Need quick help with 5D MKIII video

Folks, I have a 5D MKIII and have never been using it for video. I will need to record a series of 5-min clips and quickly send it to another country on a hard drive.

How can I best do it?
1. I think video recording is rather intuitive, what do I need to know?
2. How do I record in a compressed format to ensure that there is no compression needed afterwards?
3. How do I estimate my battery life?
4. How do I know how much video can I fit on a 32 GB memory card?

Thanks!

light_pilgrim wrote in post #16792048
Folks, I have a 5D MKIII and have never been using it for video. I will need to record a series of 5-min clips and quickly send it to another country on a hard drive.

How can I best do it?
1. I think video recording is rather intuitive, what do I need to know?
2. How do I record in a compressed format to ensure that there is no compression needed afterwards?
3. How do I estimate my battery life?
4. How do I know how much video can I fit on a 32 GB memory card?

Thanks!

What do you mean by "Hard Drive"? Why not just send the SD or CF memory card?

1) Use the Green A+ mode as it should make it easier and will automatically select the smaller IPB compression for you
2) IPB compression needs no special software to view it
3) There is no real way to get an accurate estimate but you should be able to get an hour of video on one battery
4) You should be able to get about 2 hours of video at full resolution bit you can get more if you use smaller resolutions.

In addition to Mike's answers: for video recording the "180 degree shutter rule" is often recommended. In practice, this means choosing a shutter speed ~2x the frame rate. E.g. for 30fps choose 1/60s, for 25fps choose 1/50s. Then set an aperture to taste, and an ISO to get the desired exposure level.

If you're mostly a stills shooter (and especially if you usually shoot raw) then watch your white balance and exposure settings. It's usually best to set a fixed WB (to avoid AWB changing during a shoot). Obviously you have less latitude than raw, so watch the highlights.

Choose a picture style that produces the look you want. If you were planning on editing I'd suggest a flatter style (such as http://www.technicolor​.com …utions-services/cinestyle) but it's not designed for material that isn't going to be colour corrected in post.

An external mic is highly recommended if you want to shoot with sound. The Rode VideoMic is one good option.

IS is useful if you're going to handhold the shot, but be aware that if you're using the internal mic it'll pick up the noise. If you can, mounting the camera on a tripod would be preferable.

As Mike's noted, IPB compression is "better" (in the sense that it'll produce smaller files, at the expense of being slightly worse for editing).

Folks, thank you for answers and suggestions.

I was trying to play with the video yesterday and get ready for the recording I need to make. These are the observations and new questions that I have:

1. I found all these formats in the menu and can choose between 50 and 25 FPS. 25 FPS is good enough or I need 50 fps?

2. I was using the Sigma 35 f/1.4 lens and for some reason I could not change the aperture, it was always F/2.0 and this was giving me a lot of trouble. The subject was moving and I had a very hard time having him in focus.

3. I was using the Auto mode (green sector).

4. What is the safe aperture and how do I set it to have people in focus? I would think of f/5.6 - F/8 or so based on what I tried yesterday, but I did not know how to change the aperture in the Auto mode. Can you help?

5. Noise and sound. I do not need anything super professional and fancy, but I would love to avoid the noise from the camera and want to have a good quality audio of people that are going to be talking. What is the solution I have? Again, doesn't have to be very professional, but something that is good enough.

6. What is the software that I can use for editing and compression? Can it be done with LR 5?

light_pilgrim wrote in post #16798451
Folks, thank you for answers and suggestions.

I was trying to play with the video yesterday and get ready for the recording I need to make. These are the observations and new questions that I have:

1. I found all these formats in the menu and can choose between 50 and 25 FPS. 25 FPS is good enough or I need 50 fps?

2. I was using the Sigma 35 f/1.4 lens and for some reason I could not change the aperture, it was always F/2.0 and this was giving me a lot of trouble. The subject was moving and I had a very hard time having him in focus.

3. I was using the Auto mode (green sector).

4. What is the safe aperture and how do I set it to have people in focus? I would think of f/5.6 - F/8 or so based on what I tried yesterday, but I did not know how to change the aperture in the Auto mode. Can you help?

5. Noise and sound. I do not need anything super professional and fancy, but I would love to avoid the noise from the camera and want to have a good quality audio of people that are going to be talking. What is the solution I have? Again, doesn't have to be very professional, but something that is good enough.

6. What is the software that I can use for editing and compression? Can it be done with LR 5?

1. FPS -> depends on your needs. Most people are used to seeing motion recorded at 24 to 30fps, with a shutter speed of ~twice the frame rate (i.e. 1/50 to 1/60s). 24fps gives you a "cinema look", whereas higher rates can look more "real", but less "magical" (all in quotes as those are opinions I've heard/read, rather than specific personal experience).

2/3. Generally you should fix your settings before you start recording, as changes during recording can be disturbing. Ah, I've just seen you're using auto - probably not a great idea for video. Use M (manual), set the aperture as desired (for DOF), set the shutter speed to twice the frame rate, then adjust the ISO to get a good exposure. Hitting the INFO button a few times should give you a histogram with which you can judge the exposure. Don't be afraid of higher ISO settings in video on the 5D3; it's very good in this regard.

4. Use a DOF calculator such as http://www.cambridgein​colour.com/tutorials/d​of-calculator.htm. E.g. set to "35mm (full frame)" your 35mm f/1.4 at 2m subject distance will give you ~29cm DOF. With the same settings but f/5.6 you'd get ~1.25m DOF.

5. External mic such as this http://www.rodemic.com​/microphones/videomic (the VideoMic Pro is good too). Or, use an external recorder - but that'll require syncing the sound back in post. Alternatively, put the camera on a tripod, don't use IS on the lens, and don't touch the camera during recording. As long as people are within a few meters you should get acceptable sound (you can trim the sensitivity levels in the menus).

6. Editing - if your wallet is large, Premier Pro! I've been looking at some cheaper alternatives and Premier Elements is OK, but so far I'm leaning towards Sony's Movie Studio. You can download trials of both.

Thank you for answers. I think I am more of less clear. One more thing.

I will most likely have a pretty large file/files when doing it in RAW. Is there a way I can compress with a software before I am going to send it to other people for editing?

Thanks.

light_pilgrim wrote in post #16798574
Thank you for answers. I think I am more of less clear. One more thing.

I will most likely have a pretty large file/files when doing it in RAW. Is there a way I can compress with a software before I am going to send it to other people for editing?

Thanks.

You'll only get raw video if you've got Magic Lantern (ML) installed, and that's a whole step up in complexity for processing.

There are tools (read up about ML raw video) that take the raw frames and process them such that you can import them into a video editor, but it's not something I've done. Note that you also don't get audio when doing raw video recording.

The benefits are greater latitude for edits, and better image quality. However, I'd suggest that unless you're a great videographer already (great story teller, understand video production and editing etc.) then shooting raw would be like putting racing slicks on a family car.

I'd invest your time and effort on learning how to get a good video shoot going (good angles, interesting content etc.) before worrying about trying to squeeze out the last little bit of image quality by shooting raw video. I'm certainly miles away from being good at producing video, so consider raw video as the icing on a cake I've not yet worked out how to bake.

If you're shooting video using the 5D3 (without using the raw video function in ML) then the files you get will be compressed MPEG streams. Not the best stuff in the world for video quality, but if you are willing to edit, then look into getting the Technicolor Cinestyle profile onto your camera, then grading the footage in your editing tool. A flatter profile such as Cinestyle helps reduce clipping of highlights and shadows, and gives you a decent file to add constrast, saturation, and sharpness in post.