Remote to Start Video on 5dMrk2 or 7d

Looking for a way to reliably remote start and stop canon 5dmarkI or 7d camera. Has anyone figured that out yet? It does not have to be wireless, and I would probably prefer a hardwired solution so that I could be sure it worked everytime

Jeremy Brant wrote in post #11094119
Looking for a way to reliably remote start and stop canon 5dmarkI or 7d camera. Has anyone figured that out yet? It does not have to be wireless, and I would probably prefer a hardwired solution so that I could be sure it worked everytime

Disable automatic shutdown and then any compatible remote will work - I have a RC-1 infrared remote for my 5D MK II

How do you turn on video recording with a RC-1, how does it control the "set" button ?

lannes wrote in post #11094874
How do you turn on video recording with a RC-1, how does it control the "set" button ?

I don't think it does - it's just stills.
One button for the shutter.

Perhaps I was not as clear as I should have been. Specifically, I am looking for a way to start video recording. IR is not my favorite, because I wont always be able to be infront of the camera. Might need to be 8-10 feet behind it for my application. Ideally looking for a smart tinkerer who might be able to hardwire something custom perhaps?

Also, that was a type-o. Should have been Canon 5d MarkII, and 7d.

Jeremy Brant wrote in post #11099710
Perhaps I was not as clear as I should have been. Specifically, I am looking for a way to start video recording. IR is not my favorite, because I wont always be able to be infront of the camera. Might need to be 8-10 feet behind it for my application. Ideally looking for a smart tinkerer who might be able to hardwire something custom perhaps?

Jeremy Brant wrote in post #11099716
Also, that was a type-o. Should have been Canon 5d MarkII, and 7d.

The check if you can shoot tethered to a laptop - I'm not sure if that covers video or not.
But I'm pretty sure all remotes will only activate the regular shutter button.

Wired remotes activate the shutter button only, which on these cameras take photos. After all, they are still cameras, just with video add-on.
A remote plugged into the N3 connector will even take photos in the middle of a video recording, pausing the video for a second or so.

If you do want to remote control video capture, you need an IR remote. The RC-6 can be used to command both still photo and video start/stop, provided the mode selector is in the video position on the 7D. Not sure how that's done on the simpler 5D Mark II (doesn't have any dedicated video switch), but it's probably possible.
On the RC-6, there's a time delay switch, which in still photo mode can be used to set the camera to take a picture when pressing the button on the RC-6, or two seconds later. In video mode, immediate translates to still photography and delayed to start/stop video.
But the IR receiver is on the front of the camera - that's correct.

I haven't checked if you can start video from EOS Utility. You can do quite a lot there, so it's likely that you can. Then that requires a computer, and a USB connection isn't specified to be longer than 5 meters. An Ethernet grip on the camera allows wireless Ethernet over longer distances, or via cable.

seems a little near sighted that this cannot be achieved some easier way. Sure, it is a photo still camera, that happens to shoot video. But the 5d "Happens to shoot video" better than 94% of all video cameras within double its price range.

I wish there was aneasier way, and that it could be cabled. IR is not reliable enough.

Jeremy Brant wrote in post #11111729
seems a little near sighted that this cannot be achieved some easier way. Sure, it is a photo still camera, that happens to shoot video. But the 5d "Happens to shoot video" better than 94% of all video cameras within double its price range.

I wish there was aneasier way, and that it could be cabled. IR is not reliable enough.

I think the key problem is that video on the 5D MK II was just an add-on - Canon had no idea how people would respond to it.

Heck, let's assume everybody would have complained about how useless it is and nobody used it for anything - do you think they would have added video on the rebels and the 7D? - Definitely not the manual modes - these just came by request.

The 7D and the rebels as well as the 60D have easier controls as people liked the video in the 5D MK II and a new market opened.

The problem for Canon here is of course the legacy definition of the N3 remote control socket, which in turn is the same as for the T3 socket, except the locking mechanism.
Nobody thought about video in a still camera in the 1980's, when I bought my first camera with the T3 remote control socket (the T90).

apersson850 wrote in post #11112020
The problem for Canon here is of course the legacy definition of the N3 remote control socket, which in turn is the same as for the T3 socket, except the locking mechanism.
Nobody thought about video in a still camera in the 1980's, when I bought my first camera with the T3 remote control socket (the T90).

Hmm.. I call Faulty Logic. My Canon T90, and AE-1 did not have a USB port or a HDMI port either.

Ehh? There you have some faulty logic, since as you say, these old cameras didn't have USB, so there is no legacy to maintain. But the remote control does have a long tradition.

What they could do, if they wanted to, would of course be to make a custom function, where you can set if the remote control socket would convert to video start/stop when setting the camera to video, or if it should remain as a copy of the main shutter release button, as it is today.

No, my point was, they added usb, hdmi, video out, they could have very easily added another small brand new Smart Remote port, maybe even a small serial port that third party vendors could have made an amazing assortment of utilities and gadget attachments to add to your camera.

As you said: They did. The USB port can be used for this already. It just takes software.