Hello All, I live in London UK, have just become a proud owner of a beautiful baby 550D, and just joined this wonderful forum :)

Many moons ago I used to make Wedding Films (from the early days of videos) but always wanted to get into Photography, but in those days it was all film and was a relatively expensive hobby so sadly never entered that arena.

I am new to SLR Photography and photography itself if I'm honest.

Questions are, When I record video I always prefer maximum quality setting as I do when taking pictures. Problem I see is when I playback the footage via mini usb through camera on Laptop it seems jerky, also I tried playing this footage in my PS3 directly from SDHC card with same results.

However playing back a few minutes of my son attempting to sing yesterday in the camera onto my tv seem a lot better but still jerky as if there is frame drop outs or the like happening.

The SDHC card I am using is Transcend 16GB SDHC.

My Canon 550D came with a 18-55mm lens. What lens's should be looking to buy and why please?


Cheers
Sarge

Class 6, or above

Hi Thanks for reply, The Transcend 16GB I'm using is a Class 6. :(


Cheers
Sarge

The Canon MOV files are processor intensive. I would first verify that they are running smoothly using the on-screen display. Once you verify that then you can assume all the other pieces are deficient in power.

Perhaps, it is time to upgrade your equipment to 64 bit with at least 2 GB RAM and at minimum, a dual-core processor. That should make a big difference. This video stuff is a money drain.

Welcome to the forums and I hope you enjoy the camera as well. As far as SDHC cards go the Transcend class 6 cards seem to work pretty well with T2i cameras. One recommendation would be to format your card every time you reuse it. This will help make sure the card works at it's rated speed and doesn't bog down on you.

IMHO. Ditch the class 6 card. Get class 10 cards(you can actually find them cheaper than glass 6 cards). 1st thing I would do is to check your shutter speed. It should be as close to double your frame rate, unless you are going for a special effect.

Next I would copy the files directly to your computer and see if that helps. If so, problem solved. Last but not least I am one of the few who likes the software provided by Canon. Try playing it with that.

As for lenses, there are a ton of post on that very question just search the site and you'll get so much information on which lenses to buy it will become clear as mud :)

good luck to ya.

Thanks for your replies, I will investigate the card and pc equipment I am using, and get back to you. I was considering buying the Sandisk Extreme 16 or even 32gb, but can't justify the expense as yet and need to know if it absolutely critical to have one of these cards for both photo and the odd video or will the Transcends of this world work fine.

Also may I ask which lenses do you guys recommend and wouldn't be without please? for what purpose would each lens be and what costs would I be looking at? I have no idea on lenses .... STILL learning at aged 43 :)


Sarge

Most people would say that the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is a good start.

Here is a good thread for background reading about lenses:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eos-rebel-t2i-eos-550d-hd/473955-if-you-could-only-use-3-lenses.html

It's really worth spending the time reading.

I was considering buying the Sandisk Extreme 16 or even 32gb, but can't justify the expense as yet and need to know if it absolutely critical to have one of these cards for both photo and the odd video or will the Transcends of this world work fine.
Sarge

Transcend cards don't fail as often as A-Data, Patriot, and other "bargain brands", but I have seen enough complaints of Transcend failing in several web forums to make me distrust that brand. When people run into "buffer overrun" problems and contact Canon techs they are often told the Canon camera can be a bit "brand picky" and are advised to use SanDisk Extreme III Class (6) or faster. Problems usually go away.

Kingston is a fairly good quality media brand but Kingston Class (6) cards have failed to keep up with the camera.

I would go for the SanDisk Extreme III or Extreme and if the expense is a put off you can use 8GB.

Thanks Guys, I really do appreciate all the help/info from you Pro's. There is a sea of information available that I need to wade through but it seems so daunting and confusing.

Has anyone used some sort of lens to make a Anamorphic recording on a Canon 550D or similar? what about a Sony PD150 camcorder is this effect possible or is this a silly question :)

Please be gentle with me as I'm learning with great passion :)


Thanks

Transcend cards don't fail as often as A-Data, Patriot, and other "bargain brands", but I have seen enough complaints of Transcend failing in several web forums to make me distrust that brand. When people run into "buffer overrun" problems and contact Canon techs they are often told the Canon camera can be a bit "brand picky" and are advised to use SanDisk Extreme III Class (6) or faster. Problems usually go away.

Kingston is a fairly good quality media brand but Kingston Class (6) cards have failed to keep up with the camera.

I would go for the SanDisk Extreme III or Extreme and if the expense is a put off you can use 8GB.
I have been using Transcend class 6 cards for over a year in a Sony EX1, (as have many EX1 owners), no problems whatsoever. I recently purchased one of the new Transcend class 10 cards, again no problem. Lots of manufacturers will recommend various cards, it means little. Test the card of your choice, if it works, fine. Its difficult to get an objective opinion on card reliability, as various users report various pros and cons. I know of several people who swear by Kingstons in their 550D/7Ds, but they wouldn't dream of using the cards in an EX1. Try a Transcend 16gb class 10, they are available on Amazon for about £37 inc p&p. I dont think you will go far wrong.

The jerkiness in playback is most likely related to the box you use to playback.

Regarding SD cards, there are alot of sdhc cards with low classification that will work perfectly on the 550d - even class 2. The reason is that there are a number of categories a card needs to fulfill at set levels to recieve a given classification. Therefore a card can have a class 10 write speed for data transfer, but still be classified as class 2 if it falls short in other categories. Canon suggests using class 6 because the general minimum requirement for class 6 is a write speed of 6mbps or over. But several class 2 cards and class 4 cards I've tested perform well beyond the 5.5mbps limit of the Canon 550d. The cheap sandisk class 2 4gb sdhc performs as a class 10 card in write speed. I use cheap class 2 cards, and have had no problems. More about this here here (http://www.eyenorth.com/2010/07/full-hd-video-on-canon-dslrs-with-class.html).

IMHO. Ditch the class 6 card. Get class 10 cards(you can actually find them cheaper than glass 6 cards). ]

good luck to ya.

I've used the Transcend class 6 cards for years with T1 and T2 - always performed flawlessly.

I would look somewhere else for solutions to issues.

I have tried playback on my laptop, my Desktop and my son's PS3 (surely the PS3 would be quick enough?) The thing is I have also played back the video in the camera directly onto the tv and still get this problem, can't see what I'm doing wrong.

I ordered a few 32GB and 16GB class 6 Trensend card from Amazon. After careful consideration,I really cannot afford the risk of losing footage shot at weddings. I would just pay more to get six Sandisc 16GB class 6.

Canon suggests using class 6 because the general minimum requirement for class 6 is a write speed of 6mbps or over. But several class 2 cards and class 4 cards I've tested perform well beyond the 5.5mbps limit of the Canon 550d.

Exactly correct Christoffer. I used the 32GB Kingston Class 4 and only once in 10 hours of filming did it ever have a buffer problem. Obviously, once is too many times in a pro situation; but this was during an eval of the cam and these were the only cards I had at my disposal.

I use Sandisk class 10 extreme 2 8gb card. As a beginer i do feel like the 8gb satisfies my needs.


Have not had any problems with it .

Try a Transcend 16gb class 10, they are available on Amazon for about £37 inc p&p. I dont think you will go far wrong.

I don't need to. I choke a bit, but pay the price for SanDisk and roll on.

I know there are a lot of folks using Transcend cards and happy with them. Probably most are fine, but I see far fewer "tales of woe" from folks using SanDisk than either Transcend or Kingston.

I asked my photographer. He has 2 trensend CF card both die at first use. I can't take that chance.

Im using a Sandisk Ultra II class 2 16gb. (always thought it was class 4) and never had problems with it. But i would stick with sandisk. almost never read something bad about sandisk and my personal experience is the same. im getting another ultra II class 4 (they dont seem to sell the class 2 anymore) 16gb now.

EDIT

I just got the Sandisk Ultra Class 4 16GB shipped from amazing

amazingly it cant handle video - breaks down after ca 20 sec. of recording.

this really sucks.

my sandisk ultra 2 class 2 16 gb is fine with video.

does anyone know what might be the reason here for the class 4 to fail?

thanks

This card media business is really kind of interesting. For my video, I use 4 $20 8 gig PNY Optima SDHC bought at Best Buy for my T2i. From my Canon 5D Mark II, I use some pretty inexpensive Kingston Elite Pro 8 and 16 gig CF cards. Most users would probably not consider either of these.

Personally, I have concluded that the recommendation for the higher speed cards for the camera is centered around the high pixel count multiple exposure still needs, more than video issues. Since I never use those features, it really is something I am not concerned about.

Another thing that is clear is that there seems to be more problems with any cards with higher storage capacity. That is why I have stuck with 4's, 8's and 16"s.