View Full Version : 5d Video shooting and shutter speeds and wide angle lens recommendation


Silas Barker
September 12th, 2010, 02:40 PM
Question,

For shooting video with the 5D, what is the highest acceptable shutter speed that still looks smooth and does not strobe?

I am using the following canon lens:

50mm 1.4
24-105mm f4
70-300mm 4-5.6
100mm macro 2.8

Thanks!

Also, any suggestions for an fairly inexpensive wide angle lens (maybe 12-24mm or something like that)
I know sigma makes this one:
Used Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 AF Lens 200101 - B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800725126-USE/Sigma_200101_12_24mm_f_4_5_5_6_AF_Lens.html#reviews)

some good and bad reviews on it however....

Mike Watson
September 12th, 2010, 03:49 PM
I use this Sigma 20mm 1.8 and am in love with it:

Amazon.com: Sigma 20mm f/1.8 EX DG RF Aspherical Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras: Camera & Photo

Olof Ekbergh
September 12th, 2010, 06:18 PM
Basically a 180 degree shutter is what we are used to looking at.

NTSC 1/60
PAL 1/50
24P ideally 1/48 but 1/50 is OK.

Those will work well with your lenses.

One rule to remember is the 7 second rule. Any object traveling all the way across the frame should not be faster than 7 seconds in order not to blur. This is for 24P but it is a good rule even for 25p or 30p. Of course all rules can be broken for effect. But these are standards we are used to.

This means that a wide angle lens is more forgiving than a longer lens at the same distance, all moves are in effect slower.

I hope this helps.

I have a Canon 17-40 f4 L it is fairly inexpensive and I use it a lot, it is very high quality and uses 77mm filters like most L's.

Dylan Couper
September 13th, 2010, 12:21 AM
Also, any suggestions for an fairly inexpensive wide angle lens (maybe 12-24mm or something like that)
I know sigma makes this one:
Used Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 AF Lens 200101 - B&H Photo Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/800725126-USE/Sigma_200101_12_24mm_f_4_5_5_6_AF_Lens.html#reviews)

some good and bad reviews on it however....

I have this lens. There's some bad copies out there for sure. The good ones are still soft. However, if you want wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide angle, it is the only non-fisheye that wide (in a Canon mount, that I know of). Everythign else in that range is an EF-S.

Peer Landa
September 13th, 2010, 02:14 AM
Also, any suggestions for an fairly inexpensive wide angle lens (maybe 12-24mm or something like that)

The best cheap & wide lens I've had -- Sigma 15 mm f2.8 EX:

Nigel Barker
September 13th, 2010, 04:51 AM
I am very tempted to purchase one of the cheap manual Samyang 14mm f/2.8 aspherical lenses that are sold under various brand names. They get good reviews & the look of video shot with a 14mm wide angle on the 5DII should be spectacular.
Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Aspherical - Full Format Review / Test Report (http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/532-samyang14f28eosff)
Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC for CANON _ON STOCK NOW!!! - eBay (item 350352354370 end time Oct-07-10 03:07:38 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/Samyang-14mm-f-2-8-IF-ED-UMC-CANON-ON-STOCK-NOW-/350352354370?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item5192a0ac42#ht_6140wt_1041)

Kris Koster
September 13th, 2010, 06:36 AM
Basically a 180 degree shutter is what we are used to looking at.

NTSC 1/60
PAL 1/50
24P ideally 1/48 but 1/50 is OK.

I have a Canon 17-40 f4 L it is fairly inexpensive and I use it a lot, it is very high quality and uses 77mm filters like most L's.

I have that lens too and I second Olof's general review of it. It's excellent glass for the price.

Also, don't forget that if you're shooting 60p on the 7D/550d/T2i and plan to half the framerate in post, you'll need to set shutter to 1/120...

Kris

Bill Pryor
September 19th, 2010, 10:26 AM
Silas, to clarify, if you're shooting 24p video your shutter speed should be 1/50. If you're shooting 30p it should be 1/60. And as mentioned, if you're doing 720p60 for slomo, use 1/120. If you shoot video at a higher or lower shutter speed, you'll get blurring or strobing, although if nothing is moving very much and you keep the camera static, you can sometimes get by with some variation in shutter speed. If you want a certain effect, experiment with different speeds and see what you get.

Lots of still photographers who have never shot video aren't too familiar with ND filters. You'll need at least an ND.9 for bright sun, maybe a 1.2 if you want to open up more. I use a .9 and add a .6 sometimes if I want a very shallow DOF outdoors. I often use the .6 inside for the same purpose.
So, when shooting video, you don't use shutter speed to control light--that's what ND filters are for.

Liam Hall
September 19th, 2010, 11:58 AM
I have this lens. There's some bad copies out there for sure. The good ones are still soft. However, if you want wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide angle, it is the only non-fisheye that wide (in a Canon mount, that I know of). Everythign else in that range is an EF-S.
Wrong. The Canon 14mm f/2.8 L MkII is rectilinear and is EF.

Jon Fairhurst
September 20th, 2010, 11:15 AM
The one exception to the above rule is for fluorescent lighting. Shoot 1/50 in 50 Hz countries (Europe, China, Aus...) and 1/60 in 60 Hz countries (North America, parts of Japan...) This will help you avoid flicker. In daylight, shoot with a 180 degree shutter, as Bill and others recommend.

This assumes that you want a "normal" film look. You can shoot with a faster shutter for a crisper, stuttery look.

Peer Landa
September 20th, 2010, 06:23 PM
if you're shooting 24p video your shutter speed should be 1/50. If you're shooting 30p it should be 1/60.

Whenever I hear someone utter the phrase "should be" in creative work, I reach for my revolver.

-- peer

Evan Donn
September 22nd, 2010, 05:01 PM
But he's not dispensing general creative advice - those are the exactly what the shutter speeds "should be" if you want the highest shutter speeds that "look smooth and do not strobe", which is what the original question was.

Peer Landa
September 23rd, 2010, 03:57 AM
But he's not dispensing general creative advice

I know, I was just teasing Billy P, (and doing so with a phrase penned by no other than Mr. J. Goebbels himself ;^)

-- peer

Saif Faris
July 19th, 2014, 09:06 AM
What nd filter power do I need to shoot at 1/60 when my camera exposure is yelling it needs 1/8000 - out in the sun at noon.

I want to use wide apertures like 1.4 or 1.6

Robert Benda
July 19th, 2014, 09:16 AM
Saif, I guess I've never shot with a shutter speed above 200, or so. Run a test. I would try to stick with the 180 rule, and if shooting in 24/25 fps, go with shutter speeds that are multiples, so 50, 100, 200, 400, 800.

Add in a modest ND filter and I would hope you'd get what you want.

Nigel, we use the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 and am really happy with it. Generally we use it on our crop factor camera, though, for a 20mm equivalent.

Saif Faris
July 19th, 2014, 12:43 PM
Thanks Robert.

I started a thread & responded there too.

Brian David Melnyk
July 20th, 2014, 06:19 AM
Vincent Laforet suggests shooting at 1/40 or 1/50 at 30fps is more filmic....
I have recently ditched the ND filters in favour of higher shutter speeds, after reading some posts here.
I do not notice any real problems with the image, even with some movement of either camera or subject. But I do think the shots may have less flare, better color representation, and may be sharper.
It may be due to the ND filter quality, but I have been using Singh Ray variable ND and Tiffen 1.2, .9, and .6.
Also, when trying to match a 70d, 5d, and xa10, using ND makes things a little more complicated.
Not sure how high I went, but I am under a rather intense Malian sun...

Jeff Cook
September 18th, 2014, 10:18 AM
I just bought Rokinon's 24mm T1.5 lens and its great. It is all manual, however the focus is very smooth, and because the aperture is de-clicked you have great control over it.