Final Canon EOS 550D Questions

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Soldato
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Firstly I'd like to thank you all for the helpful advice in the other thread. I've decided to go ahead with the purchase however I have a final few questions.

I'm planning on buying the Canon EOS 550D with the 18-55mm kit Lens and also the Canon EF 50mm f1.8 MK2 lens.

Questions

1) I gather you can produce almost film-like results with this camera although there are constraints which have to be worked around. Some of the reviews mention that when shooting fast pace action (i.e. someone running/jumping) there is sometimes a distortion effect. Is this true?

2) I'll be using it with a tripod most of the time. Is the camera truly useless as a handheld camera? If I went skiing and ski'd behind a mate (having already set the camera in focus) would the footage be horrendous or just like it would be with a normal HD camcorder?

3) Anything else I should know if I'm using this to shoot short films. I realise the microphone is pretty awful and mono but we rarely use sound from the actual shoots anyway. Nearly the entire sound track is added in the editing phase and if we shoot dialogue we record it using separate device and sync in editing.

4) I'm going to look into getting a copy of Adobe Premiere Pro or something of that ilk. Can the footage be dragged straight off an SD card and into the video editing applications or does it need to be converted? I'm assuming my MBP I.Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz will be able to handle everything?

Many thanks again for the advice,

Cheers
 
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I think Canon is better at video than Nikon so good choice, but a camera is designed for taking stills & considering your many video plans I cant help thinking you'd be better off with a smaller HD cam as well.
Also beware that a camera may have a limited recording time like 5mins.
If you're pre-focusing then maybe go wide at eg. 25mm on the zoom & pre-focus to infinity then forget about it. Or if you want to get techy pre-set the aperture with its corresponding hyper focal distance, tho most modern lenses lack a distance/aperture focus scale.
Also watch out for under-exposure in snow scenes, maybe over-espose a couple of stops to be sure?

1) If the 550D has a rolling shutter then if you pan horizontally any verticals may appear like jelly- Youtube it!

2) The 550D has a lot of megapixels for a crop sensor so shake will be more noticeable, but I think it has good high ISO performance so shoot at faster shutter speeds, ie. 50mm lens times your 1.6 crop = about 80mm so at least 1/90th sec or 1/x000th sec for fast motion to be sure. A good thing is the high ISO grain will be less noticeable with snow.
For skiing check out the Opteka stabilizer grip, in the Youtube vid the guy even sais its good for skiing!
Opteka X-Grip Camera Stabilizer Review
Or a steadycam.

3) Add a stereo mic to the steadycam but it may get knocked off.

4) I dunno what format the 550D records in but I presume most editing software should handle it?
Core 2 Duo 2.66Ghz is fine.
 
if it only video you wanted it for then the 600d would be a better choice as it has few improvement which the 550d doesn't have. like rotatible lcd screen better mic.
 
I'm not too sure I can justify the extra for the 600d. I'm stretching myself as it is!

Juno, if Nikon did a camera which was comparable in terms of video I would definitely go for that as I already have a D50 and a few lenses. The other feature I like about the 550D is it shoots at 60fps in 720p which gives the potential for incredible slow-motion footage.

The rolling shutter doesn't look that bad to be honest, as long as the effect isn't obvious when the camera is static and the subject is moving quickly.

That X-Grip looks pretty good, I'm sure by the time I'm off skiing I'll be able to afford it. In the meantime however I really don't have a budget to buy a steady cam so I guess I'll have to be resourceful in the meantime - Someone mentioned you can get impressive shots using a skateboard!

Final question: Would I be better off shooting in 24p or 25? I guess this is something I'll experiment with when I get the camera.

Cheers
 
I dont think the wiper blades supposed to be bent in that Youtube vid. HA HA
Tho if you stay away from scenes like that then ok.

Ive tried video with my old design D90 & its pretty crap, I dont know much about Canon tho.
Although with planning & a steady grip of some sort then good results should be possible.
I think the D3100 does 1080p as its a shame because you already have some lenses, although the D90 is the cheapest Nikon video camera to autofocus old lenses.
Wow, 60fps would be really good if shot skiing :D
24p (23.976fps) or 1080p/720p 24hz playback is what movies are shot in, unless converted to PAL 25fps like old DVD's for the UK (yuk).
I prefer 24p as thats what all the films in my archive are and if you're storing the vids with 24p movies then Id shoot at 24p.
To get smooth playback on a suitable TV (not inc plazma) then the following refresh rates maybe better:
24p=23hz or 24hz
PAL=50hz
60p=60hz :D
 
Ah. I see what you mean. However I still think you have to be looking hard to notice it!

I think 24p is the way forward for shooting creative projects. 60fps indeed for skiing.

I literally can't wait for this camera. Since I started making films at the age of 11 I've wanted to get my hands on something affordable that you can use to shoot with decent lenses.
Can you recommend anywhere I can buy this online? I've got my eye on the big high street camera specialist (namely due to Quidco cash back) but I'm sure there will be decent shops you guys have dealt with online?

Really excited about this! The only thing I would also love in an ideal world is built in Geo-tagging as I think it's a truly awesome feature.
 
I found my resent purchase of a d90 was best at jessops.
Nikon do a GPS adapter that goes in the hotshoe, maybe Canon do something similar?
 
It's not even remotely useless as a handheld camera.. certainly no more useless than any other camera that isnt attached to a steadycam. why on earth would it be?

You can get it Body Only for £490 on the rainforest (im so confused about competitor rules right now), or £598 with 18-55 IS kit. This is quite a bit cheaper than whorehouse express or other retailers, as far as i can tell.
 
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It's £598.95 (inc 18-55) at Messops or £580 with Quidco discount.
That looks like quite a good deal to me. Another £90 for the EF 50mm lens.

I haven't factored in SD cards though. Looking at £15 for 16GB SD HC cards and would probably need quite a few of those. I'm plucking these figures out of my head but I seem to remember that the 550D needs around 4GB/10 minutes at 1080p. Can anyone confirm this?
 
dont forget about the recording time limitations though, choose your scene carefully. I have a 60D and a Lumix GH-1 with the firmware hack. The maximum time per file remains 29 minutes and 59 seconds or 4GB for Canon
 
RedDanDoc said:
Would not a Wide Angled lens be better for Video ?

Was thinking of getting one primarily for Video myself.
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I would have thought something like that 1.8 50mm prime would have been better when shooting a short film, that is if you have the flexibility to put the camera wherever you want in controlled conditions.

Anyway, I'm about to get in the car now and pick up the 550d very excited :D
 
goodl said:
dont forget about the recording time limitations though, choose your scene carefully. I have a 60D and a Lumix GH-1 with the firmware hack. The maximum time per file remains 29 minutes and 59 seconds or 4GB for Canon
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I'm not too fussed. I can't think of a time where I would need to record for that sort of time. When making short films it's a controlled environment where you're only shooting for around 10 seconds at a time. For family/other stuff there's no problem in filming short clips and stitching them together in a video editor.
 
If your primary concern is video, don't get a DSLR but you know,a video camera. Otherwise, if you want video with interchangable lenses, the Panasonic GH2 with firmware hacks beats any of the Canon, Nikon or Sony offerings.
 
Very happy, just waiting for the first charge.

iqvj42.jpg


D.P - My primary concern is photography but I'll be using it do some video work. I've done my research and it is more than capable of doing what I want video-wise. Funnily enough I initially researched buying this purely for video but the mere process of doing so has got me back into photography and I've been using my old Nikon D50 much more :)
 
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scott212 said:
Very happy, just waiting for the first charge.



D.P - My primary concern is photography but I'll be using it do some video work. I've done my research and it is more than capable of doing what I want video-wise :)
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That is not what you said in your OP:
I'm only planning on shooting video
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Anyway, enjoy your new toy.
 
D.P. said:
That is not what you said in your OP:


Anyway, enjoy your new toy.
Click to expand...

I apologise, I just ninja-edited that previous post.

I will be doing a lot of video work but this is perfect. I would much rather work with this - for all its flaws - than use a dedicated video camera. The results you can get off SLRs are jaw dropping.
 
Absolutely loving it but the weather has been so horrific and I've been busy working I haven't really had a chance to get outside and take some photos yet. I'm amazed at the quality of the video. Currently browsing eBay to try and find some bargains on some lenses.
 
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