I just stumbled across an interesting article that argues that the native ISOs for the 5D and 7D are not in multiples of 160 (ISO 160, 320, 520, etc) like a lot of people say, but instead multiples of 100 (ISO 100, 200, 300, etc) as you find on the Rebels and the rest of Canon’s lower level cameras.  It argues that the “cleaner” ISOs are cleaner because they are digitally pulled from the native ISOs which hides the noise more, but also looses some dynamic range.  The ISOs outside of the 100s and 160s multiples are then digitally pushed from the native ISOs, which is why they are a bit noisier than then other two.

It makes sense to me, but regardless if it’s true or not, it is an interesting read if you are interested in such things.

http://shootintheshot.joshsilfen.com/2010/05/13/canon-hd-dslr-native-iso/

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I’m asked a lot about equipment, so I decided to do a post on the gear I’m currently using specifically with my DSLR Video kit, so here you go:

 Canon 7D

Besides the obvious reasons that it is a DSLR that shoots video, I went with this for a few reasons.  The biggest is that it has variable frame rates, including 24 fps.  I can also over-crank footage to 60fps (in 720) and conform it to get filmic slow motion. The cropped sensor allows me to get closer to my subject than I can with a full frame – I find myself in this scenario more than that I can’t get wide enough. Though at times I wish I had a full frame camera, I find the cropped sensor very useful more times than not.

Canon 35mm 1.4

This is for all intent and purposes a 50mm lens on the 1.6 cropped sensor.  This is the one that will come close to matching what your eye sees and is my workhorse lens.  I splurged on the 1.4 because I shoot a lot of low light, and because I knew I would use it as my main lens.

Canon 50mm 1.4

I shoot a lot of interviews, and the 50 will act as an 80mm on the cropped sensor, which is a great portrait lens.  I didn’t want the 1.8 because I really hate the way it feels and I couldn’t justify 4x the cost for .2 difference when looking at the 50mm 1.2. Lately I’ve been thinking more and more about the Zeiss 50mm 1.4.  It will be my replacement lens if this one ever breaks.

Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS

Again I shoot a lot of low light and I can never get quite close enough.  Considering the 1.6x of the cropped sensor, this lens gets me close enough. 

Tokina 11-16mm 2.8

This is by far the best wide angle lens I’ve found/used for cropped sensor cameras.  And the 2.8 fixed doesn’t hurt either. 

Canon EF12 Extention Tube

A sweet little secret I found that allows me to use my 35 or 50mm lenses as a macro so I don’t have to buy another lens.

Zacuto Z-finder

I asked every videographer who had a 5D/7D, what is the best accessory they bought for their camera and universally they said the Z-Finder.  This focus loupe allows you to clearly see the live view screen for shooting and is a God-send for focusing and seeing the LCD outdoors.  I agree that outside of lenses and the camera for the DSLR videographer, this is the must have item in your bag.

Audio

OK, I’ll admit, I haven’t found the perfect solution to this yet.  For now I use the on camera mic or I use an external recorder (Zoom H4n).  Since the camera only has AGC on (the 5D has manual audio control), I am hesitant to plug in any mic and expect good audio.  To help a little bit I’ve been utilizing the Rode VideoMic and sync everything up with Pluraleyes.  A godsend for sure!

Mounts

Outside of a tripod I use two mounts to help get rid of the ‘shake’ concern.  I use a Bogen/Manfrotto 561B monopod, and a BushHawk BH300sV.  The reasons are mostly because I already owned the monopod, and the BushHawk does the same thing as most of the gunstock handheld mounts out there at a fraction of the cost.  It is a solid design and works great.

I have more stuff than this, but for all intent and purposes, this is my main DLSR video kit.  If you have any other thoughts, questions, or comments, feel free to leave one.  Let me know if there is something awesome in YOUR kit that I might want to add to mine.  I’m always looking for new stuff!

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Just a quick post about a good find.  I’ve been really wanting (and dreading) spending the money for the Canon TC-80N3 Intervalometer, so I could start shooting and experimenting with timelapse.  They run an average of about $170 and I have plenty of other things I’d like to put that money towards.

After doing a little bit of research, I found this little beauty by Melke on ebay.  The only main differences I can see is that there is not a power button on the remote and it is a bit bigger than the TC-80N3.  Neither of which are dealbreakers for me.

Oh, and the best part… It was less than $23 shipped.  

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I’m a big fan of lomography.  When I saw that they made interchangeable lenses for the Diana camera, I was super excited to get my hands on a kit.  But then when I stumbled across that they sold a EF to F+ adapter so I could put lomo lenses on my DLSR I couldn’t wait to buy it, so I did.  

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Luckily I did notice the crop factor before I purchased all the lenses.  The Diana shoots 6x6.  What that means is a 35mm diana lens would effectively be a 72mm for full frame sensors and a 115mm for crop sensor cameras.  So with that in mind I only got the 20mm and the 35mm lenses as they were the “widest” lenses I could get.  

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After I received them, I put them on the camera and shot a series of photos and video with them.  To my disappointment, the plastic lenses didn’t distort the image like I hoped it would.  I don’t know what I was really expecting, but all the lenses really did is make the image softer and darker.  So the long and the short of it is that if you want the lomo effect, you either have to stick to film or use your photoshop skills to recreate the look.  

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A GREAT article about DSLRs and RED’s claim that DSLR users should be embarrased: http://bit.ly/c54wXu

I’m looking for something to blog about.  If you have a piece of video or photography equipment that you’d like me to review, or if there is a certain topic you’d like me to blog about, feel free to contact me.

First of all, I have to say that shooting with the 7D has brought back the love and excitement I have with shooting video. I’ve been shooting a lot with it, and when I was reviewing my footage and photos, I found a dead pixel on the sensor of the camera. I know I’m not the first person for this to happen to on a DSLR, but I figured I’d document my progress in getting this fixed so that I can help anyone else who may need to go through this. So after shooting some stills and video at our local professional organization, I noticed the dead pixel. So I dumped everything off the cards and called Canon’s Customer Service at 1.800.828.4040.

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Before I contacted canon, I wanted to make sure I got my ducks in a row, so I did some research and found some people got dead pixels to come back by running the auto cleaning sensor process a few times. Others did the manual sensor cleaning trick, which is where you take the lens off, turn on manual sensor cleaning for 30 seconds to 3 minutes and then restart the camera. I tried it several times with no results, so I called Canon. The guy was really helpful and told me exactly what to do, so I made a quick video and included it with the samples from the meeting. I stripped the camera down, including straps and the z-finder frame, filled out the paperwork and wrapped it in 3 inches of bubble wrap.

Here’s the video I made:

7D Dead Pixel Location from John N. Miller on Vimeo.

They said it would take I week after receipt of the camera. Long behold, they’ve notified me it is on my way back home… ONLY 2 DAYS after receipt! YOU ROCK!!! Once the camera is back, I’ll update this post verifying the fix. It was a pain not to have this camera around, but the quick turnaround makes me feel good. Bestbuy should take note on how to treat customers.

::UPDATE::

So I got my camera back from the Canon Factory Service Center.  They remapped the sensor and upgraded me to the latest and greatest firmware.  But long behold, when I looked at the camera again, I found the dead pixel.  I’m going to call Canon again and see what’s next.  Here are the videos after the sensor remapping.

7D Dead Pixel After Sensor Remap #1 from John N. Miller on Vimeo.

After talking with the Canon rep, I felt like he was prepping me to accept that a dead pixel on a 1 month old camera, but he sent me a bunch of paperwork to send it back in again.  I get that a dead pixel on a still image on a still camera is not that big of a deal.  Its 1 in a series of thousands.  As a professional, I don’t ever NOT take a photo into Lightbox or Photoshop.  I can quickly fix them.

Where I have a difference of opinion is when it is on the portion of the sensor that the video function of the camera uses.  This is the 7D.  The camera marketed and wanted because of it’s video capability.  And when there is a red dot constantly in the middle of the image even during camera moves, it is unacceptable.  Especially in a camera where, when I found it and started this process, was less than 1 month old.

I’m starting to get frustrated as I have been trying to push off shoots, getting shoots canceled and loosing business.  Stills and Video are my job, and this is starting to bite into my ability to make money, so I am asking Canon once again to please fix my camera.  I’m guessing I’ll have an update within a week, so keep an eye on the blog and we’ll see what happens.

Talking about the sending in the 7D from John N. Miller on Vimeo.

::UPDATE #2::

Just got the camera back from Canon.  It was their second attempt to fix the dead pixel in the sensor and once again, I turned it on, moved the box to the approximate location, magnified to 10x and stared at a bright red dot staring at my face.   I’ll post properly when my anger and frustration calm down.  Also, just to add insult to injury, I found more problems, LCD looked like it was failing and Autofoucs when taking stills would not work.  BLERG!

::UPDATE #3::

So after “discussing” my dissatisfaction with the repair service that I was receiving, I was assured that when a camera returns for a third time, it automatically goes to a senior technician. So I packaged up the camera and sent it off again.  After quite some time, I finally got it back with a note that they had replaced the sensor!  FINALLY!  So just know that if you have the same problem, it may suck because you could be without your camera A LOT, but in the long run, they will get it fixed one way or another.

Sorry it has been a while since my last post, but I’ve been busy dealing with LOTS of stuff concerning my 7D.  I had it out with Best Buy to the point where I’m NEVER going to shop there again and last week, finding a dead pixel on the 7D.  Needless to say, the camera is on its way back to Canon, so we’ll see how it all pans out.  Before the week is up, I’ll try and put together a couple of posts dealing with my experiences in case anyone else ends up in the same situation.