My first official T2i vid at DVinfo.net

My first official T2i vid · May 5th, 2010, 04:06 PM

Hey all,

Shot this for work on my personal T2i. I was shooting with it using the EX1 as the A-cam, but all I wound up keeping from the EX1 was the audio. ;) Used the Canon 50mm f1.4 lens for all of it, barely did any color correction, and was just all-around stunned by the results.

***WARNING: this video is about being pro-choice. If that's not your thing, I totally respect that and you probably don't wanna watch this. Either way, I am sure the mods wanna keep politics outta this so, y'know, feel free to dis the vid but maybe not the politics. ;)

For talking heads, the T2i and DSLRs in general totally change the game.

Bryan McCullough · May 5th, 2010, 04:13 PM

Marc,

Just FYI there's a forum to put examples of T2i work:

EOS 550D / Rebel T2i Sample Clips Gallery Forum at DVinfo.net

I'm sure this will get moved eventually.

Good looking video (I'm on the other side of the political fence ;) ), any specifics on the shoot? What lenses, ISO, lights?

I noticed very little noise in your video, which is something I'm always struggling with. Curious to know how you shot to get such clean results, or did you do anything in post?

Marc Faletti · May 5th, 2010, 04:18 PM

Hey Bryan,

Whoops! Should probably move this myself if I can, thanks for the heads up.

I shot it all with ambient light from windows and overhead. I did a white balance before each interview, set the ISO at 200 and actually pushed the shutter up a bit to 80 I believe (I like the look of a quick shutter on pretty much everything). Can't recall the f-stop but with a low-light lens like this and enough light coming in, it was probably bumped up a bit. Lens was Canon 50mm f1.4.

It was SO EASY to get a great shot, I barely had to adjust anything but the most basic settings.

One thing I did have to do: run SmoothCam on the footage in FCP. I did it all handheld, and I will never do that again with this cam. You could actually see my *pulse* in the footage. Still, I don't think you can see the SmoothCam results too easily unless you know I ran it.

Bryan McCullough · May 5th, 2010, 04:25 PM

Thanks for the feedback. Guess I'm going to have to get me one of those 1.4 50mm lenses.... :)

Forrest Burger · May 5th, 2010, 06:12 PM

Highlight tone priority on or off? What about picture profile settings, i.e. sharpness, contrast etc?

Thanks, I've got a T2i and the 50mm 1.4.

Forrest

Robert Turchick · May 5th, 2010, 06:35 PM

Another example of why the 50mm 1.4 ROCKS!!!
Nice job!

Michael Ojjeh · May 5th, 2010, 06:50 PM

Marc, Good looking footage, I have the same lens with the T2i, and it also change the game for me and the way I shoot in low lights.

Marc Faletti · May 5th, 2010, 07:34 PM

Thanks for the feedback, y'all. The lens really is the star of the piece.

I've left the profile, contrast, sharpness, etc. at the default out-of-the-box settings thus far. I know people tend to turn sharpness down to 0, but I have tried that and preferred leaving it at 3 out of the box. I want to shoot and play more to learn what I like/dislike before I start futzing much with settings.

My only complaints thus far are the lack of manual white balance control and the image stabilization issues (which were worse than I imagined). This project was also my first chance to use pluraleyes, and while it didn't synch up every one of my clips, it did synch about 90% and was very helpful.

Bryan McCullough · May 5th, 2010, 07:38 PM

On Pluraleyes try selecting 'try really hard' and 'level audio'. I've had great success with these options on some that would otherwise not sync.

Marc Faletti · May 6th, 2010, 09:50 AM

Thanks Bryan! Will do. I saw the 'try really hard' option after I ran everything (which is a great feature name, btw) but haven't put it through its paces yet.

Zia Basith · May 18th, 2010, 05:30 PM

Hi Marc, your video looks amazing!
I just got the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens
and my question to you is that, in Movie Mode,
my F-Stop shows 5.6 and Shutter Speed 1/60sec
and the image is darker. I don't see any options to change that.
How can I change the F-Stops on this lens?
Thanks,
Zia

Mugurel Dragusin · July 9th, 2010, 04:20 AM

Marc,

Nice piece except the image stabilization is distracting, I think the natural shake or stable on a tripod would been far more desirable; look at how the background moves unnaturally when the interviewee head is moving.

Just my thoughts and they should be taken as constructive criticism only :)

May 5th, 2010, 06:35 PM	#6
Robert Turchick Trustee Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 1,389	Another example of why the 50mm 1.4 ROCKS!!! Nice job! __________________ The older I get, the better I was!

May 5th, 2010, 06:50 PM	#7
Michael Ojjeh Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 338	Marc, Good looking footage, I have the same lens with the T2i, and it also change the game for me and the way I shoot in low lights. __________________ Dragonfly Production http://www.dragonflyproduction.net/ http://www.vimeo.com/user432181

May 18th, 2010, 05:30 PM	#11
Zia Basith New Boot Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 23	What F-Stop did you use with Canon T2i, EF 50mm f1.4 USM Lens? Hi Marc, your video looks amazing! I just got the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 USM lens and my question to you is that, in Movie Mode, my F-Stop shows 5.6 and Shutter Speed 1/60sec and the image is darker. I don't see any options to change that. How can I change the F-Stops on this lens? Thanks, Zia

July 9th, 2010, 04:20 AM	#12
Mugurel Dragusin Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Philippines Posts: 253	Marc, Nice piece except the image stabilization is distracting, I think the natural shake or stable on a tripod would been far more desirable; look at how the background moves unnaturally when the interviewee head is moving. Just my thoughts and they should be taken as constructive criticism only :) __________________ Lost signature, if you find it, please return it to me, thank you.

May 5th, 2010, 04:13 PM	#2
Bryan McCullough Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 842	Marc, Just FYI there's a forum to put examples of T2i work: EOS 550D / Rebel T2i Sample Clips Gallery Forum at DVinfo.net I'm sure this will get moved eventually. Good looking video (I'm on the other side of the political fence ;) ), any specifics on the shoot? What lenses, ISO, lights? I noticed very little noise in your video, which is something I'm always struggling with. Curious to know how you shot to get such clean results, or did you do anything in post?

May 5th, 2010, 04:18 PM	#3
Marc Faletti Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 50	Hey Bryan, Whoops! Should probably move this myself if I can, thanks for the heads up. I shot it all with ambient light from windows and overhead. I did a white balance before each interview, set the ISO at 200 and actually pushed the shutter up a bit to 80 I believe (I like the look of a quick shutter on pretty much everything). Can't recall the f-stop but with a low-light lens like this and enough light coming in, it was probably bumped up a bit. Lens was Canon 50mm f1.4. It was SO EASY to get a great shot, I barely had to adjust anything but the most basic settings. One thing I did have to do: run SmoothCam on the footage in FCP. I did it all handheld, and I will never do that again with this cam. You could actually see my pulse in the footage. Still, I don't think you can see the SmoothCam results too easily unless you know I ran it.

May 5th, 2010, 04:25 PM	#4
Bryan McCullough Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 842	Thanks for the feedback. Guess I'm going to have to get me one of those 1.4 50mm lenses.... :)

May 5th, 2010, 06:12 PM	#5
Forrest Burger Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 86	Highlight tone priority on or off? What about picture profile settings, i.e. sharpness, contrast etc? Thanks, I've got a T2i and the 50mm 1.4. Forrest

May 5th, 2010, 07:34 PM	#8
Marc Faletti Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 50	Thanks for the feedback, y'all. The lens really is the star of the piece. I've left the profile, contrast, sharpness, etc. at the default out-of-the-box settings thus far. I know people tend to turn sharpness down to 0, but I have tried that and preferred leaving it at 3 out of the box. I want to shoot and play more to learn what I like/dislike before I start futzing much with settings. My only complaints thus far are the lack of manual white balance control and the image stabilization issues (which were worse than I imagined). This project was also my first chance to use pluraleyes, and while it didn't synch up every one of my clips, it did synch about 90% and was very helpful.

May 5th, 2010, 07:38 PM	#9
Bryan McCullough Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Richardson, TX Posts: 842	On Pluraleyes try selecting 'try really hard' and 'level audio'. I've had great success with these options on some that would otherwise not sync.

May 6th, 2010, 09:50 AM	#10
Marc Faletti Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 50	Thanks Bryan! Will do. I saw the 'try really hard' option after I ran everything (which is a great feature name, btw) but haven't put it through its paces yet.