7D as A-Cam, 550D (t2i) as B-Cam
 

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone is using the 550d (t2i) as a B-cam to the 7D?

How do they match up in the edit?

Is not being able to dial in specific WB temps a huge deal on the t2i?

The reason I ask, I've got a 7D, which I use as with my Sony Z5, but I'm loving the look of the 7D so much, I'm thinking about getting the 550D to use with the 7D

Or would I be much better off getting another 7D?


Though about posting this in the 7d or the 550d threads, but its mainly weddings I shoot anyway.

Cheers

James

hey James. I use my T2i as the main cam on a tripod for the ceremony and the main cam during toasts at the reception. My 7D is my main camera the rest of the day. Can't tell the difference between the footage. I was using the Canon XHA1 as my main tripod cam, but now that collects dust. I wouldn't spend the extra grand on another 7D. The 7D does overheat quicker than the T2i. This is my experience over the last few months.

How are you dealing with the 12 minute file limit during the ceremony? Running two cams with offset start times?

Stu, what runs longer than 12 minutes at a ceremony? Usually there are 2 Readers at a ceremony, click start/stop in between them. Then the priest talks for a few minutes...click start/stop. Then the B&G do their vows for a few minutes. The Blessed Mary..2 minutes. The final blessing..2 minutes. Nothing even close to a 12 minute clip is needed.

re
 

Do your clients not want it all recorded?

Just wondering how you manage to blend the footage together so it doesn't look odd just jumping from one bit to another, i used to shorten the ceremony down but most people i spoke to wanted the whole thing.

im guessing you leave out all the singing and so on?

regards

luke

re
 

One more question, if there is a 12 min file limit , how many 12 min sections can you get onto the biggest card??

luke

It's actually a 4gb limit, which equates to around about 12-13 minutes on avergage. Keep in mind it is a variable bit rate, so if there's lots of movement or panning, you'll get less time than if it's a locked off shot with not much happening.

Seeing as SDHC sizes are mutliples of 4, it shouldn't be too hard too figure out how many clips you'll fit on a card!

While people are getting by using two DSLR's or even just one (talk about playing with fire!) I still don't see the point. It does absolutely no harm to have a small camcorder on a tripod in a corner or on a balcony, recording a wide shot of the whole ceremony. It will save your skin when (not if) something goes wrong with the DSLR's, like they overheat, or you don't notice they've stopped recording, or moire appears, or you need to change exposure right in the middle of something important and you see the exposure steps clearly, or in post you realise the bride's chest is in sharp focus but her face is outisde the focal plane, or you stop recording to restart a new clip and something happens unexpectadly and you miss it.

For a Catholic mass the 12min. limit would seem to be a major PITA. I would think it would get old having to re-sync the cameras constantly in post.

Yes, full Catholic masses are long. Many times couples buy the raw footage, and I'm concerned about all the jumps.

Pluraleyes will handle the synch, but there's another issue I'm wondering about. Slow push ins and pull outs. Often on a single cam shoot, I'll go from wide, in med. on a reader, out to wide, back in to singer, etc., and almost treat it like a live shoot so that the raw footage is coherent. Obviously not possible on a DSLR.

Luke, I record the entire ceremony..singing included. Do I need to record The Readers walking from their pew up to the poduim? No. Hitting the start/stop button takes 1/2 a second. I don't understand why so many people are making a big deal of it on here.

Again, It's not a big deal to click the start/stop button. I film Catholic Mass all the time on a DSLR. It's not a big deal. Plus, the camera is so light on a tripod that I can pick it up and move it for different angles. Something I couldn't do as easily with a my Canon XHA1. It's a shame that so many people on here are afraid to think outside the box. You CAN film a Catholic Mass with a single DSLR camera.

I'm not opposed to using a DSLR but for someone like me who won't film a wedding with less than 2 cameras it would mean syncing 6 times as opposed to once. I have been using my Pentax K-X for most of the highlight footage and have been very pleased with it but I'm not using the audio at all.

hey Adam. If you are synching 2 camera's, then that's a different story. I wouldn't use a DSLR either. I use 2 camera's, but one is just for BRoll. I do synch up the 2 cams for the vows/ring exchange though.

Michael,

This is not a dig or anything but a question out of curiosity, if you are filming everything with a single DSLR do you not have a backup? As someone who is just making the move to tapeless cameras I have heard its much more reliable but I have had a camera totally fail during a wedding and thanked god I was running a second camera. That pretty much put it in concrete for me that I would never do a 1 camera shoot at a wedding. Just curious about your thoughts on the matter.

Thanks

hey Adam. I just one camera as a main on a tripod than use another for BRoll. So definitely 2 cams.