I was shocked, but I shouldn't have been - you've seen 1080p blue-ray or hd-dvd output, so this should be good. Still that didn't prepare me for how good the quality was. I think people will see this as more than a useless gimmick now.
Techwise? Vincent is no DP he's a PJ. From my POV, also as a DP, with what he has to work with, how it's done, and the time he has with it, he did REALLY well. Put this camera in the hands of ANY ASC cinematographer, you'll get a BIGGER jaw dropping reel.
I also was blown away by it.
The quality is just... incredible!
I just don't understand how so many people criticised it.
But one issue does arise, at least for me.
There is hardly any use of AF, if any at all...
While the 5DMII's movie mode is a step ahead of the d90 since the latter does not feature any kind of AF, the movies samples I have seen from the 5D that feature the use of AF show that there is still place for considerable improvement in that area, for it is quite slow and does not focus continuously, like AI-Servo. It's more like one-shot mode.
Possibly the reason behind Laforet not using it in the making of the video.
To add before people start complaining about videos & how the AF suck on video cameras. In truth, yes, it does suck, and REAL pros have NEVER used or rely it. To clarify how long it takes to REALLY have it done right: PRO movie/video cameras are M EVERYTHING. ENG cameras are MF, & M aperture ONLY. Consumer video cameras have dodgy AF, as do prosumer cameras like the XL-H1. The "perfect" AF that you have seen in the movies & TV, what you want and what you're talking about are done by 3 people, a focus puller, a cameraman, a dolly grip (if any), and HOURS of planning, setting up, rehersals, dry runs before the ACTUAL shoot. I hope this helps.
Here's yet another FM'er that's blown away by it. Extremely well done. Read some complaints about it on another thread but I thought otherwise and still do.
Not being able to use AF comes with the territory - AF is done before the mirror flips up, so in movie mode "normal" AF just isn't possible, like in LV. So you'll have to depend on contrast AF (but how does that now exactly where to focus) or tripod mount your 5D2 and use MF. Error-prone, but workable.
If you want the best possible outcome photographing, you have to do the very same so nothing really changes. I mean, the big AF-square on my 1D never knows that I want the eye to be sharp when shooting someone's face with an 85L @ f/1.2 and not the eyebrow which is covered by the same square as well: only I do.
Anyway, long story short: impressed. And like Aberdeen I think this might change wedding photography in the years to come. If only they could get rid of the gap of around 1 sec. when you take a photo while shooting video...
Better buy some Sandisk shares, we'll need a lot of their bigger cards
Yeah, I was super impressed. My favorite shot was in the helicopter where the guy put the glasses on and they reflected the NY city scape... Stellar!
I think why this excites me a lot is that I am someone that has never really been into video, but haven't ever really given it a chance. As a photographer, IQ is important to me (why I stay away from YouTube!) and in order to get decent IQ in a video camera requires big $$$$ that I would much rather put into my photo equipment. This gives me the option of trying some video with equipment that I know how to use, with lenses I already own and understand, without the investment into video gear. Then I can find out if I really dislike video work
And as for the focusing, yeah that can be a drag. But this isn't really designed necessarily to be the camera you use to record your 4 year old daughter's dance recital. Like it has been said already, real pros use Manual Focus anyway.
I truly think this is super exciting. Unfortunately, I don't think the 5D Mark II is in my current path. I am holding out with my current gear until I graduate, then maybe a 1D Mark IV will be around with 1080p video
Mike1 wrote:
Techwise? Vincent is no DP he's a PJ. From my POV, also as a DP, with what he has to work with, how it's done, and the time he has with it, he did REALLY well. Put this camera in the hands of ANY ASC cinematographer, you'll get a BIGGER jaw dropping reel.
I was referring to tech wise in regards to the camera and not Vincent.
The noise in the dark segments, the lack of dynamic range in one of the overhead city shots as they panned, and some awkward moments when panning with the wide angle lens. Some of it might be due to the compression for web. I'd like to see the full size vid.
Regardless I said I like it and am excited for this new camera.
There is another video made by Luminous Landscape. You can find it on their website, under "news". It is quite different in that it is much more candid. no storyboard, no actors, no budget, no time. The videographer, Michael Reichmann, devotes a lot to attention to showing the paper-thin DOF which can be achieved. But, overall, and taking into account the relative paucity of means, the quality is just as mind-blowing as the Laforêt one.
I wonder what all the anti-DSLR Video camp has to say about this video. It was obvious from the beginning that it is a tremendous improvement over common camcorders because of the quality of lenses and the larger sensor. But, there were so many Debbie-Downers who said "No way am I going to like this". I hope you guys saw how good that video is and the possibilities.
A few of us tried to explain how good it could be, with as much enthusiasm as we could, but the nay-sayers just kept whining. I hope they all watch the videos and then simply shut the hell up.
This is EXACTLY what I was talking about, and hoping... The jury is still out--I've got to see real footage... But there is a very high % chance that these will be what we shoot our indie film with.
