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4. How To Use Video Mode on the Canon 5D MK II
11 months ago
This is an in depth tutorial on how to use the video features on the Canon 5D MK II.
This tutorial will be particularly useful if you are a photographer making the transition to video, if you are a videographer and want to see if this camera will fit into your current workflow, or whether you've never touched a camera before and want to know some tips and techniques to get the best out of a 5D MK II.
The tutorial is broken up into the six sections:
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Camera Settings
03:20 - Camera Buttons
06:46 - Focusing (Auto/Manual Modes)
09:09 - ISO/Shutter/Aperture Controls and Tricks (RIP AUTO EXPOSURE HACKS)
16:18 - Conclusion
***Note 1: Thanks to DH for the tip to keep your settings from disappearing so quickly. If you go under the Live View/Movie func. set. you can change your Metering timer all the way up to 30 min. This way you won't lose your AE lock or display until you press record. Thanks again DH!!!
***Note 2: You can use the button directly to the right of AE Lock to unlock while you are recording only. Otherwise you must use the method demonstrated in the video to unlock.
*****************************************************************************************
TRIBUTE TO THE PAIN - RIP AUTO EXPOSURE HACKS - THANKS CANON!!!
*****************************************************************************************
***Note 3: I take back what I said about not going over ISO 1000. There are certain lighting conditions where you can get away with 3200. Test it out! One thing that you want to be aware of is if you're aperture is wide open, your ISO shows 3200, and your Shutter Speed drops below 30, then you are really going to see the noise. Basically that means you have begun to expand your ISO (even though it isn't displayed) beyond 3200 which produces extremely noisy footage and I think this is what I was seeing in the past. Still need to test it out more :)
***Note 4: Get your video to look almost identical to exposure simulation mode (Somewhat Manual Control):
1. Make sure you are in Aperture Priority Mode (AV)
2. Switch to Exposure Simulation Mode under LV Func. (Also Make sure Metering Timer is set to 30min.)
3. Switch on Live View Mode
4. Hit the (*) to lock your settings where they currently are
5. Using top scroll adjust your aperture to as wide open as it gets (mine 3.5)
6. Rotate your exposure compensation wheel and your shutter speed will increase and decrease. Try and get it to 1/25 (1/25 is important to keep your wide open aperture locked down so it doesn't change when you hit record... Don't ask me why, it just works!)
7. Adjust your ISO (by clicking the ISO button on top) somewhere at or under 1000 (1200 max for certain shots might be acceptable) You can turn on the histogram by pushing the info button twice to see where your ISO should be at
8. Get critical focus with Quick Mode (AF-ON) button
9. Hit Record (ISO and shutter might adjust each other slightly but the video will look identical to what you saw in Exposure Simulation mode. Aperture will stay locked at wide open)
10. If not happy with slight changes made to your ISO hold down the shutter button half way while you rotate the back wheel (exposure comp) which will manually adjust your ISO so you can force it back where you want if it changed. However if your ISO is at 100 when you are outside in daylight then when you turn the wheel you can adjust your shutter :)
11. Frame and hold your shot
12. Rinse and Repeat!!!
Might seem like a headache but SOOO much more reliable and easier to control than the hand method or twist off method described in the video. Please let me know how it works with your lenses. It's not complete manual control but it allows you more flexibility to get your shot how you want it to look without it fluctuating on you during recording or being too grainy due to high ISO!
*****************************************************************************************
TRIBUTE TO THE PAIN - RIP AUTO EXPOSURE HACKS - THANKS CANON!!!
*****************************************************************************************
As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!
-Tyler
blog.tylerginter.com
tylerginter@mac.com
twitter.com/tylerginter
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” -Steve Prefontaine
This tutorial will be particularly useful if you are a photographer making the transition to video, if you are a videographer and want to see if this camera will fit into your current workflow, or whether you've never touched a camera before and want to know some tips and techniques to get the best out of a 5D MK II.
The tutorial is broken up into the six sections:
00:00 - Introduction
01:00 - Camera Settings
03:20 - Camera Buttons
06:46 - Focusing (Auto/Manual Modes)
09:09 - ISO/Shutter/Aperture Controls and Tricks (RIP AUTO EXPOSURE HACKS)
16:18 - Conclusion
***Note 1: Thanks to DH for the tip to keep your settings from disappearing so quickly. If you go under the Live View/Movie func. set. you can change your Metering timer all the way up to 30 min. This way you won't lose your AE lock or display until you press record. Thanks again DH!!!
***Note 2: You can use the button directly to the right of AE Lock to unlock while you are recording only. Otherwise you must use the method demonstrated in the video to unlock.
*****************************************************************************************
TRIBUTE TO THE PAIN - RIP AUTO EXPOSURE HACKS - THANKS CANON!!!
*****************************************************************************************
***Note 3: I take back what I said about not going over ISO 1000. There are certain lighting conditions where you can get away with 3200. Test it out! One thing that you want to be aware of is if you're aperture is wide open, your ISO shows 3200, and your Shutter Speed drops below 30, then you are really going to see the noise. Basically that means you have begun to expand your ISO (even though it isn't displayed) beyond 3200 which produces extremely noisy footage and I think this is what I was seeing in the past. Still need to test it out more :)
***Note 4: Get your video to look almost identical to exposure simulation mode (Somewhat Manual Control):
1. Make sure you are in Aperture Priority Mode (AV)
2. Switch to Exposure Simulation Mode under LV Func. (Also Make sure Metering Timer is set to 30min.)
3. Switch on Live View Mode
4. Hit the (*) to lock your settings where they currently are
5. Using top scroll adjust your aperture to as wide open as it gets (mine 3.5)
6. Rotate your exposure compensation wheel and your shutter speed will increase and decrease. Try and get it to 1/25 (1/25 is important to keep your wide open aperture locked down so it doesn't change when you hit record... Don't ask me why, it just works!)
7. Adjust your ISO (by clicking the ISO button on top) somewhere at or under 1000 (1200 max for certain shots might be acceptable) You can turn on the histogram by pushing the info button twice to see where your ISO should be at
8. Get critical focus with Quick Mode (AF-ON) button
9. Hit Record (ISO and shutter might adjust each other slightly but the video will look identical to what you saw in Exposure Simulation mode. Aperture will stay locked at wide open)
10. If not happy with slight changes made to your ISO hold down the shutter button half way while you rotate the back wheel (exposure comp) which will manually adjust your ISO so you can force it back where you want if it changed. However if your ISO is at 100 when you are outside in daylight then when you turn the wheel you can adjust your shutter :)
11. Frame and hold your shot
12. Rinse and Repeat!!!
Might seem like a headache but SOOO much more reliable and easier to control than the hand method or twist off method described in the video. Please let me know how it works with your lenses. It's not complete manual control but it allows you more flexibility to get your shot how you want it to look without it fluctuating on you during recording or being too grainy due to high ISO!
*****************************************************************************************
TRIBUTE TO THE PAIN - RIP AUTO EXPOSURE HACKS - THANKS CANON!!!
*****************************************************************************************
As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!
-Tyler
blog.tylerginter.com
tylerginter@mac.com
twitter.com/tylerginter
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” -Steve Prefontaine
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Thanks for the demo. One kind of big issue though is that the movie mode exposure info isn't accurate when you use the AE Lock.
I did a simple test where I put the camera on a tripod and focused on a ruler to test DOF for aperture. I took still shots at all different apertures for DOF reference. Then I tried your AE Lock trick and other people's tricks. But each time I thought I got the settings locked in (because the exposure display said so) and then recorded the movie, it would actually have adjusted back to the normal settings for the current exposure as if I never locked in. I could tell because I would compare the DOF against the stills and it would tell me the aperture was back to the original value.
Now the initial AE Lock will lock the settings, but the second press of the button will send it back to the original settings (you can even hear the aperture changing).
Also, after doing some more testing with Movie Display on (as opposed to Exposure Simulation) I noticed that there are only 4 aperture settings it seems to use (at least for my 24-70 f/2.8) 22, 16, 5.6, & 2.8.
They can give you a rough estimate of the values used by the video mode, though. Just don't rely on shutter speeds longer than 1/30.
Also, the camera isn't limited to 1/125, if it needs 1/2000 in bright light, it will :)
It'll look weird but it can happen.
As for shooting over 3200 ISO it never displays it so if it does expand like the manual says it can are you saying that it does so without even displaying that info? I have the lens cap on right now and it is not exceeding 3200 on the display. Either way, this all goes back to locking it down to something under 1000 so you don't have to worry about the noise or some phantom ISO creeping in haha...
Also, the shutter speed exceeding 1/125 only works when you detach the lens so I really don't see that counting either...
I highly recommend against that trick as you will most likely have your lens on the ground in no time! Plus if you want a shutter speed over 1/125th you need an ISO of 100... Good luck in low light...
I suggest sticking to the basic auto-mode and then locking it down. I shot this tonight doing nothing more than keeping and locking the ISO under 1000 using the info from Note 3 above and I am happy with the results. vimeo.com/2519149 Sometimes the end result is all that matters :)
Thanks for the infomercial...found it very useful. Just a note. In the Live View / Movie Func. Set, if you go to Metering Timer, you can set the amount of time the AE Lock will stay on, until you stop recording. Factory default was set to 16 sec
I will let you know if I do.
PS Canon doesn't even mention this in the manual......WTF!
The cool thing is if you're outside and get your ISO to 100 with light to play then you can start to manually adjust your shutter :) Works great every time I've done it so far!
Perhaps you can verify your findings by using your workflow to record f/3.5 in a bright setting and then take a still while recording and compare the two. It would be best to do this on a tripod with something detailed close up to compare DOF.
Also with all that light coming in I think it's impossible for you to keep your 2.8 since you are maxed out on light at such a high shutter speed. I mean if that much light is coming in that you are at 1/1000 (which technically the manual says you can't even record at shutter speeds that fast so that could be another part of the problem-manual says 1/30 to 1/120 I think) then you are going to have to sacrifice aperture after 120. Thanks and I appreciate you testing with me :)
I actually came up with a different way of forcing a wider aperture and made a short video demo. vimeo.com/2530166
I don't know why but whenever I try to download the video, it fails during download. do you have any other link (not vimeo) to download this valuable video. would you email me: najafi@didarfilm.com
I can't reed all the posts to see if this has being mentioned before but have you understand that the camera in video mode is FULL AUTO ONLY?
You have NO CONTROL over shutter speed, aperture or iso.
No matter what ISO, shutter speed or Aperture you choose the camera goes to full auto as soon as you hit the record button.
There are ways to overcome this and they have being posted on professional forums by Chuck Westfall, Canon's Technical advisor.
I don't know if I'm allowed to copy paste them here so I will say it with my own words.
The camera tries to select the widest aperture available and the lowest ISO setting possible. the shutter speed range is 1/30-1/125 with 1/30 typically selected in low light situations.
The ISO goes up to 6400 with ISO expansion off and up to 12.600 with ISO expansion on.
As soon as the camera starts recording it will start adjusting exposure using the ISO settings.
When ISO range is not enough it will adjust the shutter speed and last the aperture.
At any point you can use exposure compensation and exposure lock to get some control.
Using this information you can find workarounds using canon lenses or you can simply use manual lenses and adapters so you can at least have aperture control.
Mind you Canon FD lenses are not recommended because you loose infinity focus unless you use a special and expensive converter.
Please remove all the misleading information as it's not good for anyone.
Sorry if i'm going off topic and using your video for some technical help! Great video by the way.
EOS Utility keeps crashing half way through transferring video files. They are about 11 minutes in length at 1920x1080. I've had no problem transferring a whole cards worth of shorter 1 minute clips.
I'm on OSX 10.5.6., using EOS Utility 2.5.1. I'm using an 8GB SanDisk Extreme IV card. I'm on a 2.4GHz Intel Core Duo, 2 GB Ram Macbook Pro.
Has anybody else had this problem, or suggest what the issue may be? Is there a maximum file size limit? The manual doesn't mention this. I'd guess an 11 minute clip is about 3.5 GB. I've even tried reinstalling the EOS software and formatting the memory card with no luck.
Any help would be great, i'm pulling my hair out!
Jim
Or de-install the Canon software and when you plug the camera using USB, it will appear as a hard drive.
I had the some trouble yesterday. Forget about EOS utility and use the camera as hard drive - so, deinstall utility and do things manually, as Dominic has already suggested
It's quite clear in your video and on your notes that you think you have control over the ISO which is not the case and of course is misleading. How is this good for anyone?
Actually there is something you have control in but you don't even mention it. You can select if the ISO range will be between 100-6400 or 50-25600 by selecting ISO expansion on or off.
Please read my post again. It shows you how the camera works in video mode.
Starting from there you can find your work around and fool the camera, however there is NO SINGLE SETTING over ISO, Shutter Speed or Aperture that will affect in any way the exposure in video mode.
All the workarounds involve outside parameters, (point the camera on a dark scene and press record if you want wide aperture selected or point it towards a bright scene and start recording from there if you want the camera to stop down the aperture) exposure compensation and/or exposure lock.
For very bright scenes and shallow DOF you can use ND filters and/or a polarizer.
Thanks.
Regardless of the very limited control over this camera that you can achieve, I highly recommend people go do something with it instead of worrying so much about the technical limitations. Vincent Laforet is proving what this camera can do in the REAL world instead of wasting time complaining what it "can't" do: blog.vincentlaforet.com/
If you have any other questions directed towards me please let me know at tylerginter@mac.com. Thanks!
ISO is the first thing the camera is going to adjust as long as you hit the rec button PERIOD.
No matter if you are in AV TV M P or whatever, no matter if you use exposure compensation or even exposure lock you will not be able to control the ISO.
Is this a big deal? No it isn't.
The camera produces amazing video even at extremely low light situations where it's obvious that ISO6400 has being selected.
The techniques I described are not mine.
That's what Chuck Westfall, Canon's technical advisor said.
The same guy also said that Vincend was wrong assuming he had control over aperture as he states in his original post when Reverie was out.
I would have posted his exact comments and workarounds but I don't know if I'm allowed to since they were posted on a private professional forum.
I'm not complaining about what this camera can't do, I'm complaining about you posting things that simply DON'T work.
Thanks for the tutorial. I would like to know what file format the camra records the video in. Is there any limits on the video length or filesize in the camera?
Thanks
I got mine 4 days ago and I am still exploring it.
thanks !
And finally Canon has also to fix some other major bugs while at it!
This whole screwed videomode of the 5D MK II is really annoying. Best pics vs. worst handling!
this you have helped many people, including me, to quickly get to grips with this camera. Thanks again.
Joe.
thanks!!!
chusy
anywhereusathemovie.com
I agree, ISO 3200 is out of work, it gets too noisy
snappertalk.com/index.php/20090129/5d-mkii-video-playback-with-vlc/
So it is possible to record with a locked off aperture? But it resets everytime you stop recording right? Just wondering... worst case scenario, how much messing around to you have to do with settings before u can hit record? How quickly could you set up a shot before hitting record?
For those who might be interested in MANUAL CONTROL in Movie mode, please check:
5dmark2.wordpress.com
It's just another group effort.
We hope Canon can give their customers manual control for video like they do for stills, especially considering this camera is aimed to professional use, it is not an entry-level.
Thanks a lot in advance.
thank you very much!
have you uploaded the firmware to allow manual control? If so, will you or have you done a tutorial on how to use it?