Roger Shealy
November 23rd, 2009, 07:28 PM
I'm finding the 7D to be quite a handful managing exposure, focus, and framing for real-time/real-life video. This is complicated by lack of zebra and other tools I am accustomed to having on a dedicated video camera. I'm finding that my best "safe" settings to get good footage when I can't control the action and things are happening fast are:
1. Set the camera to Manual
2. Set the shutter to 30 - 60, depending on frame rate, lighting, and action
3. Set the ISO to Auto
4. Set the aperture so the brightest scene doesn't overexpose image for a given set-up, hopefully so ISO is South of 640. If I have lot's of light, use an ND filter to block it as needed.
5. Hit the "GO" button and let the ISO vacillate as needed to keep exposure normal.
6. Us noise reduction in post if ISO goes too high.
I find that when time isn't available to be picky, this gives good results most every time. When I try to "peg it" under battle conditions in full manual I'm doing good to get it as good 50% of the time, and sometimes I just plain miss. I'm working to improve my skills, but this method is pretty good and managing focus alone with this camera takes lots of attention in and of itself.
A close 2nd, perhaps even better with tricky lighting:
1. Set the camera to Av (using a pure manual lens the camera can't "read")
2. Set aperature to whatever level desired, using ND's as needed
3. Hit the "GO" button.
The camera changes shutter and ISO at it's whim, which can cause some stuttered movement in faster action if the shutter goes North of 80. The good thing about this method is if you press the shutter button halfway before starting, you can bias the exposure up or down while shooting to compensate for bright scenes (sand, white counters...) or down for dark scenes (stage lights, dark alley...) if you have the skills to do so while shooting.
Unlike the A1, changing the DSLR's snappy aperture to control light during filming isn't good, so allowing the camera to vary ISO may be a better compromise.
1. Set the camera to Manual
2. Set the shutter to 30 - 60, depending on frame rate, lighting, and action
3. Set the ISO to Auto
4. Set the aperture so the brightest scene doesn't overexpose image for a given set-up, hopefully so ISO is South of 640. If I have lot's of light, use an ND filter to block it as needed.
5. Hit the "GO" button and let the ISO vacillate as needed to keep exposure normal.
6. Us noise reduction in post if ISO goes too high.
I find that when time isn't available to be picky, this gives good results most every time. When I try to "peg it" under battle conditions in full manual I'm doing good to get it as good 50% of the time, and sometimes I just plain miss. I'm working to improve my skills, but this method is pretty good and managing focus alone with this camera takes lots of attention in and of itself.
A close 2nd, perhaps even better with tricky lighting:
1. Set the camera to Av (using a pure manual lens the camera can't "read")
2. Set aperature to whatever level desired, using ND's as needed
3. Hit the "GO" button.
The camera changes shutter and ISO at it's whim, which can cause some stuttered movement in faster action if the shutter goes North of 80. The good thing about this method is if you press the shutter button halfway before starting, you can bias the exposure up or down while shooting to compensate for bright scenes (sand, white counters...) or down for dark scenes (stage lights, dark alley...) if you have the skills to do so while shooting.
Unlike the A1, changing the DSLR's snappy aperture to control light during filming isn't good, so allowing the camera to vary ISO may be a better compromise.