Full HD on Canon EOS 5D Mk. II -- officially announced

Tim Polster · September 17th, 2008, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Roper

It seems like there is no manual exposure or shutter speed control.

If this is true, then all bets are off.

Simon Wyndham · September 18th, 2008, 03:23 AM

Quote:

People are putting these Letus things in front of an existing camera and lens and making Bazooka-like end products just to get shallow DOF.

Yep. I think that is silly too.

Quote:

The full-frame 5D II comes along and shoots 1080p with the capability to get that DOF with only the intended lenses

Does it specifically say that the DOF can be achieved in video mode? There doesn't seem to be any definitive answer as to how it is making 1080 video. If it is scaling the picture, then that right there is a red flag because full frame stills are a completely different aspect ratio to 16:9 video. So it has to be cropping in some way.

This is going to be very limited, ergonomically and control wise.

Mike Marriage · September 18th, 2008, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Wyndham

This is going to be very limited, ergonomically and control wise.

Like Simon says, this is going to be of very limited use for serious video work.

It may be great for certain specific applications such as timelapse or where a very small camera is required or a specialist lens is used. Maybe even low light stuff... we'll have to wait and see.

Simon, from the sample clips there doesn't appear to be much cropping of the sensor. For example, the 15mm wide angle shot is VERY wide. If it was cropped down you would obviously get a far narrower field of view.

I am tempted to buy one of these because although it is of limited use as an HD camera, it is really just a bonus over what will certainly be a great stills camera

Simon Wyndham · September 18th, 2008, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Simon, from the sample clips there doesn't appear to be much cropping of the sensor.

Horizontally or vertically there must be cropping somewhere because the 16:9 aspect is totally different to full frame.

I'd also be worried about the quality of in-camera scaling to achieve 1920x1080.

Mike Marriage · September 18th, 2008, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simon Wyndham

Horizontally or vertically there must be cropping somewhere because the 16:9 aspect is totally different to full frame.

Granted, there has to be some cropping but it doesn't appear to be using a windowed method like Red does at 2K.

Jenn Kramer · September 18th, 2008, 04:54 AM

The clips I've seen look pretty good from an image quality standpoint, and the Digic chips have had to scale to smaller resolutions forever since they offer the ability to save smaller resolution files. Something I read said that it had the ability to show you a mask of what 16x9 would be on the live view LCD, which to me means that they're just discarding the top and bottom of the sensor. Almost all of the sensors in video cameras these days natively shoot at a higher resolution and then sub-sample down. Any camera that can take higher resolution stills than 1440x920 is going to be scaling the image output down to that res for video. I would guess that the image quality is going to blow away anything but the $4k and up dedicated video hardware, and at low light it's probably going to be better than anything under $8k, simply due to the size of the sensor. Maybe Nikon will come out with something that directly competes and then we'll have an Apples to Apples comparison. I'm not heavily invested in Canon lenses yet, and competition can't be anything but good for us.

The ergonomics are going to be a little strange, but once you rig it up to a larger lcd for focusing and an external mic, you might as well put the whole thing on a shoulder brace.

I've been pondering a replacement for my aging Rebel XT, and this looks like it'll be it, assuming I can scrounge it together and convince the wife to let me spend it. I've always wanted a full frame SLR, and the ability to shoot really high quality video means that buying an HV30 would just be a waste. I'd rather put that $800 towards a really good piece of L glass.

Tim Polster · September 18th, 2008, 07:58 AM

There is a lot yet to be known about this feature.

I called Canon support and a tech told me they don't even have a sample yet, so they don't even know yet.

The biggest thing to me is whether or not Canon intended this to be used for some high end results or just a marketing ploy.

We all would want full resolution, live feed out the HDMI and full manual control, but they might have had a different idea.

Jenn Kramer · September 18th, 2008, 01:46 PM

Canon's been pretty good about adding features to it's high end cameras with firmware updates. We'll see if that crosses over to video features. Also, apparently nobody's been able to play with the video feature in the previews they've done, so they may still be working on finalizing that feature. It's probably going to be at least a month before we really know how it's all going to work.

Jeffrey Brown · September 18th, 2008, 02:03 PM

although the 5dkII has yet to be tested, but Nikon's video effort isn't exactly tough to beat. why? it's crap.

Video of Nikon D90 Wobble Test - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Vincent Oliver · September 18th, 2008, 02:04 PM

I have just posted a short video of the Canon 5D mk II here

Canon EOS 5D Mk II

Jim Giberti · September 18th, 2008, 05:13 PM

There's a lot of opinion around the web that this is just a toy add on for the consumer.
Anyone familiar with the 35mm adapter industry that's developed over the last several years understands the potential from that perspective, but the fact that Canon included a stereo audio in pretty much shoots that concept down. If Canon just saw it as a cute add on they would leave it with the little mono mic that it has. I doubt that they envision soccer moms and b-day party shooters bringing a sound man along with a boom and field mixer.

Tim Polster · September 18th, 2008, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vincent Oliver

I have just posted a short video of the Canon 5D mk II here

Canon EOS 5D Mk II

Thanks for your link Vincent.

Could I ask (since you have spent time with the camera) about some of the video features?

The video touches upon this, can one use manual control while shooting in the video mode?

Does the HDMI output a live signal for external monitoring?

Does the video mode use the entire sensor(or most of it) while recording?

Thank you

Wacharapong Chiowanich · September 18th, 2008, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffrey Brown

although the 5dkII has yet to be tested, but Nikon's video effort isn't exactly tough to beat. why? it's crap.

Video of Nikon D90 Wobble Test - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

Crap indeed! Never seen such a bad wobble from any of my CMOS camcorder. Now it's destined to sit only on a tripod. Hope Canon does better but could this be wishful thinking?

Wacharapong

Ger Griffin · September 18th, 2008, 08:32 PM

I was checking in on the d90 thread wondering why it had gone so quiet... anyway
Interesting video Vincent.

one of the specs llisted on dpreview-

"New optional WFT-E4 WiFi / LAN / USB vertical grip"

I wonder would a device such as this allow us to transmit the 4gb video files wirelessly to a laptop immediately after each clip is written.

That could prove very useful.

Chris Hurd · September 18th, 2008, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Giberti

If Canon just saw it as a cute add on they would leave it with the little mono mic that it has.

And they would have put it on their low-end $700 Rebel XS, not their full-frame $2700 studio body.

September 18th, 2008, 04:54 AM	#81
Jenn Kramer Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 389 Images: 1	The clips I've seen look pretty good from an image quality standpoint, and the Digic chips have had to scale to smaller resolutions forever since they offer the ability to save smaller resolution files. Something I read said that it had the ability to show you a mask of what 16x9 would be on the live view LCD, which to me means that they're just discarding the top and bottom of the sensor. Almost all of the sensors in video cameras these days natively shoot at a higher resolution and then sub-sample down. Any camera that can take higher resolution stills than 1440x920 is going to be scaling the image output down to that res for video. I would guess that the image quality is going to blow away anything but the $4k and up dedicated video hardware, and at low light it's probably going to be better than anything under $8k, simply due to the size of the sensor. Maybe Nikon will come out with something that directly competes and then we'll have an Apples to Apples comparison. I'm not heavily invested in Canon lenses yet, and competition can't be anything but good for us. The ergonomics are going to be a little strange, but once you rig it up to a larger lcd for focusing and an external mic, you might as well put the whole thing on a shoulder brace. I've been pondering a replacement for my aging Rebel XT, and this looks like it'll be it, assuming I can scrounge it together and convince the wife to let me spend it. I've always wanted a full frame SLR, and the ability to shoot really high quality video means that buying an HV30 would just be a waste. I'd rather put that $800 towards a really good piece of L glass.

September 18th, 2008, 07:58 AM	#82
Tim Polster Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 2,231	There is a lot yet to be known about this feature. I called Canon support and a tech told me they don't even have a sample yet, so they don't even know yet. The biggest thing to me is whether or not Canon intended this to be used for some high end results or just a marketing ploy. We all would want full resolution, live feed out the HDMI and full manual control, but they might have had a different idea.

September 18th, 2008, 01:46 PM	#83
Jenn Kramer Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 389 Images: 1	Canon's been pretty good about adding features to it's high end cameras with firmware updates. We'll see if that crosses over to video features. Also, apparently nobody's been able to play with the video feature in the previews they've done, so they may still be working on finalizing that feature. It's probably going to be at least a month before we really know how it's all going to work.

September 18th, 2008, 02:03 PM	#84
Jeffrey Brown Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Longmont, CO Posts: 37	although the 5dkII has yet to be tested, but Nikon's video effort isn't exactly tough to beat. why? it's crap. Video of Nikon D90 Wobble Test - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

September 18th, 2008, 02:04 PM	#85
Vincent Oliver Trustee Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Chislehurst, London Posts: 1,724	I have just posted a short video of the Canon 5D mk II here Canon EOS 5D Mk II

September 18th, 2008, 05:13 PM	#86
Jim Giberti Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Bethel, VT Posts: 824	There's a lot of opinion around the web that this is just a toy add on for the consumer. Anyone familiar with the 35mm adapter industry that's developed over the last several years understands the potential from that perspective, but the fact that Canon included a stereo audio in pretty much shoots that concept down. If Canon just saw it as a cute add on they would leave it with the little mono mic that it has. I doubt that they envision soccer moms and b-day party shooters bringing a sound man along with a boom and field mixer.

September 18th, 2008, 08:32 PM	#89
Ger Griffin Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Ireland Posts: 579	I was checking in on the d90 thread wondering why it had gone so quiet... anyway Interesting video Vincent. one of the specs llisted on dpreview- "New optional WFT-E4 WiFi / LAN / USB vertical grip" I wonder would a device such as this allow us to transmit the 4gb video files wirelessly to a laptop immediately after each clip is written. That could prove very useful.