5d ii PRO settings for video,WB,ND fileters etc.please help

[Andy Sebkin]

I need your advice on following: (please answer if you use 5d ii for shooting video professionaly only or you shoot video for living)

1) you shoot video ONLY in MANUAL mode ?

2) what is your usual White Balance settings? Do you use AWB or Custom or Kelvin mode? If u use Kelvin mode - what is your usual numbers for outside and inside. I tried to do some tests and found out that AWB gives more "white look" ,while Kelving gives more filmic look to my video. Basically i need to try to avoid AWB or its not the case?

3)In manual mode you cannot LOCK your exsposure, so when you move camera you can get esposure changing. Is it OK for video shooting , or there is some way to manage it to stop it changing?

4) MOST IMPORTANT FOR ME: Outside shooting in sunny day. I tried and ended up with ISO all the way down and aperture on MAX (f16) (1/50) and still video look way OVEREXSPOSED. Aperture f 16 also is not what i want. DO you really use ND filters and which on shooting outside in suny days? Some videographers saying like they not using any ND filters, but HOW it possible?


Thank you for al your input. I'm beginner and all info will help me alot.

[Nigel Barker]

Originally Posted by Andy Sebkin

I need your advice on following: (please answer if you use 5d ii for shooting video professionaly only or you shoot video for living)

I don't know if this is intentional or not but it comes across as pretty rude. There are plenty of people who while they may not shot video for a living could answer your very basic questions that.

Originally Posted by Andy Sebkin

1) you shoot video ONLY in MANUAL mode ?

Yes. You really don't want the camera making decisions for you.

Originally Posted by Andy Sebkin

2) what is your usual White Balance settings? Do you use AWB or Custom or Kelvin mode? If u use Kelvin mode - what is your usual numbers for outside and inside. I tried to do some tests and found out that AWB gives more "white look" ,while Kelving gives more filmic look to my video. Basically i need to try to avoid AWB or its not the case?

White balance should be whatever is necessary for the ambient light. I do not use AWB as it is unpredictable & will change unexpectedly. I generally use the presets (Daylight, shade, tungsten etc) although with mixed lighting I may do a custom white balance to get it exactly right.

Originally Posted by Andy Sebkin

3)In manual mode you cannot LOCK your exsposure, so when you move camera you can get esposure changing. Is it OK for video shooting , or there is some way to manage it to stop it changing?

I have no idea what you mean here. Of course you can lock the exposure. If I am in manual mode with 1/50 shutter speed, ISO 100 & aperture of F/16 there is no other adjustment on the camera that can affect exposure.

Originally Posted by Andy Sebkin

4) MOST IMPORTANT FOR ME: Outside shooting in sunny day. I tried and ended up with ISO all the way down and aperture on MAX (f16) (1/50) and still video look way OVEREXSPOSED. Aperture f 16 also is not what i want. DO you really use ND filters and which on shooting outside in suny days? Some videographers saying like they not using any ND filters, but HOW it possible?

On a very bright day with ISO 100 @1/50 F/16 there may still be letting too much light. Your options to reduce the amount of light reaching the sensor are either to increase the shutter speed or put an ND filter on the front of the lens. Depending on what you are filming setting your shutter to 1/100 may be OK & better than having overexposed video. If you want to use larger apertures to get a shallow depth of focus then you will need ND filters. Probably most people shooting video with the 5DII would use a variable ND filter.

[Jon Fairhurst]

The options for sunny shooting are...

1) Speed up the shutter. But only do this if you want a strobe look. This is an effective solution when using a long lens without IS. The fast shutter keeps the frames sharp without microshake.

2) Stop down the aperture. This puts everything in focus. It might also allow aliasing on backgrounds.

3) Variable ND. These can be expensive and sometimes cause issues at high opacity. But they are continuously variable, which is nice in changing conditions.

4) Fixed ND. I recommend a three stop (ND 0.9) and a six stop (ND 1.8). I tend not to bother with 1 stop levels and prefer not to stack NDs on wide lenses. The ND1.8 is especially nice for daylight timelapses where you want smooth motion. From f/2 to f/16 is six stops.

I generally use (1), and (4).

[Chris Barcellos]

There is also a situation in the menu set up where you have to place the camera in movie mode in the Live View menu setting. If you set it in exposure simulation or stills, as I recall, the camera will still act as if it is in automatic though you have manual selected. I use firmware 2.4 to shoot AJ Newman's Magic lantern, but the access to the menu for setting that is probably the same. Select Menu->Wrench with 2 Dots->Live View Movie Func. set.-> LV func. setting-> Stills + Movie->select Movie Display.

Variable ND filters work great for bright day light situation. I have mine set up on my Nikon lenses with a cheap rubber sunshade attached to it. I shoot 24p most of the time. Thus I stick to 1/50 shutter speed to minimize motion strobing issues. ( I think stick to that also minimizes rolling shutter problems.) I set ISO a 160 for the cleanest least noisy look in the shadows. I select the aperature I want for the depth of field look I need. Most times with human subject in a film, that is around 5.6 to 8.0, unless I really want to shallow up depth of field fro effect. After all is set, I rotate the variable filter to bring exposure up properly.

With Magic Lantern, I have false colors to help me set the exposure properly. I can also use false colors on my Marshall monitor to get the variable filters set right. Other versions of Magic Lantern have zebra that help assure you are not blowing out the image.

While balance- In some version of Magic Lantern, a quick white balance feature is now installed. It works like a standard video camera. Put a white sheet of paper or card in front of lens, and push a button, and it selects the Kelvin temperature. However, I think the presets work good for most situations and give you consistency that can be corrected in post .

[Andy Sebkin]

thank you for replies!