5D II too little DOF and other issues

I am just getting into researching video. I will be purchasing the 5D II for still work however. The video mode is just a shock... anyway.

1. Could you really use this thing hand held and make a video that would not make people sea sick?

2. It seems to me that the camera will be frustrating to focus unless your at f5.6 as your subject cold easy move in and out of the DOF. Super 35mm (1.6 crop cam size) allows for a good stop more of DOF. Razor sharp DOF would require a lot of work per shot it seems.

3. Manual exposure does not seem to be possible with this camera. I wonder why Canon did not allow for this? A real video camera coming in the future?

pcunite wrote in post #6400169
I am just getting into researching video. I will be purchasing the 5D II for still work however. The video mode is just a shock... anyway.

1. Could you really use this thing hand held and make a video that would not make people sea sick?

No different than any other light(er) weight video camera. Most "Handycam" video I've seen makes me seasick as well... Simply put, using proper camera support is always the best way to work. I was thinking how nicely this would work on something like a Steady Cam Jr...

You may be the first person to voice a concern that DOF will be too shallow. Most seem genuinely thrilled to be able to make moving pictures that don't seem to have 50' or Infinity as the only DOF choices. Different strokes I think...

There are legions of "real" video cameras out there. I think you just have to take the video capabilities of the 5KMkII as a bonus feature and run with it.

Properly exposed photo <--> properly exposed video .. the best results in both formats come from using the right light.

This seems like a fair concern considering the limited autofocus - how would you track action, or even a person walking at a fair clip, with this camera?
Not a complaint - a real question - if there's a way it would work that would be really cool.

pcunite wrote in post #6400169
A real video camera coming in the future?

Canon already make some very nice "real" video cameras, which come with L series lenses and to which you can fit other EF Series lenses... That's probably the way to go if you're serious about video.

1. Just like previous post, you would treat the 5D II in video mode just like any other video camera if you want steady shots.

2. People like the narrow DOF this enables but if you don't want narrow DOF stop down.

3. Go here: http://blog.vincentlaf​oret.com/ and read his posts. Somewhere he describes how to shoot "manually" as a work around. However, he states that he had no manual to look through and figured out as much about the video mode as he could in the three days that he had use of it so he could be missing something.

For those that don't go there to read it, in short you set it to Av mode and choose aperture then you aim the camera at the shot you want and it gives you real-time exposure representation on the LCD. Then, if it's too dark put your hand or something partly in front of the lens to block light, then the shutter will slow down. When the rest of the scene is properly exposed hit your "*" button to lock exposure then hit record. If the scene is to bright shine a lightsource into the lens until exposure is correct and then lock exposure. As I already said there may be an easier way to do this but remember he was using a pre-production camera without any documentation.

Just in case the OP misinterpreted "Sea sick" for a effect called "wobble". No the canon does not use a rolling shutter. Just a note.

See youtube for N90 and wobble.

test

The ability to manipulate DOF is probably the biggest advantage in using a DSLR for video. It allows you to draw people's attention to the subject matter without being distracted by extrenious detail in the background.

The best way to get good video out of a DSLR is to appreciate, and work within, their limitations.....so it sounds like you are off to a flying start.

Download Magic Lantern:

magiclantern.fm

Agree though about narrow dof, even with my crop sensor (600D) I need to stop down to get a reasonable DOF, where cameras with even smaller cameras could operate a lot brighter at a wider DOF.

However, thankfully 5D has nicer ISO range before turning to grainy rubbish, so that should work in it's favour.

John and roman, you realize this thread is 5 years old, right?

Doh! Cheers Ken. Thanks rxjohn.