Canon 7D DSLR

[mintyfresh 0]

I didn't pay attention to who posted this, but once I hit the word "schmlurphy", I knew it was Jaan.

 

At some point they will reach will cross the line from almost good enough to good enough, the question is when. At this rate, it should probably happen within the next year.

 

i sure hope so! jaans comment was spot on

[jaan 0]

I didn't pay attention to who posted this, but once I hit the word "schmlurphy", I knew it was Jaan. I don't think anyone expects that these cameras will suddenly be spitting out full res vistavision for $1700, but you have to admit that they've been improving slowly over the last two years. At some point they will reach will cross the line from almost good enough to good enough, the question is when. At this rate, it should probably happen within the next year. Will it be as good as film? Hell no. Will it be as good as RED One footage? probably not. Will it be good enough that it becomes the de-facto standard. Definitely.

 

i wasn't meaning to sound like a grump or anything, just implying that no one should bother holding their breath for a revolutionary camera with a cheap price tag. i have no idea what the future holds, but i do know two things: good lenses will always have to be expensive, especially as sensor resolutions continue to increase, and what is considered "good enough for professional use" will continue to rise, floating on that high tide (anyone remember what top-of-the-line telecine'd 35mm looked like in 1987? it looked kinda mildly like shit, by today's standards). those two things alone will keep the (relatively) good stuff expensive and well into the pro price bracket.

 

nowadays we have a lot more options in varied flavors of price and quality, which i am genuinely grateful for.

 

btw, i think there will be a DSLR with red one level quality capabilities before too long. but by then there will be sensors capturing like 15 stops of exposure and the 8-9ish stops that red captures will be considered prosumer.

Edited September 28, 2009 by jaan

[ClintVideo 1]

I heard it takes still images too (at least, that's why I want one). If I want video I'll grab an EX1 or EX3 from work.

 

Cf

[pamunoz 0]

I heard it takes still images too (at least, that's why I want one). If I want video I'll grab an EX1 or EX3 from work.

 

Cf

 

A DSLR that takes still images!?! That's CRAZY talk!!

[Guest Sao_Bento]

If you're going to outfit one of these things, it looks like the Hoodman USA products are way cheaper than the Zacuto Z Finder. (you'll need one of these kind of products to be able to focus)

http://hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1017

 

Next, you'll need something to hold a big stack of ND filters, so you can get that shallow DOF and kill all the contrast that makes the video look like shit in a full daylight setting.

http://www.amazon.com/Cokin-CBP40077-Holder-77mm-Adapter/dp/B0010841A6/ref=sr_1_46?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1255218892&sr=8-46

[pamunoz 0]

http://store.zacuto.com/DSLR-Precision-Shooter.html <- Worth it?

[ClintVideo 1]

Dang...that seems like a lot of money to avoid buying an actual video camera. All that, just to shoot h.264?

 

Cf

[Duder 0]

I wonder when these companies can get rid of the rolling shutter issue with these cameras?

[stoiqa 0]

http://store.zacuto.com/DSLR-Precision-Shooter.html <- Worth it?

 

does it come with the new z-zipper ?

[mintyfresh 0]

so it sounds like with the d70 and 5d, handheld is a good way to come home with some janky jello footage?

 

one thing i like about the coming of DSLR video, in addition to the nice lens effects, is the possibilities of shooting stealth. but once you add a bunch of gear to it, you're back to being mr. conspicuous camera guy.

 

there was the question on prolost about whether with the smaller sensor size, the 7d would have worse rolling shutter than the 5D mkII, anyone here know?

[pamunoz 0]

Well I just bought it. I wanted a DSLR for a while now. I'm sick of always borrowing the wife's SLR. What a tease tho, I have it... but the battery needs charging so I haven't had a chance to really play with it yet. Anyway, I'll mess w/ it soon. So far I'm not seeing any rolling shutter but I haven't really tested it out yet.

 

 

p.s. - this camera is pretty cool. Feels and looks great, and seems to come fully loaded with functions. First impressions are positive. I like how it's compatible w/ both EF and EF-S lenses. I hope I'm not going to regret that it's not full frame.

Edited October 17, 2009 by pamunoz

[Guest Sao_Bento]

I wonder when these companies can get rid of the rolling shutter issue with these cameras?

Nikon has supposedly addressed the issue with their D3 release. I don't think they are saying that it's totally gone, just that it's not nearly as bad as the D90 was.

 

Here's some footage with a lot of movement of both the camera and the subject

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAGS3d4i-DE&feature=player_embedded

[Guest Sao_Bento]

Dang...that seems like a lot of money to avoid buying an actual video camera. All that, just to shoot h.264?

 

Cf

You keep saying that people are going to silly lengths to avoid buying a video camera - Let's say that you buy a Canon 7D and a decent f2.8 zoom lens @ about $2500 - Which $2500 video camera is it that you are talking about that offers interchangeable lenses, 1080 24p, 60fps 720p?

[basilisk 0]

Nikon has supposedly addressed the issue with their D3 release. I don't think they are saying that it's totally gone, just that it's not nearly as bad as the D90 was.

 

Here's some footage with a lot of movement of both the camera and the subject

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAGS3d4i-DE&feature=player_embedded

 

D3 looks nice, lets hope Nikon puts this technology into a D90 successor so we can have the quality at a more affordable level. Don't really want to switch to Canon, with all my Nikon glass.

[ClintVideo 1]

You keep saying that people are going to silly lengths to avoid buying a video camera - Let's say that you buy a Canon 7D and a decent f2.8 zoom lens @ about $2500 - Which $2500 video camera is it that you are talking about that offers interchangeable lenses, 1080 24p, 60fps 720p?

 

Fair question, I guess it comes down to what you expect from your video camera. I haven't been the one nitpicking the compression in this thread, despite my mention of h.264. At this point, however, a DSLR seems like a very fine-pointed instrument, a tool that excels for a narrow range of uses for top-quality footage. I glean that from the mentions that everyone shoots artsy, soft shots in order to avoid artifacts. There's also the issue of record times and that sort of thing.

 

I'm not naysaying a DSLR for video just out of general principle; I'm just saying it may not be the best tool for job a good portion of the time, and mostly I'm just suspicious when price seems to be the dominant factor over people ooo'ing and aah'ing over a product. Unless you're shooting for yourself and/or are ready to redesign your entire workflow to absorb what DSLR video throws at you, it may not be everything people are hyping it to be. It just ain't that simple.

 

If I find a way to get one of these I'm going to spend a LOT of time shooting video, though

 

Cf

[brett brinkerhoff 0]

All these pages and not one person brought this camera up. Cheaper and from what I have been seeing, A little better quality image.

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Cameras-Camcorders/Digital-Cameras/Lumix-Digital-Interchangeable-Lens-Cameras/model.DMC-GH1K_11002_7000000000000005702

[Guest Sao_Bento]

All these pages and not one person brought this camera up. Cheaper and from what I have been seeing, A little better quality image.

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/shop/Cameras-Camcorders/Digital-Cameras/Lumix-Digital-Interchangeable-Lens-Cameras/model.DMC-GH1K_11002_7000000000000005702

It got mentioned back in the "f4.0?? What the hell are they thinking" thread.

[pamunoz 0]

Did some preliminary tests today with the camera.

 

CONS:

 

- Fast pans = rolling shutter effect.

- Antiailsing/Stair-Stepping effect on high-contrast lines

- H.264 compression is noticeable same color gradients

- heavy digital noise on dark shades of gray, but not on black.

 

For those interested, I'm happy to upload some full HD sample clips straight from camera but can you guys tell me what you'd like to see?

 

Here's what I'm thinking of so far on 24fps FULL HD:

- Fast pan

- BUS/TRAIN driving by camera

- RED gradient, GREEN gradient, BLUE gradient

- black&white pixel clarity test pattern

- daylight clip

- evening clip

 

If you think a variation of the above would be better, great, let me know asap. I'm no engineer so I'm just trying to think about stuff that I'd like to see.

 

P.S. - where can I upload the original clips to? I'm thinking zShare.net and post the links? they're pretty large so I don't want to kill my bandwidth.

Edited October 20, 2009 by pamunoz

[Guest Sao_Bento]

I'm just suspicious when price seems to be the dominant factor over people ooo'ing and aah'ing over a product.

Cf

Really kind of an ironic statement to make in an online community that exists to share knowledge about all the new tools and techniques that have become available via the "desktop video revolution", doncha think? Technological advances make new tools and techniques available to people who never had access to them before - it's really quite simple. Although price is the enabler, the attraction is having access to new tools and techniques.

[Guest Sao_Bento]

Oh yeah, and here's a link to some guys who got past their emotional hang-ups and actually started using these things.

http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/

[Guest Sao_Bento]

AND, to add even more, the 5D MkII will be able to do 24p shortly, and the new Canon 1D MkIV is said to have vaulted the hurdle that was rolling shutter.

http://prolost.com/

[pamunoz 0]

Man those links are awesome thanks sao!

Edited October 20, 2009 by pamunoz

[brawk 0]

AND, to add even more, the 5D MkII will be able to do 24p shortly, and the new Canon 1D MkIV is said to have vaulted the hurdle that was rolling shutter.

http://prolost.com/

 

http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2009/10/19/lights-out-camera-action/

[jaan 0]

AND, to add even more, the 5D MkII will be able to do 24p shortly, and the new Canon 1D MkIV is said to have vaulted the hurdle that was rolling shutter.

http://prolost.com/

 

 

okay, now that mkiv is going to be a huge deal with those ridic amazing asa settings.

to overcome the ergonomic and (lack of) accessory probs with dslrs there has to be some kinda special advantages to opt over a motion camera, and the small form size is only useful for certain purposes... but being able to shoot at 6400 asa is a huge asset.

 

btw, here's a great example of putting dslr video to good use... shooting this otherwise woulda been approximately 8000% more difficult.

[monovich 0]

this is all getting entirely too exciting.