Next step after 5D MkII?

[Jon Fairhurst]

Mike, I think the JL DT454 pretty much solves the audio issue - for two channels anyway. I use a chest rig (The Event) and mount it to the bar that goes to the chest. That keeps it from making the center of gravity any worse than it already is. When shooting, I can easily reach for the gain knob.

When working with an audio guy, I prefer a separate recorder to untether things. When shooting solo, in-camera sound is the way to go. Most importantly, you avoid the issue of having to hit REC on the camera once and to hit it twice (1st-STBY; 2nd REC) on the audio recorder. I've missed getting audio a few times when using a separate recorder as a solo shooter and was left with only the audio from the built-in mic for those clips. :(

Regarding iris control, that sounds like a situation for a variable ND.

Yeah, a DSLR will never be an all-in-one unit, but with a nice rig, case, custom cables and ties, it doesn't have to be a box of tinker toys either.

You mentioned the desire to be able to send tapes and edit anywhere. Scarlet might not be the best choice. Redcode Raw isn't for everybody. And the 1D X and Mystery Cinema DSLR might have improved images, but won't change the ergonomics.

Personally, I like that DSLR rigs break down so small. I can fit a camera, lenses, filters, chest rig, follow focus, loupe, batteries, charger, cards, card reader, preamp, mic, laptop, travel documents, and misc travel goods in a backpack that fits under an airliner seat. And, yes, it takes about 15 minutes to assemble and adjust. I use primes, so lens changes take time - especially with follow focus. But I can keep all my gear with me, on my back when on the road. A bigger all-in-one doesn't necessarily break down as small.

What I really need is a nano-tripod - just add water to expand to full size! :)

[Mike Watson]

Jon, I gotta tell you, the backpack bit is a big win for the 5D. I can bring my laptop, CF reader, camera, lenses, batteries, and gadgets on board, check the tripod bag, and check a small suitcase with 3 500LED lights, 3 small light stands, cushion them with clothes for a week, and be quite mobile. I once travelled to NYC after 9/11 with my BetaSX cam and what we then called a "laptop" BetaSX editor - each probably 50 pounds, not counting the tripod (2x the weight of my 501), batteries, chargers, etc - plus, checking a tungsten kit was like begging for all the lamps to be broken. It's THAT stuff I don't miss!

[Gabe Strong]

Just about 2 weeks ago I got hired to do a shoot in a small town about 90 miles from me. For people not familiar with Alaska, there are no roads between towns here, except in the area around Anchorage. So for most of the state, that means you have to fly or take a boat when you travel.

There are two flights a day from my town to the town I was shooting in. One leaves here at 10:30am and the night flight left to come back at 5:30pm. So, considering the flight takes half an hour, I have to retrieve bags, rent a car drive to location stage out, set up, film in multiple locations and multiple interviews and also make sure I am back at the airport by about 4pm to check in rental car and check in bags and so on, I didn't figure to have a lot of time, so I tried something new.

I packed my FS100, kit lens, Lowel pro light (250) and small reflecter in a backpack. Small tripod and light stand in tripod case. Carried them both on. No baggage to check in, or pick up. Worked great, mostly because the FS100 is SO good in low light, that I could shoot interviews in the helicopter hanger (it was POURING and windy outside) with just a little light and reflector. Seems to be a good bit like a DSLR in that you can break it down into a little camera by taking everything off it. Good stuff.

[Josh Keffer]

The way we work audio is to take a 1/8 out of the Tascam HEADPHONE jack set at level 4. Take it into the 5D and manually set the audio recording level to 1 tick above zero. This will match the Tascam and the 5D audio levels as long as you keep the Tascam at 4. Then use the Line Out on the Tascam for monitoring. Works great!

[Jon Fairhurst]

Still, you have to start recording with one button push on the DSLR and with two on the DR-100. When shooting solo, you can't look at the recorder to double check that it's really recording and not just in Standby. So when you're not sure, you worry. If you're out of sync and you hit REC on each device once to stop the recording, the camera will stop but the recorder might go from STBY to REC. You might end up with an hour recording of the crew having lunch.

That's why I prefer the JL for solo shooting. For team shooting a separate recorder works fine and I don't put the signal into the camera (I just use the on-camera mic for sync.) The audio guy is free to roam.

I've also used the JL on camera with a boom op. I built a quick release cable that has an XLR in one direction and a 1/8" in the other for the headphone return. That works either directly from the boom or with a field mixer and recorder on the boom op. A Boostaroo headphone amp at the camera provides additional outputs. The director, camera op and audio op can all wear headphones during the shoot with that setup and the camera op doesn't have to worry about operating two independent recording devices.

BTW, I had another problem with the DR-100 when the batteries went low. The recording simply stopped - and I lost the whole take. I was the solo operator and didn't see (I was looking at the camera monitor) or hear anything (on headphones) during the take that indicated to me that the battery died or that the clip was lost. Ouch!

[Bill Pryor]

One reason I got the Marantz PMD661 when my Zoom died was that you don't have to push the button twice to record. Push record and it records. There's a separate standby/monitor button. The Zoom almost burned me on that issue a few times. I always caught it but on occasion it caused a second take.

[Jon Fairhurst]

My son's Fostex FR-2LE also has separate STBY and REC buttons. I much prefer that arrangement.

It's still best for a team shoot though as it's much too big to attach to the camera. It's really designed for over the shoulder operation, and the body is plastic, so you don't want to be running around paying attention to the camera with the unit flopping around on its strap.

It sounds great though and is a definite step up in quality from the H4n or DR-100. I haven't used the PMD661, but I'd imagine that it's also a nice step-up from the bottom tier XLR recorders.

One nice thing on the DR-100 is the limiter design. Some time ago I did a shoot where a non-audio colleague operated the unit. I set the levels, but sure enough, the talent got louder and my operator didn't adjust it. The levels were just a bit over-range, but the limiter was smooth enough to rescue the take. I can guarantee our audience never noticed - in fact, had I not seen the waveform, I might not have noticed.

[Jon Fairhurst]

...but back on topic, I just went back into the history machine and found that the 5D Mark II press release came out in mid-September, 2008. It started shipping at least six weeks later in November. With the October 26th (printer) and November 3rd (C300) announcement dates past, it's clear that there will be no next generation DSLR before the 1D X starts to ship in March 2012. Retailers in the US don't change their shelf allocations from before Black Friday through the Super Bowl - at least that's the case for TVs.

It's possible that Canon will make announcements at CES in early January. As I recall, they announced the 100/2.8 IS Macro and the 70-200/2.8L II lenses just before CES and displayed those at the trade show. For sure, they'll project 1D-X if not C300 video there.