Canon 5D MkII HD Video: Wow!

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://blogs.smugmug.com/don/2008/09/22/amazing-canon-5d-mkii-hd-video-footage/' target='_blank'>http://blogs.smugmug.com/don/2008/0...-video-footage/</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Vincent Laforet got his hands on a Canon 5D MkII for a weekend. Rather than shoot some quick stills, he rounded up an entire film crew and put them to work using the amazing 1080p video capture it offers - in helicopters, no less! When SmugMug heard about this, we went bananas and offered to host both the short film itself, Reverie, as well as the Behind the Scenes footage."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1222185218.usr1.jpg" /></p><p>Seeing is believing, so the best thing I can say is to watch the video: there's a Quicktime version of the video <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&amp;articleID=2086" target="_blank">over on Canon's site</a>, or there's the h.264 Flash-based version <a href="http://vincentlaforet.smugmug.com/gallery/6042742_wZKiA#377930419_dgxvY-XL-LB" target="_blank">on Smugmug</a>. They both look great! <a href="http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/" target="_blank">Vincent Laforet's blog</a> has a bunch of info about the video, how hit was shot, etc. I really have to hand it to Canon, they've created a whole new generation of DSLRs with shockingly impressive video capabilities. I want to see this type of technology trickle down to Canon's point and shoot line - it's ridiculous that the best Canon has done with their small cameras is 640 x 480 resolution video, though with one camera they've finally moved to h.264. I wouldn't expect the same quality of video on a small $400 point and shoot camera, but at the very least I hope Canon gives us h.264 720p video (and no, the <a href="http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&amp;fcategoryid=144&amp;modelid=14903" target="_blank">TX1 doesn't count</a>).</p>

[Darius Wey]

The QuickTime version is absolutely jaw-dropping. :eek:

[Janak Parekh]

Yeah, my response to this was "Wow. :eek:" Then I told Darius, and his response was the same. This is amazing stuff. I finally want a SLR!

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

The QuickTime version is absolutely jaw-dropping. :eek:

Yup, it's gorgeous isn't it? I'm trying to wrap my brain around what I'm seeing...it's almost like "HD JPEG", as in Canon is deliberately skewing the colour, the tones, toward a certain look (rich, deep, luscious) - whereas most HD video cameras are deliberately more neutral in tone, with the expectation that the post-processing will be where the tone is changed (almost like a raw photo).

[Neil Enns]

Stop posting these articles Jason!!! Otherwise I'm going to bill you for $3k!

Neil

[djdj]

That footage is definitely impressive. Makes you wonder why anyone would buy the XL-A1 or one of its competitors with this kind of quality coming out of a $2700 camera.

You can't get video with a shallow depth of field and wide dynamic range like you see in this video without spending more than $20k. This camera is truly revolutionary. Even $20,000 video cameras don't have 35mm-sized sensors (notable exception being the RED One, which when fully decked out with lenses, monitor, mount, etc. is north of $30k).

This is the beginning of the end of separate devices for high quality stills and video. It's only going to get better from here. We'll see full 2K and 4K resolution, higher quality compression, improved manual controls, better audio, and higher capacity storage on future models and it will be impossible for dedicated video cameras to compete.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Yeah, my response to this was "Wow. :eek:" Then I told Darius, and his response was the same. This is amazing stuff. I finally want a SLR!

--janak

Just because of the video mode? :P

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

There're still reasons to get a dedicated video camera, but they're getting lesser and lesser. I can't wait to see what Nikon will offer next.

[Janak Parekh]

Just because of the video mode? :P Well, I guess it's a bit of gadget lust. ;) That, and the really crappy video that comes out of the otherwise halfway respectable Powershot G9 that I own.

--janak

[Rob Alexander]

Totally impressive, though I don't know about the cost argument in comparing it to dedicated video cameras. Did you see the list of lenses he used and add up the price? I'm pretty sure it would all end up costing as much as the high-end video camera. Still, this is the first time anyone has convinced me that it was even possible to take respectable video with a still camera. Very cool!

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

Dedicated video cameras are at least twice as expensive. And many a lot more.

They may not come with a lens mount. Good luck in changing your lenses.

They do not have the DOF of a DSLR.

They have a very video look which I dislike. See the D90 vs HVX demo quite a few posts down on the main page (or archive).

Finally, since this chap is a Canon sponsered guy, showing off Canon wares, of course there'll be a ton of lenses used. In theory you can get away with 2-3 lenses at the start, or even 1.