Equipment needed to take good quality video on canon 5div

I understand the Canon 5Div is primarily a stills camera. However, as I have one, I would like to get the best quality video I can from it, including sound. If anyone is using this camera for video, what do you recommend? I have never really done video before, so no information could be too basic. Thanks!

What type of video do you plan to shoot. I've been researching shooting wildlife video with my 7Dii. If you're shooting outside in daylight, you'll need several ND filters or a variable ND. A fluid head for your tripod, a small video screen or eyepiece for your camera's screen and an external mic and maybe a mixer. I've watched numerous videos and read many articles. There are many sources online.

Yes, what are you shooting?

I would like to do some family and family event videos. Because I have never shot video, I have no basis for differentiating between the video products available. For example, I know that an external mike is necessary (particularly given the poor sound filtration on the internal mike of the 5D4) and Rode mikes seem to be highly recommended. But I don't know which Rode mike I should get, or even how I could tell if it would work with a 5D4. That's why I put 5D4 in the header. I was hoping there was some-one already knowledgeable about both videography and this particular camera that could give me a few pointers. The other concern I have is that there is quite a price range in products. There is no point in buying cheaply and then the product doesn't work to a sufficient standard, or is too difficult to operate by a beginner. Equally, for the purpose for which I want to use the video facilities, I don't want to spend a lot of money if the high end product isn't really required for the intended use. Thanks for taking the time to comment!

Yeah, can't help with selecting specific equipment except what I see others using. Rode mics do seem to be the choice. SmallHD screens also seem to be the choice of many.

If you need to discuss camera settings, just say the word.

I do video for a living and started on a 7D, we'll once I moved to DSLRs for video anyway. A tripod with a fluid head is definitely a good investment. Since you mostly want to do family events I'd recommend manfrottos new befree. It's got good reviews for its price. Or if you want to spend a little more I really like miller's arrow 15s. ND is definitely good to have. As its preferred to keep a lower shutter speed. Variable NDs are generally fine. Phillip Bloom has some fantastic articles on what to buy in your budget. As well as audio. And again it can change vastly based on your budget. On the cheaper side there are things like the rode videopro which is a nice and simple solution. Not the most incredible audio but performs as expected for a $100~ mic. Then you won't need an external audio recorder. Your just starting out no need to make anything complicated. This just plugs in and you can use headphones to monitor. If you want to go big I like the rode NTG3 personally and the audio technica bp4073 and your can run that Into a zoom h4 or h6 and get real nice audio. Or you can get a lapel of some kind. The sennheiser ew100 series has worked well for me in the past. Now as for a monitor. I wouldn't say you necessarily need one right off the bat but you just figure might as well then depending on your preference for size smallhd does make some fantastic stuff but they are pricey. There are tons of other options that are great as well like the atomos ninja which also gives you external recording though you'll need the shogun to do 4k I believe. If you have any other questions or I didn't answer one well shoot me a pm I tried! But it's also 2:14am and I should be asleep lol

Hey Ben, that's awesome! Thanks for the detailed response (especially at 2am!). This gives me somewhere to realistically start looking. It's a great help. Thank you so much!! I just checked out Phillip Bloom. He is a great resource.

Six things to consider:
1) Camera settings. When shooting video, the camera encodes and compresses it as you record. This is like shooting jpeg instead of raw - meaning, it's important to get the exposure and white-balance right in camera. Use a picture style that suits the look that you want. Use an appropriate shutter speed - even though the shutter isn't actually opening and closing like it does with still images, your shutter speed WILL affect the way the video looks - if the shutter speed is very fast, the video will have a certain "look" that's hard to describe, almost like a stop-motion video. Good for gritty action sequences, bad for just about anything else.
1a) If in doubt, use 1/50 if you're using 24fps video encoding, and 1/60 if you're using 30fps video encoding. Set it and forget it. Adjust your exposure with aperture, ISO, and neutral-density filters - NOT by shutter speed.
1b) If you use the Magic Lantern firmware, you can shoot raw video. However, if your video editing person isn't expecting this, don't do it.
1c) A workable approximation to shooting raw, is to use certain picture styles (e.g. Kodak Cinestyle) that will capture more dynamic range. However, these will make video that looks flat and boring without proper editing.

http://cameradojo.com …-matters-with-dslr-video/


2) Focusing. I don't know if the 5D4 has improved over previous Canons, but video focusing is one area where DSLRs fail miserably. No good advice here. Autofocus for still images simply doesn't apply for video - while the mirror is up, the usual autofocus system is unavailable,. You can try the live-view autofocus but don't get your hopes up.

An external focusing screen kinda helps. Focus Peaking in the Magic Lantern firmware helps. Having subject matter that doesn't move .. yeah, that's actually the best solution, just don't shoot video of moving subjects


3) Audio. Your audio gear depends on your budget and your style of shooting. The on-camera mic is practically unusable - however, you don't always need to record audio, just put a music track or a voiceover on it later. If you DO want to record audio, at a minimum you'll put a little battery-powered shotgun mic on the camera's hotshoe - I think we have an entry-level Rode shotgun mic for this. If you're going interview-style videos and want to cleanly record voices, a "lavalier" lapel mic is an easy and reliable solution. For wireless lavaliers, we use Sony UTX but these may be overkill for someone just starting out. We used to have some cheap lavaliers but they were terrible and unreliable, I can't really recommend any cheap ones - I'm sure they're out there, but I don't know them.


4) Lighting. When you're just starting out, the concept is not too different from photographic lighting. Look for good light, or make your own. Direct sun is usually bad. We use a cheap-and-flimsy DayFlo fluorescent lighting kit, and/or the Digital Juice MiniBurst LED lights.
http://gear.digitaljui​ce.com …cts/products.as​p?pid=3418


5) Camera Support. A DSLR is absurdly UN-ergonomic for shooting video. For fixed video (interviews, fixed non-panning camera to record a wedding ceremony, etc), your photo tripod is plenty. If you want to pan around, a fluid-head video tripod is necessary. If you want to carry the camera around, there are a bunch of different solutions: From a shoulder mount, to a simple weighted stabilizer, to a full body-harness Steadicam system. We had a harness-based Steadicam but rarely used it, it was just overkill for the style of video we do. Now we use a Benro fluid-head tripod (can't remember the model number), or a relatively inexpensive Digital Juice brand weighted stabilizer. Also have a shoulder mount that's rarely used.
I think this is our stabilizer, I don't see it in their store any more, but there are a bunch of similar offerings from competitors:
http://gear.digitaljui​ce.com/djtv/detail.asp​x?sid=814


6) Editing. As a general rule, shoot three to ten times as much as you think you'll need, then edit it down. Just like nobody wants to see your blurry out-of-focus still photos, nobody wants to watch minutes and minutes of boring video footage. Editing software varies by operating system, budget, and skill level. I just hand all this off to my wife, she's been doing this for [redacted number] years.

Nathan, this is wonderful information. Thank you so much for your time and effort in posting this detailed response. This type of information is really invaluable to anyone starting out. The information you and Ben have given me provides a really solid platform from which to get started...and some nice pointers from my Christmas shopping list!

BenHensley wrote in post #18162666
the atomos ninja

Ben, the atomos ninja 2 looks incredible to improve image quality and double as a viewing screen. Just wondering if there are other companies making similar devices..not even sure what it's called.

Good advice above. I think the place I'd start is with a tripod and fluid head. For a lightweight setup, the Manfrotto 701HDV is pretty nice. Manfrotto and Benro both offer decent usability for the money.

For an inexpensive on camera mic, check out the Takstar SGC-598. It performs pretty similarly to the Rode Video Mic Pro and it costs around $30. I can't imagine paying ~$230 for the Video Mic Pro. If you want to spend money on audio gear, I would take some time and do some research. There isn't really a one size fits all solution for sound recording.

Keep an eye on lensauthority.com for general video gear. Sometimes they have great deals on used monitors/recorders and things like that.

nathancarter wrote in post #18162901
2) Focusing. I don't know if the 5D4 has improved over previous Canons, but video focusing is one area where DSLRs fail miserably. No good advice here. Autofocus for still images simply doesn't apply for video - while the mirror is up, the usual autofocus system is unavailable,. You can try the live-view autofocus but don't get your hopes up.

Haven't used the 5D4, but as an 80D owner, I can tell you that DPAF in video is really incredible. I was definitely a skeptic, but AF is totally usable with the latest generation of Canon DSLRs. This is a big reason why the C100II and C300II have been so successful. The biggest drawback to DPAF, is that the onboard mic will pick it up. STM lenses are usable, but anything else will give you a lot of AF chatter.

Larry Johnson wrote in post #18163423
Ben, the atomos ninja 2 looks incredible to improve image quality and double as a viewing screen. Just wondering if there are other companies making similar devices..not even sure what it's called.

Black Magic makes the Video Assist, which looks very cost effective, Odyssey makes some of the best monitor/recorders. One thing to keep in mind (I'm not sure if the 5D4 is different), the 5D3 doesn't pass audio over HDMI, so if you're using a recorder with only an HDMI in, you won't have any audio on the external recorder (though audio will still be recorded to the CF/SD card.

I use a Ninja Blade (1080p only) on my 5D3 and love it. I was previously using a SmallHD AC7, and I like the monitor/focus assist better on the Ninja Blade, plus it's a recorder! These things do eat batteries though!

.

shadowdancer wrote in post #18161763
I have no basis for differentiating between the video products available. For example, I know that an external mike is necessary (particularly given the poor sound filtration on the internal mike of the 5D4) and Rode mikes seem to be highly recommended. But I don't know which Rode mike I should get, or even how I could tell if it would work with a 5D4.

I suggest that you make a phone call to one of the really big vendors such as B&H or Adorama. In the past, whenever I have had such questions about technology, I have made a call to B&H, and always gotten spot-on recommendations from their experienced sales/customer service staff. These folks have a good working knowledge of all the different brands - after all, that's their job! And never in my experience have they tried to upsell - they have always recommended the product that gives the best "bang for the buck", so to speak. In other words, they have never tried to get me to buy one of the most expensive options when something cheaper will do the job just as well, or almost as well.

If I were in your shoes, and wanted an external mic for a 5D mk 4, I would call B&H, talk to the sales person about the different options that are 5D 4 compatible, and go with whatever they recommend. They make it easy!

.

Tom Reichner wrote in post #18163902
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I suggest that you make a phone call to one of the really big vendors such as B&H or Adorama. In the past, whenever I have had such questions about technology, I have made a call to B&H, and always gotten spot-on recommendations from their experienced sales/customer service staff. These folks have a good working knowledge of all the different brands - after all, that's their job! And never in my experience have they tried to upsell - they have always recommended the product that gives the best "bang for the buck", so to speak. In other words, they have never tried to get me to buy one of the most expensive options when something cheaper will do the job just as well, or almost as well.

If I were in your shoes, and wanted an external mic for a 5D mk 4, I would call B&H, talk to the sales person about the different options that are 5D 4 compatible, and go with whatever they recommend. They make it easy!

.

I think this is often the difference between retailers who pay the well trained sales staff a good basic wage, so they don't have to keep chasing the commission, and want happy customers who will keep returning year after year. Compared with a company that will pay the lowest possible basic wage, forcing the sales staff to constantly chase the commission to pay the rent and eat, taking the maximum amount from every sale, but not building a long term relationship with the customer.

Personally I would rather use a good local bricks and mortar store for the majority of my specialist retail needs, even if I am not getting the absolute cheapest prices, because of all the advantages it offers. Not just in pre sales advice, but also the post sales support that you also get. I have some experience in specialist retail, in firearms rather than photography, but it's all very similar in most respects. The worst part is seeing a customer come in the store two or three times, spending several hours possibly going over all of the choices, and demonstrating products. Then you don't see them for a while, and then they come in and ask for help in getting the products to work that they went away and bought online, possibly saving £20 or maybe even £30 total on a £1200 sale. When you tell them to go ask who they bought the product from they get all upset, and complain to the manufacturer about how unhelpful you as a retailer were. Not to mention expecting you to deal with warranty returns on products you didn't sell, just because you sell the manufacturer's product. The manufacturers/importer​s are just as bad, as they pressure you into doing it anyway, and as a "favour" to them, forgetting that while you are wasting your time on that job you aren't actually earning any money. Tom sorry about the rant in reply to your post, especially as you are one of the "good guys" in this, who will happily use a good dealer for the sales advice and aftercare, and spend your money with them.

Alan

Ya as mentioned the Odyssey is fantastic, we use on for proxy footage at work. (lower res footage to use for essentially a quick look or edit to be replaced later. Sorry it took so long to respond I had actually forgot i responded got back on here and had 8 notifications lol! Glad i could help! I hope your video endeavors are awesome and enjoyable! I'll turn on email notifications too so if you have any questions shoot! haha