The lack of continuous aperture (or shutter or gain) is definitely a limiting factor - as is my lack of experience and finesse!

Thinking back to reporting at F1 races, I often see the camera follow the drivers from parc ferme to the weighing room after the race and notice the operator changing exposure. I've never noticed any steps, so I assume that it's a continuous aperture.

The funny thing is when the camera op walks into the Ferrari pits. Everything is red, and lots of light shines through red banners. The walls are red. The car is red. The uniforms are red. ...And the color balance is terrible! They certainly don't try to correct that on the fly. It just looks bad - unless you are a Ferrari fan. :)

Don't worry. I don't plan to request live WB adjustment for the camera in this lifetime. :)

I hate to be negative, but "while shooting video" can be interpreted as "as part of the overall shooting process". It doesn't specifically say at what moment changes can be made.

If engineers and lawyers got together to write marketing copy, this stuff would be clear. Long and boring, but clear. ;)

I am waiting to see something pop up with the new firmware that says, I am sorry, you are not using a genuine Canon lens. Therefore, the manual features cannot be accessed. (Rasberry sound follows).

As an engineer, I have had to suffer through days of discussions with lawyers to write patents. They are long but rarely clear.

My two cents worth: "while shooting video" as opposed to "shooting stills" is what I interpret; therefore, it does not necessaraly imply that changes can be made in the middle of shooting video.

I'll be happy as long as they don't change 10 seconds after I set them - or after hitting Pause after recording.

I think this time they mean "Manual." My guess is; there will be no auto-anything once you set your dial to "M," it's there!

That's the way I read it too - especially since the marketing copy emphasized the "M" mode.

My guess is that Canon will keep the controls in line with a typical Canon DSLR. That means not just "M", but Av, Ap, etc. This makes sense, as their main market is photographers, and they are marketing the video feature to photojournalists - even in China. Any skilled photographer will "get" the camera mode paradigm for video immediately.

We will see...

Jon,

My thoughts exactly.

Yes. We will see...

Rick C.

Oh, you mean the $400 variable ND filter that almost none of us own? Kind of makes dialing up/down the ND not an option. :)

How about a drop-in filter like a 4x4 or Cokin? Just yank it out as you go indoors. If your fingers don't go over the lens people won't notice too much. An affordable ND grad could be slid up into it's clear range discretely.

And, as I mentioned earlier, if you can insert B-roll over the transition, you can keep the audio rolling and get good before and after shots - even if your fingers do get caught on "tape".

I bought one when I bought the camera. Everybody I know who owns this camera also bought one because it is a valid, useful tool.

It speeds up your shooting process and lowers the fiddle factor by a huge margin.

From the PDN website...

Canon Shares More Details on Video Firmware Update for 5D Mark II


So with that, seems like the DP Review site write up of an "Auto" setting for the ISO may or may not be true.

One thing is for sure, we'll all know for sure come June 2nd (tentatively)!!