Director's POV
 

I have just got the 550D. The battery lasted for 10 minutes as it was empty. I felt like in film school again. This thing is far different from a plain camera. You must know what ayou are doing and I love this. I will post my findings. I bought a Verbatim 16G Class 6 and a Silicon Image 8G Class 6 too, I just shot a random 4-5 minutes. I haven't seen any problems with the cards so far. I plugged the card at the laptop. Instant playback. A little color noise but I think it was a 3200 ISO so it's absolutely normal.

George - enjoy the new camera. It is amazing what it can do. Awaiting your masterpiece, shot with the T2i...

Thanks Sam. Masterpiece I don't know but I will shot something anyway...

I haven't tried the Silicon image for longer recording but till 4 minutes had not problems. The Verbatim stopped at 9 minutes after the buffer couldn't keep anymore. Till 8 minutes @ 1920x1080 24p I got the buffer some times (more as time was progressing) at the first 2 blocks only but it didn't stopped till the 9th minute. I run the same test twice. At the 2nd time the recording stopped at 12th minute. I don't consider this a problem at all for me as I don't shoot longer takes than 2-3 minutes the most. No overheat problem yet.

A bonus photo.

Verbatim stopped a lot of times (being half full) at 720p. I had to start it 3-4 times before it hold a steady rhythm. This is not the case for the 8G Silicon Image which never stopped (even the buffer showed up 1-2 times) neither @1080 or @720. Even more than half full it keeps on going... It went till the end of the card without even stopping once!
Silicon Image is faster than Verbatim. I don't know if this has to do with storage capacity of each card.

2 things I would like to have.

1) Headphones input or some kind of audio monitoring.
2) Remaining recording time for the card...

If the camera will be set up properly, I don't know what camera can have a better image. The image quality of this tiny thing is beyond words.

At both PAL and NTSC systems, the lowest shutter aperture is 30 (for 24p) and and 60 (for 25p and 30p), Shouldn't be 50 for the PAL system? Or this is irrelevant with the frame rate?

Shot with Canon 550D (kit lens 18-55 @55mm) with no remote controller.
Edited and color corrected on Avid Media Composer 4.

You Cannot Trust Them
 

The buffer bar should never appear.

Never.

With the previous model, the T1i, Canon techs advised folks who were having problems that the camera could be "brand picky" about media. They recommended SanDisk Extreme III for that camera and those who followed that recommendation saw their problems "go away".

Those cards will let you down when you can afford it least.

You spent close to a "Grand" for this camera and it's performance. Don't skimp on the media.

I never even tried anything but SanDisk Extreme III in my T1i and I NEVER saw a buffer appear. Never.

The T1i got sold a month ago and I've had a 7D since Oct, I purchased 3 SanDisk Extreme IV (2 45Mbps and 1 60Mbps) 8GB cards and I have never seen a buffer appear in it. NEVER.

Thanks for that Bruce. Manual says that it can appear though. When I am using the Silicon Image I don't see the buffer. However it is clear that it's only for 1-2 seconds that I "listen" to the 3.7 fps/sec (photo mode). Then it becomes slower. On small samples I haven't lost frames as the audio (lip) sync remains constant. Of course for a short film I will buy the fastest card available. There are some Sandisks that claim 15mb/s but there are Class 4.

Flowers in an Urban Landscape.
Canon 550D with kit lens.

That lens is pretty bad wide open. I got it in a kit seven years ago. Stopped down it's much better.
The 17-55 costs more than the camera, but it really is the right lens for the quality of the sensor. Unfortunately wide open is where the expensive glass shines. Fortunately expensive glass has held its value well.

This is my observation too. The resolution is far better at a bigger focal length but we always measure resolution at the center of the lenses.

1 Lux test for the Canon 550D.
1920x1080/25p.
Kit lens 18-55 @55mm f/stop 30/5.6.
ISO from 100 to 3200.
Neutral picture profile.

It's a crap lens for many reasons. I would never recommend it to a professional, but it is not the same as the one you had.

7 years ago, it was the mark I, then came the mark II without much improvement, but the IS version is substantially better in a number of ways, not least, sharpness wide open.

Here is the photozone review for the mark II:

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II - Review / Test Report

and the IS:

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS - Review / Test Report

The reason I think it is worth stating is that as you can see here, there is a great deal of difference optically between the two lenses in terms of sharpness:

Mark II:

http://www.photozone.de/images/8Revi...5_3556/mtf.gif

IS:

http://www.photozone.de/images/8Revi...3556is/mtf.gif

You can clearly see that on the lens you had, corner sharpness falls off a cliff wide open, while on the IS, it holds up very well.

In case anyone hasn't got time to read the full review, here is a quote from the summary of the IS:

"There were a few moments when I considered not to publish the results due to "political correctness" because to date it was a quite absurd thought that such a cheap, or better "affordable", lens can perform this good and I'm sure that some will not believe the findings even though they're supported by the published field images. Anyway, the resolution capabilities of the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS is nothing short of amazing. This is also surprising regarding the rather small changes in the optical design compared to the EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 II. Still - the center resolution is excellent throughout the range even at wide-open aperture. Unlike most dedicated APS-C standard zoom lenses it is capable to keep a very good level even at the extreme corners of the image field. Its resolution characteristic is similar to the (much higher priced) EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 USM IS at comparable aperture settings, quite a bit better than the EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 USM IS and naturally vastly improved over its non-IS predecessor! "

Amazon says this is good for 550D.

Does anyone knows if this is the case?

I have had a black spot today and I was frightened. But after some sensor cleanings it went away.

Change.
Video Clip for Norwegian/Greek postpunk group Nekropolis, from the album The New Europeans, Likvidér Records 2010. Shot entirely with the DSLR Canon 550. Edited on Avid Media Composer 4.

A DOF (Depth Of Field) study, using the kit lenses on Canon 550D. Edited and CC on Avid MC4.

Backing up the not so important final edits from MC to 720p.mp4 with Sorenson is awesome. The quality remains intact.

The remote control, I received. It works fine with the T2i.

First time I saw the overheat indicator was with the new cheap battery pack and at 1280x720p/50.
I think this is clearly coming from the unofficial batteries.

George, may I ask what controls are on the remote you purchased?

Can it be used in video mode to start/stop recording or is it only for use with stills?

Here is being describe better.

There is the delay button to start later on.
There is the long exposure setting which I don't understand what it does.
There is the interval setting which is the main one.
There is the (1-399 or infinite if you select --) how many photos setting.
There is the on and off setting for the beep.
And there is the back-light on/off button.

Even on video it shoots photos which is normal as it is a shutter release controller.
It's cheap plastic but it's cheap and it seems to do the job as the Canon 180 euros controller.
So if it brakes (which I don't see how) I can buy other 2 for the same money and I will be left with money for another battery...

I also bought those baterries x2.

They show the battery indicator as the normal one.
Only when in the red mode (ending) it goes off faster than the original.
It lasts more than the original though.
They overheat more than the original.
First time I saw the thermometer it was with the one of those but only on 720p
and after half an hour of continuous shooting,

Not only unofficial batteries. I only have Canon batteries and I've overheated.

May be so Bryan but I haven't yet seen that.
But as the summer is really hot here, I might get the chance to. ;)

Just got the Canon 50mm 1.8 II.
My Raynox 0.66x, I got for the Canon HV30 fits the 50mm 1.8 II wonderfully.
It cuts 2-3 stops but it can be good if you need more field of view with it.
It turns the 50mm 1.8 II to a real 50mm for the 550D.

First quick test with EF 50mm 1.8 II.

Canon 550D Low Light Test II
 

1 Lux test for the Canon 550D.
1920x1080/25p.
Canon EF 50mm 1.8 II f/stop 1.8/30.
ISO from 100 to 800.
Superflat picture profile.

I had the idea to take out of my cellphone the 8gb SDHC Silicon Image I have bought for it and to buy a small 2GB SDHC with an adapter for the cell, so I could use the 8G with the adapter at the Canon 550D. It turned out to be the fastest of all the others. First time I have experienced such a fast multi pic performance and video also. It stop after 12 minutes @720p @13:56! Meaning at the maximum recording time without stopping. I bought this for 20 euros and is class 6 but it seems faster than the full SDHC from the same company...

One let down is how 550D performs when there is no good contrast in the picture while in low light. I think this is a problem of the H264 compression.
I have start shooting my new short and while at scenes with good contrast and enough light the image looks very good when we went to 1.8/30 at low contrast 550D produces unacceptable images.
Of course I will re shoot the 3 scenes out of the 10 we shot today...

That looks like a combination of too little light and 8-bit video. If you can shoot a bit hotter with a lower ISO, that should help. Also, when you know that there will be no highlights to clip, you might set the Picture Style contrast higher. You might even start with Standard, rather than Neutral or Faithful mode.

On the 5D and 7D, one can use ISOs of 160, 320, 640, and 1250. These have lower noise in the blacks than 100, 200, 400, 800, and 1600. Unfortunately, the 550D doesn't give you that option, so you have to expect a bit more noise.

Anyway, with more light, a lower ISO, and higher contrast when there is no risk of clipping highlights, you can always lower the gain and offset (contrast and brightness) in post. That will push down the picture towards black - and it will also push down your noise.

Also, take a look at Neat Video noise reduction. It's not too expensive and works pretty well, if you have enough time to run it.

Best of luck with the re-shoot!

Hi Jon,
I am using superflat profile and ISO 200 with highlight tone priority, It's easy for me to work it at Avid and make it look a lot better but I will re shoot it anyway. I have seen 7D clips with the same or more noise/artifacts. I knew about that "problem" as I was investigating constantly before shooting.
It's more the H264 compression which can't forgive such mistakes. Even at my HV30 which is 8bit as well and it is 3 lux or lesser the images are clearer and the noise is there sometimes but not the vertical artifacts. Thanks for the wishes but there is no room for luck at the shootings. Only knowledge can help. And while I was aware of the situation I was trying my luck...

For low light and low saturation, HTP and superflat are the opposite of what you want. HTP can add noise in the blacks, and superflat will give you very few bits to work with. Those settings would be perfect in direct sunlight though, where you have high contrast and want to save as much detail as possible in the highlights, but I would use different settings for those scenes.

Of course, I don't know the whole picture. For all I know, you start out with huge highlights and pan into the shadows. No one setting can cover something like that well.

And I agree about skill, not luck! I was in Athens just last month for a conference. On my last morning I went to a hill near the Acropolis to shoot a timelapse. I had everything set just right and had put in a fresh card. Too bad I didn't notice that the card wasn't empty! In the middle of the timelapse, there I was deleting old photos for a minute before I could restart! I've since added the "format card" step to my checklist. As it was my final morning in Athens, reshooting wasn't an option. I've blended it in post as best I can...

So, rather than "good luck", I'll wish that you work to the best of your skills on your reshoot. :)

(BTW, despite one general strike day, I enjoyed my stay in Athens very much!)

Jon,
I am in Thessaloniki not Athens but it seems that you were at a really beautiful spot of Greece where you set to do the timelapse.
What ever profile I have tested the results are the exact same at low light situations.
What I have also discovered is that it's not even the H264 compression to blame.
And this because I can see the artifacts/vertical banding at the monitor (live view!).
So it can't be the compression because it records the same image I can see live before shoot it.
This is an indication of not good optics or the signal processor inside Canon.

P.S. But you were right about the Highlight tone priority. It gives more noise. And the neutral picture profile seems the best for low light so far.

George, I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking for in your sample image. I can see an indistinct shape of some sort at the right hand edge and what looks like another coming in from top left. My impression is that you were shooting in far too dim light anyway.

If you were trying to show noise beware of a monitor that may be oversharpened, this will accentuate noise. My primary monitor is a 21.6" SamSung and while it is very sharp in displaying images I very rarely see noise others complain about. My video workstation has a 22" Dell widescreen and I have yet to get the color adjusted right on it. It also seems to be overly sharp and I can often see some noise on it.

What I judge by more than anything else is footage rendered to a final viewing format, then displayed on my 42" LCD TV. That gives me a good idea what viewers are likely to see on their TV's.

Unfortunately it wasn't a little light there. The light is coming from a window at the back. At other shots as in a general shot where there is good contrast there is a very sharp image. But at the same shot where there isn't enough light there is that strange noise and some vertical annoying bands or stripes (I don't know how to say it better). One or two shots will tell the story better than I could describe.
At this shot as in some others I could have lighten the back of the actor but I liked it that way.
As I said even from HV30 or a Z1 or a Z7 or EX1, I could have to shoot it as well, there would be no vertical stripes/noise at the left part of the shot where there is no light.
Especially at the back of his head...

It was probably the Highlight tone priority on that,
I just want to share that the image produced from 550D with the EF 50mm 1.8 II (only drawback the absence of IS) looks a lot like film
and has nothing to do with the video look the HDV or other cameras are producing.
And that only without any Color Correction. Given that you will use the right f/stops and ISO combination.
Yesterday's shootings were at a basement with only one lamp at the roof (which was there).
1080 25p with 30 stop at 400 ISO gave a very good image without any kind of noise.
Using the Neutral profile.

Good looking image. On my monitor, it looks like there is some color noise in the wall. But I wasn't there. Maybe the wall has some local color variations. It might also have to do with 8-bits. 8-bit video can only create so many hues, so when a hue is in between two levels, you can get a dithered look.

A light amount of NR in post can easily take care of such a low level of color noise.