I am in the middle of building a shoulder rig for my 5D2 for videoing and remembered I saw this for all the HDV cams that didn't have a lank jack.

I had a RC-1 remote from a Canon XTI and in mode one on the 5D2 it will snap a pic but on mode 2 it starts and stops video. Well I bought a 3ft optical toslink cable and put it up to the remote and the other end on the top sensor on the front of the cam and it works.

I plan on using this when I build my shoulder rig to be able to record this with my finger on one of the handles instead of reaching back to hit the set button.

Forgive me if everyone knows about this allready, I didn't see it.

Here is a proof of concept video
DIY 5DmarkII video remote on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/5088576)
or
YouTube - DIY 5D2 video remote (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLaWWBvBZoY)

Hey cool finding! So mode 2 on this remote emulates the "SET" button? I didn't know any remotes out there that did this.. I thought it was only the shutter button. BTW I don't think anyone knew about this, otherwise, we'd see those DSLR rig manufactures showing off a remote like this for their rigs.

Guys, this is old news. I think Vincent Laforet was the first to blog about this shortly after the camera came out. I use a remote on my rig all the time, you can see it here http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/1152694-post7.html

Theres another discussion here http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/236160-zigview-extended-wireless-release.html

As for wiring I think this solution is better than using a toslink cable http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/canon-eos-5d-mk-ii-hd/146673-wired-wireless-remote-ir-control.html

Dan

Thanks Dan, I had read the remote worked from a post you wrote somewhere. I was saying I had not seen the optical cable to extend the range of the remote.

I will stick to my version that was $5 for the cable and keep my remote in regular working order so I can still use it on my 2 cams.