Solution For DSLR Record Limit

[Michael Simons]

Originally Posted by Travis Cossel

Yeah, that cam is looking nice but most of us probably aren't going to run out and replace our DSLR's with it right away either. d;-)

Weddings are so "run and gun" that it looks difficult with this camera to change your settings quickly. With the 7D, my thumb and forefinger are right where they need to be.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Zhong Cheung

Wow, amazing camera...though I guess it's about twice the price of the Panasonic AF-100.

No, it's only about 15% more expensive but it does have some weird omissions like no built-in ND filters & it only has one card slot to record to.

Originally Posted by Zhong Cheung

I wonder if this Sony has servo zoom and continuous autofocus.

They do with the right lens e.g. Sony NEX-FS100EK (NEXFS100EK) Super 35mm Exmor CMOS Sensor Camcorder with 11x Zoom E-Mount Lens

[Buba Kastorski]

Originally Posted by Nigel Barker

They do with the right lens

powered zoom? and what lens that would be?

[Zhong Cheung]

Ah, the original report I read was in yen, so I converted to dollars which came out to be $8,500 or so. But actual price is $6,550.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Buba Kastorski

powered zoom? and what lens that would be?

Sorry, you are right. I mis-read the specs of the lens that I linked to. It says "11x zoom power" which I had read as " 11x powered zoom"

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by John Wiley

I believe another member here has found a way to use an intervalometer in conjunction with the camera's IR port to be able to make the camera stop and restart at certain intervals. I didn't quite understand the explanation he gave but it sounded as though it was set up to stop the recording around 11 minutes (safely before the 4gb limit) then restart it again, with only a few seconds gap in between. Perhaps he'll chime in here and correct my horrible explanation of his device!

Of course, with the T2i you can just use Magic Lantern to automatically restart the recording.

This is the prototype of the IR emulator that stops/restarts the camera every 11m30s. We could make the board quite a bit smaller and probably use a much smaller chip too. We just had these lying around.

It runs off a 9v battery, which lasts for several 32GB cards. The button (to the left) is the start/stop button. The two red LEDs are the 'recording' and 'heartbeat' lights. The heartbeat was there for debugging only and emitted a short flash once every second. The main IR emitter is the white blob just below the 6 pin connector, which is a debug port.

It works, but the 60D is not 100% reliable. I've yet to see the 7D or 5D2 fail with it.

If you are using the 550D/T2i then use the Magic Lantern firmware!

[Colin Rowe]

Originally Posted by Travis Cossel

Your video cameras can't match the image quality and low light ability (or DoF) of my DSLR's. d;-)

Try putting a DSLR next to an EX1, the EX1 hammers it in resolution, and there is not a lot of difference in low light performance, "using a 1.4 lens on the DSLR". I have an EX1, Nex-5 and a 550D, the Nex-5 matches the EX1, colour wise, quite well. The 550D is very usefull for infills etc, even more so with Magic Lantern. We all find strenghts and weaknesses in various cameras, but using all 3 of mine on a regular basis, I would never use anthing other than an EX1 / video camera as my first tool of choice

[Adam Forgione]

Originally Posted by Travis Cossel

Yeah, that cam is looking nice but most of us probably aren't going to run out and replace our DSLR's with it right away either. d;-)

I 2nd that. Im very happy with the 20k ive spent in canon 5d's and L-series lenses. A few bumps to work around as a filmmaker but this is not gonna make me wanna go buy another cam. Eventually you need to stop buying and start filming... LOL

[Adam Forgione]

Originally Posted by Colin Rowe

Try putting a DSLR next to an EX1, the EX1 hammers it in resolution, and there is not a lot of difference in low light performance, "using a 1.4 lens on the DSLR". I have an EX1, Nex-5 and a 550D, the Nex-5 matches the EX1, colour wise, quite well. The 550D is very usefull for infills etc, even more so with Magic Lantern. We all find strenghts and weaknesses in various cameras, but using all 3 of mine on a regular basis, I would never use anthing other than an EX1 / video camera as my first tool of choice

Colin Im not sure you have experienced the right "DSLR" tool yet. A 550 is not the right tool for weddings in most cases. Put a canon 5d with a 1.4 lense next to an EX1 (especially in low light) and you would probably sell the EX1 the next day. T2i, 550. and even 7D do not perform well in low light so I can almost see why you would feel that way. After using a 5D with L series lenses, you would start trying to match your EX1 to it, and soon find out that nothing compares.

the main reason I replied to this was after readin "the EX1 hammers it in resolution, and there is not a lot of difference in low light performance," - I cant even bare to look at my ex1 footage anymore, i hate it compared to my 5d's. so glad i sold my ex1 last year

[Colin Rowe]

Sorry Adam, I dissagree. I have used a 5d and was very impressed with it, but it still didnt come close to the resolution of the EX1. Dont get me wrong, I love the way DSLRs have become such a useable tool in video production, I look at images, I am not, or ever have been, interested in figures or pixel peeping, just the image any camera will produce. I dont know exactly what DSLRs resolve, but I do know its way less than an EX1. But hey, its all subjective. I was hoping to make the transition to all DSLR, but I couldn't live with the line skipping down conversion, moire and aliasing. Give it a few years and most video cams will incorporate large sensors, without the aformentioned drawbacks, and by that time, something else will have come along. Thats electronics. And I do love shooting with a DSLR, I do think the images are excellent, just not up to the EX1,

[Dave Partington]

Originally Posted by Colin Rowe

Sorry Adam, I dissagree. I have used a 5d and was very impressed with it, but it still didnt come close to the resolution of the EX1.

I think it's fair to say that different people have different views. Coming from HMC151s the DSLRs are a major improvement in both resolution and low noise, but I'd happily admit they aren't the sharpest tool in the box.

I recently tested the Canon XF300 and to my surprise it beat the hell out of the DSLR in terms of resolution. When trying to edit them together I needed to apply a 0.5 gaussian blur to the XF300 to bring it down to the DSLR level (shot with sharpness and contrast turned down).

However (and this is a big one for me) the DSLRs completely blew the XF300 away in low light. In fact I could shoot the 5D2 at ISO2000 and still have less noise than the XF300 at 6db, which is where I found myself shooting inside a couple of churches we did the tests in. Needless to say, without good low light capability (at least for the wedding videographer), the sharpest camera in the world is no good.

[Jim Snow]

I don't think this "my camera is better than your camera" accomplishes very much. First comes the skill of the shooter and then the choice of cameras is his or her decision based on style, preferences, familiarity, budget and a host of other factors. Also, a shooter who shows "good stuff" has a demonstrated right to an opinion that may differ from that of others.

[Nigel Barker]

The 5DII looks 'sharper' even with sharpness dialled down. This gives the illusion of detail & a higher resolution than is actually being resolved. The XF305 has much higher resolution than the 5DII if you look at video shot side by side. It also has much more natural looking colour & contrast. The 5DII looks more 'filmic' but the XF305 looks more like real life.

[Corey Graham]

Good Lord. Not another DSLR argument.

[Travis Cossel]

Seriously. People. The purpose of this thread was to help those who HAVE chosen to work with DSLR's. It's not a thread for discussing the advantages/disadvantages of every camera on the market. If you don't use DSLR's and don't want to, feel free to leave this particular thread alone. Thanks. d;-)