Canon 7D DSLR

[pamunoz 0]

Wow! I just read this article which I thought I'd share w/ you guys. Price seems pretty good. I think w/ the right accessories, one can get some pretty good viz w/ a DSLR like this.

 

I think you can set it up to shoot 60 frames per second at 720p.

 

This is the first affordable camera I've been interested in learning more about in years.

 

Not a fan of compressed video (especially for green screen) but I'm working with HDV 1080i right now which I think is MPEG2 compressed at 1440x1080i resolution, so who am I to complain. All signs point to yes that this camera is going to be able to acquire some nice quality video.

 

LOL! And 18MP still photography capability is a nice bonus.

 

http://gizmodo.com/5349829/canon-7d-dslr-first-hands-on-18-megapixels-24fps-full-hd-video-for-1900

 

I'd love to hear your thoughts & if you come across a spec breakdown of this machine, please share. I'm wondering about a few things.

 

P.S. - I'm not sure what this means but it says that it's not full-frame and that instead, it sports an APS-C-sized sensor like the rebel series. Apparently it helps w/ ISO, but I don't know if this is something to be concerned about.

Edited September 1, 2009 by pamunoz

[Beaver 1]

Just that as will all DSLRs shooting video, you'll run into rolling shutter issues, but that's not all bad now that the foundry has a sweet plugin to counter rolling shutter distortion. As far as DSLR brands go, you can't go wrong with Canon. Every codec has its quirks, so if you do snag this and shoot some green screen I'd love to hear how it went.

[Guest Sao_Bento]

Just because you own something doesn't mean you have to shoot greenscreen on it. If you've got really critical greenscreen to shoot, rent - your hair will last much longer.

[Spence 0]

Wow, if they don't add 24p to the 5D MkII soon I think I'll sell mine off and grab one of these.

[pamunoz 0]

Just because you own something doesn't mean you have to shoot greenscreen on it. If you've got really critical greenscreen to shoot, rent - your hair will last much longer.

 

LOL - While what you say is actually a good philosophy, I should point out that I have been holding off for a decent DSLR since the D300's & 5D.

 

This puppy is an 18MP DSLR + an HD camera at a pricepoint that I think I'd be happy with! BUT... I still wanna learn a bit more about this before I buy it. I'm apprehensive about this first gen 1080p 24fps DSLR camera.

 

Bottom line is I plan to use it (If I decide to get it) for both work and for play.

Edited September 1, 2009 by pamunoz

[Nerra 0]

I was planning on buying the 5D mkII soon (mostly for video) but this could be the better/cheaper option.

[froj 0]

I'd be happier if Nikon would release an equivalent so I can use my lenses!

[RustyAce 0]

I'd be happier if Nikon would release an equivalent so I can use my lenses!

 

 

Give em six months, nikon beat cannon to the 720p low end so cannon topped em with the 1080 lower end.

[a2visual 0]

I'd be happier if Nikon would release an equivalent so I can use my lenses!

 

Or you can buy one of these adapters and have the best of both worlds:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/197094-REG/Novoflex_EOS_NIK_Lens_Adapter_Nikon_to.html

[froj 0]

Or you can buy one of these adapters and have the best of both worlds:

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/197094-REG/Novoflex_EOS_NIK_Lens_Adapter_Nikon_to.html

 

$270? I'll wait and see what Nikon comes up with... good to know they exist if I ever need to hire though

[monovich 0]

this looks like the camera that will finally tip me into the video dslr world. it hits a very sweet spot between price/performance.

[Spence 0]

I'd like to know how thefootage quality compares to the 5D mkII.

 

It's not full frame, so right off the bat it's got crop on the lenses, but I wonder how it performs in low light.

[a2visual 0]

$270? I'll wait and see what Nikon comes up with... good to know they exist if I ever need to hire though

 

Yeah, they're pricey, I only stumbled upon them when researching dSLR's for stop motion. Apparently using the adapter locks the exposure and reduces flicker greatly on Canon cameras using Nikon glass. For everyday shooting, probably not practical.

[ClintVideo 1]

I'm in love. I have 47,000 shots thru my 20D but no money. Time to get creative.

 

Cf

[parallax 0]

Ah yes, apparently 1700 bucks is 1739 euros.

 

FFS.

[stoiqa 0]

looking good : http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos7d/

[Guest Sao_Bento]

looking good : http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/eos7d/

The footage in that 960x540 of the owl looks pretty chunky to me - and that's after is scaled down to 50%. That rules out the previous greenscreen question (as if we needed confirmation). H.264 is just not a production format.

[Beaver 1]

The footage in that 960x540 of the owl looks pretty chunky to me - and that's after is scaled down to 50%. That rules out the previous greenscreen question (as if we needed confirmation). H.264 is just not a production format.

 

Hard to say after it's been re compressed for web delivery though. The fact that it shoots full frames is a big plus, I bet it could out-green-screen the HVX200 based on that alone.

[Guest Sao_Bento]

Hard to say after it's been re compressed for web delivery though. The fact that it shoots full frames is a big plus, I bet it could out-green-screen the HVX200 based on that alone.

Undoubtedly you could do worse, but is that the new threshold for cameras? I'm sure this thing can make video that's "good enough" for many purposes, but I think it's quite a stretch to think of it as an all purpose Full HD video camera. Fun to play with? Probably. The solution to all our problems, no. I think it's a great step forward for Canon to at least recognize that they got the frame rate wrong with the 5D, but until we can replace the h.264 part, this is still the modern day equivalent of a miniDV camera.

[pamunoz 0]

The footage in that 960x540 of the owl looks pretty chunky to me - and that's after is scaled down to 50%. That rules out the previous greenscreen question (as if we needed confirmation). H.264 is just not a production format.

 

Damn... that's what worries me the most about this camera and the H.264 compressor when it comes to greenscreen.

 

I am going to look into renting it for my next greenscreen shoot. I want to compare the compressed HDV quality footage coming out of my XDCAMHD 1080i camera with the FULLHD H.264 progressive footage coming out of the 7D.

 

Technically the 7D should out-perform the XDCAMHD, but it all comes down to compression artifacting.

 

The chunky artifacting on the examples online could easily be because we're watching re-compressed down-converted flash videos. Canon really should be allowing us to download an unedited file copied straight from the camera.

 

Our station uses HDV footage acquired from XDCAMHD cameras. It's compressed video that's not even full-frame HD but if DV, DVCAM and HDV can be considered good enough to use by many stations in the broadcast world, then I wouldn't rule out H.264 just yet. I say if we can find a way to muscle out decent green screens out of SD DV compressed footage (shot well), then there's definitely hope for the 7D.

 

I'll rent it from Vistek when it comes out.

[Colin@movecraft 0]

http://prolost.com/blog/2009/8/31/canon-7d.html

 

Stu-proved.

 

(time to sell my Rebel XSI)

 

c

Edited September 2, 2009 by Colin@movecraft

[pamunoz 0]

Stu also says that the 7D lacks:

 

"Quality. The 7D still skips lines to make its HD images, resulting in aliasing and color artifacts. And it still has rolling shutter issues."

 

Meh, screw it I could wait forever for the perfect DSLR but this thing is priced just right. I'm getting it!

Edited September 3, 2009 by pamunoz

[Guest Sao_Bento]

In case anyone missed it in all the other places it's been posted, here is some excellent footage from the D7 b Phillip Bloom.

 

"Dublin's People"

 

The video looks great, but at a steep price.

 

Camera $1700

Lens: $1349.00

Zacuto Tactical Shooter kit w. Z Finder $1534.00

 

Total : $4583.00

 

You don't HAVE to have all that stuff, but you do need a fast lens and the viewfinder thingy, which still adds up to nearly $2000 above and beyond the camera.

 

While the D7 shoots at 48mbps rather than 40mbps, like the D5 MkII, it's still a long way from the specs for the Scarlet, at nearly the same price (allegedly). I'm certainly not trying to be a shill for RED - they've over promised and underperformed on almost everything, and the Scarlet is a fantasy product until it actually ships. Assuming they do hit their secret dates for it, they have also been non-committal about the pricing. I'm definitely not saying to wait for the Scarlet, just that the D7 costs a hell of a lot for h.264 video to come out of it's arse. Tell me it does those frame rates and excretes OpenEXR sequences, and I'm sold sold sold.

[monovich 0]

 

Camera $1700

Lens: $1349.00

Zacuto Tactical Shooter kit w. Z Finder $1534.00

 

 

Good points, but in some cases people already have great glass, so that may not be as much of a factor, and the glass basically never becomes obselete.

 

Does the scarlet come with all equivalent features at its price point or do you also have to pile on lenses, rigs, and whatever else?

 

I'm close to pulling the trigger on the D7 what is so great about its equation to me is that I'm getting a pretty world class SLR camera AND video shooter for that price. I'm still using a digital rebel (v1) and this is the camera that is finally pushing me to upgrade after all that time.

Edited September 9, 2009 by monovich

[guera 0]

Good points, but in some cases people already have great glass, so that may not be as much of a factor, and the glass basically never becomes obselete.

 

Does the scarlet come with all equivalent features at its price point or do you also have to pile on lenses, rigs, and whatever else?

 

I'm close to pulling the trigger on the D7 what is so great about its equation to me is that I'm getting a pretty world class SLR camera AND video shooter for that price. I'm still using a digital rebel (v1) and this is the camera that is finally pushing me to upgrade after all that time.

 

 

The footage looks really nice, I am waiting to see what Nikon will come, and I hope it is soon.

Also, talking about Scarlet, anybody knows any news about it?

 

cheers