Canon EOS Rebel T1i D-SLR with HD

[Chris Hurd]

The *real shame* to me is that these things don't do 25p. That's what I don't understand...

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Evan Donn

It's not just that if you're waiting, you're not creating - if you aren't shooting, you aren't improving (couldn't think of a catchy way to make it rhyme).

If you're not churning, you're not learning?

Regarding not having the perfect camera, as soon as you get it, you'll find that you don't have the right lights, the right support system, the right monitor, the right location, the right actors, the right props and so on.

Shoot what you can. Keep in mind though that the world's best photographers don't show *all* their photographs. If you never shoot crummy stuff, you'll never shoot good stuff.

[Robert Sanders]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

If you're waiting, you're not creating.

The single worst excuse for sitting on the sidelines is "the cameras aren't good enough yet." That's complete nonsense, of course. It's a horrible mentality. We're currently living among an embarrassment of riches with regard to the quality and sheer affordability of digital media content creation... we've been there for several years now.

So much remarkable material has been created with "lesser" equipment and technology that came before. The limitlessness and the limitations don't come from the gear or the technology... they come from the people who are using it. Anyone who says they can't use what's available right now isn't ever going to be able to use anything.

The "right camera" is the one that works, the one you can get your hands on right now this minute.

Not picking on anyone in particular here... this attitude that "the gear isn't good enough yet" is a mental block, a self-imposed barrier to creativity and free expression that affects a lot of people. I don't know of any cure, I just try to tackle it with tough love. Get off your ass and start shooting. Walk away from this web site, pick up a cheap $200 digicam and go outdoors and make photographs and little movies.

Very well said, Mr. Hurd. Very well said.

I recently had a conversation with my wife (who is also my amazing producer) where I said, "I think we need to sell the XLH1 and get into either an EX3 or an HPX300 for our next film. The cameras are so much better now." She looked at me deadpan and eventually responded, "We just watched our XLH1 movie on one of the biggest movie screens in Los Angeles and it looked absolutely gorgeous! Explain to me again why we need yet another new camera?"

To which I didn't really have a great answer. I went on about data workflows and all of that. I went on about chips and raster and glass.... and that's when she kinda just walked out of the room. LOL!

[Jon Fairhurst]

Originally Posted by Robert Sanders

..."Explain to me again why we need yet another new camera?"

That's a great question! It's best if you have a specific answer, like...

* Our next release should be on Blu-ray; our DVX is only good enough for DVDs
* We're filming our next documentary at night with natural light; we need more sensitivity
* We're filming a boxer wearing a helmet cam; rolling shutter won't do
* We're filming the whole thing in a phone booth; we need a wider lens
* We're filming lions in the wild; we need a longer lens

If you don't have a specific problem that your camera won't solve, you probably don't need a different camera.

Also, most indies would probably do better spending the money on lights, support, audio - and more pizza for the crew. :)

[Matt Buys]

Take it easy fellas. Waiting on the sidelines to buy your next cam doesn't mean you're not producing and creating. It just means the technology you want in a camera for the price range you want isn't there yet.
From what I see, a great cam is just around the bend and if what you're using now suffices I'd wait. One quick question though. One poster mentioned the canon 5dmkII blew the HV20 out of the water. That's mainly what I use with a letus. I have a ton of old nikon glass so I'm chomping at the bit to get the canon but I'm waiting at least until it supports 24p. In good light does the 5dmkII really blow the HV20 out of the water?

[Chris Hurd]

A great cam is *always* just around the bend.

Because of its very large sensor size and high, clean ISO capability,
the 5D2 is superior to just about any existing HD camcorder in low
light. But if you're holding out for 24p, you could be in for quite a
wait... I wouldn't count on that happening any time soon.

[Michael Seiler]

what recording will the pal mode do in the new rebel
for video

michael seiler

MauiHDTV

[Ian G. Thompson]

Originally Posted by Chris Hurd

A great cam is *always* just around the bend.

Because of its very large sensor size and high, clean ISO capability,
the 5D2 is superior to just about any existing HD camcorder in low
light. But if you're holding out for 24p, you could be in for quite a
wait... I wouldn't count on that happening any time soon.

So are you suggesting that in good light they are basically on par. Low light is one thing...but I believe in good light...anything can look good.

[Chris Hurd]

I agree with you wholeheartedly, Ian. In good light, anything can look good (and can be made to look great).

[Chris Hurd]

Originally Posted by Michael Seiler

what recording will the pal mode do in the new rebel for video

There is no PAL mode, unfortunately.

[Evan Donn]

Originally Posted by Ian G. Thompson

So are you suggesting that in good light they are basically on par. Low light is one thing...but I believe in good light...anything can look good.

I've shot more low light so far than good light on the 5D, and I haven't attempted to intercut with HV20 footage directly, but I wouldn't say they're on par. In my experience intercutting HV20 with XHA1 footage even under ideal lighting situations had the HV20 falling slightly short of the XHA1 - and I feel the same way about the XHA1 footage when cut with the 5D. I don't know that it 'blows it out of the water', but it's certainly an improvement. I'd bet the difference is even more noticeable if you're comparing to an HV20 with a lens adapter which inevitably degrades the image quality.

[Damon Lim]

I just download some 500D some 1920 x 1080 clip from
Rob Galbraith DPI: HD video capture, 15MP sensor in Canon EOS Rebel T1i

why it only show 940x540 when i put it in premiere CS3?

am i missing something here?? the 1280 x 720 clips are just fine

[Chris Hurd]

I don't have CS3, but I can tell you that Final Cut Express reports both the
Grand Central Station and 42nd Street 1080 clips as 1920 x 1080 at 20fps.

[Paulo Teixeira]

I bet I know what happened.

A high ranking Canon rep and a high ranking Panasonic rep were talking to each other at a bar and after several shots, they decided to make a deal. Panasonic promises not price the GH1 to low while Canon promises not to have either 24 or 30 fps in the 1080 mode of the T1i.




Realistically, I think with some of the bad press that Canon had over the 50D and because the sales will suffer a bit with these new HD capable cameras, a replacement may come within the next few months and that’s what they will use to compete against the GH1.

Nikon is obviously over due to replace the D300 and it’s true that the D400 will have a lot of praise if it records to h.264 at 1080 24p and 30p even at around $2,000 but imagine if they price that to around $1,500 with a lens. For the replacement of the D700 or a newly designed camera with a full frame, I started thinking about which company doesn’t have any professional camcorders and cameras that would be able to help with the video features and it recently popped into my head that Sanyo would be perfect. Nikon should really call them up.

[Jack Zhang]

20p has been used before as a cinematic capture frame rate. Team America was captured in 20p.