Took the plunge...
 

...& What a long strange trip it's been for me. Trained on 35/16mm film, at a time when making a movie with a video camera was laughable. Started making my first films on 16mm film (Arriflex), then DV (Canon XL-1), then to HD (JVC GYU 100), and now to a still camera that also shoots hi-def 24p 35-sized video.

Good Lord, it's exhausting. So much technology, so much to learn - something new almost every day.

But it's also been fun to be a small part of the indie film making revolution that's happening right now. It's always a bit scary being an early adapter of any tech, but the images I've seen from the members here has blown me away. Very cine-like, very filmatic. The color tones seem right to me as does the grain structure (a little w/o being too clean ala Sony). I've never used a DLSR (or kinda still camera before) so I'm a bit apprehensive, but what he hell... You only can make movies while you're still kicking.

So I sold my JVC and just ordered the kit from Adorama (who had 40 as of 4 pm yesterday).

I'll try to review it and give my 2 cents on the camera as a whole, and the shock of moving from a "pure" video camera to a DSLR. Any advice (from batteries to lens to whatever) would certainly be welcome...

john

I'd get the 17-55/2.8 IS lens for the 7D or T2i/550D. It covers the core range for human-scale narrative.

On the 5D, I prefer faster primes. But you can't get fast wide primes for the crop sensor camera, so f/2.8 zooms make a lot of sense.

On the 5D2, Zeiss primes are sweet, largely due to the long travel and predictability of the focus ring. You won't get that in most autofocus lenses. Oh well...

Enjoy the new tech!

I'll have to agree with Jon on his lens choice and his logic on zooms vs primes.

Thanks guys. In your opinion, are the cheaper, non-canon, lenes acceptable? I've also been told to get an adapter for NIkon lenses, and to pick up cheap primes on ebay.

Should be getting the camera tomorrow from B & H...

jdv

If you want a decent f2.8 zoom, the Tamron 17-50 VC goes for around $650. The non VC version gets high praise as well. Sigma has a lens in this category but it's not shipping yet.

I priced 3 Canon primes (24mm f2.8, 35mm f.2, 50mm f1.4) that cover the human-scale narritive Jon referred to and are common cinema prime focal lengths. $1,060 - the same price as a new 17-55mm f2.8 zoom with IS.

Whether you go with primes or a zoom is something you alone can decide. It depends mostly on what type of lighting you'll be shooting in and if frequent lens changes bother you.

I have primes, but there are times that I had a zoom. If I had only a zoom, I'd want primes.

But seriously, I think the 7D and T2i/550D beats the 5D2 for use with a zoom. On the 5D2, the 24-105/4 L IS is the zoom to have, but it's only f/4. There's the 24-70/2.8L, but it lacks IS.

On the crop sensor cam, you can get f/2.8 and IS. And the 17-55 range is sweet.

For a next step, you can get a super-wide f/2.8 zoom. Or a single fast prime for occasional low light stuff. Maybe a 50/1.4. There's the 24/1.4L or 35/1.4L if the budget allows it. Frankly, my next purchase choice would possibly be the 100/2.8 Macro. It gives you a telephoto and can do crazy closeups and you still get f/2.8 performance. There's an IS version, if you have the budget.

One drawback on all of these is that the focus ring spins and has a short throw. If the goal is great focus control, the path leads to Zeiss primes and the available focal lengths bring you to the 5D2. The price tag ends up being much higher than a T2i and a 17-55 zoom. If you put the savings into some lights, the f/2.8 lenses will give you all the speed you need and you can stop down a bit so focus isn't quite so critical.

Anyway, given that the T2i/550D beats the 5D2 in zoom selection, and that puts you at f/2.8, I'd embrace the whole zoom@f/2.8 concept and not look back.

I don't think there's any better deal out there for a 50/1.4 than a older Olympus, Nikon or Pentax SMC, all of which are less than $100- and have the advantages of being designed for manual focus and all are at least as sharp as a Canon EF 50/1.4.

At the wider end the Tokina 11-16/2.8 is in it's own class due to the faster constant f2.8.

The Sigma 30/1.4 is really good as well.

Just ordered a package from B&H today for the T2i. I shot a few commercials on the 7D here in Atlanta with a bud of mine and wow! We shot side by side with my Sony FX1000 and there was no comparison with the video we had. The color saturation was wonderful with the 7D and we just did not have as much set-up in terms of getting the visual scope we wanted with the 7D. I had to do all kinds of things with my FX1000 to get close to the 7D.

We even shot a lot of stuff handheld with a rig at Sundance this year. I shot a bunch of interviews with the 7D (my bud is a SLR guy and operated the camera) and the stuff we got was the best looking video I've ever shot at the Dance. Of course, the lack of real image stabilization was an issue at times. Also, my bud got a multi-stop ND filter that just did wonders outside.

As for workflow, we use Streamclip and have no problems. He's converting to Pro Res.

I've been using the Kodak Zi8 for my little television show, The Film Fix (The Film Fix: DIARY OF A WIMPY KID/REPO MEN Double Feature Review!), together with my Sony FX1000. I've just been setting my Sennheiser wireless for -30 and plugging it directly into the camera, but I have a Zoom H4 that I plan to use with my T2i. We had some audio issues with the 7D recently when covering a film festival in Macon, but I think that the Zoom might solve them.

Anyway, the Kodak shoots in H.264, and I've been Streamclipping everything to Apple HDV (set for the right frame rate I'm shooting in). So, if I shoot in 720/60p on the Kodak, I Streamclip to Apple HDV 720/60p. My footage looks very good. Because the show is ultimately on local cable TV (a couple stations in metro Atlanta) and Internet, I set Streamclip for 50% (the default) instead of 100%. My experience is that this is a faster way to convert and, of course, you get a smaller file.

I use HDV because I've never had any issues with that format over the last two years. Pro Res has to be better. I'm using FCP Studio 2.

I'd like to get folks' workflow thoughts. I purchased two series 4 16gig SDHC cards. I use series 4 with my Kodak and have had no problems. We used series 4 CF cards with the 7D and experienced very little buffering. Has anyone had any SD card problems with the T2i?

My camera arrives sometime next week. I think I've got my Sony FX1000 sold. Very excited about diving into the next phase!

Still waiting...

Hate UPS right now.

Grrrrr.....

john

I took the plunge on Thursday night and bought a 550d (as it's called in Europe) to replace my JVC HD100. I used it on a small paying job the next day where audio wasn't needed. So far I'm very impressed with the image quality compared to my JVC. For audio recording I have a laptop and an M Audio fasttrack, though I've noticed problems it mobile phones are too close

At Sundance we used my wireless and just did not monitor with the 7D. I attended a very small concert where Dave Navarro played and I pulled out my Zoom H4, and rigged it to my Zi8 and monitored through the audio out. The Zi8 has a manual audio control, I don't think that the T2i does. Anyway, it worked well.

I've read that using a piug-in called PluralEyes will help with syncing the audio from an external source like the Zoom.

I'm going to try using my Zoom plugged into the T2i and monitoring, before I buy the plug-in. But I'm pretty sure that I'm going to buy the plug in.