Canon 5D Mark II and the Future of DSLR Video
The traditional design of high definition video cameras is quickly becoming outdated, to be replaced by new digital SLR still & video cameras, with a modular design. This not an entirely new idea. The Red Digital Cinema Company has been aiming with a similar goal in mind for the last few years and with the release of their Red One they were able to offer a camera capable of shooting at 4k resolution and using 35mm lenses for about $50,000 (inexpensive compared to similar high-end camera packages).
In late 2008, the Red Company announced that a new, truly modular DSMC (digital still and motion camera) is on the horizon that would blow the socks of the competitors, and pull back our wigs as filmmakers for a fraction of the price. Sometime in late 2009* (*This was a optimistic guess), the Epic and Scarlet cameras will hit the market and fully solidify these new types of digital video cameras as the standard for digital content creation.
In the meantime, while we are crossing out the days on the calendar for the Epic/Scarlet release, what are the competitors doing? Two other DSLR cameras that are capable of shooting high definition are currently available, and are quickly becoming recognized for their stunning visuals and “digital majesty.” They are the Canon 5D Mark II and the Nikon D90 (we have not used the latter…if you have tried this camera, let us know what you think).
The Canon 5D Mark II is a hot product right now and very hard to find. To accquire one, I recommend calling up B & H Photo as soon as they open (they get a daily shipment and are EST, so call early). This is exactly how we ordered ours, since it was back-ordered everywhere else, including their website. After getting the 5DMII, we decided to go all out and buy a full rig for the camera that included the Zacuto Filmmakers DSLR Kit, a Red Rock Micro Matte Box, four Canon lenses and tons of filters, flash cards, a car-pod, Ikan HDMI monitor, and a clown-car full of other tools and accessories (I probably put the owner of B&H’s kid through a year a schooling). Since our camera package is also based on a modular design we can switch in practically any camera, including the Red One, Epic and Scarlet.
Be sure to check out our future blog posts where we review more great DSLR and DSMC equipment and give feedback.
Anyways back to the 5D Mark II: It is truly an amazing camera for a very low price, though buying a set of lenses adds up quick. The color tones and depth of field alone in the 5D is quite amazing and has a very “film-ish” look. It can shoot in very low light without distortion and utilizes natural light to the fullest capability. The camera is also extremely flexible in that it can be used both as a hand-held run-and-gun shooter as well as a fully tricked out set-up on a shoulder harness or steady cam. For more proof check out Vincent Laforet and the wedding videos by the peeps at Still Motion.
So what are the negative aspects of the 5DMII? Well, the camera can only shoot at 30p (put out a 24p firmware upgrade, Canon!), there is a limited amount of control over the f-stop and aperture while in video mode, it occasionally freezes and loses the last shot that it was recording, there is no audio out-put for headphones on the camera body, and the setting for the ISO and fstop disappear from the viewing menu after a few seconds which is annoying.
To sum it up, this new DSLR technology opens up vast possibilities with great quality images at a fraction of the price. This is just the forefront. As the big camera companies out there realize that this is what people want, we will see a new family of digital video cameras emerge that are modular in design and based on the DSLR framework.
[photo by Zacuto]
Tags: 5d mark II, canon, canon 5d mark 2, digital camera, dslr, epic, high definition, ikan, nikon, red one, red rock micro, scarlet, vincent laforet, zacuto
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February 8, 2010
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