T2i Auto or manual
 

I'm shooting video for a dance performance where the light can change as dancers move. Probably use auto mode, but it often defaults to a noisy 3200 ISO, and there is no auto ISO limit for video.

Any workaround to shoot in manual mode?

Zooming in and out and keeping focus - another issue!

Thanks in advance...

What do you mean a workaround to shoot in manual mode?

I think it's pretty well assumed that you can't shoot these cameras in auto and expect any kind of decent footage. I've not heard of anyone doing that, but I could be mistaken. I think the council is to flip it to manual out of the box and never go back.

Full manual is the only way to get good results that I've found for your situation. (did a theater show vid recently) When I first had the camera, it was in auto and even outdoors it would shift enough to be noticeable. Just have the lighting director turn on his brightest setting, set your ISO and shutter watching the light meter and you're good to go. OH, I have not had good luck with manual white balance but I've found the presets very good. Use "tungsten" for a show like yours.

Do you mean I should manually change aperture as I go? Might be tricky as I'm trying to focus and perhaps zoom at the same time. Also, I'm at the mercy of the lights, I cannot dictate to the lighting director.

I actually did shoot one of these in auto mode and there was no issue of exposure change - it was quite smooth. The big problem was that the auto mode chose 3200 ISO when it could have been shot at 1600.

I shoot manual with auto ISO quite frequently to help with changing light conditions. I'm not sure exactly how well it will work with harsh spotlights, but generally speaking you can set shutter on whatever speed you want, set ISO at 200, point camera to what you feel is the lightest scene you will encounter, set aperture at best setting that scene, then engage auto ISO. You can obviously lock exposure, if desired, or if not, the ISO will adjust to higher ISO for dark scenes and lower ISO for lighter scenes. By calibrating ISO at 200, this allows you one stop lower ISO should you encounter a scene slightly lighter than anticipated. You can increase to a higher ISO during the setup of aperture if you desire more latitude.

Here's an example of my T2i in auto ISO capturing my nephew during his senior music recital (not a lot of lighting change, I'll look for another example if I can find one) :



I find this technique much more desirable than changing aperture or shutter during filming, which is quite jarring. The changes is auto ISO are slightly smoothed, so its not quite as disruptive to your shoot. I believe you can always lock it down with exposure lock if you want to intentionally disable ISO during a pan.

i know this sounds silly, but how do i shoot manual in video mode? i just got the t2i. i know of the manual shooting modes where i can mess with white balance and whatnot ( i have yet to figure out how to set exposure) but if i set the camera manually in that mode, will it carry over to video mode?

Sam, I didn't answer your zoom and focus question. I don't know many who can handle continuous footage of dynamic subjects with this camera and keep things in focus. An HD monitor helps if you have one. Here's an approach you might consider:

Place a traditional camera in a safe, wide shot to shoot continuously and use the T2i to catch high impact shots. Put the T2i in quick focus mode, with center focus (center most focus element only). Zoom a little wide and then quick focus on subject and press record. Stop when the scene changes and repeat throughout the session. If the program is longer than 40 minutes you will likely overheat, so beware. Turn it off between shoots if there isn't something worth capturing. Also remember that the camera only records 12 minutes, so make sure you "reset" before expiring. You can zoom while capturing, but shoot a little wide at 1080 and then moderately zoom digitally during post and render to 720P. Works well.

Something like this really pushes the limits of these cameras. You're having to manage just about all of the things that make shooting video with DSLRs difficult.

People say these aren't event cameras and they're right. For something like this I'd shoot with a traditional video camera if you have one. If I did shoot it with a DSLR I'd probably set my Z7U up as a cover shot to be able to go to if needed.

....and man will you be glad for the cover shots!

Roger, thanks for the intelligent advice.

I've shot literally hundreds of dance performances professionally with my SD camera (Sony PD 150) which is far more appropriate for this type of thing. I always used a CRT monitor.I stopped doing that a few years ago, but was asked by my wife to capture a short piece she's doing Saturday.

I shot one of these last month, and there was another guy who was supposed to get the wide shot. He was unreliable and I never saw the footage or found out if it looked OK. I realized that I'd better be independent and try to shoot with one camera.. I will see what I can do with tripod, Rode videomic, LCD loupe, and manual focus. Or, I'll try the auto ISO with manual, SS at 50. The light in this space (a church with some Klieg lights) is quite low, even with theater lights.

The only thing about quick focus mode is that the mirror is kind of noisy during a quiet performance, but maybe its better than manual focusing - not sure. I also might use a WA lens (10-22) and shoot pretty close.

BTW, I liked your nephew's music - love the marimba and it was quite a good composition (I'm a musician as well).

Sam, if these are the type of events you are going to be filming sell your T2i while it's still super hot and get a traditional camcorder. Then, when you start to do more narrative work start thinking about the DSLR's. Don't get me wrong the T2i ROCKS, and can be used for events. But, there are cameras much better suited for event videography.

I used to video performance events for a living, as well as doing creative work. Now I'm really most interested in the creative work, but still have a few personal requests for events.

I'm more interested in the creative aspects of DSLRs/T2i, not events. If I were going to do events, I'd get a prosumer HD camcorder.

Sorry, I may have left a couple of things out...I don't change aperture during the shoot. Essentially I set it up to not over expose during the brightest moments and that does leave me free to zoom and focus. If the lighting director won't give you a brief test to set your levels before the show, shame on him! Same with audio!

As others have mentioned, I use an HMC 150 to cover wide and record audio. The T2i is solely for closeups and alternate angles. No way would I try to shoot a show with only the T2i.

Sam, I'm looking at a Sony CX550V camcorder for instances where I need to capture footage at an event or to provide continuous cover for the T2i/7D. I probably won't invest in a pro HD camera as the technology changes so frequently that I hate to invest $6-$10K for a hobby. I've been pretty impressed with the 550V footage I've seen (very clean) and for general coverage it may do fine leaving the heavy lifting of high impact highlights and purely creative work to the T2i/7D.

Roger, I'll look at it, but if I'm shooting long-form performances I want an HD prosumer camcorder like the Canon XH A1 . Were I doing it professionally, I could justify the 5K cost.

As I'm doing these as a favor, I don't want to bother with two cams and editing. I'll use what I have. I did pretty well last time with a Sigma-18-200 lens, shot off-angle a bit closer from stage front.

I'm a former owner and still a frequent user of the XHA1. I really enjoy it, but the noise at low levels is bothersome. From what I can see, these smaller cameras produce a better overall image at low light than the A1 and if you aren't using the manual controls to full advantage, the new smaller cams may be an advantage. Audio without controls is still a problem, but then again I seldom use the live audio anyway for anything serious.

I find myself wanting to enjoy the experience while producing great images and trying to get away from all the equipment lugging...

How do you enjoy the experience when you have to watch an entire performance on a 3" LCD? ;-)

I basically gave up doing documentations because of the schlepp factor - did not want to carry heavy gear. I used to have an assistant during the last few years of it. Taking the T2i and a light tripod is a blessing - otherwise I wouldn't do it at all.

If I decide to make $$$ at this again, I'll have to reconsider my options...

I shot a video for a band with 2 Canon DSLR and 2 video camera and what you need to do is full manual and adjust exposure for somewhere in a middle and leave it there, as lightning change so fast for this type of work there is no way anybody can change it on the fly, or if you want a lot of post and better then adjust for highlights and bring out the shadows in post.

Lights were very low and atmospheric at concert, manual exposure with auto ISO chose 3200 most of the time.

Video was dark and noisy, but PP with noise reduction got it looking pretty good.

Sam,

Sorry it wasn't all you'd hoped for. 3200 is pretty high and grainy, but NS should have helped quite a bit - hoping you didn't get the "plastic skin" look.

Nope - video ended up looking OK. I might have been better off setting at 1600 ISO and raising brightness in post - maybe no difference. Not sure about auto where there is no control...

Well let's see some footage! :)

Video not for public (yet) until participants OK it's release.

Here's a still, however, from same evening:

http://skanter.smugmug.com/People/Pe...57_fH8z7-L.jpg

Sam,

I love the shadow on the back wall. Can you get any more of the noise out of the picture with Noise suppression?

Hard to tell how much noise from a still, but that seems to look pretty good for 3200 ISO! Did you do any noise cleanup on that image?

I used a lot of noise filtering already - I could probably tweak it some more.

Quite a bit. I use Noisware - I heard the noise filtering on CS5 is excellent - I don't have it yet.

Still shooting low-light dance/music event concerts
 

I've upgraded to 60D, but same issues persist with shooting low-light dance/music concerts with no idea of lighting in advance (except that it will be low). Again, this is all au gratis as a favor to artists, so I cannot justify expensive purchases.

I usually go very close (front row) and use my Canon 10-22 - less focus and zoom issues with large DOF and limited zoom. The look is unique, as dancers are often a foot from my camera and I always can get wide enough, albeit sometimes with distortion. Using Hoodman loupe with Hoodcrane although i wish i had a good monitor.

Any ideas about using auto ISO vs not, manual vs auto anything? I still do not have a good strategy (except to buy a prosumer HD camcorder)!

Here's an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykrYPlevu2E

Anyone have any ideas about this?

Hi Sam,

I was about to post what you were asking as well! Glad I found this post.

I did some test shots with AUTO exposure; some came out ok but some came out with flickering (I think it is due to the shutter speed and fps not matching up due to the change of Shutter). From reading this post, I will try the Auto ISO/Manual Exposure combo on my 60D.

If anyone else have any good advice for us, would really appreciate it.