing since this is a common question: most of the framegrabs you see on the blog so far – therefore from the video I shot – were shot at a still exposure setting equivalent of 1/15th at f2 at 1600 ASA – which is stunning.
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Hey Vincent,
I’m SmugMug’s CEO & Chief Geek. Everyone over here is dying of excitement to see your footage!
We’d be happy to host the video for you (unlimited bandwidth) in both web-viewable form (like: http://cmac.smugmug.com/gallery/2504559_f3ta9/3/#285017583_rtqqj-XL-LB ) as well as looking at hosting the raw 1080p footage in downloadable format. We’d need a few more details about it, but I’m hopeful we could make that happen, too.
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There are already raw 5DII videos online @dpreview.com (“the following sample files were provided to us by Canon, these are unmodified Quicktime MOV files directly from the camera”), so Canon shouldn’t have any problem with another professionally done sample.
blip.tv has large (10Gbit) pipes and will host 1080p. Veoh.com serves via a mixed direct/p2p method depending upon popularity, so it’s not actually possible for them to run out of bw.
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[...] ojal
Dont you dare make me switch from Nikon to Canon.
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it seems the release of actual video has happened and Canon set up a special site to handle it:
http://cweb.canon.jp/camera/5dmark2/index.html
another one:
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/eos5dm2/02.html
and dPreview has a few links to UNCOMPRESSED at the bottom of their official review:
http://www.dpreview.com/news/0809/08091705canon_5dmarkII.asp
Chris.
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There you go, smugmug is onboard… those guys know how to give the camera public what it wants!
could you not bit torrent the feed aswell? Heck put a $1 download on it for smugmug members – youve already got our card details and make some money for charity while your at it – would be a quick $500,000 made – not to mention the sign ups to smugmug to have a look.
Then again you;d get done by canon for profiteering
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Vincent, Any idea if the video is timecoded? If not, can any of the moving picture people know how easy this would be to add after the fact?
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Can moving picture people TELL, not know.
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[...] Check it out here. [...]
Amazing…
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Awesome!!! I’ve been waiting all my life for this!!! Thanks, Mr. Vincent!
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[...] Vincent Laforet’s first impressions of a 5D MkII prototype [...]
Whoa… This is huge!
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Vincent, this post of yours offers a splendid insight into the capabilities of this new camera from Canon, and I’ve already linked your article at http://www.dpnotes.com/canon-5d-mark-ii-reviews-user-opinions-and-tests/
If you don’t mind, I’d like to extend an offer to you to host the entire clip at my Amazon S3 hosting account – at my expense, and no strings attached (see an example where I hosted Nikon D700 RAW files for download at :> http://www.dpnotes.com/nikon/nikond700/iso6400rawfiles.php).
Vimeo.com is also another viable alternative for hosting video as they don’t cap the bandwidth, if I’m not mistaken.
Thanks again!
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Don’t know why you want it, but you can use QT Sync (http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15245) to superimpose TC or footage on any Quicktime movie. I think it’s Mac-only, but it’s FREE.
VLF—you’re my hero. You’ve stopped my Nikon lust cold.
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I’m really excited about this as a professional photographer, but my room mate is a professional videographer and I can’t tell who is more excited. Unfortuneately I’ll probably need a new $2700 computer to go with my new $2700 camera if I’m going to handle 21mp 14bit RAW files and HD video.
One question though, what is the length it can record in one go? I have read 12 minutes, which fills a 4gb card, but I’ve also read it can go longer with larger cards.
It’s awesome that you’re answering so many questions.
Thanks,
Brett
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Thanks….! I pre-ordered the camera for low light B&W stills….now I’m thinking low light B&W street video in downtown San Francisco….See my book: “Blue in Black & White”
http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Black-White-Peter-Thoshinsky/dp/1596520388/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221967344&sr=8-1
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Vincent, thanks for posting this. I’m blown away by your review. I’ve just pre-ordered two of them. This could revolutionize the way we tell stories. Possibly the greatest innovation since 35mm “miniature” cameras. Wow.
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Vincent, Amazing story, beautiful images, thanks for all the work to share this incredible news with us. A question I immediately had was: did you just have $5,000 to pony up for a “demo” project or is there some way you’re going to try and monitize this video? Five grand is a hell of a “proof of concept” project.
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@Brett: the file size limit is 4GB due to the FAT32 filesystem (32-bit addresses are limited to 4GB). So it can’t create single files larger than that. You could argue that they should have come up with a way (using buffers, etc.) to split the video into multiple files as necessary to allow longer continuous recording on larger cards but looks like that’s a feature for another camera.
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[...] you’re considering the Canon 5D II, definitely read this. « Canon engineers held back by marketing department’s “megapixel [...]
效果非常的好啊！
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prefect!!
but I want to know how do you record the voice ?
only microphone by 5D mark2.
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The images are great, considering the fact they are unedited and still grabs.Can’t wait to see the movie. unedited footage would be nice to see too.
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Thanks so much for producing this for us!!! Canon, this video feature is why I held back from Nikon!! I hoped you would be willing to step into the market for DSLR video. Please, let us see this footage!! The sooner we do, the sooner we can be sure about jello-roll, and tell our friends to buy this camera instead of D90s and RED Scarlets!!
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Atta’ boy gettng 4 of these cameras pre-ordered Vincent! I have two coming my way as well.
I have gotten such big plans for this camera and how it is hopefully going to revolutionize my business and offer something totally unique which could help revolutionize the industry I am in.
I have a Canon HD camcorder and yeah it is real nice. But like yourself, I am not a videographer. The video being on a CF card is awesome because it’s a hassle having to firewire my camcorder and have it play back in real time to digitize it to my computer. I guess we’re spoiled with just drag and dropping folders of our work…
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There are some sample videos of 5D Mark II in Canon web site. But all are taking using a tripod. It would be nice to see a ‘real’ movie from this camera.
Cheers!
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Thanks for this excellent writeup. I’m so excited to get my hands on this camera. I also believe this is going to revolutionize many photography fields. I’ve been waiting for something like this for years, but this surpassed anything I was hoping for. I’m looking forward to seeing your short film. Cheers Vincent!
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im a private investigator using an electrophysics astroscope 9350 in-line night vision device with canon ef adapters. i get 10 to 12 stops as it is!
im selling my xl2 (i used the ef adapter) and have also pre-ordered a 5d. i am very interested in the 5d!
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Great forum Vincent – being someone that shoots film/video AND photography…I could not be more excited about this technology.
Jim, the inventor of the Red One camera saw this coming a long time ago, as he wanted to shoot motion pictures digitally with his EOS dSLR. It seems that he will embrace the competition as a market variation: DSMC
Announced in the RED forums is a Digital Still Motion Camera (DSMC). Specifications are to be announced in January 2009 and available at the end of 2009. This camera will be a hybrid motion camera and DSLR.
Also of note to us Canon folk – a third party has made a Canon EF adapter for the Red camera’s.
I’ve done alot of timelapse work with my 1DsmkIII out to 1080p, but this is amazing – I’ll have to buy one of these for my “B” camera, but will secretly use it more than my “A” camera.
Also – this link was posted previously, but I think it was overlooked. Some great video samples from the 5DmkII.
http://web1.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/eos5dm2/02.html#01
TOR
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If you can pull stills from the video and are unable to use the viewfinder for video it seems that most of the time we will compose using the screen. The suggestion of a semi-transparent mirror is good but seemingly misses an opportunity to truly revolutionize current visual imaging devices. We are all growing accustomed to viewing the world through electronic screens, from cell phones to ipods to small point and shoots. Why not remove the mirror (& prism & shutter) altogether and replace the optical viewfinder with a miniature screen?
I suggest this not only to allow the user to compose stills during a video recording but for a host of other reasons, the least of which is the weight savings. Removing these parts and using an “electronic shutter” (see the Nikon D70) would provide almost unlimited strobe sync speeds. It would allow for exposure, as well as depth of field, preview (imagine hitting the DOF preview button and having the LCD compensate for the limited light coming through the lens. Or simply setting the shutter and f value and having the screen “render” an accurate exposure before you even press the “shutter” button.). Considering the lack of ambient light hitting the viewfinder (since your eye pressed against it pretty much makes it the same as a well calibrated monitor in a dark room) it can not only accurately perform the aforementioned tasks but would make a far superior way of reviewing already taken photos (and allow us to keep the camera in shooting position while doing so). With the mirror & prism gone the internal space is far smaller and technology like Panasonic’s Micro Four Thirds can be explored. Imagine a 20-120 2.0 the same size and weight as a current 24-70 2.8.
I am not an engineer and do not know the limitations of technology. But I don’t think anyone does. Twenty years ago suggesting a digital camera to a scientist in the photography field would have gotten you raised eyebrows. While the current advances are certainly headed in the right direction, they only scratch the surface. Up to now digital cameras had pretty much been film cameras without film. They had a few extra features but never really explored a new technology, a new direction. It seemed that the people in charge are not visionaries, rather, engineers and marketing gurus. Video in the SLR is a truly modern concept but the SLR itself is old tech begging to be replaced. Lets start thinking outside the box.
With that off my chest – I am totally phsyced to get a 5D2!
-MKruter
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To request 24p from Canon call:
(800) 828-4040, for the US
Select the third option
Give Feedback
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Saw the video in Chicago on Friday (CPS event) from the Canon rep. All I can say is AMAZING.
I asked about 24p and 30p and the rep said “only film guys would be interested in it, and they represent a small portion of our target market.” So, obviously they didn’t think the film people would be that interested in it.
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[...] 5D Shooters Rejoice! Interesting Vincent Laforet pre-production hands-on about the video function. I’m starting to believe I may use the capability more than I originally [...]
Thanks for an exciting post. I hope we do get to see the video, and before too long. I’m not pre-ordering, but I’m very, very hopeful.
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If that confirms, this device EOS 5D Mark II is a bomb ! Difficult to believe that Canon gets out in its foot and launches on the market a device which competes with its own productions and is going to attract him the lightnings of his competitors.
Well, the engineers who had the solution in the pocket were not able to refrain from sliding it (discreetly?) on the EOS 5D. Indeed, everything takes place as if they had not announced it and if they had implemented it on the EOS 5D noiselessly, as the others made it on Nikon D90. Now that it went out, marketing people are going to have to deal with.
Certainly, the ergonomics of these cameras (amusing because the word camera in English = camera for pictures and in French = camera for movies. When a device possesses 2 functions, it is necessary to clarify the one that we aim at) is not the one of camcorders, but:
1 it could be not possible, because engineer would have too much revealed early the secret which would have been able to block the launch on the market of the device
2 if it is not Canon which implemented the feature on reflex device, it was Nikon who made it (it could not being Sony who is leading in the production of professional video equipment)
3 we can make some sacrifices of ergonomics to record videos of excellent quality with optics standard photo!
Bob
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My dream come true, can’t wait anymore.
Can transfer my US 1,500 budget for the new HD videocam and trade-in my 5D to the buy the Mark II tomorrow.
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“the RAW footage that comes out of this camera is STUNNING – so much so that the entire video was cut with the RAW footage – untouched…”
Hi Vincent,
I read everywhere that the video format coming out the 5DII is H.264. what do you mean by RAW footage ? Do you mean straight for the camera, or really Canon RAW format like .CR2 and all the post-production potential of still RAW.
I’m director and edito, and did a few project with he RED One. I’ looking for this kind of camera for a while. !! is the 5D II trhis one !!! ??
Thanx
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As a stills photographer, I am extremely excited about this camera. If you look on the film making forums, there are many posts excited about this camera, and many people slagging it off over lack of 24p or handling issues etc. They might be issues for some film makers, but for photojournalists new to film making, these are not really issues as we are not used to the form function of top end dv cameras, but we are to the form function of a DSLR, so have no transitions to make other than to the leap from stills to video, which is a transition we would have had to make regardless of camera form.
Again, whilst sound recording on the Canon is not the most sophisticated, there are work-around’s such as attaching a beach box and powered xlr mics or something like a zoom H4 or Olympus LS10 recording from external mics and splitting the live headphone signal to a pair of headphones and into the mic in on the 5DII.
I’m not particularly keen on having to use the screen on the back of the camera, but a MF loupe attached to the camera could give a pretty good viewing experience with 920,000 pixels. Alternatively, I wonder if Canon have considered reintroducing a fixed pellicle mirror. Obviously, there would be some tradeoff in light loss and a slightly dimmer focusing experience, but unless you’re planning to put the camera through the wringer, (like vincent has here), regularly, then any disadvantages would be outweighed by returning to a form function that we all know and love.
I’d be very surprised if within a very short period of time, a parallel industry hasn’t sprung up of accessories such as angle finders, shoe mounted HDMI monitors, focusing rails, external batteries or even external drives and codecs, which will make this camera extremely versatile. I’ve worked as a stills shooter on indy shorts where a 35mm adapter such as a Letus has been employed, and believe me, they’re not easy things to use.
I’ve often thought about making the jump to short documentary/news footage shooting and this camera might just be the push I need. The stills industry is dying, and many stills photographers, (including myself), have had to do some pretty serious thinking about our survival strategies in an industry that is changing and documentary/news production has been one of the options that me and many of my colleagues have been seriously considering. As outlets for traditional publishing, (ie print), become smaller and smaller and online dissemination of news becomes more prevalent, the impetus to use new tools for presentation such as Soundslides or DSLR’s that shoot video becomes more urgent if we are to survive in the media industries. There are a lot of extremely talented people working in documentary film production, but there are also some real bozo’s, (just have a quick look at some of the really naff material that often goes up on newspaper site’s here in the UK, especially amongst the regionals). When talented stills photographers, (as Vincent has shown here), get a handle on this technology and learn to use it properly, it’s really going to start raising the game on the documentary film industry.
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Hmm… Canon said “Destined Evolution” and thought about the 5D MkII.
Based on what we have seen so far, can you imagine what the next level would be, the follow up model or “new D1″, it will be
DESTINED REVOLUTION
Vincent I can imagine you would still be high on the adrenalin kick that this experience has caused, must be hard to sleep
I’m very thrilled of the concept to use all my glass also for video!!!!
I have heard of the thoughts that MKruter mention above (replacing the mirror with a small screen) and I definitely think that would be something we will see in the near future.
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For your info, PDN has posted some videos made with the 5d-II
http://www.pdnpulse.com/2008/09/canon-5d-mark-i.html
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Vincent, just saw a small snippet of your video in youtube shot by digitalcamerareview.com, running in a laptop in a canon presentation.
The quality in the video in a youtube video is amazing!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XggG7iFfoCk
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Vincent
This is a very convincing blog on the 5D II. The camera is perfect for a housing to shoot surfing and an idea that I had for years (that will probably never get off the ground) called “Holy Water”.
What I like about the camera is the 21 million. I know most don’t care about this but for me it might open the door to fine art.
Vincent have you ever had the opportunity to meet Howard Schatz ? If you did what is he like? I know he has a workshop for for a very selected few .
Vincent I like your blog not just because of the information but the positive and exciting vibes you bring to the table.
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This is getting interesting. But I think Canon needs to use this tech in a different body. What some people are asking for is going to ruin the ergonomics of both Still and video cameras.
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Wonderful and Exciting article/entry here Vince. Please have a look at the squeeze software if needed, it does amazing jobs with 720 – 1080 compression, the best I’ve seen to date.
What’s funny is I’ve, for the last 4 years or so, have had a JVC 10U 720p Video camera. The first prosumer video HD camera that came out and it’s a bear in low light. Lighting is ALWAYS a concern.
Thanks again for a great post.
Tom
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[...] It’s really an amazing blog article, I strongly suggest you check it out here. [...]
Hi Vince,
I send you an e-mail regarding a screening room in NYC…
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Vincent, your post is a welcome breath of fresh air after reading all the negative comments on flickr groups, etc.
As much as I love my 5D and 40D, I’m absolutely looking forward to this evolution of the 5D.
I live in Jakarta, Indonesia, and find that so much of my photography would be enhanced by the ability to show more of the overall scope of the surroundings in a shot rather than just the end result. I think the video aspect sounds like the perfect solution.
Really appreciative of you taking the opportunity to bring your perspectives to the rest of us. Hope to see the video up soon one way or another.
BTW, I linked to your post on my blog. Hope you don’t mind.
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Vincent,
Is the Highlight Tone Priority mode available in video mode?
Does the camera video show as live video in the video output port during acquisition?
Did you notice many motion artifacts in action sequences?
Were you able to select AF points in video mode?
Thanks for this incredible opportunity to experience the Canon 5D MKII vicariously through your use and observations.
Kevin Zigler
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How do you expect a PJ to use this camera with a shutter lag of 73MS? Not to mention Canon once again will not admit that their Micro Adjust feature is the root of all Evil on the MKIII’s.
You need to be able to put a lens on and shoot, not setup a test chart to adjust your lens, ( this is on any Canon camera that implements the Micro Adjust)but the same lens on any other body that does not MA is spot on?
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Re: David Sharviele
“How do you expect a PJ to use this camera with a shutter lag of 73MS? ”
The 5D series are not aimed at PJ´s You will do better with xd series or the xxd
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I’ve got to rush out the door to the last Yankee game at their current stadium – so here are some responses rapid style:
Ryan – no idea about time code – when I get a chance I’ll post an answer
Brett – I’m not at all surprised that your roommate (videographer) is lusting for this… not at all…
MKruter…smart and on point… I like the way you think.. seing through the camera allows you not to have to carry a monitor w/ you however – and be very very mobile… no time for setting up a monitor etc…
Benjamin – by RAW I mean straight out of the camera – the format is indeed a .mov file that you double click and watch instantly on any computer with the Quicktime player…
Thomas – Destined REVOLUTION is much much more on point indeed…
Tom – Howard Schatz is a good friend… he’s a genius… go to his workshop
Kevin – not sure about most of the questions…things just went too fast… as soon as I get a chance to look back through the footage – I will let you know more
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[...] for the reference on his article, Vincent was given a hand-on evaluation. It came unexpected while visiting Canon’s HQ and had [...]
[...] Laforet’s blog has some of his own thoughts and three more screencaps of the commercial. It produces the best [...]
Vincent, great article and thanks for opening the curtain more on what indeed has the potential to be a game changing play. You are spot on, too, about the issue for RED. I saw their CEO recently saying that with their upcoming product (end 09) that they were going after Canon and Nikon and I noted that he should be more concerned they are coming after him. (http://asiliconvalleylife.blogspot.com/2008/09/still-life-vs-real-life.html) Even so, this may be playing out even quicker than I imagined with Canon taking first-mover advantage *and* having who-knows-what waiting in the wings to release over the next 12 months. Photographically speaking, converge is happening here just as fast as in, say, the telecomms world. Excitiing times indeed! Can’t wait to see what you were able to do on first outing.
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I’m considering a Canon Powershot SX1 IS for HD video. And I’m going for a 50D as my main camera.
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Vincent,
Just wondering what you think of the continued lack of weather sealing on these cameras? To me that was the major flaw of the 5d, and I’m disappointed that they screwed it up again on this camera. I almost lost my 5d once in a a heavy mist and now I’m totally paranoid around any kind of water. As a PJ I assume this must be even more of an issue. What do you think?
Paul
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You are amazing, thank you very very much!!
I can’t wait for the result.. I think this will indeed change the industry!
For the price of a RED you can get the 5D MKII, a killer tripod, some form of stabilization and several lenses. If that’s not an attractive solution, I don’t know what is.
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I am planning to upgrade my vx2000 to hd but I think I will just have to wait this camera comes whether it is practical enough for videography/filmmaking use.
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[...] has some images on his site that will demonstrate the power of the video in the Canon 5D mark II. Vincent Laforet – Blog Published under: [...]
Vincent
Kudos on convincing Canon to let you borrow this camera. You’ve obviously piqued the interest of a large number of photogs. Q: Do you know if you can shoot video while tethered to a laptop? Be cool, and might allow you to exceed the 4GB limit of FAT32. Am I asking too much? (Just thinking of weddings and other events where a 12 min limit would be an issue, but having a tethered laptop could be an option)
If not: did you play w/ any 8 or 16 GB cards? How much of a lag (if any) is/was there from the creation of one file to the next? (48 min of continuous HD video on a 16 GB card?)
Mine is pre-ordered as well
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if the lap top is 64bit operating system, it should be easily handle > 4gb file. but if it’s a 32bit system, it will require hi and lo addressing on the file just like AWE on a 32 windows application.
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I hope Canon find a way to increase fps (at least 5 fps) and enhance AF (all cross type AF points) via software on 5DMII.
It was very nice reading.. Thank you.
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The 4GB file size limit is because of FAT32 and has nothing to do with the operating system. NTFS and exFAT would support larger files, but Canon chose to stick with FAT32 (compatibility I guess) and therefore with 4GB files.
They could however create a new file every 4 gigs…
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Vincent, I saw your video on Friday at a Canon CPS event. I viewed it on a MacBook Pro. I’ve been a pro studio photographer for over 30 yrs. and have never really gotten into video. Your vision with this video short will probably change my mind.
I was floored by what I saw! To anyone out their that does weddings, kids portraits, and high school seniors, things are going to change!
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Audio. What about audio?
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@Paul McEvoy: 5D MkII is weather-sealed for rain up to 10mm in 3 minutes.
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Canon’s own HF100 can record up to capacity so they obviously know how to get around the limitations of a file system. This is a choice by Canon, not a lack of ability.
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Nice photos.
I would like to get non-poor autofocus (only one cross af point is realy bad joke:() instead unnecessarily video…. :/
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you can distribute the video using the bittorrent protocol… you just have to find a web site to host the tracker, who is synchronizing the UL and DL, and a first ULder with the video. after some hours, the video will be distributed among all downloader…
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Pretty exciting stuff ~ ‘looking forward to your video and forthcoming in-depth reviews of this beauty.
These are indeed exciting times for photography (& video
. Just wanted to say “very well done” for your efforts Vincent !!
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Why do you people, when talking about systems and platforms, on 32bit, 64bit or even devices formats, only think in windows way??!!! I’m very glad to be a Mac user for years and a photographer too.
BTW Vincent, great article!!
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Fantastic. May very well be time to replace the 1DsM1.
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Maybe someone has already suggested this, but why not distribute the video as a torrent? Then you won’t have to worry about hosting or bandwidth as everyone that wants the video will share the load.
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I read your post with interest. Loved the pictures. I always wanted to create short wildlife films, but carrying an extra video camera is not easy. Especially, when you are shooting a tiger from top of an elephant.
I would love to see how the video comes out with the 400mm f2.8 L IS. I use that for its lowlight capabilities.
I hope you are able to put up the video somewhere. Look forward to more updates from you.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi
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Hello from Yankee Stadium – beautiful day – and have a nice spot worked out with Yankee PR – so we’re all set!
Checking in quickly:
Paul – I do specifically remember hearing that this camera was much more “weather” sealed than the previous 5D – not exactly 1D camera sealing – but close…
Nick – ditto.
Frank T – I think you are right on – and yes it looks like 48 video one one card… I haven’t read a manual – but know you need to stop and re-record every 10-15 minutes or so… I never ran into that problem once…how many 15 minute continuous scenes have you see in movies ever? Right? I played with 4GB, 8GB and 16GB Lexar UDMA cards… you don’t need UDMA to record video – but it sure helps to copy data off quickly…
Thanks everyone for the comments… ttyl
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While Vimeo might not want to support a regular user eating that much bandwidth, I’m sure they would love to host your video for the publicity.
You should contact them, or they should’ve contacted you.
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Eh never mind. I just saw the other posts about it up there.
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[...] Link til Vincent Laforet [...]
[...] Canon EOS 5D Mark II Pre-Production Model Video Still Share and Enjoy: [...]
[...] most complete look at the new 5D is from photographer Vincent Laforet, who has a a long report based on a weekend of shooting with a prototype. It has drawn huge [...]
Yes great news. I would have upgraded my 5D to the 5D II just for the res and 14 bits. Yet your post makes me want to learn new things about what I can do in video.
A game changer> you are right on.
Much more than just another camera!
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Vincent, it’s a great stuff you have here. I’m really looking forward to seeing the movie myself. You see, I’m by not a videographer, or even a film shooter. The only videos I’ve made were those of my kids. This new 5D2 definitely tempts me to try the “new territory”. It will be great to be able to shoot movies with my current lenses!
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[...] more at: Vincent Laforet’s Blog. ▶▼ Comment /* 0) { jQuery(‘#comments’).show(”, change_location()); [...]
Mr. Laforet,
All the MKII images that have been around the net yet have been shot in jpeg. During this mad weekend with the 5DMKII have you got time to compare high iso noise performance in JPG and RAW capture.
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Why don’t you posta the video as a torrent ? That way you can share it in full res. without having to worry about the size and bandwidth.
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REALLY looking forward to the possibility of a 3D! As sweet as the video feature is, I hope Canon will soon take Nikon’s path and trickle-down some more pro-series POWER… The D700 and D300 are STILL in a class of their own with pro weather sealing, AF, frame rate, shutter lag, spot metering points, (plural indeed) etc. etc. I realize that to portrait / landscape photographers these are bell+whistle specs, but photojournalists and action shooters are NOT BUYING Canon marketing’s “gotta protect the 1-series!” excuse anymore…
=Matt=
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Mr. Vincent Laforet,
In you hand this Canon equipment going to be a powerful weapon of creation of excellent pictures. But in you pictures is a secret, of creation.
Thank you very much on you review.
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Wow, I can’t wait to get my hands on this body!
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That’s a great idea M.M.. We want to see it in Full Resolution, please!!
Make a torrent.
In my opinion I’m not an apologist of video on DSLR cameras, I believe that an DSLR camera it’s the best material we have to photograph and a video camera the best material to make movies but, with this 5D Mark II the thing blew up. I believe too that this change is greater than my opinion, I’ll see it as an extra feature, a great extra feature and probably I’ll change my opinion really fast.
The video quality we can achieve is outstanding, with photographic lenses we can make very easily movies or clips like those we see in cinema, with cinema quality… It’s just amazing.
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I think everyone with any knowledge of photography and film will agree these results are wonderful, especially in low light. However it is unlikely that this SLR will suddenly have the manufacturers of digital film cameras (Arri, Red etc) panicking that this ‘stills’ camera will affect their sales. Canon surely know this as much as any other serious photographic firm.
Within the world of film and television production, one needs things like:
• Matte boxes
• Multiple delivery frames rates (24, 25 and 29.97 etc) and resolutions (720, 1080, 2K and 4K) + useable proxies.
• Frame rate ramping
• Genlock and syncing
• a proper workflow…
You get the picture. Perhaps more exciting is the potential of Canon to produce it’s own full frame sensor digital film cameras, not more ENG style video cameras with progressive modes. Thanks for the images though Vincent, it is so exiting to see such fantastic low light performance.
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it is naive to believe that film guys would not be interested. anyway 30p only sucks. how about 25p? or is this a US only camera? on the other hand this kind of a camera will never really make it to the film business due to the sound issue. imagine one or two XLR plugs on the camera plus a boom mike, and now you’ve got almost a shoulder camera. no one will accept it as a film professional tool.
this is just a very nice gadget.
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Nick Reply:
October 17th, 2009 at 1:08 am
@Mr. Nea, Sound isn’t an issue in the film world as we always record sound on a dat machine or similar. I’ve already worked on commercials that have used the camera. Check out Heinekin taxi tvc. We used one for cut aways to mix with Arri 435 footage and you can’t pick which shot it is.
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Vincent,
Very interesting, as I just posted a prediction about the probable low light performance of DSLRs used as HD video cameras. Here is what I posted yesterday and someone sent me your link (I’m coming from a still photo background, currently using 1D cameras, but wanting to buy an HD camera):
——
Many of the [consumer] HD camcorders I see on the market have 1/3.6″ sensors, which means the sensor is only 4×3 mm! 1920 pixels over 4 mm = 2.08 micron pixels. This is at the bottom of performance in P&S still cameras. Some HD cameras are even worse with 1/5″ and 1/6″ sensors.
So then I looked a pro HD camcorders and they are barely better with 1/3″ sensors (but often have 3 one for each red, green and blue pixels), 4.8,3.6 mm sensors, giving 2.5 micron pixels. And they are $5,000 and up!
So now we get HD video from DSLRs. For the 5D Mark II, for example, if the 1920 pixel HD is spread across the 36 mm full frame, one would get 18.75 micron pixels! That would be 18.75*18.75/(2.1*2.1) = 80x the light gathering ability [over the 2.08 micron pixel cameras]! Very interesting for low light video. ISO 100 on a consumer video camera would be like ISO 8000 (or equivalent of how speed is defined in video). If the HD is matched to the 5D pixels, then the pixels are 6.4 microns, still great compared to the consumer or many pro video cameras.
——
So, Vincent, thanks for the article, it seems to have confirmed my analysis.
One question: did you observe any heating and increase in noise, possibly near one edge/corner after the video was running for a few minutes? Heating of the sensor could be a real issue. Also what was the approximate temperature during your filming?
Some info on sensor performance and pixel size:
http://www.clarkvision.com/imagedetail/digital.sensor.performance.summary
Roger
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I don’t quite catch why you are you touting how good the video is that you don’t show, then say that you can’t show it as takes too much bandwidth. When Bittorrent is pointed out as an option you refer to Canon Japan not allowing it (well, won’t you end up practically losing your budget as there’s nothing you can show for others). Still I have not seen your excuse not to repack the video so that it won’t be original format but still could convey most of the quality one could get from the new camera. If there’s no excuse, then perhaps there’s a real reason or a product that people could evaluate.
You clearly see there’s lot of demand for the sample. And I applaude you to take the first steps but there’s not much juice to share unless you can squeeze it out for the others. Many thanks for your efforts so far! Now, the video, please!
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Just as Panasonic has done with the DVX100 and the HVX200 the 5D is poised to completely revolutionize the video industry.
Will it replace current dedicated HD video cameras? Mostly no especially in commercial markets mainly because there is no physical method for interfacing the 5D with related production equipment such as timecode generators, sound capture equipment, etc.
However what is entirely exciting is that the 5D holds the “holy grail” of all independent video producers, which is film-like depth of field and organic, film-like imagery. No longer would you need to buy or rent expensive 35mm lens adapters for the hand-held HD cams or, use painfully expensive HD-cinema glass.
Vincents’ commentary about the true cost of commercial film/video production being sky-high is spot-on; a typical 2/3″ inch chip HD camera with just one high-quality lens (prime or zoom), battery and associated accessories is easily $250K USD. And that doesn’t even include a decent video-head and tripod much less the rest of lighting, sound, and other required production tools. And of course then there’s the human cost of hiring the crew to run it all!
So indeed, the 5D could very well see in-roads into low-budget, indie and even some ENG work where portability and ultimate image quality would be a snatch-up gear bag, without question.
So as alluded to earlier, what’s needed is for the 3rd-party companies – of which there are dozens – to create the accessories needed to transform the 5D into a real, full-on commercial production rig. Could it be done. Absolutely. And if so, you’ll start seeing less Cinealta, Varicam, Vipers and RED’s out there and more and more D-SLR’s!
Wouldn’t that just turn the stomachs of Panny and Sony inside out!
Robert Lane
Lumenosity
Scottsdale, AZ
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jonny Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 1:00 am
@Robert Lane, a 250k hd camera will be in no matter comparable to this canon…
There are a lot of 2/3 hd-cameras out there for less than 10k btw…
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[...] Update: Check out Vincent LaForet’s Blog. He got to spend 72 hours shooting with the Canon 5D Mark II [...]
Vincent,
Just last week, I happened to be searching for some information on the 5D replacement and found this site which includes some sample videos shot with the 5D MKII. I do not read Japanese, but the images speak for themselves. I can’t wait to see your film.
http://cweb.canon.jp/camera/5dmark2/index.html
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[...] at this blog post by Vincent, the new 5D is mind blowingly [...]
Hi Vincent,
Thanks for this post.
Like others, i can’t wait to see the movie.
But there are two things i wanted to ask you about:
- what about high lights? how does the camera handle that?
- how did you shoot : the eye in the viewfinder or on the screen? I’ve heard that the new screen is great also!!
Thanks again,
Philippe
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just want to see the video when it comes out
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as an ENG or documentary camera the 5d is useless especially because of depth of field. you will be unable to keep subject in focus. even a highly skilled focus puller has difficulties when you work wide open; add the full format to this and your breaking news is … shallow.
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Vincent, if the Canon people are reading this blog, I’m hoping that they will replace that silly print button with a mirror lockup button. That would be INFINITELY more useful.
Other than that, I’m looking forward to seeing your video.
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Good stuff Vincent. I heard the video made quite an impression at the Canon Professional Services convention on Friday.
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[...] Photographer Vincent Laforet got a hold of a preproduction copy of the 5D for a weekend. [...]
Very useful! Thanx!
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hey vincent;
ok, quality seems to be a no brainer. can you talk a little bit about the actual use of the camera as a video camera: LCD angles, handgrip position, balance, etc?
thanks
-avi
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The short is amazing!!! I was able to watch it at a shop here during there vendor show. One question for you since you got to shoot with it. It say you can only shoot 12 min. or 4 gb of video at a time and then it stops. Can you immediately start shooting more video or is there some resting period?
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Vincent,
Have you looked into using AWS (Amazon Web Services) S3 service for hosting the video. It takes about 10 min to setup. The cost are cheap, you pay per usage and it’s very scalable. Email me if you need help setting it up. Here is a sample video that is hosted by AWS, http://www.crazymenu.com/demo/
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Amazon is now “out of stock.” According to their site (as of 3:27 pm EDT 9-21-08) – the 5DMkII is the number 10 bestseller in “Camera & Photo” – and #2 in DSLR’s! (Second to the Canon Xsi w/ kit lens)
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[...] pm on September 21, 2008 | # | Tags: photography Interesting post about the low-light and video capabilities of the Canon EOS 5D Mk II. Sounds pretty good. [...]
Mr. Nea, regarding the ENG and the depth of field issue, you are spot on
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[...] You can read the full and interesting test at Vincent Laforet Web site [...]
Vincent,
Maybe you could share the video via BT and ed2k?
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Hm… this is almost as waiting for the announcement of the 5D MKII itself. What about putting up a website with a moon…? ;-P
I really appreciate your efforts, though.
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[...] importanta are Canon EOS 5D MKII? Iata ce zice Vincent Laforet despre ultimul venit in gama Canon, model care este asteptat anul viitor. “Va schimba [...]
I downloaded the bird on the limb shot and played it back at 1/2 speed. It was amazing. Razor-sharp and fluid like no camcorder I have ever used. It had the L-glass canon look.
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Vincent.. judging by the youtube leak, I anticipate you’ll see many cameras for Canon!
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puree c’est incroyable ce qu’on arrive a faire avec ce bijou
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Hi All!
There is a flash video out in a norwegian newspaker site called Dagbladet. It shows some video from the 5D Mk II and the N**** D90..
One thing is sure, the Canon footage looks better than the N**** one.. See for yourself :
http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2008/09/21/547601.html
(Norwegian only, sorry)
Regards,
Steve
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I already work in the way this camera would allow you to, i.e., taking videos and stills and editing them together and shooting video and temporarily freeze framing to a still and then having the video motion automatically resume. Then I drop it into iMovie and iDVD for post-production and blend video with stills (using the Ken Burns effect, of course).
I do everything you’re talking about here with a Canon model aleady on the market – the S5-IS (don’t laugh) Yes, I understand it’s not HD quality video nor is it a DSLR sized sensor, but the point I’m making is that Canon has finally taken it’s video/stills integration workflow and transported it up from a digicam to a high-end DSLR – the day has finally arrived!
What I can’t understand is how Canon overlooked the audio for the 5DmkII – my little S5IS has built in stereo mics that record in CD quality 44.1 kbs, and while some argue that those little built-in mics on either side of the barrel don’t make it true stereo, they certainly do capture the sound stage accurately, i.e., you can hear the sound moving from the left speaker over to the right speaker if you say, take a video of something making noise moving accross your frame.
I’ve read that the 5DmkII will allow for an external stereo mic to be plugged in, but what about those times when you have your camera with you and hadn’t planned for a full video shoot and left the exteral stereo mic at home or back in the car? I can’t believe the built-in stereo mics on the S5IS didn’t transition over to the 5DmkII!
And speaking of photo journalism, my S5IS will allow me to record audio only without turning on the sensor or video display, i.e., it can be used as an audio only recording device. I know that PJ’s can sometime get themselves into situations where they’re told they have to put the camera’s away, so I hope Canon has ported over the audio-only option as well — if a PJ can’t take pictures, he could always put the camera in audio-only mode and stick it on top of his bag or in a big PJ vest pocket and record the audio of the situation and then edit it back in with the stills and/or video later during post production.
Just my thoughts that Canon grew up all of the video capabilites to HD and on a full-size sensor, but didn’t go all the way with the audio — I hope I’m wrong — Canon if you’re listening, bring over the built-in stereo mics!
It’s also funny that years ago when I first go into this audio/stills way of recording events with a Canon S3IS, I predicted that someday they’d migrate this workflow to their DSLR’s and most people I told this to laughed saying that they would never do that because the folks that own the high-end DSLR’s are only concerned about stills IQ, and then they’d go on to say that if people in that league wanted to shoot video, they’d use a dedicated HD video camera and leave their DSLR for the stills — well, times are changing and I think it’s a good thing!
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what about audio inputs? levels? etc? are you going to have to record on a DAT to get pro audio? it may be great for low light and smaller projects, but i can’t see this competing with RED 1 (4K) or RED epic (5K). nevertheless, the playing field is leveling for us broke a$$ filmmakers (making coppola’s quote more a reality than ever)
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weather sealing is present on the mark II. Canon quotes 10mm in 3 minutes (200mm in an hour). This is from wikipedia:
* Very light rain — when the precipitation rate is 50.0 mm/hour
Basically it can survive extreme rain, when paired with a weather sealed lens.
If you’re wondering, 1D series is quoted able to survive 10 inches/hour (or 254mm/hour). This is just a little better than the 5D mark II.
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Looks like it didn’t post everything I wrote, so here:
* Extreme rain — when the precipitation rate is > 50.0 mm/hour
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Hey Vincent, after keeping track of your Olympic coverage, I was sooo thankful for the incredible photos and great perspective. I’m always wondering about the backend of such things and it was so cool to see that shared. So thank you!
And now coming across this…well, thank you again!
I really hope Canon hosts something like this. Maybe even a site like Engadget would go crazy at the chance of exclusively hosting this. Good luck!
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Hmmmm somehow it didn’t quote me right. This is fully corrected, from wikipedia:
* Very light rain — when the precipitation rate is 50.0 mm/hour
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Wow, frustrating!
Very light rain is when the precipitation rate is less than 0.25 mm/hour. Extreme rain is when the precipitation is more than 50mm/hour. Since the mark II can survive 200mm/hour, then it can survive more than extreme rain.
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Mr. Laforet,
The best way to share-out the video is to bittorrent it. It will receive wide distribution at a small fraction of the bandwidth that would be required to host the video. Better yet, you control the bandwidth rate so now worries about overloading your host. The most popular hosting site is probably The Pirate Bay, but there are strictly legal sites here: http://www.azureuswiki.com/index.php/Legal_torrent_sites
(I am not the first to suggest bittorrent.)
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As a follow up to my last post,
the size of the video doesn’t matter. I would suggest bittorrenting the 1/4 and the full size. I have seen plenty of 20+GB shares.
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[...] en esta 5D MII y), y empiecen a fluir muestras como
Hmm…I am surprised a journalist “sounds” like a Canon-fanboy. I am not going to start here a brand-flame war but – host pix you are showing here of Brooklyn @ 3am – I won’t call them, lets say “tack sharp”…so – the camera makes useful stills @high-iso but it also looks like for a quite high price – strong noise reduction and making pix loosing sharpness. THE pix are good, very good – just get me right…just putting things back into perspective.
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@HHV.
Those pics are screen grabs from the actual video (resized to 700) width, not actual still from the camera
@everybody else who wants Vincent to share the video via bittorent, you should read through the whole discussion or at least part of it. The people at Canon don’t want this video out as a raw footage/actual downloadable file, because it comes from a pre-production camera. That’s why it’s going to be a streaming video.
@Vincent
Thanks a bunch for going the extra mile and trying to get this video out (and for making this video too, of course). Can’t wait to see what it looks like, but from those screen grabs I would say it’s going to be sweet. Thanks again.
Szabi
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Having video capacity in stills camera is an old story. A lot of P&S have it, some in HD. How having this in 35mm full frame camera will revolutionize…yes, what? TV or film production?
Professional EFP-electronic field production- requires dedicated pro cameras. The ones with proper frame rates, resolutions and fields , Time Code, big HR viewfinder, XLR audio connections, shoulder mount capability, long lasting bateries,and many many other things. Any video professional will tell you that having a camera as crippled as 5D2 for video production is not their dream. The only interesting feature is the low light capabilty. But then what stops Canon from putting this capabilty on their proper video cameras? Another story is the moving pictures cameraman skills. How many photographers think in terms of “crossing the axis”, edit matches, shot sequence, zoom avoidance, camera movement, rhythm etc etc. In the worst case all 5D2s will produce bad looking amateur videos. You Tube is gonna broadcast them all?
This thread already shows the great ignorance of the filmic issues within the photographic community. Why on earth would you need great storage and bandwidth to show HD movies on the web? Apple Tunes store sells them by hundreds.
1 hour occupies something like several gigabytes at most. Nobody of sane mind will place raw (in the sense of unprocessed, acquisition quality) footage on the web! The 5D2 codec apparently records with 35 mbit/sec. Regular dv is 25 mbit/sec. But that’s acquisition quality. For distribution you must go down to several mbit/sec to make the whole experience palpable even to the most broadband armed, web savvy users.
I am sorry to disagree wwith most, but the marketing gimmick is not revolution.
Great low light capability-yes. Give it to me on the proper dedicated video camera, the one that will have cameraman faint of hand fatigue. Try to hold your 5D2 in front of your eyes for hours. You’ll learn a thing or two about “duck walk” to minimize shaking, about hand and back fatigue etc.
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What about the sound? Video is not just a motion picture! Stereo, mono, dolby ???
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Hi Vincent, I know a bit about your Apple SAN setup and I’m wondering how you see this changing with the introduction of video to your workflow. Just add more I suspect but nothing is ever that simple. How will you deal with archiving all this data.
Suffice to say that I would imagine your weekly data flow will increase significantly with this camera, am I correct?
I was looking forward to meeting you at the Minneapolis Institute of Art earlier this summer but your had medical situation and were unable to make it. Hope you can make it up here sometime soon!
-John
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Please let me know when your Canon 5D2 footage is available. Amazing stills.
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To Canon,
Host the video! I had already decided not to get the camera because people said the video would only work when the camera was still (couldn’t film while moving because it would “jelly”).
If thats not true, I want the camera… I’ve shot VERY fast sports and always used manual focus and just timed things, so not worried about that. Would love the low light performance and video of this camera.
Need… Canon…. Footage…
I could finally shoot a zombie movie! Or my dogs playing…
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[...] Prized winning photographer Vincent Laforet reviewed Canon EOS 5D mark II at his blog. According to him, “The 5D MKII camera produces the best stills in low light that I’ve [...]
The comment about DOF making the camera worthless as an eng or documentary camera is silly. To get more dof all you would need to do is stop the lens down. It seems to have pretty good high iso performance so smaller apertures would work quite well to get more dof. The issue is that small chip cameras cannot shoot with shallow dof.
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this thing looks just incredible, it’s definitely on my wishlist
vincent, reading one of your posts made me think…have you considered asking Apple to put your video on iTunes? they deal with tons of bandwidth every day of course, and maybe if they got something going on with Canon, it would help them out too. afterall, it’s Apple formats and Apple software you used for everything
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[...] some sample footage from the D90 (apparently shot by Chris Jarvis), and here’s some insufferable famous fellow on the 5D2. [...]
[...] is now an obligation High iso opens up a wealth of new photographic situations………… Vincent Laforet’s Blog __________________ sorta new exhibition 08………………………………………….. [...]
This is what I posted today on DPR.
)
I have read a number of post on DPR in opposition to adding video to DSLR’s. I for one
think it’s a great idea. I currently have the Canon 20D and looking to upgrade this
time around. I’m glad Canon added this option., I only wish it was on the 50D. Some
Say the video quality is not good, but it’s a start and will only get better as time goes on.
I have shot weddings and special events and made DVD slide shows for the clients.
If I had the ability to add some video clips to the show all the better.
Of lately I take the Canon S3 with me because of the nice videos it takes and audio is
in stereo and very good except on windy days. IS and zoom work while taking videos and
auto focus keeps up with moving subjects. I use Pro Show Gold to combine stills and video
clips in the same show and then burn to DVD to play on a TV.
I put together a show for a friend’s 60th birthday party and everyone that saw it loved it.
I’m not sure why there are some that think it’s a gimmick because you can choose not to use it if
you don‘t like the idea, As far as I’m aware adding video will not take away manufactures
from improving image quality giving that is their primary goal after making money.
I’m surprised it’s taken this long considering PS cameras had this ability for years.
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[...] Pour plus infos [...]
[...] 5D Mark II vs 1ds Mark III While you are joking movie mode… Vincent Laforet’s Blog __________________ __________________ Members don’t see this ad. Register your free [...]
What about mediastorm? http://www.mediastorm.org
Not sure exactly how they work, but would think this would be up their alley… I mean, if the new video feature is any good this is the place where some of it will end up.
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Vincent–
Thanks for the great foreshadowing! I had wanted a camera like this for years, so I leapt at the Nikon D90 1 week ago–just a couple of DAYS before Canon’s announcement, and a couple of weeks after springing for a Nikon D700 too…. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am with the D90′s video. Even at 1280 x 720 HD, it is vastly INFERIOR to the 640 x 480 standard-def video from my Canon G9 point-and-shoot! Unbelievable!
What I’d like to know is: Have you seen the Nikon D90′s video, and if so, how does the 5D/II’s video compare?
Thanks,
–howard
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Vincent, Exciting reading… However, I’m a little bit confused… You say that the camera produces a video RAW format? I might have missed out something, but as far as I can tell the camera only produces MPEG 4 video files (H .264) of a bit rate of approx. 39 mbps. Please explain. Lars
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There are plenty of options to upload the video:
rapidshare.com
megaupload.com
google => ‘file hosting’
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[...] Vincent LaForet has said it the best: “Something very interesting is coming…both to this blog and to our industry.” [...]
Lars, I think he meant that the video is raw, ie, straight off the camera, rather than in a RAW format. The videos produced by the camera are in .MOV (Quicktime) format.
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Anyone know if the out of the camera .mov files will cut ok with Adobe CS3?
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[...] Laforet’s blog has some of his own thoughts and three more screencaps of the commercial. It produces the best [...]
This is truly exciting but I’m only marginally excited for one big reason…I’m a Nikon user!! I have a D3 and a dozen pro Nikon lenses so I can’t just buy the Canon body and be on with it. I’d put the low light ability of the D3 up against any camera on the market right now, but the technology seems to have taken a quantum leap in the last year or so. So much so that I’m putting off buying a D700 as a backup body to see what comes out in the next year. I’ve got no problem with being a dual system user but buying a second arsenal of lenses would be a problem!Hey Nikon don’t let us down next time!
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There seem to some sort of misconception of bittorrent and/or streaming video here… I can download a streaming video. And you would resize the distributed video anyway, it’s not like we would get the raw data straight from the cam.
But thanks a lot for the teaser! Those stills look simply amazing, my mind is doing somersaults with ideas on what to do with this camera once I get my hands on it!
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Vincent, Thanks for the info/coments on the 5D2. Looking forward to your delivery of HD Video clips as mentioned. Curious about the AF function with the Mirror Up and the Auto-Expose/Image stabilization function, as the Video function is reported to be operating from the live-view mode… I’ve been testing SONY’s PMW-EX3 with the notion of slipping stills from the HD Video clip… Those interested can to http://www.416-1100.com to see some clips and stills grabbed therefrom..
JimW
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This camera will certainly not replace hollywood’s favorite equipment…however it will change many filming aspects in various market segments.
1. Concerts and events will never be the same. This new camera will open me up to lenses I could never shoot with at live shows and still have low noise. It will also make for fascinating video of a live show that can be cut and added along to the rest of a performances video that is later overlayed with the the pro recording. Fisheye video from a stage looking up at a drum riser is awesome…and now video of it! This will make for some exciting live video.
2. Sports video. Do you know how much easier this will make shooting certain sports? HD video of surfing with a 5DmkII and a fisheye in waterproof housing will be amazing from “inside the barrel.” Or anywhere you can attach an SLR with a suction cup or small boom will make for new angles and clips not easily attained with other equipment. This is not to replace video equipment, but to add to what can be done. It opens up new doors.
I am also fascinated to shoot macro videos at 4:1 or see wildlife in HD with an ef 800mm with 2x.
This opens doors for film production. I see this definitely creating some exciting footage in the automotive tuner and amateur racing community. I can think of a million new ways to shoot video that I wouldn’t normally even consider with pro video equipment.
Many people will complain, many people won’t know what to do with this technology, and many won’t ever be satisfied with anything that ever comes out. I think this is a reflection of inner turbulence and not truly being aligned with the creative spirit. If you don’t need it, don’t use it. However, this is truly going to be an exciting camera for this people that create, and use their tools available to bring new ideas to life. There are plenty of people that don’t complain about features…they are too busy using whats available to do amazing things.
As for the 5D…Ive used one since they were new. I have never had an issue with shutter lag, nor focus.
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jonny Reply:
April 12th, 2009 at 1:10 am
@Apostolis, you go buy your canon, at least you then have something in your life worth a dime.
Your comment reads like a review and you havent even had a look at the canon in real life let alone touched it.
You see, your problem is that creative spirit has to do with buying stuff.
On the contrary monsieur.
So your inner turbulence is yet to burst once you realize all you have is an expensive camera, but still no inspiration.
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[...] Vincent Laforet’s Blog __________________ Andrew Scott, VK2TWO. Andrew Scott Photographics http://www.asphotos.com.au/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/asphotos/ 0411101021 [...]
The pics are awesome. Canon, help get this video out there.
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