a newbie dslr question...
 

hi all,

im shooting on a 60d 17-85mm macro lens, this was the lens which came with my package, my question is, when i extract the raw video clip from my memory card onto the computer, the footage is not crsip when fully viewed, it looks low quality, am i doing something wrong?

Someone mentioned having the video clip compressed? should this be done before starting editing? and what programs allow you to do this?

Sorry for such a basic question, i am new to the dslr world

regards

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

Lots of pieces to the puzzle...
First the camera...

Make sure you are shooting what you want (1080 or 720)
I think there is a lower quality mode...not sure on the 60d but the T2i could record SD video with a 7x zoom which was cool for playing around but looked terrible quality-wise.
Have you played with picture settings in-camera?
And last for in camera checks...how are you verifying focus? It's pretty easy to capture soft video.

Next...you said "extract" video to your computer...to me that means you have software that is processing the video to get it on your computer.
Cleanest way is to copy the contents of the card to a drive on your computer. They are QuickTime which will open without the need for processing. HOWEVER...
QuickTime has a setting that needs to be checked...make sure in the preferences you have it set to high quality playback. Otherwise your vid will look awful.

This is all that comes to mind now...I'm sure someone will fill in more info. Hope this helps!

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

Ismail, in addition to these things, you probably need a lens upgrade. But we don't whether you're exposing properly or any of the factors...
Bill

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

I have a feeling your computer or monitor may be up to the task. Without an output device results can vary widely.

Although the kit lens is not awesome, it should work adequately and look sharp. The 720p files will also look quite nice. (you may be hard pressed to tell the difference with 1080 sometimes)

Have you tried playback through HDMI?
Unless you had focus problems, you may be surprised.

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

thanks for the replies

To Roger: What lens would you reccomend? i would mostly be doing interviews/montages/docu type work...

Any suggestions?

Regards
Ismail

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

The kit lens should still give a crisp image. You might have the camera set for 640x 480 low res.

You may also be out of focus. DSLRs have an very shallow depth of field. It is not the same as shooting with a standard video camera

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

My current favorite is the EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS
Get yourself a screen magnifier, I have the Z-Finder 3x and would be lost without it!

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

hi

Thanks for the advice, i really appreciate it, but the lens you suggested is over my budget, i have a budget of around $600? any other suggestions or cheaper or similar?

Thanks

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

Check out either the Tamron 17- 50mm (around $400-450 depending on whether or not there's a rebate happening), or the Tokina 11-16mm for around $650. Both are F/2.8, so pretty fast.

Both have been out for a while, and there's been plenty of great stuff shot with both. I own the Tamron and consider it to be one the best values out there (the nifty fifty still being the best)

Review of the Tamron:
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di II LD IF Lens Review

Review of the Tokina:
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX Lens Review

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

I endorse Rusty Rogers recommendation about getting a magnifier. The Zacuto Z-Finder makes a huge difference when focusing and framing the 60D particularly in bright ambient light. I have the 2.5x magnification version which I found better than the 3x. If you are thinking of buying, find a store that will let you make a comparison. One downside, the Zacuto only works with the LCD flat against the body. You have to remove it to flip the screen to the side.

When I first got it, I used my 60D on a trip for taking tourist video. I couldn't see the LCD properly in the bright sunlight and didn't have the Zacuto so I set the aperture to f8 - f11 and shutter to 100 with the ISO on auto. I could shoot outside with this setup and get decent video because the small aperture produces lots of depth of field. If the focus is reasonably close the picture looks sharp. The combination works well if you have to shoot and can't see the screen properly to focus.

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

what are you using to extract the footage? are you going from the camera or a card reader or directly into the computer?

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

As long as you're shooting at your desired HD settings, your video should be fine. The Quicktime window may initially come out sized too large and the video will not look good, especially on a not-so-great computer monitor. Burn out to Blu-Ray and you'll see the nice results (I think only a select few DSLRs output HD through their HDMI ports, which stinks).

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

Hi

sorry for the late response, yes i am, i drag the clips of my camera and straight into fcp, Is this the normal procedure or is there an alternative?

Re: a newbie dslr question...
 

HD footage will have to be transcoded to an Apple ProRes codec in the Compressor program so that you don't have any issues while editing (otherwise, you're constantly rendering your footage whenever you make changes on the timeline).