5DII video Basics

I know nothing...Let me repeat that, Nothing about video!

What exposure control do you have with the 5D II.

From what I've read you can select ISO.

I assume the "shutter" is fixed to obtain the 30fps. (I realize this is done with the mirror up)

I have also read all the advantages of Narrow DOF offered by this rig that everyone is so excited about. But can you control the aperture if it's not a narrow DOF that your after?

What other options are there for controling the exposure? or is it just a combination of ISO & Aperture?

I can't see any reason it wouldn't let you control your shutter speed. Every video camera I've ever worked with has...

Guess I just don't get it...

I would think the shutter is tied to the math of 1 second divided by 30 frames or .033 seconds per frame. Go over .033 and you no longer have 30 frames per second.

I have no reason to doubt you, I just don't understand what factors effect exposure on video.

Unless the whole system is diffrent than tradtitional photography (amount of light, time, media sensativity= exposure)

There's a huge difference between a video camera's electronic shutter configuration, and a DSLRs MECHANIC shutter. (30 fps if a mechanic shutter was being used, would mean 1800 shutter actuations per minute !!!..) Usually in Video Cameras, the shutter is electronic, no mirror flipup, just a sensor's whose ability is to record its data 30 times per second, meaning 1 mechanical shutter actuation for however long the video was.

This does not mean that it can't be built into the feature-set of the camera. Gain control and other basic shooting features are -to a degree- surely available.

Most restrictions do come with changes on the fly. Meaning you set your DOF, your exposure, fine tune your image, and then start shooting. If a car parks where the sun's reflection alters the shot, I do not believe the camera will update or correct on the go. Same if you switch to a backlit subject, or a darker environment. Something as simple as Focusing on a subject, has become fully manual with the video that has been implemented on DSLRs so far. So for the unenlightened person -those who expect 20% of help from the camera, and have never shot on 16/35mm film, it should be sorely dissapointing. For any other tinkerers, who usually base their craft in 5-7 second takes, it could be potentially pleasing. But then, they'd be sporting a real video camera.

My .02

neumanns wrote in post #6396533
Guess I just don't get it...

I would think the shutter is tied to the math of 1 second divided by 30 frames or .033 seconds per frame. Go over .033 and you no longer have 30 frames per second.

I have no reason to doubt you, I just don't understand what factors effect exposure on video.

Unless the whole system is diffrent than tradtitional photography (amount of light, time, media sensativity= exposure)

You can't expose for _longer_ than 1/30 of a second and get 30 frames per second. There's nothing stopping you from exposing faster, though. 30 FPS just means the shutter has to "open" and "close" (although it's really just turning on and off, in this case) thirty times every second: there's no rule that says it has to stay open for the bulk of that second. If you do thirty 1/1000 second exposures in a second, it just means that the shutter opens every 1/30 of a second, but only for 1/1000 of a second at a time.

I understand the part of electronic shutter as opposed to mechanical. But my assumption is the electronic shutter or rolling shutter is a fixed speed.

The Adjustable ISO is just magnification of the electronic signal from the sensor.

SO I guess my question.... Your only control of exposure would be from adjusting the Aperture and the ISO

Correct or Not?
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This is just a curiosity, But perhaps I'm to dense to comprehend it.


Also I thought you had your choice of Contrast Auto focus or Manuel.

Ahhaa...Got ya bieber

neumanns wrote in post #6396670
..The Adjustable ISO is just magnification of the electronic signal from the sensor.

SO I guess my question.... Your only control of exposure would be from adjusting the Aperture and the ISO

Correct or Not?
..
Also I thought you had your choice of Contrast Auto focus or Manuel.

Bieber explained the electronic shutter way better than I could have.

As far as the exposure, yes. Through live mode Exposure Simulator, one would be able to see the estimated result image (hence no longer SLRing). and then make changes to the ISO/f stop/Shutter Speed combo. Now.. I have not seen a software implementation that would do it automatically. Personally, I would add a function to -say- the wheel in the camera, so that one could slide quickly through some presets, from LowIso to HighIso (usually as the place gets darker, iso would go up, and shutter speed would decrease, while limiting the aperture value -say to 4.0 at most- in order to keep a certain amount of light going into the sensor).

This is where things get kind of complicated, and all the advantages of an SLR suddenly become obsolete for Video capture. Almost as if a sub-product of the actual camera was built into the system.

I see all consumer models (G9 type, or even Xsi, 1000D, etc) having some video mode in the future, much like the powershots have it.

As far as DSLRs -specially a $2500 body- it is almost a complication. (because part of the volume that used to be reserved for taking BETTER photos, is now mutated into electronic shuttering, sound capture, and other features that do not help my PHOTO camera take any better still images).

I think the words you're looking for are framerate vs shutter speed. the framerate is 30fps. It will take 30 images at 1920x1080 per second. The image recorded is based on the ISO and aperture you're using. I of course don't have any first hand knowledge of operating it, but my guess is it will adjust the shutter speed to get you a best guess proper exposure based on what you were pointing at when you hit the record button. If shutter were always 1/30 then in bright outdoor light you will have serious problems.

As far as (physical?) volume being taken up, the video is an extension of Live View. If LV was already showing you video, all that's 'extra' is recording it - which isn't really extra. And who's to say that removing that feature will get you better stills - or that its stills are suffering in any manner to begin with. We need real user examples of everything the camera has to offer before being able to say anything is lacking, especially due to LiveView - er - video.